Repentance and Faith which are humbling Graces to be the conditions of our obtaining Pardon By Repentance we acknowledge that if we are condemned 't is just severity and if we are Saved 't is rich Mercy And Faith absolutely excludes boasting For it supposes the Creature guilty and receives Pardon from the Sovereign Grace of God upon the account of our Crucified Redeemer The benefit and the manner of our receiving it was typified in the miraculous cure of the Israelites by looking up to the Brasen Serpent For the act of seeing is performed by receiving the Images which are derived from the objects 't is rather a Passion then an Action that it might appear that the healing Virtue was meerly from the Power of God and the Honor of it intirely his In short God had respect to the lowliness of this Grace in appointing it to be the qualification of a Justified person for the most firm reliance on Gods Mercy is alwayes joyned with the strongest renouncing of our own Merits Briefly to excite humility in us the Gospel tells us that the Glorious reward is from rich bounty and liberality The gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. As the Election of us to Glory so the actual possession of it proceeds from pure Favour There is no more proportion between all our Services and that High and Eternal felicity than between the running a few steps and the obtaining an Imperial Crown Indeed not only Heaven but all the Graces that are necessary to purify and prepare us for it we receive from undeserved Mercy So that God crowns in us not our proper Works but his own proper Gifts 2. The Gospel strictly commands Self-denial when the Honor of God and Religion is concern'd Jesus tells his Disciples If any Man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me Life and all the endearments of it Estates Honours Relations Pleasures must be put under our feet to take the first step with our Redeemer This is absolutely necessary to the being of a Christian In the preparation of his mind and the resolution of his will he must live a Martyr and whensoever his duty requires he must break all the Retinacula Vitae the voluntary bands that fasten us to the World and die a Martyr rather than suffer a divorce to be made between his Heart and Christ. Whatsoever is most esteem'd and lov'd in the world must be parted with as a snare if it tempts us from our Obedience or offered up as a Sacrifice when the Glory of God calls for it And this command that appears so hard to sense is most just and reasonable For God hath by so many titles a right to us that we ought to make an intire Dedication of our selves and our most valuable interests to him Our Redeemer infinitely denied himself to save us and 't is most just we should in gratitude deny our selves to serve him Besides an infinite advantage redounds to us for our Saviour assures us that whosoever will save his life when 't is inconsistent with the performance of his duty shall lose it and whosoever will lose his life for his sake shall find it Now what is more prudent than of two evils that are propounded to choose the least that is Temporal Death rather than Eternal and of two goods that are offered to our choice to prefer the greater a Life in Heaven before that on the Earth Especially if we consider that we must shortly yeeld the present life to the infirmities of Nature and 't is the richest traffick to exchange that which is frail and mortal for that which remains in its perfection for ever 3. The Gospel enjoyns Universal Love among Men. This is that fire which Christ came to kindle upon the Earth 't is the abridgment of all Christian perperfection the fulfilling of the Divine Law for all the particular Precepts are in substance Love He that loves his Neighbor will have a tender regard to his Life Honour and Estate which is the sum of the second Table The extent of our Love must be to all that partake of the same common nature The universal consanguinity between Men should make us regard them as our allies Every Man that wants our help is our Neighbour Do good to all is the command of the Apostle For the quality of our Love it must be unfeigned without dissimulation The Image of it in Words without real Effects provokes the Divine displeasure for as all falshood is odious to the God of Truth so especially the counterfeiting of Charity that is the impression of his Spirit and the seal of his Kingdom A sincere pure affection that rejoyces at the good and resents the evils of others as our own and expresses it self in all real Offices not for our private respects but their benefit is required of us And as to the degree of our Love we are commanded above all things to have fervent Charity among our selves This principally respects Christians who are united by so many sacred and amiable bands as being formed of the same Eternal Seed Children of the same Heavenly Father and joynt-Heirs of the same Glorious Inheritance Christian Charity hath a more noble Principle than the affections of nature for it proceeds from the Love of God shed abroad in Believers to make them one Heart and one Soul and a more Divine pattern which is the Example of Christ Who hath by his Sufferings restored us to the Favour of God that we should Love one another as He hath Loved us This Duty is most stricty injoyn'd for without Love Angelical Eloquence is but an empty noise and all other Virtues have but a false lustre Prophesie Faith Knowledge Miracles the highest outward Acts of Charity or Self-denial the giving our Estates to the Poor or Bodies to Martyrdom are neither pleasing to God nor profitable to him that does them Besides That special branch of Love the forgiving of Injuries is the peculiar Precept of our Saviour For the whole World consents to the returning evil for evil The vicious Love of our selves makes us very sensible and according to our preverse judgments to revenge an injury seems as just as to requite a benefit From hence revenge is the most Rebellious and Obstinate Passion An Offence remains as a thorn in the mind that inflames and torments it till 't is appeased by a vindication 'T is more difficult to overcome the Spirit then to gain a Battel We are apt to revolve in our thoughts injuries that have been done to us and after a long distance of time the memory represents them as fresh as at the first Now the Gospel commands a hearty and intire forgiveness of injuries though repeated never so often to seventy seven times We must not only quench the Fire of Anger but kindle the Fire of Love towards our greatest Enemies I say unto you Love your Enemies
O Lord God and what is my house that thou hast brought me hitherto and this was yet a small thing in thy sight O Lord God but thou hast spoken of thy Servants house for a great while to come and is this the manner of Man O Lord God if such humble and thankful acknowledgments were due for the Scepter of Israel what is for the Crown of Heaven and and that procured for us by the sufferings of the Son of God Briefly Goodness is the foundation of Glory therefore the most solemn and affectionate Praise is to be rendered for transcendent Goodness The consent of Heaven and Earth is in ascribing blessing and honour and glory to him that sits on the Throne and the Lamb for ever 2. The Love of God discovered in our Redemption is the most powerful persuasive to Repentance For the discovery of this we must consider that real Repentance is the consequent of Faith and always in proportion to it Therefore the Law which represents to us the Divine Purity and Justice without any allay of Mercy can never work true Repentance in a Sinner When Conscience is under the strong conviction of guilt and of Gods Justice as implacable it causes a dreadful flight from him and a retchless neglect of means Despair hardens Neither is the discovery of God in Nature prevailing over the impenitent Hearts of men 'T is true the visible frame of the World and the continual benefits of Providence instruct Men in those prime Truths the Being and Bounty of God to those that serve Him and invite them to their Duty God never left himself without a witness in any age His Goodness is design'd To lead men to Repentance And the Apostle aggravates the obstinacy of Men that render'd that method entirely fruitless But the Declaration of Gods Goodness in the Gospel is infinitely more clear and powerful than the silent revelation by the works of Creation and Providence For although the Patience and general Goodness of God offered some intimations that he is placable yet not a sufficient support for a guilty and jealous Creature to rely on The natural notion of Gods Justice is so deeply rooted in the Humane Soul that till He is pleased to proclaim an Act of Grace and Pardon on the conditions of Faith and Repentance 't is hardly possible that convinced Sinners should apprehend Him otherwise than an Enemy and that all the common Benefits they enjoy are but Provisions allowed in the interval between the Sentence pronounc'd by the Law and the Execution of it at Death Therefore God to overcome our fears and to melt us into a compliance hath given in the Scripture the highest assurance of his willingness to receive all relenting and returning Sinners He interposes the most solemn Oath to remove our suspicions As I live saith the Lord I delight not in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live And have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die saith the Lord God And not that he should return from his ways and live The majesty and ardency of the Expressions testifie the truth and vehemency of his desire so far as the Excellency of his Nature is capable to feel our Affections And the Reason of it is clear for the Conversion of a Sinner implies a thorough change in the Will and Affections from Sin to Grace and that is infinitely pleasing to Gods Holiness and the giving of Life to the converted is most suitable to his Mercy The Angels who are infinitly inferiour to Him in Goodness rejoyce in the Repentance and Salvation of Men Much more God doth There is an eminent difference between his inclinations to exercise Mercy and Justice He uses expressions of regret when He is constrained to punish O that my People had hearkned to me and Israel had walked in my wayes And how shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I deliver thee Israel mine heart is turned within me As a merciful Judg that pities the Man when he condemns the Malefactor But He dispenses Acts of Grace with pleasure He pardons Iniquity and passes by transgressions because He delights in Mercy 'T is true when Sinners are finally obdurate God is pleased in their Ruine for the honour of his Justice yet t is not in such a manner as in their Conversion and Life He doth not invite Sinners to transgress that He may condemn them He is not pleased when they give occasion for the exercise of his Anger And above all we have the clearest and surest discovery of pardoning Mercy in the Death of Christ. For what stronger evidence can there be of God's readiness to pardon than sending his Son into the World to be a Sacrifice for Sin that Mercy without prejudice to his other Perfections might upon our Repentance forgive us And what more rational argument is there and more congruous to the Breast of a Man to work in him a serious grief and hearty detestation of Sin not only as a cursed thing but as 't is contrary to the Divine Will than the belief that God in whose Power alone it is to pardon Sinners is most desirous to pardon them if they will return to Obedience The Prodigal in his extream distress resolved to go to his Father with penitential acknowledgments and submission and to use the words of a devout Writer His guilty Conscience as desperate asks him Qua spe with what hope He replies to himself Illa qua Pater est Ego perdidi quod erat filii ille quod patris est nâ—n amisit Though I have neglected the duty and lost the confidence of a Son he hath not lost the compassion of a Father That Parable represents Man in his degenerate forlorn state and that the Divine Goodness is the Motive that prevails upon him to return to his duty 3. The transcendent Love that God hath exprest in our Redemption by Christ should kindle in us a reciprocal affection to him For what is more natural than that one flame should produce another We love him because he loved us first The original of our Love to God is from the evidence of his to us this alone can strongly and sweetly draw the heart to him 'T is true the divine excellencies as they deserve a superlative esteem so the highest affection but the bare contemplation of them is ineffectual to fire the Heart with a zealous Love to God For Man in his Corrupt state hath a Diabolical Seed in him he is inclined not only to Sensuality which is an implicit hatred of God for an eager Appetite to those things which God forbids and a fixed Aversation from what He commands are the Natural effects of Hatred But to malignity and direct hatred against God He is an enemy in his mind through wicked Works and this enmity ariseth from the consideration of Gods Justice and the effects of it Man cannot Sin and be
were imputed to him upon the account of his Union with us in nature and his consent to be our Surety so his Righteousness is meritoriously imputed to us upon our Union with him by a lively Faith The man that lookt on the Rainbow when he was ready to be drown'd what relief was it to him that God had promised not to drown the world when he must perish in the waters So though Christ hath purchased Pardon for repenting Believers and a Rainbow encompasses the Throne of God the sign of Reconciliation what advantage is this to the Unbeliever who dies in his Sins and drops into the Lake of Fire 'T is not from any defect of Mercy in God or Righteousness in Christ but for the obstinate refusal of it that men certainly perish This inhances their Guilt and Misery All the rich expence of Grace for their Redemption shall be charged upon them The Blood of Christ shall not be imputed for their Ransom but for their deeper Damnation and instead of speaking better things than the Blood of Abel shall call louder for Vengeance against them than that innocent blood which reacht Heaven with its voice against the Murderer Briefly whom so precious a Sacrifice doth not redeem they are reserved entire victims whole burnt Offerings to Divine Justice Every impenitent Unbeliever shall be salted with fire CHAP. XVI Of all the Divine Perfections Holiness is peculiarly admirable The honour of it is secured in our Redemption In the bitter Sufferings of Christ God declared Himself unappeasable to Sin though appeaseable to Sinners The Priviledges purchased by Christ are conveighed upon terms honourable to Holiness Pardon of Sin Adoption the Inheritance of Glory are annexed to special Qualifications in those who receive them The Redeemer is made a quickening Principle to inspire us with new Life In order to our Sanctification He hath given us the most perfect Rule of Holiness He exhibited a compleat Pattern of it He purchas'd and conveyes the Spirit of Holiness to us He presents the strongest Motives to perswade us to be holy The perfect Laws of Christ are considered as they enjoin an absolute separation from all Evil and command the practice of all substantial Goodness Some particular Precepts which the Gospel especially enforces with the Reasons of them are considered OF all the Perfections of the Deity none is more worthy of his Nature and so peculiarly admirable as his Infinite Purity 'T is the most shining Attribute that derives a lustre to all the rest He is glorious in Holiness Wisdom degenerates into Craft Power into Tyranny Mercy loses its nature without Holiness He swears by it as his Supreme Excellency Once have I sworn by my Holiness I will not lie unto David 'T is the most venerable Attribute in the Praise whereof the Harmony of Heaven agrees The Angels and Saints above are represented expressing their extasy and ravishment at the beauty of Holiness Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory This He only loves and values in the Creature being the Impression of his most Divine and amiable Perfection Inferiour Creatures have a resemblance of other Divine Attributes The Winds and Thunder set forth God's Power the firmness of the Rocks and the incorruptibility of the Heavens are an obscure representation of his Unchangeableness but Holiness that is the most Orient-Pearl in the Crown of Heaven only shines in the reasonable Creature Upon this account Man only is said to be formed after his Image And in Men there are some appearances of the Deity that do not entitle to his special Love In Princes there is a shadow of his Sovereignty yet they may be the objects of his displeasure but a likeness to God in Holiness atracts his Eye and Heart and infinitely endears the Creature to him Now this Attribute is in a special manner provokt by Mans sin and we are restored to the favour and friendship of God in such a manner as may preserve the Honour of it intire and inviolable This will fully appear by considering what our Redeemer suffered for the purchasing our Pardon and the terms upon which the precious Benefits of his Death are conveied to us and what he hath done to restore our lost Holiness that we may be qualified for the enjoyment of God 1. God's Infinite Purity is declared in his Justice in that He would not pardon Sin but upon such terms as might fully demonstrate how odious 't was to him What inflam'd the Wrath of God against his Beloved Son whom by a voice from Heaven he declared to be the object of his delight What made Him inexorable to his Prayers and Tears when He sollicited the Divine Power and Love the Attributes that relieve the miserable crying Abba Father all things are possible to thee let this Cup pass from me What made him suspend all comforting Influences and by a dreadful Desertion afflict him when he was environ'd with Sorrows 'T is Sin only that caused this fierce displeasure not inherent for the Messiah was cut off but not for himself but imputed by his voluntary undertaking for us God so loved the World and so hated Sin that He gave his Son to purchase our Pardon by Sufferings When his Compassions to Man were at the highest yet then his antipathy against Sin was so strong that no less Sacrifice could reconcile Him to us Thus God declared himself to be unappeasable to Sin though not to Sinners 2. The Priviledges that are purchased by our Redeemers Sufferings are dispenst upon those terms which are honourable to Gods Holiness I will instance in the three great Benefits of the Evangelical Covenant The Pardon of Sin Adoption into God's Family and the Inheritance of Glory All which are conditional and annext to special Qualifications in the persons who have a title to them 1. The Death of Christ is beneficial to Pardon and Life only to those who repent and believe The Holy God will by no means spare the guilty that is declare the guilty innocent or forgive an incapable subject All the Promises of Grace and Mercy are with respect to Repentance from dead works and to a lively Faith The Son of God is made a Prince and a Saviour to give Repentance and Remission of Sins And the Apostle tells us That being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The first includes a cordial grief for Sins past and sincere effectual Resolutions to forsake them and hath a necessary conjunction with Pardon as by vertue of the Divine Command so from a condecency and fitness with respect to God the giver of Pardon and to the quality of the Blessing it self The other Qualification is Faith to which Justification is in a special manner attributed not in respect of Efficiency or Merit for the Mercy of God upon the account of Christs Satisfaction is the sole Cause of our Pardon but as a moral instrument
for ever and is not compleated Secondly Faln Man considered only in his corrupt and miserable state is incapable of real Repentance which is a necessary Condition to qualifie him for Pardon For whereas Repentance includes an ingenuous sorrow for Sin past and a sincere forsaking of it he is utterly indispos'd for both 1. He cannot be ingenuously sorrowful for his offence 'T is true when the circumstances are changed that which was pleasing will cause trouble of Spirit As when a Malefactor suffers for his Crimes he reflects upon his Actions with Sorrow But this hath no moral worth in it For 't is a forc'd act proceeding from a violent Principle and is consistent with as great a love to Sin as he had before and is intirely terminated on himself But that grief which is divine and is accompanied with a change in heart and life respects the stain more than the punishment of Sin and arises from Love to God who is disobeyed and dishonored by it Now 't is not conceivable that the guilty Creature can love God whilst he looks on him as an irreconcileable enemy Distrust of the favour of a person which is a degree of fear is attended with coldness of affection a strong fear which still intimates an uncertainty in the event inclines to hatred But when fear is turn'd into despair it causeth direct hatred An instance of this we have in the Devils who curse the Fountain of Blessedness If the Evil be past Remedy the sence of it is attended with rage and transports of blasphemy against God himself A despairing Sinner begins in this life the gnashing of teeth against his Judg and kindles the fire that shall torment him for ever 'T is for this reason the Scripture propounds the Goodness of God as the most powerful persuasive to lead men to Repentance There can be no kindly relentings without filial Affection and that is alwaies temper'd with the expectation of favour Without hope of Pardon all other motives are ineffectual to melt the heart Now the first Covenant obliged Man to Obedience or Punishment It required Innocence and did not accept of Repentance The final voice of the Law is Do or Die Guilty Man cannot look on God with comfort under the notion of a Holy Creator that delights to view his own resemblance in the innocent creature nor of a compassionate Father that spares an offending Son but he apprehends him to be an inexorable Judge who hath Right and Power to revenge the Disobedience He â—an find no expedient for his Deliverance nor conceive how Mercy can save him without the violation of Justice an Attribute as essential to the Divine Nature as Mercy And what can induce him to make an humble confession of his fault when he expected nothing but an irrevocable Doom An instance of this we have in Adam who being under the conviction of his Sin and an apprehension that God would be severe did not sollicite for Mercy but endeavour'd to transfer the guilt on God himself The woman thou gavest me she gave me of the tree and I did eat As if she had been design'd for a snare and not to be an aid in his innocent state 2. A sincere Resolution to forsake Sin is built on the hopes of Mercy Till the reasonable Creature know that Heaven is open to Repentance to his second and better thoughts he is irreclaimable He that never hopes to receive any good will continue in doing evil Despair of Mercy causeth a despising of the Law The Apostate Angels who are without the reserves of Pardon are confirm'd in their Rebellion their Guilt is mixt with Fury they persist in their war against God though they know the issue will be deadly to them And had there not been an early revelation of Mercy to Adam he had been incorrigibly wicked as the Devils For despair had inflam'd his hatred against God which is of all the Passions the most incureable Those vicious Affections that depend on the humours of the Body which are mutable alter with them But Hatred is seated in the superiour part of the Soul which is of a Spiritual nature and Diabolical in obstinacy In short When the reasonable Creature is guilty and vitious and knows that God is Just and Holy and that He will be severe in revenging all Disobedience he hath no Care nor Desire to reform himself He will not lay a restraint on his pleasing Appetites when he expects no recompence he esteems it lost labour to abstain And all his design is to allay and sweeten the fear of future Evils by present enjoyments When he is scorcht with the apprehensions of wrath to come he plunges himself into sensual excesses for some relief He resolves to make his best of Sin for a time according to the Principle of the Epicures Let us eat and drink while we may to morrow we shall die The Sum of all is this that an unrelenting and unreformed Sinner is incapable of Pardon For unless God should renounce his own Nature and deny his Deity He cannot receive him to favour And it is inconceivable how the rational Creature once lapsed should ever be encourag'd to Repentance without the expectation of Mercy And there being an inseparable alliance between the integrity and felicity of Man by the terms of the first Covenant the one failing he could not entertain the least degree of Hope concerning the other By all which it appears he is under an invincible necessity of sinning and suffering for ever his Misery is compleat and desperate CHAP. V. Of the Divine Wisdome in the contrivance of Man 's Redemption Understanding agents propound an End and choose Means for the obtaining it The End of God is of the highest consequence his own Glory and Man's Recovery The difficulty of accomplishing it The Means are proportionable The Divine Wisdome glorified in taking occasion from the Sin and Fall of Man to bring Glory to God and to raise Man to a more excellent State It appears in ordaining such a Mediator as was fit to reconcile God to Man and Man to God 'T is discovered in the designation of the Second Person to be our Saviour And making the Remedy to have a proportion to the cause of our Ruine 'T is visible in the manner whereby our Redemption is accomplisht And in the ordaining such contemptible means to produce such glorious effects And laying the design of the Gospel so as to provide for the comfort and promote the holiness of Man GOD by his infallible Prescience to which all things are eternally present viewing the Fall of Adam and that all Mankind lay bleeding in him out of deep compassion to his Creature and that the Devil might not be finally victorious over him in his Councel decreed the Recovery of Man from his languishing and miserable state The design and the means are most worthy of God and in both his Wisdom appears This will be made visible by considering that
the natural understanding to discover the mystery of Redemption when those that had the highest reputation for wisdom were ignorant of the Creation The Philosophers were divided in nothing more then in their account of the Worlds Original Some imagin'd it to proceed from Water others from Fire some from Order others from Confusion some to be from Eternity others in Time If the Souls eye be so weakned as not to see that Eternal Power which is so apparent in its effects much less could it pierce into the Will and free determinations of God of which there is not the least intimation or shadow in the things that are made This Wisdom comes from above and was hidden from Ages and Generations 'T is called the Mystery of Christ he is the Object and Revealer of it The Mystery of Faith the discovery of which was by pure Revelation The Mystery of his Will an inviolable Secret till he was pleased to make it known Were the humane understanding as clear as 't is corrupt yet it cannot by the strength of discourse arrive to the knowledge of it Supernatural Revelation was necessary to discover it to the Angels The thoughts of Men are a secret into which the Creator alone hath right to enter it being his prerogative to search the heart The Angels conjecture only from the dispositions of Men from outward circumstances from the Images in the Fancy and from material impressions on the Blood and Spirits what are the thoughts of the Heart and much less can they discover the Counsel of God himself The Apostle tells us to Principalities and Powers in heavenly places by the Church the manifold Wisdom of God is made known By the first coming of Christ and the conversion of the World the depths of the Divine Wisdom were opened and there remains much undiscover'd which his second coming shall gloriously make known Before the first they understood not the foundation til the second not the perfection of our recovery Briefly the Spirit that searches the mysterious Counsels of God is the alone Intelligencer of Heaven that reveals them to the world And the more to incite us with sincere and humble Thankfulness to acknowledg this invaluable Mercy it will be useful to reflect on the state of the Heathen world who are intirely ignorant of this Mystery The Apostle describes the case of the Gentiles in such terms as argue it to be extreamly dangerous if not desperate Their understandings were darkened being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them They were without Christ aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel strangers from the Covenant of the Promise without hope They had no sense of their misery no expectation nor desire of Mercy Not only the barbarous and savage but the polisht and civiliz'd Nations are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being without the knowledg of the true God and of a Saviour Philosophy never made one Believer And as the want of a Sovereign Remedy exposes a man that hath a mortal Disease to certain ruin so the single Ignorance of the Gospel leaves men in a state of Perdition 'T is true where the Faculties are not capable or the Object is not revealed God doth not impute the want of Knowledg as a crime But Salvation is obtain'd only by the Covenant of Grace which is founded in the Satisfaction of the Redeemer And 't is by the knowledg of him that he justifies many God would have all men saved by coming to the knowledg of the Truth that is the Doctrine of the Gospel so called in respect of its excellency being the most profitable that ever was reveal'd The Infants of Believers are sav'd by special Priviledg for the merits of Christ without any apprehension of him But others who are come to the use of Reason and made partakers of Blessedness by the Knowledg of God in Christ. This is Life eternal to know thee to be the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent The Sun quickens some creatures by its vital Influences which are buried in the caves of the Earth and never see the Light But the Sun of Righteousness illuminates all whom he saves What degree of Knowledg is necessary of the Dignity of his Person and the Efficacy of his Mediation I cannot determine But that the Heathens who are absolutely strangers to the only means of our recovery and do not believe on God reconciled in the Son of his Love should partake of Saving Mercy I do not see any thing in the Gospel which is the revelation of God's Will concerning our Salvation upon which to build a rational Hope Indeed if any Heathen were seriously penitent God is so merciful that He would rather dispatch an Angel from Heaven saying Deliver him from going down into the pit I have found a ransome or by some other extraordinary way instruct him in the necessary knowledg of our Saviour than suffer him to perish to the prejudice of his Mercy But Repentance as well as Forgiveness is purchased dispenced alone by our Saviour And that any received this benefit who are intirely ignorant of the Benefactor we cannot tell Now this should raise our esteem of the discriminating favour of God to us What a flood of Errors and Miseries cover'd the Earth when the Grace of God that brings Salvation first appeared The Deluge was universal and so was the Destruction Those that were most renowned for Wisdom the Philosophers of Greece and the Orators of Rome were swallowed up only the Church of Christ is triumphant over the merciless waters When Noah from the top of the Mountain saw the sad remains of that dreadful Inundation what a lively sense of Joy possest his breast As Misery is heightened so Happiness is set off by comparison Not that there is any regular content to see the destruction of others but the sense of our own preservation from a common ruine raises our joy to its highest elevation The first work of Noah after his deliverance was to build an Altar on which to offer the Sacrifices of Thanksgiving to his Preserver We should imitate his Example How many Nations unknown to our world remain in the Darkness and Shadow of Death now the Day-spring from on High hath visited us This special Favour calls for special Thankfulness Were there any qualities in us to encline God to prefer us before others it would lessen our esteem of the Benefit But this distinguishing Mercy is one of those free Acts of God for which there is no reason in the objects on which they are exercised St. Austin calls it Profundum Crucis As the lowest part of the Cross is under ground unseen but the upper part is exposed to sight So the effects of Divine Predestination the fruits of the Cross are visible but the Reasons are not within our view When God divided the world and chose Israel for his
manifested towards Man in that 1. considered in himself he is altogether unworthy of it 2. As compared with the fallen Angels who are left under perfect irremediable Misery First Man considered in himself is unworthy of the Favour of God The usual Motives of Love are 1. The Goodnels of things or persons This is the proper allective of the Rational Appetite There is such a ravishing Beauty in it that it powerfully calls forth Affection When there is an union of amiable qualities in a Person every one finds an attractive 2. A Conformity in Disposition hath a mighty force to beget Love Resemblance is the common Principle of Union in Nature Social Plants thrive best when near together Sensitive Creatures associate with those of their kind And Love which is an affectionate Union and a voluntary Band is best caused by a Similitude in inclinations The Harmony of Tempers is the strongest and sweetest tye of Friendship 3. Love is an innocent and powerful charm to produce Love 't is of universal Virtue and known by all the World None are of such an unnatural Hardness but they are softned and receive impression from it Now there are none of these inducements to encline God to love Man The first quality he was utterly destitute of Nothing excellent or amiable was in him Nothing but Deformity and Defilements The Love of God makes us amiable but did not find us so Redemption is a free Favour not excited by the worth of him that receives it but the grace of him that dispenses it Herein God commended his Love to us that while we were Sinners Christ died for us Our goodness was not the Motive of his Love but his Love the original of our goodness 2. There is a fixed Contrariety in the corrupted nature of Man to the Holy Nature and Will of God For which he is not only unworthy of his Love but worthy of his wrath We are opposite to Him in our Minds Affections and Actions A strong Antipathy is seated in all our Faculties How unqualified were we for his Love There is infinite Holiness in Him whereby He is eternally opposite to all Sin yet He exprest infinite Love to Sinners in saving them from Misery 3. There was not the least spark of Love in Man to God notwithstanding his infinite Beauty and Bounty to us yet we renewed acts of hostility against Him every day And it was the worst kind of hostility arising from the hatred of God and that for his Holiness his most amiable Perfection yet then in his Love He pitied us The same favour bestowed on an Enemy is morally more valuable than given to a Friend For 't is Love that puts a price on Benefits and the more undeserved they are the more they are endeared by the Affection that gives them Here is Love not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent his Son to be a Propitiation for our Sins We were Rebels against God and at enmity with the Prince of Life yet then He gave Himself for us It will further appear that our Salvation comes from pure favour if we consider Man not only as a rebellious enemy to God but impotent and obstinate without power to resist Justice and without affection to desire Mercy Sometimes the interest of a Prince may induce him to spare the guilty he may be compell'd to pardon whom he cannot punish The multitude is the greatest Potentate The Sons of Zerviah were too strong for David and then 't is not pity but policy to suspend the judgment But our condition is described by the Apostle that when we were sinners and without strength then Christ dyed for us Man is a despicable Creature so weak that he trembles at the appearance of a worm and yet so wicked that he lifts up his head against Heaven How unable is he to encounter with offended Omnipotence How easily can God destroy him when by his sole Word he made him if he unclasps his hand that suports all things they will presently relasp into their first confusion The whole world of sinners was shut up utterly unable to repel or avoid his displeasure And what amazing Love is it to spare Rebels that were under his feet When a man finds his enemy will he let him go well away but God when we were all at his Mercy spar'd and sav'd us Besides Rebels sometimes sollicit the favour of their Prince by their Acknowledgments their Tears and Supplications the testimonies of their Repentance but Man persisted in his fierce enmity and had the weapons of defiance in his hands against his Creator he trampled on his Laws and despised his Deity yet then the Lord of Host became the God of peace In short there was nothing to call forth the Divine Compassion but our misery The Breach began on Man's part but Reconciliation on God's Mercy open'd his melting Eye and prevented not only our desert but our expectation and desires The design was laid from Eternity God foresaw our sin and our misery and appointed a Saviour before the foundation of the World 'T was the most early and pure Love to provide a ransom for us before we had a being therefore we could not be deserving nor desirous of it and after we were made we deservâ—d nothing but Damnation 2. The Grace of God eminently appears in Mans recovery by comparing his state with that of the fallen Angels who are left under misery this is a special circumstance that magnifies the favour and to make it more sensible to us it will be convenient briefly to consider the first state of the Angels their fall and their punishment God in creating the World formed two natures capable of his Image and Favour to glorifie and enjoy him Angels and Men and plac'd them in the principal parts of the universe Heaven and Earth The Angels were the eldest Off-spring of his Love the purest productions of that supreme Light Man in his best state was inferiour to them A great number of them kept not their first state of integrity and felicity Their sin is intimated in Scripture Ordain not a Novice lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil that is lest he become guilty of that sin which brought a severe sentence on the Devil The Prince of darkness was blinded with the lustre of his own excellencies and attempted upon the Regalia of Heaven affecting an independent state He disavoued his Benefactor inricht with his benefits And in the same moment he with his companions in rebellion were banished from Heaven God spared not the Angels that sinned but cast them down to Hell and delivered them into Chains of Darkness to be reserv'd unto Judgment Mercy did not interpose to avert or suspend their Judgment but immediately they were expell'd from the Divine Preâ—ence A solemn triumph in Heaven followed a voice came out of the Throne saying Praise our God all
favour Now the Angels are sent forth to minister for them who are Heirs of Salvation Besides in two other things the peculiar affection of the Prince would be most evident to that Nation 1. If he put on their habit and attire himself according to their fashion 2. If he fixt his residence among them Now the Son of God was cloathed with our flesh and found in fashion as a man and for ever appears in it in Heaven and will at the last day invest our bodies with glory like to his own He now dwells in us by his Spirit and when our warfare is accomplisht he shall in a special manner be present with us in the eternal Mansions As God incarnate he converst with Men on Earth and as such he will converse with them in heaven There he raigns as the first-born in the midst of many Brethren Now all these Prerogatives are the fruits of our Redemption And how great is that Mercy which hath raised Mankind more glorious out of its ruines The Apostle breaks out with a Heavenly astonishment Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God! that we who are Strangers and Enemies Children of Wrath by nature should be dignified with the honorable and amiable title of his Sons 'T was a rare and most merciful condescension in Pharaoh's Daughter to rescue an innocent and forsaken Infant from perishing by the waters and adopt him to be her Son but how much greater kindness was it for God to save guilty and wretched Man from Eternal Flames and to take him into his Family The Ambition of the Prodigal rose no higher than to be a Servant whaâ— an inestimable favour is it to make us Children When God would express the most dear and peculiar affection to Solomon he saith I will be his Father and he shall be my Son this was the highest honour he could promise and all believers are dignified with it 'T is the same relation that Christ hath when he was going to Heaven he comforted his Disciples with these words I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God There is indeed a diversity in the foundation of it Christ is a Son by Nature we are by meer Favour he is by Generation we are by Adoption Briefly Jesus Christ hath made us Kings Priests unto God his Father These are the highest Offices upon Earth and were attended with the most conspicuous Honour and the Holy Spirit chose those bright Images to convey a clearer notice of the glory to which our Redeemer hath raised us Not only all the Crowns and Scepters in this perishing World are infinitely beneath this dignity but the honour of our innocent state was not equal to it Secondly The Gospel is a better Covenant than that which was establisht with Man in his Creation and the excellency of it will appear by considering 1. 'T is more beneficial in that it admits of Repentance and Reconciliation after sin and accepts of Sincerity instead of perfection The Apostle magnifies the Office of Christ By how much he is a Mediator of a better Covenant which was established upon better promises The comparison there is between the Ministry of the Gospel and the Mosaical oeconomy And the excellency of the Gospel is specified in respect of those infinitely better promisses that are in it The ceremonial Law appointed Sacrifices for sins of ignorance and error and to obtain only legal impunity but the Gospel upon the account of Christ's all-sufficient Sacrifice offers full Pardon for all Sins that are repented of and forsaken Now with greater reason the Covenant of Grace is to be preferr'd before the Covenant of Works For the Law considered Man as holy and endued with perfection of Grace equal to whatsoever was commanded 'T was the measure of his Ability as well as Duty and requir'd exact Obedience or threatned extreme Misery The least breach of it is fatal A single Offence as certainly exposes to the curse as if the whole were violated And in our lapsed state we are utterly disabled to comply with its Purity and Perfection But the Gospel contains the Promises of Mercy and is in the hands of a Mediator The tenor of it is That Repentance and Remission of Sins be preached in the Name of Christ. And if we judge our selves we shall not be judged 'T is not if we are innocent for then none could be exempt from Condemnation But if the convinced Sinner erect a Tribunal in Conscience and strips Sin of its disguise to view it in its native deformity if he pronounce the Sentence of the Law against himself and glorifie the Justice of God which he cannot satisfie and forsake the Sins which are the causes of his sorrow he is qualified for pardoning Mercy Besides The Gospel doth not only apply Pardon to us for all forsaken Sins but provides a Remedy for those Infirmities to which the best are incident Whilst we are in this mortal state we are exposed to Temptations from without and have Corruptions within that often betray us Now to support our drooping Spirits our Redeemer sits in Heaven to plead for us and perpetually renews the Pardon that was once purchased to every contrite spirit for those unavoidable frailties which cleave to us here The promise of Grace is not made void by the sudden surprizes of Passions If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous The rigour of the Law is mollified by his Mediation with the Father A title of Love and Tenderness God deals not with the Severity of a Judg but He spares us as a man spares his own son that serves him And as He pardons us upon our Repentance so He accepts our hearty though mean services Now the Legal that is unsinning and compleat Obedience cannot be performed the Evangelical that is the sincere though imperfect is graciously received God doth not require the duties of a Man by the measures of an Angel Unfeigned Endeavours to please Him unreserved Respects to all his Commands single and holy aims at his Glory are rewarded Briefly Although the Law is continued as a Rule of living yet not as the Covenant of Life And what an admirable exaltation of Mercy is there in this new Treaty of God with Sinners 'T is true the first Covenant was holy just and good but it made no abatements of favour and 't is now weak through the flesh that is The carnal corrupt Nature is so strong and impetuous that the restraints of the Law are ineffectual to stop its desires and therefore cannot bring Man to that Life that is promised by the performance of the Condition required But the Gospel provides an Indulgence for relenting and returning Sinners This is the language of God in that Covenant I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their Iniquities
any allay in the highest degree of its Perfection The Life of Adam was alwaies in a circle of low and mean functions of the Animal Nature which being common to him and Beasts the acts of it are not strictly Humane But the Spiritual Life in Heaven is entirely freed from those servile necessities and is spent in the eternal performance of the most noble actions of which the intelligent Nature is capable The Saints do alwaies contemplate admire love enjoy and praise their everlasting Benefactor God is to them all in all In short That which prefers the Glory of Heaven infinitely before the first state of Man is the continuance of it for ever 'T is an unwithering and never-fading Glory Adam was liable to Temptations and capable of Change he fell in the Garden of Eden and was sentenc'd to die But Heaven is the Sanctuary of Life and Immortality 't is inaccessible to any evil The Serpent that corrupted Paradise with its Poison can't enter there As there is no seed of Corruption within so no cause of it without Our Redeemer offer'd Himself by the Eternal Spirit and purchased an eternal Inheritance for his People Their Felicity is full and perpetual without encrease for in the first moment 't is perfect and shall continue without declination The Day of Judgment is called the Last Day For Daies and Weeks and Months and Years the Revolutions which now measure Time shall then be swallowed up in an unchangeable Eternity The Saints shall be for ever with the Lord. And in all these respects the Glory of the Redeemed as far exceeds the Felicity of Man in the Creation as Heaven the bright Seat of it is above the fading beauty of the terrestrial Paradise CHAP. XI Redeeming Love deserves our highest Admiration and humble Acknowledgments The illustration of it by several Considerations God is infinitely amiable in Himself yet his Love is transient to the Creature 'T is admirable in Creating and Preserving Man more in Redeeming him and by the Death of his Son The discovery of God's Love in our Redemption is the strongest persuasiue to Repentance The Law is ineffectual to produce real Repentance The common benefits of Providence are insuffâ—cient to cause Faith and Repentance in the guilty Creature The clear discovery of pardoning Mercy in the Gospel can only remove our Fears and induce us to return to God The transcendent Love of God should kindle in us a reciprocal Love to Him His Excellency and His ordinary Bounty to Mankind cannot prevail upon us to love Him His Love to us in Christ only conquers our Hatred Our Love to Him must be sincere and superlative The despising of Saving Mercy is the highest Provocation It makes the Condemnation of Men most just certain and heavy 1. ' THis Redeeming Love deserves our highest Admiration and most humble acknowledgments If we consider God aright it may raise our wonder that He is pleased to bestow kindness upon any created being For in Him is all that is excellent and amiable and 't is essential to the Deity to have the perfect knowledg of Himself and perfect Love to Himself His Love being proportioned to his Excellencies the act is infinite as the object And the perfections of the Divine Nature being equal to his Love 't is a just cause of admiration that 't is not confined to himself but is transient and goes forth to the Creature When David looked up to the Heavens and saw the Majesty of God written in Characters of light he admires that Love which first made Man a litle lower then the Angels and Crowned him with Glory and Honour and that providential care which is mindful of him and visits him every moment Such an inconceivable distance there is between God and Man that 't is wonderful God will spend a thought upon us Lord what is Man that thou takest knowledge of him or the Son of Man that thou makest account of him Man is like to vanity his dayes are as a shadow that passeth away His being in this world hath nothing firm or solid 't is like a shadow that depends upon a cause that is in perpetual motion the light of the Sun and is alwayes changing till it vanishes in the darkness of the night But if we consider Man in the quality of a sinner and what God hath wrought for his recovery we are overcome with amazement All temporal favours are but foils to this miraculous Mercy and unspeakably below the least instance of it without it all the priviledges we enjoy above inferior Creatures in this life will prove aggravations of our future misery God saw us in our degenerate state destroyed by our selves and yet O Goodness truly Divine he loved us so far as to make the way for our recovery High Mountains were to be levelled and great depths to be filled up before we could arrive at blessedness all this God hath done He hath brought the Curse of the guilty upon the innocent and exposed his beloved Son to the Sword of his Justice to turn the blow from us What astonishing goodness is it that God who is the Author and end of all things should become the means of our Salvation And by the lowest abasement What is so worthy of admiration as that the Eternal should become mortal that being in the form of God he should take on him the form of a Servant that the Judge of the World should be condemned by the guilty that he should leave his Throne in Heaven to be nailed to the Cross that the Prince of Life should taste of Death These are the great Wonders which the Lord of Love hath performed and all for sinful miserable and unworthy Man who deserved not the least drop of that Sweat and Blood he spent for him and without any advantage to himself for what content can be added to his felicity by a cursed Creature Infinite Love that is as admirable as saving Love that passeth Knowledge and is as much above our comprehension as desert In natural things admiration is the effect of ignorance but here 't is increased by Knowledg For the more we understand the excellent Greatness of God and the vileness of Man the more we shall admire saving Mercy And the most humble acknowledgments are due for it When David told Mephibosheth that he should eat bread with him at his Tâ—ble continually he bowed himself and said What is thy Servant that thou shouldest look on such a dead Dog as I am A speech ful of gratitude and humility yet he was of a Royal extraction though at that time in a low condition With a far greater sense of our unworthiness we should reflect upon that condescending Love that provides the Bread of God for the food of our Souls without which we had perisht for want David in that divine thanksgiving recorded in the Scripture reflects upon his own meanness and from that magnifies the favour of God towards him Who am I
perplexities how we may be justified is to deny the value of his Righteousness and the truth of his Ascension And say not who shall descend into the deep to bear the Torments of Hell and expiate Sin this is to deny the vertue of his Death whereby he appeased God and redeemed us from the wrath to come In the Law the condemning Righteousness of God is made visible in the Gospel his justifying Righteousness is revealed from Faith to Faith And this is an infallible proof of its divine descent For whereas all other Religions either stupifie Conscience and harden it in carnal Security or terrifie it by continual Alarms of Vengeance the Gospel alone hath discovered how God may shew Mercy to repenting Sinners without injury to his Justice The Heathens robb'd one Attribute to enrich another either they conceived God to be indulgent to their Sins and easie to pardon to the prejudice of his Justice or cruel and revengful to the dishonour of his Goodness But Christians are instructed how these are wonderfully reconciled and magnified in our Redemption From hence there is a divine calm in the Conscience and that Peace which passeth Understanding The Soul is not only freed from the Fear of Gods anger but hath a lively Hope of his Favour and Love This is exprest by the Apostle when he reckons among the Priviledges of Believers That they are come to God the Judg of all and to Jesus the Mediator of the New-Covenant and to the Blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than the blood of Abel The apprehension of God as the Judg of the world strikes the guilty with fear and terrour but as He is sweetned by the Mediator we may approach to Him with confidence For what Sins are there which so entire a Satisfaction doth not expiate What Torments can they deserve which his wounds and stripes have not removed God is Just as well as Merciful in justifying those who believe in Jesus 'T is not the quality of Sins but of Sinners that excepts them from Pardon Christ is the golden Altar in Heaven for penitent Believers to flie to from whence God will never pluck any one to destroy him 5. From hence we may learn how absolute a necessity there is for our coming to Christ for Justification There are but two waies of appearing before the Righteous and Supreme Judg. 1. In Innocence and sinless Obedience or by the Righteousness of Christ The one is by the Law the other by Grace And these two can never be compounded for he that pleads Innocence in that disclaims Favour and he that sues for Favour acknowledges Guilt Now the first cannot be performed by us For entire Obedience to the Law supposes the integrity of our natures there being a Moral impossibility that the Faculties once corrupted should act regularly But Man is stain'd with Original Sin from his Conception And the form of the Law runs universally Cursed is every one that obeys not in all things which are written in the Book of the Law to do them In these Scales one evil work preponderates a thousand good If a Man were guilty but of one single Error his entire Obedience afterwards could not save him for that being alwaies due to the Law the payment of it cannot discount for the former Debt So that we cannot in any degree be justified by the Law for there is no middle between transgressing and not transgressing it He that breaks one Article in a Covenant cuts off his claim to any benefit by it Briefly the Law Justifies only the Perfect and condemns without distinction all that are Guilty So that to pretend Justification by the works of it is as unreasonable as for a man to produce in Court the Bond which obliges him to his Creditor in testimony that he ows him nothing Whoever presumes to appear before God's Judgment-Seat in his own righteousness shall be covered with confusion 2. By the Righteousness of Christ. This alone absolves from the Guilt of sin saves from Hell and can endure the trial of God's Tribunal This the Apostle prized as his unvaluable treasure in comparison of which all other things are but dross and dung that I may be found in him not having mine own Righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith That which he ordained and rewarded in the Person of our Redeemer he cannot but accept Now this Righteousness is meritoriously imputed only to Believers For depending solely upon the Will of God as to its being and effects it cannot possibly be reckoned to any for their benefit and advantage but in that way which he hath appointed The Lord Christ who made Satisfaction tells us that the benefit of it is communicated only through our Believing God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes on him should not perish As all sins are mortal in respect of their guilt but death is not actually inflicted for them upon the account of the Grace of the New Covenant so all sins are venial in respect of the Satisfaction made by Christ but they are not actually pardoned till the performing of the condition to which pardon is annext Faith transfers the guilt from the Sinner to the Sacrifice And this is not an act restrained to the understanding but principally respects the will by which we accept or refuse Salvation The nature of it is best exprest by the Scripture-phrase the receiving Christ which respects the terms upon which God offers him in the Gospel to be our Prince and Saviour The state of favour begins upon our consent to the New Covenant And how reasonable is the condition it requires how impossible is it to be otherwise God is reconcileable by the Death of Christ so that he may exercise Mercy without injury to his Justice and Holiness He is willing and desirous to be upon terms of amity with Men but cannot be actually reconciled till they accept of them for reconcilement is between two Though God upon the account of Christ is made placable to the humane nature which he is not to the Angelical in its lapsed state and hath condescended so far as to offer conditions of peace to Men yet they are reconciled at once That Christ becomes an effectual Mediator there must be the consent of both parties As God hath declared his by laying the punishment of our sins on Christ so Man gives his by submitting to the Law of Faith And the great end of Preaching the Gospel is to overcome the obstinacy of Men and reconcile them to God and their happiness We are Ambassadours for Christ and pray you in Christs stead to be reconciled to God With this difference Christ furnisht the means they only bring the message of reconciliation Now Men are with difficulty wrought on to comply with the conditions of Pardon by Christ. 1. Upon
Types of Christ under the Law was justified in his Coming and the accomplishment of our Redemption by him Some special Predictions consider'd that respect the time of his Coming The particular Circumstances that respect the Messiah are verified in Jesus Christ. The Consequents of the Messia's Coming foretold by the Prophets are all come to pass The Types of the Law are compleated in Christ. A particular Consideration of Manna the Rock and the brazen Serpent as they referr'd to him The Paschal Lamb considered A short Parallel between Melchisedec and Christ. The Divinity of the Gospel proved by comparing the antient Figures with the present Truth and Predictions with the Events The Happiness of Christians above the Jews in the clear revelation of our Saviour to them From the accomplishment of Prophecies concerning the first Coming of Christ our Faith should be confirmed in the Promises of his second THe Original Law given to Man in Paradise had a severe Penalty annext that upon the first breach of it he should die The end of the threatning was to preserve in him a constant reverence of the Command After his Disobedience the honour of the Divine Truth was concern'd as to the inflicting the punishment For although the Supreme Lawgiver hath power over the Law to relax the Punishment as to particular persons yet having declar'd that according to that Rule He would proceed in judgment with Man the Perfection of his Truth required that Sin should be punish'd in such a manner that his Righteousness and Holiness might eminently appear and the reasonable Creature for ever fear to offend Him Now the God of Truth hath by the Death of his only Son so compleatly answered the Ends of the legal Threatning that the glory of that Attribute is broke forth like the Sun through all the Clouds that seem'd to obscure it Mercy and Truth meet together Righteousness and Peace kiss each other Of this I have so largely treated before that I shall add nothing more concerning it There is a Secondary respect wherein the truth of God is concern'd as to the accomplishing our Redemption by Jesus Christ which I will briefly explicate God having decreed the sending of his Son in the quality of Mediator to purchase our Salvation was pleased by several Promises to declare his merciful purpose and by various Types to shew the design of that glorious Work before the exhibition of it This was the effect of his Supreme Wisdom and Goodness First To comply with the weakness of the Church when 't was newly separated from the World For as a sudden strong Light overpowers the Eye that hath been long in the dark so that full bright Revelation of the Gospel had been above the capacity of the Church when 't was first freed from a state of Ignorance Light mixt with Shadows was proportionable to their Sight Therefore he was pleased by several Representations and Predictions to exercise the Faith entertain the Hope and excite the Desires of his People before the accomplishment of our Salvation by his Son Secondly To render the belief of it easie and certain afterwards Now for the honour of his Truth he was engaged to make good his word For although pure Love and Mercy is the Original of all God's Promises to Man yet his Truth and Fidelity are the reasons of his fulfilling them Not that God is under the obligation of a Law but his own righteous Nature is the inviolable Rule of his actions Accordingly the Apostle laies it as the foundation of our Hopes That God who cannot lie hath promised eternal Life The Divine Decree alone concerning our Salvation by Christ is a sure Foundation For God is as unchangeable in his Will as his Nature In Him there is no variableness nor shadow of turning But the Promise determines the Will of God to perform it upon another account For 't is not single Inconstancy but Falshood not to perform what is promised from both which He is infinitely distant St. Paul alledges this for the reason why the Covenant of Grace is unchangeable and of everlasting Efficacy in that the counsel of God was by his Promise and Oath confirmed That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lye we might have strong consolation For the Promise gives a rightful claim to the Creature and the fulfilling of it is the justification of God's Fidelity In this Sense 't is said The Law was given by Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ i. e. the Grace of the Gospel is the substantial and compleat accomplishment of the Types and Promises under the Law I will not enter into the discussion of all the Prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament to shew how they are verified in Jesus Christ But briefly consider some special Predictions that concern the time of the Messiah's Coming his Person and Offices 1. The Prophecy of dying Jacob. The Scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a Lawgiver from between his feet till Shiloh come By the Scepter and Lawgiver are meant divers Forms of Government the first being the mark of Regal Power the other title respects those whose Power succeeded that of their Kings in the person of Zerobabel and his Successors Jacob prophetically declares two things their establishment in Judah and their continuance till the coming of Shiloh This Oracle doth not precisely respect the person of Judah for he never ascended the Throne nor possest the Empire over his Brethren nor solely his Posterity as a Tribe distinguisht from the rest although it had special advantages from that time For the Banner of Judah led the Camp in their march through the wilderness That Tribe had the first possession of the land of Canaan these were the beginnings of its future Glory And from David to the Captivity that Tribe possest the Kingdom But the glory of his Scepter was lost in the person of Zedekiah Therefore the full meaning of the Prophecy regards the People of Israel in the relation they had to the Tribe of Judah For that Tribe alone returned entire from the Captivity with some reliques of Levi and Benjamin so that the Nation from that time was distinguisht by the title of the Jews in relation to it and the Right to dispose of the Scepter was alwaies in the Tribe of Judah For the Levites that ruled after the Captivity received their Power from them 'Till Shiloh come that is the Messiah as the Chaldee Paraphrase and the antient Jewish Interpreters expound So that the intent of the Oracle is that after the establishment of the Supreme Power in the Family of Judah it should not pass into the hands of Strangers but as a certain Presage and immediate Fore-runner of of the coming of Shiloh And this was fully accomplish't For in the Captivity there was an interruption rather than extinction of their Government Their Return was promised at the time they were carried Captives to
how can we expect any cooling streams from Him If we consider him as Man he is resembled to a root out of a dry ground the Justice of the Divine and the infirmity of the Humane Nature did not promise any comfort to us But what cannot infinite Love united to infinite Power perform Divine Goodness hath chang'd the Laws of Nature in our favour and by an admirable act open'd the Rock to refresh us 3. The Rock was struck with the Rod of Moses a Type of the Law before it sent forth its streams thus our Spiritual Rock was wounded for our Transgressions bruised for our Iniquities then opened all his treasures to us Being consecrated by Sufferings he is the Author of Eternal Salvation In this respect the Gospel propounds him for the object of saving Faith I determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him Crucified The Sacraments the Seals of the New Covenant have a special reference to his Death the Foundation of it 4. The Miraculous Waters followed the Israelites in their Journey without which they had perisht in the Wilderness This represents that Indeficiency of the Grace of Christ. A Soveraign stream flows from him to satisfy all Believers He tells us Whosoever drinketh of the Water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the Water that I shall give him shall be in him a Well of Water springing up unto Everlasting Life 3. The Brasen Serpent sensibly exprest the manner of his Death and the benefits derived from it Therefore Jesus being the Minister of the Circumcision chose this Figure for the Instruction of the Jews As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that whosoever beleeves in him should not perish but have Eternal Life The Sacred Story relates that the Israelites by their rebellious murmuring provoked God to send Serpents among them whose Poison was so fiery and mortal that it brought the most Painful Death In this affliction they addrest themselves to the Father of Mercies who World by their Repentance Commanded Moses to make a Serpent of Brass and erect it on a Pole in the view of the whole Camp that whosoever lookt on it should be healed By this account from Scripture we may clearly understand something of greatest consequence was represented by it For the only Wise God ordains nothing without just reason Why must a Serpent of Brass be elevated on a Pole could not the Divine Power recover them without it Why must they look towards it could not a healing vertue be conveyed to their wounds but through their eyes All this had a direct reference to the Mystery of Christ. For the biting of the Israelites by the fiery Serpents doth naturaly represent the effects of Sin that torments the Conscience and inflames the Soul with the apprehensions of Future Judgment And the erecting a Brasen Serpent upon a Pole that had the Figure not the Poison of those Serpents doth in a lively manner set forth the lifting up of Jesus Christ on the Cross who only had the similitude of sinful flesh The looking towards the Brasen Serpent is a fit resemblance of Believing in Christ Crucified for Salvation The Sight of the eye was the only means to derive vertue from it and the Faith of the heart is the means by which the Sovereign efficacy of our Redeemer is conveyed This is the will of him that sent me saith our Saviour that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have Eternal Life As in the camp of Israel whoever lookt towards the Brasen Serpent whatever his wounds were or the weakness of his sight had a present remedy so how numerous and grievous soever our Sins be how infirm our Faith yet if we sincerely regard the Son of God suffering he will preserve us from Death For this end he is presented in the Gospel as crucified before the eyes of all Persons 2. Things endued with Life and Sense prefigur'd the Messiah I Shall particularly consider the Paschal Lamb an illustrious Type of him Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us The whole scene as it is laid down in the 12th of Exodus shows an admirable agreement tween them 1. A Lamb in respect of its natural innocency and meekness that suffers without resistance waas fit emblem of our Saviour whose voice was not heard in the street who did not break the Bruised Reed nor quench the smoking Flax. He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he open'd not his Mouth He is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb so he openeth not his Mouth 2. The Lamb was to be without Spot to signify his absolute perfection We are Redeemed with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without Spot 3. The Lamb was to be separated from the Flock four days the Lord Jesus was separated from Men and consecrated to be the Sacrifice for the World after three or four years spent in his Ministerial office preparing himself for that great Work 4. The Paschal Lamb was sacrificed and substituted in the place of the first-Born The Levitical Priesthood not being instituted at their going forth from Egypt every Master of a Family had a right to exercise it in his own House Our Redeemer suffer'd in our stead to propitiate Gods Justice towards us 5. The Blood was to be sprinkled upon the Posts of the door that Death might not enter into their Houses That sacred Ceremony was typical for the sign it self had no resemblance of sparing and certainly the Angel could distinguish between the Israelites and the Egyptians without the bloody mark of Gods Favour but it had a final respect to Christ. We are secur'd from destruction by the blood of sprinkling They were to eat the whole Flesh of the Lamb to signify our intire taking of Christ upon the terms of the Gospel to be our Prince and Saviour 6. The effects attributed to the Paschal Lamb viz. Redemption from Death and Bondage clearly represent the Glorious Benefits we enjoy by Jesus Christ. The destroying Angel past over their houses and caus'd the Egiptians to restore them to full liberty That which all the dreadful signs wrought by Moses could not do was effected by the Passover that overcame the stubbornness of Pharaoh and inspir'd the Israelites with courage to undertake their journey to the promised Land Thus we pass from Death to Life and from bondage to the Glorious liberty of the Sons of God by vertue of Christs Blood 3. Reasonable Persons represented our Saviour either in their Offices actions or the memorable accidents that befel them Joseph the beloved of his Father sent by him to visit his Brethren by them unworthily sold to strangers and thereby rais'd to be their Lord and Saviour was a lively type of him Jonach three dayes and nights in the Whales belly and miraculously restor'd