Christ testifies of the woman that was a sinner that her sinnes which were many are forgiven her Luke 7.47 Be thy sinnes never so many if they fill a roll that reacheth from the East to the West or from earth to heaven they can but wrap thee in the curse and Christ hath taken upon him the whole curse that he might redeem thee from it If thou hast multiplied to sin God will multiply to pardon Isa 55.7 he will cast all our iniquities into the depths of the Sea Mic. 7.19 If thou shouldest fill a thousand baskets with sand and cast them all into the midst of the Sea the waves would so sweep them all away that no remnant of them would appear so the streames of Christ's blood are able to wash away thy manifold sinnes that not one of them shall remain When the dew is fallen upon the ground thou mayest see infinite millions of drops but when the Sun breaks out and shines in its strength it licks up and scatters them all in a very short time and thou seest not one left So the Sonne of righteousness can dispel thy numberless transgressions as a cloud or a mist that they cannot be found Isa 44.22 Jer. 50.20 3. Long continuance in the state and trade and under the guilt and power of sin Oh I am a sinner of a long standing I am old and aged in sin Ierem. 2.33 Ier. 22.21 Eze. 23.43 I am soaked in iniquity I have served many apprentiships in it and am grown gray-headed I have drawn out a long train of vanitie and sin as it were with cartropes Isa 5.18 Methinks I feel the guilt of it so sodered into my spirit by dayly custome that it cannot be plucked out But stay a while poor soul if the Lord hath begun to draw thy heart to seek an interest in the grace of Redemption let not this dismay thee Although thou hast spent all thy dayes in a course of sin spun out a long thread of iniquity lived under guilt even to the age of Methuselah yet the Redemption that is in Christ is richly able to set the free He to whom a thousand years are but as one day can take of thy guilt of 1000 years standing There were means for cleansing an old Leprosie of long continuance and sacrifices to be offered to that end Lev. 13.11 and 14.2 The Israelites after the death of every Judge returned to their old trade of sin and ceased not from their stubborne way Judg. 2.19 Yet the Lord stirred them up Saviours still and though thou hast continued long in sin yet Christ continues still a Saviour The sinner that is 100 year old is accursed Isa 65.20 but the curse which thy Redeemer did undergoe is strong enough to shatter in peices the most inveterable curse and to turn it into a blessing The removal of guilt so deeply rivetted into thy soul by length of time seems to thee impossible but to him all things are possible To shut up this I would have the humbled soul to resolve thus Christ Jesus hath offered up himself to God through the eternal spirit and wherefore thus surely that he might by his blood purge my conscience from dead works and so deliver my soul from that eternal guilt and curse wherein it is intrapped Heb. 9.4 4. The advantage which Justice might have against the sinner for rejecting or neglecting the offer and season of grace Oh how often hath the Lord made a render of salvation to me by the Gospel how affectionately hath he invited me to come in and to take hold on the strength of this great Redeemer yet I have resisted the spirit and trampled this great grace under my feet or at least slighted it shamefully therefore I have cause to fear that the time is past and that mercy shall never reach to my soul Had I thoroughly closed at the first call or seen some reasonable time to lay down armes and submit I could hope that the Lord would have passed by all my former offences But that he should now accept me after the abuse of so much mercy such unprofitableness under his ordinances strong opposition against grace so unweariedly offered and settling my self on the lees of mine old sinful condition contrary to the light which I had received this is quite beyond mine expectation These and the like aggravating circumstances cannot but exasperate divine Justice and even compel it to vindicate its own honour and to avenge it self on such a notorious wretch as I am Surely the Lord hath determined to glorifie himself in my finall condemnation Thus the poor afflicted soul is apt to plead against its interest in this redemption But oh my dear heart be not so peremptory open thine eyes thou shalt see mercy glorying against Judgement James 2.13 None of these aggravations shall obstruct the sweet fruit of this glorious benefit but it shall break through them all True it is one of the Lords ends in suffering sin to abound and shewing forth so much patience to sinners is the manifesting of his Justice upon the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction Rom. 9.22 as in the case of Pharaoh Exod. 9.16 But what is this to thee who hast laid down thine armes and art gasping for mercie He hath another and a more desirable end in respect of thee namely that grace may much more abound and may raign thorough righteousness unto life Rom. 5.20 21. And what wilt thou say if the glory which he gets by delivering thee from the curse be double to that which he might have by leaving thee under it By this he onely glorifies his justice but by the former he glorifies both his justice and mercy this in rescuing thee from guilt and wrath that in laying the curse upon his onely Son that mercy might have free way to serve thee Why then dost thou not rather conclude thus surely the Lord which doth all things for his own glory will more regard a greater then a lesser glory my unbelieving heart saith it will be his choicest glory to destroy me being guiltie of such foul rebellions But the mercy of the redeemer saith No not so I have borne the whole curse for thee that justice might have no advantage by thy rebellion therefore I will rather raise up my glory by thy deliverance The Jews did alwayes resist the Holy Ghost Acts 7.51 and trample the grace of God under their feet even to the shedding of the blood of the Son of God yet a great number of them are and shall be ransomed by the merit of that same blood which they shed Zach. 12 1â— 13 1â— Ioh. 6.9 Peter having plainly confessed that Jesus was the Christ the Son of the living God Matt. 16.16 yet shortly after he rebukes Christ for speaking of his suffering and death vers 22. whereby although ignorantly he opposed the work of redemption and when the time of suffering came he disowned him with swearing and cursing Matth.
by his absolute power or why he would do it thus rather then otherwise His Word tells us what he would do and we see by the event what he hath done This way was the will of God and none other and therefore this way Christ took and none other and thereby attained his end Heb. 10.9 10. We may safely rest here and make no further search for who hath known the mind of the Lord Rom. 11.34 His meer will and pleasure Volunt as Dei est pro lege pro causa causarum pro ratione rationum is a reason abundantly sufficient and beyond exception 2. The Lord hath revealed his minde so farr in this particular that we may be bold to go a little further and to resolve thus God who is great in counsell and excellent in working had store of means at hand whereby to set free and recover lost mankinde yet he was pleased to pitch upon this as being most agreeable to his holy nature and most suteable to his high and soveraign ends man's salvation and his own glory I explain it thus God is infinite in all his attributes in his justice as well as his mercy These two cannot interfeere as justice may not intrench upon mercie so neither may mercie encroach upon justice the glory of both must be maintained Now by the breach of the Law the Justice of God is wronged Nec misericordia Dei praescribit justitiam nec justâ—tia aufert misericordiam Aug. so that although mercie be apt to pardon yet Justice requires satisfaction and call's for vengeance on sinners Every transgression must receive just recompence Heb. 2.2 and God will not in any case absolve the guiltie Exod. 34.7 till this be done the hands of Law-mercy are tied that she cannot act And seing satisfaction could not be made to an infinite Majestie but by an equal person and price therefore the Son of God must become a Curse for us by taking our nature and pouring out his soul to the death and by this means Justice and Mercie are reconciled and mercy hath her free course to save sinners So that now presupposing God's Decree we may safely say It must be thus and it could be no otherwise God will have his Justice satisfied to the full and therefore Christ must bear all the punishment due to our sin or else God cannot set us free For he cannot go against his own just will Quod vuli necesse est esse Observe the force of that phrase Luke 24.26 46. Christ ought to suffer and Matth. 26.24 Thus it must be A just earthly Prince holds himself bound to inflict punishment impartially upon the malefactour or his surety it stands upon his honour he saith it must be so I cannot do otherwise This is true much more of God who is Justice it self And as this great design of Christs redeeming sinners by being made a curse for them doth sound out aloud the glory of divine Justice so it also bears visible characters of some other Attributes as 1. His Truth He had passed a peremptory doom and made a solemn declaration of it in his word that he that sinneth shall die the death Gen. 2.17 Rom. 6.21 23. and he will not break his word So he had foreordained Jesus Christ and set him forth to take upon himself this burthen to become a propitiation for sin through his blood Rom. 3. 25. 1 Pet. 1.20 and made known his minde eoncerning it in his written word plainly Isa 53.7 If we read the words It is exacted or strictly required meaning Exigitur as Junius and some others the iniquity or punishment of us all vers 6. is required at his hands he must answer for it in our stead and so he is afflicted and this affliction reacheth even to the cutting him off ver 8. yea the Spirit of Christ in the Prophets did signifie unto them not onely his sufferings but also the very particular time of them 1 Pet. 1.11 Therefore when Christ puts this work upon an ought and must be hee laies the weight of all on the Scriptures thus it is written as we may see in the texts before-cited as if he should say God hath spoken it and his truth ingageth him to see it done 2. His wisdome For hereby 1. he maintains the authority of his righteous Law when a law is solemnly enacted with a penalty in case of transgression all those whom it concerns may conclude for certain that the Lawgiver will proceed accordingly And it is a rule in policie That Laws once established and published should be vigorously preserved If the Lord should have wholly waved the execution of the Law upon sinners or their surety it might have tended greatly both to the weakening of its authority and the diminishing of the reverence of his Soveraignty in the hearts of the sonnes of men 2. He provided a curse against Licentiousness Impurity is apt to lay the reins loose upon the necks of sinners If sin had been pardoned without exacting the penaltie of the Law it might have emboldened men in their sinfull wayes their hearts would have been wholly set upon mischief Eccles 8.11 they will say Where is the God of Judgement Mal. 2.17 But now he lets sinners see that he will not pardon sin no not to repenting persons but upon condition of Christ's bearing the curse for them whence they may conclude that he will not spare them if they be bold to continue in their rebellion 3. And probably that he might hereby also cut of all occasions which the devil his enemy might take to calumniate and traduce him He might accuse him 1. of inconstancy and changeableness that having threatned death to transgressours he did quite forget himself in waving the threatning and dispensing wholly with his Law by granting them free remission Yea 2. of partiality and respect of persons that he should be so easie and forbearing as to let them pass without any punishment at all Quasi tam facilis fuisset antea sâ—verus erga seipsum having been formerly so severe and rigid against himself in casting him and his angels into everlasting flames without hope of recovery Sathan might say Lord thou mightest have spared me as well as man But the Lord may answer man hath made satisfaction he hath borne the curse and thereby fully discharged all the demands of the Law if he had not I would not have spared him any more than thee 3. His goodness and loving kindeness God the great Lord and Governour of the world might have rigorously exacted the penalty of the Law on the persons of sinners themselves but he hath so farr dispensed with the Law as to admit of a Suretie by whom the end of the Law that is the manifestation of his justice and hatred of sin might be fulfilled and yet a considerable part of mankinde might be preserved from the jaws of the second death which otherwise must have perished eternally Saith the Lord I
of the thing Page 109 The Doctrine 1. Cleared by shewing what Redemption is name and thing ib. 2. Confirmed by Scripture-grounds ib. 1. The fitness of the person to undertake being true God and true man Page 114 2. The efficaciousness of his sufferings Page 116 Whereby he hath 1. given abundant satisfaction to justice ib. 2. broken the Serpents head c. Page 118 An Objection If by Ransome then not by Rescue Answered by 3 Considerations in reference to 3 persons with whom the Redeemer had to deal Page 120 1. God the soveraign Lawgiver being wronged by man's sinne the chief thing to be done was to satisfie Justice by paying of a Ransome ib. 2. Sathan into whose hands man is delivered to be his Jailour or executioner being man's deadly enemy doth oppose his deliverance and holds him captive still therefore he must be rescued by conquest Page 122 3. Man's slavery is voluntary in respect of himself and his heart is averse from deliverance therefore the Redeemer must put forth an Almighty power to subdue him and make him willing to accept of liberty Page 125 Another Objection It might have been done in an easier way answered Page 126 1. This was the good pleasure of his will ibid. 2. Most agreeable to his holy nature 1. Sutable to his soveraign ends and setting forth the glory of his 1. Justice 2. Truth 3. Wisdome 4. Goodness Page 127 CHAP. V. 1. USE Confutation of enemies to this grace Page 131 1. Papists which adde several parcels to make up the price of Redemption Page 132 2. Socinians which teach that Christ's becoming a curse for us was not for satisfaction but onely for an example of imitation Page 134. CHAP. VI. 2. INformation in sundry branches Page 143 1. The love of God and Christ is unspeakable ib. 2. The work Redemption is a very costly peice Page 144 3. The grace of the Gospel is very precious Page 145 4. God will have a Church Page 146 5. The Church is very dear to Jesus Christ Page 148 6. The condition of the invisible Church is incomparably happy discovered Page 149 1. In three excellent properties of Redemption It s 1. Free and gracious ibid. 2. Full and plenteous Page 150 3. Eternal and without period Page 151 2. In rare spiritual benefits which flow from it Page 153 154 155 4. Adoption Page 160 5. Sanctification Page 162 6. Final Redemption Page 163 7. Full Glorification Page 166 3. In seven precious priviledges attending on Redemption Page 169 1. It makes us truly blessed Page 170 2. And the Lords peculiar people Page 171 3. The Redeemer is at Gods right hand carrying on the work Page 172 4. He hath purchased the gift of the Spirit to bestow on the elect Page 175 5. By personal interest in it we become the Lords free-men Page 177 6. All the promises are ours Page 179 7. We have a special interest in Gods providence Page 181 Four priviledges more common Page 186 1. Redemption opens a sluce for the waters of life to run among the Gentiles ibid. 2. It is the foundation of the general Covenant made with mankinde Page 187 3. By the merit and vertue of it the Jewes shall be called Page 189 4. It overflows to the bettering of the whole Creation Page 190 CHAP. VII 3. COnsolation against the annoyances Page 193 1. Of sin 1. In our old estate ibid. 1. The hainousness Page 196 2. Multitude ibid. 3. Long continuance Page 196 4. Advantage by neglecting the offer of grace Page 197 2. In our new condition Page 200 1. It s presence ibid. 2. It s prevalence Page 212 3. Advantage by frequent neglects and swarvings Page 214 2. Of terrors by new guilt Page 216 3. Of cursing and reproaches Page 208 4. Of temporal afflictions especially Page 209 1. Persecutions for righteousnes Page 211 2. Sufferings in innocency Page 212 3. Punishments for sin Page 213 Quest Whether the evils which the Redeemed suffer may properly bee called curses answered by a distinction Page 214 CHAP. VIII 4. EXamination Actual interest in Redemption tried by sundry evidences Page 216 1. Dear love of the Redeemer which is incorrupt if it be 1. Single Page 217 2. Superlative Page 219 3. Invincible Page 220 4. Accompanied with self-jealousie Page 222 2. Weariness under the bondage of sin past and present Page 224 3. Sincere resolution and actual endeavour to abandon all sin Page 227 4. Separation from the world c. Page 229 5. Walking after the Spirit Page 230 6. Purity of heart and life Page 233 CHAP. IX 5. EXhortation 1. To sensless sinners which lye secure under their slavery Page 235 Advice in five particulars ibid. 1 Give way to the Law to convince you ibid. 2. Resolve not to abide in this condition but take counsel from Gods Ministers Page 238 3. Fall down before the Lord in an humble and full confession Page 239 4. Still take notice of this Ransom and of the feaseableness of deliverance by it study it and bee affected with it Page 241 5. Walk in the way which God hath limited forgetting an actual share in it Page 242 Which is 1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 2. Repentance from dead works Page 243 Motives to set upon this way Page 245 1. No possibility of deliverance in any other way Page 247 2. Else Christ will glorifie his justice in leaving thee a prisoner to the Curse for ever Page 248 3. Now the Lord offers this mercy in the Ministry by his Spirit Page 249 4. The welfare and comfort of Gods Ministers depends much upon this ibid. CHAP. X. 2. TO sensible sinners which are burdened with the Curse Page 251 Counsel to thee in three particulars Page 252 1. Ponder the weight and strength of this great design ibid. 2. Continue instant in prayer Page 253 254 3. Learn self-denial abandoning thine own wisdome sense c. Page 255 5. Objections of an humbled soul Page 256 1. I know not whether I be redeemed or not 2. Christ never meant to redeem all Page 257 3. Onely the Elect are redeemed but I know not that I am elected Page 264 4. I have neglected so long that my day is past ibid. 5. I do not see that it is my way thus to beleeve I do not I cannot beleeve Page 267 All these answered severally Page 269 10. Encouragements to accept of Redemption Page 273 1. The name of God is most sweet ibid. 2. It is a clause in the Mediators Commission that he shall proclaim liberty ibid. 3. The termes are reasonable and easie Page 274 4. Faith engageth Christ to relieve a soul in extremity Page 275 5. This is the way to self-abasement Page 276 6. And to exalt Jesus Christ Page 277 7. It s the best part of thy thankfulness Page 278 8. And the most commendable self-love ibid. 9. A blessed thing to beleeve when all things perswade the contrary Page 279 10. Thousands of captive sinners have gone this way
and so insufficient being but a kind of entrance made by faith and other preparative dispositions the latter is that on which the maine waight of the business lies and it s done say they by the improovement and exercise of those good dispositions according to the command of the Law So that a Papist keeping to the principles of his religion must either have his blessedness from the Law or stand accursed still and if we make the best of it he is chargeable with that follie for which the Apostle taxeth the Galathians vers 3. Of beginning in the spirit and seeking to be made perfect by the flesh And herein the hand of God is remarkeable either in mercie or justice or both to some of them in taking them off from their old plea so that when they are to die they dare not trust their soules in so crazie a bottome yea their great Champion Bellarmine when he hath bett his braines and stretched his wits in sundrie pages to uphold the doctrine of justification by inhaerent righteousnes yet at length he comes to this resolve * Because of the uncertaintie of our owne righteousnes and the danger of vaine glorie therefore it is * the safest way to trust onely in the mercie and goodnes of God In which words he doth upon the matter unweave his owne webbe and destroy what he had built For if this be the safest way it is so because it is Gods onely approoved way for the justification of a sinner and conseq this way alone must be taken and all other wayes must be rejected and avoided as being not onely not the safest but positively unsafe and certainly full of danger yea unquestionably destructive 2. Blind ignorant Protestants which have nothing of religion but onely the bare name a meer outside their Christendome the faces of Christians They were baptised they keep their church they come to the communion and receive their Maker as they carnally and grosly speak they have a share in the outward priviledges of the church saying Lord Lord and therefore they think that no blame lies upon them the curse is farre enough of from them they are accepted of God and in a blessed condition thus the Jewes gloryed in the Temple of the Lord which the Lord condemneth as a trusting in lying words Jer. 7.4 They boasted of their priviledges that they were Abrahams seed never under bondage yea that they had one father even God c. The Lord Jesus tels them plainly that they were the servants of sinne and of their father the Divel Jo. 8.33 34 41 44. A clear glasse wherein the generalitie of our people may see their faces all their religion stands in this that they are called Christians and goe among the people of God this is their blessedness But oh wofull people how came you by this blessedness whence had you it you are under the Law it holds you under guilt and pronounceth you accursed and alas these priviledges and services are far too weak and poor things to take off that guilt and to remove that curse which sticks to your wretched souls Oh my soul pitties your sottishness Awake from your slumber and deliver your selves from these delusions before ye perish in them 3. Civil livers which go far in the observation of the outward duties of the second Table they are honest in their dealings equal in their actions sweet in their behaviour and as far as the letter os the Law will carry them unreprovable these are the righteous men which justifie and bless themselves as the young man Matth. 19.20 and the Pharisee Luke 18.11 but these went away unjustiâ—â—ed and therefore accursed Thus it was with the Apostle Paul before his conversion who had more to boast of in the flesh than any man for besides circumcision and many other Jewish priviledges which he enjoyed he came up so high in conformity to the righteousness required in the Law that as touching it he saith he was blameless and these things were his gain but when he found Jesus Christ he looked upon them all as loss and cast them away as dung yea as dogs-meat ⸪ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 q. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 alluding to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 v. 2. before Phil. 3 5-8 as if he had said If those dogs those evil workers the Jewish Teachers which press circumcision and legal righteousness do taste such savour and sweetness in this kinde of meat let them take it to themselves as fittest for them it will not down with me I have other meat which these men either do not know or cannot digest This is just the case of many among us But oh man if thou wilt bring thy self and thy work to the standard thou wilt finde that although thou blessest thy self and others bless thee too yet thou art without the sun-shine of Gods blessing For if it were granted that thou hast gone thorow-stitch in thy duty to men yet still the business is lame and halts on a side all this while thou hast neglected thy duty to God and dost thou look to be accepted for thy partial obedience would this be a sufficient acquittance to a child in his fathers house that he hath discharged himself well in all his carriage to his brethren and servants in the family while he hath never regarded his duty to his father or can he expect his fathers blessing may he not rather fear his curse This is thy case who restest in the moral righteousness of the second Table 4. Religious professors who besides all these have also a form of godliness they have the form of knowledge and of the truth in the Law Rom. 2.20 and in the Gospel too 2 Tim. 3.5 they have seen and sorrowed for their sins and bad courses they have broken off their iniquities and reformed their ways they perform religious duties pray reade the Scriptures hear the Word preached observe the Lords day shew some degrees of love and respects to good men In a word they have sundry commendable abilities within and bring forth many materially good fruits without and hereby they work out unto themselves a carnal peace perswading themselves that they are in good case and accounting themselves righteous and blessed of God but all this will go for no more in the Court of Heaven than the righteousness of the Law which holy Paul durst not stand to for his justification He did not onely disclaim those priviledges and that righteousness which before he had accounted his gain but all things whatsoever yea doubtless saith he I do count all things but loss I do even at this present since I came truly to know the Lord Jesus Christ renounce and cast away all things whatsoever I am or have in the business of my justification before God save the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ Phil. 3.8 9. Let a man reach out as far as is possible in conformity and obedience to the first Table
determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God The hands whereby he was taken crucified and slain were wicked hands yet those hands therein did that very thing which the hand and counsel of God determined before to be done Act. 2.23 4.28 Therefore he is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Rev. 13.8 that is 1. In respect of Gods eternal purpose manifested by the promise made in Paradise That the seed of the Woman shall break the Serpents head Gen. 3.15 And 2. Of the efficacie of his death upon all the Elect from the beginning of the world although the world was four thousand years old before he was actually slain It is observable that the Scripture ascribes the dispensation of this whole work to God the Father as the first moover and sovereign Manager of it He laid on him our iniquity Isa 53.6 He made him to be sin for us 2 Cor. 5.21 He set him forth Rom. 3.25 He sent him Rom. 8.3 Gal. 4.4 It pleased the Lord to bruise him Isa 53.10 The Lord calls on the sword Zach. 13.7 to awake and smite his Shepherd the man that is his fellow he means Jesus Christ God-man who is equal to the Father as God but inferiour to him as man appointed to be the great Shepherd of the sheep the Lords little flock But saith the Lord I will smite the Shepherd Symbol Athanasâ—â— The application of this Prophesie we have Matth. 26.31 2 Christs voluntary condescention thereunto Joh. 14.31 having disavowed Satans power over him he professeth his own willingness and that from a principle of love to do that which his Father had commanded him Compare this with Joh. 10.18 where he saith I lay down my life of my self c. And it will appear that this was his own act to be made a Curse for us in that he did freely and of his own accord submit to his Fathers Commandment touching the laying down of his life God the Father made him perfect by sufferings Heb. 2.10 and he sanctified himself Joh. 17.19 by preparatory sufferings first and then by offering up himself even as the Priests in the Law were first sanctified by the sprinkling of blood upon them and then they offered for the sins of the people Exod. 29.20 21. He gave himself for our sins Gal. 1.4 He made himself of no reputation He took on himself the form of a servant he humbled himself and became obedient c. Phil. 2.7 8. yea although he knew before what was his Fathers will and his own duty yet by the sufferings themselves he learned obedience that is he came experimentally to know as a man what it is to obey and how hard a thing it is for the creature to grapple with the wrath of the Almighty and to submit to the pleasure of his justice in conflicts with the second death Vide Bezam Pareum Gerhardum in Locum Heb. 5.8 His willingness appears further by his setting his face stedfastly to go to Jerusalem when the time of his suffering drew near Luke 9.51 by his taking up Peter very sharply for discouraging and dis-swading him from it Matth. 16.22 23. and by his speech to him at his apprehension when he had cut off the ear of Malchus The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it Joh. 18.11 3 A compact or agreement solemnly made betwixt God and Christ the Mediator which is the result of the two former Gods Commandement and Christs obedience We may present it to our understanding in this form God the Father saith to Christ the Mediator I look upon Adam and his posterity as a degenerate seed a generation of Apostates and back-sliders yea Traitors and Rebels liable to my severest wrath and utterly undone yet I cannot finde in my heart to see them all perish I have determined to shew mercy upon a considerable number of them to save them and bring them to glory If therefore thou wilt undertake for them becoming a Curse in their stead and so making satisfaction to my justice for their sins I will give them unto thee to take care of them and to bring them up to my Kingdome for the manifestation of the glory of my grace Well saith Christ I am content I will do it with all my heart and so the agreement is made This may be gathered from Psal 2.7 8 9. and Psal 40.6 7 8. Christ the Son speaks in both places In the former he publisheth the Decree or Ordinance of heaven touching himself and bringeth in the Father installing him into the Priesthood or office of Mediator for so the Apostle applieth that Text Heb. 5.5 Thou art my Son c. and also avouching this Covenant and agreement in the two main parts of it 1 The Condition which he will have performed on Christs part or what Christ must do He must ask of God that is not onely verbally by prayers and supplications beg mercy pardon righteousness and salvation for poor lost sinners but also really by fulfilling the righteousness of the Law both in doing and suffering and so by his satisfaction and merit purchasing acceptation for them at his hands 2 The Promise which he ingageth to perform on his part or what he will do himself thereupon The Son must ask and the Father will give he will give him the heathen c. that is he shall both be the Lords salvation to the ends of the earth Isa 49. â—6 Mâ—t. 28.18 Phil. 2.10 11. and have all power given him in heaven and earth so that all knees shall bow to him and every tongue shall confess him to be Lord. In the other Text before mentioned Psal 40. Christ declares his compliance to the agreement and his subscribing the Covenant on his part when he came into the world as the Apostle explains it Heb. 10.5 c. Mine ears saith he hast thou digged or pierced Lo I come to do thy will as if he should say Oh Father thou dost ingage me to be thy servant in this great work of saving sinners Lo I come to do the work I here covenant and agree to yeeld up my self to thy disposing and to serve thee for ever It seems to be an allusion to the Masters boaring through the servants ear Exod. 21.6 we have an abridgement of this Agreement Isa 53.10 in both parts Si posuerit sacrificium pro reatu animam suam or Si posuerit sacrificium anima eâ—us 1 On Christs part his soul shall be made an offering for sin 2. On the Fathers part he promiseth that thereupon Christ shall see his seed he shall have a numerous spiritual posterity begetting and bringing many thousands to the obedience of his Father Yea further vers 11. So ample shall be the fruit of his sufferings that he shall be satisfied in seeing the travel of his soul he shall have abundant joy and contentment even in that which hath cost him dearest he shall justifie many poor guilty
Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame as if he should say they lay the curse upon him again Heb. 6.6 The apostasie of Julian recorded in the History of the Church reached even to blaspheming and cursing Christ and the doctrine of the Gospel and his end was lamentable for in this case there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin but a certain fearfull looking for of judgment and fiery indignation c. Heb. 10.26 27. c. 4. Those profane and graceless persons which have taught and accustomed their tongues to outragious and grizly swearing such as even rends the body of Jesus Christ in pieces and plucks it from his soul again makes more wounds in it tears away its flesh and squeezes his blood out of the veins We are commanded when we take an oath to swear by his name Deut. 6.13 this must be both very rarely and with great solemnity The bounders of it are truth righteousness and judgment Jer. 4.2 An oath thus taken is an act of religion and so a kind of blessing of God but if it swerve from these rules it is a fearfull sin straitly forbidden by Christ himself Matth. 5.34 c. and by the Apostle James chap. 5.12 and is no better than a cursing of God especially that hellish kind of swearing which is attended with such outragious blasphemies against the Lord Jesus If because of swearing Ier. 23.10 the Land mourneth then much more for those desperate and bloody oaths which reach to the cursing of Christ our Saviour The word there used signifieth both swearing and cursing which shews the near affinity betwixt these two and implies to us that every irregular taking up of the Name of God or Christ in an oath is in effect a cursing of them Alas my brethren the heavie curse of the Law of God which is due to us all for sin and might have crushed us for ever is fallen upon him and hath torn and mangled him pitifully and shall wretched creatures be so barbarous as to toss his holy Name up and down in their unhallowed mouths and to tear and mangle him anew by their horrible and villanous oaths Is not this to lay more curses upon him and even to oppress him with curses 5. Those who making a general profession of Christ and expecting salvation by him do yet walk on in their sins and take occasion by the abounding of grace in the Gospel to be more licentious and to adde sin to sin as drunkenness to thirst making the pretence and profession of Religion an emboldener to looseness to the abuse of lawfull liberties and to unwarrantable practises The Apostle Jude gives us the character of these calling them ungodly men which turn the grace of God into lasciviousness and deny the onely Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ Jude 4. And S. Paul gives us an hint of them Rom. 6.1 the abounding grace of God manifested in Christ is both the Motive and End of their continuing in sin they sin both because grace doth abound and that it may abound But oh little do these persons consider that this grace could not have been feasable but by Christs bearing the curse for our sins And if it cost so dear a price shall we cause him to pay it again shall we be so bold as sin still and thereby put him to bear the curse over and over again as often as we sin far be it from us to do so wickedly The loose and carelesse Christian which makes account that Christ became a curse for him and yet followeth his old trade still doth as it were give Christ this malapert language Lord Christ I know thou art richly able to bear the curse were it a thousand times heavier than it is therefore I will put thee to it I will sin still and thou must bear the curse still I will not restrain my self from any of those courses which some men call sinfull but I will walk in the waies of mine own heart and fill my selfe with the delights of the flesh It s pity thou shouldst not have load enough that art so good at bearing the curse Oh abominable ranting that terrible denunciation Deut. 29.19 20. c. may be applied to this case by an argument from the less to the greater thus He that heareth that Christ is made a curse for him and yet blesseth himself in his heart and encourageth himself in sin the Lord will not spare him but all the curses of Gods book shall lie upon him c. Yea lastly every miscarriage in the profession of Religion willingly allowed or continued in through negligence or remisseness is in some degree a cursing of God which I gather from that speech of Job concerning his sons Job 1.5 It seems the sin which he suspected they were guilty of was the neglect of their watch that they willingly suffered looseness and vanity to seize upon their spirits See the English Annot. Caryl in loc which might bring forth some unsavoury fruits without A malady to which even good men are subject especially in times of feasting And this he calls cursing God in their hearts Unto these and all the rest of their brethren in evil I must speak a word or two taking up a lamentation and pleading against them on the behalf of Christ Oh ye sons of men what abominable thing is this that ye do why do ye offer such hard measures to him who hath put himself upon such perilous adventures yea extremities that he might save you from utter destruction Give ear and hear the Lord Jesus pleading his own cause against you thus what iniquity have you found in me that you deal thus basely with me that you handle me so cruelly you can find none in me but that which lay first at your own doors and is charged vpon me on your account or as Jerusalem in the day of her sore affliction bemoaning her condition Lam. 1.12 Jer. 2.15 Is it nothing to you all you that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow or as Job earnestly begging the compassion of his friends who persecuted him with great violence by their mis-grounded accusations and thereby heaped more misery upon him Have pity upon me have pity upon me O ye my friends c. Job 19.21 22. Is it not enough that I have born such sorrow as never man bare such a curse as would have pressed you all down to hell but I must have more burthens laid upon me still and that by my friends too new curses every day I beseech you have pity on me and hold off hands I have had enough of the curse already oh do not put me to it again And if for all this thou wilt shut up thy bowels from him and walk contrary to him thou shalt finde it true at length to thy cost Jam. 2.13 that there shall be judgement without mercy to him that hath shewed no mercy CHAP. IV.
of their own Tenents or the answering of Objections brought against them they do generally turn aside from the usuall and received signification of the words and offer violence to the Text to make it speak what they please For to touch a little on the 4 ends before-mentioned To the first Where doth the Scripture make the confirmationâ— of his Doctrine the professed adequate end of his sufferings He saith indeed that he came into the world that he might bear witness to the truth but this most properly belongs to his prophetical office Jo. 18. â—7 whereas his death belongs to his priesthood and besides his miracles served more peculiarly for the confirmation of his doctrine To the second Christ had power to forgive sinnes even while he lived on earth Mat. 9.6 and exercised that power frequently There was therefore no absolute necessity of his death for the purchasing of a priviledge which he had in possession already although it was necessary for the satisfying of Justice Jâ—h 10.28 17.2 He died to purchase for sinners a right to recâ—iv â—ot for himself a power to give them eternal life that mercie might have a free course to give out pardons which otherwise could not be To the Third It is credible that the death of Christ and such a death as it was in all the circumstances of it should be able to perswade sinners to that faith and hope nay rather it should be the ready way to diswade and knock them off Luke 21.21 To the Fourth it is granted as a secondary subordinate end 1 Pet. 2.21 Nec humilâ—tatis exempla nec charitatis insignia praeter Redemptionis sacramentum sâ—nt aliquid Bern. but doth not take away the other which is the chiefe and principal These two accord well hee dyed to satisfie for our sins and he dyed to to leave us an example of patience and obedience Great is the example of his humility and of his charity but they have no foundation to rest upon if there be no redemption But to go no further than the Text. There be three expressions which they wrest for the supporting and maintenance of their Errour 1 He was made a curse True say they as he was made sinne 2 Cor. 5.21 that is hee was judged by men to be a sinner and he was used accordingly so he was accounted a cursed man and therefore was sentenced to suffer a bodily death on the Cross which was a death proper to an accursed person But this falls short for God saith the Apostle made him to be sin and consequently a curse for us Man was no more but an instrument sinfully acting what God had holily purposed and Christs voluntarily undertaken Besides the Text which is here cited from Moses Deut. 21.23 runs thus He that is hanged is the curse of God or a curse unto God which being applied to Christ can import no less than this that God laid upon him our sin and the punishment due unto it by the doom of his righteous Law that the pleasure of the Lord might be executed upon him for answering whatsoever the Law could exact Nostra causa nostro bono Ut a peccatis retrahamur Nostra vâ—ce nostro loco 2 He was made a curse for us yea say they for us that is for our cause on our behalf for our good and so he gave himself he dyed for our sins that is our sins were the occasion of his death and he died that we might be drawn back from sin We yeeld all this but is there no more Yes assuredly We say for us that is in our room and stead who should else have born the curse in our own persons and for our sins to wit as the foregoing meriting cause thereof and that satisfaction being made to justice the curse might not fall on our heads The Greek word which is most frequently used in this argument 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and is rendred for although sometimes it be put to note no more So Rom. 5.7 but the good or profit of another yet it signifies also in anothers stead and in some places cannot be fitly taken otherwise as 2 Cor. 5.14 If one dyed for all then were all dead which implies plainly that the death of that One was in stead of the death of All. And when the Apostle saith 1 Cor. 13. Was Paul crucified for you Thereby denying it he must mean that he was not crucified in their stead for he professeth elsewhere that he suffered for the Church and for the Elects sake that is for their spiritual benefit as Col. 1.24 2 Tim. 2.10 But to put all out of doubt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Scripture sometimes makes use of another word which signifies commutation or exchange or being in the place or room of another and must necessarily be so taken when it s applied to this business as Matth. 20.28 1 Tim. 2.6 He bare the curse and gave himself a ransome in our stead 3 Hereby he hath redeemed us from the curse Being made a curse for us he brought us out of the hands of the curse so that God was moved hereby to set us free from the guilt and punishment of our sin Here they bring two things to darken the clear truth 1 That the terme of Redemption Apud Grot. in defens c. 8. must be taken improperly for a deliverance without price or satisfaction such as that of the Children of Israel from Egypt whom God redeemed by the hand of Moses yet he paid no price nor gave in consideration either by death or otherwise for the compassing of it To this we say when the Scripture makes Redemption the effect of Christs bearing the curse of his suffering death of the shedding of his blood c. it can signifie no less than redemption in propriety of speech that is the freeing of poor sinners from the stroak of justice by giving due satisfaction This high extraordinary cause should in all reason produce a nobler effect than such a loose and frozen gloss gives to it Yea how doth this derogate from the worth of that glorious benefit to say it comes at so cheap a rate As for the redeeming of Israel by Moses although it was a type of our redemption by Christ yet wee know that the type and thing typified do not answer one another in all things Christ and Moses are compared as Redeemers but with a vast difference both as to the nature of the thing and the special means by which it was effected That of Moses was onely corporal from the servitude of the body This of Christ is chiefly spiritual from the bondage of eternal death Therefore there was no need that Moses should dye for them and if he had as it could have been no way effectual to their spiritual deliverance so it might probably have been rather destructive to their temporal freedome But Christ our Redeemer must necessarily dye for us else no possibility of
them out of my sight and let them go forth or as Zach. 11.9 I will not feed them that that dyeth let it dye c. So that we may sadly complain and bewail it that our defence is departed from us and we are exposed to all dangers that not only judgements but also mercies may become poysonful and baneful to us But now the Lord Jesus by paying our ransome from the curse hath renewed our interest in the providence of God so that he looks after us and watcheth over us in a special manner for our good It is said of the earthly Canaan that it is a Land which the Lord cared for his eyes were alwayes upon it from the beginning of the year to the end of it Deut. 11.12 It is true much more of the heavenly Canaan the invisible Church whereof that was a type His special providence is at work for the whole and every particular member of it continually Hee will keep his Vineyard of red wine both night and day Isa 27.3 This is the Theme or Argument of the 90. and 121. Psalmes where it is largely handled And the Apostle saith That God is the Saviour of all men specially of them that beleeve 1 Tim. 4.10 This priviledge is very comprehensive and might be inlarged in many particulars We may take a short view of them thus The special providence of God towards the Redeemed is exercised about good and evil 1. About good things It goes before them Psal 5.11.12 103.4 5. compasseth them round and is their rereward The Lord takes care of them and as I may say fore-casts what may be best for them puts them upon honest and warrantable courses in their going out and comming in prospers them in all things they take in hand Psalm 1.3 as Joseph Gen. 39.3.23 and Hâ—zekiah 2 Chron. 31.21 blesseth a little unto them and makes it to go far Psal 37.16 It is our Redeemer Christ that turns our water into wine and multiplies a few loaves and fishes to feed many thousands 2. About evill things by saving them 1. From 2. In 3. Out of evils 1. He saves them from evills The Lord is not onely a Sun to inlighten and to warm us but a Shield to proâ—ect and guard us Psalm 84.11 Hee saveth the poore from the sword c. Job 5.15.19 20. Sometimes hee doth so carefully watch over his people that troubles and dangers do not overtake them the floods of great waters do not come near them Psal 32.6 for he hideth them in the hollow of his hand till the storms be blown over and so they are safe 2. He saves them in evills When afflictions and troubles are upon them He keeps all their bones â— Psal 36.20 Dan. 〈…〉 2â— â— 2â— 23. he bears a part with them Isa 63.9 he sustains and succours them he gives them patience in suffering he strengthens them with heavenly might he conforms them to himself purging out their dross and making them partakers of his holiness yea sometimes he conveyes for them miraculously preserving them safe in the very mouth and midst of mischief as the three Children and Daniel restraining the rage and violence of the creatures even contrary to their natures that they could do them no hurt 3 He saves them out of evills Although in his wise and just counsel he suffers troubles to seize upon them and chastens them with rods yet he hath his times of deliverance here sooner or later The godly injoy many petit partial redemptions in this life before that great day of Redemption come Psal 34.22 He knows how to deliver them 2 Pet. 2.9 Jacob hath his time of trouble but he shall be delivered out of it Jer. 30.7 For the rod of wickedness shall not alwayes rest on their lot Psa 125.3 Yea their death is precious in his sight Psal 116.15 so that even then they have hope And in a word this providence doth so order all things both good and evill that all shall work together for their good Rom. 8.28 All the parcels of this precious priviledge flow from the Redemption which is in Christ Jesus It is prophesied of Christ under the type of Solomon that he shall deliver the needy and redeem their souls Psal 72.12 c. When the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious there shall be a Tabernacle for a shadow and a covert from the storm Isa 42.6 When Christ shall reigne the man shall be as a hiding place from the wind Isa 32 1 2. It is Jacobs Redeemer that will help him Et erit vir sc Christus Rex c. Jun. in Sch. ad loc and be with him in the water and fire Isa 41.14 43.12 God will save Judah by the Lord their God that is by the Messiah to come Hos 1.7 See that special promise Mark 16.18 What say you to this yee ransomed souls your own experience may make out all these things For hath not the Lord made provision for you Psal 94 13. and laded you with benefits even beyond expectation Do yee not see how hee keeps some sad stroaks off from you while some of the Devils slaves are beaten black and blue gives rest to you while the pit is in digging for the wicked bears your hearts up while some of your neighbours sinke under the burden rescues you out of six and seven troubles while they are swallowed up of them you may rejoyce in Benjamins portion The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him c. Deut. 33.12 and say as David The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want Psal 23.1 Thus you have a Septenary of priviledges besides that of benefits which are the peculiar portion of the Lords Redeemed Let our hearts breath out the Psalmists admiration Oh how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee c. Psal 31.19 Sect. 6. Four priviledges more common I Shall add other four which though they be more common and not proper to the elect yet deserve the name of priviledges too 1. Redemption by Christ is the opening of a sluce for the waters of life to run amongst the Gentiles The Prophets are very frequent in holding forth this priviledge that strangers shall come in and submit themselves Psal 18.43 c. all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God Psal 98.2 3. the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord Psal 86.9 Psal 87.4 Isa 65.1 Isa 11.9 waters shall break out in the wilderness c. Isa 35.6 7. and 41.18 19. This was the work of Christ our Redeemer so it was prophesied Gen. 49.10 Shiloh shall come and to him shall be the gathering of the people Psal 22.27 David tells us that all the ends of the earth shall turn to the Lord and that upon this ground because he is King and governour among the nations vers 28. but how comes he to this Soveraigntie it was
the consequent of his great sufferings which are largely described before Isa 52.14 15. the Lords servant shall have his visage marred by a deep humiliation yet he shall sprinkle many nations God gives Christ for a Covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles to bring out the prisoners from the prison Isa 42.6 7. There was a famous prophesie of the shining of great light upon the people that walked in darkness Isa 9.2 this was fulfilled when Christ sojourned in Capernaum Matt. 4.13 14. By the blood of Christ the middle wall of partition being broken down those that were far off are made near Eph. 2.13 14. and so no more strangers but fellow-citizens with the Saints vers 19.20 therefore Christ having said I lay down my life for my sheep presently adds I have other sheep which are not of this fold them also I must bring c. John 10.15.16 This is a great priviledge and so to be accounted The Apostle Paul calls upon us gentiles to glorifie God for his mercy Rom. 15.9 c. for alas what would have becomed of us sinners of the Gentiles if this Redemption had not opened a door of hope we had been left as dead bones altogether helpless and undone for ever 2. It s the foundation of that general Covenant which God is pleased to strike with all those whom he makes willing to come in and to joyn themselves unto him in a visible profession of his name and with their seed both of old among the Jews and now with all nations to whom he sends the Gospel The Apostle Peter presseth the men of Judea and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to a thorough entertaining of Christ by this argument because the promise is general Acts 2.38 39. which implies that Christ crucified is the basis of the Covenant Circumcision was a visible sign of the external Covenant whereby God owned the Jewish nation for his people above all others therefore it s called the Covenant it self Gen. 17.10 11 13. and Baptisme now is a visible sign of it to all those throughout the world which submit to the Gospel Both these institutions have reference to Christ as the inward marrow and substance of them for we are said to be circumcised in Christ and by the circumcision of Christ and to be buried and raised again with him in Baptisme Col. 2.11 12. Assuredly if the Lord Jesus had not undertaken to buy out sinners from the curse by becoming a curse for them there had been no such thing as a Covenant God would never have owned any of the sons of men in order to eternal life no nor so much as have suffered them to be called by his name But now by the work of Redemption all that are retainers to Christ in the visible Church though strangers to the life of grace have some kinde of right to all Church-ordinances Jus ad rem if not in re and are allowed a share in sundrie boons of favour they may get a general acquaintance with Christ and attain to some common graces whereby it may go better with them and they are nearer the kingdome of God than those that are mere strangers Oh take heed of slighting this mercie If the Lord will vouchsafe to own you and your seed in the way of a Covenant thereby making you in some degree capable of the choisest good things even heaven and eternal life you may thank your redeemer for this and if you do not improve it to better proficiency to raise you to an higher forme in his school and kingdome it will make a sad reckoning one day 3. It shall be by the all-sufficient merit and vertue of the grace of redemption that the people of the Jews once the people of God but now rejected and under wrath for their unbelief and hatred against the Lord Jesus shall be called to the knowledge of the truth and obtain mercy and the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in to make up one glorious Church and new Jerusalem There be many excellent promises in the writings of the Prophets which hold forth both these The restauration of the Lords ancient people is plainly foretold in those texts which I have formerly made use of on other occasions Isa 59.20 21. compared with Rom. 11.26 27. The Apostle cleares the meaning of that prophesie and applies it to the calling of the Jews Psal 69.35 36. God will save Zion and will build the Cities of Judah c. Isa 24.22 23. the prisoners shall be visited after many dayes and the Lord of hosts shall raign in mount Zion c. see also Jer. 30.8.9 and 18. Ezek. 20.34 37 40. c. This is lively represented by the resurrection of the drie bones Ezech. 7.31.1.14 The coming in of the Gentiles is spoken of Isa 60.3 4 c. and 66.19 20. c. Rev. 21.10 11 24 c. zach 8.20 c. all this flowes from the Redemption which is in Christ Isa 11.10 11 12. the root of Jess shall stand up for an ensigne both to the Jews and Gentiles Jer. 50.33 34. Israel and Judah are held captives but their Redeemer the Lord of hosts is strong and will thoroughly plead their cause c. Zach. 9 11. it is by the blood of the Churches Covenant that the Lord sends forth her prisoners out of the pit Zach. 10.8 yea the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall look upon him whom they have pierced and mourn for him Mal. 4.2 Zach. 12.10 the white robes of those which came out of great tribulation were washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb Rev. 7.14 which our Brightman referrs to the calling of the Jews Oh how glorious shall those times be when the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be sevenfold Isa 30.26 and he that is feeble among them shall be as David c. Zach. 12.8 Let us long for this day and have it much on our hearts Pray the Lord to bring again the captivity of his people and to plant them upon their Land to send forth watchmen which may call upon the Shulamite to return Amos 9.14 15. Can. 6.13 and to stirr up remembrancers which may give him no rest till he establish and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth Isa 62.6 7. 4. The overflowings of this glorious work do reach even to the bettering of the whole Creation The whole company of reasonable creatures Angels and Men are the purpose of Jesus Christ he hath bought them into his own hands to be their Lord to possess command and dispose of them at his pleasure He commanded not onely the windes and the Sea and they obeyed him but also the evil Spirits and they owned his authority Matth. 8.27 Luke 4.35 36. He bought even those that denyed him 2 Pet. 2.1 God's patience towards the wicked preservation of them provision for them
their breathing in the air treading on the earth and the like common favours are the fruits of Redemption Every Son and daughter of Adam is beholding to the grace of the Redeemer for their very lives and their reprival from the damnation of hell yea were it not for this the whole world might probably have been turned into a Chaos again It 's certain that this great visible fabrick with all the creatures in it both living and liveless Sun Moon Starres Elements Plants c. is subject to vanitie God hath subjected it in his just judgement for man's Apostasie So that it lies under the bondage of corruption the creatures have lost much of their beauty and virtue they are forced to do service to the servants of sin Matth. 5.45 The good things of the earth are put to bad uses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mundi partium in ea summus est consensus quod omnes una finem istorum malorum expectant Beza and imployed to the dishonour of the Creator Hos 2.8 under this heavy burthen they sigh yea they travel in pain and that together with joynt consent earnestly exspecting an end of these evils which shall be at the day of the general judgement when all things shall be restored Acts 3.21 and the children of God shall be possessed of full redemption The creature was made for man and as it became a sharer with him in the bondage of corruption so it shall be also according to its capacity in his deliverance and glorious liberty to come Rom. 8.19 20 c. How this shall be by what means and in what manner it is not easie to determine Some think by a total abolition of the substance and if it cease to be it ceases to be under bondage The most say by an alteration of qualities it shall be so changed as it shall seem to be not the same but another and the Scripture tells us that the heavens and earth that are now are reserved to be burnt with fire 2 Pet. 3.7.10 which say they So some expound Job 14.12 see Caryl on that text at large is meant of their purgation not their annihilation Howsoever it be for the manner the thing is without question the creature shall be delivered Now this priviledg flowes from the Redemption wrought by Christ For 1. As it was man's sin that brought the curse upon the creature so the taking away of the sin of man is the taking of the curse from the creature even as the restoring of a Traitor is the restoring of all that depends upon him 2. The present Liberty and glory of the sonnes of God is an effect of Redemption therefore so is the Liberty and glory which the creature shall enjoy with them this being an appurtenance to that and as the shadow to the body It behoves us to take notice of this for our selves It should sadden our hearts when we consider that the Creature fares worse through our Apostasie and yet it may rejoyce us that it fares better by our recovery But I have dwelt too long on the use of Information I shall therefore dismiss it and proceed to another CHAP. VII Use 3. Sect. 1. Consolation against sinnes old and new severally 3. THe Lords Redeemed may with joy draw up cordial waters of Consolation out of this well of salvation The former use hath afforded us much matter of refreshing having sent forth sundry crystal streames of comfort to make glad the city of our God Yet there is moee behinde The main Conclusion Isa 12.3 that Christ hath ransomed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us is a solid ground of consolation to poor sinners against sundry distempers or annoyances whereunto they are subject in this life as 1. Against sinne which may be considered 1. as it was in there old estate of bondage 2. as it is now in their restored condition 1. For the former The humbled soul looking back upon his old slavery under sin may conceive cause of discouragement by sundry aggravations of it which will present themselves unto him But the right understanding of this truth will afford him help against them I observe especially four 1. The greatness and heynousness of his sinnes in particular Oh saith he were mine iniquities of an ordinary size I could have hope but alas they are mighty ones like the great mountains some of them are of a deep die crying crimson scarlet sinnes outragious miscarriages they are gone over my head and reach up to the heavens But oh poor soul dost thou think that thy sinnes can be greater than Christs satisfaction or that he took upon him the curse of small sinnes Dicat terra redempta sanguine Magna iniquitas mea sed maâ—or est redemptio tua Aug. 2 King 21.1 2 c. 16. and not of great ones Assuredly this is a mighty redemption a great salvation God made his power wonderfull in the work of Creation and he makes his mercy as wonderfull in this work of new creation Art thou a greater sinner then Manasseh Read his story where the Holy Ghost points him out in his black and ugly colours and tell me if thou didst ever hear of such a monster yet the fruit of this Redemption reached even unto him for upon his humiliation the Lord was intreated of him 2 Chron. 33.12 13. thy greatest sinnes are finite but the merit of Christ's redemption is infinite If some mountains were removed and hurled into the great Ocean it would swallow them up that they could not be seen So the Sea of Christs bloud will drown the huge mountains of thy iniquities Though thy sinnes be as scarlet thy Redeemer will make them white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool Isa 1.18 Oh then never lay the weight of thy guilt in the balance with Christs satisfaction never fear that that will overweigh this Thy surety hath made thy peace for the greatest as well as the smallest faults He was charged with thy most heinous crimes that thou mightest be delivered from the curse of them 2. The multitude and numerousnes of them Though I have not committed such greisly enormous sinnes as some others have done yet I have made that up in the number which is wanting in weight my transgressions are manifold yea innumerable more than the haires of mine head Psal 40.12 or the sands that are on the sea shore Be it so But dost thou think that they are more than Christs merits Hath he born in his body and made satisfaction for all the sinnes of all the Elect from Adam to the last man on earth and dost thou fear thy sinnes are so very many that this satisfaction cannot reach to take them away The Apostle comparing the guilt of the first sin with the free gift by Christ gives the preheminence to this in that the former brought condemnation for one but this latter brings justification for many offences Rom. 5.16 and