compares the sins of the wicked Jews to very poyson Deut. 32.32 33. For their wine is of the wine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah their Grapes are Grapes of Gall their clusters ar◠bitter their Wine is the poyson of Dragons and the cruel venome of Aspes In this respect we may think as hardly of our selves as of the Jews because so oft as we sin against God we do as much as mingle rank poyson and bring it to Jesus Christ to drink 6. They crucified him i.e. they fastened him on the Cross and then lift him up Mat. 27.35 A great question there is amongst the Learned whether Christ was fastened on the cross after it was erected or whiles it was lying on the ground I would not rake too much into these niceties only more probable it is that he was fastened to it whiles it lay flat on the ground and then as Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness so was the Son of man lifted up We may express the manner of their acting and his sufferings now John 3.14 as a learned Brother hath done before us Now come the Barbarous inhumane hangmen Herle contem plat on Christs pass and begin to unloose his hands but how alas 't is not to any liberty but to worse bonds of nails then stript they off his gore-glewed cloaths and with them questionless not a little of his mangled skin and flesh as if it were not enough to crucifie him as a thief unless they flea him too as a beast then stretch they him out as another Isaac on his own burthen the Cross that so they might take measure of the holes and though the print of his blood on it gave them his true length yet how strictly do they take it longer than the truth thereby at once both to crucifie and rack him that he was thus stretcht and racked upon his cross Psal 22.17 Ver. 14. David gives more than probable intimation I may tell all my bones and again all my bones are out of joynt which otherwise how could it so well be as by such a violent stretching and distortion whereby it seems they had made him a living anatomy nor was it in the less sensible fleshly parts of his body that they drive these their larger tenters whereon his whole weight must hang but in the hands and feet the most sinewy and consequently the most sensible fleshly parts of all other wherein how rudely and painfully they handle him appears too by that of David they digged my hands and my feet they made wide holes like that of a spade as if they had been digging in some ditch the boystrous and unusual greatness of these nails we have from venerable antiquity Constantine the great is said to have made of them both an Helmet and a Bridle How should I write on but that my tears should blot out what I write Colos 2.14 when it is no other than he that is thus used who hath blotted out that hand-writing of ordinances that was against me But the hour goes on and this is the great business of the worlds redemption of which I would speak a little more by this time we may imagine Christ nailed to the cross and his cross fixed in the ground which with its fall into the place of its station gave infinite torture by so violent a concussion of the body of our Lord. That I mean to observe of this crucifying of Christ I shall reduce to these two heads viz. the shame and pain 1. For the shame it was a cursed death cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree Gal. 3.13 When it was in use it was chiefly infflicted upon slaves that either falsely accused or treacherously conspired their Masters death but on whomsoever it was inflicted this death in all Ages among the Jews hath been branded with a special kind of ignominy and so the Apostle signifies when he saith He abased himself to the death Phil. 2.8 2 Sam. 21.6 Deut. 21.23 even to the death of the cross It was a mighty shame that Saul's sons were hanged on a tree and the reason was more specially from the Law of God For he that is hanged is accursed of God I know Moses's Law speakes nothing in particular of crucifying yet he doth include the same under the general of hanging on a tree and some conceive that Moses in speaking that curse foresaw what manner of death the Redeemer should dye 2. For the pain it was a painfull death that appears several wayes As 1. His legs and hands were violently racked and pulled out to the places fitted for his fastening and then pierced through with nails 2. By this means he wanted the use both of his hands and feet and so he was forced to hang immovable upon the cross as being unable to turn any way for his case 3. The longer he lived the more he endured for by the weight of his body his wounds were opened and enlarged his nerves and veins were rent and torn asunder and his blood gushed out more and more abundantly still 4. He died by inch-meal as I may say and not at once the cross was a death long in dying it kept him a great while upon the rack it was full three hours betwixt Christ's affixion and expiration and it would have been longer if he had not freely and willingly given up the Ghost it is reported that Andrew the Apostle was two whole dayes on the Cross before he dyed and so long might Christ have been if God had not heightened it to greater degrees of torment supernaturally I may add to this as above all this the pains of his soul whiles he hanged on the cross for there also Christ had his agonies and soul conflicts these were those 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 those pains or pangs of death from which Peter tells us Christ was loosed Acts. 2.24 The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies the pains of a woman in travel such were the pains of Jesus Christ in death Isa 53.11 Psal 116.3 the Prophet calls it The travel of his Soul and the Psalmist calls it the pains of Hell The sorrows of death compassed me and the pains of Hell gate hold upon me The sorrows or cords of death compassed his body and the pains of Hell gate hold upon his soul And these were they that extorted from him that passionate expostulation Mat. 27.46 My God my God why hast thou forsaken me he complains of that which was more grievous to him than ten thousand deaths My God my God why hast thou withdrawn thy wonted presence and left my soul as it were in pains of Hell Vse And now reflect we on the shame and pain O the curse and bitterness that our sins have brought on Jesus Christ when I but think on these bleeding veins bruised shoulders scourged sides furrowed back harrowed temples digged hands and feet and then
exceeding profitable Only concerning the manner of the indwelling of this spirit in us it is most difficult to conceive Certainly it dwells not in us as in Christ viz. bodily Col. 2.9 unmeasurably Joh. 3.34 Originally 2 Cor. 3.17 the spirit is in Christ as light in the sun but the spirit is in us as light in the air In Christo ut lux in sole in nobis ut lumen in aere Ezek. 36.27 37.14 neither dare I affirm that the spirit is in us more essentially than in any other men or creatures for the essence thereof is indivisible and omnipresent But this I say that the spirit is in the faithful above all others 1. In respect of Covenant the Saints have the spirit by God's free Grace and Covenant I will put my spirit within you saith God in the Covenant which is not only to be understood of the gifts and graces of the spirit but also of the spirit it self 2. In respect of intimate familiarity and near acquaintance the spirit is in the faithful like an inmate or coinhabitant comforting directing ruling strengthning and cherishing them in which respect they are said to be his houses and Temples in which he dwelleth whereas contrariwise worldlings and infidels to all these purposes are meer strangers unto him the world cannot receive him saith Christ because it seeth him not neither knoweth him John 14.17 but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you 3. In respect of vertue and efficacy the spirit works efficaciously in his Saints he chooseth them for his own people he possesseth them as of his own right he rules in their hearts as in the chief seat of his Kingdom he purgeth and purifieth them from their sins he replenisheth and filleth them with his saving graces he guides and directs them in the way of holiness and never leaves them till he brings them to his Kingdom 4. In respect of union it was an old errour of the heathens that the soul remaineth in the body after Death which opinion of theirs though false because it contradicts the Word yet the thing it self is possible and doth not contradict reason for the soul may have its local being in the body and yet not give life to the body for it is not the souls being in the body but its being united to the body which makes the body live so it is not the Spirits being locally with the soul but being mystically united to the soul that gives it spiritual life Now in all these respects the spirit is in the faithful above all others I know the objections As 1. If the Spirit be united to a believers soul and so made one with him then may a believer say I am the spirit or I am equal with God in respect of the spirit in me though not as Peter Thomas c. But I answer this follows not for though the spirit be really united to a believers spirit so that he may say with the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one spirit or hath one spirit yet first this union is a voluntary act and not a natural act and in that respect the Spirit may unite himself to the soul so far as he pleaseth and no further And certainly thus far he is not pleased to unite himself to a believer as that a believer should say properly I am the Spirit or I am equal with God in respect of the spirit for then a believer might be worshipped with Divine worship 2. This union is by way of application and not by way of mixture if an heap of Wheat and a stone should be joyned together there is an union they make both one heap but the Wheat cannot say I am a stone nor can the stone say I am wheat because this union is only by way of Application but if Wine and Water should be joyned together then every part may say I am Water and I am Wine because this union is not only by application but by way of mixture Certainly there is a great union betwixt the Spirit and a believers soul yet cannot the believer say properly I am the Spirit or I am equal with God because their union is only by way of application and not by way of mixture 2. Object No more was the union of Christ as God with our nature as man any union by way of mixture yeâ— could he say I am God and I am man But I answer Christ's union was not only spiritual or mystical but hypostatical or personal and in that respect though there was no mixture yet there was such an union as cannot be parallel'd in all the world Our souls union with the spirit of Christ goes very far and indeed so far as we cannot express it though we had the tongues and heads and hearts of men and Angels yet comes it short of that union betwixt the second person in the Trinity and the soul and body of Christ his union was personal but so is not ours a believer is a person before he is united to the spirit of Christ but now Christ's soul and body were not a person before united to the person of the Godhead Go we therefore as far as we can and I shall easily yeild that our union with the spirit is a true real essential substantial spiritual invisible mystical intimate union yet is it not a personal or hypostatical union the spirit doth not assume the soul or body of a believer as the second person assumed the soul and body of Christ Away away with these cavils and blasphemies wherewith too many unstable souls are now infected I have done with this Reason 4. That the holy Ghost might according to his Office endow men with gifts no sooner he bestows his person but immediatly he fills us with his train Now the gifts of the Spirit are of these two sorts some are common to good and bad others are proper to the Elect only Those gifts which are common are again two-fold for some of them are given but to certain men and at certain times as the gift of Miracles of Tongues of Prophesies and these were necessary for the Apostles and the Primitive Church when the Gospel was first to be dispersed others are given to all the members of the Church and at all times as the gifts of Interpretation Sciences Arts Prudence Learning Knowledg Eloquence and such like the former gifts we have not but these latter are now given to every member of the Church according to the measure of Christ's gift as the calling and vocation of every member needeth As for those gifts and saving graces which are proper to the godly I shall speak of them anon Now here is another reason of the spirits mission Eph. 4.8 that he might give gifts unto men if you ask what are those gifts the Apostle tells you in one place He gave some Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists v. 11. and
to seek and to save that which was lost to bring home straying Souls to his Father to be the great Peace-maker between God and Man to reconcile God to man and man to God and so to be the Head and Husband of his People Is not here a world of encouragement to believe in Jesus what to consider him as one who hath made it his office to heal and relieve and to restore and to reconcile Among Merchants I remember they have an office of security that if you dare not adventure on Seas yet there you may be ensured if you will but put in at that Office in this manner Christ hath constituted and assumed the office of being a Mediator the Redeemer and the Saviour of men he hath erected and set up on purpose an office of meer love and tender compassion for the relief of all poor distressed sinners if they dare not venture otherwise yet let them put in at this office O what jealous hearts have we that will not trust Christ that will not take the word of Christ without an office of security surely Christ never so carried himself to any soul that it need be jealous of his love and faithfulndess yet this dear husband meets with many a jealous spouse O my soul take heed of this Satan hath no greater design upon thee than to perswade thee to entertain hard thoughts of Christ believe never say God will not take thee into Covenant for to this purpose he hath erected an office to save and have mercy Consider of those tenders and offers of Christ those intreaties and beseechings to accept of Christ which are made in the Gospel What is the Gospel or what is the sum of all the Gospel but this O take Christ and life in Christ that thou may'st be saved what mean these free offers Ho every one that thirsteth come to the waters and whosoever will let him take of the Waters of Life freely and God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son c. God is the first suitor and solicitor he first prayes the Soul to take Christ Hark at the door who is it that knocks there who is it that calls now Cant. 5.2 even now open unto me my Sister my Love my Dove my Vndefiled for my head is filled with dew and my locks with the drops of the night See him through the windows this can be none but Christ his sweet language of Sister Love and Dove bespeaks him Christ his suffering language that his head is filled with dew and his locks wih the drops of the Night bespeaks him Christ But harken the motion he makes to thy Soul Soul consider what price I have given to save thee this my body was crucified my hands and feet nailed my heart pierced and through anguish I was forced to cry my soul is heavy heavy unto death and now what remains for thee but onely to believe See all things ready on my part remission justification sanctification salvation I will be thy God and thou shalt be of the number of my People I offer now my self and merits and benefits flowing there-from and I intreat thee accept of this offer O take Christ and Life and Salvation in Christ What is this the voice of my beloved are these the intreaties of Jesus and O my soul wilt thou not believe wilt thou not accept of this Gracious offer of Christ O consider who is this that proclaimeth inviteth beseecheth if a poor man should offer thee mountains of gold thou mightest doubt of performance because he is not of that Power if a covetous rich man should offer thee thousands of silver thou mightest doubt of performance because it is contrary to his nature but Christ is neither poor nor covetous as he is able so his Name is gracious and his nature is to be faithful in performance his Covenant is sealed with his blood and confirmed by his oath that all shall have pardon that will but come in and believe O then let these words of Christ whose lips like lillies are dropping down pure myrrhe prevail with thy soul say Amen to his offer I believe Lord help my unbelief 5. Consider of those Commands of Christ which notwithstanding all thy excuses and pretences he fastens on thee to believe And this is his Commandment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ Surely this Command should infinitely outweigh and prevail against all other Countermands of Flesh and Blood of Satan Nature Reason Sense and all the World Why this Command is thy very ground and warrant against which the very Gates of Hell can never possibly prevail when Abraham had a command too kill his own only dear Son with his own hand though it was matter of as great grief as could possibly pierce his heart yet he would readily and willingly submit to it how much more shouldst thou obey when God commands no more but that thou shouldest belive on the name of his Son Jesus Christ There 's no evil in this Command no no it comprehends in it all good Imaginable have Christ and thou hast with him the excellency and variety of all blessings both of heaven and earth have Christ and thou hast with him a discharge of all those endless and easless torments of Hell have Christ and thou hast with him the glorious Deity it self to be enjoyed through him to all Eternity O then believe in Jesus suffer not the Devils cavils and the groundless exceptions of thine own heart to prevail with thee against the direct Commandment of Almighty God 6. Consider of these Messages of Christ which he daily sends by the hands of his Gospel-Ministers Now then we are Ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead be ye Reconciled unto God What a wonder is here 2 Cor. 5 20. Would not an earthly Prince disdain and hold it in foul scorn to send unto his inferiour rebellious slaves for reconcilement It is otherwise with Christ he is content to put up at our hands all indignities and affronts he is glad to sue to us first and to send his Ambassadors day after day beseeching us to be reconciled unto him O incomprehensible depth of unspeakable Mercy and Incouragement to come to Christ That I may digress a little say thou that readest wilt thou take Christ to thy Bridegroom and forsake all others This is the Message which God hath bid me unworthy Ambassadour to deliver to thee the Lord Jesus expects an answer from thee and I should be glad at heart to return a fit answer to him that sent me say then dost thou like well of the Match wilt thou have Christ for thy Husband wilt thou enter into Covenant with him wilt thou surrender up thy Soul to thy God wilt thou rely on Christ and apply Christs merits particularly to thy self wilt thou believe for that is it I mean by taking and receiving and
us And we know that the Son of God is come This is the true God and eternal Life And without Controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness God was manifested in the Flesh 2. Unanswerable Reasons drawn from Scriptures prove him God Thus it appears 1. From those incommunicable properties of the Diety which are properly ascribed unto him He is eternal as God Rev. 1.17 He is infinite as God Mat 28.20 He is omniscient as God Mat. 9 4. He is omnipotent as God He that cometh from above is above all John 3.41 Phil. 3.21 Rev. 1.18 He is able to subdue all things unto himself He hath the keys of hell and death 2. From these Relations he hath with God as to be the only begotten Son of God John 1.18 The Image of the Father 2 Cor. 4.4 Col. 1.15 3. From those Acts ascribed to him which are only agreeable to the divine Nature as to be the Author of our Election John 13.18 To know the Secrets of our Hearts Ma. 9.4 To hear the prayers of his people John 14.14 To judge the quick and the dead John 5.22 And thus he creates as God John 1.4 He commands as God Mat. 8.26 He forgives as God Mat. 9.6 He sanctifies as God John 1.12 He glorifies as God John 10.28 4. From all those acknowledgments given to him by the Saints which are only proper unto God and thus he is believed on as God John 3.18 He is loved as God 1 Cor. 16.22 He is obeyed as God Mat. 17.5 He is prayed to as God Acts 7.59 He is praised as God Rev. 5.13 He is adored as God Heb. 1.6 Phil. 2.10 Surely all these are strong demonstrations and prove clearly enough that Christ Jesus is God But why was it requisite that our Saviour should be God I answer 1. Because none can save Souls nor satisfie for sin but God alone There is none saith the Psalmist that can by any means redeem his Brother or give a ransom for him Psal 49.7.15 but God will redeem my soul from the power of Hell 2. Because the satisfaction which is made for sin must be infinitely meritorious an infinite wrath cannot be appeased but by an infinite merit and hence our Saviour must needs be God to the end that his obedience and sufferings might be of infinite price and worth 3 Because the burden of God's wrath cannot be endured and run through by a finite Creature Christ therefore must be God that he might abide the burden and sustain the Manhood by his divine power 4. Because the enemies of our salvation were too strong for us How could any creature overcome Satan Death Hell Damnation Ah! this required the power of God there 's none but God that could destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil 2. As Christ is God so he is true man he was born as man and bred as man and fed as man and slept as man and wept as man and sorrowed as man and suffered as man and died as man and therefore he is man But more particularly 1. Christ had a humane body Heb. 10.5 Wherefore when he came into the world he said Sacrifice and Offering thou wouldest not but a body hast thou prepared me And when the Apostles thought they had seen a Phantasm or a Spirit he said unto them Handle me and see because a Spirit hath no flesh and bones as you see me have Luke 24.39 Here 's a truth clear as the Son and yet O wonder Some in our times as Cochlaeus witnesseth do now avouch that he had but an imaginary body an aerial body a phantasm only in shew and no true body 2. Christ had an humane reasonable Soul My Soul is heavy unto Death said Christ Mat. 26.38 Luke 23.46 and again Father into thy hands I commend my Spirit Surely saith Nazianzen either he had a Soul or he will not save a Soul The Arrians opposed this saying Christ had no humane Soul but only a living flesh because the Evangelist saith that the Word was made flesh but this is a Synechdoche John 1.14 very usual in Scripture to put the part for the whole and signifieth as much as that he had said the Word was made man I know some reasons are rendred why the Evangelist saith he was made flesh rather than he was made man as 1. To shew what part of Christ was made of his Mother not his Deity nor his Soul but only his flesh 2. To express the greatness of Gods Love who for our sakes would be contented to be made the vilest thing flesh which is compared to grass Isa 40.6 All flesh is grass 3. To shew the greatness of Chirsts humility in that he would be named by the meanest name and basest part of man the soul is excellent but the flesh is base 4. To give us some confidence of his love and favour towards us because our flesh which was the part most corrupted is now united to the Son of God 3. Christ had all the properties that belong either to the soul or body of a man nay more than so Christ had all the infirmities of out Nature sin only excepted I say the infirmities of our nature as cold and heat and hunger and thirst and weariness and weakness and pain and the like but I cannot say that Christ took upon him all our personal infirmities infirmities are either natural common to all men or personal and proper to some men as to be born lame blind diseased as to be affected with Melancholy Infirmity Deformity how many deformed Creatures have we amongst us Christ was not thus his Body was framed by the holy Ghost of the purest Virgins Blood and therefore I question not it was proportioned in a most equal symetry and correspondency of parts He was fairer than the sons of men his countenance carried in it an hidden vailed star like brightness saith Jerome which being but a little revealed it so ravished his Disciples hearts that at the first sight thereof they left all and followed him and it so astonished his enemies that they stumbled and fell to the ground So then he had not our personal infirmities but only our natural and good reason for indeed he took not upon him an humane person but only an humane nature united to the person of his Godhead But why was it requisite that our Saviour should be Man I answer 1. Because our Saviour must suffer and die for our sins which the Godhead could not do 2. Because our Saviour must perform obedience to the Law which was not agreeable to the Law-giver the Godhead certainly is free from all manner of subjection 3. Because our Saviour must satisfie the justice of God in the same nature wherein it was offended For since by man came death 1 Cor. 5 21. by man came also the resurrection of the dead 4. Because by this means we might have free access to the Throne of Grace and might
the Spirit of our God As every man is so is he affected so he speaks and so he lives if thy life be supernatural so is thy affections so is thy words so is thy conversation Paul lived a life once of a bloody persecutor he breathed out threatenings against all the Professors of the Lord Jesus but now it is otherwise The life which I now live in the flesh Gal. 2.20 I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me O my soul Hast thou the old conversation the old affections the old discourse the old passions thou used to have What Is thy heart a den of lusts a cage of unclean imaginations Then fear thy self there cannot from a sweet fountain come forth bitter streams there cannot from a refined spirit as refined come forth corrupted actions or imaginations a Thorn cannot send forth Grapes saith Christ so neither can a Vine send forth Thornes say we I know there is in the best something of flesh as well as of the spirit but if thou art new born then thou canst not but strive against it and wilt endeavour to conquer it 1 Pet. 3.4 2 Pet. 1.4 Rom. 7.22 2 Cor. 5.17 3. Where this new birth is there is a new nature a new principle Peter calls it the hidden man of the heart the divine nature Paul calls it the inward man the new creature it is compared to a root to a fountain to a foundation and for want of this foundation we see now in these sad times so much inconstancy and unsetledness in some professors themselves many have gotten new and strange notions but they have not new natures new principles of grace if grace were but rooted in their hearts though the winds did blow and storms arise they would continue firm and stable as being founded upon a Rock Never tell me of profession shew outward action outward conversation outward duties of Religion all this may be and yet no new creature you have some bruits that can act many things like men but because they have not an humane nature they are still brutish so many things may be done in a way of holiness which yet come not from this inward principle of renovation and therefore it is but copper and not gold mistake not O my soul in this which is thy best and surest evidence though I call the new birth a new creature my meaning is not as if a new faculty were infused into him that is new born a man when he is regenerate hath no more faculties in his soul than he had before his regeneration only in the work of regeneration those ablities which the man had before are now improved and made spiritual and so they work now spiritually which before wrought naturally As in the resurrection from the dead our bodies shall have no more nor other parts and members than they had before only those parts and members which now are natural shall then by the power of God be made spiritual 1 Cor. 15.44 It is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body so the same faculties and the same abilities which before regeneration were but natural are now spiritual and work spiritually they are all brought under the government of the Spirit of Christ a lively resemblance of this change in the faculties of the soul we may discern in those natural and sensitive faculties which we have common with beasts as to live to move to desire to feel the beasts having no higher principle than sense use them sensually but a man enjoying the same faculties under the command of a reasonable soul he useth them rationally so is it in a regenerate man his understanding will and affections when they had no other command but reason he only used them rationally but now being under the guiding of the Spirit of Christ they work spiritually and he useth them spiritually and hence it is that a regenerate man is every where in Scripture Rom. 8.1 Gal. 5.18 25. said to Walk after the Spirit to be led by the Spirit to walk in the Spirit the Spirit by way of infusing or shedding gives power an ability a seed a principle of spiritual life which the soul had not before and from this principle of spiritual life planted in the Soul flows or springs those spiritual motions and operations as the Spirit leads them out according to the habit or principle of the new creature the divine nature the spiritual life infused Come then look to it O my soul What is thy principle within consider not so much the outward actions the outward duties of Religion as that root from whence they grow that principle from whence they come they are fixed ones setled ones by way of life in thee Clocks have their motions but they are not motions of life because they have no principles of life within Is there life within then art thou born again yea even unto thee a Child is born This is one evidence 2. From the latter words I lay down this position unto us a Son is given if we are Gods Sons The best way to know our Interest in the Son of God it is to know our selves to be Gods Sons by grace as Christ was Gods Son by nature Christians to whom Christ is given are coheirs with Christ only Christ is the first-born and hath the preheminence in all things our sonship is an effect of Christs sonship and a sure sign that unto us a Son is given Say then O my soul Art thou a Son of God Dost thou resemble God according to thy capacity being holy even as he is holy Why then Christ was incarnate for thee he was given to thee If thy sonship be not clear enough thou mayst try it further by these following Rules 1. The Sons of God Fear God If I be a Father Where is my Honour Mal. 1.6 saith God if I be a Master Where is my Fear If I be a Son of God there will be an holy Fear and Trembling upon me in all my approaches unto God I know there is a servile mercinary Fear and that is unworthy and unbeseeming the Son of God but there is a filial Fear and that is an excellent check and bridle to all our wantonness What Son will not Fear the frowns and anger of his loving Father 1 Pet. 1.17 I dare not do this will he say my Father will be offended and I whether shall I go Agreeable to this is the Apostles advice If ye call on the Father pass your sojourning here with Fear 2. The Sons of God Love God and Obey God out of a principle of Love Suppose there were no Heaven or Glory to bestow upon a regenerate person yet would he Obey God out of a principle of Love not that it is unlawful for the Child of God to have an Eye unto the recompence of reward Heb.
do he had been nibling a great while at his heel no sooner he was born but he would have killed him and after he fell fiercely on him in the Wilderness but now all the Power and all the malice of hell conjoynes If we look on the Devil in respect of his evil nature he is compared to a roaring Lion not only is he a Lion but a roaring Lion his disposition to do mischief is alwayes wound up to the height and if we look on the Devil in respect of his Power there is no part of our souls or bodies that he cannot reach the Apostle discribing his Power he gives him names above the highest comparisons as Principalities Powers Rulers of the darkness of this World Spiritual wickedness above Devils are not only called Princes but Principalities not only mighty but Powers Eph. 6.12 not only Rulers of a part but of all the darkness of all this World not only wicked Spirits but spiritual wickedness not only about us but above us they hang over our heads continually you know what a disadvantage it is to have your enemy get the hill the upper ground and this they have naturally and alwayes Oh then what a combate must this be when all the Power and all the malice of all the Devils in hell should by the permission of God arm themselves against the Son of God Surely this was a bitter Ingredient in Christ's Cup. 6. The wrath of God himself this above all was the most bitter Dreg it lay in the bottom and Christ must drink it also Oh the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger God afflicts some in mercy and some in anger this was in his anger Lam. 1.12 and yet in his anger God is not like to all some he afflicts in his more gentle and mild others in his fierce anger this was in the very fierceness of his anger It is agreed upon by all Divines that now Christ saw himself bearing the sins of all Believers and standing before the judgment-seat of God to this end are those words John 12.31 Now is the judgment of this World and the Prince of this World shall be cast out Now is the judgment of this World q. d. Now I see God sitting in judgment upon the World and as a right Representative of all the World of Believers here I stand before his Tribunal ready to undergo all the punishments due to them for their sins why there is no other way to save their souls and to satisfie justice but that the fire of thy indignation should kindle against me Nahum 1.6 q. d. O I know it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Oh I know God is a consuming fire who can stand before his indignation and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger his fury is poured out like fire and the rocks are thrown down by him But for this end came I into the world O my Father I will drink this Cup lo here an open Breast come prepare the Armory of thy wrath and herein shoot all the Arrows of revenge And yet O my Father let me not be oppressed subverted or swallowed up by thy wrath let not thy displeasure continue longer than my patience or obedience can indure there is in me flesh and blood in respect of my humanity and my flesh trembleth for fear of thee I am afraid of thy judgments Oh if it be possible if it be possible let this Cup pass from me SECT V. Of the Dolours and Agonies that Christ there suffered 2. CHrist's Passion in the Garden was either before or at his apprehension his Passion before is declared 1. By his Sorrow 2. By his Sweat Mat. 26.37 Mar. 14.33 Luke 22.44 John 12.27 1. For his sorrow the Evangelists diversly relate it He began to be sorrowful and very heavy saith Matthew He began to be sore amazed and to be very heavy saith Mark And being in an Agony he prayed more earnestly saith Luke Now is my Soul troubled and what shall I say Father save me from this hour but for this cause came I unto this hour saith John All avow this sorrow to be great and so it is confessed by Christ himself Mat. 26.38 Then saith he unto them my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death Ah Christians who can speak out this sorrow The Spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity Prov. 18.14 but a wounded Spirit who can bear Christ's soul is sorrowful or if that be too flat his soul is sorrowful exceeding sorrowful or if that language be too low his soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death not only extensively such as must continue for the space of seventeen or eighteen hours even until death it self should finish it but also intensively such and so great as that which is used to be at the very point of death and such as were able to bring death it self had not Christ been reserved to a greater and an heavier punishment Of this sorrow is that especially spoken consider and behold if ever there were sorrow like unto my sorrow Many a sad and sorrowful soul hath no question been in the world but the like sorrow to this was never since the Creation the very terms of the Evangelists speak no less he was sorrowful and heavy saith one amazed and very heavy saith another in an Agony saith a third in a soul trouble saith a fourth Surely the bodily torments of the Cross were inferiour to this agony of his soul the pain of the body is the body of pain Oh but the very soul of sorrow and pain is the soul's sorrow and the Souls's pain It was a sorrow unspeakable and therefore I must leave it as not being able to utter it Luke 22.44 2. For his Sweat Luke only relates it And his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground In the words I observe a Clymax 1. His sweat was as it were blood Ethymius and Theophilact interpret those words as only a similitude or figurative Hyperbole an usual kind of speech to call a vehement sweat a bloody sweat as he that weeps bitterly is said to weep tears of blood Augustine Jerome Epiphanius Athanasius Irenaeus and others from the beginning of the Church understand it in a litteral sense and believe it was truly and properly a bloody sweat nor is the Objection considerable that it was sicut guttae sanguinis as it were drops of blood for if the Holy Ghost had only intended that sicut for a similitude or Hyperbole he would rather have expressed it as it were drops of water than as it were drops of blood We all know sweat is more like to water than to blood Besides a sicut in Scripture-phrase doth not alwayes denote a similitude but sometimes the very thing it self John 1.14 Luke 24.11 according to the verity of it thus we beheld his Glory the Glory
hope This is to undervalue Christ's redemption this is to think there is more in sin to damn than in Christ's sufferings to save whereas all thy Sins to Christ are but as a little cloud to the glorious Sun yea all the Sins of all the men in the world are but to Christs merits as a drop to the Ocean I speak not this to encourage the presumptuous sinner for alass he hath no part in this satisfaction but to comfort the humble sinner who is loaden with the sense of his Sins what though they were a burthen greater than he can bear yet they are not a burthen greater than Christ can bear there is in Christ's blood an infinite treasure able to sanctifie thee and all the World there is in Christs death a ransome a counterprice sufficient to redeem all the sinners that ever were or ever shall be the price is of that nature that it is not diminished though it be extended to never so many as the Sun hath fulness of light to enlighten all the world and if the blind do not see by it it is no any scarcity of light in the Sun but by reason of his own indisposition so if all men are not acquitted by Christ's death it 's not because that was insufficient as if it had not vertue enough to reach them as well as others but because they by their unbelief do reject this remedy Oh what large room hath saith to expatiate in sit down and dive and dive yet thou canst not come to the bottom of Christ's blood but as the Prophet Ezekiel saw still more and greater abominations so mayest thou in the sufferings of Christ observe more and more fulness See what a notable opposition the Apostle makes Rom. 5.15 16 17 18 19 20 21. between the first and second Adam proving at large that Christ doth super-abound in the fruits of his grace above the first Adam in the fruits of his sin he calls it grace and the abundance of grace and this abundance of grace reigneth to life Ver. 17. so that these Texts should be like so much oyl poured into the wounds of every broken-hearted sinner Oh is there any thing that can be desired more than this 5. There is in it remission of sins so saith Christ Mat. 26.28 This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins Remission of sins is attributed to Christ's death as a cause it is not thy tears or prayers or rendings of heart that could pay the least farthing Heb. 9.22 Without shedding of blood saith the Apostle there is no remission God will have tears and blood also though not for the same purpose for all thy tears thou must flie to Christ only as the cause it is true thou must mourn and pray and humble thy self but it 's Christ's blood only that can wash us clean Oh remember this God will not pardon without satisfaction by the blood of Christ And surely this makes Christ's death so desirable Oh my sins afflict me cries many a one Oh I am loathsome in mine own eyes much more in Gods surely God is offended with my dulness slothfulness and my thousand imperfections I am all the day long entangled with this sin and that sin and the other sin but let this contrite spirit look on Christ's death and therein he may find all sin is pardoned see here what an Argument is put into thy mouth from these sufferings of Christ well mayest thou say O Lord I am unworthy but it is just and right that Christ obtain what he died for Eph. 2.13 14. O pardon my sins for his death's sake and for his precious blood sake 6. There is in it reconciliation and peace with God In Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ for he is our peace who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us Rom. 5.10 Eph. 2.16 Col. 1.20 When we were enemies we were reconciled unto God by the death of his Son that he might reconcile both viz. Jews and Gentiles unto God in one body by the Cross And having made peace through the blood of his Cross by him â—o reconcile all things to himself This certainly should admirably support the drooping soul it may be thou cryest My sins have made a breach betwixt God and my soul I have warred against heaven and now God wars against me and oh what odds if the Lord be angry yea but a little what will become of my poor soul is a little stubble able to contend with the consuming fire how then should I contend with God but come now and look on Christ's death as the means and meritorious cause of reconciliation and thou canst not but say O this death is desirable When God the Father looks at a sinner in the bloody glass of Christ then saith God Oh now fury and wrath is not in me I have no more quarrel or controversie with this soul seeing Christ hath suffered it is enough I have as much as my justice can demand my frowns are now turned into smiles and my rod of iron into a Scepter of grace Why this is it that makes Christ's death and blood so desirable to the soul what shall Jacob so rejoyce in seeing Esau's face altered to him shall he say to Esau I have seen thy face as the face of God how much rather may the humble and believing sinner be filled with gladness when through Christ's blood shall be thus appeased and reconciled with him 7. There is in it immunity and safety from all the judgments and dangers threatned against our sins Surely if there were such force in the blood of the type that by the effusion of it the Israelites lay safe and untouched of the revenging Angel how much more in the blood of Christ Rev. 12.11 Satan himself is said to be overcome by the blood of the Lamb and God's revenge due to our sins is said to be removed by the blood of Jesus therefore it is called The blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than the blood of Abel Heb. 12.24 the blood of sprinkling was for safety and Christ's blood is for safety it cries not for revenge as Abel's blood cryed but for mercy and for deliverance from all misery 8. There is in it a blessed vertue to open Heaven and to make passage thither for our souls Having boldness or liberty to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Heb. 10.19 it is the blood of Christ that rents the Vail and makes a way into the Holy of Holies that is into the Kingdom of Heaven without this blood there is no access to God it is only by the blood of Christ that heaven is open to our prayers and that Heaven is open to our persons this blood is the key that unlocks Heaven and lets in the souls of his Redeemed
its swinge and breaking out the heart that lodged it abhors its self in dust and ashes cries mightily unto God for mercy and pardon repairs the breach with stronger resolution and more invincible watchfulness against future assaults but a Lust unmortified possesseth it self and rules and reigns in the heart and soul it abides there and will not away I shall not deny but there may be a cessation of its actings for a time but that is not any want of good will as they say but only of matter means opportunity enticement company provocation or the like and after such cessation or forbearance the heart usually entertains it again with more greediness it lies and delights in it as much as ever it hardens it self most obstinately in it as if it were impossible to leave it or live without it with any kind of comfort 4. True mortification is a painful work The very word imports no less to kill a man or to mortifie a member will not be without pain hence it is called a crucifying of the flesh Gal. 5.24 Mat. 5.29 30. and a cutting off the right hand a plucking out the right eye they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh if thy hand offend thee cut it off and if thy eye offend thee pluck it out in this respect this death unto sin carries with it a likeness to the death of Christ it is attended with agonies and soul-conflicts both before and after our conversion 1. Before conversion before the first wound be given it why then ordinarily there is some compunction of Spirit some pricking of heart what a case do we find the Jews in when after Peters Sermon they were pricked at their hearts and what an agony do we find the Jailor in when he came trembling in and falling down at the Apostles feet and crying out Sirs What shall I do to be saved With such agonies as these Acts 2.7 Acts 16.30 is the beginning of mortification usually attended I do not say that they are alike in all whether for degree or continuance but in ordinary true and sound conversion is not without some of these soul-conflicts 2. After conversion after the first round there are some agonies still for though a Believer be delivered of sin in respect of the guilt and reigning power yet he hath still some remainders of sinful Corruption left within him which draw many a groan and many a sign from his trembling heart Rom. 8.23 we also have the first-fruits of the spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the adoption to wit the Redemption of our bodies such are the groans of mortifying Saints Saints dying unto sin like the groans of dying men whose souls being weary of their bodies do earnestly desire a dissolution and thus Paul groaned when he said O wretched man that I am Rom. 7.24 who shall deliver me from the body this death Oh what a Touchstone is this how will ihis discover true mortification from that which was counterfeit Some may think they are dead unto sin when in deed and in truth they are not dead but asleep unto sin and it appears by this because there were no pangs in their death you know this is a difference betwixt death and sleep there are pangs in the one but not in the other O my soul examine what pangs were there in thy death unto sin what agonies what soul-conflicts hast thou felt what compunction of heart what affliction of Spirit hast thou endured for sin what trouble hast thou had to find such a law in thy members rebelling against the law in thy mind Rom. 7.23 and bringing thee into captivity to the Law of sin why surely thou art not so mortified as to be freed wholly from the power of sin it may be it doth not rule in thee as a Prince yet certainly it tyrannizeth over thee it oft-times carries thee contrary to the bent of thy regenerate mind to the omittting of what thou wouldst do and to the committing of what thou wouldst not do and is not this an affliction of Spirit doth not this cause frequent conflicts in thy spirit if not thou mayest well suspect that sin is not dead but asleep or if it be dead to thee yet thou art not dead to it I confess death-pangs are not all alike in all some have a more gentle and others a more painful death so it is in this Spiritual death unto sin and that herein there may be no mistake I shall propound this question What is the least measure of these pangs these soul-agonies and conflicts that are necessarily required to true mortification I answer 1. There must be a sense of sin and of Gods wrath due unto sin such a sense we find in Jesus Christ he was very sensible of the weight and burden of those sins and of the wrath of God that lay upon him which made him cry out My God My God why hast thou forsaken me thus souls in the act of Mortification sometimes cry out O my sins and Oh God's wrath 2 There must be sorrow for Sin Such an affection we find also in Jesus Christ My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Cor. 7.10 he was beset and surrounded with sorrows so every mortified sinner at one time or other he feels an inward sorrow and grief even that Godly sorrow which the Apostle speakes of a sorrow according to God i. e coming from God well-pleasing to God and bringing to God back again 3. There must be a desire of being freed and delivered from sin Luke 12.50 such a desire we find also in Jesus Christ I have a Baptism to be Baptised with and how am I straitned until it be accomplished A regenerate soul earnestly desires to be freed not only from the guilt but also from the power of sin O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me c 4. There must be answerable endeavours in effectual strivings against sin Heb. 12.4 Ye have not resisted unto blood striving against sin How did our Saviour wrestle in the Garden offering up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears Heb. 5.7 so will a regenerate soul wrestle with God about tâ—â— death of sin praying watching going out in the strength of God and engaging in a continual war a deadly fewd against it and these are the least of those soul-conflicts wherewith this mortification or death unto sin is attended Now try we the truth of our Mortification by these signs Doth it spring from a right root of Faith is it general and universal in respect of all sins is it accompanied with combates doth the flesh lust against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and in this combate doth the spirit at last prevail and triumph over the flesh do we find it a painfull work both before and after conversion why then may I say with the Apostle now I know Christ
and the fellowship of his sufferings now by the Grace of Christ I am made conformable to his death As he died for sin so I die to sin and here is the ground of my hope that Christs death is mine For the second whether we encrease and grow in our mortification this question is needfull as the former to satisfie our souls interest in the death of Christ As true Grace is growing Grace so true mortification is that which grows Now that we may be resolved in this point also the growth of our mortification will appear by these following signs 1. Growing Mortification hath its chiefest conflicts in spiritual lusts At first we mortifie grosser evils such as Oaths Drunkenness Uncleanness worldly-mindedness or the like but when we grow in this Blessed duty we then set our selves against spiritual wickednesses as Pride Presumption Self-carnal confidence in a man 's own graces or the like 2 Cor. 7.1 this Method the Apostle sets down let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit first from all filthiness of the flesh or body and then from all filthiness of the spirit or soul as the children of Israel in their entrance into the land of Promise first they sate upon the frontiers and skirts of the Land and then they sought it out and prevailed in the heart of the Country so Christians in their mortification they first set upon worldly lusts gross evils outward sins and when they have encountred them at the frontiers they then conflict with such corruptions as lie more inwardly in the very heart spiritual wickednesses that are within Now if this be our case here is one sign of our growth 2. Growing mortification is more even constant lasting durable when there is in the heart a sudden flowing and reflowing it comes from those vast Seas of Corruptions that are within us many souls have their Ague-fits sometimes hot and sometimes cold it may be now they are in a very good frame and within an hour or two a mighty Tide comes in and they are born down by sin and corruption in this case mortification is very weak But on the contrary if we find our standing more firm and sure if for the main we walk evenly and keep closely to the Lord it carries with it an evidence that our mortification grows 3. Growing mortification feels Lust more weak and the Spirit more strong in its ordinary actings If we would know the truth of growth let us look to our usual fits of sinning for then a man's strength or weakness is discerned most as a man's weakness to good is discerned when he comes to act it Rom. 7.18 to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not so a man's weakness to sin is best discerned when he comes to act it Mark then the ordinary fits as we call them of sinning sometimes God is pleased to appoint some more frequent assaults as if he would on purpose suffer the law of the members to war and to muster up all their forces that so we might the rather know what is in our hearts at such a time if we find that resistance against sin grows stronger that sin cannot advance and carry on his Army so as formerly that sin is encountâ—ed at first or met withal at the frontiers and there overthrown this is a good sign that now our mortification grows as suppose it be a Lust of Fancy it cannot boyl up to such gross fancies as it was wont or suppose it be a Lust of Pride it boyls not up to such a spirit of Pride as formerly in stead of bringing forth fruit it now brings forth blossomes or instead of bringing forth blossomes it now brings forth nothing but Leaves why this is a sure sign that this Lust is withering more and more when the inordinate thirst is not so great in the time of the Fit when the inward lusts pitch upon lower acts than they had wont when the waters abate and fall short and lessen and overflow less ground we may conclude certainly that mortification grows 4. Growing mortification hath more ability to abstain from the very occasions and beginnings of lust Ioâ— 31.1 Thus Job whom we look on as a man much mortified made a Covenant with his eyes that he would not think upon a Maid and no question as he made a covenant so he kept his Covenant Oh! when a man cannot endure to come where such a one is that he loves not when he cannot endure the fight of him or any thing that puts him in mind of him not so much as to parlie or speak with him this is a sign of a strong hatred and so when a man hates the very garment spotted with the flesh here 's a good sign I know this height is not easie to attain to and therefore some in imitation of Job and David have bound themselves with vows and promises as much as might be to abstain from the appearance of evil to crush the Cockatrice Egg before the Serpent could creep out of it to avoid sin in its first rise but alas how have they broken their vows from time to time For all this I dare not speak against vows provided that 1. They be of things lawful 2. That we esteem them not as duties of absolute necessiâ—y And 3. Thâ—t we bind not our selves perpetually left our vows should become burdens unto us but only for some short time and so renew them as occasion requires in this way our vows might much help us in our mortification and if once through the help of vows or prayer or looking unto Jesus or going to the Cross of Jesus Christ or by any other means we feel our selves more able to resist sin to hate sin in its first rise first motions first on-set we may assuredly hope that now our mortification grows O my Soul try now the growth of thy mortification by these signs hast thou overcome grosser sins and is now thy chiefest coâ—flâ—t with spiritual wickednesses is thy standing and walking with God more close and even and constant than sometimes it hath been is thy lusts more weak and thy Grace more strong in ordinary actings I say in ordinary actings for the estimate of thy growth must not be taken for a turn or two but by a constanst course hast thou now more ability to quench the flame of sin in the very spark to dash Babylon's Brats against the stones even whilst they are little to abstain from sin in its first motion or beginning why then is the promise accomplished he will subdue our iniquities Surely thou art a growing Christian Micah 7.19 thou hast fellowship with Christ in his sufferings thy ground is solid firm and stable thy hope hath a rock-foundation and thou maiest build upon it that Christ's death and blood and sufferings are thine even thine he loved thee and gave himself for thee SECT V. Of Believing in Jesus in
Mat. 26.65 as making himself equal with God yea see how the high Priest rends his clothes saying he hath spoken blasphemy Surely all this he endured that very blasphemers may find mercy if they will but come in and believe in Jesus I might instance in other sins art thou a Traytor a glutton a drunkard a wine-bibber a thief a seducer a companion of sinners why see now how Jesus Christ was for thy sake thus called reputed accounted whatever the sin is there 's something in Christ that answers that very sinfulness thou art a sinner and he is made sin to satisfie the wrath of God even for thy sin thou art such and such a sinner and he is accounted such and such a sinner for thy sake that thou mightest find in him something suitable to thy condition and so the rather be encouraged to believe that in him and through him all thy sins shall be done away Away away unbelief distrust despair you see now the brazen serpent lifted up you see what a blessed object is before you O believe O look up unto Jesus O believe in him thus carrying on the work of thy salvation in his death SECT VI. Of loving Jesus in that respect 6. LEt us love Jesus as carrying on the great work of our Salvation for us during his sufferings and death What! did he suffer and dye Rom. 5.8 Greater love than this hath no man that a man should give his life for his friends but God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ dyed for us Why here 's an argument of love indeed how should we but love him who hath thus loved us in prosecution of this I have no more to do but first to shew Christ's love to us and then to exercise our love to him again 1. For his love to us had not God said it and the Scriptures recorded it who would have believed our reports yet Christ hath done it and it is worth our while to weigh it and consider it in an holy meditation Indeed with what less than ravishment of Spirit can I behold the Lord Jesus who from everlasting was cloathed with Glory and Majesty now wrapped in rags cradled in a manger exposed to hunger thirst weariness danger contempt poverty revilings scourgings persecution but to let them pass into what extasies may I be cast to see the Judg of all the world accused judged condemned to see the Lord of life dying upon the tree of shame and curse to see the eternal Son of God strugling with his Fathers wrath to see him who had said I and my Father are one sweating drops of blood in his agony and crying out on his cross my God my God why hast thou forsaken me Oh whither hath his love to mankind carried him had he only sent his creatures to serve us had he only sent his Prophets to advise us in the way to Heaven had he only sent his Angels from his chamber of presence to attend upon us and to minister to us it had been a great deal of mercy or if it must be so had Christ come down from Heaven hnmself but only to visit us or had he come only and wept over us saying Oh that you had known even you in this your day the things belonging to your peace Oh that you had more considered of my goodness Oh that you had never sinned this would have been such a mercy as that all the world would have wondered at it but that Christ himself should come and lay down his blood and life and all for his people and yet I am not at the lowest that he should not only part with life but part with the sense and sweetness of God's love which is a thousand times better than life Psal 63.3 Thy loving kindness is better than life that he should be content to be accursed that we might be blessed that he should be content to be forsaken that we might not be forsaken that he should be content to be condemned that we might be acquitted O what raptures of Spirit can be sufficient for the admiration of this so infinite mercy be thou swallowed up O my soul in this depth of Divine love and hate to spend thy thoughts any more upon the base objects of this wretched world when thou hast such a Saviour to take them up Come look on thy Jesus who dyed temporally that thou mightest live eternally who out of his singular tenderness would not suffer thee to burn in hell for ten twenty thirty forty an hundred years and then recover thee by which notwithstanding he might better and deeper have imprinted in thee the blessed memory of a dear Redeemer no no this was the Article betwixt him and his Father That thou shouldst never come there see but observe but Christ's love in that mutual agreement betwixt God and Christ Oh I am pressed saith God with the sins of the world as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves come my Son either thou must suffer or I must damn the world Accordingly I may imagine the Attributes of God to speak to God Mercy cryes I am abused and Patience cryes I am despised and goodness cryes I am wronged and Holyness cryes I am contradicted and all these come to the Father for Justice crying to him that all the world were opposers of his Grace and Spirit and if any be saved Christ must be punished In this case we must imagine Christ stepped in nay rather than so saith Christ I will bear all and undertake the satisfying of all And now look upon him he hangs on the cross all naked all torn all bloody betwixt Heaven and Earth as if he were cast out of Heaven and also rejected by Earth he hath a Crown indeed but such a one as few men will touch none will take from him and if any rash man will have it he must tear hair skin and all or it will not come his hair is all clodded with blood his face all clouded with black and blew he is all over so pittifully rent outwards inwards body and soul I will think the rest alas when I have spoken all I can I shall speak under it had I the tongues of men and Angels I could not express it Oh love more deep than hell Oh love more high than heaven the brightest Seraphims that burn in love are but as sparkles to that mighty flame of love in the heart of Jesus 2. If this be Christ's love to us what is that love we owe to Christ Oh now for an heart that might be some wayes answerable to these mercies Oh for a soul sick of love yea sick unto death how should I be otherwise or any less affected this only sickness is our health this death our life and not to be thus sick is to be dead in sins and trespasses why surely I have heard enough for which to love Christ for ever The depths of God's grace are
hangs over thy head like Democles s sword and therefore thou leavest thy sin thus Ahab for a time acts the part of a penitent but no thanks to Ahab for the Prophet had rung him such a peal for his fin as made both his ears tingle 1 King 21.19 In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood even thine or it may be there is in thee a fear of Hell in thy apprehension death is come and is ready to carry thee before the dreadful Tribunal of a terrible God and therefore thou leavest thy sin thus Sea-men in a stress part with their goods not because they are out of love with them but because they love their lives better they see plainly that either they must part with them or perish with them Now in these cases thy leaving off sin bears no similitude with the death of Christ for his death was voluntary and true mortification is a voluntary action But may there not be some reluctancy in this work betwixt the flesh and the Spirit Quest and if so is it then voluntary I answer Yes such a reluctancy we find in the humane nature of Christ concerning the Cup Answ Mat. 26.39 that it might pass from him and yet his death was a true voluntary death An action is said to be voluntary or involuntary according to the superior faculties of the Soul and not according to the inferior if the reasonable part be consenting the action may be called voluntary though there be some reluctancy in the sensitive appetite Thus in the Christian in whom there is nature and grace flesh and spirit an unregenerate and a regenerate part if the superior and better part be willing I mean advisedly and deliberately willing with full consent of the inward man though perhaps there may be some reluctancy in the flesh in the unregenerate part yet this is said to be a true voluntary act So then with the mind I my self serve the Law of God Rom. 7.25 22 23. but with my flesh the Law of sin I delight in the Law of God after the inward man but I see another Law in my members warring against the Law of my mind Paul was dead to sin according to the inward man the regenerate part though he found a reluctancy in his outwards members and therefore his death to sin carried with it the resemblance of the death of Christ it was a voluntary death 2. Christ's death was a violent death he died not naturally but violently 1 Pet. 3.18 Isa 53.7 he was put to death in the flesh he was brought as a Lamb to the slaughter So is our mortification it is voluntary in respect of us but violent in respect of sin and herein is the life as I may say of this death Oh when a man layes violent hands on his sins when he cuts them off being yet in their flower and strength and power and vigor when he pulls up those weeds before they whither in themselves this is true mortification many have left their sins who never mortified them so the aged Adulterer hath left his Lust because his body is dead and hence it is that late repentance in an aged sinner is seldom found true alas he dies not to sin but his sin dies to him I will not say but God may call at the eleventh hour though it be very seldom but in that case you had need to be jealous over your selves with a godly jealousie what do you find some sins within you to be dead that were sometimes alive O be inquisitive impannel a Jury call a Coroners Inquest upon your own souls enquire how they came by their deaths whether they died a violent or natural death search what wounds they have received and whether they were deadly wounds yea or no enquire what weapon it was that slew them whether the Sword of the Spirit that two-edged Sword the Word of God what purposes what resolutions have been taken up and levelled against them what prayers and tears have been spent upon them If you find not these signs you may gâ—â—e in your Verdict that they died not a violent but a natural death And here 's a good Caveat for others Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth Eccles 12.1 while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them Oh take heed of reprieving your Lusts let them not live till to morrow now bring them forth in the sight and presence of God arraign condemn crucifie mortifie them whiles they might yet live Surely this is true mortification when the body of sin dieth as Christ died a violent death 3. Christ's Death was a lingring death he hung divers hours upon the Cross From the first hour to the ninth hour saith Matthew i.e. from our twelve to three before he gave up the Ghost So is our mortification a lingring death sin is not put to death all at once but languisheth by little and little this is looked upon as one main difference betwixt justification and sanctification the former is a perfect work admitting of no degrees but so is not the lattâ—r though a Believer is freed perfectly from the guilt of sin yet not so from the power of it sin dwelleth in us though it hath not altogether a dominion over us Rom. 7.17 It is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me like a rebellious Tenant it keeps possession in despight of the owner till the house be pulled down over his head True indeed the body of sin in a regenerate soul hath received its death-wound and in that respect it may be said to be dead but it is not quite dead still it stirreth and moveth dying but by degrees What the Apostle saith of the renewing of the new man we may say of the destroying of the old man the inward man is renewed day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 â—nd the old man is destroyed dâ—y by day or as Paul said of himself in respect of his afflictions we may say of a Christian in respect of his sins I die daily 1 Cor. 15.31 there is not the most sanctified soul upon earth but has some remainders of corruption left in it which God in his wise providence permits for the trying exercising and humbling of our souls and for the making his own rich Graces in renewing and multiplying pardons so much the more glorious Gen. 25.22 And here is a ground of consolation to a drooping and dejected soul such an one cries out alas I feel the stirring and vigorous actings of sin and I am afraid my sin is not mortified as Rebekah said when she felt the Children strugling within her if it bâ— so why am I thus so if sin be mortified saith the soul why am I thus trembling soul let not this discourage Jesus Christ was not dead so soon as he was fastned to the
there is a conveyance of an healing strengthning quickning vertue flowing into the Soul in the time of its viewing eying contemplating reflecting upon Christ crucified Christ lifted up and this comes from the secret presence of God blessing this our looking upon Christ as the Ordinance by which he hath appointed to make an effectual impression upon the heart It is not for us curiously to enquire how this should be Principles we say are not to be proved save only God hath said it and experience hath found it out that when Faith is occasioned to act on any sutable sacred object God by his Spirit doth not fail to answer in such a case he fills the Soul with comfort blessing vertue he returns upon the Soul by from and through the actings of Faith whatsoever by it is looked for Indeed none knoweth this but he that feels it and none feels this that knoweth how to express it as there is somewhat in the fire heat warmth and light which no Painter can express and as there is somewhat in the face heat warmth and life which no Limner can set forth so there is somewhat flowing into the soul while it is acting faith on the Death of Christ which for the rise or way or manner of its working is beyond what tongue can speak or pen can write or pencil can delineate Come then if we would have grace endure afflictions die to sin grow in our mortification let us again and again return to our duty of looking unto Jesus or believing in Jesus as he was lifted up And yet when all is done let us not think that sin will die or cease in us altogether for that is an higher perfection than this life will bear only in the use of the means and through God's blessing we may expect thus far that sin shall not reign it shall not wear a Crown it shall not sit in the Throne it shall hold no Parliaments it shall give no laws within us we shall not serve it but we shall die to the dominion of it by vertue of this Death of Jesus Christ And this He grant who died for us Amen Amen Thus far we have looked on Jesus as our Jesus in his sufferings and death Our next work is to look on Jesus carrying on the great work of our Salvation during the time of his Resurrection and abode upon earth until his Ascension or taking up to Heaven LOOKING UNTO JESUS In his Resurrection The Seventh Book PART VII CHAP. I. Matth. 28.6 He is risen Come see the place where the Lord lay 2 Tim. 2.8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead SECT 1. Of the Time of Christ 's Resurrection THe Sun that went down in a ruddy cloud is risen again with glorious beams of light In this piece as in the former we shall first lay down the Object and then give directions how to look upon it The Object is Jesus carrying on the work of man's salvation in his Resurrection and during the time of his abode on earth after his Resurrection Now in all the transactions of this time I shall only take notice of these two things 1. Of this Resurrection 2. Of his Apparitions for first he rose and secondly he shews himself that he was risen in the first is the Position in the second is the Proof 1. For the Position the Scripture tells us that he rose again the third day In this point I shall observe these particulars 1. When he arose 2. Why he arose 3. How he arose 1. When he arose it was the third day after his crucifying Mat. 12.40 As Jonas was three dayes and three nights in the whales belly so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth This was the time he had appointed and this was the time appropriated to Christ and marked out for him in the Kalender of the Prophets of all those whom God raised from death to life there is not one that was raised on the third day but Jesus Christ some rose afore and some rose after the Son of the Shunamite the son of the widow of Sarephtah the daughter of Jairus he of Naim and some others rose afore Lazarus and the Saints that rose again from the dust when Christ rose staid longer in the grave but Christ takes the day which discovers him to be the Messiah Luke 24.46 Thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day Had he rose sooner a doubt might have been of his dying and had he lain longer a doubt might have been of his rising he would rise no sooner because in some diseases as in the Apoplexy or such like examples are given of such as seeming to be dead have indeed revived and he would lie no longer in his grave because in all dead carcasses and especially in a wounded body putrefaction and corruption begins the third day this may be gathered by the Story of Lazarus in the Gospel where Jesus commanding the stone to be rolled from his grave John 11.39 Psal 16.10 Martha his Sister answered Lord by this time he stinketh for he hath been dead four dayes Now the body of Christ as it was prophesied must not corrupt for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption Mark this Text All men shall rise again but their bodies must first see corruption only the Messiah was to rise again before he saw corruption and therefore he would not delay his resurrection after the third day Hosea 6.2 Some think this and that of Hosea after two days he will revive us and in the third day he will raise us up to be the main Texts to which Christ refers when he said Luke 24.46 Thus it is written And to which the Apostle refers when he said that Christ rose again the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Cor. 15.4 I dare not be too curious in giving reasons for this set time and the rather because Christ is a free worker of his own affairs he doth what he pleaseth and when he pleaseth times and actions are in his own power and he needs not to give us any account of them and yet so far as Scripture discovers we may go along and amongst many others I shall lay down these following Reasons 1. Because the Types had so prefigured we see it in Isaac Jonah and Hezekiah a Patriarch a Prophet and a King 1. For Isaac from the time that God commanded Isaac to be offered for a burnt offering Isaac was a dead man but the third day he was released from death this the Text tells us expresly that it was the third day when Abraham came to Mount Moriah Gen. 22.4 Heb. 11.19 and had his Son as it were restored to him again Gen. 22.4 And Paul discovers that this was in a figure
law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ or the law of this quickening Spirit communicated from Christ unto thy soul 3. If Christ's resurrection be mine then am I planted together in the likness of Christ's resurrection then do I resemble and am made conformable to Christ in his resurrection now if we would know wherein that resemblance is the Apostle tells us that like as Christ was rised up from the dead by the glory of the Father Rom. 6.5 even so we also should walk in newness of life Our mortification is a resemblance of Christ's death and our vivification is a resemblance of Christs resurrection In this ground of our hope concerning our interest in the resurrection of Christ I shall propound these questions Rom. 6.4 1. Whether indeed and in truth our souls are vivified 2. Whether we increase and grow in our vivification For the first the truth and certainty of our vivification will appear by these rules 1. True vivification is general both in respect of us and in respect of Grace 1. In respect of us it is diffused throughout the whole man the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly saith the Apostle and I pray God that your whole spirit 1 Thes 5.23 soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ And. 2. In respect of Grace it is in every Grace I know it is a question whether all Graces are so connexed and chained together that possible they cannot be severed but I suppose it is truly answered that in respect of habit they cannot be severed though in respect of the act or exercise they may be severed some Graces are more radical than others as faith and love and therefore they first appear but as a man lives first the life of a plant then of sense then of reason though all were radically there at first so it is in graces experience tells us that some Christians are eminent in some graces and some in other graces some have more love and some more knowledg and some more patience and some more self-denial but all that are true Christians have each of these graces in some measure or other or at least they have them in habit though not in the act if vivication be true there is a whole work of grace both in heart and life as the light in the ayre runs through the whole hemisphere so the whole work of grace runs through and is diffused through the whole man soul body and spirit O my soul this may put thee to thy study because of the several constitutions or tempers of graces thou mayest find this or that grace this or that image of Christ clearly stampt on thy heart but thou canst not find such and such graces in this case fear not for if in truth and sincerity thou hast but one grace thou hast the whole chaine of graces But to speak to some graces in particular Gal. 2.20 2. True vivification is a new life acting upon a new principle of Faith The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God They are the words of a man pursued by the law unto Christ Paul seeing he was dead by the law he speaks for a better husband the law finds him dead and leaves him dead Nevertheless I live saith Paul what means he a natural life why so he lived before now no no it is a better life than a natural life such a life is no contentment to a soul pursued by the law very heathens and infidels have such a life and in that respect are as happy as the best of Saints Paul's life is a spiritual life and the Spring of his life is the Son of God Jesus Christ is esscentially radically fundamentally life it self and by his incarnation passion resurrection he is life for his Saints they live by him and in him and for him and through him he is the heart and liver of their Spiritual life But as from the heart and liver there must be arteryes and vains for maintenance of life and conveyance of blood throughout all the body so from Christ there must be some conveyance to bring this to life unto us and this is by faith I live by the faith of the Son of God O my soul dost thou live this life of faith on the Son of God canst thou make use of Christ in every state and in every condition As for instance in thy particular calling dost thou look to Christ for wisdome success blessing ability dost thou say if I have ill success I will yet go to Christ it is he that set me here and it is he will enable me in case of provision dost thou run to Christ and dost thou hang upon him for all things needful dost thou say If I want means God will create means he commands all means and he can suddenly do whatsoever he will In case of protection dost thou look unto Jesus to be thy shield and protector dost thou mind the word of God to Abraham Fear not Abraham for I am God all-sufficient Gen. 15.1 thy buckler and thy exceeding great reward In case of thy Children goest thou to Christ saying Are not my Children thy Children and wilt thou not provide for thy own it is true thou must do what thou canst but for the rest despair not cast thy burthen upon him who hath commanded thee in nothing to be careful Phil. 4.6 Phil. 27.10 but in all things to make thy suits known with prayer and supplication when my Father and Mother forsake me God will take me up saith David He is a Father to the Fatherless he provided for them in the womb he provided brests for them ere they saw the Sun and therefore how should he but have care and compassion over thy Children in case of prosperity dost thou see Christ's love in that state dost thou set him in the first place receiving all and joyning in all as coming from him is this it that makes thy prosperity sweet because thou knowest and believest that thy sins are pardoned otherwise what is thy silver and gold so long as thy pardon is not sealed in the blood of Jesus Christ if a prisoner condemned to dye should abound in all outward plenty what comfort could he have so long as his pardon were not sealed it is the life of faith that sweetens prosperity who are better Christians than they who know they enjoy these things with God's favour and blessing faith sees Gods love in all and so is abundantly thankful faith makes a man to eat and drink and sleep and to do all in Christ as it cost Christ dear to purchase our liberty to the creatures so faith ever sets Christ in the first place it receives all as coming from him it returns all as to the glory of him in case of disgrace dost thou commit thy credit to Jesus Christ dost thou look up to Jesus and
confusions distractions despondences staggering and sinking terrors Mat. 11.28 it will find it something yea it will look on it as a glorious work to discover but the morning Star through so much darkness any thing of life in such a valley and shadow of death 3. The understanding hath yet some brighter believing beams it confidently closeth with this truth that it is the will of the Lord that he should come and live and believe and lay hold on Christ it apprehends the particular designs of mercy to him and doth really principle the soul with this that God doth particularly call invite and bid him come to Christ the Fountain of life for life Now the understanding takes in general Gospel-calls in particular to himself It is my poor languishing soul which the Lord speaks to when he sayes come to me all yea that are weary and I will give you rest Ephes 5.14 Awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light Surely this is a great work when set home by the Lord that the soul acts in its addresses to Christ in the strength of a particular call from God 2. And now the answer to this call is wrought up in the renewed will as thus 1. The will summons all its confidences and calls them off from every other bottom to bestow them wholly upon Christ and this consists in our voluntary renouncing of all other helps excepting Jesus Christ alone now the soul sayes to Idols Get ye hence Hos 14.3 Ashur shall not save us we will not ride upon horses neither will we say any more to the works of our hands ye are our Gods Ashur shall not save us Not only cannot but shall not save us now as the soul is dissatisfied in Judgment as to the resting on any thing but Christ alone so the heart and will is disaffected to all other helps but Christ alone now it renounceth its own righteousness and worthyness not only because of their inability to save but mainly because their glory is swallowed up in that unmatchable excellency which appears in the way of life and salvation by Jesus Christ It calls home dependance from every other object 2. Hereupon there is a willing and chearfull receiving of Christ and resignation of our selves to his actual dispose to quicken us and save us in his own way A great part of the answer of Faith to the call of Christ lyes in this for as Faith sees life and salvation in the hands of Christ so it considers it to be given forth in the methods of Christ and so believing lyes not only in assent but consent of heart John 1 1â— that Christ shall save us in his own way this is called A receiving of Christ As many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God Many a soul would be saved by Christ that sticks and boggles at his methods they will not pass to happiness by holiness nor set him up as a King and Lord whom they could consent to set up as a Saviour Oh but now Christ that stood at the door and knocked Rev. 3.10 is received in consent hath made up the match and the door is opened that never shall be shut again 3. Upon this follows the souls resting and relying the souls confidence and dependance upon Jesus Christ for life and for salvation this closeth up the whole business of believing unto righteousness those various expressions used in Scripture of committing our way and selves to God of casting our care upon God of rolling our selves on him of trusting in him of hoping in his mercy c. wrapt up faith in this affiance dependance not without some mixture of confidence and resolved resting upon Jesus Christ a clear beholding of God in Christ and of Christ in the promises doth present such variety and fulness of Arguments to bear up hope and affiance that the heart is resolved and so resolved that we commit our selves and give our souls in charge to Christ I know whom I have believed 1 Pet. 4.19 2 Tim. 1.12 and I am perswaded he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 4. The upshot of all is this that the same close which the soul makes in believing with Jesus Christ as to justification and righteousness is not fruitless to this effect of conveying life and vertue from Jesus Christ as to grace and holiness for that union which then and thereby comes to be enjoyned with Christ is such an union as is fruitful in begetting a quickening power and principle in the heart and this is that which we ordinarily intend by saying saving faith to be operative James 2.16 that faith which brings forth nothing of holiness what is it but a dead faith As the body without the Spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also Justification and sanctification are twins of a birth and hence it is that vivification which is one part of sanctification is wrought in the soul after the self-same manner As first the understanding is illighttened 2. The will is changed 3. All the Affections are renewed 4. The internals being quickened there ensueth the renewing of the body with the outward actions life and conversation And now is fulfilled that saying of Christ in a spiritual sense John 5.25 The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live Now is the soul vivified now it begins to live the life of God now it feels the power of Christ's resurrection and is made conformable to it And immediately upon this joy is made in heaven by the Angels Luke 15.24 God himself applauding it For this my Son was dead and is alive he was lost and is found Thus is the state of vivification wrought I know it is not in all men after one manner for every circumstance the methods of God are exceeding various and we cannot limit the holy one of Israel I have sometimes concerning this desired the communication of other thoughts whom I looked upon as such who had more than ordinary communication with Christ's Spirit and from one of such I received this answer I must profess to you I have in all my speculations in divinity found dissatisfaction in the writings of men in nothing more than is the work of clear and distinct conceptions concerning regeneration which yet is of such a Cardinal importance is that the great doors of heaven move upon the hinges of it the Lord enlighten us more for we see but in part and prophesie but in part For the third question what are the means of this conformity or vivification which we must use on our parts I shall answer herein both to the state and growth of our vivification As 1. Wait and Attend upon God in the ministry of the word this is a means whereby Christ ordinarily effecteth
his praise and bidding him welcome into glory and am I sinning here on earth and by my sins crucifying again and again the Lord of glory O that I might ascend with Christ O that I were now on the wing towards heaven Oh what is it that hinders my ascension but this clog of clay so long as this body remains a natural body I cannot ascend oh therefore that the change were come Oh that this natural body were spirituall that this corruptible had put on incorruption and this mortal had put on immortality then could I move upwards as well as downwards such is the supernatural property of a glorified body that it ascends or descends with equal case or if this be not possible for my present condition if this body if mine must first descend before it ascend if it must down into the grave before it go up into glory why yet Oh that my better part were on the wing Oh that my soul were mounting upwards Oh wretched man that I am who shall deliver my soul from this body of death or if the union be so strong for a while that neither soul nor body can really or substantially ascend Phil. 1.23 yet O that I were still ascending in a spiritual way O that my affections were still on things above and not on things beneath yea I could wish a nearer union even by a dissolution why Christ is ascended and I would fain be where Christ is though it cost me dear I desire to be dissolved I desire to depart and to be with Christ which is for better 2. Let us see Christ sitting down at the right hand of God and so desire to sit with him when Christ sate down it was not in his own pure Personal right simply as it is his inheritance Eph. 2.5 6. but with relation to his Saints and Members He hath quickened us together wtth Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus I confess Christ's sitting at God's right hand as taken for the sublimity of his power is not communicable unto us for that is Christs own prerogative to which of the Angels said he at any time Heb. 1.13 Sit on my right hand Yet his sitting in heaven as it is indefinitely expressed is in some sort communicable unto us for he sate down as a common person thereby shewing that we were to sit down with him in our proportion Rev. 3.21 Him that overcomes I will grant to sit with me in my Throne even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his Throne Christ sits in his Fathers Throne and we sit in Christ's Throne Christ sits at the right hand of God and wâ— sit at the right hand of Christ Oh how desirable is this The Mother of Zebedees Children understood this mystery very darkly Mat. 20.21 22 23. yet worshipping Jesus she desired a certain thing of him what thing why grant saith she that these my two Sons may sit the one at thy right hand and the other on thy left hand in thy Kingdom Christ blamed them because they know not what thy asked and yet he tells them that to sit on his right hand and on his left is given to them for whom it is prepared of his Father O my soul desire after this for this is worthy of thy desire this is a great thing an high exaltation another manner of honour than any that this world affords Courtiers desire no more but to sit at the Princes right hand but O the vertue of Christ's Session that thereby thou shouldst sit at the right hand of God! this is the very height and excellency of heavens glory only take heed of apprehending it after a carnal and natural way this very exaltation consists in the Image of God and communion with God it is the spiritual part and power and glory of heaven if any thing be desirable above another surely this above all Eph. 1.20 21. what that Christ should be exalted above all Principalities and Powers and mights and dominions and every thing that is named in this world and in the other what that Christ should sit down in his Fathers Throne Eph. 4.10 in the highest part of Heaven far above all heavens and that I a poor worm dust and ashes should sit with him in Heaven should be one with him in glory should be as near him in honour and happiness as such a poor creature is possibly capable of Oh how should I but hunger and thirst after this if I might have a wish I would not wish low things why this is the very top and height and quintessence of Heaven Christ in his Fathers Throne and I in Christ's Throne in desiring this I desire all and therefore whatever thou givest or denyest Lord give me this and I have enough for ever 3. Let us see Christs mission of his holy spirit and so desire a share in that gift we cannot expect to sit with Christ but we must first have the spirit of Christ and therefore as we would have that let us desire after this The greatest gift we can expect in this world is the spirit of Christ Consider O my soul all things here below are either temporal or spiritual things and of things spiritual this is the sum the in-dwelling of the Spirit O Lord give me thy self and that contains all gifts O give me the spirit Psal 4.6 and thou canst not but with him give me all things there be many that say saith the Psalmist Who will shew us any good earthly things are desired of many but is any thing on earth to be compared with this gift from heaven if it were only the beauty of holiness it were certainly a most desirable thing if we rightly understand it holiness though but one effect of the spirit is a most rare thing holiness fills the soul with joy peace quietness assurance holiness entertains the soul with feasts of fat things and of refined wines holiness carries the soul into the banqueting-house of apples and flaggons holiness gives the soul a dear communion with God and Christ holiness brings the soul into a sight of Christ an access to him a boldness in his presence holiness admits the soul into the most intimate conferences with Jesus Christ in his bed-chamber in his galleries of love and that which is an argument of more beauty than all the creatures in the world have besides holiness attracts the eye and heart and longings and ravishments the tender compassions and everlasting delights of the Lord Jesus and if holiness be thus lovely Oh what is the holy spirit it self what is the Rise the Spring the Fountain of holiness what O my soul that not only grace but the spirit of Christ should dwell in thy spirit that thou shouldst be God's building and that not as the rest of the world is for his creatures to inhabit 1 Cor. 3.9
after all this I shall doubt whether there be a Christ in Heaven or a spirit of Christ in my heart on Earth have I felt him new creating me opening my dark eyes and bringing me from darkness into his marvellous light and from the Power of Satan unto God binding the strong man and casting him out and yet shall I question whether there be a Christ or a Spirit of Christ hath he made me love the things which I hated and hate that which I loved hath he given me such a taste of the powers of the world to come and possessed me with the hopes of glory with himself and given me a measure and portion in God and set my heart where my treasure is and caused me in some measure to have my conversation in Heaven above and yet shall I doubt whether there be a Christ above or a Spirit within O what an impudent lying spirit is this that would tempt me against so much experience And thus may a believer argue from the testimony that is within I know some seeming Saints have fallen off into as great blaphemies as these I have named 1 John 2.19 witness the Quakers and Ranters c. but I may say of such as John did They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us It is no wonder if Satan prevail against those that gave Christ no deeper room but in their phantasie and that did never heartily close with him in love But for those that have the Spirit of Christ within them it is not so with them if they cannot answer the cavil of Satan or of any of his instruments yet they can hold fast the grounds of faith Christ hath a deep room and interest in their spirits he is held faster by the hand than by the head alone love will hold Christ when reason alone would let him go Rom. 8.35 36 37. his ear is nayled as it were unto his door and because he loveth him he will not leave him Who shall separate him from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword as it is written for thy sake are we killed all the day long nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that hath loved us A modern Writer brings in a sincere heart Mr. Baxter ibid. paraphrazing as it were on this Text in this manner Who shall separate us from the love of Christ O thou malicious Devil that dost hunt me with thy fiery darts O you dull hereticks infidels blasphemers that fill up my ears with your foolish sophisms and trouble me with your disputes against my Lord Redeemer go to him that knows him only by the hearing of the ear if you mean to prevail but I have known him by the sweet experiences of my soul go to him that makes a Religion of his Opinions and whose belief was never any deeper than his fancy and whose piety never reached higher than to abstinency and tasks of formal duty these you may possibly draw away from Christ But do you think to do so by me why tell me how with what weapons or arguments can you think to prevail what shall tribulation be the means no no I have that promise in the hand of my faith and that glory in the eye of my hope that will bring me through all tribulations under Heaven or shall distress do it why I will rather stick so much closer to him that will relieve me in distress and bring me to his rest Or will you affright me by persecution I am assured that this is the nearest way to Heaven and I am blessed of Christ when I am persecuted for righteousness sake Or shall nakedness be the weapon I had rather pass naked out of this World to Heaven than to be cloathed in purple and to be stript of it at death and to be cast into hell Adam's innocent nakedness and Lazarus's rags were better than that Epicure's gay apparel Or shall famine be the meanes why man liveth not by bread alone I had rather my body were famished than my soul I have meat to eat that ye know not of even the bread of life which who so eats shall live for ever Or will you affright me from Christ by the sword of violence I know that the Lord whom I believe in and serve is able to deliver me out of your hands but if he will not be it known to you I will not forsake him your sword will be only the key to open the prison doors and let out my soul that hath long desired to be with Jesus Christ If you tell me of peril I know no danger so great as of losing Christ and salvation and of bearing his wrath that can kill both body and soul do I not read in certain Histories of that noble Army of Martyrs who loved the Lord Jesus to the death and gloryed in tribulation and would not by the flames of fires or jaws of Lyons be separated from Jesus Christ did not they pass through the red sea as on dry ground to the promised land yea though they were killed all the day long and accounted as Sheep to the slaughter did they not stick and cleave fast to the Lord and to the Captain of their salvation nay were they not in all this conquerours and more than conquerours triumphing in flames to the confusion of Satan and all their enemies as Christ triumphed on the Cross destroying by death the Prince of death Heb. 2.14 Oh what a blessed advantage is it against all temptations to have the impress of the Gospel of Christ on our heart and the witness in our selves But I hear some object If the witness in our selves be so full and convincing then what need have we any more to make use of Scriptures or Ministers why should we leave an higher Teacher to go to a lower But I answer 1. There is more than one thing wanting to enwise us to salvation as first an outward Word and secondly an outward Teacher and thirdly an inward Light And accordingly God supplies this threefold want the first by giving us the Scripture the second by giving us a Ministry and other occasional Teachers the third by giving us the illumination of the Spirit to help us to see by the former means and to make the Word and Ministry to us effectual Now it were a mad thing for a man to say I have eyes to read in a book and therefore I have no need of the light of Candle or of Sun or I have eyes and Sun and therefore I have no need of the light in the Air which cometh from the Sun or I have the light both of the Eye and Sun and Air and therefore I can read by it without a Book or I have a Book and therefore I can read it without a Teacher certainly if
wide Ocean of delights there is room enough but herein I must leave thee in the duty for I can but point at the several particulars whereon thou mayst enlarge O think on it that Christ and Christ's blood and Christ's prayers should be all at work that Christ should play the Advocate and plead thy cause and perfume thy duties with his Incense and take thy person in an unperceivable way to God his Father and cry there O my Father be merciful to this sinner pardon his sin and save his soul for the sake of Jesus O blessed mediation O blessed is the man that on this blessed object knows how to meditate both day and night 8. Consider of the power and prevalency of Christ's intercessions with his Father Is he not to this puropose a Priest to God and called thereto by God is he not the Son of God yea God himself is he not God's Darling God's Commander as well as Petitioner nay is not the hand of God himself in this design is not the Fathers heart as much towards us and our salvation as Christ's own heart as sure then as Christ is gone into Heaven with thy name engraven on his heart so sure shalt thou follow him and be with him where he is Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect who is he that condemneth where Christ becomes Patron to defend against the sentence of damnation it is in vain for Sin or Law or Sathan to attempt any thing for as an innocent person is safe so long as he hath his learned Advocate to answer all Objections so it is with Believers who have Christ himself both Judge and Advocate a sure Advocate he ever prevails in whatsoever he undertakes he was never yet cast in any suit he hath for these Sixteen Hundred years carried away all the causes of hundreds thousands and millions of souls why he is so dear and near to his Father that he can work him to any thing he will And O my soul if thou hast any relation to Jesus Christ is not here comfort I dare in the Name of Christ be thy warrant and give it under my hand that if Christ pray for thee Christ will be sure to save thee he never yet failed he never will fail in any of his suits to God Oh consider of this 9. Consider of the reasons of Christ's intercession many are given but this may be sufficient It is Gods own Ordinance the very wisdom of God found out this way to save our souls viz. that an High-Priest should be appointed who should die for sinners and afterward present his death to his Father by way of intercession in their behalf Some may look upon this as needless what could not God have pardoned our sins and saved our souls without a Priest I shall not dispute God's power but if any will let such a one tell me what way could his own wisdome have found out to heaven between the wrath of God and the sin of man I believe it would have posed all the wisdom of the world of Men and Angels to have reconciled God's mercy in the salvation of man and his justice in the condemnation of sin to have poured out hell upon the sin and yet to have bestowed heaven upon the sinner now then if God himself did study to find out this way and that he hath said This is my pleasure that Christ my Son shall be a Priest and that he shall offer himself and Present himself and his offering and his prayer to me for his People O my soul rest on this as the very ordination of God admire at the contrivance of God say O the depth question no further only Meditate and ponder and consider of it till thou feelest Christ's intercession darting its influence and efficacy on thy sin-sick soul SECT III. Of desiring after Jesus in that respect 3. LEt us desire after Jesus carrying on this work of our salvation in his intercession I cannot but wonder what a dulness seizeth on my heart and on all the hearts of the Sons of men that we have no more longings after Christ whose heart is ever panting and longing after us Surely we do not set our selves to find out experimentally the sweetness that is in Christ if there were not another object to think upon but only this one of Christ's intercession is not here enough to put us all into a teeming longing frame O my soul rouze up and set this blessed object before thy face take a full view of it untill thy affections begin to warm and thou beginst to cry Oh for my part in Christ's intercession Oh I would not be left out of Christ's heavenly prayers for ten thousand worlds come and be serious the object is admirably sweet and precious long for it pant after it God understands the Rhetorick of thy breathing as well as of thy cry But what is there in Christ's intercession that is so desirable I answer 1. In Christ's intercession lyes the present transaction of our souls salvation Such passages as hitherto we have spoken of are done and past the transactions of eternity were at an end when time began the transactions of Christ promised had their period when Christ was incarnate the transactions of Christ's Birth and life and death and resurrection and ascension are now above a thousand and six hundred years old I know the vertue and influence of all these transactions continue and will continue for ever and ever but the several actings had their periods and only Christ's session and mission of his spirit and his blessed intercession both were and now are the very present imployment of Jesus Christ If it were possible that we could see into Heaven if with Stephen we could look up steadfastly and see the Heavens opened if our eyes by an extraordinary power were carryed through that azure sky and through all till we come to the Holy of Holies and to Jesus Christ in his glory what should we see but Christ interceding Christ busie with his Father in his poor Saints behalf now he prayes now he presents his person merits intercession interpellation q. d. Father here are a company of Rebels justly fallen under thy displeasure they deserve to be set at an eternal distance from thee but I must needs have them pardoned and received into thy bosom come make thine own terms let justice require never so great satisfaction I have paid a price sufficient for all and effectual for them give them what laws thou pleasest I will undertake they shall observe them and to this purpose away away holy spirit go to such and such souls enable them to their duties yea enable them in duty and sanctifie them throughout in souls bodies and spirits Why this is the present transaction of Jesus Christ and therefore most desirable methinks I long to know what Christ is now a doing in Heaven for my soul and is it not thus is not all his time spent either
of his loves as if he were not his own he putteth on such relations and assumes such offices of engagement as if he were all for us and nothing for himself thus he is called a Saviour a Redeemer a King a Priest a Prophet a Friend a Guide an Head an Husband a Leader Ransomer Intercessor and what not of this nature O my soul come hither and put thy little candle to this mighty flame if thou hadst ten hearts or as many hearts in one as there are elected Men and Angels in Heaven and Earth all these would be too little for Jesus Christ only go as far as thou canst and love him with that heart thou hast yea love him with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy might and as Christ in loving thee is not his own so let thy soul in loving Christ be not her own Come love thy Christ and not thy self possess thy Christ and not thy self enjoy thy Christ and not thy self live in thy Christ not in thy self solace thy self in Jesus Christ not in thy self say with the Apostle Gal. 2.20 I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Certainly if ever thou comest to love Christ truly thou canst not but deny thy self and all created lovers This love will screw up thy soul so high above the world and above thy flesh and above thy self and above all other lovers that nothing on this side Christ whether in heaven or on earth will come in competition with him Suppose a man in the top of a Castle higher than the third Region of the Air or near the Sphere of the Moon should look down to the fairest and sweetest Meadows or to a Garden rich with Roses and Flowers of all sweet colours and delicious smells certainly he should not see or feel any sweetness pleasantness colour smell because he is so far above them so the soul filled with the love of Christ is so high above all created lovers that their loveliness cannot reach or ascend to the high and large capacity of a spiritual soul O for a soul filled up with all the fulness of God! O for a soul stretched out to its widest capacity and circumference for the entertainment of God! Eph. 3.18 19. O my soul that thou wert but able to comprehend with all the Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge Surely if Christ be mine if his death be mine his resurrection mine his ascension mine his session mine his intercession mine How should I but love him with a singular love farewel world and worldly glory if Christ come in room it is time for you to vanish I shall little care for a Candle when the Sun shines fair and bright upon my head What is my name written on the heart of Christ doth he wear me as a Favour and Love-token about his arms and neck is he at every turn presenting me and my duties to his heavenly Father Cant. 4.9 O thou hast ravished my heart my King my Jesus thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes and with one chain of thy neck Suppose O my soul thou hadst been with Christ when he washed his Disciples feet and that he should have come and have washed thy feet Would not thy heart have glowed with love to Jesus Christ why Christ is now in glory and now he takes thy filthy soul and dirty duties and washes as it were the feet of all that he may present them to his Father thou canst not shed a tear but he washes it over again in his precious blood and perfumes it with his glorious intercessions Oh what cause hast thou to love Jesus Christ Oh you that never loved Christ come love him now and you that have loved Christ a little O love him more Above all let me O my soul charge upon thee this duty of love O go away warmed with the love of Christ and with a love to Christ SECT VII Of joying in Jesus in that respect 7. LEt us joy in Jesus as carrying on this work of our salvation in his intercession Surely this is glad tydings of great joy when wicked Haman procured letters from King Ahasuerus for the destruction of all Jews then Esther the Queen makes request to the King that her people might be saved and Haman's letters revoked Esther 5.3 8.15 16 17. And the King said to her What wilt thou Queen Esther and what is thy request and it shall be given thee O the joy of Jews at this happy tidings Then the City of Shushan rejoyced and was glad then the Jews had light and gladness and joy and honour in every province and in every City whithersoever the Kings Commandment and his Decree came the Jews had joy and gladness a feast and a good day Is not this our very case was there not a Law against us an hand-writing of Ordinances a sentence of a double death of body and soul had not Satan as wicked Haman accused us and sought by all means our condemnation but yet behold not only an earthly Esther but Jesus the Son of God was willing for our sakes to come down from Heaven and he it was that took away the hand-writing of Ordinances and cancelled it upon the Cross that ascended into Heaven and there makes requests for us and he it is in whom his Father is well pleased never comes he to his Father but he obtains the grace of the golden Scepter no sooner he cryes I will that these poor souls may be eternally saved but his Father answers Amen Be it so be it O my Son even as thou pleasest O that we could joy at this O that we could imitate the Jews O that light and gladness and joy and honour would possess our souls if at Christ's birth was such and so much joy because a Saviour was proclaimed Is not our joy to be heightened when salvation is effected if the first act of Christ's mediation was so joyous shall not the last act of his mediation be much more joyous But I hear many objections which keep back joy they are as bars and hindrances at the doors of many heavy hearts that joy cannot enter in I shall instance in some O I am much opposed here in this world sayes one men are as wolves and devils Psal 22.16 Dogs have compassed me the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me they have no bowels they persecute reproach revile so that I am killed all the day long And what then what matters oppositions of men so long as Christ doth intercede for thee in Heaven O remember Christ's bowels it may be he suffers men to be merciless on earth that thou mayst look up and behold how merciful he is who sits above and tell me hast thou no experience of this truth doth not relief strangely come in now and than why write upon
swallowed up all my natural affections that I cannot but laugh at thy calamity and joy in thy damnation I gave thee a body and God himself gave thee a Soul but now let the Devils have both and torment them in Hell be gone I shall never see thee again Or if the Child be the Saint and the Parent the Reprobate then shall the Child say O unworthy Parent unworthy of everlasting life I had my natural being from thee but my Spiritual being was from the Lord if I had followed thy steps I had been everlastingly damned did I not know thy ignorance thy unbelief thy worldliness thy covetousness thy pride thy malice thy lust thy lukewarmness thy impatiency thy discontentment thy vain-glory thy self-love didst not thou often check me for my forwardness and zeal and holiness in Religion didst not thou ask me what art thou wiser than the rest of the neighbour-hood are there not many gray hairs amongst us whose wisdom and experience thou hast not yet attained and canst not thou walk on soberly towards heaven and either do as the most or keep pace with the wisest what have any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Christ oh I shall ever remember to the praise and glory of Christ what discouragements I had and yet how the Lord pluckt me as a fire-brand out of the fire and now hath the Lord set me on the Throne to judge thee according to thy demerits and therefore I joyn with him who is the Father of Spirits against the Father of my flesh depart go to the Gods whom thou hast served and see if they will help thee in the day of thy calamity 3. Betwixt Husband and Wife now if the Husband be the Saint and the Wife the Reprobate then shall the Husband say Thou art she whom I knew in the flesh whom I dearly affected with my heart and soul whom I nourished and cherished as my own body thou art she that was the Wife of my bosom as near and dear to me as my heart in my bosom thou wast my companion my yoke-fellow and my very delight but oh I could never rule thee lead thee guide thee in the way of life in the path that is called holy many a time have I wooed sued and sought to gain thy soul to that blessed Bridegroom the Lord Jesus Christ many a time have I prayed with thee and for thee many a time have I stirred thee up to hear the Word to waite upon God in the use of all means publick and private and instead of imbraces or yieldings to these blessed motions Prov. 19.13.27.15 I have met with contentions and jars as a continual dropping in a very rainy day but death hath dissolved that knot so that now I am no more thy Husband this is the day of separation and I shall no more consort with thee at the Resurrection there is no use of Marriage but now I am to live as an Angel in Heaven and because thou wouldst not draw with me in Christ's yoke now therefore adue for ever and ever we shall never more lye in one bed Mark 12.29 or sit at one board or walk in one Field or grind at one mill thou hast lost me and thou hast lost Jesus Christ two husbands in one day go now and take thy choice in Hell thou art free from us but thou shalt be bound there with indissoluble bonds to the Devill and his Angels Or if the Wife be the Saint and the Husband the Reprobate then shall the Wife say Thou art he who I looked upon as my second-self my head my governour my helper my husband for whom I was willing to forsake my native home Fathers house dear Relations of Father Mother Brother Sister and many comforts in that kind and I expected to have found new matter and a continued influence of comfort and delight in a marriage-state but oh the vexations of Spirit hadst thou not almost drawn me away from Jesus Christ was I not forced through many provocations sometimes to break out and say Surely a bloody husband art thou to me many a time I cryed out Exod. 4.25 O my Husband when wilt thou set up the rich and royal trade of grace in thy Family when wilt thou exercise prayer reading catechizing conference days of humiliation and other houshold holy duties oh for doing something to assure our souls of meeting together hereafter in heaven But alas it would not be and now see the effect here I stand like a Queen deck't and adorn'd with cloth of Gold with rayment of needle-work with the white robe of Christ's righteousness so that the King of Heaven greatly desires my beauty and my soul is this day marryed to Christ I acknowledge him and no other Husband in the world and for thee who refused to joyn with me in the worship of God now God hath refused thee fare well or fare ill for ever 4. Betwixt Minister and some of his people at least if the people be as so many Saints and the Minister the Reprobate then shall the people say O thou art the man that undertookest that high and mighty calling of feeding souls with the Word of life but now are thy sins written in thy fore-head for either thou run'st before thou wast sent or being sent thou hast been exceeding negligent in the gift that was in thee Didst not thou prophesie in Baal and cause God's people to erre didst thou not studiously and mainly seek for the Fleece not regarding respectively the Flock didst not thou strengthen the hands of evil-doers in Preaching peace peace to wicked men wa st thou not prophane and wicked and loose in thy life and by that means ledst many thousands to hell O thou bloody Butcher of Souls hadst thou been faithful in thy Ministry well might those damned Companions about thee have escaped the flames but they are doomed to death and now thou mayest hear their cries and grievous groans and complaints against thee this was the man set over us to give us the bread of Life but oh Christ did he not fail us did he not feed us with unprofitable matter fables conceits airy sentences rather than any thing tending to godly edifying which is in faith did not our tongues and the tongues of our Children stick to the roof of our mouths in calling and crying for bread for the bread of life and he would not pity us we gave him the tenths which thou appointed but he gave not us thy truth which thou didst command him why Lord Christ thou Judge of all the world didst not thou bid him feed feed feed didst thou not bid him feed the flock committed to his charge didst not bid him preach the word be instant in season and out of season reprove rebuke exhort with all long-suffering and notwithstanding all thy commands did he not miserably starve us instead of feeding us unto salvation hath he not starved many thousands of us to our
the Face of Christ he is not the fairest of ten thousands in their eyes and hence it is that they do not take pleasure long after delight or joy themselves in Christ indeed these affections are the Evidences of our high esteem they that rejoyce not in Christ nor have any longings after Christ they put a very unworthy price upon Christ 7. They have not that sense either of their own wants or of the worlds vanity who are not in the practice of this Duty In this glass we see that man is blind and no Sun but Christ can Enlighten him that man is naked and no garment but Christ's can cloath him that man is poor and no treasure but Christ can make satisfaction for him that man is empty and none but Chrst can fill him that man is distressed perplexed tormented and none but Christ can quiet him Why all this and much more than this appears in this glass of Jesus the soul that looks here cannot but comprehend an end of all other perfection yea the further it looks on the creature the deeper and deeper vanities it discerns But alas there is no observation no sense no feeling either of mans wants or of the worlds vanity or of any sutable good in Christ to them that are not in this Divine and Spiritual contemplation Thus far of their wants that neglect this Duty of looking unto Jesus SECT VI. Motives from our riches in case we are lively in this Duty 2. FOr our riches in case we are lively in this Duty Oh the blessed incomes to such souls we may reckon up here those very particulars which the others wanted 1. That Christ gives Light unto them as the receiving of the Sun gives light to the body so the receiving of the Sun of Righteousness gives light a spiritual heavenly and comfortable light to their souls 2. That Christ gives grace and holiness unto them of his fulness we receive grace for grace As the print upon the wax answers to the seal or as the characters upon the Son answers to the Father so there are certain stamps of the grace of Christ upon the Saints that what good they do it springs not from external motives only as in hypocrites but from Christ working in them an inward principle of new nature and upon this account doth John John 1.17 tell us the Law was given by Moses but grace truth came by Jesus Christ 3. That Christ gives contentation or satisfaction unto them as the pearl satisfied the Merchant in the Parable with treasure so Christ satisfieth the soul with wisdome in the understanding with the sense of his love in the heart with sure and blessed peace in the conscience they that rightly look unto Jesus may say as Jacob did Luke 2.32 I have enough 4. That Christ gives glory unto them he is the glory of Israel he is both the Author and the matter of their glory he is the glory of their justification as the garment is the glory of him that wears it he is the glory of their redemption as the ransomer is the glory of the captive he is the glory of their sanctification as Jordan cleansing him from his leprosie was the glory of Naaman he is their all in all in whom they glory and to whom they give all honour and glory and power and praise 5. That Christ gives peace unto them God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself he is the Author 2 Cor. 5.29 Ephes 2.14 Acts. 10.36 and the world is the object of this reconciliation Christ is our peace and peace is preached by Jesus Christ they that hear Christ in the Word or that look unto Christ by the eye of faith they have this peace for Christ only in Ordinances is the revealer and procurer and the worker of peace in all the children of peace 6. That Christ procures acceptation with God for them he stands betwixt God and such believers and as they mind him so he is ever mindful of them pleading their cause answering all the accusations of Satan and praying to his Father in their behalf 7. That Christ gives life unto them he that hath the Son hath life 1 John 5.11 he that hath Christ in his heart as a root of life living in him or as a King setting up his throne within him or as a Bridegroom betroathing himself in loving kindness to him he hath life the life of grace and the earnest of the life of glory 8. That Christ gives wisdome unto them Christ hath in him all the treasures of wisdome and therefore he that looks most to Christ is the wisest man in the world he that hath the Sun hath more light than he that hath all other lights in the world and wants the Sun 9. That Christ gives a taste of his goodness unto them they cannot look unto him but he makes them joyful with the feeling of himself and Spirit and hence it is that many times they brake out into Psalms and Hymnes and spiritual songs Ephes 5.19 and make melody in their hearts unto the Lord. O there is a goodness of illumination regeneration sanctification consolation contentation pacification and spiritual freedome flowing from Christ to the souls of his Saints which to carnal men is a sealed Well whose waters their palates never tasted 10. That Christ gives a sincere and inward love of himself unto their hearts No sooner is their eye of faith Looking unto Jesus but presently their hearts is all on fire such a sutableness is betwixt Christ and their souls as is betwixt the hearts of lovers their love to Christ is like the love of Jonathan to David a wonderful love and passing the love of women 2 Sam. 1.26 they love him as the bridegroom to whom their souls are married as the choycest pearl by whom they are inriched as the Sun of consolation by whose beams their souls are comforted as the fountain by whom their hearts are refreshed and their desires every way satisfied 11. That Christ gives the sense of his own love to them they cannot look on Christ but they see him loving and embracing their humble souls they see him binding up their broken hearts they behold him gathering to himself and bearing in the bosom of his love and comforting with the promises of his Word their wounded spirits they behold him like Jacob serving in the heat and in the cold for Rachel serving in manifold afflictions from his cradle to his cross to make a Spouse unto himself 12. That Christ gives the experience of his power to them they that look on Christ do feel the power of Christ inwardly in their souls dissolving the works of Satan casting down his Kingdom and mighty holds within them healing all their spiritual maladies sustaining them in all afflictions filling their souls with all Spiritual and Heavenly might making them strong in knowledg and strong in faith and strong in love and strong in motion and
stands in competition with Jesus we have discussed before Many other Motives might be given but let this suffice I have done with the exhortation In the next place I shall lay open to you the particular way of this Duty which all this while I have been perswading to SECT VIII Vse of Direction Vse 3 IS inward experimental looking unto Jesus a choice or an high Gospel Ordinance why then some directions how we are to perform this Duty Practice is the end of all sound doctrin and duty is the end of all right faith now that you may do what you have heard in some good measure I shall prescribe the directions in the next part prescribed But first in the work observe those two parts of the Text the act and object the act is looking unto and the Object is Jesus 1. By looking unto we mean as you have heard an inward experimental knowing desiring hoping believing loving calling on Jesus and conforming to Jesus it is not a bare swiming knowledge of Christ it is not a bare thinking of Christ as Christ hath various excellencies in himself so hath he formed the soul with a power of diverse wayes apprehending that so we might be capable of enjoying those divers excellencies that are in Christ even as the creatures having their several uses God hath accordingly given us several senses that so we might enjoy the delights of them all what the better had we been for pleasant odoriferous Flowers or sweet perfumes if we had not possest the sense of smelling or what good would language or musick have done us if God had not given us the sense of hearing or what delight should we have found in meats or drinks or sweetest things if we had been deprived of the sense of tasting so what pleasure should we have had even in the goodness and perfection of God and Christ if we had been without the faculty and power of knowing desiring hoping believing loving joying and enjoying as the senses are to the body so are these spiritual senses powers affections to the soul the very way by which we must receive sweetness and strength from the Lord Jesus 2. By Jesus who is the Object of this Act we mean a Saviour carrying on the great work of mans salvation from first to last hence we shall follow this method to look on this Jesus as our Jesus in these several periods 1. In that Eternity before all time until the Creation 2. In the Creation the beginning of time until his coming 3. In his first coming the fulness of time until his coming again 4. In his coming again the very end of time to all Eternity In every of these Periods Oh what a blessed Object is before us Oh what wonders of love have we to look upon Before I direct you how to look on him in these respects I must in the first place propound the Object still we must lay the colours of this admirable beauty before your eyes and then tell you the art how you are to look upon them You may object the Apostle in this Text refers this look only to the passion and session of Christ Bp. Arde. But a worthy Interpreter tells you out of these words That Christ our blessed Saviour is to be looked on at all times and in all acts though indeed then in those Acts more especially Besides we are to look unto Jesus as the Author and finisher of our Faith and why as the Author and finisher of our Faith but to hint out to us that we are to stand still and to behold as with a stedfast eye what he is from first to last You have called us hither say they in Canticles to see your Shulamite What shall we sâ—e in him What saith the Spouse but as the company of two Armies that is many legions of good sights an Ocean of bottomless depths of manifold high perfections Or if these words be understood of the Spouse and not of Christ yet how many words do we find in Canticles expressing in him many goodly sights Myrrhe Aloes Cinamon all the Trees of Frankincense all the Powders of the Merchants are in him he is altogether lovely he is all every whit of him desirable he is not one single Star but a constellation there is in him a confluence a bundle an army of glorious sights all in one cluster meeting and growing upon one stalk There 's many glorious sights in Jesus I I shall not therefore limit my self to those two especial ones but take all those before me I have now propounded And now if ever stir up your hearts Say to all worldly business and thoughts as Christ to the Disciples Matth 2â— 36 Sit you here while I go pray yonder Or as Abraham when he went to sacrifice Isaac left his Servants and Asse below the Mount saying Stay you here and I and the Lad will go yonder and Worship and come again to you so say to all worldly thoughts Abide you below while I go up to Christ and then I will return to you again Christians your selves may be welcom but such followers may not LOOKING UNTO JESUS The Second Book Revel 1.8 11. I am Alpha and Omega the beginning and the ending saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come the Almighty I am Alpha and Omega the first and the last and what thou seest write in a book and send it to the seven Churches CHAP. I. SECT I. Of the eternal Generation of our Jesus WE must Look unto Jesus the beginner and finisher of our faith we must behold Jesus as with a stedfast eye from first to last As he is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the ending the first and the last so accordingly we must Look unto him 1. He is Alpha the beginner so it is in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the beginner the inceptor the first wheel of our faith Heb. 12.2 and of the end of our faith the salvation of our souls 2 Thes 2.13 2 Tim. 1.9 Tit. 1.2 Now Christ may be called a beginner in respect of the Decree or execution I shall begin with the Decree wherein he begun before the beginning of time to design our happiness for the praise of the glory of his Grace Ephes 1.6 Many depths are in this passage To this purpose we told you that Jesus is Gods Son and our Jesus eternally begotten before all worlds In this first period we shall look on him 1. In relation to God 2. In relation to us 1. In his relation to God who shall declare his generation Isa 53.8 He is Gods Son having his subsistence from the Father alone of which Father by communication of his essence he is begotten from all eternity For the opening of this eternal generation of our Jesus we shall consider 1. The thing begotten 2. The time 3. The manner of begetting 4. The mutual kindness and love of him that begets and of him
should be offered and administred unto all Men without Exception 4. That certain singular Persons should be saved whom God fore-saw would Repent and Believe and Persevere This way is justly opposed by Others who deny God's Acts in Intention to be in the same order as we see them in Production In order of Material Existing it is granted that Christ is Revealed Promised and Exhibited after Sin and that we Repent Believe Persevere before we are Saved But in order of God's Intention Christ is before Sin and Salvation before Repentance Faith Perseverance The Apostle reckoned the Order in which Things exist thus 1. The World 2. You The Elect. 3. Christ 1 Cor. 3.22 23. 4. God 1 Cor. 3.22 23. But he gives us to understand the Order of Intention thus As First God intends His own Glory then Christ then the Elect then the World Certainly it is an hard thing to marshal the Eternal Immanent Acts of the Divine Understanding or Will into First Second Third Fourth All God's Projects are like Himself Tota simul perfecta possessio sui who is a whole and perfect Possession of Himself together and at once so as in Him considered there is no Prius nor Posterius in any of His acts but considered in Effects or in respect of us one thing may be said to be First Second or Third in Nature Time Being before or after another And thus in respect of us we say the End must be in Nature before the Means to the End Now the Permission of the Fall Repentance Faith Perseverance are used by God as Means to bring some to Salvation God therefore doth first project our Salvation and then the Means and both the End and the Means are the Product of God's Election or Predestination Here then is the Project That God will glorify His Grace to this end He will predestinate Christ in Christ He will choose some of the Sons of Men to Salvation whom Eccles 1.4 notwithstanding Sin He will make holy and without blame before Him in love This Project or Plot or Design of God will be further enlarged in the next Passage viz. His Counsels SECT V. The Counsel OF the Counsels of God concerning Man before all Worlds we read in several Texts Christ was delivered by the determinate Counsel of God For of a truth Acts 2.23 against thy Holy Child Jesus whom Thou hast anointed both Herod Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles Acts 4.27 28. the People of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy Hand thy Counsel determined before to be done Ephes 1.11 And thus the Members of Christ are said to Obtain an Inheritance being Predestinated according to the Purpose of Him who worketh all Things after the Counsel of His own Will Of this Counsel of God's Will we know but little now yet this will be made known when we come to Glory yea it will be a great Part of the Glory of Heaven for the Lord to make known the Counsel of His Will we now know his Will but we shall then know the Counsel of His Will praise Him to all Eternity for it This shall be the Glory of the Saints that they shall see into the Counsel of God's Will in chusing them and calling them and passing by others and letting others go In the mean-while thus far we may know for thus far He hath revealed Himself concerning His Counsels about Man from Everlasting 1. That Man should be a Reasonable Creature and because that very Creature is unavoidably subject to the Creator for He made all things for Himself Prov. 16.4 and all is to return that Glory to Him for which He made them therefore Man should serve Him as all other Creatures must only his Service should be after a reasonable manner out of Judgment Psal 119.30 Heb. 11.25 26. Discretion and Election Hence David is said to have chosen the Way of Truth Moses to have Chosen the Afflictions of God's People the Reproaches of Christ before the Pleasures of Sin or the Treasures of Egypt And hence it is that Holiness in the Phrase of Scripture is called Judgment He shall convince the world of Judgment John 16.11 Mat. 12.20 he shall bring forth Judgment unto Victory and hence it is that our Service is called a Reasonable Service God would not set any such determinating Law over the Operations of Man as over other Creatures that so he might truly work out of Judgment and stand or fall by his own Election 2. That if Man should deviate from this Reasonable Service and break the Law which God would give and which he himself should have an Original Power to perform that then he should incur the Displeasure of God and such a Curse and such a Penalty should be inflicted And here comes in the Fall of Man into God's Consideration He looks upon it as a wilful transgression of his Law and by how much the Law was more just and the obedience more easie by so much he judges the transgression more unreasonable and the punishment more certain and intolerable 3. That Sin should not pass Unrevenged and that for these reasons 1. Because of Gods infinite hatred thereof Hab. 1.13 He is of purer Eyes than to behold Evil He cannot look on Iniquity it provokes a Nauseousness and Abhorrency in him For all these are things which I hate Zach. 8.17 saith in the Lord They are a trouble unto me I am weary to bear them 2. Because of his truth Gen. 2.17 he hath said In the day thou eatest thereof thou sâ—alâ— surely die or thou shalt dying die die Temporally and die Eternally and surely God will in no wise abolish this Law Matth. 5.8 One jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the â—aw till all be fulfilled 3. Because of his terrour and fearful Majesty for God will have Men alwayes tremble before him and by his terrour to be perswaded from sinning 2 Cor. 5.11 Matth. 10.28 Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade men and Fear him who is able to destroy boâ—h Body and Soul in Hell I say unto you Heb. 12.28 29. fâ—ar him Let us have Grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with Reverence and Godly Fear for God is a Consuming Fire Upon these Reasons God is resolved Sin shall not pass unrevenged lest thereby His Justice should be securely abused his Hatred against Sin the less declared His Truth questioned and His dreadful Majesty by Men neglected 4. That every Man notwithstanding Sin should not be utterly destroyed and that for theâ—e Reasons 1. Because of that infinite Delight which the Lord hath in Mercy Why this Delight is it that so disposeth Him to pardon abundantly to exercise Loving-kindness on the Sons of Men Psal 103.8 Who is a God like unto Thee that pardonest Iniquity and passest by the Transgression of the Remnant of
his if God in Christ hath of his own free love set thee apart to life and salvation then know it for thy self Jâ—b 5 27. it is inward experimental knowledge we speak of 4. Study the purpose of God concerning thy salvation this purpose of God speaks the stability and certainty of they salvation in Christ his purpose is in and from himself who is God and not man and therefore cannot repent Numb 23.19 hath he said and shall he not do it hath he spoken and shall he not make it good 5. Study the decrees of God they are all one with Predestination the book of life the seal of God what hath the Lord decreed predestinated booked sealed thee for salvation Psal 89 15. O how blessed is the people that know this joyful sound they shall walk in the light of they countenance O Lord. 6. Study the Covenant of grace remember how the business of eternity lay thus here is every man lost said God to his Son but thou shalt in fulness of time go and be born of flesh and blood and die for some of them and satisfie my Justice and they shall be thine for a portion and they shall be called the holy people the redeemed of the Lord. To whom the Son answered be it so Lord I will go and fulfil thy pleasure and they shall be mine for ever Observe and be acquainted with this Covenant in that very Dialogue first God demands of his Son that he lay down his life and for his labour he promiseth that he shall be his seed and God shall give him many children Isa 53.10 Heb. 10.5 9. And secondly the Son consents to lay down his life and saith here I am to do thy will O God thou hast given me a body What O my soul that the Father and Christ should transact a bargain from eternity concerning thee that there should be any communing betwixt the Father and the Son concerning thy happiness and salvation Surely this is worthy thy paines Job 3.7 and study O hear it and know thou it for thy good SECT II. Of considering Jesus in that respect 2. VVE must consider Jesus carrying on this work of salvation in that eternity It is not enough to study and know him but according to the measure of Knowledg we have attained we must ponder and muse and meditate and consider of him now consideration is an expatiating and enlarging of the mind and heart on this or that subject consideration is a fixing of our thoughts a stedfast bending of our minds to some spiritual matter till it work on the affections and conversation We may know and yet be inconsiderate of that we do know but when the intention of our mind and heart is taken up about some one known object and other things are not for the present taken notice of this is consideration O that if it were possible we could so consider Jesus in this first period of eternity as that for a while at least we could forget all other things Christians I beseech you be dead to the world be insensible of all other things and look onely on Jesus it is said that men in a phrenzy are insensible of what you do to them because their minds are taken up about that which they apprehend so strongly and if ever there was any object made known to take up the mind of a spiritual man it is this even this not but that other objects may be deeply and seriously minded of men it is reported of Archimedes who was a great Mathematician that when the City was taken wherein he was and the warlike instruments of death clattering about his ears and all was in a tumult yet he was so busie about drawing his lines that he heard no noise nor did he know there was any danger but if such objects as those could take up the intention of his mind so as not to regard other things how much more should this consideration of Christ If a carnal heart a man that minds earthly things be so taken up about them because they are an object suitable to him how much more should a gracious heart that can see into the reality of these things of God Christ from everlasting be so taken up with them as to mind nothing else come then O my soul and set thy consideration on work as thus 1. Consider Jesus in his relation to God how he was the eternal Son of the Father I know in some respects we have little reason thus to look on Jesus as we are sinners and fallen from God there is no looking on an absolute Deity alas that Majesty because perfectly and essentially good is no other then an enemy to sinners as sinners so as we are sinners and fallen from God there is no looking on the Son of God I mean on the Son of God considered in the notion of his own eternal being as coequal and coessential to God the Father Alas our sin hath offended his justice which is himself and what have we to do with that dreadful power which we have provoked But considering Jesus as Jesus which sounds a Saviour to all sinners believing on him and that this Jesus containes the two natures of Christ both the God-head man-hood now we that have our interest in him may draw neer Heb 1.3 and as we are capable behold the brightness of his glory To this purpose the Scriptures have discovered to us God the Son how he is the second person in the Trinity having the foundation of personal subsistence from the Father alone of whom by communication of his essence he is begotten from all eternity when there were no depths I was brought forth before the mountains were setled and before the hills I was brought forth Ante colles genita eram Prov. 8.24 25 before the mountains I was begotten as some or ante colles filiata eram before the mountains I was sonned his son as others translate it why thus O my soul consider Jesus the Son of God but in this consideration be not too curious thou hearest of the generation of the Son and of the procession of the Holy Ghost but for the manner how the Father begets the Son or how the Father and Son do spire and send forth the Holy spirit be not too busie to enquire thou mayest know a little and consider a little but for the depth and main of this great mystery of grace let the generation of the Son of God be honoured with silence I remember one being too curious and too inquisitive Aug. lib 1 confess c. 12. what God was doing on that long Evum of eternity before he made the world it was answered he decreed to make hell for such curious inquisitors Be not therefore too nice in this consideration keep within bounds of sobriety and humility and then as thou art able to comprehend the Scriptures will discover that before God made the world in that long-long
have who hath been loved so much or who hath so much come under the power of love as you have Ps 31.23 hath not Christ loved you not only with a love of well-wishing which is from everlasting some call it the love of Election the fountain-love the well-head of salvation but also with a love of complacency hath not Christ shed abroad his love into your hearts and shall he lose by it will not these cords of love draw up your hearts to love him again sure it 's but reason to love him who hath first loved you yea and loved you when you were unlovely and had nothing in you worthy of love Christians then it was that Christ loved you in rags it is meet therefore that you should love him in Robes 6. God and Christ appointed or purposed us unto salvation his love was a sure and setled and firme and constant love the purpose of God according to Election must stand Rom. 9.11 Ps 119 112. So must we love him and cleave unto him for ever I have enclined my heart to perform thy Statutes alwayes even to the end Davids heart was much taken with the Statutes of God and therefore he gives this expression of the fulness of his heart alway and even to the end it is a kind of pleonasme his resolutions were such that he would never depart from his God 7. God and Christ decreed booked and sealed our salvation and so must we put to our seal that God is true i. we must believe in Christ for when we believe we make Christs word good He that believes not makes God a lyar as you have heard in that he frustrates or endeavors to frustrate Christs undertaking in his predestination 8. God and Christ entered into Covenant concerning our salvation So must we enter into Covenant with him we must take him to be our God and give up our selves to be his people Why thus we must in all particulars conform to Christ The sum of all is this we must be like Christ in grace and gracious actings O my soul see to this grace see to this conformity to Jesus Christ in gracious actings and this will enable thee to read thy name written in the Book of Life O abhor repel that Devils dart I am predestinated and therefore I may live as I list how contrary is this to the Apostle Eph. 1.4 he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the World that we should be holy and without blame before him in love and as the Elect of God put on bowels of mercy kindness humbleness of mind meekness long-suffering forgiving one another Even as Christ forgave you this conformity to Christ in grace is the very effect of our predestination Colos 3 12 13. Ps 45 21 O look unto Jesus and be in grace like unto Jesus why Christ is full of grace a vessel filled up to the lip or very brim thou art fairer than the children of men and grace is poured into thy lips Christ was as it were grace speaking Luk 4.22 Grace sighing weeping dying Heb. 2.9 Grace living again and now dropping or rather raining down floods of grace on his living members Ephes 4.11 Christ is the great Apple-tree dropping down Apples of Life Cant. 2.3 and all that falls from this tree as apples leaves shadows smell blossomes are but pieces of grace fallen down from him who is the fulness of all Cant. 2.1 and hath filled all things Christ is the rose of Sharon and every leaf of this rose is an Heaven every white and red in it is grace and glory every act of breathing out it's smell from everlasting to everlasting is Spotless and unmixed grace why then my soul if thou wilt conform to Christ conform in this Be holy as he is holy John 1.16 of that fulness of grace that is in him do thou receive even grace for grace Christians where are we O that ever men should hear of so much grace and of such acts of grace in that eternity before all worlds and yet no impression of grace upon their hearts O that God and Christ should both be in that business of Eternity that heaven hell justice mercy souls and deep wisdome should be all in that rare piece and yet that men should think more of a Farme an Ox an house a pin a straw or of the bones of a crazy livelihood O look up look up if thou art Christs Consider what he hath done for thy soul why thou art predestinate to be conformed to the Image of Christ Thus far we have Looked on Jesus as our Jesus in that Eternity before all time untill the creation Our next work is to Look on Jesus carrying on the great work of mans salvation in the Creation the beginning of time untill his first coming LOOKING UNTO JESUS From the Creation until his first coming The Third Book Revel 1.8 11. The Lord will give thee for a Covenant of the People Hear ye deaf and look ye blind that ye may see CHAP. I. SECT I. Of Christ Promised by degrees IN this period as in the former we shall first lay down the Object and then direct you how to look upon it The Object is Jesus carrying on the work of mans salvation in that dark time before his coming in the flesh No sooner is the world made the things therein but man was created that way might be made for God to shew his grace in the salvation of his Elect. And now was it that Gods eternal project and counsel fore-knowledge and purpose and decree and Covenant with Christ was to come into execution Indeed at the first there was no need of Christ for man at first was made in holiness the image of God and to bear rule over the rest of the visible creatures though this his state was but of a little standing It was the received opinion in in former times that our first parents fell the very same day in which they were created Augustine amongst the rest writes that they stood but six hours but though we cannot describe the certain time very probable it is that it was but short This we finde that Moses having set down the creation of man without the interposition of any thing else he comes immediatly to the fall and the Devil no doubt took the first occasion he possibly could to bring man to the same damnation with himself Well then long it was not but Adam by his sin deprived himself and all his posterity of the image of God All mankind was in his loynes so by the order and appointment of God all mankind partake with him in the guilt of his sins Hence is the daily continual cry not only of Adam Abraham David Paul but of every Saint O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death But sweet souls stay your complaints here 's Gospel-news In this sad hour of temptation God
Dominion of Satan What saith the Gospel 1 John 3.8 Luk 10 17 18 19. for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil And the seventy returned again with joy saying Lord even the Devils are subject unto us through thy Name and he said unto them I beheld Satan as Lightning fall from Heaven behold I give unto you power to tread on Serpents and Scorpions and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you Joh. 12.31 Heb. 2.14 And now is the judgment of this world now shall the Prince of this world be cast out And for as much as children are partakers of flesh and blood He also himself likewise took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil In these and many other places we find this very promise fulfilled in Christ and only in Christ and therefore he and only he is the Seed of the Woman that Hu it or he that shall bruise the Serpents head Yet I will not deny but by way of participation this promise may pertain to the whole Body of Christ Rom. 8 37 Through him that loved us we are more than Conquerours saith the Apostle we may Conquer Satan though not in our own strength but Christs and so in a secondary sense by way of communication with Christ under this Seed all the faithful are and may be contained 1. Because the Head and Members are all one Body Heb. 2.11 Isa 53.10 both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all one 2. Because the faithful are called the seed of Christ when thou shalt make his Soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed 3. Because Sathan doth not only bruise the heel of Christ but of all the faithful 2 Tim. â— 12 Rom. 16.20 all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution 4. Because Satans overthrow by Christ our Head is diffused to all the Members and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly In this sence many of the ancient and modern Divines do extend this seed to the whole Body of Christ but primarily originally especially and properly it belongs only to Christ and to none but the Lord Jesus Christ He only is the seed by whom the promise is accomplished though the faithful also are the seed to whom and for whom the promise was made 6. What is the Serpents head and the bruising of it 1. For the Serpents head it is the power rage reigne and Kingdom of Satan It is observed that in the head of a Serpent lies the strength power and life of a Serpent so by a phraise of speech fitted to the condition of this Serpent that was Satans instrument God tels the Devil of the danger of his head i.e. of his power and Kingdom now this power and Kingdom of Satan consists more especially in sin and death for the sting of death is sin and the power of death is in Satan 2 Cor. 15.26 Heb. 2.14 Hence sin and death are usually called the works and wages of Satan they are his own he owns them and carries them at his girdle 2. For the bruising of this head it is the overthrowing of Satans power he shall bruise thy head i.e. Christ shall break thy power Christ shall destroy sin and death and him that had the power of death that is the Devil 1 Joh. 2.13 I say Christ shall do it though as I have said in a secondary sense the faithful shall do it Christ overcomes by his own power and the faithfull overcome by the power of Christ the victory is common to all the seed but the Author of victory is only Christ the Head and chief of all the seed Rom. 16.20 ye have overcome the evil one but how not of your selves no it is the God of peace that bruiseth Satan Well then here is the sense the Serpents head is bruised i.e. the Devil and sin and death and hell are overthrown not only the Devil in his person but the works of the Devil which by the fall he had planted in our natures as pride vain glory ignorance lust c. nor only Satans works but the fruits and effects of his works as Death and Hell so that all the faithfull may sing with Paul O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory thanks be to God which giveth us victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Cor. 15 5â— 57. 7. What is the heel of the seed of the woman and the bruising of it 1. For the heel it is the humanity of Christ according to which properly Christ hath an heel Or as others it is the wayes of Christ which Satan by all the means he could possibly would seek to suppress 2. For the bruising of his heel it is the miseries mockings woundings Death and Burial of Christ all which he endured in his heel i.e. in his humanity or it extends further to all the hurts reproaches afflictions persecutions of the faithful by the Devil and his agents all which are but as a bruise in the heel which cannot endanger the spiritual life of their souls It is observed that the Serpent hath but one head but the seed of the woman hath two heels so that the one may be some help while the other is hurt besides an hurt in the heel is far from the head and heart and though it may be painful it is not mortal Indeed Christs heel was bruised i.e. He was delivered to death even to the death of the Cross yet he rose again from the dead neither had the Devil any advantage by his death for as angry Bees stinging once make themselves droanes so the Devil now he may hiss at us but he cannot hurt us by that wound which Christ received at his death he wounded all his enemies irrecoverably the very sight it self was Christs triumph even then was the Kingdom of darkness utterly overthrown sin death and Satan were conquered and taken captive and whatsoever might be brought against us was taken away as the least bill or scroll O blessed riddle Judg. 14.14 Out of the Eater came forth meat and out of the strong came forth sweetness In reference to the promise thou shalt bruise his heel Rev. 13.8 Christ is said to be the Lamb slain from the foundation of the World Here 's good news betimes 8. Amongst whom was the enmity or this hostile war we find in the Text three Hosts and three battels As 1. Betwixt Satan and the woman I will put enmity between thee and the woman i.e. Betwixt thee the seducer and her whom thou hast seduced This enmity is opposed to the amity and familiarity which had been between the woman and the Serpent and upon that account the woman and not the man is named not but that enmity must be betwixt the
them again to this Land and I will build them and not pull them down and I will plant them and not bluck them up and I will give them a Heart to know Me that I am the Lord and they shall be My People and I will be their God for they shall return unto Me with their whole Heart Hag. 2.7 8 9. Again I will shake all Nations and the Desire of the Nations shall come and I will fill this House with Glory saith the Lord of Hosts The Silver is mine and the Gold is mine saith the Lord of Hosts the Glory of this latter House shall be greater than of the former saith the Lord of Hosts And I will put my Law in their inward parts Jer. 31.33 34. and write it in their Hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my People and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his Brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their Sins no more 3. It excels in the discovery and revelation of the Mediator in and through whom this Covenant was made In the former expression we discovered much yet in none of them was so plainly revealed the time of his coming the place of his birth his name the passages of his nativity his humiliation and kingdom as we find them in this 1. Concerning the time of his Coming Dan. 9.24 Seventy weeks shall be determined upon thy people and upon thy holy City to finish the Transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up the vision and prophesie and to anoint the most holy 2. Concerning the place of his Birth But thou Bethlehem Ephrata Mica 5.2 though thou be little among the thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting 3. Concerning his Name Vnto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given Isa 9.6 and the Government shall be upon his Shoulders and his Name shall be called Wonderful Councellor the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace Jer. 23.6 In his dayes Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this his Name whereby he shall be called the Lord our Righteousness Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son Isa 7.14 and thou O Virgin shalt call his Name Immanuel 4. Concerning the passages of his Nativity that he should be born of a Virgin Isa 7.14 That at his Birth all the Infants round about Bethlehem should be slain Jer 31.15 That John the Baptist should be his Prodromus or forerunner to prepare his way Mal. 3.1 That he should flee into Egypt and be recalled thence again Hos 11.1 I might add many Particulars of this kind 5. Concerning his Humiliation Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows Isa 53.4 yet we did not esteem him stricken smitten of God and afflicted but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him 5. and with his stripes were we healed He was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his Mouth He was taken from Prison and from Judgment 7. and who shall declare his Generation he was cut off out of from the Land of the Living 8. for the transgression of my people was he stricken It pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great and he shalt divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his Soul unto Death and he was numbred with the transgressors and he bare the Sin of many and made intercession for tâ—e transgressors One would think this were rather a History than a Prophesie of Christs sufferings you may if you will take the pains see the circumstances of his sufferings as that he was sold for thirty pieces of silver Zech. 11.12 and that with those thirty pieces of silver there was bought afterwards a Potters field Zech. 11.13 That he must ride into Jerusalem before his Passion on an Ass Zech. 9.9 I might seem tedious if I should proceed 6. Concâ—rning his Kingdom Rejoyce greatly O Daughter of Zion Zech. 9.9 Isa 62.11 Mat. 21.5 shout O Daughter of Jerusalem behold thy King cometh unto thee he is Just and having Salvation lowly and riding upon an Ass and upon a Colt the Foal of an Ass Behold a King behold thy King behold thy King cometh and he comes unto thee 1. He is a King and therefore able 2. He is thy King and therefore willing wonderful Love that he would come but more wonderful was the manner of his coming He that before made man a Soul after the Image of God then made himself a Body after the Image of Man And thus we see how this Covenant excels the former in every of these respects 3. How doth God put the Law into our inward parts I answer God puts the Law into our inward parts by enlivening or qualifying of a Man with the Graces of Gods Spirit suitable to his Commandment first there is the Law of God without us as we see it or read it in Scriptures but when it is put within us then God hath wrought an inward disposition in our minds that answers to that Law without us for example this is the Law without Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Strength Deut. 6.5 Deut. 30.6 To Answer which there is a promise I will circumcise thy Heart and the Heart of thy Seed to Love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart and with all my soul now when this promise is fulfilled when God hath put the affections and grace of Love within our hearts when the habit of Love is within answerable in all things to the command without then is the Law put into our inward parts Deut. 13.4 Jer. 32.40 Again this is the Law without Thou shalt fear the Lord and keep his Ordinances and his Statutes and his Commandments to do them to answer which there is a promise I will make a Covenant with you and I will not turn away from you to do you good but I will put my fear into your hearts and you shall not depart from Me now when this promise is accomplished when God hath put the affection and grace of fear within our hearts when the habit of fear is within answerable to that Command without then is the Law put into our hearts Surely this is Mercy that God saith in his Covenant I will put my Law in their inward parts many a time a poor Soul cries out
of his wrath is come who shall be able to stand And yet despair not cheer up O my soul for in the very midst of wrath God is pleased to remember Mercy even now when all the world should have been damned a Jesus is proclaimed and promised and he it is that must die according to the Commination for he is our surety and he it is that by Death must overcome Death and the Devil it shall bruise thy Head said God to Satan q. d. Come Satan thou hast taken Captive ten thousands of souls Adam and Eve are now ensnared and in their loynes all the men and women that ever shall be from this beginning of the world to the end thereof now is thy day of triumph now thou keepest Holy-day in Hell but thou shalt not carry it thus I foresaw from all Eternity what thou hast done I knew thou wouldest dig a hole through the comely and beautiful frame of the Creation but I have decreed of old a Counter-work out of the seed of the woman shall spring a Branch and he shall bruise thy head he shall break thy Power he shall tread thy Dominion under foot he shall lead thy Captivity Captive he shall take away sin he shall point out to Men and Angels the glory of heaven and a new world of free grace In this promise O my soul is foulded and wrapped up thy hope thy heaven thy salvation and therefore consider of it turn it upside down look on all sides of it view it over and over there is a Jesus in it it is a field that contains in the bowels of it a precious treasure there is in it a Saviour a Redeemer a Deliverer from sin death and hell are not these dainties to feed upon are not these rarities to dwell on in our meditations 2. Consider Jesus in that next promise made to Abraham Gen. 17.7 I will establish thy Covenant between me and thee and thy Seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting Covenant to be a God to thee and to thy Seed after thee in respect of this Covenant Abraham is called the Father of the Faithfull Rom. 4.11 Gal. 3.7 and they which are of the Faith are called the Children of Abraham And O my soul if thou art in Covenant with God surely thou dost by Faith draw it through Abraham to whom this promise was made for if ye be Christ's then are ye Abrahams Seed and heirs according to the promise Consider what a mercy is this Gal. 3 29. that God should enter into a Covenant with thee in the loins of Abraham God made a promise of Christ and inclusively a Covenant of Grace in his comforting Adam but he makes a Covenant expresly under the name of Covenant with Abraham and his seed O muse and be amazed What that the great and glorious God of heaven and earth should be willing to make himself a debtor to us O my soul think of it seriously he is in heaven and thou art on earth he is the Creator and thou art his Creature Ah what art thou or what is thy Fathers house that thou shouldest be raised up hitherto The very Covenant is a wonder as it Relates to God and us what is it but a compact an agreement a tying a binding of God and us When Jehoshaphat and Ahab were in Covenant see how Jehoshaphat expresseth himself I am as thou art my people as thy people 1 King 21.4 my horses as thy horses So it is betwixt God and us If once he gives us the Covenant then his strength is our strength his power is our power his armies are our armies his attributes are our attributes we have interest in all there is an offensive and a defensive Language as I may say betwixt God and us and if we put him in mind of it in all our straits he cannot deny us As it was with the Nations allied to Rome if they fought at any time the Romans were bound in honour to defend them and they did it with as much diligence as they defended their own City of Rome so it is with the people allied to God he is bound in honour to defend his People and he will do it if they implore his aid how else is it possible God should break his Covenant will he not stir up himself to scatter his and our spiritual enemies Certainly he will Thus runs the tenour of his Covenant I will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee This is the general promise I may call it the Mother-Promise that carries all other Promises in its womb we find a Jesus in this promise consider that it is God in Christ that is held forth to us in this phrase I will be as a God to thee O sweet Here is the greatest promise that ever was made Christ God is more than Grace Pardon Holiness Heaven as the Husband is more excellent than the Marriage-Robe Bracelets Rings the Well and Fountain of Life is of more excellency than the streams Christ Jesus the objective happiness is far above a created and formal Beatitude which issueth from him O my Soul is not this worthy of thy inmost consideration But of this more in the next 3. Consider Jesus in that promise made to Moses and the Israelites I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage Much hath been said to this Promise before as matter of thy Consideration but to contract it consider in the Promise the sufficiency and propriety 1. Here is sufficiency it is a promise of infinite worth an hid treasure a rich possession an overflowing blessing which none can rightly value it is no less than the great and mighty and infinite God if we had a promise of an hundred worlds or often heavens this is more than all heaven indeed is beautiful but God is more beautiful for he is the God of heaven and hence it is that the Saints in heaven are not satisfied without their God it is a sweet expression of Bernard As whatsoever we give unto thee Lord unless we give our selves cannot satisfie thee so whatsoever thou givest unto us Lord unless thou givest thy self it cannot satisfie us and hence it is that as God doth make the Saints his Portion so God is the Portion and Inheritance of his Saints Consider the greatness the goodness the all-sufficiency of this promise I am the Lord thy God! No question but Moses had many other rich promises from God but he could not be satisfied without God himself if thy presence be not with us bring us not hence And no wonder for without God all things are nothing Exod. 33.15 but in the want of all other things God himself is instead of all It is Gods alone Prerogative to be an universal good The things of this world can but help in this or that particular thing as Bread against hunger Drink against thirst
Covenant before his coming in the flesh It is not enough to know and consider but we must desire Thus is the order of Gods work no sooner hath his Spirit clearly revealed the goodness of the Promise that we come to know but the soul considers of it turns it upside down views it in all its Excellencies weighs it in the Ballance of its best and deepest meditation This done the Affections begins to stir and the soul begins thus to reason O happy I that I see the goodness of this gracious Promise but miserable I if I come to see this and never have a share in it O why not I Lord Why not my Sins Pardoned VVhy not my Corruptions Subdued VVhy not the Law Written in my Heart and put into my inward parts Why may not I say my Lord and my God or I am my Beloveds and my Beloved is mine VVhy not this Covenant established between God and me Now my Soul thirsts after this as a thirsty Land my affections hunger after Jesus in a Covenant of Grace Oh I would fain be in Covenant with God for this is all my Salvation and all my desire 2 Sam. 23.5 But here is an Objection The Object Object of this desire is apprehended as absent and distant we do not covet those things that we do enjoy if they are present we rather rest in them than move towards them or desire after them how then should David or any soul already in a Covenant of grace desire after the Covenant What is this He hath made with me an everlasting Covenant 2 Sam. 23.5 ordered in all things and sure for this is all my Salvation and all my Desire Answ It is true the Object of desire qua tale is something absent yet not alwayes absent in the whole but in the parts and degrees of it the very presence of a good thing doth in some sort quicken the desires towards the same thing so far forth as it is capable of improvements or augmentation As we see in external Riches of the Body none desire them more eagerly than those that possess them and the more gracious the Soul is the more is the heart enlarged in the appetition of a greater measure of Grace as the putting in of some water into a Pump doth draw forth more no man is so importunate in praying Lord help my unbelief as he that can say Lord I believe things may be desired in order to improvement and further degrees of them Again things present may be the Object of our desires unto continuance as he that delighteth in a good thing that he hath he desireth the continuance of that delight so the soul of a man having a reach as far as immortality it may justly desire as well the perpetuity as the presence of those good things it enjoyeth Come then O my soul and whet on thy desires in every of these respects as 1. Desire after thy interest in the Covenant 2. Desire after thy improvement of the Covenant 3. Desire after the continuance of thy Covenant-state 4. Desire after Jesus the great business or the all in all in a Covenant of Grace 1. Desire after thy interest in the Covenant O say in thy self is it thus prov 1.22 23 is the Lord willing to receive me to his Grace was that his voice in the streets how long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity turn ye at my reproof Isa 55.1 3. behold I will pour out my Spirit unto you was that his Proclamation Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters encline your ear and come unto me and I will make an everlasting Covenant with you even the sure mercies of David and are these the promises offered in the Covenant I will put my Law into their inward parts Jer. 31.33 and I will write it in your hearts and I will be your God and ye shall be my People Deut. 33.29 psal 144.15 Oh the Blessed condition of those People that are in Covenant with God! Blessed art thou O Israel who is like unto thee a People saved by the Lord Oh happy is the People that be in such a case yea happy is that People whose God is the Lord. But ah what can I say no sin like unto my sin no misery like unto my misery alas I am an alien to God I am separated from his People I am out of the Covenant like a poor Prodigal I dye for hunger whilst those that are in my Fathers house have bread enough Oh that I were in their condition never did David long more for the waters of the well of Bethlehem than my Soul now touched with the sense of Sin doth desire to be at peace with God and in Covenant with God O I thirst I pant I gasp after him I long for Communion and Peace with him Jsa 26 9 with my soul do I desire thee in the night yea with my Spirit within me do I seek thee early 2. Desire after the Improvement of the Covenant it may be God hath given thee an interest in it but alas thy hold is so weak that thou scarce knowest the meaning of it the Lord may answer but yet he speaks darkly as sometimes he spake to the woman go thy way and Sin no more it is a middle kind of expression John 8.11 neither assuring that her Sin was pardoned nor yet putting her out of hope but it might be pardoned so it may be God hath given thee some little ease but he hath not spoken full peace go on then and desire more and more after confirmation say in thine heart O Lord thou hast begun to shew grace unto thy Servant but oh manifest to me all thy goodness thou hast given me a drop and I feel it so sweet that now I thirst and long to enjoy the Fountain thou hast given me a kiss of thy mouth and now I pant to be united to thee in a more perfect and consummate marriage thou hast given me a taste Rom. 8.23 but my appetite and desire is not thereby diminished but enlarged and good reason for what are these drops and tastes but only the first fruits of the spirit and earnests of the spirit Ephes 1.14 oh then what are those harvests of Joy what are those treasures of wisdom and free grace hid in God I have indeed beheld a feast of fat things of fat things full of marrow of wines on the lees of wines on the lees well refined but O what a Famine is yet in my spirit O Lord I have longed for thy Salvation I am ready to swoon for further union and clearer manifestation of my share and interest in this Covenant of grace come Lord Jesus come quickly 3. Desire after continuance of the Covenant-state many a sweet soul cannot deny but that the Lord hath shewed mercy on him but he fears that he shall not hold out he feels within such a Power of corruption such
face so the conformity of thy heart and inwards to the Law of God thou obeyest God's Will and delightest in that obedience Thou sayest with David I delight to do thy Will O God yea psal 40.8 thy Law is within my Heart 2. Thou hast a covenant-relation to God and a covenant-interest in God and thou art by covenant as one of the people of God Christ hath thy soul thy body thy affections thy love to the very uttermost God hath a propriety and a peculiarity in thee thou art Christs by Marriage thou hast past over thy self unto him to be his Jewel his Spouse his Diadem his Crown his Servant his Child for ever 3. Then art thou clearly taught to know the Lord thou knowest him in another manner than thou didst before I will establish my Covenant with thee Ezek. 16.60 61. and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. There is a double knowledge 1. A speculative knowledge and thus men may know much but they are not affected according to the things they know 2. A practical knowledge and thus if we know the Lord we shall see in him that excellency and beauty that our Hearts will be affectioned towards him and we shall be able to say that we love him with all our Heart and with all our Soul and with all our Strength 4. Then hath God pardoned thy sins and He will remember thy sins no more But how should I be assured of that Why thus 1. If thou hast sincerely confessed bewailed and forsaken thy sins Wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine Eyes cease to do evil And presently it follows come now and let us reason together saith the Lord Isa 1.16 18. though your sins be as Scarlet they shall be as white as Snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wooll Isa 55.7 To the same purpose Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and He will have Mercy upon him and to our God for He will abundantly Pardon 2. If thy heart after many storms and troubles be calmed and quieted through saith in Christ Being justified by faith we have peace with God Rom. 5.1 What hast thou peace with God and hath God still'd thy soul with peace this is an argument of thy sins pardon 3. If thine Heart be singularly inflamed with the love of Christ the Woman that Had many sins forgiven her by Christ Luke 7.47 she loved him much Upon that account she wept and washed his feet with her tears and so wiped them with the hairs of her head she kissed his feet and anointed them with Ointment nothing was too good for Christ who had forgiven her all her sins 4. If thy heart and soul and all that is within be singularly enlarged to praise God for his pardons Ps 103.1 2 3. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits who forgiveth all thine iniquities If thine heart feel his pardons thy mouth will sing his praises and hereby thou may'st be assured that God hath pardoned all thy sins Come now are these O my soul the grounds of thy hopes a lively faith in Jesus an accomplishment in some measure of the promises of the Covenant why these are the fewel of hope if this be thy case act thy hope strongly on Christ and on the covenant of grace say not hope is onely of things future and therefore if I be already in covenant What need I hope For whether thou art in covenant or no it is the main question here nay though it be granted that thou art in covenant and that hope is swallowed up in the compleat presence of its object yet it is not at all diminished but rather encreased by a partial presence As in massie bodies though violent motion be weakest in the end yet natural motions are ever swiftest towards the center so in the hopes of men though such as are violent and groundless prove weaker and weaker yet those that are stayed and natural or rather gracious are evermore stronger and stronger till they procure the utmost presence and union of their object The nearer we come to a fruition of a good the more impatient we are to want it O then hope in Jesus draw on thy hope yet more and more in this Covenant of grace be not content onely with an hope of expectation but bring it on to an hope of confidence or assurance thou canst not fail if thou hangest thy hope on Jesus Christ is not fastened as a loose nail or as a broken rotten hedge in the covenant of grace he is there As a nail in a sure place Isa 22.23 24. and they shall hang on him all the glory of his Fathers house the off-spring and the issue all vessels of small quantity from the vessels of cups even to all the vessels of flaggons Come soul thou art a vessel of small quantity hang all thy weight on Christ he is a nail that cannot break SECT V. Of Believing in Jesus in that Respect 5. WE must believe on Jesus carrying on this great work of our salvation in a way of covenant Many a time Satan comes and hurles in a temptation What Is it likely that God should enter into a covenant with thee yea sometimes he so rivets in this temptation that he darkens all within and there 's no sight of comfort in the soul O but now believe now if ever is the season for faith to act little evidence and much adherence speaks saith to purpose We read of some who could stay themselves upon the Lord whiles they walked in darkness upon the margin and borders of a hundred deaths Psal 23.4 Ps 88.7 David fears no evil though he walked through the valley of the shadow of death for his faith told him that God was with him Heman could say thy wrath lieth hard upon me thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves sure he thought God could do no more to drown him not only a wave or two but all Gods waves were on him and over him and yet he believes Lord I have called daily upon thee Hezekiahs comforts were at an hard pinch ver 9. Mine eyes fail with looking upwards O Lord I am oppressed Isa 39.14 yet praying argues believing Lord undertake for me Christs sense of comforts was ebbe and low when he wept and cryed that he was forsaken of God yet then his faith is doubled as the cable of an Anchor is doubled when the storm is more than ordinary Mat. 27.46 my God my God Poor soul thou standest wondering at this great condescention of God What That God should enter into covenant with me What that God should make such great and precious promises with me Surely these comforts and these priviledges are too high for me or for any soul breathing It may be so and yet be not discouraged
I will live with you in this World and you shall live with me in the World to come O here was Blessed News Why this is Gospel pure Gospel this is the Glad Tidings Free Grace proclaims a Jesus and a Jesus is made up as it were all of Free-Grace O what Eternal Thanks do we owe to the Eternal God! If there had not been a Jesus to borrow that Expression made all of Grace of Grace it self we could never have had Dealing with God O how may we say with the Angels Glory to God Blessed be God for Jesus Christ But in this Conception of Christ are so many Wonders that e're we begin to speak them 1 Tim. 3.16 we may stand amazed Without Controversie great is the Mystery of Godliness God manifested in the Flesh Say Is it not a Wonder a Mystery a great Mystery a great Mystery without all Controversie that the Son of God should be made of a Woman even made of that Woman which was made by Himself Is it not a Wonder that her Womb then and that the Heavens now should contain Him whom the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Concerning this Conception of Christ I shall speak a little and but a little What Man can conceive much of this Conception which was a Conception without Help of Man Luke 1.35 Our greatest Light we borrow from the Angel who describes it thus The Holy-Ghost shall come upon thee and the Power of the Highest shall over-shadow thee Out of these Words observe 1. The Agent or Efficient 2. The Fruit or Effect 1. The Agent or Efficient Cause of Christ's Conception is the Holy-Ghost This agrees with that Speech of the Angel to Joseph Matth. 1.20 That which is Conceived in her is of the Holy-Ghost Here it may be demanded why the Conception of Christ should be ascribed to the Holy-Ghost which is common to all the Actions in the Trinity I answer Not to exclude the rest but first to shew it was the free Grace of God which is often termed the Holy-Ghost 2. Because the Father and the Son effected it by the Holy-Ghost so was it his Work immediately and in a special manner Good reason have we to be thankful to all the Three Persons to the Father for ordaining this Garment to the Holy-Ghost for weaving it to the Son for wearing it to the whole Deity for cloathing us with it and making us Righteous by it Neither yet is the Holy-Ghost Christ's Father he did not beget Him he did not form Him he did not minister Matter from his own Substance whereof Christ was made but took a part of Humane Nature from the Virgin and of that he made the Body of Christ within her Away with all gross Opinions and old Heresies This Conception of Christ was not by any Carnal Effusion of Seminal Humour but by way of Manufacture i. by Handy-work or Operation or Virtue of the Holy-Ghost or else by the Energetical Command and Ordination of the Holy-Ghost whereby that part of the Virgin 's Blood or Seed whereof the Body of Christ was to be framed was so cleansed and sanctified that in it there should be neither Spot nor Stain of Original Pollution 2. The Fruit or Effect was the Framing of Christ's Manhood in which we may observe the Matter and Manner 1. For the Matter Observe we the Matter of the Body and of the Soul of Christ 1. The Matter of the Body of Christ it was the very Flesh and Blood of the Virgin He was made of Woman saith the Apostle i. of the Flesh and Blood Gal. 4.4 Rom. 1.6 Substance of the Woman And He was made of the Seed of David saith the Apostle according to the Flesh otherwise He could not have been the Son of David according to the Flesh And if it be true which the Philosophers say That the Seed of the Man doth not fall into the Substance of the Child but only doth dispose the Seed of the Woman as a Workman frameth and disposeth his Work to make the same into the Form of a Man Why then I know not wherein the Conception of Christ should differ in the Matter at all from our Conception save only in the Agent or Worker of his Substance who was the Holy-Ghost 2. The Matter or Substance of the Soul of Christ was not derived from the Soul of the Virgin as a part thereof but it was made as the Souls of other Men be i. of nothing by the Power of God and so infused into the Body by the Hand of God But of these Things of His Body and Soul and Humane Nature we shall speak more largely in the next Section 2. For the manner of forming Christs humane Nature it was miraculous The Angel ascribes two actions to the Holy Ghost in this great work the one to come upon the Virgin the other to overshadow her by the first is signified the extraordinary work of the Holy Ghost in fashioning the humane Nature of Christ as it was said of Sampson Judg. 14.6 The spirit of the Lord came upon him i.e. the Holy Ghost inspired him with an extraordinary strength so the Spirit of the Lord came upon her i.e. the holy Ghost wrought in her in an extraordinary way As for instance in ordinary generation our substance and parts are framed successively by degrees as first the seminal humour becomes an Embryo then a body in organical then are fashioned the Liver Heart and Brain and then the rest one after another and it is at least forty days before the body of a Child be fully formed now it was otherwise with the Body of Christ for in the very instant of his conception he was made perfect in Body and Soul void of Sin and full of Grace in the very instant of his Conception he was perfectly framed and instantly united unto the eternal Word perfect God and perfect Man Surely this was extraordinary and this is the property of the Holy Ghost subito operari to work instantly and perfectly as soon as ever the flesh was conceived it was presently united Aug'l De fido ad Pet. c. 18. and made the flesh of the Son of God it was suddenly made perfectly made holily made The second action ascribed to the holy Ghost is adumbration or overshadowing of the Virgin this teacheth us that we should not search overmuch into this great Mystery Alas it is to high for us if the course of ordinary generation be a secret how past all comprehension is this extraordinary operation the holy Ghost did cast a shadow over the Virgin and withall a shadow over this Mystery why should we seek a clear light where God himself will have a shadow Chrys hom 5. I know the Word was made flesh saith Chrysostome but how he was made I know not 1. In way of confutation this word conception is the bane of divers heresies 1. That Vse 1 of the Manichee who held he had no true body if so
person should be effected I must answer you with the Apostle Who is sufficient for these things Certainly these are the things which the Angels desire to stoop and look into It is an Inquisition fitter for an Angelical intelligence than for our shallow capacity 1 Pet. 1.12 and yet as Moses could not chuse but wonder though he must not draw nigh to the Bush burning with fire and not consumed so though we dare not draw too nigh to see this great sight How poor dust and ashes should be assumed into the unity of God's own person and that in the midst of those everlasting burnings the Bush should remain unconsumed Isa 33.14 and continue fresh and green for evermore yet what doth hinder but we may stand aloof off and wonder at it this is one piece of our duty to recite all the long-fore-passed acts and benefits of God as well as we may Scripture still going along that thereby we may admire and adore and express our Love and Thankfulness unto God For the untying of this Knot I cannot but wonder what a world of questions have been tossed in Schools As 1. Whether the union of the Word incarnate was in the Nature 2. Whether the union of the Word incarnate was in the Person 3. Whether the humane Nature was united to the Word by way of accident 4. Whether the union of the divine Nature be something cremated 5. Whether the union of the Word incarnate be the same with assumption 6. Whether the union of the two Natures of Christ be the chief of all unions 7. Whether the union of the two Natures of Christ was made by Grace 8. Whether it was convenient for the divine person to assume a created Nature 9. Whether a divine Person could assume the Nature humane 10. Whether more persons divine could assume one Nature humane 11. Whether it was more convenient that the person of the Son should assume humane nature than any other of the persons in the Godhead 12. Whether the humane nature was more assumptible by the Son of God than any other nature 13. Whether the Son of God did not assume the person of man 14. Whether the Son of God assumed the humane nature in all its Individuals or as abstracted from all Individuals 15. Whether the Son of God assumed a true Body Soul and all its Intellects 16. Whether the Son of God in respect of nature though not of time did first assume the Soul and then the Body of man 17. Whether the Son of God in humane nature assumed all the defects of the Body 18. Whether the Son of God assumed all the defects of the Soul of man 19. Whether by Virtue of this union those things which are agreeable to the Son of man may be predicated of the Son of God and e converso 20. Whether Christ be one or two and whether in Christ be one or two Wills one or more Operations These and many other like Questions are raised that in their discussions make up large Volums but I shall leave them all to the Schools In the explication of this union that which I shall insist on as the most necessary for our understanding is 1. The Union it self 2. The Effects or Benefits of it 1. For the Union it self we shall discuss 1. Of the sorts of Union and of what sort this is 2. Of the very thing it self wherein this union consists 3. Of the Scriptural Texts that confirm this union 4. Of the similitudes that hold sorth this union 5. Of the person assuming and of the nature assumed and of the reason of this way And of these as briefly as I may I would rather say much in a little than a little in much 1. Union is of divers sorts as natural and mystical accidental and substantial essential and integral But I shall pass these by and speak only of these sorts 1. When one of the things united is turned into the other as when a drop of water is poured into a vessel of Wine 2. When both the things united are changed in nature and essence as when the Elements are united to make mixt or compounded bodies 3. When there is no change of things united but the constitution of a third nature out of them both as is the union of the soul and body 4. When there is neither a change of natures united nor constitution of a third out of them both but only the founding setling and staying of the one of the things united in the other and the drawing of it into the unity of the personal being or subsistence of the other so the Branch of a Tree being put upon the stock of another Tree it is drawn into the unity of the subsistence of that Tree into which it is put and whereas if it had been set in the Ground it would have grown as a separate Tree in it self now it groweth in the Tree into which it is graffed and pertaineth to the unity of it and this kind of union doth of all others most perfectly resemble the personal union of the two Natures of God and man in Christ wherein the nature of man that would have been a person in it self if it had been left to it self is drawn into the unity of the divine person and subsisteth in it being prevented from subsisting in it self by this personal union and assumption 2. For the thing wherein this union of two natures consists we say that this union consists in that dependance of the humane nature on the person of the Word and in that communicating of the person or substance of the Word with the humane nature that is assumed so that it is an hypostatical or personal union that is such an union as that both natures do make but one person of Christ for the better understanding of this we must consider what the difference is betwixt Nature and Person and what makes an individual Nature to be a Person briefly thus To be this or that we say is an individual nature to be this or that in or for it self is a person or subsistence to be this or that in or for another is to pertain to the person or subsistence of another Now amongst those created things which are naturally apt to make a personal being or to subsist in and for themselves there is a very great difference for 1. Some things of this kind may become parts of another more entire thing of the same kind as we see in all those things wherein every part hath the same nature that the whole hath as every drop of water is water and being lest to it self it is a subsistence in it self and hath its quality nature and being in and for it self but if it be joyned to a greater quantity of water it hath now no being quantity nor operation but in and for that greater quantity of water into which it is poured 2. Other things of this kind cannot naturally put themselves into the
unity of any other thing and yet by the help of some forreign cause they may be united as the branch of a Tree of one kind which put into the ground would be an intire distinct Tree in it self may by the hand of a man be put into the unity of a Tree of another kind and so grow move and bear fruit not distinctly in and for it self but jointly in and for that Tree into which it is planted 3. Other things of this kind cannot by force of natural causes nor by the help of any forreign thing ever become parts of any other created thing or pertain to the unity of the substance of any such thing as the nature of man and the nature of all living things and yet by divine and supernatural working it may be drawn into the unity of the subsistence of any of the Persons of the blessed Trinity wherein the fulness of all being and the Perfection of all created things is in a more eminent sort than in themselves for though all created things have their own being yet seeing God is nearer to them than they are to themselves and they are in a better fort in him than they are in themselves there is no question but that they may be prevented and staid from being in and for themselves and caused to be in and for one of the divine persons of the blessed Trinity So that as one drop of water that formerly subsisted in it self if it be poured into a vessel containing a greater quantity it becomes one in subsistence with the greater quantity of water and as a branch of a Tree that being set in the ground and left to it self would be an intire and independant tree becomes one in subsistence with that tree into which it is grafted so the individual nature of man assumed into the unity of one of the Persons of the Blessed Trinity it looseth that kind of being that naturally left to it self it would have had and it becomes one with the Person for now it is not in and for it self but hath got a new Relation of dependance and being in another But you will say all the Creatures in the world have their being in God and dependance on God and therefore all Creatures as well as Man may pertain to the Person or Subsistence of God I Answer it is not a general being in and dependâ—nce on God but a strict dependance on mans part and a Communicating of the subsistence on Gods part that makes up this union Hence we say that there are four degrees of the presence of God in his Creatures the first is his general presence whereby he preserves the substances of all Creatures and gives unto them to live and to move and to have their being Acts. 7.28 and this extends it self to all Creatures good and bad The Second degree is the presence of Grace whereby he doth not only preserve the substance of his Creature but also gives Grace unto it and this agrees to the Saints and Gods People on earth The third degree is the presence of glory peculiar to the Saints and Angels in heaven and hereby God doth not only preserve their substances and give them plenty of his Grace but he also admits them into his Glorious presence so as they may behold him face to face The fourth and last degree is that whereby the God-Head of the Son is present with and dwells in the Manhood giving unto it in some part his own subsistence whereby it comes to pass that this Manhood assumed is proper to the Son and cannot be the Manhood of the Father or of the Holy Ghost or of any Creature whatsoever And this is a thing so admirable and unspeakable that though we may find some similitudes yet there cannot be found another example hereof in all the World Hence it follows that in the Manhood of Christ consisting of Body and Soul there is a Nature only and not a Person because it doth not subsist alone as other men Peter Paul and John do but it wholly depends on the Person of the Word into the unity whereof it is received and this dependance of the humane nature on the person of the Word and the communicating of the Person or subsistence of the Word with the humane nature is the very thing it self wherein this union consists 3. For the Scriptural texts that confirm this Union you see the Well is very deep but where is the Bucket What texts of Scripture have we to confirm this wonderful Union of two Natures in one Person Amongst many I shall only cite these Mat. 16.13 16. When Christ asked his Apostles Whom do men say that I the Son of man am Simon Peter answered Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God Now if but one Christ then surely but one Person and if the Son of man be the Son of the Living God then surely there are two natures in that one Person Observe how the Son of man and the Son of God very Man and very God concenter in Christ as the Soul and the Body make but one man so the Son of man and the Son of God make but one Christ Rom. 1.3 4. Thou art Christ saith Peter the Son of the Living God So Paul speaking of Jesus the Son of God he tells us that he was made of the seed of David according to the Flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit 1. Made of the Seed of David of the substance of the Virgin who was Davids posterity 2. Declared to be the Son of God not made the Son of God as he was made the Son of Man but declared to be the Son of God The word in the Original signifies a Declaration by a solemn sentence or difinitive judgment I will declare the Decree the Lord hath said unto me Thou art my Son That which I point at he is the Son of David Psal 2.7 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in respect of his Manhood and he is the Son of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in respect of his Godhead here be the two Natures but iâ—â—he words before these two natures make but one Son Jesus Christ our Lord and 〈◊〉 â—â—â—ry words themselves he is declared to be the Son of God he doth not say Som◠〈◊〉 two but his Son Jesus Christ first before and then after to shew unto us thâ—â—â—â—fore his making so after his making he is still but one Son or one person of the 〈◊〉 â—â—â—tinct natures subsisting Col. 2.9 To the same purpose is that same Text In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily by the union of the divine nature with the humane in the unity of his person the Godhead dwelleth in Christ as the Soul in the Body it dwelleth in him bodily not seemingly but really truly and indeed not figuratively and in a shadow as he dwelleth in the Temple not by power and efficacy as he dwells
in all the Creatures not by Grace as in his People nor by Glory as in the Saints above but essentially substantially personally the humane nature being assumed into Union with the person of the Word Observe the passages he in whom that fulness dwells is the Person that fulness which doth so dwell in him is the Nature now there dwells in him not only the fulness of the Godhead but the fulness of the Manhood also for we believe him to be both perfect God begotten of the substance of his Father before all Worlds and perfect man made of the substance of this Mother in this World only he in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwelleth is one and he in whom the fulness of the Manhood dwelleth is another but he in whom the fulness of both these natures dwelleth is one and the same Immanuel and consequently one and the same person in him i. in his person dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead and all the fulness of the Manhood In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily 4. For the similitudes that resemble or set forth this mystery many are given but for our better understanding let us consider these few The first is of the soul and body that make but one man as the soul and body are two distinct things and of several natures yet being united by the hand of God they make one Person so the Godhead and Manhood are two distinct things and of several Natures yet being united by the hand of God they make but one Person Indeed herein is the similitude defective first in that the Soul and Body being imperfect natures they concur to make one full and perfect nature of a man Secondly in that the one of them is not drawn into the unity of the substance of the other but both depend on a third substance which is that of the whole The second is of Light and Sun as after the Collection of and Union of the Light with the Body of the Sun no man can pluck them asunder nor doth any man call one part the Sun and another part the Light but both of them jointly together we call the Sun even so after the Union of Flesh with that true Light the Word no man doth call the Word apart to be one Son of God and the Son of Man another Son of God but both of them jointly together we call one and the self-same Christ I know in this similitude are mamy defectives Justin Martyr de recta confes de Coessent Trinit yet if hereby we be not altogether able to attain the truth of this great Mystery certainly we have herein a most excellent similitude which will greatly help and contentedly suffice the godly and moderate searchers of this divine truth The third is of a fiery and flaming Sword as the subsistences of the Fire and Sword are so nearly conjoyned that the operations of them for the most part concur for a fiery sword in cutting burneth and in burning cutteth and we may say of the whole that this fiery thing is a sharp piercing Sword and that this sharp piercing Sword is a fiery thing even so in the union of the two natures of Christ there is a communication of properties from one of them to the other as shall be declared if the Lord permit only this similitude is defective in this in that the nature of the Iron is not drawn into the unity of the subsistence of fire nor is the nature of the fire drawn into the Unity of the subsistence of Iron so that we cannot say this fire is Iron or this Iron is fire The fourth is of one man having two qualities or accidental natures as a man that is both a Physitian and a Divine he is but one person and yet there are two natures concurring and meeting in that same one Person so we may rightly say of such a one this Physitian is a Divine and this Divine is a Physitian this Physitian is happy in saving souls and this Divine is careful in curing bodies even so is Christ both God and Man and yet but one Christ and in that one Christ according to the several natures are denominations of either part as that this man is God and this God is man or that this man made the world and this God died upon the Cross but in this similitude is this deffect in that the different natures are accidental and not essential or substantial The fifth and last is of the Branch and Tree into which it is engraffed as suppose a Vine-branch and an Olive-tree now as this Olive-tree is but one but hath two different natures in it and so it beareth two kinds of fruit and yet between the Tree and the Branch there is a composition not hujus ex his but hujus ad hoc i.e. not of a third thing out of the two things united but of one of the two things united or adjoyned to the other even so Christ is one but he hath two different natures and in them he performs the different actions pertaining to either of them and yet between the different natures the Divine and Humane nature there is a composition not hujus ex his but hujus ad hoc not of a third nature arising out of these but of the humane nature added or united to the Divine in unity of the same person so that now we may say as this Vine is an Olive-tree and this Olive-tree is a Vine or as this Vine bears Olives and this Olive-tree bears Grapes so the Son of man is the Son of God and the Son of God is the Son of Man or this Son of Man laid the Foundation of the Earth and this Son of God was born of Mary and crucified by the Jews This similitude I take it is the aptest and fullest of all the other though in some things also it doth fail for the branch hath first a separate subsistence in it self and losing it after then it is drawn into the unity of the subsistence of that Tree into which it is implanted but it is otherwise with the humane nature of Christ it never had any subsistence of its own until it was united to the person or subsistence of the Son of God 5. For the person assuming and the nature assumed and for the reason of this way we say 1. That the person assuming was a Divine person it was not the Divine nature that assumed an humane person but the Divine person that assumed an humane nature and that of the three Divine persons it was neither first nor the third neither the Father nor the Holy Ghost that did assume this nature but it was the Son the middle person who was to be the middle one that thereby 1. He might undertake the mediation between God and us 2. He might better preserve the integrity of the blessed Trinity in the Godhead 3. He might higher advance man-kind by means of that relation which the
the honour done to the King redounds to the Crown upon his head not that we worship the Manhood alone as meerly a Creature but that we adore the person of Christ which consisteth of the Manhood and of the Godhead 6. That the Manhood hath an extraordinary measure without measure of habitual Graces poured into it in this he excels the very Angels for to them was given Grace only by measure but to the humanity of Christ was given Grace without measure even so much as a Creature is any ways capable of I know it is said that Jesus increased in Wisdom and Stature and in favour with God and Man Luk. 2.52 but this increase or growth in Wisdom is not to be understood in respect of the essence or extension of the habit for that he had from the beginning even from the first moment of his incarnation and he brought it with him out of the womb but in respect of the act and use of it or in respect of his experimental knowledg so he increased and not otherwise Never was there any but Christ whose Graces were no way stinted and that was absolutely full of Grace Divines tell us of a double Grace in Christ the one of union and that is infinite the other of unction which is all one with Grace habitual and that is in a sort infinite for howsoever it be but a finite and created thing yet in the nature of Grace it hath no limitation no bounds no stint but includeth in it self whatsoever any way pertains to Grace or that cometh within the compass of it The reason of this illimited donation of Grace bestowed on the Nature of man in Christ was for that Grace was given to it as to the universal cause whence it was to be derived unto all others he is the Fountain of Grace John 1.16 and of his fulness we receive Grace for Grace 3. For the Communication of the Properties It is a kind of phrase of speech peculiar to the Scriptures when the properties of either Nature of Christ considered singly and apart are attributed to the person of Christ from which soever of the natures they be denominated For the understanding of this observe 1. That words are either abstractive or concretive the former speaks the Nature of things the latter speaks the person that hath that nature as the God-Head and God the Man Hood and Man Holiness and Holy 2. Observe that abstractive Words noting precisely the distinct Natures cannot be affirmed one of the other we cannot say the God head suffered or the Man-hood created but we may truly say that God suffered and man created because the person which these concretive words imply is one and all actions passions and qualities agree really to the person though in respect somtimes of one nature and sometimes of another thus God purchased the Church with his own blood Acts. 20.28 John 3.13 not that the God-head shed blood but the person which was God and thus the Son of man talking with Nicodemus is said to be in Heaven not that the Man-hood was in Heaven while he was on earth but the person of the Son of Man Thus we may say that God was born of a Virgin and that God suffered and God was crucified not simply in respect of his God-head but in respect of his person or in respect of the humane nature which God united to himself because God here is a concrete word and not an abstract and signifieth the Person of Christ and not the divine nature of Christ And thus we may say that the Man Christ is Almighty Omniscient Omnipresent yet not simply in respect of its Man-hood but in respect of the Person which is the same God and Man or in respect of the divine nature of the man Christ Jesus for that here also Man is a concrete word and not an abstract and signifieth the whole person of Christ and not the humane nature but on the contrary we may not say that the God-head of Christ was born of a Virgin or suffered or was crucified nor may we say that the Manhood of Christ is Almighty Omniscient Omnipresent because the Godhead and Manhood are abstract words i.e. such words as note to us the two natures of Christ the one divine the other humane and not the person of Christ And this I think is the mind of Luther and his Followers and yet O wonder what a deal of objections are made to the multiplying of needless and fruitless contentions The Lutherans confess however they hold the ubiquitary presence of the humanity of Christ that his Body is only in one place locally If we ask them saith Zanchius * Zanchius in judicio de dissidio caenae Dominicae whether Christs body be every where they answer that locally it is but in one place but that personally it is every where now if they mean saith he that in respect of Essence his Body is finite and confined to one certain place but in respect of the being of subsistence or of his person it is infinite and every where they say the truth and there is no difference amongst us Happy are the Reconcilers of dissenting Brethren Vnto their Assembly mine honour be thou united 2. The Effects or benefits of this hypostatical union in respect of Christians are their spiritual union and communion with God and Christ 1. There is a spiritual union of Christians with God in Christ O the wonder of these two blessed unions first of the personal or hypostatical union secondly of this spiritual or mystical union in the personal union it pleased God to assume and unite our humane Nature to the Diety in this spiritual union it pleased God to unite the person of every Believer to the person of the Son of God This union is mystical and yet our very Persons natures bodies souls are in a spiritual way conjoyned to the Body and Soul of Christ Eph. 5.30 so that we are members of the Body of Christ and of the Flesh of Christ and of the Bones of Christ and as this conjunction is immediately made with his humane nature 2 Pet. 1.4 so thereby we are also united to the divine nature yea the person of the Believer is indissolubly united to the Glorious person of the Son God Now concerning this union for our better understanding observe these four things 1. It is a most real union it is not a meer notional and intellectual union that consists only in the understanding and without the understanding is nothing it is not an imaginary thing that hath no other being but only in the Brain no no it is a true real essential substantial union In natural unions I confess there may be more evidence but there cannot be more truth spiritual Agents neither have nor put forth less virtue because sense cannot discern their manner of Working even the Load-stone though an earthen substance yet when it is out of sight whether under the
table or behind a solid partition it stirreth the needle as effectually as if it were within view Shall not he contradict his sences that will say It cannot work because I see it not Oh my Saviour thou art more mine than my Body is mine my sense feels that present but so as that I must lose it but my faith so feels and sees thee present with me as that I shall never be parted from thee 2. It is a very near union You will say how near If an Angel were to speak to you he cannot satisfie you in this only as far as our understanding can reach it and the Creatures can serve to illustrate these things take it thus Whatsoever by way of comparison can be alledged concerning the combination of any one thing with another that and much more may be said of our union with Jesus Christ To give instance out of the Scripture see what one stick is to another being glewed together see what one friend is to another as Jonathan and David who were said to be woven and knit each one to other see how near the father and the child are how near the husband and the wife are 1 Cor. 6 17. 1 Sam. 18.1 Isa 62.5 see what union is between the Branches and the Vine the members and the head nay one thing more see what the the soul is to the body such is Christ and so near is Christ and nearer to the person of every true believer I live yet not I saith Paul but Christ liveth in me John 15.5 1 Cor. 12 12. Gal. 2.20 q. d. as the soul is to the body of a natural man that acts and enlivens it naturally so is Jesus Christ to my soul and body O there is a marvellous nearness in this mystical union 3. It is a total union i.e. whole Christ is united to the whole believer soul and body If thou art united to Christ thou hast all Christ thou art one with him in his nature in his name thou hast the same Image Grace and Spirit in thee as he hath the same precious Promises the same access to God by prayer as he thou hast the same love of the Father all that he did or suffered thou hast a share in it thou hast his life and death all is thine so on thy part he hath thee wholly thy nature thy sins the punishment of thy sins thy wrath thy curse thy shame yea thy wit and wealth and strength all that thou art or hast or canst do possibly for him It is a total union My beloved is mine and I am his whole Christ from top to toe is mine and all that I am have or can do for evermore is his 4. It is an inseparable union it can never be broken I will make saith God an everlasting Covenant with them Jer. 32.40 and I will not turn away from them to do them good I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me This is a glorious promise some poor souls may say True Lord thou wilt not turn away from me I know thou wilt not Oh but I fear I shall turn away from thee Oh alass I turn every day towards sin and Satan Nay saith God I will put my fear in their heart that thou shalt not turn away from me q. d. We shall be kept together for evermore and never be separated Hence Paul triumphantly challenges all enemies on earth or rather in hell to do their worst to break this knot Rom. 8.5 Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ shall tribulation Distress Famine Nakedness Peril or Sword Come all that can come and see if that blessed union betwixt me and Christ shall ever be broken by all that you can do Thus for this union 2. There is a spiritual communion with God in Christ Both these are the effects of Christs personal or hypostatical union first union to his person and then communion with his benefits union in proper speaking is not unto any of the benefits flowing to us from Christ we are not united to forgiveness of Sin Holiness Peace of Conscience but unto the person of the Son of God himself and then secondly comes this communication of all the benefits arising immediately from this union to the Lord Jesus that as Christ was Priest Prophet and King so we also by him are after a sort Priests Prophets and Kings for being made one with him we are thereby possessed of all things that are his as the Wife is of the wealth of her Husband now all things are yours saith the Apostle whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the World c. Hitherto have we took a view of Christ in his Mothers Womb 1 Cor. 3 21.23 and O what marvails there Did ever womb carry such a fruit Well might the Angel say Blessed art thou amongst Women and well might Elizabeth say Blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb but the blessing is not only in conceiving but in bearing and therefore we proceed SECT VI. Of the Birth of Christ 6. THe birth of Christ now follows Now was it that the Son of Righteousness should break forth from his bed where nine months he had hid himself as behind a fruitful cloud this was the worlds wonder a thing so wonderful that it was given for a sign unto believers seven hundred and forty years before it was accomplished Isa 7.14 therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son A wonder indeed and great beyond all comparison that the Son of God should be born of a Woman that he who is the true Melchizedech without Father and without Mother must yet have a mother-Virgin that he that is before Abraham was should yet be born after Abraham a matter of two thousand years that he who was Davids Son therefore born in Bethlehem should yet be Davids Lord wonderful things are spoken of thee Heb. 7.3 O thou Son of God before he was born the Prophets sing the Sybils prophesie the Patriarchs typisie the Types foretel God promiseth and the Son of God performeth when he was born Angels run errands Gabriel brings tidings the glory of Heaven shines a Star displaies and wise men are the Heralds that proclaim his Birth But come yet a little nearer Let us go to Bethlehem as the Shepherds said and see this thing which is come to pass if we step but one step into his loding Heavens wonder is before our eyes now Look upon Jesus Luke 2.15 look on him as in fulness of time he carried on the great work of our Salvation here now you may read the meaning of Adams Covenant Abrahams promise Moses revelation Davids succession these were but vailes but now shall we draw aside the Curtains come take a view of the truth it self O wonder of wonders whom find we in this lodging a Babe in a Cratch a Mother-maid a
everlasting Kingdom Dan. 7.27 Yet his end shall be and he shall have nothing Dan. 9.26 Thus all along from his Cratch to his Cross sweet Savours but sowr Grapes at last indeed the Grapes grew to a ripeness and then he was pressed and his dearest heart-blood run out in abundant streams this was the sweet juice of our Garden-Vine God planted it the Heavens Water it the Jews prune it what remains now but that we abide in it but of that when we come to the Directions how we are to look SECT VII Of some Consequents after Christ's Birth SOme Consequents after the Birth of Christ may be touched whilest yet he was but a Child of twelve years old As 1. When he was but eight dayes old he was Circumcised and named Jesus As there was shame in his Birth so there was pain in his Circumcision a sharp Razor paseth through his skin presently after he is born not that he needed this Ceremony but that for us he was content to be legally impure In this early humiliation he plainly discovers the Riches of his Grace now he sheds his Blood in drops and thereby gives an earnest of those Rivers which he afterwards poured out for the cleansing of our Nature and extinguishing the wrath of God and for a further discovery of his Grace at this time his Name is given him which was Jesus This is the name which we should engrave in our hearts rest our Faith on and place our help in and love with the overflowings of Charity and Joy and Adoration above all things we had need of a Jesus a Saviour for our Souls and from our sins and from the everlasting destruction which sin will otherwise bring upon our Souls hence this Name Jesus and this Sign Circumcision are joined together for by the effusion of his blood he was to be our Jesus our Saviour Without shedding of Blood is no remission of Sins no Salvation of Souls Heb. 9.22 Rom. 4.11 Circumcision was the Seal and now was it that our Jesus was under God's Great Seal to take his Office We have heard how he carried on the great Work of our Salvation from Eternity this very Name and Office of Jesus a Saviour was resolved on in Gods fore-councel and given forth from the beginning and we have heard of late how it was promised and foretold by an Angel John 6.27 but now it is Signed and Sealed with an absolute Commission and fulness of Power Him hath God the Father fealed John 6.27 It is his Office and his very profession to save that all may repair unto him to that end Mat. 11.28 John 6.37 John 4.42 Come unto me all ye that are weary and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out in which respect he is called the Saviour of the world i.e. of Samaritans Jewes Gentiles Kings Shepherds and of all sorts of men 2. When he was forty daies old he was brought to Jerusalem and presented to the Lord as it is written in the Law of the Lord every Male that openeth the womb shall be called Holy to the Lord. O wonder there was no impurity in the Son of God and yet he is first circumcised and then he is brought and offered to the Lord Luke 2.22 23 he that came to be sin for us would in our Persons be legally unclean that by satisfying the Law he might take away our uncleanness he that was above the Law would come under the Law that he might free us from the Law we are all born sinners but O the unspeakable Mercy of our Jesus that provides a remedy as early as our sin first he is conceived and then he is born to sanctifie our Conceptions and our Births and after his Birth he is first Circumcised and then he is presented to the Lord that by two holy acts that which was naturally unholy might be hallowed unto God Christ hath not left our very Infancy without redress but by himself thus offered he cleanseth us presently from our filthiness Now is Christ brought in his Mothers Arms to his own House the Temple and as Man he is presented to himself as God O how Glorious did that Temple seem now the Owner was within the walls of it Now was the Hour and Guest come in regard whereof the second Temple should surpass the first this was the House built for him and dedicated to him there had he dwelt long in his Typical presence nothing was done there whereby he was not resembled and now the body of these shadows is come and presents himself where he had ever been represented You will say what is this to me or to my Soul O yes Jerusalem is now every where there is no Church-Assembly no Christian heart which is not a Temple of the Living God and there is no Temple of God wherein Christ is not presented to his Father Thus we have the benefit of Christ's fulfilling the Law of Righteousness God sent his Son made of a Woman made under the Law that he might redeem them that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons Gal. 3.4 5. It is as if the Father should have said to Christ Come my dear Son here are certain Malefactors under the Law to suffer and to be executed what say you to them Why I will become under the Law saith Christ I will take upon me their Execution and suffer for them and to this purpose he is first circumcised and then he is presented to the Lord. 3. When he was yet under one year old as some or about two as others he fled into Egypt As there was no room for him in Bethlehem so now there is no room for him in all Judea no sooner he came to his own but he must fly from them what a wonder is this Could not Christ have quit himself from Herod a thousand wayes what could an Arm of flesh have done against the God of Spirits had Jesus been of the spirit of some of his Disciples he might have commanded fire from Heaven on those that should have come to have apprehended him but hereby he taught us to bear the yoke even in our youth thus would he suffer that he might sanctifie to us our early afflictions he flies into Egypt the slaughter-house of Gods People the sink of the world the surnace of Israel's ancient afflictions what a change is here Israel the first-born of God â—lie out of Egypt into Judea and Christ the first-born of all Creatures flies out of Judea into Egypt Euseb de demonst l. 6. c. 20. Eusebius reports that the Child Jesus arriving in Egypt and being by design carried into a Temple all the Statutes of the Idol-Gods fell down like Dagon at the presence of the Ark and to this purpose he cites Isaiah's Prophesie Behold the Lord shall come into Egypt and the Idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence Now is Egypt become the Sanctuary and Judea
Jesus and he shall not bear his Name for nought believe in him and ye shall live with him in Glory O blessed news Men may talk what they will of this and that news every one gapes after it but there is no news so welcome to one even now ready to perish as to hear of a Saviour tell a man in his Sickness of one that will make him well again tell a man in Captivity of one that will rescue him and set him free again tell a man in Prison condemned to die of one with a pardon that will save his life and every one of these will say this is the best news that ever was heard O then if it be good tidings to hear of a Saviour where is only a matter of loss of life or of this Earth how much more when it comes to the loss of Heaven to the danger of Hell when our Souls are at stake and likely to be damned for evermore what glad tidings would that be to hear of one that could save our souls from that destroyer is not such a Saviour worth the hearkning after were not the birth of such a one good news O my soul ponder on these words as if an Angel seeing thee stand on the brim of Hell should speak to thee even to thy soul 2. Consider Jesus in his Conception no sooner the news heard but Christ is conceived by the Holy Ghost in the Virgins Womb this Conception is worthy our consideration what that the great God of Heaven should condescend so far as to take our Nature upon him and to take it in the same way and after the same manner as we do the Womb of the Virgin was surely no such place but he might well have abhorred it true but he meant by this to sanctifie our very Conceptions and to that purpose he is conceived in an holy manner even by the holy Ghost we must not be too curious to enquire after the manner of the holy Ghosts operation who therefore overshadowed the Virgin this is work for our hearts and not meerly for our heads humble Faith and not curious inquisition shall find the sweetness of this Mystery It was Davids Complaint Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my Mother conceive me O my Soul this was thy case in thy very first being or beginning Psal 51.5 and hadst thou died in that condition the word is express that nothing defiled nor unclean shall enter into the City of Glory but here 's the remedy thy sinful Conception is sanctified by Christs holy Conception the holiness of thy Jesus serves as a Cover to hide thy Original pollutions from the eyes of God O consider this Jesus Christ was not conceived in vain he was not idle doing nothing whiles he was in his Mothers Womb he that from all eternity began he was then carrying on the great work of our salvation for us O consider this Conception thus till thou bring'st it near and close to thy soul till thou feelest some sweetness and power coming and flowing from Jesus in the Womb. 3. Consider the duplicity of Natures in Jesus Christ The Word was made Flesh John 1.14 no sooner was he conceived but he was God-Man Man-God he was perfectly framed and instantly united to the eternal Word God sent his Son there 's the Nature Divine made of a Woman there 's the Nature Humane Certainly great is this Mystery that the Word is made Flesh that the Son of God is made of a Woman Gal. 4.4 that a Star gives Light to the Sun that a Branch doth bear the Vine that a Creature gives being to the Creator that the Mother was younger than what she bear and a great deal lesser than what she contained Admire O my Soul at this but withal consider that all this was for us and our Salvation he was Man that he might die for us and he was God that his death might be sufficient to save us had he been Man alone not God he might have suffered but he could never have satisfied for sin he could not have been Jesus a Saviour of Souls and had he been God alone not Man he had not been of kin to our Nature offending and so he could not have satisfied the Justice of God in the same Nature wherein it was offended neither could he as God alone have died for Sin and the Decree was out that our Redeemer must die for Sin for without shedding of Blood there is no Remission and no shedding of Blood Heb. 9.22 no Passion could possibly befal the Godhead of Jesus Christ I shall not dispute the power of God whether he was able to lay down another kind of way of mans Redemption than by the Incarnation of the Son of God without controversie this was the Will of God and he appointed no other way because he would not O my Soul consider of this in relation to thy self he is God-man that he might suffer and satisfie for thy sins he is God-man that he might be able and fit most fully to finish the work of thy salvation as God he is able and as man he is fit to discharge the Office of Mediator as God he is able to bear the punishment of sin and as man he is fit to suffer for sin O the wisdom of God in this very way Mans Nature can suffer Death but not overcome it the Divine Nature can overcome death and all things but he cannot suffer it and hence there is a duplicity of natures in Jesus Christ O muse on this it is a matter worthy of thy serious consideration 4. Consider the real distinction of these two Natures in Christ As the unapproachable light of the God-head was put into the dim and dark Lanthorn of humane flesh so these two natures remained entire without any conversion commixion or confusion they were not as Wine and Water that become one by mixing there is no such blending the divine and humane nature they were not as Snow and Water that become one by dissolving of the Snow into the Water there is no such changing of the Humane Nature into the Divine or of the Divine Nature into the Humane Some say indeed that the God-head was more plentifully communicated with the Manhood after his Resurrection than now at his Conception but howsoever it did not then swallow up the Truth of his Manhood as a whole Sea would swallow up one drop of Oyl look as at first moment of his Conception he was God and man so these two Natures continued still distinct in substance properties and actions Why consider this O my soul in reference to thy self O ther 's comfort in this by this meanes thou hast now free access unto the Throne of Grace that thou mayest find help in thy necessities and as thou hast free access so thou mayest boldly draw near his Deity indeed confounds but his Humanity comforts faint and feeble Souls his Divine Nature amazeth but his
Humane Nature incourageth us to come unto him even after his Resurrection he was pleased to send this comfortable message to the sons of men Iohn 20.17 Go to my Brethren and say unto them I ascend to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God now as long as he is not ashamed to call us Brethren Heb. 11.16 God is not ashamed to be called our God O the sweet fruit that we may gather of this Tree the real distinction of two Natures in Christ As long as Christ is man as well as God we have a motive strong enough to appease his Father and to turn his favourable countenance towards us here is our happiness that there is one Mediator between God and Man 1 Tim. 1.5 the Man Christ Jesus 5. consider the Union of the two natures of Christ in one and the same Person as he was the branch of the Lord and the fruit of the Earth so these two natures were tied with such a Gordian knot as sin hell and the grave were never able to untie yea though in the death of Christ there was a separation of the soul from the body yet in that separation the hypostatical Union remained firm unshaken and indissoluble in this Meditation thou hast great cause O my Soul to admire and adore wonderful things are spoken of thee O Christ he is God in a Person of a God-head so as neither the Father nor the Holy Ghost were made flesh and he is man in the nature of man not properly the Person the humane nature of Christ never having any Personal subsistence out of the God-head this is a mystery that no Angel much less man is able to comprehend we have not another example of such an Union as you have heard only the nearest similitude or resemblance we can find is that of the Branch and Tree into which it is ingraffed we see one Tree may be set into another and it groweth in the Stock thereof and becometh one and the same Tree though there be two natures or kinds of fruit still remaining therein so in the Son of God made man though there be two natures yet both being united into one Person there is but one Son of God and one Jesus Christ If thou wilt consider this great mystery of Godliness any further review what hath been said in the object propounded where this union is set forth more largely and particularly but especially consider the blessed effects of this union in reference to thy self as our nature in the person of Christ is united to the God-head so our persons in and by this Union of Christ are brought nigh to God Hence it is that God doth set his Sanctuary and Tabernacle among us and that he dwells with us and which is more that he makes us houses and habitations wherein he himself is pleased to dwell by his holy Spirit Ye are the Temple of the Living God as God hath said I will dewll in them and walk in them and I will be their God John 17 20 21 22 23. and they shall be my People 2. Cor. 6.16 Was not this Christs Prayer in our behalf I pray not for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me I in them and thou in me that they may be perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me By reason of this hypostatical union of Christ Gal. 4.6 the Spirit of Christ is given to us in the very moment of our regeneration And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts crying Abba Father and hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his Spirit As the members of the Body howsoever distinct amongst themselves and all differing from the head yet by reason of one soul informing both the head and members they all make one compositum or man so all believers in Christ howsoever distinct Persons amongst themselves and all distinct from the Person of Christ and especially from the Godhead which is incommunicable yet by one and the same spirit abiding in Christ Eph. 4.4 1 Cor. 6.17 and all his Members they become one there is one body and one spirit he that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit O my Soul consider of this and in considering believe thy part in this and the rather because the means of this union on thy part is a true and lively faith faith is the first effect and instrument of the Spirit of Christ disposing and enabling thy soul to cleave unto Christ and for this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that Christ may dwell in your hearts by Faith Eph. 3.14 17. 6. Consider the birth of Christ this man-God God-man who in his divine generation was the Son of God in his humane generation was born in a stable for the saving of the Children of men who were as the oxe and mule having no understanding It were a fruitful meditation to consider over and over that sweet resemblance of Christ being a Vine me-thinks I hear the Voice of my beloved Cant. 2.10 13. rise up my love the fig-tree putteth forth her green figs and the vine with the tender grapes gives a good smell arise my love my fair one and come away if Christ knocks at the door who will not awake and arise if Christ comes in view who will not look unto Jesus if Christ the Vine calls us to come see the vine with the tender grape who will not taste the goodness smell the sweetness and after a little taste of that goodness and sweetness that is in him who would not long after more till we come from the first fruits to the last-fruits of the Spirit even to those visions and fruitions of Christ in Glory Consider O my soul of this Vine till thou hast brought Christ near and close unto thy self Suppose thy heart the Garden wherein this Vine was planted wherein it budded blossomed and bare fruit suppose the holy Ghost to come upon thee and to form and fashion in thee Jesus Christ thus Paul bespeaks the Galathians my little Children of whom I travel in Birth again untill Christ be formed in you would not this affect would not the whole soul be taken up with this come receive Christ into thy soul or if that work be done if Christ be formed in thee O Cherish him I speak of the Spiritual birth O keep him in thy heart let him there bud and blossome and bear fruit let him fill thy soul with his Divine Graces O that thou couldst say it feelingly I live yet not I but Christ
11.26 Moses reason of esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of Egypt was for that he had respect unto the recompence of reward he had respect in the original he had a fixed intent Eye there was in him a Love of the reward and yet withal a Love of God and therefore his Love of the reward was not mercinary but this I say though there were no reward at all a Child of God hath such a principle of Love within him that for Loves sake he would Obey his God he is led by the Spirit and therefore he Obeys now the Spirit that leads him is a Spirit of Love and as many as are led by the Spirit of God are the Sons of God Rom. 8.14 3. The Sons of God imitate God in his Love and Goodness to all Men. Our Saviour amplifies this excellent property of God He causeth his Sun to shine upon good and bad and thence he concludeth Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect Mat. 5.48 Goodness to bad men is the highest degree of Grace and as it were the perfection of all O my Soul Canst thou imitate God in this Consider how thy Father bears it though the wicked provoke him day by day yet for all that he doth not quickly revenge vengeance indeed is only his and he may in justice do what he will that way and 't is the opinion of some that if the most patient man in the world should but sit in Gods Throne one day and see and observe the doings and miscarriges of the Sons of Men he would quickly set all the World on Fire yet God seeth all and for all that He doth not make the Earth presently to gape and devour us He puts not out the glorious Light of the Sun He doth not dissolve the Work of Creation He doth not for Mans Sin presently blast every thing into Dust What an excellent pattern is this for thee to Write after Canst thou but forgive thy Enemies Do well to them that do evil to thee O this is a sure sign of Grace and Sonship It is storyed of some Heathens who beating a Christian almost to Death asked him What great matter Christ did ever do for him Even this said the Christian That I can forgive you though you use me thus cruelly here was a Child of God indeed It is a sweet resemblance of our Father and of our Saviour Jesus Christ to Love our Enemies to Bless them that Curse us to do Good unto them that Hate us to Pray for them that Despitefully use us and Persecute us O my Soul look to this 5.44 consult this ground of Hope if this Law be written in thy Heart write it down amongst thy Evidences that thou art Gods Son yea that even unto thee a Son is given To Review the Grounds What is a Child born to me and a Son given to me What am I indeed new born am I indeed Gods Son or Daughter do I upon the search find in my Soul new desires new comforts new contentments What are my words my works and affections and conversation new is there in me a new nature a new principle hath the Spirit by way of infusing or shedding given me a new Power a new Ability a Seed of Spiritual Life which I had not before do I upon the search find that I fear God and love God and imitate God in some good measure in his love and goodness towards all Men can I indeed and really forgive an Enemy and according to opportunity and my ability do good unto them that do evil unto me Why should I not then confidently and comfortably hope that I have my share and interest in the birth of Christ in the blessed incarnation and conception of Jesus Christ Away away all despair and dejections and despondencies of Spirit If these be my grounds of Hope it is time to hold up head and heart and hands and all with cheerfulness and confidence and to say with the Spouse I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine SECT V. Of Believing in Jesus in that Respect 5. LEt us Believe on Jesus carrying on the great work of our Salvation at his first coming or incarnation I know many staggerings are oft in Christians What is it likely that Christ should be incarnate for me That such a God should do such a thing for such a sinful woful abominable wretch as I am Ah my Soul put thy propriety in Christs incarnation out of dispute that thou mayst be able to say As God was manifest in the flesh and I may not doubt it so God is manifest in me and I dare not deny it But to help the Soul in this choice Duty I shall first propose the hinderances of Faith 2. The helps of Faith in this Respect 3. The manner how to act our Faith 4. The encouragements to bring on the soul to believe its part in this blessed incarnation of Jesus Christ For the first there are but three things that can hinder Faith As 1. The exceeding unworthiness of the soul and to this purpose are those complaints What Christ incarnate for me for such a dead Dog as I am What King would dethrone himself and become a Toad to save Toades and am not I at a greater distance from God than a Toad is from me hath not sin made my soul more ugly in Gods Eye than any loathsome Toad can be in my Eye O I am less than the least of all Gods Mercies I am fitter for Hell and Devils than for Vnion and Communion with God and Christ I dare not I cannot Believe 2. The infinite exactness of divine justice which must be satisfied a soul deeply and seriously considering of this it startles thereat and cries O what will become of my soul one of the least sins that I stand Guilty of deserves Death and eternal Wrath The wages of sin is death and I cannot satisfie though I have trespassed to many millions of talents I have not one mite of mine own to pay O then how should I believe What thoughts can I entertain of Gods Mercy and Love to me-ward God's Law condemns me my own Conscience accuseth me and Justice will have its due 3. The want of a Mediator or some suitable Person which may stand between the Sinner and God If on my part there be unworthiness and on Gods part exact and strict and severe Justice and withall I see no Mediator which I may go unto and first close withall before I deal with the infinite glory of God himself how should I but despair and cry out O wretched man that I am O that I had never been or if I must needs have a being Oh that I had been a toad or serpent or any venomous creature rather than a man for when they dye they perish and there 's an end of them but the end of a reprobate sinner is torments without end O wo and alas I cannot believe
of this World or of that World to come Here is an Object of Faith and Love and Joy and Delight here is a Compendium of all Glories here is one for a heart to be taken with to all Eternity O lay thy mouth to this Fountain suck and be satisfied with the brests of his Consolation Isa 66.11 Milk out and be delighted with the brightness of his Glory 2. From the sutableness of this Object Christ Incarnate is most sutable for our Faith to act upon We are indeed to believe on God but God essentially is the utmost Object of Faith we cannot come to God but in and through Christ alas God is offended and therefore we cannot find ground immediately to go to God hence you heard that Faith must directly go to Christ as God in our Flesh O the infinite condescentions of God in Christ God takes up our Nature and joins it to himself as one person and layes out that before our Faith so that here is God and God suited to the particular state and condition of the sinner Oh now with what boldness may our souls draw nigh to God Why art thou strange poor soul Why standest thou afar off as if it were death to draw nigh Of whom art thou affraid Is God come down amongst men and canst thou not see him lest thou die and perish Oh look once more and be not discouraged See God is not come down in fire God is not descended in the Armour of Justice and everlasting burnings No no he is cloathed with the Garments of Flesh he sweetly desires to converse with thee after thine own form he is come down to beseech thee to see with thine own eyes thy eternal happiness q. d. Come poor Soul come put in thy hands and feel my heart how it beats in love towards thee O the wonder of Heaven it is the cry of some poor souls Oh that I might see God! loe here God is come down in the likeness of man he walks in our own shape amongst us it is the cry oft others O that I might have my heart united to God! Why he is come down on this very purpose and hath united our nature unto himself Surely God hath left all the World without excuse Oh that ever there should be an heart of unbelief after these sensible demonstrations of Divine Glory and Love Why soul wilt thou now stand off Tell me what wouldst thou have God do more Can he manifest himself in a more taking alluring sutable way to thy condition Is there any thing below flesh wherein the great God can humble himself for thy good Come think of another and a better way or else for ever believe Methinks it is sad to see Believers shy in their approaches to God or doubtful of their acceptance with God when God himself stoops first and is so in love with our acquaintance that he will be of the some nature that we are O let not such a Rock of strength be slighted but every day entertain sweet and precious thoughts of Christ being incarnate enure thy heart to a way of believing on this Jesus as he carries on the great Work of thy Slavation at his first Coming or Incarnation 3. From the Gospel-tenders and offers of this blessed Object to our Souls As Christ is come in our natue to satisfie so he comes in the Gospel freely and fully to offer thee terms of Love therein are set out the most rich and alluring expressions that possibly can be therein is set out that this Incarnation of Christ was Gods own acting out of his own Love and Grace and Glory therein is set out the Birth and Life and Death of Christ and this he could not do but he must be Incarnate God takes our Flesh and he useth that as an Organ or Instrument whereby to Act he was Flesh to suffer as he was Spirit to satisfie for our sins Methinks I might challenge Unbelief and bid it come forth let it appear if it dare before this Consideration What is not God Incarnate enough to satisfie thy Conscience Come nigh poor Soul hear the Voice of Christ inviting Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden with Sin and O let these rich and glorious openings of the heart of Christ overcome thy heart Suppose the case thus what if God should have done no more than this Had he only looked down from Heaven and hearing sinners cry out O wo wo unto us for ever we have broke Gods Law incurr'd the penalty damned our own souls O who should deliver us Who will save us from the Wrath to Come Who will keep us out of Hell our deserved Dungeon where the fury of the great Judge burns in a fiery Brimstone and his revenge boyls in a fiery Torrent limitless and unquenchable In this case if God hearing sinners thus crying out had he I say only looked down and told them in sweet Language Poor souls I will pardon your Sins by my own Prerogative I made the Law and I will dispense with it fear not I have the Keyes of Life and Death and upon my word you shall not perish What soul would not have been raised up even from the bottom of Hell at this very voice I know a poor soul would have scrupled at this and have said What then should become of infinite Justice shall that be dishonoured to save my Soul This would have been a scruple indeed especially considering that great controversie as we have heard of Mercy and Truth and Righteousness and Peace but to remove all controversies God hath not only spoken from Heaven by himself but he himself is come down from Heaven to Earth to speak unto us O see this Miracle of Mercy God is come down in Flesh he is come as a price he himself will pay himself according to all the demands of his Justice and Righteousness before our eyes and all this done now he offers and tenders himself unto thy soul Oh my soul why shouldest thou fear to cast thy self upon thy God I know thy Objection of vileness notwithstanding all thy vileness God himself offers himself to lead thee by the hand and to remove all doubts God himself hath put a price sufficient in the hands of Justice to stop her Mouth or if yet thou fearest to come to God why come then to thy own Flesh go to Christ as having thy own nature it is he that calls thee How Go to Flesh Go to thy own Nature What can be said more to draw on thy trembling heart If God himself and God so fitted and qualified as I may say will not allure must not men die and perish in unbelief What O my soul give me leave to chide thee Is God come down so low to thee and dost thou now stand questioning whether thou shouldst go or come to him What is this but to say all that God is or does or sayes is too little to perswade me
into Faith I cannot tell but one would think that unbelief should be strangled quite slain upon this consideration all this O my soul thou hearest in the Gospel there is Christ incarnate set forth to the life there is Christ suing thy Loves and offering himself as thy beloved in thy own naure there it is written that God is come down in flesh with an Olive-branch of eternal peace in his hand and bids you all be witness he is not come to destroy but to save Oh that this encouragement might be of force to improve Christs glorious design to the supplying of all thy wants and to the making up of all thy losses believe Oh believe thy part in Christ incarnate SECT VI. Of loving Jesus in that respect LEt us love Jesus as carrying on the great work of our Salvation at his first Coming or Incarnation Now what is Love but an expansion or egress of the heart and spirits to the Object loved or to the Object whereby it is drawn or attracted Mark O my soul whatsoever hath an attractive power it is in that respect an Object or general cause of Love and canst thou possibly light on any Object more attractive than the Incarnation of Jesus Christ If Love be the Load-stone of Love what an attractive is this before thee methinks the very sight of Christ incarnate is enough to ravish thee with the apprehension of his infinite goodness see how he calls out or as it were draws out the soul to Union Vision and Participation of his Glory O come and yield up thy self unto him give him thy self and conform all thy Affections and Actions to his Will O love him not with a divided but with all thy heart But to excite this Love I shall only propound the Object which will be Argument enough Love causeth Love now as Gods first Love to man was in making man like himself so his second great Love was in making himself like to man stay then a while upon this Love for I take it this is the greater Love of the two Nay if I must speak freely I believe this was the fullest visible demonstration of Gods Love that ever was The Evangelist expresseth it thus God so loved the World John 3.16 that he gave his only begotten Son he gave him to be incarnate to be made flesh and to suffer Death but the extention of his Love lies in that expression he so loved So how Why so fully so fatherly so freely as no Tongue can tell no heart can think In this Love God did not only let out a mercy give out a bare grace in self but he took our nature upon him It is usually said that it is a greater love of God to save a soul than to make a World and I think it was a greater Love of God to take our nature than simply to save our souls for a King to dispense with the Law and by his own prerogative to save a Murderer from the Gallows is not such an Act of Love and Mercy as to take the Murderers Cloaths and to wear them as their Richest Livery Why God in taking our nature hath done thus and more than thus he would not save us by his meer Prerogative but he takes our Cloaths our Flesh and in that Flesh he personates us and in that Flesh he will die for us that we might not die but live through him for evermore Surely this was Love that God will be no more God as it were simply but he will take up another nature rather than the brightness of his Glory shall undo our souls It will not be amiss whil'st I am endeavouring to draw a Line of Gods love in Christ from first to last in saving Souls that here we look back a little and summarily contract the passages of Love from that eternity before all Worlds unto this present 1. God had an eternal design to discover his infinite love to some besides himself O the wonder of this was there any need or necessity of such a discovery Though God was one Deus unus licet solus non solitarius and in that respect alone as we may imagine yet God was not solitary in that eternity within his own proper essence or substance there were three Divine Persons and betwixt them there was a blessed Communication of Love Christ on Earth could say I am not alone because the Father is with me and then before the Earth was might the Father say I am not alone for the Son is with me and the Son might say I am not alone John 16.32 for the Father is with me and the Holy Ghost might say I am not alone for both the Father and the Son are with me though in that eternity there was no Creature to whom these three Persons should communicate their Love yet was there a glorious communication and breaking out of Love from one to another before there was a World the Father John 17.15 Son and Holy Ghost did infinitely glorifie themselves Joh. 17.5 Surely they loved one another and they rejoyced in the fruition of one another Prov. 8.30 Prov. 8.30 What need then was there of the discovery of Gods love to any one besides himself O my soul I know no necessity for it only thus was the pleasure of God Even so Father for so it seemed good in thy sight such was the love of God that it would not contain it self within that infinite Ocean of himself but it would needs have Rivers and Channels into which it might run and overflow 2. God in prosecution of his design creates a World of Creatures some rational and only capable of Love others irrational and serviceable to that one Creature which he makes the top of the whole Creation then it was that he set up one man Adam as a common person to represent the rest to him he gives abundance of glorious qualifications and him he sets over all the work of his hands as if he were the very Darling of Love if we should view the excellency of this Creature either in the outward or the inner man who would not wonder his body had its excellency which made the Psalmist say I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the Earth Psal 139.14 15. It is a speech borrowed from those who work Arras-work the body of man is a piece of curious Tapestry or Arras-work consisting of Skin Bones Muscles Sinews and the like what a goodly thing the body of man was before the Fall may be guessed by the excellent gifts found in the bodies of some men since the Fall as the Complection of David 1 Sam. 16.12 the swiftness of Hazael 2 Sam. 2.18 the beauty of Absolom 2 Sam. 14.25 If all these were but joyned in one as certainly they were in Adam what a rare Body would such a one be but what was this body in comparison of that soul
his descent from Heaven of his Passion and Ascension and of the Mercy of Redemption which he came to work and effect for all that believe of the Love of the Father the Mission of the Son the Rewards of Faith and Glories of Eternity and this was the Sum of his Sermon to Nichodemus which was the fullest of mystery and speculation that ever he made except that which he made immediately before his death 3. Now was it that the throng of Auditors forcing Christ to leave the shore he makes Peter's ship his Pulpit Luke 5.1 2 3 4 never were there such Nets cast out of that Fisher-boat before whiles he was upon land he healed the Sick bodies by his touch and now he was upon Sea he cured the sick souls by his Doctrine he that made both Sea and Land causeth both to conspire to the opportunities of doing good to the souls and bodies of men Luke 4.18 4. Now it was that he Preached that blessed Sermon on that text The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to Preach the Gospel to the Poor no question but he Preached both to poor and rich Christ Preached to all but for the Power and Fruit of his Preaching it was only received and entertained by the poor in spirit In the following particulars his Office is set out still in an higher tenour To heal the broken hearted to Preach deliverance to the Captives and recovering of sight to the blind or as it is in Isa 61.1 the opening of the Prison to them that are bound a sad thing to be in captivity but sadder to be bound in chains or lockt up in a prison there but 't is most sad of all to be imprisoned having ones eyes put out as it was the case of Sampson and Zedekiah Now the Evangelist willing to render the Prophet to the highest comfortable sence that might be he useth an expression that meets with the highest mystery that is when a man is not only shut up in a blinded Prison when he himself also hath his eyes put out and to such Christ should Preach Preach what not only deliverance to the Captives Luke 4.48 but also restoring of Light to Captive Prisoners nay yet more recovering of sight to blinded Prisoners as the Evangelist renders it 5. Now it was that he delivered the admirable sermon called The Sermon upon the Mount It is a breviary of all those Precepts which are truly called Christian it contains in it all the moral Precepts given by Moses and opens a stricter sence and more severe exposition than the Scribes and Pharisees had given it holds forth the Doctrines of meekness poverty of spirit Christian mourning desire of Holy things mercy and purity peace and patience and suffering of injuries he teacheth us how to pray how to fast how to give Alms how to contemn the world and how to seek the Kingdom of God and its appendent righteousness And thus Christ being entred upon his Prophetical Office in these and the rest of his sermons he gives a clear testimony that he was not only an interpreter of the Law but a Law-giver and that this Law of Christ might retain some proportion at least with the Law of Moses Christ in his last sermon went up into a Mountain and from thence gave the Oracle I cannot stand to paraphrase on this or any other of his sermons but seeing now we find Christ in the exercise of his Prophetical Office let us observe first his Titles in this respect 2. The reasons of his being a Prophet 3. The Excellency of Christ above all other Prophets and then we have done SECT III. Of Christ's Prophetical Office 1. THe Titles of Christ in respect of his Prophetical Office were these 1. Sometimes he is called Doctor or Master Be ye not called Masters Mat. 23.10 for one is your Master even Christ The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies a Doctor Moderator teaching-Master a guide of the way 2. Sometimes he is called a Law-giver James 4.12 There is one Law-giver who is able to save and to destroy the Apostle speaks of the internal Government of the Conscience in which case the Lord is our Judge Isa 33.22 The Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King he will save us we must hear no voice in our Consciences but Gods no Doctrine in the Church but Christs No Offices institutions and worship must be allowed but such as he hath appointed and therefore when men brought in Forreign Doctrines it is said that they did not hold the head 3. Col. 2 19. Isa 9.6 Prov. 8.14 Sometimes he is called a Councellor and his name shall be called Wonderful Councellor Counsel is mine and sound Wisdom saith Christ I am understanding and I have strength Christ by his Office counsels men how to fly sin and how to please God and how to escape Hell Heb. 3.1 and how to be saved 4. Sometimes he is called the Apostle of our profession Wherefore holy brethren partakers of the Heavenly calling consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession Christ Jesus God sent him as an Embassadour to make known his will he came not unsent the very word imports a Mission a sending Rom. 10.15 How shall they preach except they be sent let all those who run before they be sent take notice of this for this would not Christ do he was sent he was the Apostle of our profession 5. Sometimes he is called the Angel of the Covenant Mal. 3.1 even the Angel of the Covenant whom ye delight in Christ was the publisher of the Gospel-Covenant he declared the Gracious purpose of God towards the Elect held forth in the Covenant and in this respect he is called a Prophet Acts 3.22 and the Prophet John 7.40 and that Prophet John 6.14 John 6.14 this is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the World whose Office it was to impart Gods will unto the Sons of Men according unto the name Angel 6. Sometimes he is called the Mediatour of the New-Covenant Heb. 9.15 for this cause he is the Mediatour of the New-Testament saith the Apostle now a Mediatour is such a one as goes betwixt two parties at variance imparting the mind of the one to the other so as to breed a right understanding and thereby to work a complyance betwixt both and thus Christ is a Mediatour betwixt God and us By him it is that the mind and will of God is imparted to man no man hath seen God at any time John 1.18 the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him and by him it is that we impart our mind unto God The smoak of the incense which goes with the prayers of the Saints ascends up before God out of the Angels hand This was typified in Moses Rev. 8.4 I stood between the Lord and you at that time to
man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him Ver. 51. and he went his way and in the way one meets him and tells him Thy Son liveth which recovery he understands to be at the same time that Christ had spoken those Salutary and healing words Ver. 53. and himself believed and his whole house Mat. 8.5 6. 2. * If I mistake not in the year I shall not contend because in this year only I shall mention his miracles Ver. 7. Acts 10 34 35. Now was it that a Centurion came unto Christ beseeching him and saying my servant lyeth at home sick of the palsie grievously Tormented Many Suitors come to Christ one for a Son another for a daughter a third for himself but I see none come for his servant but this one Centurion and if we observe Christs answers to his suit we see how well pleased is Christ with his request And Jesus saith unto him I will come and heal him When the Ruler entreated him for his Son Come down ere he dye Christ stirr'd not a foot but now this Centurion complains only of his servants sickness and Christ offers himself I will come and heal him he that came in the shape of a servant would rather go down to the sick servant than to the Rulers Son He is no respecter of persons but he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted of him It may be this poor sick servant had more grace or very probable it is he had more need and therefore Christ to chuse will go down to visit this poor sick servant Nay sayes the Centurion Ver. 8. I am not worthy Lord that thou shouldst come under my roof q. d. Alas Lord I am a Gentile an Alien a man of blood but thou art holy thou art omnipotent and therefore only say the word and my servant shall be whole Mark this O my soul it is but a word of Christ and my sins shall be remitted my soul healed my body raised and soul and body glorified forever The Centurion knew this by the command he had over his own servants Ver. 9. I say to this man go and he goes and to another come and he comes and to a third do this and he doth it In way of Application Oh that I were such a servant to my heavenly Master Alas every of his commands sayes Do this and I do it not every of his inhibitions sayes Do it not and I do it He sayes Go from the world and I run to it He says Come to me and I run from him Wo is me this is not service but enmity Oh that I could come up to the faith and obedience of this exemplar that I could serve my Christ as these Souldiers did their Master Ver. 10. Jesus marvels at the Centurions faith we never find Christ wondering at Gold or Silver or costly and curious works of humane Skill yea when the Disciples wondered at the Magnificence of the Temple he rebuked them rather but when he sees the grace or acts of Faith he so approves of them that he is ravished with wonder he that rejoyced in the view of his Creation rejoyceth no less in the reformation of his Creature Cant. 4.7 9. Behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair there is no spot in thee my sister my spouse thou hast wounded my heart thou hast wounded my heart with one of thy eyes Cant. 4.7 9. To conclude he that both wrought this faith and wondered at it doth now reward it Go thy way and as thou hast believed so be it unto thee and his servant was healed in the self same hour Luke 7.11 3. Now it was even the day after that Jesus goes into the City of Naim The fruitful clouds are not ordained to fall all in one field Naim must partake of the bounty of Christ as well as Cana or Capernaum Thither come he no sooner enters in at the gate of the City but he meets a funeral a poor widow with her weeping friends is following her only Son to the grave Jesus observing her sad condition he pities her comforts her and at last relieves her here was no Sollicitor but his own compassion in his former Miracles he was sought and sued to his Mother at the Marriage-feast begged a supply of Wine the Ruler came to him for a Son the Centurion came to him for a servant but now Christ offers a cure to give us a lesson that whiles we have to do with the Father of mercies our miseries and afflictions are the most Powerful Suitors Christ sees and observes the Widow's sadness and presently all parts of Christ conspire her good his heart melts into Compassion of her his tongue speaks chearfully and comfortably to her Weep not his feet carry him to the Bier his hand toucheth the Coffin and he said young man I say unto thee arise see how the Lord of Life speakes with Command ver 14. the same voice speaks to him that shall one day speak to us and raise us out of the dust of the earth neither sea nor death nor hell can detain their dead when he charges them to be delivered we see not Christ stretching himself on this dead Corpse as Eliah and Elisha upon the Sons of the Shunamite and the Widow of Sarephta nor see we him kneeling down and praying as Peter did for Dorcas but we hear him so speaking to the dead as if the dead were alive and so speaking to the dead that by the word he speaks he makes him alive Young man I say unto thee arise ver 15. and he that was dead sate up and began to speak So at the sound of the last Trumpet by the Power of the same voice we shall arise out of the dust and stand up Gloriously This mortal shall put on immortality and this corruptible shall put on incorruption And least our weak faith should stagger at the assent of so great a difficulty by this he hath done Christ gives us tastes of what he will do the same Power that can raise one man can raise a thousand a million a world Christ here raised a Widows Son and after Jairus's Daughter and then Lazarus and lastly at his resurrection he raised a many at once he raised one from her Bed another from his Bier another from his grave and many at once from their rotteness that it might appear no degree of death can hinder the efficacy of his Almighty Power 4. Now it was that in the Synagogue he finds a man that had a Spirit of an unclean Devil Luke 4.33 ver 34. This I take it is the first man that we read of as possessed with a Devil And he cryed let us alone what have we to do with thee c. In these words the devil dictates the man speaks and whereas the words are plural Let us alone it is probable he speaks of himself and the rest of the men in the
is arising and shining in our Horizon more and more clearly that great design of Gods love to our souls is manifested in every Sermon on every Sabbath is not this Gospel-preaching what is the Gospel but the Treasure of Gods love in Christ opened to us Oh it is a pleasant work in this respect to be a Minister of the Gospel to be alwayes searching into the Treasures of love and to make them known to poor souls for the gaining of them unto God 2. Here is your Happiness Christ hath not erected any standing Sanctuary or City of refuge for men to fly to for their Salvation but he hath appointed Ambassadors to carry this Treasure unto mens houses where he invites them and entreats them and requires them and commands them and compels them to come in Oh the unsearchable riches of Christ 1. In respect of the Messengers 2. In respect of their Message 1. In respect of the Messengers they were first Apostles now Ministers poor Earthen Vessels Had Christ himself come in his glorified body attended with his Angels it might in some measure have represented his Majesty but alas how would this have dazled your weakness or if Christ had made use of his Angels as he did at his birth to preach his Gospel had they continually come in state and proclaimed Salvation to the Sons of men this would have shewed more glory but alas how unsuitable had this been to your weak conditions here then is the riches of his grace that earthen vessels should carry this treasure that salvation should come out of the mouths of sinful creatures that hearts should be broken souls should believe life should be infused by the ministerial breath of a weak worthless man 2 Cor. 4.7 We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us Gods power is more Honoured this way than if an Angel had come in person it may be in that Case a sinners Conversion would have been attributed to the power and Efficacy of the Angel but to prevent this and to preserve the glory of his power and grace Christ takes the Treasure and he puts it into Earthen Vessels it is in the Original vessels of shell as precious Pearls are found in Shells so the Pearl is the Gospel and the Shell or Mother of Pearl are the Apostles and Pastors it is true they are Vessels of small price and subject to many knocks and falls yet in them is the most excellent Treasures of the Wisdom of God and of the Gospel of Christ And it is in them on purpose that the excellency may reflect on God and not on them 2. In respect of the Message O the unsearchable riches of Christ What is the message of these men what is the Treasure they bring but the Blood of Christ the Promises of the Gospel the Word of Grace I might sum up all in one word They bring unto men an invitation from heaven to heaven Observe it Christians the Gospel is a message the Lord sends his Son up and down carries him from place to place he is set forth before mens eyes he comes and stands and calls and Knocks at their doors and beseecheth them to be reconciled O the free grace of God! O that mercy pardon preferment eternal life and Salvation should go a begging and suing for acceptance O the love of sin and madness of folly in wicked men to Trample on such Pearls and to neglect so great Salvation when it is tendered unto them O what a heavy charge will it be for men at the last day to have the mercy of God the humility of Christ the entreaties of the Spirit the proclamations of pardon the approaches of Salvation the dayes the years the ages of peace the Ministry of the Word the Book of God the great Mistery of Godliness to rise up in judgment and to testifie against their souls O the condescentions of Christ who are ye that the Lord should send after you what need hath God of you suppose you should go on in the wayes of death and perish everlastingly what shall God lose by it Christ might say If you will go on go on and perish if you love sin so well take your pleasure in it and be damned evermore Ah no saith the mercy of God and the mercy of Christ before that be message after message Isa 28.10 Precept upon precept precept upon precept line upon line line upon line here a little and there a little This was the design of Christs chusing his Apostles Go ye into all the world Mark 16.15 and preach the Gospel unto every Creature that poor sinners may turn from sin and be saved SECT III. Of Christ's Reception of sinners 2. FOr Christ's Reception of sinners I cannot limit this only to one year of Christ's Ministry but I shall only mention it this year Now this will appear 1. In the Doctrine of Christ 2. In the Practise of Christ 1. In his Doctrine Christ layes it down expresly Mat. 11.28 Come unto me all ye that labour and are Heavy laden and I will give you rest It is no more but come and welcome The Gospel shuts none out of Heaven but those that by unbelief lock the door against their own souls Again All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me John 6.37 and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out here is laid down the full intent and purpose of God and Christ to pardon and receive sinners the Father is willing and the Son is willing 1. The Father is willing This is the Fathers will which hath sent me John 6.39 that of all which he hath given me I should lose none the Father is engaged in that first he sent Christ on that errand to receive sinners Secondly in that he gave unto Christ all that he would have to be saved by Christ with a charge to lose none Sinners were given to Christ by his Father as so many Jewels to look to and to save 2. The Son is willing for he that cometh unto me saith Christ I will in no wise cast out Christ is so willing to receive sinners as that he sets all his doors open he keeps open house and he casts out none that will but come in and why so John 6.38 For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me 1. I came down from Heaven it was a great journey from heaven to earth and this great journey I undertook for no other purpose but to save sinners Great actions as one sayes well must needs have great ends now this was the greatest thing that ever was done Luke 19.10 that the Son of God should come down from Heaven and what was the end but the Reception and Salvation of sinners For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost had
Psal 2.11 Psal 112.1 spiritual rejoycing may consist with trembling And blessed is the man that feareth the Lord that delighteth greatly in his Commandments the fear of God may consist with these spiritual delights in the Commandments of God 3. If it be spirâ—â—ual pleasantness it is our strength The joy of the Lord is our strength saith Nehemiah Nehem. 8.10 nothing animates souls more in duties than joy doth it carries on the soul more fully it is as oyl that causeth the wheels of Christian practise to go on more freely we may be naturally pleasant and then coming to spiritual duties our hearts are dead but if out pleasantness be spiritual our hearts will be strengthened in the wayes of God 4. If it be a spiritual pleasantness it will bear up the heart in want of all outward pleasantness Although the Fig-Tree shall not Blossome neither shall fruit be in the Vines Heb. 3.17 18. the labour of the Olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat the Flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls yes I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation When all is dark abroad in the World the soul in this frame will rejoyce in God alone on the contrary the soul that hath only a natural pleasantness of Spirit when affliction comes it is all amort and down I appeal to you that have the most delightful spirits when you have friends and means and all you like you are jocund and merry but when affliction comes how quickly are your spirits down surely your pleasantness is not spiritual for if so it would bear up your hearts joyful in affliction And now again the Passover a Feast of the Jews was nigh John 6.4 our English Annotations on these words can tell us that this seems to be * So Aretius and others the third Passover after Christ's baptisme And therefore here I conclude the third year of Christ's Ministry there is but one year more before Christs death to which now I come and to some passages therein most observable in reference to our Souls salvation CHAP. IV. SECT I. Of the fourth Year of Christ's Ministry and generally of his Actings in that Year THis was the last year of Christ's ministry in which were thousands of passages The Evangelist John relates more of Christ this year than in all the former and if I studied not brevity we might dwell more on his actings for us this year than hitherto we have done from the beginning of his ministry Now it was that he was tranfigured now it was that he instituted that Sacrament called the Lords Supper now it was that after supper he made his farewell Sermon rarely mixt of sadness and joyes and studed with mysteries as with Emeralds now it was that after Sermon he blessed his Disciples and prayed for them and then having sung an Hymn he went out into the Mount of Olives where in a Garden he began his sufferings On these passages I had thought to have enlarged but I see the Book swells under my hands and now that I am drawing near Christ's sufferings I shall only touch one point which hitherto I have pretermitted and is the most comprehensive of any passage I can touch Many Questions are about the Holiness or Righteousnâ—ss or Obedience of Christ As whether it belong to us And whether it be the matter of our justification And whether Christ was bound to observe the law of works as a Mediator or only as a meer man And whether we are not justified by the passive Righteousness of Christ only and seeing now we are discovering Christs actings in reference to our souls salvation we cannot pass this main business whereof much relates to Christ's life as well as to his conception or birth or death or sufferings SECT II. Of the distinctions or several divisions of Christ's Righteousness FOr the better understanding of Christ's Righteousness we usually distinguish that Christ's Righteousness is either that righteousness inherent in him or performed by him the righteousness performed by him is either his fulfilling the Commandments or his satisfying the curse of the Law The same distinction is given by others in these terms Christ's Righteousness is either his original conformity or his active and passive obedience unto the Law his original conformity is that gracious inherent disposition in Christ from the first instant of his conception whereby he was habitually conformable to the Law and this original righteousness answered for our original unrighteousness his active obedience is his doing of legal obedience unto the command and his passive obedience is his suffering of punishment due unto us for our sins I shall yet a little further enlarge this distinction of the righteousness of Christ and give it in thus viz. The righteousness of Christ is either negative if I may so speak or positive by the negative I understand the absence of all sins and vices forbidden in the Law by the positive I mean both a presence of all vertues and duties required to the perfect fulfilling of the Law as also a voluntary suffering of the penalty to satisfie the commination and curse of the Law 1. The negative righteousness is that which we call the innocency of Christ we read often in Scriptures that he was both blameless and spotless 1. Blameless free in himself from all imputation of sin to this purpose Christ challenged the Jews Which of you convinceth me of sin John 8.46 In all his life he was unblameable and unreproveable and therefore now towards the end of his life he asks the people with whom he had conversed Which of you convinceth me of sin 1 Pet. 1.19 Heb. 7.26 Spotless free from all infection of sin Peter calls him a Lamb without blemish and without spot and Paul an high Priest Holy Harmless and Vndefiled 2 Pet. 2.22 one who never did evil nor spake evil he did no sin saith the Apostle neither was guile found in his mouth one who never offended so much as in thought but was absolutely and in all respects 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 4.15 with out all sin 2. The positive Righteousness of Christ is twofold his perfect fulfilling of all things commanded and his perfect satisfying of the punishment threatned The former is the holiness of Christ this also is twofold the holiness of his nature and the holiness of his life and conversation the former is that we call his habitual Righteousness the latter is that we call his actual obedience And thus much of the distinction of the Righteousness of Christ SECT III. Of the Holiness of Christ's Nature NOw in the first place for the holiness of his Nature the Psalmist tells us Thou art fairer than the Children of men and grace is poured into thy lips Psal 45.2 Which is all one with that description of Christ by the Spouse My beloved is white and
judgment to come Acts. 24.25 and see what influence they have when Paul preached such a Sermon to Felix it is said that he trembled a Sermon of the chaffs burning with unquenchable fire is enough to make thy heart tremble if Powerfully delivered and affectionately received but see what effect doth it work on thy heart and life dost thou feel in thee a Spirit of mortification dost thou with the Baptist die to the world dost thou deny thy will of all its natural sinful desires dost thou abstain from pleasures and sensual complacencies that the Flesh being subdued to the Spirit both may join in the service of God dost thou kill the lusts of the flesh by taking away the fuel and incentives of Lusts this is the work of meditation it first employes the understanding in consideration of things and then the will in the reception of things and both these in order to Grace and a pious conversation that meditation which determines in notions or speculations of knowledg is like the winter Sun that shines but warms not O my Soul consider and so long consider on the preaching of this prodromus or forerunner of Christ till thou feelest this consideration to have some warmth in thy heart and influence on thy life in order to holiness self-denial and mortification 2. Consider of the Baptism of Christ he that never sinned was made sin for us and so it was proper enough for Christ to take upon him the Sacrament of sinners or of repentance for sin but especially he was baptised that in the symbole he might purifie our nature whose stains and guilt he had undertaken Consider of this O my soul and bring it home to thy self surely every soul that lives the life of Grace is born of water and the Spirit and to this purpose Christ who is our life went down into the waters of Baptism that we who descend after him might find the effects of it as pardon of Sin adoption into the Covenant of Grace and holiness of life Had not Christ been Baptised what vertue had there been in our Baptism As it became him to fulfil all righteousness Matth. 3.15 and therefore he must needs be baptized so he fulfilled it not for himself but for us Christ's obedience in fulfilling the Law is imputed to all that believe unto righteousness as if themselves had fulfilled so that he was Baptized for us and the vertue of his Baptism is derived unto us O the sweet of this meditation Christ was Baptized and when Baptized the Heavens were opened and the Holy Ghost descended and a voice from Heaven proclaimed him to be the Son of God and one in whom the Father was well pleased and the same ointment that was cast upon the head of our High Priest went unto his beard and thence fell to the borders of his garment for as Christ our Head felt those effects in manifestation so through Christ do we believe the like effects in our very Baptism the Heavens then as it were opened unto us and the holy Ghost then descended upon us and then were we consigned to the inheritance of Sons in whom the Father through his Son is also well pleased O my soul what a blessing is there in the Baptism of Christ and how mayest thou suck and be satisfied if thou wilt put thy meditation to the right use the Baptism of Christ is as a field of flowers wherein is a world of priviledges as justification adoption regeneration sanctification glorification O then fix thy soul at least on some of these flowers and leave them not without carrying some honey away with thee if thou art in Christ thou art Baptised into his death and Baptized into his Baptism thou partakest of the fruit and efficacy both of his death and life and baptism and all 3 Consider the fasting and temptation of Christ in the Wilderness Now we see what manner of adversary we have how he fights how he is resisted how overcome in one assault Sathan moves Christ to doubt of his Fathers providence in another to presume on his Fathers protection and when neither diffidence nor presumption can fasten upon Christ he shall be tryed with honour and thus he deales with us if he cannot drive us down to despair he labours to lift us up to presumption and if neither of these prevail then he brings out pleasures profits honours temptations on the right hand which are indeed most dangerous O my soul whilst thou art in this warfare here 's thy condition temptations like waves break one in the neck of another if the devil was so busie with Christ how shouldst thou hope to be free how mayest thou account that the repulse of one temptation will but invite to another well but here 's thy comfort thou hast such a Saviour as was in all things tempted in like sort yet without sin Heb. 4.15 16. how boldly therefore mayst thou go to the Throne of Grace to receive mercy and to find grace of help in time of need Christ was tempted that he might succour them that are tempted never art thou tempted O my soul but Christ is with thee in the temptation he hath sent his Spirit into thy heart to make intercession for thee there and he himself is in Heaven making intercession and praying for thee there yea his own experience of temptations hath so wrought it in his heart that his love and mercy is most of all at work when thou art tempted most As dear parents are ever tender of their Children but then especially when they are sick and weak and out of frame so though Christ be alwayes tender of his People yet then especially when their souls are sick and under a temptation O then his bowels yearn over them indeed 4 Consider Christs first manifestations by his several Witnesses we have heard of his Witnesses from Heaven the Father Son and holy Ghost and of his Witnesses on Earth the Baptist his Disciples and the works that he did in his Fathers Name and all these Witnesses being lively held forth in the preaching of the Gospel they are Witnesses to us even to this day is Christ manifested to us yea and if we are Christs even to this day is Christ manifested within us O my soul consider this above all the rest O it is this manifestation within that concerns thee most because ye are Sons Gal. 4.6 God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts if Christ be not manifested in thy heart by his blessed Spirit thou art no Son of God and therefore the Apostles puts thee seriously on this tryal Examine yourselves whether ye be in the Faith prove your selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ in you 2 Cor. 13.5 except ye be reprobates Is Christ manifested in thee surely this is more than Christ manifested to thee the bare history is the manifestation of Christ unto thee but there 's a mystery in
feet and to kiss them another woman breaths out these desires after Christ If I may but touch the hem of his garment I shall be whole Mat. 9.21 Mary Magdalen sought only to have her Arms filled with his dead body Joseph of Arimathea was of the same mind O the bloody winding-sheet together with the dead and torn Body of Christ in his arms are most precious and sweet Christ's Clay is Silver and his Brass Gold John the Baptist thinks it an honour to unloose the Latchets of his shoes David John 1.27 though he was a great Prophet and appointed to be King over Israel yet his soul pants thus O that I might be so near the Lord as to be a door-keeper in the house of my God Yea Psal 84.10 Ver. 3. he puts an happiness on the Sparrow and the Swallow that may build their Nest besides the Lords Altar 2. The more considerable actions of Christ are especially desireable Oh my soul wouldst thou but run through his Life and consider some of his more eminent actions in relation to his Friends or in relation to his Enemies what desires would these kindle in thine heart after Christ 1. To his Friends he was sweet and indulgent where there was any beginnings of Grace he did encourage it so was the Prophesie A bruised reed shall he not break and smoking flax shall he not quench Nay Mat. 12.20 where was but a representation of Grace he seemed to accept of it Thus when the young man came and said What good thing shall I do to inherit eternal life he embraced him Mar. 10.17 21 and made much of him then Jesus beholding him he loved him And so the Scribe which asked him which is the first Commandment of all in the conclusion Christ told him Mar. 12.28 34 Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God He laboured to pull him further in telling him he was not far from Heaven and Glory Mat. 9.36 And so the people that fainted for bread of Life that were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd he was moved with compassion on them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was bowelled in heart his very bowels were moved within him 2. To his enemies he was kind and merciful many a time he discovers himself most of all unto sinners he was never more familiar with any at first acquaintance than with the woman of Samaria that was an Adultress and Mary that had been a sinner how sweetly did he appear to her at the very first view how ready was he to receive sinners how ready to pardon and forgive sinners how gracious to sinners after the pardon and forgiveness of sin See it in Peter he never cast him in the teeth with his Apostasie he never upbraided him with it he never so much as tells him of it only he looks upon him and afterwards Lovest thou me O Peter lovest thou me why Peter lovest thou me Often he was wronged and injured by men but what then was he all on a heat did he call for fire down from heaven to destroy them Indeed his Disciples being more flesh than spirit would fain have had it so but he sweetly replies O you know not what spirits you are of Luke 9.55 56. the Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives but to save them Sometimes we find him shedding tears for those very persons that shed his precious blood Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem c. if thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things belonging to thy peace c. Why O my soul Isa 26.1 8. if thou wouldst but run through such passages as these how desireable are they well might they sing in that day in the Land of Judah In the way of thy judgments O Lord have we waited for thee the desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee Cant. 5.10 16. 3. The ever blessed and holy person of Christ is desireable above all My Beloved is white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousands yea he is altogether lovely or desireable so Vatablus renders it Christus est totus desideria Christ is all desirâ—s If the actions of Christ be desirable what must himself be If the parings of his bread be so sweet what must the great Loaf Christ himself be Christ is admirable in action and person but above all his person is most admirable no creature in the world yields the like representation of God as the person of Jesus Christ he is the express Image of the person of his Father Heb. 1.3 as the print of the Seal on the Wax is the express image of the Seal it self so is Christ the highest representation of God he makes similitude to him who otherwise is without all similitude And hence it is that Christ is called the Standard-bearer of ten thousands Cant. 5.10 all excellencies are gathered up in Christ as Beams in the Sun Come poor Soul thy eyes run to and fro in the world to find Comfort and happiness thou desirest after worldly Honour worldly Pleasure worldly Profits cast thy eyes back and see Heaven and Earth in one look if thou wilt at what thy vast thoughts can fancy not only in this world but in the world to come or if thou canst imagine more variety see that and infinitely more shining forth from the person of the Lord Jesus Christ no wonder if the Saints adore him no wonder if the Angels stand amazed at him no wonder if all Cteatures vail all their glory to him Oh what are all things in the world to Jesus Christ Paul compares them together Phil. 3.8 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all things with this one thing And I account all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ And I count all things surely all things is the greatest count that can be cast up for it includeth all prices all sums it takes in Earth and Heaven and all therein that are but as created things q. d. Nations and all Nations Gold and all Gold Jewels and all Jewels Angels and all Angels all these and every all besides all these what are they in comparison of Christ but as feathers dung shadows nothing If there be any thing worthy a wish it is eminently transcendently originally in the Lord Jesus Christ there is no honour no felicity like that which Christ hath some are sons Christ is an only Son some are Kings but Christ is King of Kings some are honourable none above Angels Christ is above Angels and Arch-angels To which of the Angels said he at any time thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee Heb. 1.5 Some are wealthy Christ hath all the sheep on a thousand hills the very utmost parts of the earth are his some are beautiful Christ is the fairest of all the children of men he is spiritually fair he is all glorious within if the beauty of the Angels
with Christ nevertheless I live c. he conjoins the death of Christ and the life of Christ in one and the same soul q. d. no man knows the benefit of Christs death but he that feels the virtue of Christ's life there 's no assurance of Christs dying for us but as we feel Christ living in us if the power of Christs death mortifie my lusts then the virtue of Christ's life will quicken my soul but what means he by this I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me It seems some Paradox I live yet not I but a right interpretation reconciles all as this I live to God and not unto my self I live to Christ and not unto the World I live according to the Will of God and not after my own lust and fancy or as some would have it I live under grace and not under the Law q. d. Sometimes I lived wholly under the Law which made me a persecutor of the Church of God which wrought in me all manner of Concupiscence and slew me and then I found my self to be dead in sin but now I have embraced Christ and am no more the man I was now I feel Christ quickning ruling guiding and strengthning me by his Spirit now I live spiritually and holily not of my self but from another The very whole of Christians is from Christ Christ is both Fountain-filling and Life-quickning I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Christs life hath an influence infusion transmission into our selves in reference to spiritual life Look as the Heavens by an influence into the Earth do quicken and enliven the Earth and make all the seeds and roots hidden in the Earth to revive and put forth themselves Matth. 4.2 so there is an influence that goes forth from the Sun of Righteousness into the Souls of men reviving and quickning them and making them of dead to become living and of barren to become fruitful To you shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth and grow up as the Calves of the Stall O my Soul question thy self in these few particulars dost thou live to God and not to thy self dost thou live to Christ and not to the World dost thou derive thy life from Christ and hath that life of Christ a special influence into thy soul dost thou feel Christ living in thy understanding and will in thy imagination and affections in thy duties and services 1. In thy understanding by prizing the knowledge of Christ by determining to know nothing in comparison of Christ 2. In thy will by making thy will free to chuse and embrace Christ and by making his will to rule is thy will 3. In thy imagination by thinking upon him with more frequency and delight by having more high and honorable and sweeter apprehensions of Christ than of all the Creatures 4. In thy affections by fearing Christ above all earthly powers and by loving Christ above all earthly persons 5. In thy duties and services by doing all thou dost in his Name by his assistance and for his glory why then here 's another ground of thy hope surely thou hast thy part in Christs Life Away away with all dejecting doubts and perplexing fears while Christ was in Augustines eye he said I dare not despond I know who hath said it and I dare build upon it this Anchor of hope thus cast out and fastning upon Christ it would be admirably useful when Billows of Temptation beat upon Souls this Helmet of Hope thus used would keep off many blows whereby the comforts of distrustful spirits are many times sadly battered O my Soul look to the grounds of thy hope if thou findest the power of sin dying in thee if thou walkest as Christ walked if thou admirest adorest believest and obeyest thy Christ if thou livest and livest not but in deed and in truth it is Christ that lives in thee why then thou maist comfortably hope and assure thy self that Christs habitual righteousness and actual holiness is imputed to thy justification thou maist confidently resolve that every passage of Christs Life so far as Legal or Moral belongs unto thee What would ever Christ have come with his power against thy power of sin if he had not meant to rescue thee Would Christ ever have set thee a Copy and have held thy hand and thy heart to have writ legibly after him if he had not meant thee for a Scribe instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven Mat. 13.55 would Christ in his several actings have set himself before thee as the Object of Admiration Adoration Belief and Obedience if he had not meant to own thee and to be owned by thee would Christ ever have come so near to thee as to have lived in thee to have been the soul of thy soul and the life of thy life the All of thy understanding and will imaginations and affections duties and services if he had not purposed to have saved thee by his life Rom. 5.10 Lam. 3.26 Surely it is good that I both hope and quietly wait for the Salvation of God I cannot hope in vain if these be the grounds of my hope SECT V. Of Believing in Jesus in that respect 5. LEt us believe in Jesus carrying on the great work of our Salvation in his Life Many Souls stand aloof not daring to make a particular application of Christ and his Life to themselves but herein is the property of Faith it brings all home and makes use of whatsoever Christ is or does for himself To ponder Christ's actions during his Life and the influence of his actions to all that are his what is this to me unless I believe my own part in all this Oh I dare not believe cries many a poor soul is it credible that Jesus Christ the Son of God the brightness of his Fathers Glory the express Image of his Fathers Person should be incarnate for me and lead such a life upon Earth for my soul What! to be baptized to be tempted to manifest himself in the form of man to whip the Buyers and Sellers out of his Temple to preach up and down the Gospel of the Kingdom to work miracles among men to send abroad his Apostles with a commission to preach to invite sinners to ease the burden of duties and in a word to publish the righteousness of his Nature and Life and all this and a thousand times more than all this for my soul O what am I or what is my Fathers House If God should let me live one year in Heaven it were infinite mercy but that the God of Heaven should live so many years on Earth and that all that while he should empty himself in watching fasting praying preaching for my sake Oh the depth Oh the depth I cannot believe Sweet Soul be not faithless but believing I know it is an hard and difficult thing but to help on a trembling soul I shall first
Christ sweat it out wonderfully even by a bloody sweat in the first Garden Death first made its entrance into the world and in this Garden Life enters to restore us from Death to Life again in the first Garden Adam's Liberty to sin brought himself and all us into bondage and in this Garden Christ being bound and fettered we are thereby freed and reduced to liberty I might thus descant in respect of every Circumstance but this is the sum in a Garden first begun our sin and in this Garden first began the Passion that great Work and Merit of our Redemption 4. Christ goes especially into this Garden that his enemies might the more easily find him out the Evangelist tells us that this Garden was a place often frequented by Jesus Christ so that Judas which betrayed him knew the place John 18.2 for Jesus oftentimes resorted thither with his Disciples sure then he went not thither to hide himself but rather to expose himself and like a noble Champion to appear first in the field and to expect his enemies Thus it appears to all the world that Christ's death was voluntary He poured forth his soul unto death saith the Prophet he gave himself for our sins saith the Apostle nay Isa 53.12 Gal. 1.4 John 10.17 18 himself tells us therefore doth my Father love me because I laid down my life no man taketh it from me but I lay it down of my self I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again But I will not stay you at the Door let us follow Christ into the Garden and observe his Prayer and his Sufferings there SECT IV. Of the Prayer that Christ there made JEsus entring the Garden he left his Disciples at the entrance of it calling with him Peter James and John they only saw his transfiguration the earnest of his future Glory and therefore his pleasure was that they only should see of how great glory he would disrobe himself even for our sakes In the garden we may observe first his Prayer and secondly his Passion 1. He betakes himself to his great Antidote which himself the great Physitian of our souls prescribed to all the world he prayes to his heavenly Father he kneels down and not only so but falls flat upon the ground he prayes with an intention great as his sorrow and yet with a submission so ready Mat. 26.39 as if the Cup had been the most indifferent thing in the world The Form of his Prayer ran thus O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt In this Prayer observe we these Particulars 1. The person to whom he prayes O my Father 2. The matter for which he prayes Let this Cup pass from me 3. The Limitation of this Prayer If it be possible and if it be thy will 1. For the Person to whom he prayes it is his Father As Christ prayed not in his Godhead but according to his Manhood so neither prayed he to himself as God but to the Father the first person of the God-head Hence some observe that as the Father sometimes saying This is my beloved Son he spake not to himself but to the Son so the Son usually saying O my Father he prayes not to himself but to the Father 2. For the Matter of his Prayer Let this Cup pass from me Some interpret thus Let this Cup pass by me Oh that I might not taste it But others thus Let this Cup pass from me though I must taste it yet Oh that I may not be †Quod dicit transfer calicem istum a me non hoc est non adveniat mihi nisi enim advenerit transferri non poterit sed sicut quod praeterit nec intactum est noc permanens sic Salvator leviter invadentem tentationem flagitat pelli Sic Dionisius Alexandrin Heb. 5.7 too long or tediously annoyed by it That which leads unto this last interpretation is that of the Apostle Christ in the dayes of his flesh offered up Prayers and Supplications with strong cries and tears unto him that was able to save him from death and he was heard in that which he feared Heb. 5.7 How was he heard not in the removal of the Cup for he drank it up all but in respect of the tedious annoyance or poysoning of the Cup for though it made him sweat drops of blood though it grieved him and pained him and made him cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Though it cast him into a sleep and laid him dead in his Grave and there sealed him for a time yet presently within the space of forty hours or thereabouts he revived and awakened as a Lion out of sleep or as a Giant refreshed with wine and so it passed from him as he prayed in a very short time and by that short and momentary death he purchased to his people everlasting Life 3. For the Limitation of his Prayer If it be possible if it be thy will He knows what is his Fathers will and he prayes accordingly and is willing to submit unto it if the passing of the Cup be according to the last interpretation we shall need none of these many distinctions to reconcile the will of God and Christ If it be possible signifies the earnestness of the Prayer and if it be thy will the submission of Christ unto his Father the Prayer is short but sweet How many things needful to a Prayer do we find concentred in this one instance Here is Humility of Spirit Lowliness of Deportment Importunity of Desire a Fervent Heart a Lawful Matter and a Resignation to the will of God Some think this the most fervent prayer that ever Christ made on earth If it be possible O! if it be possible let this Cup pass from me And I think it was the greatest dereliction and submission to the will of God that ever was found upon the earth for whether the Cup might pass or not pass he leaves it to his Father nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt q. d. Though in this Cup are many Ingredients it is full red and hath in it many dregs and I know I must drink and suck out the very utmost dreg yet whether it shall pass from me in that short time or continue with me a long long time I leave it to thy will I see in respect of my humanity there is in me flesh and blood O! I am frail and weak I cannot but fear the wrath of God and therefore I pray thus earnestly to my God O my Father if it be possible let this Cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt But what was there in the Cup that made Christ pray thus earnestly that it might pass from him I answer 1. The great pain that he must endure the buffettings whippings bleedings crucifying all the torments from first to
as it were of the only begotten Son of the Father and their words seemed to them as it were idle Tales and they believed them not The words in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the same here is the first step of this Clymax his sweat was a wonderful sweat not a sweat of water but of red gore-blood 2. Great drops of blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 There is sudor diaphoreticus a thin faint sweat and sudor grumosus a thick concrete and clotted sweat in this bloody sweat of Christ it came not from him in small dews but in great drops they were drops and great drops of Blood crassie and thick drops and hence it is concluded as preternatural for though much may be said for sweating blood in a course of nature Aristotle Arist l. 3. de hist anim c. 29. Aug. l. 14. de Civ Dei c. 24. affirms it and Augustine grants that he knew a man that could sweat blood even when he pleased in faint bodies a subtile thin blood like sweat may pass through the pores of the Skin but that through the same pores crass thick and great drops of blood should issue out it was not it could not be without a Miracle Some call them grumes others globes of blood certainly the drops are great so great as if they had started through his skin to outrun the streams and rivers of his Cross 3. Here is yet another clymax in that these great drops of blood did not only distillare drop out but decurrere run a stream down so fast as if they had issued out of most deadly wounds they were great drops of blood falling down to the ground here 's magnitude and multitude great drops and those so many so plenteous as that they went through his apparel and all streaming down to the ground now was it that his garments were died with crimson red that of the Prophet though spoken in another sense yet in some respect may be applyed to this Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel and thy garments like him that treadeth the Wine-fat Oh what a sight was here Isa 63.2 His Head and Members are all on a bloody sweat his sweat trickles down and bedecks his garments which stood like a new firmament studded with stars portending an approaching storm nor stayes it there but it falls down to the ground Oh happy Garden watered with such treas of blood how much better are these rivers than Abana and Pharphar rivers of Damascus yea than all the waters of Israel yea than all those Rivers that water the Garden of Eden 1. This may inform us of the weight and burden of sin Vse that thus presseth Christ under it till he sweat and bleed when the first Adam had committed the first sin this was the penalty in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread Gen. 3.19 but now the second Adam takes upon him all the Sins of all Believers in the world he sweats not only in his face but in all his Body O then how was that face disfigured when it stood all on drops and those drops not of a watry sweat but of a gore blood We see in other men that when they are disquieted with fear or grief the blood usually runs to the heart indeed that is the principal member and therefore leaving the other parts it goes thither as of choice to comfort that but our sweet Saviour contrariwise because he would suffer without any manner of comfort he denies to himself this common relief of nature all the Powers of our souls and parts of our bodies were stained with sin and therefore he sweats blood from every part we sin and our eyes will scarce drop a tear for sin but his eyes and ears and head and hands and feet and heart and all run rivers of tears of blood for us even for our sins Let Jesuites and Friers in meditating of Christ's sufferings cry out against the Jews in this bloody sweat of Christ I see another use alas here 's no Jew no Judas no Herod no Pilate no Scribe no Pharisees here 's no tormentors to whip him no souldiers to crown his Head with thrones here 's neither nailes nor spear to fetch his blood out of his Body how comes it then to pass Is there any natural cause ah no the night is cold which naturally draws blood inwards in the open air he lies grovelling on the ground and there he sweats and bleeds O my heart who hath done this deed As the Lord liveth 2 Sam. 12.5 the man that hath done this thing shall surely die So said David when Nathan replied upon him thou art the man O my heart my sinful heart O my sinful V. 7. deceitful abominable heart thou art the Murderer thy sins sate upon the heart of Christ as heavy as a Mountain of Lead or Iron when none was near but a few dull heavy sleepy Disciples then all the sins of Believers and amongst them thy sins fell upon the soul of Christ as so many murtherers and squeezed blood and made him cry out My soul is heavy heavy unto death Go thy wayes now and weep with Peter and say with David I have sinned against thee Lord. O how should these eyes of mine look upon Christ thus sweating bleeding streaming out blood clods of blood V. 13. great drops of blood from all the parts and members of his Body but I must mourn over him Zech. 12.10 as one that mourneth for his only son but I must be in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born 2. This may inform us of the extraordinary love of Christ It is said of the pelican that when her young ones are struck with the tail of some poysonous Serpent she presently strikes her breast with her Beak or Bill and so lets out her own blood as a Medicine for them that they may suck and live even so Christ seeing us struck with the poyson of sin he is impatient of delay he would not stay till the Jews let him blood with their whips Luke 12.50 and thorns and nayls I have a Baptism to be baptized with saith Christ and how am I straightned till it be accomplished He is big with love and therefore he opens all his pores of his own accord he lets blood gush out from every part and thereof he makes a precious Balsom to cure our wounds O the Love of Christ As Elihu could sometimes say Job 32.19 Behold my belly is as wine which hath no vent it is ready to burst like new Bottles so the heart of Christ was full even full of love so full that it could not hold but it burst out through every part and member of his body in a bloody sweat I will not say but that every drop of Christ's blood was very precious and of sufficient value to save a world but certainly that blood which was not forc'd by whips or thorns
hell as Christ standing in our room is of his Fathers wrath fear is still suitable to apprehension and never man could so perfectly apprehend the cause of fear as Jesus Christ nor was he only afraid but very heavy My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death His sorrow was lethal and deadly it melted his soul gradually as wax is melted with heat it continued with him till his last gasp his heart was like wax burning all the time of his passion and at last it melted in the midst of his bowels Psal 22.19 Mark 14.33 Nor was he only afraid and heavy but he began to be sore amazed this signifies an universal cessation of all the faculties of the soul from their several functions we usually call it a consternation it is like a Clock stopped for the while from going by some hand or other laid upon it or if it was not wholly a cessation yet was it at least an expavefaction such a motion of the mind as whereby for the present he was disinabled to mind any thing else but the dreadful sense of the wrath of God O what an agony was this O what a strugling passion of mixed grief was this what afflicting and conflicting affections under the sight and sense of eminent peril was in this agony Luke 22.44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly thrice had he prayed but now in his agony he prayed more earnestly O my Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt Though I feel the soul of pain in the pain of my soul yet there is divinity in me which tells me there is a wage for sin and I will pay it all O my Father sith thou hast bent thy bow lo here an open breast fix herein all thy shafts of fury better I suffer for a while than that all believers should be damned for ever thy will is mine lo I will bear the burthen of sin come and shoot here thy arrows of revenge And thus as he prayed he sweat Luke 22.44 And is sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground Oh what man or Angel can conceive the agony the fear the sorrow the amazement of that heart that without all outward violence meerly out of the extremity of his own passion bled through the flesh and skin not some faint dew but solid drops of blood now is he crucified without a cross fear and sorrow are the nails our sâ—ns the thorns his Fathers wrath the spear and all these together cause a bleeding shower to rain throughout all his pores O my soul consider of this and if thou wilt bring this consideration home say thy sins were the cause of this bloody sweat Jesus Christ is that true Adam that is come out of Paradise for thy sins and thus laboured on earth with his bloody sweat to get the bread that thou must feed on 2. Consider his apprehension Judas is now at hand with a troop following him to apprehend his Master see how without all shame he set himself in the van and coming to his Lord and Master gives him a most Traiterous and deceitful kiss What Judas betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss hast thou sold the Lord of life to such cruel merchants as covet greedily his blood and life O alas at what price hast thou set the Lord of all the creatures at thirty pence what a vile and slender price is this for a Lord of such Glory and Majesty God was sold for thirty pieces of silver but man could not be bought without the dearest heart-blood of the Son of God Luke 22.53 At that time said Christ Ye be come as it were against a thief with swords and staves I sate daily among you teaching in the Temple and ye never laid hands on me but this is your hour and the power of darkness Now the Prince of darkness exercised his power now the hellish rout and malicious rabble of ravenous wolves assaulted the most innocent Lamb in the world now they most furiously haled him this way and that way O how ungently did they handle him how uncourteously spake they unto him how many blows and buffets did they give him what cries and shouts and clamours made they over him now they lay hold on his holy hands and bind them hard with rough and knotty cords so that they gall the skin off his arms and make the very blood spring out now they bring him back again over Cedron and they make him once again to drink of the brook in the way now they lead him openly through the high streets of Jerusalem and carry him to the house of Annas in great triumph O my soul consider these several passages consider them leisurely and with good attention consider them till thou feelest some motions or alterations in thy affection is not this he that is the infinite vertue the pattern of innocency the everlasting wisdom the honour of earth the glory of heaven the very fountain of all beauty whether of men or Angels how is it then that this vertue or power is tyed with bands that innocency is apprehended that wisdom is flouted and laughed to scorn that honour is contemned that glory is tormented that he that is fairer than all the children of men is besmeared with weeping and troubled with sorrow of heart surely there is some thing O my soul in thee that caused all this hadst not thou sinned the Sun of Righteousness had never been eclisped 3. Consider the hurryings of Jesus from Annas to Caiphas there a Councel is called Mat. 26.63 Ver. 66. and Caiphas the high Priest adjures our Lord to tell him if he was Christ the Son of God no sooner he affirms it but he is doomed guilty of blasphemy and so guilty of death Now again they assault him like mad dogs and disgorge upon him all their malice fury and revenge each one to the utmost of his power gives him buffets and strokes there they spit upon that Divine face with their devilish mouths there they hudwink his eyes and strike him on the cheek scoffing and jesting and saying Read who is it that smote thee O beauty of Angels was that a face to be spet upon men usually when they are provoked to spit turn away their faces towards the foulest corner of the house and is there not in all that Palace a souler place to spit in than the face of Jesus O my soul why dost thou not humble thy self at this so wonderful example how is it that there should remain in the world any token of pride after this so great and marvellous an example of humility surely I am at my wits end and very much astonished to consider how this so great patience overcomes not my anger how this so great abasing asswageth not my pride how these so violent buffets beat not down my presumption Is it not
marvellous that Jesus Christ by these means should overthrow the Kingdom of pride and yet that there should remain in me the relicks of pride consider all those night-sufferings of Christ O cruel night O unquiet night now was the season that all creatures should take their rest that the senses and members wearied with toils and labours should be refreshed but on the contrary Christ's members and senses were then tormented they struck his body they afflicted his soul they bound his hands they buffetted his cheeks they spit in his face O my soul thou sinnest in the dark in covert in secret when no eye is upon thee when the Sun that eye of the world is set or hid and therefore all the night long is Christ thus tormented by thy sins not one jot of rest hath Christ not a wink of sleep must seize on him whom thou by the alarm of thy sins disquieted both at evening at mid-night and at the Cock-Crow and at the dawning 4. Consider the hurryings of Jesus from Caiphas to Pilate now he stands before Pilate where he was accused of sedition seduction and usurpation Not only Jews but Gentiles have their hands imbrewed in the blood of Christ Pilate was delegated from Cesar Luke 18.31 both of them Gentiles yet not without a prophesie Behold we go up to Jerusalem and all things that are written by the Prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished for he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles at the Gentile-tribunal being questioned of his Kingdom and he answers both the Jews and Gentiles that they need not fear his usurpation John 18.36 My Kingdom is not of this world He gives Kingdoms that are eternal but he will take away none that are temporal Christ came not into the world to be Cesar's or Pilate's or Herod's successor but if they had believed to have been their Saviour Look through the Chronicles of his life and we find him so far from a King that he was the meanest servant of all men where was he born but at Bethlehem a little City where did the Shepherds find him but in a poor cottage who were his Disciples but a deal of Fishermen who his Companions but Publicans and sinners is he hungry where stands his table but on plain ground what are his dainties but bread and a few Fishes where is his lodging but at the stern of a Ship Here 's a King without either presence-chamber or bed-chamber The Foxes have holes and the Birds of the air have nests but the Son of man hath not whereon to lay his head Come fear not Pilate the loss of thy diadem it may be the people would sometimes have made him a King but see how he flies from it My Kingdom is not of this World saith Jesus Oh that I could but contemn the World as Christ did O that first and above all I could seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness Oh my soul I feel it I feel it unless I can be free from the affection of all creatures I cannot with freedom of mind aspire unto divine things unless I be willing with Christ to tread on Crowns and Scepters to be despised and forsaken of all and to be esteemed nothing at all I can have no inward peace nor be spiritually enlightned nor be wholly united to the Lord Jesus Christ 5. Consider the hurryings of Jesus from Pilate to Herod there is he questioned of many things but justly is the Lamb of God dumb and opened not his mouth to him that not long before had taken away his voice upon this he is mocked Luke 23.11 and arrayed in a gorgeous robe Wisdom is taken for Folly Vertue for Vice Truth for Blasphemy Temperance for Gluttony the Peace-maker of all the World for a seditious disturber of the World the reformer of the Law for a breaker of the Law and the justifier of sinners for a sinner and the follower of sinners See how he emptied himself and made himself of no reputation that he might fill thee with goodness and make thee spiritually wise unto salvation 6. Consider the hurryings of Jesus from Herod back again to Pilate O my Saviour how art thou now abused new accusations are forged and when Pilate sees that nothing will do but Christ must dye he delivers him to be stripped whipped cloathed in Purple crowned with Thorns and Sceptred with a Reed He that with spittle cured the eyes of the blind is now blinded with their spittle who can number those stripes wherewith they flea and tare his body one wound eating into another that there is no health in his bones by reason of my sins O Jesus was that frothy spittle the Ointment those Thorns thy Crown that Reed thy Scepter that Purple-dyed and imbroidered with blood thy Royal Robes or because Adam's sin brought forth Thorns must it therefore be thy pennance to wear them unthankful people thus watered with his blood that bring forth nothing but Thorns to crown him But Oh that the Lord of Heaven the Creator of the World the Glory of the Angels the Wisdom of God should for my sake be punished with whips and scourges O my heart how can I think on this without tears of blood O joy of the Angels and Glory of Saints who hath thus disfigured thee who hath thus defiled thee with so many bloody blows certainly they were not thy sins but mine it was love and mercy that compast thee about and caused thee to take upon thee this so heavy a burthen love was the cause why thou didst bestow upon me all thy benefits and mercy moved thee to take upon thee all my miseries 7. Consider that sad spectacle of Jesus when he came forth wearing the Crown of Thorns and the Purple Robe and Pilate saying unto them behold the Man John 19.5 O my soul fix thy eyes on the sad object suppose thy self in the case of Jesus what if in so sensible and tender a part as thy head is men should fasten a number of Thorns yea and those so sharp that they should pierce into thy scull why alas thou canst hardly abide the prick of a pin much less the piercing in of so many Thorns O but thy Jesus was crowned with Thorns and Sceptred with a Reed and that Reed was taken out of his hands to beat the Crown of Thorns into his head and besides thy Jesus was whipped with cords and rods and little chains of iron that from his shoulders to the soles of his feet there was no part free and being now in this plight thou art called on to behold the Man dost thou see him is thy imagination strong canst thou consider him at present as if thou hadst a view of this very man methinks it should make thee break out and say O brightness of thy Fathers glory who hath thus cruelly dealt with thee O unspotted glass of the Majesty of God who hath thus wholly disfigured thee O river that flows out
of the paradise of delights who hath thus troubled thee it is my sins O Lord that have so troubled thee my sins were the Thorns that pricked thee the lashes that whipped thee the purple that cloathed thee it is I Lord that am thy tormentor and the very cause of these thy pains 8. Consider Pilate's sentence that Jesus should be Crucified as the Jews required Now they had him in their will and they did to him what seemed them good Follow him from Gabbatha to Golgotha see how they lay the heavy Cross upon his tender shoulders that were so pitifully rent and torn with whips accompany him all the way to the Execution and help to carry his Cross to Mount Calvary And there as if thou hadst been frozen hitherto thaw into tears see him lifted up on that engine of torture the bloody Cross he hangs on nails and as he hangs his own weight becomes his own affliction O see how his arms and legs were racked with voilent pulls his hands and feet boared with nails his whole body torn with stripes and gored with blood And now O my soul run with all thy might into his arms held out at their full length to receive thee Oh weigh the matter because sin entred by the senses therefore the head in which the senses flourish is crowned with searching thorns because the hands and feet are more especially the instruments of sin therefore his hands and feet are nailed to the Cross for satisfaction O marvellous what King is he or of what Countrey that wears a Crown of Thorns what man is he or where lives he whose hands and feet are not only bored but digged into as if they had been digging with Spades in a ditch surely here 's matter for a serious meditation be enlarged O my thoughts and dwell upon it consider it and consider it again 9. Consider the darkness that spread over all the Earth now was the Sun ashamed to shew his brightness considering that the Father of lights was darkned with such disgrace the Heavens discoloured their beauty and are in mourning robes the Lamp of Heaven is immantled with a miraculous Eclipse the Sun in the firmament will simpathize with the Sun of Righteousness it will not appear in glory though it be mid-day because the Lord of Glory is thus disgraced And now hear the voice that comes from the Son of God My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Christ in the Garden tasted the bitter cup of God's fierce wrath but now he drunk the dregs of it he then sipped off the top but now he drunk all off top and bottom and all O but what 's the meaning of this My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Surely 1. This was not a total but a partial dereliction this was not a perpetual but a temporary forsaking of him the Godhead was not took away from the manhood but the union remained still even now when the Manhood was forsaken 2. This was not a forsaking on Christ's part but only on the Father's part the Father forsook Christ but Christ went after him God took away the sense of his love but the Son of God laid hold upon him crying and saying My God my God why hast thou forsaken me 3. This forsaking was not in respect of his being but in respect of the feeling of God's favour love and mercy certainly God loved him still Oh but his sense of comfort was now quite gone so as it never was before In his agony there was some inklings of God's mercy now and then at least there was some star-light some little flash of lightning to cheer him up but now all the sense and feeling of God's love was gone and not so much as any little star-light of the same appeared Christ now took the place of sinners and God the Father shut him out as it were amongst the sinners he drew his mercy out of sight and out of hearing and therefore he cryed out in a kind of wonderment My God my God why hast thou forsaken me After this he speaks but a few words more and he gives up the Ghost He dyes that we might live he is dissolved in himself that we might be united to his Father O my soul see him now if thou canst for weeping his eyes are dim his cheeks are wan his face is pale his head is bowing his heart is panting himself is dying come come and dye with him by a most exact mortification look pale like him with grief and sorrow and trouble for thy sins 10. Consider the piercing of his side with a spear whence came out a stream of blood and water O Fountain of everlasting waters methinks I see the blood running out of his side more freshly than those golden streams which ran out of the Garden of Eden and watered the whole World Consider the taking of his body down by Joseph the burying of it by Joseph and Nicodemus O here 's excellent matter for our meditation O my spirit go with me a little Christ being dead it is pitty but he should have a funeral according to the letter let Joseph and Nicodemus bear his corps let the blessed Virgin go after it sighing and weeping and at every other place looking up to Heaven let Mary Magdalen follow after with a box of precious Ointment in her hand and with her hair hanging ready if need were to wipe his feet again or that in this meditation I may be more spiritual let the Usurer come first with Judas's bag and distribute to the poor as he goes along let the Drunkard follow after with the spunge that was filled with gall and vinegar and check his wanton thirst let the young Gallant or voluptuous man come like his Master with bare foot and with the cown of thorns set also upon his head let the wanton person bear the rods and whips and wiers wherewith Christ was scourged and fright his own flesh let the ambitious man be cladin the purple robe the angry Person in the seamless coat my meaning is let every sinner according to the nature of his sin draw something or other from the passion of Christ to the mortifying of his sin yea let all turn mourners let all bow their heads and be ready to give up the Ghost for the Name of Christ and let not Christ be buried without a Sermon neither and let the Text be this John 10.11 The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep and in the end of the Sermon whether it be in use or no let the Preacher take occasion to speak a word or two in the praise of Christ let him say with the Spouse that he was the chiefest among ten thousands that he was altogether lovely Cant. 5.10 16. that being God above all Gods he became man beneath all men that when he spake he began ordinarily with verily verily I say unto you that he was an holy man that he never sinned in all his
life neither in thought word or deed that being endowed with the Power of Miracles he lovingly employed it in curing the lame and blind and deaf and dumb in casting out devils in healing the sick in restoring the dead to life that as he lived so he dyed for being unjustly condemned mocked stripped whipped crucified he took all patiently praying for his persecutors and leaving to them when he had no temporal thing to give them a legacy of love of life of mercy of pardon of Salvation When the Sermon is done and the Burial is finished let every Mourner go home and begin a new life in imitation of Jesus Christ O my soul that thou wouldst thus meditate and thus imitate that so thy meditation might be fruitful and thy imitation real I mean that thy life and death might be conformable to the life and death of Jesus Christ But of that hereafter SECT III. Of desiring Jesus in that Respect 3. LEt us desire after Jesus carrying on the work of our salvation in his death Jesus Christ to a fallen sinner is the chief object of desire but Jesus Christ as crucified is the chief piece of that object Humbled souls look after the remedy and they find chiefly in Christ crucified and hence are so many cryes after bathings in Christ's blood and hiding in Christ's righteousness active and passive Indeed nothing doth so cool and refresh a parched dry and thirsty soul as the blood of Jesus which made the poor woman cry out so earnestly I have an husband and Children and many other comforts but I would give them all and all the good that ever I shall see in this world or in the world to come to have my poor thirsty soul refreshed with that precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ But what is there in Christ's blood or death that is so desirable I answer 1. There is in it the person of Christ he that is God-man man-God Heb. 1.3 The brightness of his father's Glory and the express Image of his Person it is he that dyed every drop of his blood was not only the blood of an innocent man but of one that was God as well as man God with his own blood purchased the Church Acts 20.28 now surely every thing of God is most desirable 2. There is in it a worth or price Christ considered under the notion of a sacrifice is of infinite worth now this sacrifice saith the Apostle he offered up Heb. 9.28 Heb. 9.28 He offered up not in Heaven as the Socinians would have it in presenting himself before God his Father but upon earth viz. in his Passion upon the Cross No wealth in heaven or earth besides this could redeem one soul and therefore the Apostle sets this against all corruptible things as silver and gold the things so much set by amongst the men of this world Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver 1 Pet. 1.18 and gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot 3. There is in it a merit and satisfaction the Scripture indeed doth not expresly use these words but it hath the sense and meaning of them As in that text Ephes 6.7 He hath made us accepted in the beloved to whom we have redemption through his blood I know there is a different notion in these words for merit doth properly respect the good that is to be procured but satisfaction the evil that is repelled but in Christ we stand not on these distinctions because in his merit was satisfaction and in his satisfaction was merit A great controversie is of late risen up Whether Christ's death be a satisfaction to Divine justice But the very words redeeming and buying do plainly demonstrate that a satisfaction was given to God by the death of Jesus Tit. 2 14. 1 Cor. 6.20 Rev. 5.9 He gave himself for us that he might redeem us ye are bought with a price and what price was that why his own blood Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood i.e. by thy death and Passion Mat. 20.28 1 Tit. 2.6 This was the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that ransome which Christ gave for his Elect The Son of man came to give his life a ransome for many or as the Apostle He gave himself a ransome for all the word is here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies an adequate price or a counterprice as when one doth or undergoeth something in the room of another as when one yields himself a Captive for the redeeming of another out of Captivity or gives up his own life for the saving of another man's life so Christ gave himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a ransome or counterprice submitting himself to the like punishment that his redeemed ones should have undergone The Socinians tell us that Christ's sufferings and death were not for satisfaction to God but in reference to us that we might believe the truth of his Doctrine confirmed and sealed as they say by his death and that we might yield obedience to God according to the pattern that he hath set before us and that so believing and obeying we might obtain the remission of Sins and eternal Life But the Scripture goes higher in that mutual compact and agreement betwixt God and Christ we find God the Father imposing and Christ submitting to this satisfaction Isa 53.6 1. The Father imposeth it by charging the sins of his Elect upon Jesus Christ The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all not the sins themselves not the evill in them or fault of them but the guilt and penalty belonging to them this God laid upon his Son and charged it upon him he charged it as a Creditor chargeth the debt upon the Surety requiring satisfaction 2. Christ undertook it He was oppressed Ver. 7. and he was afflicted or as some translate It was exacted and he answered i.e. God the Father required satisfaction for sin and Jesus Christ was our Surety answered in our behalf Ver. 12. He bear the Sins of many he bear them as a porter that bears the burthen for another which himself is not able to stand under he bear them by undergoing the punishment which was due for them he bear them as our Surety submitting himself unto the penalty which we had deserved and by that means he made satisfaction to the justice of God Surely Christs death was not only for confirmation of his Doctrine but for satisfaction to God 4. There is in it not only a true but a copious and full satisfaction Christ's death and blood is superabundant to our sins The grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant 1. Tim. 1.14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it was over-full redundant more than enough Many an humble soul is apt enough to complain Oh if I had not been so great a sinner if I had not committed such and such transgressions there might have been
ones And I looked saith John and behold a door was open in Heaven and the first voice I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither Rev. 4.1 and no sooner was he in the Spirit and entred in but he heard the new song of the four beasts Rev. 5.9 and four and twenty Elders saying to Christ Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood Come now and gather in all these several particulars there is in Christ's blood inclusively the person of Christ the price of souls a merit and satisfaction a copious and full satisfaction remission of sins reconciliation with God immunity from dangers a passage into glory I might add all other priviledges benefits dignities of the soul for they all flow from the blood of Jesus and they are all contained either expresly or vertually in the blood of Jesus and is not all this worth the looking after O my soul where is thy languor and fainting towards this blessed object Shall Ahab eagerly desire after Naboth's vineyard yea so eagerly desire it that his desire shall cast him upon his bed and is not Christ's blood better than Naboth's vineyard how is it O my soul that thou art not sick on thy bed in thy desires after Jesus when David desired strongly after God's Law he expressed his longings by the breaking and fainting of his soul Psal 119.20 81. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath to thy judgment at all times and my soul fainteth for thy Salvation Oh where be these breakings and faintings 2 Cor. 5.2 strength of desire is expressed by the Apostle by groaning which is the language of sickness Oh where be these groanings after Christ's death when I call to mind that Christ's death is my ransome that Christ's wounds are my salves that Christ's stripes are my cures that Christ's blood is my fountain to wash in and to be clean how should I but pray in this sence His blood be upon us and on our children Oh I am undone except I have a share in this blood why it is only this blood that can heal my soul it is only this Fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem that can quench my thirst and now I have seen the Fountain opened how should I but thirst and cry out with the woman of Samaria O give me this water that I thirst no more John 4.15 But alas I say it I only say it Oh that I could feel it Oh my Jesus that thou wouldst breed in me ardent desires vehement longings unutterable groans mighty gaspings O that I were like the dry and thirsty ground that gapes and cleaves and opens for drops of rain when my spirit is in right frame I feel some desires after Christ's blood but how short are these desires how unworthy of the things desired come Lord kindle in me hot burning desires and then give me the desirable Object SECT IV. Of hoping in Jesus in that respect 4. LEt us hope in Jesus carrying on the great work of our Salvation in his sufferings and death Heb. 6.11 By this hope I intend only that which the Apostle calls full assurance of hope The main question is Whether I have any part in Christ's sufferings they are of excellent use and of great value to believers but what am I the better for them if I have no part in them or if I say I hope well Oh but what grounds of that hope it is not every hope that is a well grounded hope full assurance of hope is an high pitch of hope and every Christian should strive and endeavour after it now that we may do it and that we may discern it that our hope is not base but right-born that the grounds of our hope in Christ's death are not false but of the right stamp I shall lay down these signs 1. If Christ's death be mine then is Christ's life mine and converse if Christ's death be mine then is Christ's life mine Christ's active and passive obedience cannot be severed Christ is not divided we must not seek one part of our righteousness in his birth another in his habitual holiness another in the integrity of his life another in his obedience of death They that endeavour to separate Christ's active and passive obedience they do exceedingly derogate from Christ and make him but half a Saviour Heb. 7.22 was not Christ our Surety Heb. 7.22 and thereupon was he not bound to fulfil all righteousness for us i.e. as to suffer in our stead so to obey in our stead oh take heed of opposing or separating Christ's death and Christ's life either we have all Christ or we have no part in Christ now if these two be concomitants well may the one be as the sign of the other search then and try O my soul hast thou any share in Christ's life canst thou make out Christ's active obedience unto thy own soul if herein thou art at a stand peruse those Characters laid down in the life of Christ the many glorious effects flowing out of Christ's life into a Believer's soul we have discovered before 2. If Christ's death be mine then is that great end of his death accomplished in me viz. By the sacrifice of himself he hath put away sin even my sin and Heb. 9.26 Eph. 1.7 Dan. 9.24 in him I have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins As on this account he suffered to finish the transgression to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity so if his death be mine I may assuredly say my sins are pardoned and mine iniquities are done away Come then and try by this sign canst thou assure thy self that thy sins are forgiven thee hast thou heard the whispers of Gods Spirit Son or Daughter be of good comfort thy sins are remitted there is no question then but thou art redeemed by his blood thou hast part in his sufferings Indeed this very Character may seem obscure assurance of pardon is the hidden Manna the white Stone which no man knoweth saving he which receives it and feels it and yet if thou diligently observest the Spirit 's actings even this may be known remission of sin and repentance for sin are twins of a birth those two God in Scripture hath joined together If we confess our sins 1 John 1.9 Acts 8.22 Acts 5.31 Luk. 24.46 47 he is faithful and just to forgive our sins And repent and pray if the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee And Christ is a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins And thus it is written and thus it behoved Christ to suffer That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his Name In this way David assured himself I said I will confess my Transgressions unto
the Lord Psal 32.5 and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin Selah It is no more than to ask thy Soul what are thy repentings kindled together hast thou seriously and sincerely repented thee of sin as sin hast thou turned from all sin unto God with constancy and delight Surely this is peculiar and proper to the Child of God by vertue of Christ's Death 3. If Christ's death be mine then am I engraffed into the likeness of Christ's death then am I made conformable to Christ in his death that I may know him and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death Phil. 3.10 The same that was done to Christ in a natural way is done and performed in the Believer in a spiritual way i.e. as Christ died so the Believer dies as Christ died for sin so the Believer dies to sin In that he died he died unto sin likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin Observe here the Analogy and proportion Rom. 6.10 11. and resemblance betwixt Christ and us both die unto sin Christ by way of expiation suffering and satisfying for the sins of others we by way of mortification killing and slaying and crucifying our own sins I look upon this sign as the very touchstone of a Christian and therefore I shall insist upon it Two questions I suppose needful to resolve the grounds of our Hope concerning our interest in the death of Christ 1. Whether indeed and in truth our sins are mortified 2. Whether we encrease or grow in our mortification For the first whether indeed and in truth our sins are mortified It is a skill worth our learning because of the many deceits that are within us sin may seem to be mortified when the occasion is removed or sin may seem to be mortified when it is not violent but quiet or sin may seem to be mortified when it is but removed from one sin unto another or sin may seem to be mortified when the sap and strength of sin is dead as the Lamp goes out when either the Oil is not supplied or taken away Now that in this scrutiny we may search to the bottoom and know the truth and certainty of our mortification it will appear by these Rules 1. True mortification springs from a root of Faith Every thing in the world proceeds from some cause or other and if the cause be good the effect must needs be good but if the cause be evil the effect must needs be evil A good Tree cannot bring forth evil Fruit and an evil Tree cannot bring forth good Fruit. Mat. 7.18 In this case therefore let us examine the cause if we can make out this truth that we belive in Christ that we roll our selves on the Lord Jesus Christ for life and for salvation and that now we begin to feel in us the decay of sin we may conclude from the cause or rise that this decay of sin is true mortification surely it hath received the deadly wound it is a blessed effect arising from a good and right and genuine cause 2. True mortification is general not only one sin but all sins are mortified in a true Believer As death is unto the Members of the body so is mortification unto the members of sin now death seized upon every member it leaves not life in any one member of the body so neither doth mortification leave life in any one member of sin my meaning is it takes away the commanding power of sin in every member Mortifie your members which are upon the earth saith the Apostle your members Col. 3.5 not one member and then he instanceth Fornication Vncleanness Inordinate Affections Evil Concupiscence and Covetousness which is Idolatry Christians that have their interest in Christ's death must not only leave Pride but Lust not only Uncleanness but Covetousness Sin must not only be slain in the understanding but in the will and affections mortification is general You will say this is an hard saying doth any man any Believer leave all sin yes in respect of ruling power he leaves all sin all gross sins and all other sins only with this difference all gross sins in practise and actions and all frailties and infirmities in allowance and affection It is good to observe the degrees of mortification the first is to forbear the practise of gross and scandalous sins in word and deed Jam. 3.2 If any man offend not in word the same is a perfect man and this perfection by the help of Grace a godly man may reach to in this life The second is to deny consent and will to all frailties and infirmities Rom. 7.19 The evil which I would not that do I Rom. 7.19 I may do evil and yet I would not do evil there is a denial of it in the will The third is to be free from any setled liking of any evil motion not only to deny consent and will but also to deny the very thought or imagination setledly and deliberately to delight in sin I know to be void of all evil motions arising from the flesh or of all sudden passions within or of all suduen delights in sin or of all deadness or backwardness to good things by reason of sin it is an higher pitch than any man can touch in this present world for whilst we live the Law of the members will be working and we shall find cause enough to complain of a body of death only if when these motions first arise we presently endeavour to quench them to reject them to detest them and to cast them away from us therein is true mortification and thus far we must look to it to leave all sin 3. True mortification is not without its present combats though at last it conquer many a time corruption may break out and lust may be strong and violent but thâ—s violent lust is only for the present whereas a lust unmortified ever reigneth It is with sin in a Believer as it is with a man that hath received his deadly wound from his enemy he will not presently flie away but rather he will run more violently upon him that hath wounded him yet be he never so violent in the middle of his action he sinks down because he hath received his deadly wound so it is with a Believer's sin and with a mortified lust it may rage in the heart and seem to bear sway for a time but the power and strength of sin is mortified it sinks down and wants ability to prevail by this sign may we know whether the corruptions and stirrings of our hearts proceed from a mortified or from an unmortified lust a lust though mortified may rage for a time but it cannot rule it may strive but it cannot totally prevail it may be in the heart as a thief in the house not to reside or dwell but to lodge for a night and be gone And that which is ever to be observed after
that Respect 5. LEt us believe in Jesus carrying on the great work of our Salvation for us during his Sufferings and Death Every one looks upon this as an easie duty only the humble Soul the scrupulous Conscience cries out What! Is it possible that Christ should die suffer shed his blood for me His incarnation was wonderful his life on earth was to astonishment but that the Son of God should become man live amongst men and die such a death even the death of the Cross for such a one as I am I cannot believe it it is an abys◠past fadoming the more I consider it the more I am amazed at it suppose I had an enemy in my power man or Devil one that provokes me every day 1 Sam. 24.19 one that hunts my soul to take it away should I not say with Saul if a man find his enemy will he let him go well away It may be an ingenuous spirit such as David would do thus much but would David or any breathing soul not only spare his enemy but spill himself to save his enemy would a man become a Devil to save Devils would a man endure hell pains to free all the Devils in hell from their eternal pains and yet what were this in comparison of what Christ hath done or suffered for us It is not so much for us to suffer for Devils for we are fellow-creatures as it is for Christ God-man man-God to suffer for us Oh what an hard thing is it considering my enmity against Christ to believe that Christ died for me that he gave himself to the death even to the death of the Cross for my soul Trembling soul throw not away thy self in a way of unbelief It may thou wouldst not die for an enemy an irreconcileable enemy but are not the mercies of God above all the mercies of men O believe And that I may perswade effectually I shall say down first some Directions and secondly some Encouragements of Faith 1. For the Directions of Faith in reference to Christ's death observe these particulars 2. Faith must directly go to Christ not first to the promise and then to Christ but first to Christ and then to the promise the Person ever goes before the Prerogative 2. Faith must go to Christ as God in the flesh this was the difference betwixt the New-Testament and old-Testament-Believers their Faith directs only to God but our Faith looks more immediately to Jesus Christ Believe in the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved 3. Faith must directly go to Christ as God in the flesh made under the Law He continued in all things written in the book of the Law to do them and so our Faith must look upon him But of these before I shall say nothing more to these particulars 4. Faith must go to Christ not only as made under the directive part of the Law by his life but under the penal part of the Law by his death in both these respects Christ was made under the law The one half of the Law he satisfied by the holiness of his life he fulfilled the law in every jot and every tittle the other half of the Law he satisfied by his enduring the death even the death of the Cross he paid both the Principal and the Forfeiture and though men do not so yet Christ did so that the whole Law might be satisfied fully by his being under both these parts of the Law pay and penalty Come then and look upon Christ as dying it was the Serpent as lifted up and so looked at that healed the Israelites of their fiery stings Alas we are diseased in a spiritual sense as they were and Christ Jesus was lifted up as a remedy to us as the Serpent was unto them it remains therefore that as they looked up to the Brazen Serpent so we look up to Jesus believe in Jesus as lifted up for life and for salvation As Moses lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness John 14.15 so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life Indeed some difference there is betwixt the Serpent and Christ As 1. The Brazen Serpent had not power in if self to cure as Christ hath 2. The Serpent cured the Israelites but for a time John 11.26 to die again but whomsoever Jesus cures in a Spiritual sense he cures for ever they shall never die 3. The serpent also had its time of curing it did not alwayes retain its virtue but during the time they were in the Wilderness only Iesus Christ our Brazen Serpent doth ever retain his power and virtue to the end of the world and hence it is that in the Ministry Christ is still held forth as lifted up that all that will but look on him by faith may live 4. The Serpent sometimes a remedy against poyson was after turned even to poyson the Israelites which made Hezekiah to crush it and brake it and stamp it to powder but Jesus Christ ever remains the sovereign and healing God he is the same yesterday to day and for ever He is unchangeable in his goodness as he is in holy and divine nature he can never be defaced nor destroyed but he abideth the saviour of sinners to all eternity why then let us rather look unto Christ and believe in Christ as lifted up i.e. as he was crucified and died on the Cross In this respect he is made a fit object for a sinner's faith to trust upon and rest upon Christ as crucified as made sin and a curse for us it the object of our pardon O this is it that makes Christ's death so desirable why therein is virtually and meritoriously pardon of sin Justification redemption reconciliation and what not Oh! cries a sinner where may I set my foot how should I regain my God my sin hath undone me which way should I cast for pardon why now remember that in seeking pardon Rom. 8.34 Christ was crucified Christ as dying is principally to be eyed and looked at Who is he that condemneth it is Christ that dyed Rom. 8.34 No Question Christs active Obedience during his Life was most exact and perfect and meritorious yet that was not the expiation of sin only his passive obedience Christ only in his sufferings took away sin the guilt of sin and punishment for sin We have redemption through the blood of Christ Eph. 1.7 even the forgiveness of sins If any humble soul would have recourse to that Christ who is now in heaven let him first in the actings of his Faith consider him as crucified as lifted up as made sin for us as through whom under that consideration he is to receive pardon of sin Justification redemption reconciliation sanctification salvation 5. Faith in going to Christ as lifted up it is principally and mainly to look unto the 〈◊〉 meaning intent and design of Christ in his sufferings as he was lifted up we
Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world Paul was a mortified man dead to the world and dead to sin But how came he so to be why this he attributes to the Cross of Christ to the death of Christ the death of Jesus was the cause of this death in Paul How much more shall the blood of Christ purge our Consciences from dead works to serve the living God Heb. 9.14 There is in the death of Christ first a value and secondly a vertue the former is available to our justification the latter to our sanctification now sanctification hath two parts mortification and vivification Christ's death or passive obedience is more properly conducible to the one his life or active obedience to the other Rom. 6.5 Hence Believers are said to be engraffed with Christ in the likeness of his death there is a kind of likeness betwixt Christ and Christians Christ died and the Christian dies Christ died a natural death and a Christian dies a spiritual death Christ died for sin and the Christian dies for sin this was another end of the death of Christ there issues from his death a mortifying vertue causing the death of sin in a Believer's soul one main part of our sanctification O my soul look to this herein lies the pith and marrow of the death of Christ and if now thou wilt but act and exercise thy faith in this respect how mightest thou draw the vertue and efficacy of his death into thy soul But here is the question how should I manage my Faith or how should I act my faith to draw down the vertue of Christ's death and so to feel the vertue of Christ's death in my soul mortifying crucifying and killing sin I answer 1. In prayer meditation self-examination receiving of the Lord's Supper c. I must propound to my self and soul the Lord Jesus Christ as having undertaken and performed that bitter and painful work of suffering even unto death yea that of the Cross as it is held out in the History and Narrative of the Gospel 2. I must really and steadfastly believe and firmly assent that those sufferings of Christ so revealed and discovered were real and true undoubted and every way unquestionable as in themselves 3. I must look upon those grievous bitter cruel painful and with all opprobrious execrable shameful sufferings of Christ as very strange and wonderful but especially considering the spiritual part of his sufferings viz. the sense and apprehension of God's forsaking and afflicting him in the day of his fierce anger I should even be astonished and amazed thereat what that the Son of God should lay his head on the block under the blow of divine Justice that he should put himself under the wrath of his heavenly Father that he should enter into the combat of Gods heavy displeasure and be deprived of the sense and feeling of his love and mercy and wonted comfort how should I but stand agast at these so wonderful sufferings of Jesus Christ 4. I must weigh and consider what it was that occasioned and caused all this viz. Sin yea my Sin yea this and that Sin particularly This comes nearer home and from this I must now gather in these several Conclusions As 1. It was the Design of Christ by his sufferings to give satisfaction to the infinite Justice of God for sin 2. It was intended and meant at least in a second place to give out to the world a most notable and eminent instance and demonstration of the horridness odiousness and execrableness of sin sith no less than all this yea nothing else but this would serve the turn to expiate it and atone for it 3. It holds forth again as sin is horrid in its self so it cannot but be exceeding grievous and offensive to Christ Oh it cost him dear it put him to all this pain and Torture it made him cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me how then should it but offend him above all above any thing in the world 4. If therefore there be in me any spark of love towards Christ or any likeness to Christ or if I would have Christ to bear any affection love regard or respect unto me it will absolutely behoove me by all means to loath sin and cast it away from me to root it up to quit my hands and to rid my heart of it The truth is I cannot possibly give forth a more pregnant proof of my sincere love entire affection respect conformity resemblance sympathy to and with Christ than by offering all violence usually all holy severity against sin for his very sake Now when the heart is thus exercised God by his Spirit will not fail to meet us our desire and endeavour of our soul to weaken and kill sin in the soul is not without its reward but especially when sin hath in this way and by this means lost the affection of the soul and is brought in hatred and disesteem it decayes and dyes of it self for it only liveth and flourisheth by the warm affections good thoughts and opinion that the soul hath of it So that matters going thus in the heart the influence that should nourish and maintain sin is cut off and it withers by degrees till it be finally and fully destroyed Thus for directions now for the encouragements of our faith to believe in Christ's death consider 1. The fulness of this object Christ crucified there is a transcendent all-sufficiency in the death of Christ in a safe sense it contains in it universal redemption it is sufficient for the redemption of every man in the world yea and effectual for all that have been are or shall be called into the state of grace whether Jews or Gentiles bound or free I know some hold that Christ dyed for all and every man with a purpose to save only thus they explicate 1. That Christ dyed for all men considered in the common lapse or fall but not as obstinate impenitent or unbelievers he dyed not for such as such 2. That Christ dyed for all men in respect of the request or impetration of salvation but the application thereof is proper to believers 3. That Christ dyed not to bring all or any man actually to salvation but to purchase salvability and reconciliation so far as that God might and would salva justitia deal with them on terms of a better covenant 4. That Christ hath purchased salvability for all men but faith and regeneration he hath merited for none because God is bound to give that which Christ hath merited of him although it be not desired or craved I cannot assent to these positions but thus far I grant that Christ's death in it self is a sufficient price and satisfaction to God for all the world and that also it is effectual in many particulars to all men respectively in all the world every man in one way or other hath
the fruit of Christ's death conferred upon him but this fruit is not of one kind for 1. Some fruit is common to every man as the earthly blessings which Infidels enjoy may be termed the fruits of Christ's death 2. Other fruit is common to all the members of the visible Church as to be called by the Word to enjoy the Ordinances to live under the Covenant to partake of some graces that come from Christ 2. Other fruit is indeed peculiar to the Saints of God as faith unfeigned regeneration pardon of sin adoption c. And yet this fruit is universal to all the Saints whether Jews or Gentiles in which sence speaks the Apostle Rom. 11.32 1 Tim. 2.6 Rom. 11.32 Rom. 5.18 Heb. 2.9 He spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all And he gave himself a ransome for all and God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all And by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life He tasted of death for all men or distributively for every man All which texts are rightly interpreted by Caiphas He prophesied that Jesus should dye for that Nation John 11.51 52. and not for that Nation only but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad And thus John brings in the four beasts and four and twenty Elders saying Thou art worthy to take the book Rev. 5.9 and to open the seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and thus Paul rightly argues Is he the God of the Jews only Rom. 3.29 is he not of the Gentiles also yes of the Gentiles also O the fulness of Christ's death many are apt to complain Would Christ dye for me why alas I am an alien I am not of the common-wealth of Israel I am a dog I am a sinner a grievous sinner Eph. 2.13 14 16. a sinner of the Gentiles And what then Ye who sometimes were afar off are now made nigh by the blood of Christ for he is our peace who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross Oh what encouragement is this for thee to believe thy part in the death of Christ 2. Consider the worth the excellency of this glorious object Christ crucified There is an infinite of worth in the death of Christ and this ariseth first from the dignity of his person he was God-man the death of Angels and men if put together could not have amounted to the excellency of Christ's death stand amazed at thy happiness O believer thou hast gained by thy loss thou hast lost the righteousness of a creature but the righteousness of an infinite person is now made thine Rom. 10.3 2 Cor. 5.21 hence it is many times called the Righteousness of God both because Christ is God and because it is such a righteousness as God is satisfied with he looks for no better yea there can be no better 2. This worth is not only in respect of the dignity of the person but also in respect of the price offered O it was the blood of Christ one drop whereof is of more worth than thousands of gold and silver Acts 20.28 It was this blood that purchased the whole Church of God which a thousand worlds of wealth could never have done 3. This worth is not only in respect of the person and price neither but also in respect of the manner of the oblation 2 Pet. 1 18. Christ must dye on the Cross as it was determined the price in it self is not enough unless it be ordered and proportioned according to the will of him who is to be satisfied if a man should give for a captive prisoner an infinite sum of money sufficient in it self to redeem a thousand yet if not according to such a way as the conquerour prescribeth if not according to the condition it could not be called a satisfaction now this was the condition that Christ must die and dye that death of the Cross and accordingly he undertook and performed which set a lustre and glory and excellency and worth upon his death O the worth O the excellency of this death of Christ many are apt to complain O the filth of my sins Oh the injuries and unkindness that have been in mine iniquities it is not my misery my destruction that so much troubles me as that God is displeased Sweet soul turn thine eyes hither surely this death of Christ is more satisfactory to God than all thy sins possibly can be displeasing to God there was more sweet savour in Christ's sacrifice than there could be offence in all thy sins the excellency of Christ's death in making righteous doth super-abound the filthiness of sin in making a sinner Come on then and close with Christ upon this encouragement there is a dignity an excellency in this object of faith Christ crucified 3. Consider the suitableness of this blessed object The death of Christ There is in it a sutableness to our sinful condition whatsoever the sin is it is the cry of some They dare not believe they dare not touch Christ crucified they dare not approach to that precious blood because of this sin and that sin and the other sin Whereas in the death and blood of Christ if they could but take a full view of it they might find something suitable to their estate As for instance suppose thy sin the greatest sin imaginable except that against the holy Ghost art thou a murtherer hast thou had thy hands imbrued in the blood of Saints why see now how Christ for thy sake was esteemed of the Jews a murtherer and worse than a murtherer Barabbas is preferred before Jesus Barabbas is released and Jesus is murthered yea his blood is shed to wash away thy blood-shed art thou a Sorcerer a Negromancer is thy sin the sin of Manasseh of whom it is said 2 Chron. 33.6 that that he used inchantments and witchcraft and dealt with a familiar spirit and with wizards why see now how Jesus Christ for thy sake was esteemed of the Jews as an impostor an inchanter for so some say that he got the Name of God and sowed it in his thigh and by vertue thereof he wrought all his miracles and they commonly reported of him that he had a devil and that he cast out devils through Belzebub Prince of devils Art thou a blasphemer hast thou joyned with those in these sad times who have opened their mouths against the God of Heaven enough to make a Christian rend his heart and weep in blood why see now how Jesus for thy sake was judged of Caiaphas and all the Sanhedrim for a blasphemer of God and that in the highest kind of blasphemy
bottomless they pass our understandings yet they recreate our hearts they give matter of admiration yet they are not devoid of consolation O God raise up our souls to thee and if our Spirits be too weak to know thee make our affections ardent and sincere to love thee Surely the death of Christ requires this and calls for this many other motives we may draw from Christ and many other motives are laid down in the Gospel and indeed the whole Gospel is no other thing than a motive to draw man to God by the force of God's love to man in this sense the holy Scriptures may be called the book of true love seeing therein God both unfolds his love to us and also binds our love to him but of all the motives we may draw from Christ and of all the arguments we may find in the Gospel of Christ there is none to this the death of Christ the blood of Jesus is not this such a love-letter as never never was the like read the words For his great love wherewith he loved us Ephes 2.4 or if you cannot read observe the Hyeroglyphicks every stripe is a letter every nail is a capital letter every bruise is a black letter his bleeding wounds are as so many rubricks to shew upon record Oh consider it is not this a great love are not all mercies wrapt up in the blood of Christ it may be thou hast riches honours friends means Oh but thank the blood of Christ for all thou hast it may be thou hast grace and that is better than corn or wine or oyl Oh but for this thank the blood of Jesus surely it was the blood of Christ that did this for thee thou wast a rebellious soul thou hast an hard and filthy heart but Christ's blood was the fountain opened and it took away all sin and all uncleanness Christ in all and Christ above all and wilt thou not love him Oh that all our words were words of love and all our labour labour of love and all our thoughts thoughts of love that we might speak of love and muse of love and love this Christ who hath first loved us with all our heart and soul and might what wilt thou not love Jesus Christ let me ask thee then whom wilt thou love or rather whom canst thou love if thou lovest not him if thou sayest I love my Friends Parents Wife Children Oh but love Christ more than these a friend would be an enemy but that the blood of Christ doth frame his heart a Wife would be a trouble but that the blood of Christ doth frame her heart all mercies are conveyed to us through this channel Oh who would not love the Fountain consider of it again and again our Jesus thought nothing too good for us he parts with his life and blood he parts with the sense and feeling of the love of God and all this for us and for our sakes Ah my soul how shouldst thou but love him in all things and by all means It is reported of Ignatius that he so continually meditated on the great things Christ suffered for him that he was brought entirely to love him and when he was demanded why he would not forsake Christ rather than suffer himself to be torn and devoured of wild beasts he answered that he could not forget him because of his sufferings Oh his sufferings said he are not transcient words or removable objects but they are indelible characters so engraven in my heart that all the torments of earth can never raze them out And being commanded by that bloody Tyrant Trajane to be ript and unbowelled they found Jesus Christ written upon his heart in Characters of Gold Here was an heart worth Gold Oh that it might be thus with us If my hands were all of love that I could work nothing but love if my eyes were all of love that I could see nothing but love if my mind were all of love that I could think of nothing but love all were too little to love that Christ who hath thus immeasurably loved me if I had a thousand hearts to bestow on Christ and they most enlarged and scrued up to the highest pitch of affection all these were infinitely short of what I owe to my dread Lord and dearest Saviour Come let 's joyn hands He loved us and therefore let us love him if we dispute the former I argue from the Jews when he shed but a few tears out of his eyes at Lazarus's grave then said the Jews John 11.36 behold how he loved him John 11.36 how much more truly may it be said of us for whom he shed both water and blood and that from his heart Behold how he loved us why then if our hearts be not Iron yea if they be Iron how should they chuse but feel the magnetical force of this Loadstone of love for to a Loadstone doth Christ resemble himself when he saith of himself And I if I be lifted up from the earth John 12.32 will draw all men unto me SECT VII Of joying in Jesus in that Respect 7. LEt us joy in Jesus as carrying on the great work of Salvation in his sufferings and death what hath Christ suffered for us hath he drunk off all the cup of God's wrath and left none for us how should we be but cheered Precious souls why are you afraid there is no death no hell Rom. 8.1 no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus There is no divine justice for them to undergo that have their share in this death of Christ Oh the Grace and Mercy that is purchased by this means of Christ Oh the waters of comfort that flow from the sufferings and obedience of Christ Christ was amazed that we might be cheered Christ was imprisoned that we might be delivered Christ was accused that we might be acquitted Christ was condemned that we might be redeemed Christ suffered his Fathers wrath and came under it that the victory might be ours and that in the end we might see him face to face in glory is not here matter of Joy It may be the Law and sin and justice and conscience and death and hell may appear as enemies and disturb thy comforts but is there not enough in the blood of Christ to chase them away Give me Leave but to frame the objections of some doubting souls and see whether Christ's death will not sufficiently answer and solve them all 1. One cries thus Oh I know not what will become of me my sins are ever before me against thee thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight Psal 51.3 4. I have sinned against a most dear and gracious and merciful God and Father in our Lord Jesus O the aggravations of my sins are they not sins above measure sinful It may be so but the blood of Christ is a fountain opened for sins and for uncleanness in him we have redemption through his blood
even the forgiveness of sins Zach. 13.1 Eph. 1.7 Heb. 1.3 Heb. 9.26 Ver. 28. Levit. 16.21 22. He by himself purged our sins And now once in the end of the world hath he appeared put away sin by the sacrifice of himself And Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to bear away the sins of many As the Scape-coat under the Law had upon his head all the iniquities of the Children of Israel and so was sent away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness so the Lord Jesus of whom that Goat was a type had all the iniquities of his Elect laid upon him by God his Father and bearing them he took them away Behold the Lamb of God John 1.29 that taketh away the sins of the world he bore them and bore them away he went away with them into the wilderness or into the land of forgetfulness See what comfort is here 2. Another cries thus Oh I know not what will become of me the Law is mine enemy I have transgressed the Law and it speaks terribly Gal. 3.10 cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them Oh I have offended the Law and I am under the curse Say not so for by the death of Christ though the Law be broken yet the curse is removed the Apostle is clear Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law Gal. 3.13 being made a curse for us he was made a curse for us i.e. the fruits and effects of God's curse the punishment due to sinners the penal curse which justice required was laid upon Christ and by this means we are freed from the curse of the Law It is true that without Christ thou art under this Law Do or Die end if thou offendest in the least kind thou shalt perish for ever the curse of the Law is upon thee to the uttermost but on the other side if thy claim be right to the blood of Christ thou art freed from penalty not but that we may be corrected and chastised but what is that to the eternal curse which the Law pronounceth against every sin we are freed from the curse or damnatory sentence of the Law Rom. 8.1 There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus the Law is satisfied and the bond is cancelled by our Surety Christ O what comfort is this 3. Another cries thus Oh I know not what will become of me I have offended justice and what shall appeal from the seat of justice to the throne of grace my sins are gone before and they are knocking at heaven gates and crying justice Lord on this sinner I know not what will be the issue but either free Grace must save me or I am gone Say not so for by this death of Christ free grace and justice are both thy friends How e're some do yet certainly thou needs not to appeal from the court of justice to the Mercy-seat in this mystery of Godliness there may be as much comfort in standing before the Bar of justice as at the Mercy-seat i.e. by standing therein and through the Lord Jesus Christ yea this is the Gospel-way to go to God the Father and to tender up to him the active and passive righteousness of Christ his Son for an atonement and satisfaction for our sins in this way is the comfort of justification brought if we go to God in any other way than this it is but in a natural way and not in a true Evangelical way A man by nature may know thus much that when he hath sinned he must seek unto God for mercy but to seek unto God for pardon with a price in our hands to tender up the merits of Jesus Christ for a satisfaction to Divine justice here is the mystery of Faith and yet I speak not against relying on God's mercy for pardon but what need we to appeal from justice to mercy when by faith we may tender the death of Christ and so find acceptance with the justice of God it self come soul and let me tell thee for thy comfort if thou hast any share in the death of Christ thou hast two tenures to hold thy pardon and salvation by Mercy and justice free-grace and righteousness mercy in respect of thee and justice in respect of Christ not only is free-grace ready to acquit thee but a full price is laid down to discharge thee of all thy sins so that now when the Prince of this World comes against thee thou mayest say in some sense as Christ did He can find nothing in me for how can he accuse me seeing Christ is my Surety seeing the bond hath been sued and Christ Jesus would not leave one farthing unpaid as Paul said to Philemon concerning Onesimus if he have wronged thee or owe thee any thing put it on my account so doth Christ say to God if these have wronged thy Majesty or owe thee any thing put it on me Paul indeed added I Paul have written it with mine own hand but Christ speaks thus Gen. 2.17 I Jesus have ratified and confirmed it with my own blood 4. Another cries thus Oh I know not what will become of me the first threat that ever was in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die now sits on my spirit methinks I see the grizly form of death standing before me Oh this is he that is the King of fears the chief of terrors the inlet to all those Plagues in another world and die I must there is no remedy Rom. 8.94 Oh I startle and am afraid of it And why so it is Christ that dyed and by his death he hath took away the sting of death that now the drone may hiss but cannot hurt come meditate much upon the death of Christ and thou shalt find matter enough in his death for the subduing of thy slavish fears of death both in the merit of it in the effect of it and in the end of it 1. In the merit of it Christ's death is meritorious and in that respect the writ of mortallity is but to the Saints a writ of ease a passage into Glory 2. In the effect of it Christs death is the conquest of death Christ went down into the grave to make a back-door that the grave which was before a prison might now be a thorough-fare so that all his Saints may with ease pass through and sing O death where is thy sting Heb. 2.14 15. Oh hell where is thy victory 3. In the end of it Chri'sts death amongst other ends aims at the ruine of him that had the Power of death that is the Devil and to deliver them who through fear of death were all their life time in bondage Christ pursued this end in dying to deliver thee from the fear of death and if now thou fearest thy fearing is a kind of
making Christ 's death of none effect O come and with joy draw water out of this well of Salvation Isa 12.3 5. Another cries thus Oh I know not what will become of me the very thoughts of hell seem to astonish my heart methinks I see a little peep-hole down into hell and the devil roaring there being reserved in chains under darkness untill the judgment of the great day and methinks I see the damned flaming and Judas and all the wicked in the world and they of Sodom and Gomorrah there lying and roaing and gnashing their teeth now I have sinned and why should not I be damned Oh why should not the wrath of God be executed on me yea even upon me I answer the death of Christ acquits thee of all Rom. 20.6 Blessed is he that hath a part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power Christ's death hath took away the pains of the second death yea pains and power too for it shall never oppress such as belong to Christ If Hell and Devils could speak a word of truth they would say Comfort your selves ye believing souls we have no power over you for the Lord Jesus hath conquered us and we have quite lost the cause Paul was very confident of this and therefore he throws down the Gauntlet and challengeth a dispute with all commers Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect Rom. 8.33 34. it is God that justifieth who is he that condemneth it is Christ that dyed let sin and the law and justice and death and hell yea and all the Devils in Hell unite their forces this one argument of Christ's death it is Christ that dyed will be enough to confute and confound them all Come then and comfort your selves all believers in this death of Christ what do you believe and are you confident that you do believe why then do you sit drooping What manner of communications are these that you have as ye walk and are sad Luke 24.17 Away away dumpishness despair disquietness of spirit Christ is dead that you might live and be blessed in this respect every thing speaks comfort if you could but see it God and men heaven and earth Angels and devils the very justice of God it self is now your friend and bids you go away comforted for it is satisfied to the full Heaven it self waits on you and keeps the dores open that your souls may enter We have boldness saith the Apostle to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Heb. 10.20 by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh Christ's death hath set open all the golden gates and dores of glory and therefore go away chearily and get you to heaven and when you come there be discouraged or discomforted if you can O my soul I see thou art pouring on sin on thy crimson sins and scarlet sins but I would have thee dwell on that crimson scarlet blood of Christ Oh it is the blood of sprinkling it speaks better things than the blood of Abel it cryes for mercy and pardon and refreshing and salvation thy sins cry Lord do me justice against such a soul but the blood of Christ hath another cry I am abased and humbled and I have answered all Methinks this should make thy heart leap for joy Oh the honey the sweet that we may suck out of this blood of Christ come lay to thy mouth and drink an hearty draught it is this spiritual wine that makes merry the heart of man and it is the voice of Christ to all his guests Eat O friends Cant. 5.1 drink yea drink abundantly O beloved SECT VIII Of calling on Jesus in that respect 8. LEt us call on Jesus or on God the Father in and through Jesus 1. We must pray that all these Transactions of Christ in his sufferings and death may be ours if we direct our prayers immediately to Jesus Christ let us tell him what anguish and pains he hath suffered for our sakes and let us complain against our selves Oh what shall we do who by our sins have so tormented our dearest Lord what contrition can be great enough what tears sufficiently expressive what hatred and detestation equal and commensurate to those sad and heavy sufferings of our Jesus And then let us pray that he would pity us and forgive us those sins wherewith we crucified him that he would bestow on us the vertue of his sufferings and death that his wounds might heal us his death might quicken us and his blood might cleanse us from all our spiritual filth of sin and lastly that he would assure us that his death is ours that he would perswade us That neither death nor life nor Angels Rom. 8.38 39. nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature should be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 2. We must praise the Lord for all these sufferings of Christ Hath he indeed suffered all these punishments for us Oh then what shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits upon us what shall we do for him who hath done and suffered all these things but especially if we believe our part in the death of Christ in all the vertues benefits victories purchases and priviledges of his precious death oh then what manifold cause of thankfulness and praise is here be enlarged O my soul sound forth the praises of thy Christ tell all the world of that warmest love of Christ which flowed with his blood out of all his wounds into thy spirit tune thy heart-strings aright and keep consort with all the Angels of Heaven and all his Saints on earth sing that Psalm of John the Divine Rev. 1.5 6. Vnto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen SECT IX Of conforming to Jesus in that respect 9. LEt us conform to Jesus in respect of his sufferings and death looking unto Jesus is effective of this objects have an attractive power that do assimulate or make like unto them I have read of a woman that by fixing the strength of her imagination upon a Blackamore on the wall she brought forth a black and swarthy child And no question but there is a kind of spiritual-imaginative of power in faith to be like to Christ by looking on Christ come then and let us look on Christ and conform to Christ in this respect In this particular I shall examine these Queries 1. Wherein we must conform 2. What is the cause of this conformity 3. What are the means of this conformity as on our parts For the first wherein we must conform I answer we must conform to Christ
suffered 5. For what end he suffered 6. With what mind he suffered Every one of these will make some discoveries either of his Graces or of his gracious actings in our behalf and who can tell how far this very Look may work on us to change us and transform us into the very image of Jesus Christ 3. Let us humbly bewail our defect exorbitancy irregularity and inconformity either to the graces sufferings or death of Christ As thus Lo here the profound humility wonderful patience fervent love abundant mercy admirable meekness constant obedience of Jesus Christ Lo here the tortures torments agonies conflicts extream sufferings of Christ for the spiritual immortal good of the preciouâ— souls of his redeemed ones Lo here the death of Christ see how he bowed the head and gave up the Ghost why these are the particulars to which I should conform But Oh alas what a wide vast utter distance disproportion is there betwixt me and them Christ in his sufferings shined with graces his graces appeared in his sufferings like so many stars in a bright winter's night but how dim are the faint weak Graces in my Soul Christ in his sufferings endured much for me I know not how much by thine unknown sorrows and sufferings felt by thee ' but not distinctly known to us said the ancient Fathers of the Greek Church in their Liturgy have mercy upon us and save us his sorrows and sufferings were so great that some think it dangerous to define them but how poor how little are my sufferings for Jesus Christ I have not yet resisted unto blood and if I had what were this in comparison of his extream sufferings Christ in his sufferings died his passive obedience was unto death even to the death of the Cross he hung on the Cross till he bowed his head and gave up the Ghost Rom. 6.10 he died unto sin once But alas how do I live in that for which he died To this day my sin hath not given up the Ghost to this day the death of Christ is not the death of my sin O my sin is not yet crucified the heart-blood of my sin is not yet let out Oh wo is me how unanswerable am I to Christ in all these respects 4. Let us quicken provoke and rouze up our Souls to this conformity let us set before them exciting Arguments ex gr The greatest glory that a Christian can attain to in this world is to have a resemblance and likeness to Jesus Christ Again the more like we are to Christ the more we are in the love of God and the better he is pleased with us It was his voice concerning his Son This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and for his sake if we are but like him he is also well pleased with us Again a likeness or resemblance of Christ is that which keeps Christ alive in the world As we say of a child that is like his Father This man cannot die so long as his Son is alive So we may say of Christians who resemble Christ that so long as they are in the world Christ cannot die he lives in them and he is no otherwise alive in this nether world than in the hearts of Gracious Christians that carry the picture and resemblance of him Again a likeness to Christ in his death will cause a likeness to Christ in his Glory If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death Rom. 6.5 we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection As it is betwixt the Graft and the Stock the Graft seeming dead with the Stock in the winter it revives with it in the Spring after the Winter's death it partakes of the Spring 's resurrection so it is betwixt Christ and us if with Christ we die to sin we shall with Christ be raised to Glory being conformed to him in his death we shall be also in his resurrection Thus let us quicken and provoke our souls to this conformity 5. Let us pray to God that he will make us conformable to Jesus Christ Is it Grace we want let us beg of him that of that fulness that is in Christ we may in our measure receive grace for grace Is it patience or joy in sufferings that we want let us beg of him that as he hath promised he will send us the comforter that so we may follow Christ chearfully from his cross to his crown from earth to heaven Is it mortification our souls pant after this indeed makes us most like to Christ in his sufferings and death why then pray we for this mortification But how should we pray I answer 1. Let us plainly acknowledge and heartily bemoan our selves in God's bosom for our sins our abominable sins 2. Let us confess our weakness feebleness and inability in our selves to subdue our sins we have no might may we say against this great company that come against us 2 Chr. 20.12 neither know we what to do but our eyes are upon thee 3. Let us put up our request begging help from heaven let us cry to God that vertue may come out of Christ's death to mortifie our Lusts to heal our Natures to stanch our bloody issues and that the Spirit may come into helps us in these works Rom. 8.13 for by the Spirit do we mortifie the deeds of the body 4. Let us press God with the merits of Christ and with his promises through Christ for he hath said Sin shall not have dominion over us for we are not under the Law but under Grace Rom. 6.14 Rom. 8.2 and Paul experienced it The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ hath freed me from the Law of sin and death 5. Let us praise God and thank God for the help already received if we find that we have gotten some power against sin that we have gotten more ability to oppose the lusts of the flesh that we are seldom overtaken with any breaking forth of it that we have been able to withstand some notable temptations to it that the force of it in us is in any measure abated that indeed and in truth vertue is gone out of the death of Christ Oh then return we praises to God let us triumph in God let us lead our captivity captive and sing new songs of praises unto God and even ride in triumph over our corruptions boasting our selves in God and setting up our Banners in the name of the most High and offering up humble and hearty thanks to our Father for the death of Christ and for the merit vertue and efficacy of it derived unto us and bestowed upon us 6. Let us frequently return to our looking up unto Jesus Christ to our believing in Christ as he was lifted up How we are to manage our Faith to draw down the vertue of Christ's death into our souls I have discovered before and let us now be in the practice of those rules certainly
cancelling of the bond so the payment was wrought by Christ's death and the cancelling of the Bond was at his resurrection I shall not disprove either of these I am sure this is without all controversie that Christ rose that it might fully appear that now the Bond was cancelled and Gods Justice satisfied 4. That he might overcome and conquer sin death and devil and hence the Apostle cryes victory upon the occasion of Christ's resurrection 1. Cor. 15.55 O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory now was the day that he broke the prison and carryed the keys of death and hell at his own girdle now was the day that he spoiled Principalities and Powers that he troad on the Serpents head and all-to-bruised it that he came upon him took from him his armour wherein he trusted and divided his spoyles now was the day that the Jew lost his rage and death his sting and the grave his corruption and Hell his purchase now was the day of his victory over all his enemies now was the day that the Phaenix sprung up out of its own ashes that Jonas came safe out of the belly of the whale that the Tabernacle of David that was fallen was raised again that the Son of righteousness covered with a cloud appeared and shone with greater lustre than before that Sampson took the gates of the City and carryed them away He arose even upon that account 1 Cor. 15.20 5. That he might become the first-fruits of them that slept Christ is called the first-fruits in a double respect 1. In respect of the day whereon he rose Paul was an excellent critick the very feast carryed him to the word as the day of his passion was the day of the passeover and the Apostle thence could say Christ is our passeover 1 Cor. 15.7 1 Cor. 5.7 1 Cor. 15.20 Lev. 22.10 11. So the day of Christ's rising was the day of the first-fruits and the Apostle thence could say Christ is our first-fruits Concerning this feast of the first fruits we read Lev. 22.10 11. It was their first harvest of their basest grain Barley but the full harvest of their best grain of Wheat was not till pentecost Now upon this day the morrow after the Sabbath the beginning of their first harvest when the sheaf of their first-fruits was brought unto the Priest and waved before the Lord Christ arose from the dead and in this respect Paul calls him the first fruits of them that sleep of all the Saints 1 Cor. 15.20 He arose first as on this day for the full Harvest is not till doomes-day the general Resurrection day 2. he is called the first-fruits in respect of them whom he thereby sanctified for as an handful of the first-fruits sanctified the whole Field of corn that was growing so Jesus Christ the first-fruits of the dead sanctifies all those who are lying in the grave to rise again by his Power even when they are in the dust of death 1 Cor. 15.17 28. If Christ be not risen saith the Apostle ye are yet in your sins But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that sleep 6. That being formerly abased as a servant and crucified as a sinner he might thus be declared to be the Son of God and exalted to be a Prince and Saviour of men and so his name might be glorified of all the World He was made of the Seed of David according to the flesh Rom. 1.3 4. and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection from the dead It was of necessary consequence that he that was so humbled must be thus exalted therefore will I divide him a portion with the great Isa 53.12 and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he hath poured out his soul unto death agreeable to which is that of Christ Thus it is written and thus it behooved Christ to suffer Luke 24.46 and to rise from the dead the third day When Peter was Preaching Christ to the high Priest and councel that condemned him to death he told them that the God of our Fathers hath raised up Jesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour Act. 5.30 31. Phil. 2.8.9 and suitable to this is that of Paul he humbled himself and became obedient to the death even to the death of the Cross wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name It was for his own glory and his Fathers glory that he should rise again from the dead 1 Pet. 1.21 Phil. 2.11 God raised him up from the dead and gave him glory and he was therefore exalted that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Of all the reasons of Christ's resurrection we must look upon this as the main for as he hath made all things for himself so he hath done all things for his own glory Rom. 6.4 Christ was raised up from the dead saith the Apostle by the glory of the Father By the glory or to the glory or for the glory of himself and of his Father SECT III. Of the manner of Christ's Resurrection 3. HOw he rose for the manner of his resurrection we may consider in it these particulars 1. That Christ rose again as a common Person he stood in our stead and therefore when he rose from death we and all the Church of Christ rose together with him and in him We have formerly observed that Christ took upon him the Person of no man he took only the nature of man into the union of the second Person that so he might dye and rise again not as a Particular but a common Person that he might be as a representative in our room and stead that he might be as a Spiritual head and as the second Adam who could infuse life into all his members In this respect the Apostle makes comparison betwixt Adam and Christ now Adam we know was reckoned before his fall as a common publick Person not standing singly or alone for himself but as representing all mankinde to come of him so Jesus Christ is reckoned to us both before his death and in his death and after his death as a common publick Person not living dying or rising again singly or alone for himself but as representing all the believers in the world and hence it is that Adam is called the first man 1 Cor. 15.47 and Jesus Christ is called the second man as if there never had been nor ever should be any more men in the world save only these two and why but because these two between them had all the rest of the Sons of men hanging at their girdles Adam had all the Sons of men born into this world called
Luke Theoph. super Luk. who out of his modesty concealed his own name saith Theophilact 5. He appeared unto the ten Apostles when the doors were shut Some controversie there is in this because the Evangelist saith expresly Luke 24.33 ver 36. John 20.24 that the eleven Disciples were gathered together and as they spake Jesus himself stood in the midst of them Now Judas was hanged and Matthias was not elected and Thomas Didimus was not with them when Jesus came how then could he appear to eleven Apostles considering at at this time there were but eleven in all Some say it is a certain number put for an uncertain Others say that the eleven might be together when the two Disciples came and when Jesus came Thomas might be absent and gone from amongst them And if the Text be viewed well there is no contradiction in this saying But I must not dwell on controversial points 6. He appeared to all the Disciples and Thomas was with them John 20.26 and then he shewed them his wounds to strengthen the weak faith of his wavering servants Thomas would not have believed unless he had seen and therefore Christ shews him the wounds of his body that he might cure the wounds of Thomas's unbelieving soul 7. He appeared to Peter and John and James and Nathaniel and Didimus John 21.2 and two other Disciples when they were a fishing at the sea of Tiberias there he proved the verity of his Deity by that miracle of the fishes and the verity of his humanity by eating meat with them ver 14. And this was the third time that he shewed himself publickly and solemnly unto all or to the most part of his Disciples 8. He appeared unto more than five hundred brethren at once of this we read not in the Evangelists but the Apostle Paul records it 1 Cor. 15.6 after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once of whom the greater part remain unto this present but some are fallen asleep 9. He appeared unto James the Brother of the Lord i.e. the Cozen-german of Christ according to the Flesh he was called James the just in regard of his upright and innocent life Jerome in his Book De viris illustribus tells us that afore Christ's death this James made a vow that he would eat no bread till Christ were risen again from the dead and now Christ appearing to him he commanded Bread and Meat to be set on the table saying to James O my brother now rise and eat for now I am risen again from the dead Of this Apparition Paul makes mention 1 Cor. 15.7 After that he was seen of James 10. He appeared to the eleven Disciples on Mount Tabor in Galilee And this Matthew intimates when Jesus bade the woman tell his Brethren that he was risen and that they should go into Galilee and there they should see him Mat. 28.10 16 17. and accordingly in that Mountain where Jesus had appointed them they saw him and worshipped him 11. He appeared to all his Apostles and Disciples upon Mount Olivet by Jerusalem when in the presence of them all he ascended up into Heaven This mountain is expressed by Luke when after Christs ascension it is said Acts. 1.12 that the Disciples returned back to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet 12. He appeared unto Paul travelling unto Damascus This indeed was after his forty dayes abode upon the earth And yet this Paul mentions amongst the rest of his apparitions and last of all he was seen of me also 1 Cor. 15.8 as of one born out of due time My meaning is not to speak of all these Apparitions in order for of some of them we are neither assured of the order nor of the time But of the most considerable and most edifying we shall treat SECT V. Of Christ's Apparition to Mary Magdalen ON the first day were many Apparitions But I shall speak only to one or two as related by the Evangelist John 1. Christ appeared unto Mary Magdalen apart The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalen early when it was yet dark unto the Sepulchre John 20.1 and seeth the stone taken away from the Sepulchre she came whiles it was yet dark she departed from home before day and by that time she came to the Sepulchre the Sun was about to rise thither come she finds the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus gone upon this she runs to Peter and John and tells them they have taken away the Lord out of the Sepulchre and we know not where they have laid him Then Peter and John ran as fast as they could to see they looked into the Sepulchre and not finding the body there they presently returned By this time Mary Magdalen was come back and howsoever the Disciples woulâ— not stay yet she was resolved to abide by it and to see the issue We find this apparition for our further assurance compassed and set about with each needful circumstance here 's the time when the place where the persons to whom the manner how â—e appeared together with the consequents after his apparition John 20.1 1. For the time when he appeared Now upon the first day of the week very early in the morning It was the first day of the week the next day to their Sabbath I shall speak more particularly to this in the next apparition and it was very early in the morning the appâ—rition was early but Maries seeking Christ was so early that it was yet dark she 's going to the grave when by course of nature she should have been in her bed she sought him early whom she loved intirely giving us to learn that we should seek Christ betimes Ecle s 12.1 even in the dayes of our youth that in these first dayes of the week we should riâ—e up early to enquire after Christ they that will not seek Christ until they have given over seeking other things may justly fear to miss Christ First seek the kingdom of God Mat. â— 33 and his righteousness and then saith Christ all other things shall be added unto you 2. For the place where he appeared it was in the garden where Christ was buried in a garden Adam first sinned in a garden Christ first appeared in a garden death first was threatened and deserved and in a garden life is restored and conferred upon us Christ makes choice of a garden both for his grave and resurrection and first apparition to tell us where we might seek him if we have lost him My beloved is gone down into his garden to the beds of spices to feed in the gardens and to gather lillies that is Jesus Christ is to be sought and found in the particular assemblies of his people Cant. 6.2 they are the garden of his pleasure wherein are varieties of all the beds of renewed souls there he walkes and there he feeds and there he solaceth
Solomon answers that white is the colour of joy Let thy garments be alwayes white and let thy head lack no ointment Eccles 9.8 Mark 9.3 Rev. 7.9 When Christ was transfigured his Rayment was all white no Fuller in the earth could come near it and the Saints in Heaven are said to walk in white Robes And here the Angels are in white to signifie the joy they had in Christ's resurrection from the dead But 4. Why are they one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had layen Some answer that as Mary Magdalen had anointed his head and feet so at those two places the two Angels sit as it were to acknowledg so much for her sake Others think it speaks comfort to every one of us if we are but in Christ we shall go to our graves in white and lye between two Angels who are said to guard our Bodies even dead and to present them alive again at the day of the resurrection But in this apparition we see further a question and answer 1. The Angels question Mary Woman why weepest thou May I paraphrase upon these words it is as if they had said O Mary what cause is there for these tears where Angels rejoyce it agrees not that a woman should weep thou couldst before with a manly courage arm thy feet to run among swords when thou camest to the grave and art thou now so much a woman that thou canst not command thine eyes to forbear tears O woman why weepest thou If thy Christ were here in his grave under this Tomb-stone we might think thy sorrow for the dead enforced thy tears but now that thou findest it a place of the living why dost thou stand here weeping dead for if thy tears be tears of love as thy love is acknowledged so let these tears be suppressed if thy tears be tears of anger they should not here have been shed where all anger was buried if thy tears be tears of sorrow and duties to the dead they are bestowed in vain where the dead is now revived and therefore O woman why weepest thou would our eyes be dry if such eye-streames were behoveful for us did not Angels alwayes in their visible resemblances represent their Lords invisible pleasure shadowing their shapes in the drifts of his intentions As for instance when God was incensed they brandished swords when he was appeased they sheathed them in scabbards when he would defend they resembled Souldiers when he would terrifie they took terrible forms and when he would comfort they carried mirth in their eyes sweetness in their countenance mildness in their words savour and grace and comeliness in their presence why then dost thou weep seeing us to rejoyce dost thou imagine us to degenerate from our nature or to forget any duty whose state is neither subject to change nor capable of the least offence art thou more fervent in thy love or more privy to the counsel of our eternal God than we that are daily attendants at his Throne of glory O woman why weepest thou Thus for Paraphrase Iohn 20.13 2. For her answer She saith unto them because they have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him Here was the cause of Mary's tears 1. They have taken away my Lord. 2. I know not where they have laid him q. d. He is gone without all hope of recovery for they but I know not who have taken him away but I know not whither and they have laid him but I know not where there to do him but I know not what O what a lamentable case is this she knows not whither to go to find any comfort her Lord is gone his life is gone his soul is gone his body is gone yea gone and carryed she knows not whither and do they ask her Woman why weepest thou why here 's the cause They have taken away my Lord i.e. the dead body of my Lord and I know not where they have laid him Where a little of Christ is left and that is lost it is a lamentable loss Mary had sometimes a possession of whole Christ she had his presence she heard his words she saw his divinity in his miracles and in casting seven devils out of her own Body but now she had lost all Christ his presence lost his preaching lost his divinity lost his humanity lost his soul lost and last of all his body lost O what lamentable loss was this Mary would now haven been glad of a little of Christ O ye Angels fill but her arms with the dead body of her Jesus and she will weep no more one beam of that Sun of righteousness would scatter all the clouds of Mary's grief Quest But doth Christ ever leave his totally Answ I answer not indeed but only in apprehension In desertions a Christian may to his own apprehension find nothing of Christ and this was the Case of Mary Magdalen or if Christ desert a soul indeed and truth for desertions are sometimes in appearance and sometimes real yet never doth he forsake his own both really and totally The Lord will not wholly forsake his people 1 Sam. 12.22 for his great Name sake the acts of his love may be withdrawn but his love is still the same it is an everlasting love those acts which are for well-being may be withdrawn Jer. 31.3 but his acts of love that are for being shall never be removed No such good things will God withhold from them that walk uprightly Or Christ may go away for a season Psal 84.11 Isa 54.7 8. John 14.18 but not for ever For a moment have I forsaken thee but with great mercies will I gather thee in a little wrath have I hid my face from thee for a moment but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord thy Redeemer It was Christ's promise to his Disciples I will not leave you comfortless or as Orphans but I will come again Though his compassions may be restrained yet they cannot be extinguished as the Sun sets to rise again and as the tender Mother layes down her Child to take it up again so deals Christ with his only for the present it is a sad thing O it is a lamentable thing to lose all Christ though but in our own apprehensions To hear Maries pitiful complaints They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid my Lord it would make a flint to weep methinks I hear her cryes O my Lord What 's become of Thee Time was that my Soul was an enclosed Garden and the chiefest of Ten Thousands did walk in the shadow of the Trees but now the Fence is down my Love is gone and Sharon is become a desart Time was that I sate at the Feet of my Lord and I received daily Oracles from his Mouth but now he hides himself and will not come at me I pray and he hears
not I hearken after him but he speaks not I call but he answers not O my Lord if I had never known thee I could have lived without thee but this is my misery not so much that I am without thee as that I have lost thee many are well without thee because they never enjoyed thee the children of beggars count it not their misery that they are not Princes but oh the grief when the children of Princes shall be turned to beggars O my Lord once I had thee but now I have lost thee yea I have lost thee every jot and piece and parcel of thee O ye Apostles Where is the dead body of my Lord O Sir Angel tell me if you saw his torn his macerated crucified body O grave O death shew me is there any thing of Christ's body though but a few dead ashes in your keeping no no all is gone I can hear nothing of what I would hear death is silent the graâ—e is empty the Angels say nothing to the purpose the Apostles are fled and they I know not who have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid him 2. After this Christ himself appears but first as unknown and then as known 1. As unknown She turned her self back and saw Jesus standing John 20.14 15. and knew not that it was Jesus Jesus saith unto her Woman Why weepest thou whom seekest thou she supposing him to be the Gardiner c. In this Apparition of Christ unknown I shall only take notice of Christ's queâ—â—ion anâ— Maries inquisition his question is in these words Woman Why weepest thou whom seekest thou 1. Why wâ—epest thou This very question the Angels asked her before and now Christ asks it again sure there is something in it and the rather we may think so because it is the first opening of his Mouth the first words that ever came from him after his rising again Some say that Mary Magdalen represents the state of all mâ—nkind before this day viz. One weeping over the grave of another as if there were no hope and now at his resurrection Christ comes in with weep not Woman Why weepest thou q. d. there is no cause of weeping now Lo I am risen from the dead and am become the first-fruits of them that sleep And yet we may wondâ—r at the question Why should Christ demand of Mary why she wept but a while since shâ— saw him hanging on a tree with his head full of thorns his eyes full of tears his ears full of blasphemies his mouth full of gall his whole person mangled and disfigured and doth he ask her Woman Why weepest thou scarce three dayes since she beheld his arms and legs racked with violent pulls his hands and feet bored with nails his side and bowels pierced with a spear his whole body torn with stripes and gored in blood and doth he ask her Woman Why weepest thou she saw him on the cross yielding up his soul and now she was about to anoint his body which was the only hope she had alive but his body is removed and that hope is dead and she is left hopeless of all visible help and yet doth he ask her Woman Why weepest thou O yes though it may be strange yet it is not a question without cause she weeps for him dead who was risen again from the dead she was sorry he was not in his grave and for this very cause she should have been rather glad she mourns for not knowing where he lay when as indeed and in truth he lay not any where he is alive and present and now talks with her and resolves to comfort her and therefore Woman Why weepest thou 2. Whom seekest thou she seeks Christ and Christ asks her Woman Whom seekest thou We may wonder at this also if she seek Christ Why doth she not know him or if she know Christ Why doth she seek him still O Mary Is it possible thou hast forgotten Jesus there is no part in thee but is busie about him thy eye weeps thy heart throbs thy tongue complains thy body faints thy soul languisheth and notwithstanding all this Hast thou now forgotten him What are thy sharp eyes so weak sighted that they are dazled with the Sun and blinded with the Light O yes a shower of tears comes betwixt her and him and she cannot see him or it may be Her eyes were holden that she should not know him Luke 24.16 or it may be he appeared 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in some other shape such as resemble the Gardiner whom she took him for howsoever it was She saw Jesus standing but knew not that it was Jesus and therefore saith Jesus to her Woman Why weepest thou whom seekest thou There is a double presence of Christ felt and not felt the presence felt is when Christ is graciously pleased to let us know so much and this is an heaven upon earth The presence not felt is that secret presence when Christ seems to draw us one way and to drive another way So he dealt with the Woman of Canaan he seemed to drive her away but at the same time he wrought in her by his Spirit an increase of faith and by that means drew her to himself Thus may a soul suppose Christ lost and seek and weep and weep and seek and yet Christ is present 2. For Maries enquiry She supposing him to be the Gardiner said unto him Sir If thou hast born him hence tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away In the words we may observe first her mistake 2. Her speech upon her mistake 1. Her mistake She supposing him to be the Gardiner O Mary hath Christ lived so long and laboured so much and shed so many showers of blood to come to no higher preferment than a Gardiner this was a very strange mistake and yet in some sence and a good sence too Christ might be said to be a Gardiner As 1. It is he that gardens all our souls that plants in them the seeds of righteousness that waters them with the dew of grace and makes them fruitful to eternal life 2. It is he that raised to life his own dead body and will turn all our graves into a garden-Plot Thy dead men shall live together Esa 26.19 with my dead body shall they arise awake and sing ye that dwell in dust for the dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead Besides there is a mystery in her mistake As Adam in the state of grace and innocency was placed in a garden and the first office allotted to him was to be a Gardiner so Jesus Christ appeared first in a garden and presents himself in a Gardiners likeness And as that first Gardiner was the Parent of sin the ruine of mankind and the Author of death so is this Gardiner the ransome for our sins the raiser of our ruines and the restorer of our
grace and mercy in Jesus Christ but he refuseth the offers he hears of the precious promises of God in Christ but he casts by all promises as things that are generally spoken and applyed by man but when the Lord comes in he speaks particularly to his very heart he meets with all his objections that he thinks this is the Lord and this is to me Thus Mary before heard the voice of an Angel and the voice of Christ woman why weepest thou it was a general voice no better title was then afforded but woman thou weepest like a woman O woman and too much a woman why weepest thou but now Christ comes nearer and he singles her out by her very name Mary Oh this voice came home he shewed now that he was no stranger to her he knew her by name as somtimes God spake to Moses thou hast found Grace in my sight I know thee by name so Christ speaks to Mary thou hast found grace in my sight I know thee by name Exod. 33..17 Why how should this voice be ineffectual Oh now it works now she knows Christ which before she did not and indeed this is the right way to know Christ to be first known of Christ But now saith the Apostle after that ye have known God and then he corrects himself Gal. 4.9 or rather are known of God for till he know us we shall never know him aright Now her dead spirits are raiâ—ed which before were benummed and no marvel that wi h a word he revive her spirits who with a word made the Wâ—rld and even in this very word shewed an omnipotent power The Gardiner had â—one his part â—aith one to making her all gâ—â—en on a sudden But even now her body seemed the hearse of her dead heart and her heart the coffin of her dead soul and see how quickly all is turned out and in a new world now Christ's resurrection is Mary Magâ—alens resurrection too on a sudden shâ— revives raised as it were from a dead and drooping to a lively and cheerful state â— She laid uâ—to him Rabboni which is to say Master As she was ravished with his voice so impatient of delay she takes his talk out of his mouth and to his first and only word she answered but one other Rabboni which is to say Master A wonder that in this verse but two words should pass betwixt them two but some give this reason that a sudden joy rouzing all her passions she could neither proceed in her own nor give him leave to go forward in his speech Love would have spoken but fear enforâ—ed silâ—â—ce hope framed words but doubt melts them in the passage her inward conceiâ—s served them to come out but then her voice trembled her tongue faultered her breath â—â—iled why such is the estate of them that are sick with a surfeit of sudden joyâ— her joy was so sudden that not a word more could be spoken but Rabboni which is to say Master Sudden joyes are not without some doubts or tremblings when Jacob heard that his son Joseph was alive Gen â—â— 26. Psâ—l 1.26.1 Acts 12.9 his heart fainted he was even astonished at so good a news when God restored the Jews out of captivity they could think of it no otherwise then as a dream when Peter was by an Angel delivered out of prison he took it only for a vision or apparition and not for truth when Christ manifested his resurrection to his Disciples Luke 24.41 it is said that for very joy they believed not their fears as it were kept back and questioned the truth of their joyes As in the Sea when a storm is over there remains still an inward working and volutation even so in the mind of man when its fears are blown over and there is a calm upon it there is still a motus trepidationis a motion of trembling or a kind of solicitous jealousie o what it enjoyes And this might be Mary Magdalens case though she suddenly answered Christ upon the first notice of his voice yet because the novelty was so strange his Person so changed his presence so unexpected and so many miracles were laid at once before her amazed eyes she found as it were a sedition in her thoughts her hope presumed best but her fear suspected it to be too good to be true and while these enterchange objections and answers she views him better but for the present cannot speak a word more save this Rabbony which is to say Master 5. For the consequents after this apparition Jesus saith unto her touch me not for I am not yet ascended to my Father John 20.17 but go to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and to your Father and to my God and your God In these words we may observe a prohibition and a command the prohibition touch me not the command but go to my brethren and say unto them c. 1. Touch me not It seems Mary was now fallen at his sacred feet she was now ready to kiss with her lips his sometimes grievous but now most glorious wounds Such is the nature of love that it covets not only to be united but if it were possible to be transformed out of it self into the thing it loveth Mary is not satisfied to see her Lord nor is she satisfied to hear her Lord but she must touch him embrace his feet and kiss them with a thousand kisses Oh how she hangs and clings about his feet or at least how she offers to make towards him and to fall upon him but on a sudden he checks her forwardness touch me not What a mystery is this Mary a sinner touched him and she being now a Saint may she not do so much she was once admitted to anoint â—is head and is she now unworthy to touch his feet what meant Christ to debar her of so desired a duty she had the fiâ—st sight of Christ and heard the first words of Christ after his resurrection and must she not have the priviledg of his first embracing there is something of wonder in these words and it puts many to a stand and many an interpretation is given to take off the wonder I shall tell you of some of them though for my pâ—rt I shall cleave only to the last 1. Some think that Mary not only essayed to kiss his feet but to desire the fulfilling of the promise of the Spirit of Christ this promise Christ made to his Disciples at his last supper John 6.7 I will send you the Comforter and she expected it to be now performed after his resurrection to which Christ answered Quia nondum sanctum spiritum miserat ideo a tactu suo Mariam prohibebat dicens nondum ascendi in calem unde ipse per me spiritum sanctum ad vos mittet Cyril l. 12. in Joha c. 50. that he would not then give the Spirit unto her for that as yet he was
this day and there will vertue come out of him It was Christ's care to wean Mary from the comfort of his external presence and to teach her how to embrace him by a true and lively faith he was not long to be seen in his visible shape being shortly to ascend unto his Father and therefore the main business was to learn that touch that would both continue and do her good to her souls health And I believe for this very cause Christ would not stay long with any of his Disciples at any time he only appeared to manifest himself and to prove his resurrection and then to wean tâ—em from all sensual and carnal touching he would quickly have been gone Observe that a Spitual touch of Christ by faith is that which Christ prefers before all touches it is the Apostles saying henceforth know we no man aftâ—r the flâ—sh yea though we ha e known Christ after the flesh yet now henceforth know we him no more The words have a double interpretation As 1. Henceforth know we him no more if we had any earthly carnal thoughts of Christ like unto the rest of the Jews that he as the King of Israel should begin an earthly Temporal Kingdom and that we should enjoy all manner of earthly carnal priviledges as honour riches power yet now we knoâ— him no more we have put off all such carnal imaginations of his Kingdom Or 2. Henceforth know we him no more we stand no longer affected towards Christ after any meerely humane civil or natural manner of affections such as those bear to him who conversed with him before his resurrection but altogether in a divine and Spiritual manner agreeable to the state of glory whereunto he is exalted Some vilified the Ministry of Paul below that of the rest of the Apostles because he had not been conversant with Christ in the flesh to which Paul answers away with this fleshly knowledg henceforth know we no man after the flesh our way to deal with Christ is in a Spiritual manner yea the blessing is upon this manner and not on that blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed It is said of Mary his mother that she had a double conception of Jesus Christ one in the womb of her body another in the womb of her soul the first indeed was more miraculous the second more benefical that was a priviledg singular to her self but this was her happiness common to all the chosen it is the work of the inward man that God accepts a Spiritual touch of Christ by faith is that which Christ prefers before all touches 2. But go to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God and your God this was the command of Christ instead of touching him she must go with a message to his Apostles and this was more beneficial both to her and them The first preacher of this resurrection besides the Angels was Mary Magdalen she that before had seven devils cast out of her had now the holy Spirit within her she that was but a woman is now by Christ made an Apostle Apostolorum Apostola the Apostles for to them she was sent and the message she was to deliver it was Christ's rising and ascending and what were they but the Gospel yea the very Gospel of the Gospel this was the first Sermon that ever was made by any mortals of Christ's resurrection and this her fact had some reference unto Eves fault a woman was the first messenger of this our joy because a woman was the first Minister of that our sorrow But what means he to speak of the ascension when as yet we are but upon the resurrection I suppose this was to prevent their mistake who might have thought if Christ be risen why then we shall have his company again as heretofore no saith Christ I am not risen to make any abode with you or to converse with you on earth as formerly my rising is in reference to my ascending look how the stars no sooner rise but they are immediatly in their ascendent so Christ no sooner risen but he is presently upon his ascending up But whither will he ascend to his Father and our Father to his God and our God Every word is a step or round of Jacobs ladder by which we may ascend up into heaven As 1. Father is a name of much good will there is in it bowels of compassion Oh what tenderness is in a Father and yet many a Father wants good means to express his good will unto his Child now therefore God is added that he may not be thought to be defective in that way Oh Blessed message this is the voice of a Father to his Son all that I have is thine Luke 15.31 Now if this Father be also God and if all that is God's to be also ours what can we desire more than all that God hath or all that ever God was worth Oh but here 's the question whether his Father and God be also ours that he is Christ s Father and Christ's God is without all question but that his Father should be our Father and that his God should be our God this were a Gospel indeed O then what a Gospel is this Go to my brethren and say unto them that our relations and interests are all but one the same Father that is mine is theirs and the same God that is mine is theirs his relations are made ours and our relations are made his interchangeably No wonder if Luther tells us that the best divinity lay in pronouns for as there is no comfort in heaven without God and no comfort in God without a Father so neither is there comfort in Father Heaven or God without ours to give us a property in them all O the blessed news that Christ tells Mary and that Mary tells us I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Oh what dull hearts have we that are not more affected with this blessed news no sooner was Christ risen from the dead but he takes care in all haste to appear to Mary and no sooner he appears to her but he sends her away in all haste to others go to my brethren and tell it them he would both have Mary and the rest of his Apostles to hear of his loving kindness betimes in the morning why alas they had for some dayes been amazed with sorrow and fear but now he provides for their joy and no sooner they heard the news but theâ— joy according to the joy in harvest and as men rejoyce when they divide they spoyl Christ's resurrection was a cause of unspeakable joy to them how is it that we hear the same glad tydings Isa 9.3 and yet we are no more affected with them come Christians sith the occasion extends to us and is of equal concernment to us let us tune our hearts to this key that as upon
with man I know no reason why we should exclude civil peace out of Christ's wish many many a promise and precept we have in the Word scattered here and there to this purpose Lev. 26.6 Job 5.23.24 And I will give peace in the land and ye shall lye down and none shall make you afraid and thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field and thou shalt know that thy Tabernacle shall be in peace Ier. 29.7 Heb. 12.14 and seek the peace of the City and pray unto the Lord for it for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace And follow peace and holiness without which no man shall see God Orbem pecatum was ever a clause in the prayers of the primitive Church Rom. 12.13 that the world might be quiet I am sure it is Christ's command if it be possible as much as lyeth in you live peaceably with all men 3. It speaks there peace among themselves peace one with another such is or should be the condition of the Church Jerusalem is builded as a City that is compact together Psal 122.3 or unity within it self the Apostle dwells in this unity there is one body Eph. 4.4 5 6. and one Spirit and one hope and one Lord and one faith and one baptism and one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all The Church is a Court whose very pillars are peace the building of Christianity knows no other material to work upon if we look upon the Church it self there is one body if upon the very soul of it there is one Spirit if upon the endowment of it there is one hope if upon the head of it there is one Lord if upon the life of it there is one faith if upon the door of it there is one Baptism if upon the Father so it there is one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all Mark 9.50 It was sometimes Christ's commands unto his Apostles have salt in your selves and have peace one with another and as a blessed effect of this salutation for I look upon them as words full of vertue the Apostles and Churches of Christ in primitive times kept a most sweet harmony the multitude of them that believed were of one heart Acts. 4.32 and of one soul 4. It speaks peace within peace of conscience the Apostles had exceedingly fallen from Christ one betrayed him and another denyed him but all run away and left him alone in the midst of all his enemies and yet to them he speaks this salutation peace be unto you I know not a better ground for comfort of poor humbled sinners than this is it may be you have dealt very unkindly with Jesus Christ you have forsook him denyed him forsworn him O but consider all this hindred not Christ's apparition to his Apostles he comes unexpected and quiets their spirits he stayes not till they had sued to him for mercy or pardon but of his meer love and free grace he speaks kindly to them all he stills the waves and becalmes their troubled Spirits working in them according to his words peace be unto you O the sweet of peace it is all wishes in one this little word is a breviary of all that is good what can they more than to have peace with God and peace with men and peace within Luke 2.14 sure there is much in it because Christâ— is so much upon it at his birth the Angels sung Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace at his baptism the form of a dove lighted upon him and what meant this but peace in his life the sort of integrity was his court and what was here but peace near his death he gives peace as a legacy to his Church Iohn 14.27 peace I leave with you my peace I give you at his resurrection his first salutation to his Apostles is a wish of peace peace be unto you what can I say more to make us in love with peace Ioh. 17.2021 why all Christ did and all Christ suffered was for peace Luke 19.42 he prayed for it neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me that they all may be one as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us And he wept for it if thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which do belong unto thy peace And he dyed to 〈…〉 but ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ for he is our peace Eph. 2 13 14. Of this we need no other proof or sign but that of the Prophet Jonah when the sea wrought and was tempestuous what shall we do unto thee said the Mariners that the sea may be calm unto us and he said take me up and cast me into the sea so shall the sea be calm Jona 1.11 12. when that great enmity was betwixt God and us what shall I do said God that my justice may be satisfied and my wrath appeased and that there may be a calm why take me said Christ and cast me forth into the sea let all thy waves and thy billows go over me make me a peace offâ—ring and kill me that when I am dead there may be a calm and when I am risen I may proclame it saying peace be unto you You hear what he said 3. What he shewed this is the next passage he shewed unto them his hands and his side I look upon this as a true and real manifestation of his resurrection And we find that without this Thomas professed he would never have believed except I shall see in his hands the print of the nayls and put my finger into the print of the nayls John 20.25 and thrust my hand into his side I will not believe But a question or two is here raised as whether these wounds and prints of the nayls spear can possibly agree with a glorified body and why Christ retained those wounds and prints for the first whether those prints could agree with a glorified boâ—y some affirm it with much boldness and they say that Christ not only retained those prints whilest he abode upon earth but now that he is ascended into heaven he still retains them for my part I dare not go so far because Scripture is silent but the day is a coming when we shall see Christ face to face and then we shall know the truth of this only I conceive that Christ's body yet remaining on earth was not entred into that fulness of glory as it is now in heaven and therefore he might then retain some skars or blemishes to manifest the truth of his resurrection unto his Disciples which are not agreeable to his state in heaven But this I deliver not as matter of Faith reasons are produced both
respects as Angels and men are called gods but simply absolutely essentially and without any restriction Sometimes we read in Scripture that Men or Angels Exod. 7.1 good and bad are called Gods And the Lord said to Moses see I have made thee a God to Pharoah And thou shalt be instead of God to Aaron Thus Nebuchadnezzer is called the mighty one Exod. 4.16 Ezek. 31.11 2 Cor. 4.4 Exod. 22.28 Psal 82.6 Psal 138.1 or the God of the Heathens and Satan is called the god of this world Thus Magistrates are called gods thou shalt not revile the gods I have said yee are gods Angels are called gods before the gods will I sing praises unto thee but in all these there is some restriction or improper speech Moses is called Pharoah's God and Aaron's God not absolutely but with restriction to Pharoah and Aaron Nebuchadnezzer is called the god of the heathen and Satan the god of this world not absolutely but with restriction to the heathen and this world Magistrates are called gods and good Angels are called gods Heb. 1.5 not absolutely but in respect of some offices or excellency which they partake of from God Only Jesus Christ is called God without any restriction Ver. 8 Rom. 8.32 and not only in respect of some office or similitude but absolutely essentially properly as being from all eternity God of God as being God of the substance of the Father before all worlds What is Christ only God as an Angel is God Joh. 2.16 1 John 5.20 I challenge here all blasphemers in the world Vnto which of the Angels said he at any time thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee Or unto which of the Angels said he at any time Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever or to which of the Angels said he at any time Thou art my Son my own Son my only begotten Son unto which of the Angels said he at any time this is the true God the great God who is over all God blessed for ever Amen Tit. 2.13 Rom. 9.5 unto which of the Angels are those divine Attributes given as of eternity immutability omnipotency omniscience omnipresence and yet are all these given to Christ for eternity I was set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the earth was for immutability Prov. 8.23 Heb. 1.15 Mat. 11.27 John 2.25 Mat. 28.20 thou art the same and thy years shall not fail For omnipotency all things are delivered unto me of my Father For omniscience he needed not that any should testifie of man for he knew what was in man For omnipresence lo I am with you alway unto the end of the world Men Brethren and Fathers I am forced to make this defence of the divinity of Christ because of the blasphemy of those Arians Photinians Eunomians now again raked out of hell O who would think that such a generation of men should be amongst us in this Island where the Gospel hath shined so brightly for so many years we maintain Christ is God and Christ is Lord we say with Thomas my Lord and my God Ah say blasphemers Christ is God and Christ is Lord as Magistrates and Angels are called Gods and Lords I hope I have said enough to difference betwixt Christ and them howsoever I conclude with the Apostle Though there be that are called Gods whether in heaven or in earth as there be Gods many and Lords many yet to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him 1 Cor. 8.5 6. 3. He acknowledgeth Christ to be his Lord and his God And Thomas answered and said unto him my Lord and my God Now his saith broke out from the things seen and felt he is raised up to believe things neither seen nor felt he sees the prints and skars in the manhood of Chrst and now he believes that Christ is God yea that Christ is his God my Lord and my God Observe here that faith gives the soul a propriety in God and Christ As God loves some with a special and peculiar love so faith answers God and Christ's particular love by a particular application my Lord and my God and my Christ Faith is an apropiating an applying an uniting grace in the actings of faith on God or on Christ as God we may observe these steps 1. It sees God in his Glory and Majesty in his Greatness and Goodness and all other his attributes it sees God as the infinite fountain of all good and it considers what an infinite dreadful thing it were to be separated from this God it sees God and the sight makes a deep impression on that very soul the love of that God is more to the soul than all the world and the least displeasure of that God is more trouble to that soul than all the miseries that all creatures under heaven are able to bring upon it 2. It discovers the reality of this Glory and Majesty of this greatness and goodness of God Before any faith is planted in a soul the very use of reason may come to understand much of God and Christ but in comparison it looks upon God and Christ as notions conceits and imaginary things only faith convinces the soul throughly of the certainty and truth of such things where true faith is the things we believe are more certain to us than things we see or feel or handle faith is so sure in its apprehensions of God and Christ that it will venture soul and body the loss of all upon that account it will bear any hardship yea it will venture the infinite loss of eternity upon them 3. It enables the soul to cast it self upon God in Christ for all the good and happiness it ever expects Alas saith the soul I have formerly rested on worldly things I looked upon them as the only real sure excellences that I had to enjoy but now I find they are vain things deceitful things no better than reeds of Egypt vanity of vanities and nothing is real sure excellent on this side God and Christ Cant. 6.2 and therefore I will rely upon him and none but him it is only God is an all-sufficient good it is only Christ that is the rock that will never fail on him will I role my self unto him will I make an absolute resignation of all I will betrust him with all I have and all I am I will commit all unto him for ever and ever 4. As faith relyes all upon God in Christ so it apropriates all God and all Christ unto it self I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine there is a mutual propriety betwixt Christ and the Church and betwixt Christ and the soul Christ hath a propriety in me Psal 73.35 and I have a peculiar propriety in Christ Christ is mine so as I have none in the world so mine whom have
that was against us and nailed to his cross now he spoiled Principalities and Powers and carried the keys of death and hell at his own girdle now he came out of the grave as a mighty Conqueror saying as Dehorah did in her song O my soul Judg. 5.21 thou hast trodden down strength thou hast marched valiantly Again was it not to become the first-fruits of them that sleep Christ was the first that rose again from the grave to dye no more and by vertue of his resurrection as being the first-fruits all the Elect must rise again As in Adam all dye even so in Christ shall all be made alive 1 Cor. 15.22 23. but every man in his own order Christ the first-fruits and afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming Some may wonder can the resurrection of one a thousand six hundred years ago be the cause of our rising yes as well as the death of one five thousand six hundred years ago is the cause of our dying Adam and Christ were two heads two roots two first-fruits either of them in reference to his company whom they stand for And now O my soul thou mayst say with Job I know that my Redeemer liveth Job 19.25 and that I shall see him at the last day not with other but with these same eyes If Christ live then must I live also if he be risen then though after my skin worms shall destroy this body Ver. 26. yet in my flesh I shall see God Again was it not that he might be declared to be the Son of God was it not that he might be exalted and glorified this is the main reason of all the rest see thou to this O give him the glory and praise of his resurrection so muse and meditate and consider on this transaction as to ascribe to his Name all honour and glory what is he risen from the dead Hath God highly exalted him Psal 2.11 and given him a name above every name O then let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father 3. Consider of the manner of Christ's resurrection he rose as a common person in which respect his resurrection concerns us no less than himself We must not think that when Christ was raised it was no more than when Lazarus was raised his resurrection was the resurrection of us all it was in the name of us all and had in it a seed-like vertue to work the resurrection of us all O the priviledge of this communion with Christ's resurrection if I believe this truly I cannot but believe the resurrection of my body and the life everlasting why Jesus Christ hath led the dance and though of my self I have no right to Heaven or Glory yet in Christ my Head I have as good right to it as any heir apparent to his lands 2. He rose by his own power and so did none but Jesus Christ from the beginning of the world it was never heard that any dead man raised himself Indeed one Instance we have that a dead mans Corps should raise up another dead man They cast the man into the Sepulchre of Elisha 2 King 13.21 and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet dead Elisha raised up a dead man from the grave but dead Elisha could not raise up himself from the grave only Christ arose himself and at the same time he raised many others and here was the argument of his God-head John 10.18 I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again how should we but trust him with our life who is the resurrection and the life He that believeth in him though he were dead yet shall he live O my soul he was able to raise himself much more is he able to raise thee up only believe and live for ever 3. He rose with an earthquake O the power of Christ in every passage what ayled thee O earth to skip like a Ram was not the new Tomb hewn out of a Rock and was not a great stone rolled to the door of the Sepulchre the ground wherein he lay was firm and solid Job 18.4 Psal 99.1 and shall the rock be removed out of his place O yes the Lord reigneth and therefore the earth is moved Oh what a rocky heart is this of mine how much harder is it than that rock that moves not melts not at the presence of God at the presence of the God of Jacob the Sun they say danced that morning at Christ's resurrection the earth I am sure then trembled and yet my heart is no way affected with this news I feel it neither dance for joy nor tremble for fear O my soul be serious in this meditation consider what a posture wouldst thou have been in if thou hadst been with those Souldiers that watched Christ so reallize this Earthquake as if thou now felt it trembling under thee 4. An Angel ministred to him at his resurrection An Angel came Mat. 28.2 and rolled back the stone from the door and sate upon it Angels were the first Ministers of the Gospel the first Preachers of Christ's resurrection they preached more of Christ than all the Prophets did they first told the woman that Christ was risen Luke 24.6 and they did the first service to Christ at his resurrection in rolling the stone from the doors mouth O my soul that thou wert but like these blessed Angels how is it that they are so forward in God's Service and thou art so backward One day thou expectest to be equal with the Angels and art thou now so far behind them What! to be equal in Reward and behind them in Service Here 's a Meditation able to check thy Sloath and to spur thee on to thy Duty 5. Many of the Bodies of the Saints arose out of their Graves at His Resurrection as the Angels ministred so the Saints waited on Him In this Meditation trouble not thy self whether David Moses Job Abraham Isaac and Jacob were some of those Saints as some conjecture upon some Grounds It is a better Consideration to look upon them as the Fruit of Christ's Resurrection and as an Earnest of thy Own The Vertue of Christ's Resurrection appears immediately and it will more appear at the general Resurrection Day As sure as these Saints arose with Him and went into the Holy City and appeared unto many so sure shall thy Body rise again at the Last Day and if thou art but a Saint it shall go with Him into the Heavenly Jerusalem and appear before God and His Son Jesus Christ in Glory 6. Christ rose again with a true and perfect Body with an Incorruptible and Powerful Body with a Spiritual and an Agile Body with a Glorious Body brighter than the Sun in his utmost Glory On these things may the Soul expatiate O it is a worthy blessed
soul-ravishing Subject to think upon and the rather if we consider that Conformity which we believe Phil. 3.20 21. We look for a Saviour saith the Apostle the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile Bodies that they may be fashioned unto His Glorious Body O my Soul that this Clay of thine should be a Partaker of such Glory That this Body of Dust and Earth should shine in Heaven like those Glorious Spangles of the Firmament that this Body that shall rot in Dust and fall more vile than a Carrion should rise and shine like the Glorious Body of our Saviour on Mount Tabor Surely thou owest much to Christ's Resurrection O consider of it till thou feellest the Influence and comest to the Assurance of this Blessed Change 4. Consider of the several Apparitions of Jesus Christ especially of those written by the Evangelist John As 1. Muse on His Apparition to Mary Magdalen Oh the Grief before He appeared And Oh the Joyes when He appeared 1. Before she apprehended nothing but that some or other had took away her Lord these were all the words she uttered before he appeared They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid Him so she told Peter and John And when Two Angels appeared in White asking her Woman Why weepest thou she gives the same Answer to them They have taken away my Lord and I know not where they have laid Him A Soul in desertion knows not what to do but to weep and cry Oh my Lord is gone I have lost my Lord my God my Jesus my King In this Meditation consider O my Soul as if thou hadst been in Maries Case Was it not a sad Case when the Angels of Heaven knew not how to comfort her Suppose any Son of Consolation had stood by and had such a one perswaded O Mary suppress thy Sadness refresh thy Heart with this Blessed Vision thou didst seek but One and thou hast found Two a dead Body was thy Errand and thou hast light on Two alive Thy Weeping was for a Man and thy Tears have obtained Angels Observe them narrowly the Angels invite thee to a Parley it may be they had some happy News to tell thee of thy Lord Remember what they are and where they sit and whence they come and to whom they speak they are Angels of Peace neither sent without Cause nor seen but of Favour they sit on the Tomb to shew they are no Strangers to thy Loss They come from Heaven from whence all happy News descendeth they speak to thy self as if they had some special Embassage to deliver unto thee No no these Cordials are in vain neither Man nor Angel can do her good or comfort her drooping Soul Either Christ Himself must come in Presence or she cryes Miserable Comforters are ye all Alas small is the Light that a Star can yield when the Sun is down A sorry Exchange it is to go gather Crumbs after the Loss of the Bread of Life Oh What can these Angels do They cannot perswade me that my Master is not lost for my own Eyes will disprove them They can less tell me where He may be found for they themselves would wait upon Him if they knew but where I am apt to think they know not where He is and therefore they are come to the Place where He last was making the Tomb their Heaven and the Remembrance of His Presence the Fewel of their Joy Alas What do Angels here I neither came to see them nor desire to hear them I came not to see Angels but the Creator of Angels to whom I owe more than both to Men and Angels 2. After He appeared she was filled with Joy for so it was that when nothing else would satisfie or comfort this poor Creature Jesus Himself appears At first He is unknown she takes him for the Gardiner of the place but within a while he utters a voice that opens both her ears and eyes And Jesus saith unto her Mary It was the sweetest sound that ever she heard many a time had she been called by that name but never heard she a voice so effectual powerful inward feeling as at this time hereby the cloud is scattered and the Sun of Righteousness appears this one word Mary lightens her eyes dryes up her tears chears her heart revives her spirits that were as good as dead One word of Christ wrought so strange an alteration in her as if she had been wholly made new when she was only named And hence it is that being ravished with his voice and impatient of delayes she takes his talk out of his mouth and to his first and only word Mary she answers Rabboni which is to say Master q. d. Master is it thou with many a salt tear have I sought thee and art thou unexpectedly so near at hand thy absence was hell and thy presence is no less than heaven to me Oh how is my heart ravished at thy sound if the babe leaped in the womb of Elizabeth when she but heard the salutation of Mary how should my heart but leap at thy salutation I feel I am exceedingly transported beyond my self Instead of my heavy heart and troubled spirit I feel now a sweet and delightful Tranquility of mind thou art my solace and souls delight whom have I in heaven but thee and whom desire I upon earth in comparison of thee and yet I am not satisfied not only fruition of thee but union with thee is that which my soul longs after not only thy presence but thy embraces or my embraces of thee can give content come then and give me leave my Lord my God to run to the haunt of my chief delights to fall at thy sacred feet and to bathe them with my tears of joy O my Jesus I must needs deal with thee as the Spouse dealt with thee Now I have found thee whom my soul loves dearly I will hold thee Cant. 3.4 and I will not let thee go I know not in all the Book of God a soul more depressed with sorrow and lifted up with joy O meditate on this if Christ be absent all is night but if Christ appear he turns all again into a lightsome day there is no sorrow like that which apprehends Christ's loss and therefore in hell it is looked upon as the greatest pain of the two say Divines it is a greater torment to lose God and to lose Jesus Christ than to endure all those flaming whips unquenchable fires intollerable cold abominable stench and on the other side there is no joy in heaven like to that which apprehends Christ's presence In thy presence there is fulness of joy Psal 16.11 and at thy right hand there are pleasures evermore I had rather be in hell with Christ said one than in heaven without Christ This is the very top of heavens joy the quintessence of glory the highest happiness of the Saints O my soul seek with
obedience and death depends upon Christ's resurrection for then it was that Christ himself was justified and then he was justified as a common person representing us therein so that we were then justified with him and in him and we are said to be risen with him and to sit with him in heavenly places Burges one admirably judicious saith that justification is given to Christ's resurrection as a priviledge flowing from its efficient cause Indeed Christ's death is the meritorious cause of our justification but Christ's resurrection is in some sence saith he the efficient cause because by his rising again the Spirit of God doth make us capable of justification and thâ—n bestoweth it on us I know there is some difference amongst these Worthies but they all agree in this that the resurrection of Christ was for our justification and that by the resurrection of Christ all the merits of his death were made appliable unto us As there was a price and ransome to be paid by Christ for the redemption of man so it was necessary that the fruit effect and benefit of Christ's redemption should be applied and conferred now this work of application and actual collation of the fruit of Christ's death began to be in fieri upon the resurrection day but it was not then finished and perfected for to the consummation thereof the Ascension of Christ the Mission of the holy Ghost Apostolical preaching of the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles the Donation of Heavenly grace and Christ's Intercession at the right hand of God were very necessary 1 Cor. 15.17 O the benefit of Christ's resurrection as to our justification If Christ be not risen again ye are yet in your sins and your faith is in vain Remission of sin which is a part of our justification though purchased by Christ's death yet could not he applied to us or possibly be made ours without Christ's resurrection and and in this respect oh how desirable is it Eph. 2.5 6. 2. He rose again for our sanctification So the Apostle He hath quickened us together with Christ and hath raised up together with Christ Our first resurrection is from Christ's resurrection if you would know how you that were blind in heart uncircumcised in spirit utterly unacquainted with the life of God are now light in the Lord affecting heavenly things walking in righteousness it comes from this blessed resurrection of Jesus Christ we are quickened with Christ it is Christ's resurrection that raised our souls Rom. 6.11 being stark dead with such a resurrection as that they shall never die more Whence the Apostle Reckon your selves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are dead to sin and alive unto God by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we may reckon thus for our selves that if we be in Christ there comes a vertue from Christ an effectual working of Christ by his Spirit into our hearts and it is such a work as will conform us to Christ dead and to Christ risen why reckon thus saith the Apostle go not by guess and say I hope it will be better with me than it hath been no no but reckon Rom. 6.4 conclude make account I must live to God I must live the life of grace for Christ is risen To the same purpose he speaks before Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life Christ rose again to a new life and herein his resurrection differed from the resurrection of those others raised by him as of Lazarus Jairus Daughter the Widow of Naims Son for they were but raised to the same life which formerly they lived but Jesus Christ was raised up to a new life and according to this exâ—mplar we should now walk in newness of life this is the end of Christ's resurrection that we should be new creatures of new lives new principles new conversations he rose again for our sanctification 3. He rose again for our resurrection to eternal life Christ is the patern and pledg and cause of the resurrection of our bodies for since by man came death by man came also the resurrection of the dead for as in Adam all dye 1 Cor. 15.21 22 even so in Christ shall all be made alive There is a vertue flowing from Christ to his Saints by which they shall be raised up at the latter day as there is a vertue flowing from the head to the members or from the root to the branches so those that are Christ's shall be raised up by Christ 1 John 5.28 29. Not but that all the wicked in the world shall be raised again by the power of Christ as he is a judg for all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and they shall come forth yet with this difference they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation In this respect the Saints shall have a peculiar resurrection and therefore they are called the Children of the resurrection because they shall obtain a better resurrection Luke 20.36 Heb. 11.35 as the Apostle calls it And is not Christ's resurrection desirable in this very respect if we should think these bodyes of ours being dust must never return from their dusts it might discourage but here is our hope Christ is risen and therefore we must rise it is the Apostles own argument against those that held there was no resurrection of the dead why saith the Apostle if there be no resurrection of the dead 1 Cor. 15.12 13 16 20. then is not Christ risen If the dead rise not then is not Christ raised But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that sleep he argues plainly that Christs resurrection is the principal efficient cause of the resurrection of the just I am the resurrection and the life saith Christ i.e. I am the Author John 11.25 John 5.21 and worker of the resurrection to life As the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them even so the Son quickeneth whom he will and hence it is that Christ is called a quickning Spirit Christ is the head and stock of all the Elect Christ is the Author procurer conveyor of life to all his off-spring by the communication of his Spirit Christ is a quickening Spirit quickening dead souls and quickening dead bodies 1 Cor. 15.45 the Author both of the first and second resurrection And is not this desireable He rose again for the assurance of our justification sanctification and salvation This is the reason why the Apostle useth these words to prove the resurrection of Christ I will give you the sure mercies of David Acts 13.34 none of Gods mercies had been sure to us if Christ had not risen again from the dead But now all is made sure his work of redemption being
any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you then he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodyes and I may add your mortal souls by his spirit that dwelleth in you Christs Spirit if Christs resurrection be ours will have the same operation and effect in our souls that it had in his body as it raised up the one so it will raise up the other as it quickened the one so it will quicken the other But the question here will run on how shall we know whether we have received this quickning Spirit many pretend to the Spirit never more than at this day but how may we be assured that the Spirit is ours I answer 1. The Spirit is a Spirit of illumination here is the beginning of his work he begins in light as in the first creation the first-born of God's works was light Gen. 1.3 God said let there be light and there was light so in this new creation the first work is light God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined into our hearts 2 Cor. 4.6 to give the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ Hence the state of nature is called darkness and the state of grace is called light Ye were sometimes darkness but now ye have light in the Lord. Eph. 5.8 1 Pet. 2.9 And he hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light There is a light in the mind and a light in the heart of those who have the Spirit of Christ there is a speculative and an affective knowledg not only to know the truth but to love it believe it embrace it O my soul wouldst thou know whether Christs Spirit be thine consider and see then whether any of this new light of Jesus Christ hath shined into thy heart take heed deceive not thy self thou mayest have a great deal of wit and knowledg and understanding and yet go to hell this light is a light shining into thy heart this light is a Christ-discovering light this light is a sin-discoverings light this light will cause thee to find out thy hypocrisy deadness dulness in spiritual duties if thou hast not this light thou art near to eternal burnings darkness is one of the properties of hell and without this light inward darkness will to utter darkness where is nothing but weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth 2. This quickening spirit is a spirit of faith as it reveals Christ so it inclines mens hearts to close with Christ upon those Gospel-terms as he is offered I know there are degrees and measures of faith but the least measure of faith is a desiring panting breathing after the Lord Jesus and no sooner hath the soul received that new light from the spirit of Christ but it is presently at the same instant exceedingly affected with Jesus Christ O it desires Christ above all desires I know not a more undeceiving sign than this read over the whole Bible and where ever there was any soul-saving discoveries there ever followed inward desires soul-longings after Jesus Christ when Paul preached of the resurrection of Christ some there were that mocked jeered and slighted that doctrine but others whose heart the Lord stirred they were exceedingly taken with it saying we will hear thee again of this matter yea this very Sermon so wrought on some that they believed among whom was Dyonysius the Areopagite a woman named Damaris and others with them Acts 17.32 34. and when he preaced another Sermon on the same subject at Antioch the Jews were much offended but the Gentiles were so exceedingly taken with it that they besought Paul that these words the very same resurrection Sermon might be preached to them the next Sabbath day Their very hearts did so long after Christ whom Paul had preached that when the congregation was broken up Acts 13.42 many of the Jews and religious Procelites followed Paul and Barnabas and the next Sabbath day came almost the whole City together to hear the same Sermon O my soul 43. dost thou hear these Sermons of Christs resurrection dost thou hear sweet-Gospel-preaching 44. dost thou hear the free tenders and offers of Christ with all his glory and excellency to poor sinners to vile lost undone souls and art thou no whit taken with them canst thou sleep away such Sermons as these hast thou no heart-risings no stirrings workings longings desires in thy soul O take heed this is a dangerous case but on the contrary if thou sayest in thy heart Oh that I could hear this Sermon again O the sweet vertues of Christs resurrection I had not thought such honey could have dropped out of this rock O the blessed beginnings and springings of grace which I felt in my soul on such a meditation Oh the desire the delight O the longings O the comforts of Christs resurrection O the drawings of the Spirit inclining my heart to receive Jesus Christ to close with him and to rest on him and to give up my self to him why this Spirit of faith doth argue thy title and interest to the quickening spirit of Christ 3. Thy quickening Spirit is a Spirit of sanctification such was the Spirit whereby Christ was raised he was declared mightily to be the Son of God Rom. 1.4 according to the Spirit of sanctification by the resurrection from the dead That same Spirit which raised up Jesus Christ was that same divine Spirit which sanctified his humane nature wherein it dwelt and such is that quickening Spirit to all in whom it dwelleth it is a Spirit of holiness and it works holiness changing the heart and turning the bent of it from sin to holiness 2 Cor. 5.17 If any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things are passed away behold all things are become new q. d. When once the believer is by an act of faith passed over unto Christ there goes immediately from the Spirit of Christ into his soul an effectual power which alters and changes the frame of the whole man now he is not the same that he was he is changed in his company in his discourse in his practise he is changed in his nature judgment will affections he is sanctified throughout in soul body and Spirit O my soul try thy self by this sign dost thou find such an inward change wrought in the soul dost thou find the law of God a law of holiness written on thy hearr dost thou find a law within thee contrary to the law of sin commanding with authority that which is holy and good so that thou canst say with the Apostle I delight in the law of God after the inward man Rom. 7.23 25. Rom. 8.1 and with my mind I my self serve the law of God if so surely this is no other but the
desirest no more good name repute or honour than Christ will afford thee or in case of death dost thou like Stephen resign up thy soul to Christ dost thou see death conquered in the resurrection of Christ dost thou look beyond death dost thou over-eye all things betwixt thee and glory O the sweet of this life of faith on the Son of God! if thou knowest what this means then mayst thou assure thy self of thy vivification 3. True vivification is a new life acting upon a new principle of hope of glory Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.3 4. which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you By Christs resurrection we have a lively hope for our resurrection unto glory is not Christ our head and if he be risen to glory John 18.22 shall not his members follow after him certainly there is but one life one Spirit one glory of Christ and his members The glory which thou gavest me I have given unto them said Christ The soul that is vivified hath a lively hope of glory on several grounds As 1. Because of the promises of glory set down in the word now on these promises hope fastens her anchor if Christ hath promised how should I but maintain lively hope 2. Because of the first-fruits of the Spirit there are sometimes fore tasts of the glory drops of heaven poured into a soul whence it comfortably concludes if I have the earnest and first-fruits surely in his time Jesus Christ will give the harvest 3. Because of Christs resurrection unto glory now he rose as a common Person and he went up into heaven as a common Person whence hope is lively saying why should I doubt or despair seeing I am quickened together with Christ Eph. 2.5 6. and raised up together with Christ and am made to sit together with Christ in heavenly places Try O my soul by this sign Art thou lively in the hope of glory doth thy heart leap and rejoyce within at a thought of thy inheritance in heaven in a lively fountain the waters thereof will leap and sparkle so if thy hope be lively thou wilt have living joys living speeches living delights amidst all thy afflictions thou wilt say these will not endure for ever I my self shall away ere long Glory will come at last O the sweet of this life of hope if thou feelest these stirrings it is an argument of thy vivification 4. True vivification acts all its dutyes upon a new principle of love to Christ men not enlivened by Jesus Christ may do much and go far in outward service yea they may come to sufferings and yet without love to Christ all is lost all comes to nothing 1 Cor. 13.1 Though I speak with tongues of men and Angels though I have the gift of Prophesie and understand all mysteries and all knowledg though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor Ver. 2.3 and though I give my body to be burnt and have not love it profiteth me nothing All the rest may be from the flesh and for the flesh and fleshly ends but a true Gospel-love is from Christ and tends to the Glory of Christ For Love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God 1 John 4.7 But how may we know that all our actings are out of love to Jesus Christ I answer 1. If we act by the rule of Christ If ye love me keep my commandements He that hath my Commandements and keepeth them 1 John 14.15 21.23 24. he it is that loveth me If any man love me he will keep my commandements He that loves Christ he will look upon every act every service every performance whether it be according to the rule of Christ and then on he goes with it 2. If we act to the honour of Christ We may pray and hear and preach and act self more then the honour of Jesus Christ whiles Christ shewed miracles and fed his followers to the full they cryed up Jesus and none like Jesus but when Christ was plain with them ye seek me not because ye saw the miracles but because ye did eat of the loaves John 6.26 Ver. 66. and were filled when he pressed sincerity upon them and preparation for sufferings from that time many of his Disciples went back and walked no more with him It s no news for men to fall off when their ends fail only they that love Christ look not at these outward things in respect of the honour of Jesus Christ and hence it is that in all their actings they will carry on the design of the Father in advancing the honour of the Son whatever it cost them O my soul apply this to thy self if thou livest the life of love if in all thy actings duties services thou art carried on with a principle of love to Jesus Christ it is a sure sign of thy vivification For the second question whether we increase and grow in our vivification we may discover it thus 1. We grow when we are led on to the exercise of new Graces this the Apostle calls adding of one Grace unto another 1 Pet. 1.5 6 7. add to your faith vertue and to vertue knowledg and to knowledg temperance and to temperance patience and to patience Godliness and to Godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity At first a Christian doth not exercise all Graces though habitually all Graces may be planted in him yet the exercise of them is not all at once but by degrees Thus the Church tells Christ at our Gates are all manner of pleasant fruits new and old which I have laid up for thee O my beloved Cant. 7.13 she had all manner of fruits which she had reserved for Christ new and old she had young converts and more seetled professors or she had new and old Graces as others she added Grace to Grace she was led on from the exercise of one Grace unto another new Grace As wicked men are led on from one sin to another and so grow worse and worse so godly men are led from one Grace to another Rom. 5.3 4. and so they increase knowing that tribulation worketh patience and patience experience and experience hope 2. We grow when we find new degrees of the same Grace added as when love grows more fervent when knowledg abounds and hath a larger apprehension of spiritual things when faith goes on from mans casting himself on Christ to find sweetness in Christ and so to plerophory or full assurance of faith when Godly sorrow proceeds from mourning for sin as contrary to Gods holiness to mourn for it is as contrary to him who loves us which usually follows after assurance when obedience enlargeth its bounds Rev.
for condemnation even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came on all men unto justification 7. That he might regenerate us and beget us anew by his resurrection Joh. 17.19 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead And this he doth Rom. 15.18 two wayes 1. As our pattern platform Idea or exemplar like as Christ was raised from the dead even so we also should walk in newness of life 1 Pet. 1.3 and likewise reckon ye also your selves to be alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 2. As the efficient thereof for when we were dead in sin he hath quickened us together with Christ Rom. 6.13 and ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead Ver. 11. O the power of Christ's resurrection in this respect if we saw a man raised from the dead how should we admire at such a wondrous power but the raising of one dead soul is a greater work than to raise a Church-yard of dead bodies Eph. 2.5 Col. 2.12 8. That he might sanctifie us which immediatly follows after the other but yield your selves unto God as those that are alive from the dead Rom. 6.13 and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God In our regeneration we are risen with Christ and it is the Apostles argument Col 3.1 2. if ye then be risen with Christ seek those things which are above set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth We usually reckon two parts of Sanctification viz. Mortification and Vivification now as the Death of Christ hath the special influence upon our Mortification so the Resurrection of Christ hath the special influence on our Vivification Eph. 2.5 6. he hath quickened us together with Christ and hath raised us up together with Christ O my Soul Look to this main design of Christ in his rising again and if thou hast any faith O set thy Faith on work to draw this down into thy Soul But here is a question how should I manage my Faith or how should I act my Faith to draw down the vertue of Christ's resurrection for my Vivification I answer 1. Go to the Well-head look into the resurrection of Jesus Christ This one act contains in it these particulars As 1. That I must go out of my self to something else this is that check that lyes upon that work of Grace to keep out pride that Faith sees the whole good of the soul in a Principle extraneous even the springs of Jesus Christ Alas if this Vivification were in me or in my power what swellings and excrescencies of pride should I quickly nourish God therefore hath placed it in another that I may be kept low and that I may go out of my self to seek it where it is 2. That I must attribute wholly Gal. 2.20 freely joyfully all that I am to Jesus Christ and to the effectual working of his Grace 1 Cor. 15.10 I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me And by the Grace of God I am what I am and I laboured more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me The life of grace springs only from the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ and therefore as I must deny my self so I must attribute all to him from whom it comes 3. I must lye at his feet with an humble expectation of and dependency upon him and him alone for the supplies of grace this was the Apostles practice O that I may be found in him O that I may know him and the power of his resurrection O that by any meanes I might obtain unto the resurrection of the dead he lay at Christs feet with an humble expectation to feel the Power of Christ's resurrection in raising him first from the death of sin to the life of grace after from death of nature to the life of glory 2. Lay to these springs thy mouth of Faith it is not enough to have all the treasuries of grace all the actings of Christ for thee layd before thee but thou must act thy faith upon that object O then go to Christ's resurrection and believe make a particular application of those glorious effects of Christ's resurrection upon thy soul Say Lord thou dyedst that I might dye to sin and thou wast raised from the death that I might be raised to newness of life Come Lord and quicken my dying sparks give me to lay hold on Christ's resurrection give me to adhere to it and to rest upon it and to close with it I see without faith I am nere a whit the better for Christs resurrection and thy commands are upon me open thy mouth wide and I will fill it why Lord I believe help thou my unbeliefe This faith is necessary to our vivification as well as Christ Psal 81.10 Christ is the fountain of life but faith is the meanes of life Mark 9.24 the power and original of life is intirely reserved to Jesus Christ but faith is the radical band on our part whereby we are tyed unto Christ and live in Christ and thus saith Christ himself I am the resurrection and the life Is that all no he that believeth in me though he were dead yet he shall live And I am the bread of life Is that all Joh. 11.25 no he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst John 6.35 Isa 66.11 3. Suck and be satisfied milk out and be delighted Christ's resurrection is a brest of consolation there is in it abundance of life and glory and therefore we should not believe a little but much the word suck is as much as to exact on Christ draw hard from Christ the more we exercise faith the more we have of Jesus Christ and of Vivification there is a depth in Christs resurrection that can never be fadomed when the soul hath as much as its narrow hand can grasp whole Christ is too big to be inclosed in mortal arms onely the longer our arm of faith is the more we shall grasp of him and therfore suck and pull and draw harde And to this purpose 1. Pray for an increase of faith complain to Christ of the shortness of thy arm tell him thou canst not believe as thou wouldst thou canst not get in so much of Christ into thy soul as thou desirest thy Vivification is very poor and small Oh when Christ hears a soul complain of drawfishness in faith and grace then is he ready to let out of his fulness even grace for grace 2. Act thy faith vigorously on Christ's resurrection for a further degree of quickning activity and lively abillity of grace Christ is an ever-flowing fountain and he would have
believers to partake abundantly of what is in him he cannot abide that any should content themselves with a present stock of grace Christ is not as a stream that fails or as a channel that runs dry Christ is not as water in a ditch which hath no living spring to feed it no no Christ is the fountain of life he is the chief ordinance of life that ever God set up I know there are other means of Christs appointment but if thou wilt live at the spring and driâ—â— in there yea drink abundantly according to the overflowings of this fountain O the life and growth of life that would come in Oh the vertue of Christ's resurrection that Christ's Spirit meeting and assisting would flow into thy soul for thy vivification Thus for directions now for the encouragements of our faith to believe in Christ's resurrection 1. Consider the excellency of this object A sight of Christ in his beauty and glory would ravish souls and draw them to run after him the wise Merchant would not buy the pearl till he knew it to be of excellent price great things are eagerly sought for Christ raised Christ glorified is an excellent object O who would not sell all to buy this pearl who would not believe 2. Consider of the power vertue and influence of this object into all that golden chain of priviledges if Christ be not raised you are yet in your sins 1 Cor. 15.17 18. then they also which are fallen a sleep in Christ are perished From the resurrection of Christ flows all those priviledges even from justification to salvation The first is clear and therefore all the rest 3. Consider that Christ's resurrection and the effects of it are nothing unto us if we do not believe it is faith that brings down the particular sweetness and comforts of Christ's resurrection unto our souls it is faith that puts us in the actual possession of Christ's resurrection whatsoever Christ is to us before faith yet really we have no benefit by it until we believe it is faith that takes hold of all that Christ hath done for us and gives us the actual enjoyment of it oh let not the work stick in us what is Christ risen from the dead and shall we not eye this Christ and take him home to our selves by faith the Apostle tells us that he that believed not hath made God a lyar 1 Joh. 5.10 because be believeth not the record that God hath given of his Son Unbelief belyes God in all that he hath done for us O take heed of this without faith what are we better for Christ's resurrection 4. Consider of the tenders offers apparitions that Christ raised makes of himself to our souls when first he arose to confirm the faith of his Disciples he offers himself and appears to Mary Magdalen to the other women to Peter Thomas and all the rest and all those apparitions were on this account that they might believe Joh. 29.31 these things are written that ye might believe In like manner Christ at this day offers himself in the Gospel of grace and by his Spirit he appears to souls Methinks we should not hear a Sermon of Christ's resurrection but we should imagine as if we saw him whose head and haires are white like wool as white as snow Rev. 1.14 15. whose eyes are as a flame of fire whose feet are like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace whose voyce is as the sound of many waters or if we are dazled with his glory methinks at least we should hear his voyce as if he said fear not I am the first and the last I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen q. d. Come Ver. 17 18. cast your souls on me it is I that have conquered sin death and hell for you it is I that have broke the serpents head that have took away the sting of death that have cancelled the bond of the hand-writing against you that have in my hands a general acquittance and pardon of your sins come take it take me and take all with me see your names written in the acquittance that I tender take out the copy of it in your own hearts only believe in him who is risen again for your justification O my soul what sayst thou to this still sweet voyce of Christ shall he who is the Saviour of men and glory of Angels desire thee to believe and wilt thou not say Amen to it Oh how should I blame thee for thy unbelief what aspersions doth it cast on Christ he hath done all things well he hath satisfied wrath fullfilled the Law and God hath acquitted him pronounced him just faith is contented he can desire no more but thou sayst by unbelief that Christ hath done nothing at all unbelief professeth Christ is not dead or at least not risen from the dead unbelief professeth that justice is not satisfied that no justification is procured that the wrath of God is now as open to destroy us as ever it was Oh that Christ should be crucified again in our hearts by our unbelief come take Christ upon his tenders and offers embrace him with both armes SECT VI. Of Loving in Jesus in that Respect 6. LEt us love Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us in his resurection surely if we hope in Christ and believe in Christ we cannot but love Christ if Christ's resurrection be our justification and so the ground both of our hope and faith how should we but love him who hath done such great things for us she that had much forgiven her loved much and if by vertue of Christ's resurrection we are Justified from all our sins how should we but love him much but that I may let down some cords of Love whereby to draw our loves to Christ in this respect let us consider thus Love is a motion of the appetite by which the mind unites it self to that which seems good to it You may object that Christ is absent how then should our souls be united to him but if we consider that objects though absent may be united to the powers by their species and images as well as by their true beings we may then be said truly to love Christ as raised though he be absent from us come then stir up thy appetite bring into thy imagination the Idea of Christ as in his resurrection present him to thy affection of Love in that very form wherein he appeared to his Disciples as gazing upon the dusty beauty of flesh kindleth the fire of carnal love so this gazing on Christ and on the passages of Christ in his resurrection will kindle this spiritual love in thy soul Draw near then and behold him Is he not white and ruddy the chiefest among ten thousands is not his head as the most fine gold are not his locks bushy Cant. 5.10 11 12 13. and
have preached his resurrection oh no he himself would stay in person he himself would make it out by many infallible proofs that he was risen again he himself would by his own example learn us a lesson of love of meekness of patience in waiting after sufferings for the reward Methinks a few of these passages should set all our hearts on a flame of love we love earth and earthly things we dig into the veins of the earth for thick clay but if Christ be risen set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth Oh if the love of Christ were but in us Colos 3.1 2 as the love of the world is in base worldlings it would make us wholly to despise this world it would make us to forget it as worldly love makes a man to forget his God Nay it would be so strong and ardent and rooted in our souls that we should not be able voluntary and freely to think on any thing else but Jesus Christ we should not then fear contempt or care for disgrace or the reproaches of men we should not then fear death 1 Cor. 15.55 57. or the grave or hell or devils but we should sing in triumph O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory now thanks be to God which giveth us victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. SECT VII Of joying in Jesus in that respect 7. LEt us joy in Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us in his resurrection This is the great Gospel-duty we should rejoyce in the Lord and again rejoyce Phil. 4.4 yea rejoyce evermore A Christian estate should be a joyful and comfortable estate none have such cause of joy as the Children of Zion sing O daughter of Zion 1 Thes 5.16 shout O Jerusalem be glad and rejoyce with all thy heart O daughter of Jerusalem Zach. 3.14 And why so a thousand reasons might be rendred but here is one a prime one Christ is risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that sleep A commemoration of Christ's resurrection hath ever been a means of rejoycing in God 1 Cor. 15.20 Some may object what is Christ's resurrection to me indeed if thou hast no part in Christ the resurrection of Christ is nothing at all to thee but if Christ be thine then art thou risen with him and in him then all he did was in thy name and for thy sake Others may object supposing Christ's resurrection mine what am I better how do not all the priviledges of Christ flow from the power and vertue of his resurrection as well as death tell me what is thy state what possibly can be the condition of thy soul wherein thou mayst not draw sweet from Christ's resurrection As 1 Pet. 3.21 1. Is thy conscience in trouble for sin the Apostle tells thee the answer of a good conscience towards God is by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead Rom. 4.25 2. Art thou afraid of condemnation the Apostle tells thee he was delivered for our offences and he was raised again for our justification 1 Pet. 1.3 3. Dost thou question thy regeneration the Apostle tells thee he hath begotten us again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4. Art thou distressed persecuted troubled on every side the Apostle tells thee wherein now consists thy confidence comfort courage to wit in the life of Christ in the resurrection of Christ 2 Cor. 4.10 11. We alwayes bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus that the life of Jesus might also be made manifest in our body for we which live are alwayes delivered unto death for Jesus sake that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh And thus Beza interprets those following words knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus 14. i.e. unto a civil resurrection from our troubles Paul was imprisoned and in part martyred but by the vertue of Christ's resurrection he foresaw his enlargement And this interpretation Beza grounds on the word following and foregoing wherein Paul compares his persecutions to a death and his preservation from them to a life as he had done before also chap. 1. v. 9 10. 5. Art thou afraid of falling off or of falling away why remember that the immutable force and perpetuity of the new covenant is secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ Isa 55.3 I will make an everlasting covenant with you even the sure mercies of David this the Apostle applies to the resurrection of Christ as the bottoming of that sure covenant and as concerning that he raised him up from the dead he said on this wise I will give you the sure mercies of David Act. 13.34 6. Art thou afraid of death hell and the power of the grave why now remember that Christ is risen from the dead and by his resurrection death is swallowed up in victory 1 Cor. 15.55 57. so that now thou mayst sing O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory now thanks be to God which hath given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ It is the voyce of Christ thy dead men shall live together with my dead body shall they arise Isa 26.19 awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth shall cast out the dead David was so lifted up with this resurrection Psal 16.9 10. that he crys it out therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoyceth my flesh also shall rest in hope for thou wilt not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption Job 19.23 24 25 26 27. But especially Job was so exceedingly transported with this that he breaks out into these extasies O that my words were now written O that they were printed in a book that they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever for I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms shall destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see for my self and mine eyes shall behold and not another though my reins be consumed within me No man ever since Christ did speak more clearly of Christ's resurrection and his own than Job did here before Christ Observe in it O my soul Job's wish and the matter wished his wish was that certain words which had been cordial to him might remain to memory and this wish hath three wishes in one 1. That they might be written 2. That they might be registred in a book enrolled upon record as publick instruments judicial proceedings or whatsoever is most authentical 3. That they might be engraven in stone and in the hardest stone the rock records might last long
yet time might injure them and these words he would have last for ever O that they were graven in the rock for ever Moses and Job are said to have lived at one time now Moses writ the Law in stone and considering that these words were Gospel there was no reason the Law should be in tables of stone and the Gospel in sheets of paper no no it were fit that this should be as firm and durable as that Oh that my words were written Oh that they were printed in a book c. 2. The matter wished or the words he would have written are these I know that my Redeemer liveth and that I shall live again Here 's first his Redeemer and his rising 2. His own rising and his seeing God O this was the matter of his joy his Redeemer must rise again and he must rise too and see his Redeemer it was a point that exceedingly ravished and revived Job and therefore he iterates the same thing over and over I shall see God and I shall see him for my self and I shall see him with my eyes Job 8.56 and not with others As Christ said of Abraham Your father Abraham rejoyced to see my day and he saw it and was glad So it appears of his Servant Job he saw Christ's day both his first day and his latter day and he rejoyced and was glad Away away all scrupulous doubtfull dumpish thoughts consider what joyes were of old at the foresight of Christs resurrection but especially what joy was all the World over when he rose again from the dead Greg. hom in pasca Job 20.20 Luke 24.41 Apostoli die dominico exhilirati non solum ipsum festivissimam esse voluerunt verum etiam per omnes hebdomadas frequentandum esse duxerunt Juno cent 1 Epist ad Decent 11. 4. then came the Angels from heaven and appeared in white then the Sun danced for joy so it is storyed or shone sooner and brighter than ever it did before then I am sure the Diciples were exceeding glad when they saw the Lord yea so glad that they believed not for joy it is worthy our observing to see how all the primitive Saints were affected with this news and because of it with the very day on which Christ arose some call it The first day of joy and gladness and because of the joy occasioned on this day the Apostles say they devoted the first day of the week to the honour and service of Jesus Christ Augustine applyes the words of the Psalm unto this day This is the day which the Lord hath made let us be glad and rejoyce in it Psal 118.24 Ignatus who lived in the Apostles age and was John's Disciple calls it the Queen the Princess the Lady Paramount among the other weekly dayes Chrysostom calls it a Royal day and Gregory Nazianzen orat 42. saith it is higher than the highest and with admiration wonderfull above other dayes Certainly the Lord's day was in high esteem with the antient Church and the principle motive was because of Christs resurrection from the dead O that on these dayes we could rejoyce in the Lord and again rejoyce it is observed that Many Christians look upon broken-heartedness and much grieving and weeping for sin as if it were the great thing that God delighteth in and requireth of them Baxters method for a setled Peace and therefore they bend all their endeavours that way they are still striving with their hearts to break them more and they think no Sermon no Prayer no Meditation speed so well with them as that which can help them to grieve or weep but O Christians understand and consider saith my Authour that all your sorrows are but preparatives for your joyes and that it is an higher and sweeter work that God calls you to and would have you spend your time and strength in Delight thy self in the Lord psal 37.4 and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart Never take your hearts to be right till they be delighting themselves in their God when you kneel down in Prayer labour so to conceive of God and bespeak him that he may be your delight do so in hearing and reading and meditating and in your feasting on the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ at his Supper Especially improve the happy opportunity of the Lords day wherein you may wholly devote your selves unto this work O spend more of this day in spiritual rejoycing especially in commemoration of Christ's resurrection yea and of the whole work of redemption or else you will not answer the institution of the Lord. SECT VIII Of Calling on Jesus in that Respect 8. LEt us Call on Jesus that is to say 1. Let us pray that Christ's resurrection may be ours and that we may be more and more assured of it Phil. 3.10 Let us say with the Apostle O that I may know him and the power of his resurrection O that I may find the working of that power in my soul which was shewed in the resurrection of Christ from the dead O that the Spirit of holiness which quickened Christ from the dead would by the same glorious power beget holiness and faith and love and all other graces in my poor soul O that Christ would by his resurrection apply his active and passive obedience to me O that he would be to me the Lord of the living and the Prince of life that he would overcome in me the death of sin and that he would regenerate quicken renew and fashion me by the power of godliness to become like himself O that all the vertue power priviledges and influences of Christ's resurrection might be conferred on me and that I might feel them working in me every day more and more 2. Let us praise God for Christ's resurrection and for all the priviledges flowing from Christ's resurrection into our souls 1 Pet. 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead Christ is risen by his resurrection he hath justified sanctified quickened saved our souls and therefore Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ surely God requires a thousand thousand Hallelujah's and that we should bless him upon a thousand-stringed instrument here is fewel enough the Lord kindle a great fire in every one of our hearts to burn out all our lusts and to enflame all our hearts with a love to Jesus Christ Can we ever too much praise him for all his actings in our behalf are not all God's creatures called upon to rejoyce with us and to bless God for his redeeming of us Sing O ye heavens for the Lord hath done it shout ye lower part of the earth Isa 44.23 break forth into singing ye mountains O forrest and every tree therein for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel This is the duty we shall do in heaven and
I believe we are never more in heaven whiles on earth then when we are in this exercise of praising God and blessing God for Jesus Christ Come let us praise God for Christ and especially on this day called therefore the Lord's day because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ it is the design of God to glorify Christ redeeming us as much or more than he glorified himself creating us and therefore he purposely unhinged the Sabboth from the last day to the first day of the week that it might be spent as a weekly day of praise and thanksgiving for the more glorious work of our redemption that love might not only be equally admired with power but even go before it It is the advice of a godly Divine that we should improve the happy opportunity of the Lord's day wholly to devote our selves to his work And he adviseth Ministers and others that They spend more of those days in praise and thanksgiving Baxters method of peace and comfort and be briefer in their confessions and lamentations that they would make it the main business of their solemn assemblies on those days to sound forth the high praises of their Redeemer and to begin here the praises of God and the Lamb which they must perfect in heaven for ever That they would spend a greater part of those days in Psalms and solemn Praises to their Redeemer that some Hymns and Psalms might be invented as fit for the state of the Gospel-Church and worship to laud the Redeemer come in the flesh as expresly as the work of grace is now expressed O that these directions were but in practice O that our Churches and Families would make our streets to resound with the Eccho's of our praises O that this were the burthen of each duty on these dayes Now blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead SECT IX Of conforming to Jesus in that respect 9. LEt us conform to Jesus in respect of his resurrection In this particular I shall examine these Queries 1. Wherein we must conform 2. How this conformity is wrought 3. What are the means of this conformity as on our parts For the first wherein we must conform I answer in a word in our vivification There is a resemblance of our vivification to Christ's resurrection and if we would know wherein the Analogy or resemblance of our vivification to Christ's resurrection doth more especially consist the Apostle's answer is very express Rom. 6.4 Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life Christ's resurrection was to newness of life it was a new life a life different from that which he lived before and so is our vivification a new life it is a life of a new principle of new actings of a new state of a new relation of a new income and of a new kind or manner 1. It is a life of a new principle before vivification our principle was the flesh or word or devil In time past ye walked according to the course of this world Eph. 2.2 according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience but now we have a new principle a Spirit of holiness or sanctification the Spirit of God even the same spirit which dwelt in the humane nature of Christ and raised him If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you Rom. 8.11 it is an in-dwelling Spirit even as the soul dwells in the body so doth the holy Ghost dwell in the soul of a regenerate person animating and actuating and enlivening it This is the new principle that God puts in us after vivification 2. It is a life of new actings According to our principle so be our actings Rom. 8.5 They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh but they that are of the Spirit the things of the Spirit If some men hear of a good bargain they mind it they find their souls going on with much activity there is something in them proportionable to that which is propounded but if they hear of Divine love and of the riches of Grace they find their souls flat unmoveable and dead they mind no such things now on the other side they that are vivified according to their principle they put forth their power more or less if they hear of the glorious things of the Gospel they find inward workings unless it be under a temptation they find their souls drawn out to close with the goodness of the thing propounded They mind the things of the Spirit i.e. they muse and meditate and think on these things they affect them and love them and like them they care for them and seek after them with might and main they live in the Spirit they walk in the Spirit they are led by the Spirit Gal. 5.26 Rom. 8.1.14 Rom. 7.6 they serve in newness of the Spirit How might we try our vivification even by these actings of our principle within what do we mind the things of the Spirit do we find things heavenly and spiritually to be sweet and savoury and best pleasing to us is the Sabbath our delight do we long for it before it come do we rejoyce in it when it is come do we consecrate it as glorious to the Lord Isa 58.13 do we come to the exercises of Religion whether publick or private with much delight and with chearfulness as to a feast what is this but the life of God but if these things be harsh and unpleasant if the Sabbath be a burthen if holy exercises be irksome and tedious Psal 41.4 if in attending on the Word we are heavy and drouzy and we find no relish no sweet no savour in the ointments of Christs no goings out of the soul with an activity to the things propounded O then deceive not our selves we have no good evidence of our vivification 3. It is a life of a new state before vivification we are in an unjustified estate sins are unpardoned we are unreconciled And such were some of you said the Apostle to his Corinthians but now ye are washed now ye are sanctified 1 Cor. 6.11 now ye are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God This justification denotes a state and is universal and unalterable I know Arminians deny such a state for as by their Doctrine no man can be absolutely Elected till he die so neither absolutely justified for say they he may fall into such sins as that though formerly justified yet now he may be condemned yea to day he may be justified and to morrow thrown out of that estate But against this we hold that those that are once justified are never again
gone to Heaven surely this was the meaning God would rather that the main points of faith should be learned by hearing than by seeing however Christ's own Disciples were taught the same by sight that they might better teach others which should not see yet the ordinary means to come by faith is hearing Rom. 10.14 17 18. how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God And as for the Jews saith the Apostle have they not heard yes verily their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the end of the world 3. He ascended principally by the mighty power of his God-head thus never any ascended up into heaven but Jesus Christ for though Enoch and Elijah were assumed into heaven yet not by their own power nor by themselves it was God's power by which they ascended 2 Kings 2.11 and it was by the help and Ministry of Angels there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire and Elijah went up by a Whirl-wine into Heaven Acts 1 9. 4. He ascended in a cloud While they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight Hereby he shews that he is Lord of all the creatures he had already trampled upon the earth walked upon the sea vanquished hell or the grave and now the clouds received him and the heavens are opened to make way for this King of Glory to enter in Mat. 24.30 Mat. 26.4 When Christ shall come again it is said that he shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven Which verifies that saying of the Angel Acts 1.11 This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven He went up in clouds and he shall come again in clouds 5. He ascended in the found of a trumpet not on earth sounding Hosanna but in Heaven Psal 47.5 crying Hallelujah So the Psalmist God is gone up with a shout the Lord with the sound of a trumpet Certainly great joy was in heaven at Christ's ascending thither the very Angels struck up their Harps and welcomed him thither with Hymns and Praises 6. He ascended in triumph as a Roman Victor ascended to the Capitol or as David ascended after his conquest up to Zion Now we read of two triumphal Acts in Christs Ascension whereof the first was his leading of his captives and the second was the dispersing of his gifts the Apostle and the Psalmist joyn both together Psal 68.18 Ephes 4.8 When he ascended up on high he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men 1. He led them captive who had captivated us Death was led captive without a sting Hell was led captive as one that had lost her victory the Law was led captive being rent and fastened to his Cross as it were Ensign wise the Serpents head being bruised was led before him in triumph as was Golias's head by David returning from the victory and this was the first Act of his triumph 2. He gave gifts unto men this was as the running of Conduits with wine or as the casting abroad of new Coyn or as the shutting up of Christs triumph in his ascension up to heaven what these gifts were we shall speak in the Mission of the holy Ghost only thus much for the present SECT II. Of the place whither he ascended 3. WHither he ascended the Gospel tells us into heaven only Paul saith that he ascended far above all heavens But the meaning is Ephes 4 10. he went above all these visible Heavens into those heavenly Mansions where the Angels and the Spirits of the just have their aboad Or if the highest heavens be included I see no absurdity in it the highest Heaven we usually call The Kingdom of Heaven which is either Heaven material or heaven sâ—iritual and first for the material Heaven in some sense he may be said to ascend above that both in respect of his Body because the Body of Christ is more glorious than any material Heaven And in respect of his soul because the Soul of Christ is more blessed than all things else whatsoever And 2 For the spiritual Heaven i.e. all Angelical or Heavenly perfections he is said to ascend above them all both in respect of his humiliation because he hath vilified himself below all things and therefore he is worthily exalted above all things and in respect of his perfection because the humane nature of Christ is more excellent than any creature it being joyned to the Godhead by an hypostatical union Some there are that understand this place of Christs ascending far above all Heavens not so much by a lâ—cal motion as by a Spiritual mutation and exaltation of his person as earth heightned unto a flame changeth not its place only but form and figure so the person of our Saviour was raised to a greatness and glory vastly differing from and surmounting any image of things visible or invisible in this Creation so it is fitly expressed Heb. 7.26 He was made higher than the Heavens he was heightened to a splendor enlarged to a capacity and compass above the brightest and beyond the widest Heavens he transcended all in the spirituallity of his Ascension but I shall not much insist on that SECT III. Of the Reasons why he Ascended 4. WHy he ascended the Reasons are 1. On Christ's part that through his Passion he might pass to glory Luke 24.26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and so to enter into his glory I shall not insist on that controversie whether Christ merited for himself this is without controversie that by his Passion I will not say he properly merited but he obtained glory because he humbled himself so low God exalted him above the Grave in his Resurrection above the Earth in his Ascension and above the Heavens in placing him at his right hand And he ascended that all those Prophesies which were foretold of Christ might be accomplished Thou hast ascended on high And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives Psal 68.18 Zach. 14.4 which is before Jerusalem on the East The types of this were Enoch's translation Elijahs's ascension Sampson's transportation of the gates of Gezza into an high mountain the high Priests going into the Holy of Holies Seeing that we have a great high Priest Heb. 4.14 that is passed into the heavens Jesus the Son of God Why all these prophesies types figures must needs be accomplished and therefore on his part it was necessary that Christ must ascend and go into Heaven 2. The Reasons on our part are 1. That in our stead he might triumph over sin death and hell In his Resurrection he conquered but in his
Ascension he triumphed now it was that he led sin death and devil in triumph at his Chariot wheels And this is the meaning of the Psalmist and of the Apostle Ephes 4.8 When he ascended up on high he led captivity captive He vanquished and triumphed over all our enemies he overcame the world he bound the devil he spoiled hell he weakened sin he destroyed death and now he makes a publick triumphal shew of them in his own Person he led the captives bound to his chariot-wheels as the manner of the Roman triumphs was Col. 2.15 when the conqueror went up to the Capitol It is to the same purpose that the Apostle speaks else-where Having spoiled Principalities and Powers he made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in himself it is a manifest allusion to the manner of triumphs after victories amongst the Romans first they spoiled the enemy upon the place ere they stirred off the field and this was done by Christ on the Cross and then they made a publick triumphal shew they rid through the streets in the greatest state and had all their spoils carried before them and the Kings and Nobles whom they had taken they tied to their chariots and led them as captives and this did Christ at his Ascension Then he openly triumphed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in himself i.e. in his own Power and strength other Conquerors do not thus they conquer not in themselves and by themselves but Jesus Christ conquerâ—d 〈◊〉 himself and therefore he triumphed in himself And yet though he triumphed in himself and by himself it was not for himself only but for us which made the Apostle to triumph in his triumph 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. O death where is thy sting O grave where is thy victory the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the Law but thanks be to God which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ If I may speak out what I think was this victory of Christ I believe it was that honour given to him after his Resurrection by the conversion of enemies by the amazements of the world by the admiration of Angels and especially by his sitting down at the right hand of Majesty on high for therein is contained both his exaltation and his triumph over all his enemies to the utmost 2. That he might lead us the way and open to us the doors of glory It is a question whether ever those doors of Heaven were opened to any before Christs Ascension Christ tells us John 14.2 3. In my Fathers house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you but I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto my self that where I am ye may be also Some infer hence as if there should be many outer courts and many different places or states in glory and yet there is one place whither the Saints should arrive at last which was not then ready for them and was not to be entred into until the entrance of our Lord had made the preparation Again the Apostle tells us that the Fathers received not the promises Heb. 11.40 God having provided some better thing for us that they without us should not be made perfect Whence some infer that their conditions after death was a state of imperfection and that they were placed in an outer court on this side Heaven called Paradise or Abraham's bosome and thither also Christ went when he dyed and was attended with the blessed Thief For my part I shall not joyn with such who think all souls of Saints shall go to paradise where they must remain till the day of judgment and then and not till then must enter into that heaven called the third heaven or the Kingdom of Heaven Indeed some of the ancients make heaven and the immediate receptacles of souls to be destinct places both blessed but hugely differing in degrees And a modern writer is very confident Dr. Tayl. great Exemplar Multas dicit non varias aut dispares sed quae pluribus sufficiant acsi diceret non sibi uni sed omnibus etiam discipulis locum illic esse Calvin i. loc Heb. 6.20 That no soul could enter into glory before our Lord entred by whom we hope to have access and to that purpose he cites those texts John 14.2 3. Heb. 11.40 But I see no ground why the souls of Saints should be excluded heaven either before or after Christ As for that text of John 14.2 Christ saith In my Fathers house are many mansions not many outer courts nor many different states and as for the Fathers mentioned Heb. 11.40 Surely they without us shall not be made perfect and we without them shall not be made perfect in some sense until the day of judgment But our Perfection is not in respect of a more glorious place but in respect of that perfection whereof all the faithfull shall be made partakers as well in body as in soul at the resurrection of the just Thus far I grant that no soul ever entred into Heaven but by the vertue and power of Christ's Ascention and that no soul and body joyntly ever ascended except Christs types before Christ himself opened those doors and lead the way and in this respect he is called The forerunner of his People 3. That he might assure us that now he had run through all those Offices which he was to perform here on earth for our redemption He that hath entred into his rest Heb. 4.10 hath also ceased from his own works as God did from his He was first to execute his Office and then to enter into his rest Though he were a Son Heb. 5.8 9. and so the inheritance were his own yet he was to learn Obedience by the things which he suffered before he was made perfect and so to become the Author of eternal Salvation unto all them that obey him This was the argument which Christ used when he prayed to be glorified again with his Father I have glorified thee on the earth John 17.4 5. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do And now O Father glorifie thou me with thy own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was This was the order of the dispensation of Christ's Offices his first work was a work of ministry and Service in the Office of obedience and suffering for his Church and this next work was the work of power and majesty in the protection and exaltation of his Church and there was a necessity in this order 1. In respect of God's Decree who had so fore-appointed it Acts 2.23 24. 2. In respect of God's justice which must first be satisfied by obedience before any entrance into glory Luke 24.26 3. In respect of Christ's infinite Person which being equal with God could not possibly be
whence all those rivers of living waters flow And therefore saith the Evangelist expresly This spake he of the Spirit which they that believe should receive of what Spirit even of the Holy Ghost which in full measure was not yet given because that Christ was not yet glorified it is the same spirit which believers receive whence all these rivers of living waters flow but those rivers flow not from habital grace nor from any of the graces of the Holy Ghost but from the Holy Ghost himself Again When the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth John 16 1â— and he will shew you things to come Now the habits of grace cannot guide or teach or shew a man things to come the habits of grace cannot speak and hear as it is there written He shall not speak of himself but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak This can be no other than the spirit in his own Person this is the Comforter that hears and speaks and guides into all truth and shews us things to come Again The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us Besides the grace of the Spirit which is the love of God the Holy Ghost Rom. 5.5 or the Spirit it self is said to be given unto us And Ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit Rom. 8.9 If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Here 's a plain distinction betwixt the new man our being in the Spirit and the Spirit dwelling in us Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ i.e. the same holy Spirit which dwelleth in our head and Saviour Jesus Christ he is none of his But if the spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you v. 11. he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you This Spirit cannot be meant of habitual grace for habitual grace did not raise up Jesus from the dead no no it was the same Spirit that dwelt in Christ and that dwels in us Again Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God 1 Cor. 3.16 1 Cor. 6.19 and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you And know ye not that your body is the Temple of the holy Ghost which is in you now gifts and graces are not properly said to dwell in Temples this belongs rather to persons than qualities and therefore it is meant of the holy Ghost himself Ye are the Temples of the living God surely graces are not the living God 2 Cor. 6.16 But ye are the Temples of the living God as God hath said I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people 2. The arguments to confirm this are such as these 1. Actions are ascribed to the Holy Ghost as given unto us or dwelling in us Joh. 16.8 13. Rom. 8.15 16 When the spirit is come he will reprove the World of sin And when the spirit of truth is come he will guide you into all truth And yea have received the spirit of adoption whereby ye cry Abba Father And this spirit beareth witness with our spirits that we are the Children of God These actions are usually given to the Holy Ghost I mean to that Holy Ghost which we receive and dwelleth in us it reproves it guides it helps it satisfies it witnesseth now actiones sunt suppositorum actions are of persons and not of qualities habitual grace cannot reprove or guide or teach or help our infirmities these are the actions of the Spirit himself in his own person 2. The spirit it self is the bond of our mistical union with Jesus Christ and therefore it is the Spirit it self that dwelleth in us Look as it is in our body there is head and members yet all are but one natural body because they are animated and quickned by one and the self-same soul so it is in the mistical body Christ is our head and we are his members and yet both of us are but one mystical body by reason of the self-same Spirit dwelling in both And hence it is said that Christ dwelleth in us by his spirit 2 Cor. 13.5 John 6.26 Know ye not that Christ Jesus is in you except ye be reprobates he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him And I live saith Paul yet not I Gal. 2.20 but Christ liveth in me How in me not corporally for in that sense The Heavens must receive him untill the time of the restitution of all things but spiritually according to the testimony of the Apostle Acts 3.21 because ye are sons God hath sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts Gal. 4.6 This is the mystery that should be known among the Gentiles the glorious mystery yea the rich and glorious mystery Col. 1.2 the Apostle gives it all these Epithetes the riches of the glory of this mystery which is Christ in you the hope of glory 3. As Satan keeps his residence in wicked men working them unto all manner of sin and holding them captive to do his will so the spirit of God coming and thrusting him out of possession dwelleth in us leading us into all truth replenishing us with all graces and enclining us to all holy Obedience There is little question but whilest men remain in the state of infidelity the strong man Satan keeps possession and dwelleth in them though not after a gross and sinsible manner as in Demoniacks yet invisibly and spiritually ruling and reigning in them and making them his slavâ— to do his will and therefore by the same reason when a stronger than he cometh even the good spirit of God he casts him out and takes possession and dwells and reigns and rules in our souls and bodies If the spirit it self dwell not in us then how would there be three that bear witness the Apostle tells us 1 John 5.8 There are three that bear witness in earth or in our hearts the Spirit the water and blood now by water is meant sanctification it is our sanctification that bears witness with us that we are the Children of God and this sanctification consists either in the habit of grace or in the actings of grace if therefore the spirit of Christ in a believer were nothing else but grace then it were all one with the testimony of water but there are three that bear witness there 's the testimony of the spirit of blood and of water not only justification and sanctification which are but two witnesses but the spirit is superadded and that also bears witness in our Consciences that we are the Children of God and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Christians think me not tedious in these proofs these are not speculative notional poynts that tend not to edification but are
Students beat out their brains on lesser subjects what endeavours have there been to dive into the secrets of Nature what volumes have been written of Physicks Metaphysicks Mathematicks and is not this subject Christ is not every of these subjects Christ's Ascension Christ's Mission of the holy spirit of more worth and value and benefit than all those come study that piece of the Bible wherein these are written there is not a line or expression of Christ in the Scripture but 't is matter enough for a whole Age to comment on thou needest not to leave old principles for new discoveries for in these very particulars thou mightest find successive sweetness unto all eternity SET II. Of considering Jesus in that respect 2. LEt us consider Jesus carrying on this work of our salvation for us in these particulars We must not only study to know these things but we must meditate on them till they come down from our heads to our hearts Meditation is the poize that sets all the wheels within a going it were to small purpose to bid us desire hope believe love joy c. if first we did not meditate in meditation it is that the understanding works that the will is inclined to follow that devotion is refreshed that saith is encreased hope established love kindled and therefore begin here O my soul it is a due consideration that gives both life and light and motion to thy actings in all proceedings And to take them in order 1. Consider of Christ's Ascension into Heaven Methinks souls should put themselves into the condition of the Disciples Acts 1.10 When they looked stedfastly towards heaven as Christ went up What shall he ascend and shall not we in our contemplations follow after him gaze O my soul on this wonderfull object thou needest not fear any check from God or Angel so that thy contemplation be spiritual and divine No sooner had Christ finished his work of redemption here on earth but on the Mount called Olivet he assembles with his Disciples where having given them commands he begins to mount and being a little lifted up into the Ayr presently a Cloud receives him into her lap Herein is a clear demonstration of his Godhead Clouds are usually in Scriptures put for the House or Temple or Receptacle of God himself How often is it said that The glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud Exod. 16.10 19 9.-24.16.-34.5 Isa 19.1 psal 104.3 And that He came to Moses in a thick cloud and that he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud and that the Lord descended in the cloud Is not the Cloud God's own Chariot Behold the Lord rideth on a swift cloud and O Lord my God thou art very great saith David great indeed and he proves it thus Who maketh the clouds his Chariot Jesus Christ in his ascension to heaven enters by the way into a cloud this was his chariot led by thousands and ten thousands of his Angels psal 68.17 18 The Chariots of God are Twenty thousand even thousands of Angels the Lord is among them in Sinai in the holy place thou hast ascended on high thou hast led captivity captive thou hast received gifts for men Some are of opinion that not only thousands of Angels led this chariot but that many of the Saints which slept and rose with Christ at his resurrection now ascended with him and compassed about this glorious cloud English Annotations on Eph. 4.8 whence they give this for the meaning of the text that when he went up through the ayr and ascended up on high he led captivity captive that is he led a certain number of captives namely the Saints that were long held in captivity of death whose bodies arose at Christ's resurrection and now they accompanied Christ at his triumphant march into heaven However he was attended be not too curious O my soul in this the bright cloud that covered his body discovered his Divinity and therefore here is thy duty to look stedfastly towards heaven and to worship him in his ascension up into heaven O admire and adore But stay not thy contemplation in the cloud he ascends yet higher through the Ayr and through the Clouds and through that sphere or element of fire and through those Orbs of the Moon Mercury Mars of the Sun Jupiter Venus Saturn and through that azure Heaven of fixed Stars and through that first moveable and through those condence and solid waters of the Christaline Heaven nor stood he still till he came to those doors and gates of the Empyreal Heaven called The heaven of heavens in all this triumphant glorious march some tell us of an heavenly harmony made by those Choristers of Heaven Cypr. in Serm. Ascens Psal 4.5 the blessed Angels Some going before and some going after they chant his praises and sing Hallelujahs and that is the meaning of the Psalmist God is gone up with a shout the Lord with the sound of a Trumpet In this meditation pass not over thy duty which immediately follows Sing praises unto God Ver. 6. Psal 68. â— sing praises sing praises unto our King sing praises Sing unto God sing praises to his Name extol him that rideth upon the heavens by the Name â—ah and rejoyce before him Thou hast great cause O my soul to praise him and to rejoyce before him especially if thou considerest that Christ ascended not for himself but also for thee it is God in our nature that is gone up to heaven whatever God acted on the person of Christ that he did as in thy behalf and he means to act the very same on thee Christ as a publick person ascended up to heaven thy interest is in this very ascension of Jesus Christ and therefore dost thou consider thy Head as soaring up O let every Member praise his Name let thy Tongue called thy glory glory in this and trumpet out his praises that in respect of thy duty it may be verified Christ is gone up with a shout the Lord with the sound of a Trumpet And yet stay not by the way but consider further Christ being now arrived at Heavens doors those heavenly spirits that accompanied him began to say Psal 24.7 Lift up your heads O ye gates even lift up your selves yea everlasting doors and the King of glory shall come in to whom some of the Angels that were within not ignorant of his person but admiring his majesty and Glory said again Who is the King of Glory and then they answered The Lord strong and mighty the Lord mighty in battel Ver. 8. Rev. 21.12 and thereupon those Twelve gates of the Holy City of new Jerusalem opened of their own accord and Jesus Christ with all his ministring Spirits entred in O my soul how should this heighten thy joy and enlarge thy comforts in that Christ is now received up into glory every sight of Christ is glorious and in every sight thou shouldst wait
his holy Spirit and thou mayest go singing to thy grave a lively saith in such particulars would set a soul in heaven even whilest yet on earth SECT VI. Of loving Jesus in that respect 6. LEt us love Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us in these particulars much hath been said already of Christ's Conception Birth Life Death Resurrection such Arguments of love as are enough to swallow up souls in love to Christ again O the treasures of love and wisdom that have been opened in former passages but as if all those were not enough for God see here new Gold mines new found out Jewels never known to be in the world before opened and unfolded in Jesus Christ Here are the incomes of the beams of light most inaccessible here are the veins of the unsearchable Glories of Jesus Christ as if we saw every moment a new heaven a new treasure of love the Bosom of Christ is yet more opened the new breathings and spirations of love are yet more manifested See! Christ for us and for our salvation is gone up to Heaven is set down at God's right hand and hath sent down the holy Ghost into our hearts in the pouring out of these Springs of Heavens love how should our souls but open the mouth-wide and take in the streams of Christ's Nectar Honey and Milk I mean his sweet and precious and dear love-breathings We have heard of Christ's invitations Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden but suppose Christ had never outed his love in such a love-expressing Come to me Mat. 11.28 yet Christ himself in these glorious particulars is such a drawing object the very beauty of Christ the very smell of the Garments of Christ very capacious and wide Heaven of Christ's exaltation are intrinsecally and of themselves such drawing ravishing winning objects that upon the apprehension of them we cannot chuse but love Christ as Gold that is dumb and cannot speak yet the beauty and gain of it cryeth aloud Come hither poor creature and be thou made rich so if Christ should never open his lips if he should never gently move Open to me my sister my love my dove my undefiled Cant. 5.2 for my head is full of dew and my locks with the drops of the night yet the Glory the Power the Soveraignty of Christ the exaltation of his Person and the magnificence of his Gifts should even change our souls into a Globe or mass of Divine Love and Glory As it were by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3.18 Two things I shall instance in which may be as the Load-stones of our love to Christ the first is his glory and the second his bounty 1. For his Glory no sooner was he ascended and set down at God's right hand but John the Divine had a sight of him and oh what a glorious sight Rev. 1.13 14 15 16. He was cloathed with a garment down to the feet and girt about the paps with a golden girdle his head and his hairs were white like wooll as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire and his feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters and he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword and his countenance was at the Sun that shineth in his strength when John saw him thus he swoons at his feet but Christ for all his Glory holds his head in his swoon saying fear not I am the first and the last I am he that liveth and was dead ver 17 18. and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and hath the Keys of hell and of death A glorious Christ is good for swooning dying sinners would sinners but draw near and come and see this King in the chariot of love and come and see his beauty the uncreated white and red in his sweet countenance he would certainly draw their souls unto him Nay say that all the damned in hell were brought up with their burning fiery chains to the utmost door of Heaven could we strike up a window and let them look in and behold the Throne and the Lamb and the Troops of glorified spirits cloathed in white with Crowns of gold on their heads and Palms in their hands singing the eternal praises of their glorious King oh how would they be sweetned in their pain and convinced of their foolish choice and ravished with the fulness of those joyes and pleasures that are in Christ's face for evermore surely much more may this glory of Christ warm thy heart O my soul what an happiness were it to see the King on his Throne to see the Lamb the fair Tree of Life the branches which cannot for the narrowness of the place have room to grow in For the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him What an happiness were it to see love it self and to be warmed with the heat of immediate love that comes out of the precious heart and bowels of this princely and royal Standard-bearer as yet thou canst not must not see these sights there 's no seeing the King thus in his beauty till thou comest to glory for then and then only must thou see him face to face and yet the Idea and Image of this glory is seen and may be seen of every true believing soul enough may be seen by an eye of faith to kindle in thine heart a flame of love to the Lord Jesus Christ Oh who can think of the glory that is in this dainty delightful One and not be swallowed up in love Who can think of Christ's sitting at God's right hand and sparkling in this glory round about and casting out beams of glory through East and West and North and South through Heaven and Earth and Hell and not love him with the whole heart soul and might I remember one dying and hearing some discourse of Jesus Christ Oh said she speak more of this let me hear more of this be not weary of telling his praise I long to see him how should I but long to hear of him Surely I cannot say too much of Jesus Christ in this blessed subject no man can possibly hyperbolize had I the tongues of Men and Angels I could never fully set forth Christ it involves an eternal contradiction that the creature can see to the bottom of the Creator Suppose all the sands on the Sea-shore all the Flowers Herbs Leaves twigs of Trees in Woods and Forrests all the Stars of Heaven were all rational creatures and had they that wisdom and tongues of Angels to speak of the loveliness beauty glory and excellency of Christ as gone to Heaven and sitting at the right hand of his Father they would in all their expressions stay millions of miles on this side Jesus Christ O the loveliness beauty and glory of his Countenance can I speak or you
World to come and yet fell away and it is said of such others that they trampled upon the Blood of Christ wherewith they were sanctified Thus we find in Scripture-phrase that in an Hypocrite or wicked Man there may be a kind of Faith and repentance a taste of Heaven and of Sanctificatian but where do we find in all the Bible that Christ or the Spirit of Christ is said to dwell in an Hypocrite or wicked Man this only is the great priviledge of a true believer Christ in him the Hope of Glory O the comfort of this in-dwelling of Christ Luke 19.6 If Zacheus hearing that Christ would abide in his House received him joyfully how much greater cause of joy have they who have already lodged him in their hearts John 15.11 These things have I spoken to you said Christ that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full And now O my soul spread thy self on this great good Christ's Ascension Christ's Session and Christs Mission of his Holy Spirit What is joy but an effusion of the appetite whereby the Soul spreads it self on what is good to possess it more perfectly the object is sweet and large and therefore the soul had need to spread it self that it may be more united to the Object and touch the good in more of its parts yea if it were possible in every part There is not any particular here before thee but 't is fewel for joy O what joy was in Heaven when Christ Ascended and when Christ sate down at God's right hand and when Christ sent down the Holy Spirit how stood the Angels wondring and admiring at these several passages how did they stoop and look with the bowing of the Head and bending of the Neck as the Word implies 1 Pet. 1.12 and is not thy interest in these transactions more than Angels O rejoyce and again rejoyce suppose thy self in Heaven and that thou hadst a vision of Christ ascended say is he not a pleasant Object In his face there is fulness of joy Psal 16.11 Suppose thy self to have been in Heaven when he first entred into it and when he first sate down at God's right hand and sent down the Comforter to his Saints was not Heaven full of joy methinks the very thought of Christ's bright Face and Christ's white Throne and Christ's Harpers and Heavenly Troops surrounding the Throne and Christ's welcome to his Father both for himself and all his Saints and Christ's carrying thy name upon his Breast before his Father should fill thy soul as full of joy as possibly it can hold O the first-fruits of Emanuel's land that lyes beyond time and death O the joyes that were in Heaven at Christ's first entrance into Heaven O my soul why dost thou not check thy self and lay aside thy sad complaints and forget this Earth and Earthly troubles why dost thou not look up to Jesus Christ and rejoyce in him who hath done all this for thy Salvation either the Spirit of God is not thy Comforter or thou canst not but receive comfort in these passages SECT VIII Of calling on Jesus in that Respect 8. LEt us call on Jesus I mean 1. Let us pray that we may have our part in these transactions or let us pray for more and more assurance thereof unto our souls for though we do believe yet we may not be without our doubts and in case of doubts what better means than Prayer I believe Lord help my unbelief Lord strengthen my Faith till I come to that plerophory or full assurance of faith that I may know my interest in the Ascension of Christ and Session of Christ and in the Mission of Christ's holy Spirit and if once we are but assured then 2. Praise God for these great transactions of his Son are they not mercies like mountains lying one upon another and reaching up to the very Heavens did not love break out at first in a direct line and as it went along hath it not wound up it self in such a variety of unthought of discoveries as that it amazeth Men and Angels what that Jesus Christ should not only act for us here on earth but also ascend for us into Heaven and sit down there at God's right hand above the Heavens what that all this should be for us and our salvation and to that purpose that he should send down his Spirit into our hearts to fit us and prepare us for his glory Now bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits Psal 103.1 2. I will extol thee my God O King and I will bless thy Name for ever and ever every day will I bless thee and I will praise thy Name for ever and ever One generation shall praise thy works to another Psal 145.1 2 4 7 10 11 12. and shall declare thy mighty acts I will speak of the glorious honour of thy Majesty and of thy wondrous works I will utter the memory of thy great goodness and will sing of thy righteousness Thy Saints shall bless thee they shall speak of the glory of thy Kingdom and talk of thy power and make known unto the sons of men thy mighty acts and the glorious Majesty of thy Kingdom Thy glory is above the earth and heaven Psal 148.13 14. thou also exaltest the horn of thy people the praise of all thy Saints and people near unto thy self O that my soul were but in David's temper thus to breath out the praises of Jesus and to bless his Name SECT IX Of conforming unto Jesus in that respect 9. LEt us conform to Jesus in the aforesaid respects A serious beholding of Jesus in his Ascension Session and Mission of his Spirit is enough to change us into the same Image from glory to glory It was the sweet saying of an experienced Saint View a glorified Christ see him as in that relation and condition and you will soon have the sparkles of the same glory on your hearts Christ is now exalted he is now in glory at the right hand of God Col. 3.1 2. O let all our actings be glorious let all our walkings joys breathings be as in glory If ye be risen with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God set your affections on things above and not on things on the earth I shall not in this transaction lay out many particular conformities to Christ's actings but gather all into one contained in this Text which is heavenly conversation seek things above set your affections above Christ is gone up and Christ is set down at God's right hand and herein if you will conform let your hearts be in Heaven let your affections be in Heaven let your conversations be in Heaven it is the Apostles own practise wherein stood his conformity to Jesus Christ for our
conversation is in heaven Phil 3.20 I do not know any one thing wherein we can be more like to Christ exalted whiles we are upon earth than to have our hearts our affections our conversations with Christ where he is now then if we be vertually risen with Christ and ascended with Christ and set down with Christ in heavenly places let us spiritually ascend and sit down with him in these respects certainly there is a proportion in our heavenly conversation oh let our conversations be in Heaven In prosecution of this I shall examine these Quaeries 1. What do we mean by our conversation in heaven 2. Why must our conversation be in heaven 3. By what means must we come up to this conversation in heaven 1. By our conversation in heaven I mean our aim at heaven as heaven is our home so our eye is there whatever we do our end our scope is to fit us for heaven and to lay in for heaven We look not saith the Apostles at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen 2 Cor. 4.18 for the things which are seen are temporal but the things which are not seen are eternal We look not that is we aim not at things which are seen invisible things are the only scope and aim of a gracious soul 2. By our conversation in heaven I mean our communion with Christ in heaven Truly our fellowship is with the Father 1 John 1.3 and with his Son Jesus Christ As it is amongst friends that converse together they act mutually for the comfort one of another there is a mutual embracing and opening of their hearts to one another at every turn so in our conversings with Christ there is a communion or a mutual acting of the soul upon Christ and of Christ upon the soul we let out our hearts to Christ and he lets out his heart to us especially when we are with Christ in his Ordinances it 's not enough to call upon God and to use some broken-hearted expressions but oh what communion have I with Jesus Christ I cannot be satisfied except I taste and see how good the Lord is I cannot be quiet except I hear somthing from Heaven this morning Why this is an heavenly conversation 3. By our conversation in Heaven I mean our living according to the Laws of Heaven in all our ways we must still enquire What rule is there from Heaven to guide me in these ways such and such a thing I have a mind to but will the Law of Heaven justifie me in this have I any word from Jesus Christ to guide me in this sometimes indeed my lust my own ends and the common course of the world was my rule but now I dare not act but according to the Will and Scepter of Jesus Christ now I am guided by the Laws of Heaven Why this is an Heavenly conversation 4. By our conversation in Heaven I mean our thoughts and meditations of Heaven and heavenly things When I awake saith David I am always with thee Psal 139.18 the hearts of believers are frequently upon their heavenly treasures as it is storied of Queen Mary that a little before her death she told them if they ript her open they would find Call is in her heart so it may be said of them whose conversation is in Heaven if you rip them up you shall find Heaven in their hearts not a day passes over their heads without some converse with Heaven without some thoughts or meditations of heaven and heavenly things 5. By our conversation in heaven I mean our affections on heaven or on Christ in heaven Set your affections on things above i.e. set your desires loves hopes joys Col. 3.2 breathings on heavenly things our affections are precious things and are onely to be set on precious objects oh what a shame is it to set our affection on the things of this life have we a Kingdom a God a Christ a Crown in Heaven to set our affections upon and shall we set them upon dross and dung and such base things are not all our pleasures and vanities base in comparison of Christ O be not we so base to set our affections on earthly things but rather on God and Christ and this is our heavenly conversation 6. By our conversation in Heaven I mean our tradings our negotiations for Heaven even whilest we are upon Earth the word in the Original points at this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our trading is in Heaven though our bodies be not there yet our tradings are there we carry and behave our selves in this life as free Denizons of the City of Heaven our City whereof we are Citizens and whereunto we have right is in Heaven above in this respect we trade not for strifles as other men do but we trade for great things for high things we merchandize for goodly pearls even for God and for Christ who sitteth at the right hand of God We see now what is meant by our conversation in Heaven 2. Why is the conversation of the Saints in Heaven 1. Because they know full well that the Original of their souls came from God and Heaven the body indeed was of the dust of the ground but the soul was the breath of God so it is said of the first man God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life Gen. 2.7 and man became a living soul The soul had a more heavenly and divine Original than any of the other creatures that are here in this neather World and when God works grace in the soul and so it begins to know it self and to return to it self it then looks on all things here below as vile and as contemptible things it then looks upward and begins to converse with things sutable to its Original As it is with a child that hath a noble birth if transported into another Country and there used like a slave there set to take channels or as the Prodigal to feed swine while he is there and knows not his Original he minds nothing but to get victuals and to do his work that he is set about but if once he come to know from whence he was that he is indeed born heir to such a Prince in such a Country O then his thoughts and mind and longings will be altered O that I were in my own Country O that I were with my Father in his Court Even so it is with the souls of the Sons of men they are the birth as I may so speak of the great King of Heaven and Earth and though by the fall of man they came to be as slaves to Satan yet when God is pleased to convert the soul then he discovers thus Oh man thou art born from on high thy soul is as it were a sparkle of God himself thou art come from God and thou art capable of communion with God even with God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy
suffered upon earth it had been ineffectual unto us had he not entred into heaven Heb. 9.24 to appear there in the presence of God for us Surely this Intercession is that which puts life into the death of Christ this Intercession is that which strikes the last stroak during this World in the carrying on of our souls Salvation Goodwin Christ set forth Rom. 8.34 and makes all sure It is a witty observation that one makes of these several steps of Christs actings for us as first there was an all-sufficiency in his death who shall condemn it is Christ that dyed 2. A rather in his Resurrection yea rather that is risen again 3. A much rather in his life and session at God's right hand for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of Christ much rather being reconciled we shall be saved by his life Rom. 5.10 4. The Apostle riseth yet higher to a saving to the utmost and puts that upon his intercession wherefore he is able to save us to the utmost Heb. 7.25 seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us If in the former were any thing wanting this intercession of Christ supplies all it is the Coronis which makes all effectual it saves to the uttermost for it self is the uttermost and highest step on earth Christ begins the execution of his office in heaven he ends it in his life and death Christ was the meritorious cause but by his intercession Christ is the applying cause of our souls salvation In this very Intercession of Christ is the consummation and perfection of the Priest-hood of Christ O then how requisite and necessary must this needs be 4. It is gracious and full of bowels Christ his intercession and indeed Christ's Priestly office is erected and set up on purpose for the relief of poor distressed sinners There is no mixture of terror in this blessed office of Jesus Christ and this doth distinguish it from his other offices Christ by his Kingly office rules over the Churches and over the World but all obtain not mercy whom he thus rules over Christ by his prophetical office comes to his own but many of his own received him not but now wherever the Priestly office of Jesus Christ is let forth upon a Soul that soul shall certainly be saved for ever O this Priestly office of Christ is an office of meer love and tender compassion Heb. 4.15 Christ saith the Apostle is such an high-Priest as cannot be but touched with the feeling of our infirmities Oh he is a merciful Heb. 2.17 and a faithful high Priest in things partaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the People He is mercifull and exceeding compassionate in all our afflictions he is afflicted Isa 63.9 and in his love and in his pity he Redeemed us and in his love and pity he intercedes for us SECT VIII Wherein the Intercession of Christ consists 8. WHerein more especially doth the Intercessions of Jesus Christ consist some suppose that Christs very being in heaven and putting God in mind of his active and passive obedience by his very presence is all that intercession that the Scripture speaks of But I rather answer is these particulars As 1. Christs intercession consists in the presenting of his Person for us he himself went up to heaven and presented himself the Apostle calls this an appearing for us Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands but into heavâ—n now to appear in the presence of God for us Heb. 9.24 I believe there is an Emphasis in the Word appearing for us But how appears he for us I answer 1. In a publick manner whatsoever he did in this kind he did it openly and publickly he appears for us in the presence of God the Father he appears for us in the presence of his Saints and Angels heavens eyes are all upon him in his appearing for us 2. He appears for us as a Mediator he stands in the middle betwixt God and us hence it is that he is God-man that he might be a Mediator betwixt God and man 3. He appears for us as a Sponsor and a pledge surely it is a comfort for a man to have a friend at Court at the Princes elbow that may own him and appear for him but if this friend be both a Mediator and Surety a Mediator to request for him and a Surety to engage for him Phil. 9.10 ver 18 19. Oh what comfort is this thus Christ appeared in every respect he is a Mediator to request for us and he is a Surety to engage for us as Paul was for Onesimus a mediator I beseech thee for my Son Onesimus and a Sponsor if he hath wronged thee or owe thee ought put that on my account I will repay it So is Jesus Christ for his Saints he is the Mediator of a better Covenant Heb. 8.6 Heb. 8.6 and he is a Surety of a better Testament Heb. 7.22 Heb. 7. â—2 4. He appears as a Solicitor to present and promote the desires and requests of his Saints in such a way as that they may find acceptance with his Father He is not idle now he is in Heaven but as on earth he ever went about doing good so now in glory he is ever about his work of doing good he spends all his time in Heaven in promoteing the good of his people as from the beginning it was his care so to the Worlds end it will be his care to solicite his Father in the behalf of his poor Saints he tells God thus and thus it is with his poor Members they are in want in trouble in distress in affliction in reproach and then he presents their sighs sobs prayers tears and groans and that in such a way as that they may become acceptable to his Father 5. He appears as an Advocate if any man sin 1 John 2. â— we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous An Advocate is more than a Solicitor an Advocate is one that is of Counsel with an other and that pleadeth his Case in open Court and such an advocate is Jesus Christ unto his people 1. He is of Councel with them that is one of the Titles given him by the Prophet Isaiah Wonderful Councellour Isa 96. He councells them by his Word and Spirit 2. He pleads for them and this he doth in the high Court of Heaven at the Bar of God's own Justice there he pleads their case and answereth all the accusations that are brought in by Satan or their own Consciences but of this anon 6. He appears as a publick agent or Ledger-Embassadour what that is some tell us in these particulars 1. His work is to continue peace and surely this is Christ's work he is our peace saith the Apostle that is the author of our peace Eph. 2.14 he purchased our peace and he maintains our peace with
God to this purpose he sits at God's right hand to intercede for us and to maintain the peace and union betwixt God and us therefore being justified by faith Rom. 5.1 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 2. His work is to maintain intercourse and correspondency and surely this is Christs work also By him we have an access unto the Father Eph. 2.18.3.12 In him we have boldness and access with confidence by the Faith of him the word access doth not only signifie coming to God in prayer but all that resort and communion which we have with God as united by faith to Jesus Christ according to that 1 Pet. 3.18 Christ had once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God This benefit have all believers in and by Christ they come to God by him they have free commerce and intercourse in heaven 3. His work is to reconcile and take up emergent differences and this is Christ's work also Isa 53.12 he maketh intercession for the Transgressors he takes up the differences that our transgressions make betwixt God and us 4. This work is to procure the welfare of the People or State where he negotiates and this is no less Christ's Work for he seeks the welfare of his people he sits at God's right hand to intercede for them and commending their estate and condition to his Father Phil. 1.19 he makes it his request to his Father that his members may have a continual supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that they may be strengthened in temptations confirmed in tribulations delivered from every evil work enabled to every good duty and finally preserved unto his Heavenly Kingdom 2. Christ's Intercessions consists in the presenting of his Wounds Death and Blood as a publick satisfaction for the debt of sin and as a publick price for the purchase of our glory There is a question amongst the Schools whether Christ hath not taken his wounds or the signs skars and prints of his wounds into heaven with him and whether Christ is representing those wounds skars and prints unto his Father doth not hereby intercede for us some I am sure are for the affirmative Aquinas distinguisheth of Christ's Intercession as being three-fold Aquin. in Job c. 2. the first before his passion by devout prayer and the second at his Passion by effusion of his blood and the third after his Ascension by the representation of his Wounds and Scars Howsoever this hold for I dare not be too confident without Scripture-ground yet this I dare say that Christ doth not only present himself but the Sacrifice of himself and the infinite Merit of his Sacrifice When he went to heaven he carried with him absolutely the Power Merit the vertue of his Wounds and Death and Blood into the presence of God the Father for us and with his blood he sprinkled the Mercy-seat as it were seven times We read in the Law that When the high Priest went within the vail he took the blood of the Bullock and sprinkled it with his finger upon the mercy-seat East-ward Levit. 16.14 and before the mercy-seat he sprinkled the blood with his finger seven times not only was the Priest to kill the Bullock without the holy of holies but he was to enter with the blood into the holy of holies and to sprinkle the mercy-seat therein with it surely these were patterns of things to be done in the Heavens Christ that was slain and Crucified without the gate carryed his own blood into the holy of holies or into the heaven of heavens Heb. 9.12 for by his own blood he entred in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us and thither come he sprinkles it as it were upon the mercy-seat i.e. he applyes it and obtains mercy by it by the blood of Christ God's mercy and justice are reconciled in themselves and reconciled unto us Christ sprinkles his blood on the mercy-seat seven times seven is a note of perfection where Christs blood is sprinkled on a soul that soul is sure to be washed from all filth and at last to be perfected and saved to the very utmost Christ's blood was shed upon the earth but Christ's blood is sprinkled now he is in heaven what is any soul sprinkled with the blood of Christ Heb. 12.22 24. surely this sprinkling comes from heaven so the Apostle But ye are come to mount Zion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and then it follows to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel It is upon mount Zion where this sprinkling is there is Jesus at God's right hand there he stands as it were upon the mount Levit. 16.14 19. and there he sprinkles his blood round about him heaven is all besprinkled as the mercy-seat in the holy of holies was the earth is all besprinkled as the Altar out of the holy of holies was heaven and earth are all besprinkled with the blood of Jesus so that the Saints and people of God are no where but their doors and their posts and houses I mean their bodies and souls are all besprinkled with the blood of the Lamb slain from the beginning of the World Why this is that blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel Mark that Christ's blood hath a tongue it speaks it cries it prayes it intercedes there 's some agreement and some difference betwixt Christs blood and Abels blood Gen. 4.10 1. The agreement is in these things Abels blood was abundantly shed for so it is said the voyce of bloods and Christ's blood was let out with thornes and scourges nails and spear Gen. 4.10 it was abundantly shed Again Abels blood cryed out yea it made a loud cry so that it was heard from earth to heaven the voice of thy Brothers blood cryeth unto me from the ground and Christ's blood cryeth out it makes a loud cry it fills heaven and earth with the noise yea the Lords ears are so filled with it that it drowns all other souls and rings continually in his ears 2. The difference is in these things Abels blood cryed for vengeance against Cain but Christ's blood speaks for mercy on all believers Abels blood was shed because he sacrificed and he and his sacrifice accepted but Christs blood was shed that he might be sacrificed and that we through his sacrifice might be accepted Abels blood cryed thus see Lord and revenge but Christs blood cryed thus Father forgive them for they know not what they do and at this very instant Christ's blood crys for remission and here 's our comfort if God heard the servant he will much rather hear the Son if he heard the servant for spilling he will much more hear the Son for saving yet that I may speak properly and not in figures
I will not say that the very blood which Christ shed on the Cross is now in heaven nor that it speaks in heaven these cryings are merely Mataphorical yet this I maintain as real and proper that the power merit and vertue of Christ's blood is presented by our Saviour to his Father both as a publick satisfaction for our sin and as a publick price for the purchase of our glory 3. Christ's Intercession consists in the presenting of his will his request his interpellation for us John 17.24 grounded upon the vigor and vertue of his glorious merits Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me This was a piece of Christ's prayer while yet he was on earth and some say it is a summary of Christ's Intercession which now he makes for us in his glory he prayed on earth as he meant to pray for us when he came to heaven he hints at this in the beginning of his Prayer for he speaks as if all his work had been done on earth John 17.4 5. and as if then he were even beginning his work in heaven I have glorified thee on earth I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do and now O Father glorifie thou me with thy own self with the glory which I had with thee before the World was I know it is a question whether Christ now in heaven do indeed and truth and in right propriety of speech pray for us some able Divines are for the Negative others for the Affimative For my part leaving a liberty to those otherwise minded according to their light I am of opinion that Christ doth not only intercede by an interpretative Prayer as in the presenting of himself and his merits to his Father but also by an express prayer or by an express and open representation of his will and to this opinion methinks these Texts agree I will pray the Father John 14.16 John 16.26 27. and he shall give you another Comforter and at that day ye shall ask in my Name and I say unto you that I will pray the Father for you when he saith I say not that I will pray for you it is the highest intimation that he would pray for them as it is our phrase I do not say that I will do this or that for you no not I when indeed we will most surely do it and do it to purpose Austin confirms this orat pro nobis orat in nobis oratur a nobis c. He prays for us he prays in us and he is prayed to by us he prays for us as he is our Priest Aug. Prefat in psalm 85. and he prays in us as he is our Head and he is prayed to by us as he is our God Ambrose tells us That Christ so now prays for us as sometimes he prayed for Peter that his faith should not fail Amb. super ad Roman 8. Methinks I imagine as if I heard Christ praying in heaven in this Language O my Father I pray not for the World I will not open my lips for any one Son of perdition but I imploy all my blood and all my prayers and all my interests with thee for my dear beloved precious Saints it is true thou hast given me a personal glory which I had with thee before the World was and yet there is another glory I beg for and that is the glory of my Saints O that they may be saved why I am glorified in them they are my joy John 17.10 13 24. and therefore I must have them with me where I am thou hast set my heart upon them and thou thy self hast loved them as thou hast loved me and thou hast ordained them to be one in us even as we are one and therefore I cannot live long asunder from them I have thy company but I must have theirs too I will that they be with me where I am If I have any glory they must have part of it this is my prayer that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me Why thus Christ prayed while he was on Earth and if this same prayer be the summary of Christ's intercession or interpellation now he is in heaven we may imagine him praying thus it were too nice to question whether Christ's prayer in heaven be vocal or mental certainly Christ presents his gracious will to his Father in heaven some way or other and I make no question but he fervently and immoveably desires that for the perpetual vertue of his sacrifice all his members may be accepted of God and crowned with glory nor only is there a cry of his blood in heaven but Christ by his prayer seconds that cry of his blood an argument is handed to us by Master Goodwin thus As it was with Abel Goodwin Christ set forth so it is with Christ Abels blood went up to heaven and Abels soul went up to heaven and by this means the cry of Abels dead blood was seconded by the cry of Abels living soul his cause cryed and his soul cryed as it is said of the Martyrs that the souls of them that were slain for the Testimony which they held cryed with a loud voice saying how long Lord Holy and True dost thou not judge and avenge our blood that dwell on the earth Rev. 6.9 10. even so it is with Christ his blood went up to heaven and his soul went up to heaven yea his body soul and all his whole person went up to Heaven and by this means his cause cryes and he himself seconds the cry of his cause Jesus Christ in his own person ever liveth to make Intercession for us he ever liveth as the great Master of requests to present his desires that those for whom he dyed may be saved 4. Christ's Intercession consists in the presenting of our persons in his own person to his Father so that now God cannot look upon the Son but he must behold the Saints in his Son are they not members of his body in near relation to himself and are not all his Intercessions in behalf of them and only of them but how are all the Elect carried up into heaven with Jesus Christ and there set down before his Father in Jesus Christ I answer not actually but mystically when Christ intercedes he takes our persons and carries them in unto God the Father in a most unperceiveable way to us for the way or manner I leave it to others for my part I dare not be too inquisitive in a secret not revealed by God only this we say that Christ presents our persons to his Father in his own person and this was plainly shadowed out by that act or office of the high Priest who went into the holy of holies Exod. 28.12 with the names of all the Tribes of Israel upon his shoulders and upon his breast
continueth ever hath an unchangeable Priesthood and the work of his Priesthood is interpreted ver 25. To make intercession for ever The meaning of this is that God would not have him continue to be a Priest in title only or in respect onely of a service past and so to have only the honour of Priesthood perpetuated to him out of the remembrance of what he once had done But God would have him to enjoy as the renown of the old to a perpetual spring of honour by this new work of intercession and so to preserve the verdure of his glory ever fresh and green and the sum of the Apostles reasoning is this that seeing himself was to be for ever so his work of Priesthood should be for ever that so his honour might be preserved and continued for ever also 5. It is Christ's love to his Saints his heart is so inamoured with his Saints that therefore he intercedes for them for ever Love is as strong as death it is never weary of doing good for the party beloved now Christ's Saints are Christ's love My sister my love Cant. 5.2 Mal. 3.17 John 15.19 Isa 43.20 my dove the Saints in Christ's books are so many jewels And they shall be mine saith the Lord of hoasts in that day when I make up my jewels the Saints are Christ's only choyce the very flower of the Earth You have I chosen out of the world and ye are my people my chosen All the World is Christ's refuge and Kings are but morter to him onely the Saints are Christ's chosen they are they whom the Lord in his eternal councels hath set a part for himself But know saith the Psalmist that the Lord hath set apart him that is Godly psalm 4.3 The Saints are Christ's image i.e. the resemblance of Christ in all that which is his chief excellency I mean in his righteousness and holiness as if I would take the picture of a man I would not draw it to resemble his back-parts but as near as I could I would draw it to life the very face and countenance so are the Saints the very picture the image the draught of God in his top excellency The Saints are in covenant with Jesus Christ and therefore in nearer relation than any others hence it is that they are called the portion of God the treasure of God the peculiar people of God those that God and Christ satisfie themselves in those that God and Christ have set their hearts on the children of God the Father the very Spouse and bride of God the Son in some respect nearer than the Angels themselves for the Angels are not so married to Christ in a mystical union as God's people are now is it any wonder that those who are so very dear to Christ should be in the prayers of Christ if they were so much in his heart that sometimes be shed his blood for them will he not now intercede for O yes to this end he carries them on his breast or heart as near as near may be that they may be in a continual remembrace before the Lord for ever his very love compels him to this office to intercede for them 6. It is Christ's delight to intercede for his Saints before the world was Prov. 8.31 Psalm 40 7 8. His delights were with the sons of men and when the fulness of time came then said he Lo I come in the volume of the book it is written of me I delight to do thy Will O my God and what was that but to be with the sons of men he knew that was his Fathers pleasure and in respect of himself he had a delight to live with them and to dye for them and no sooner he entred into Heaven but there he delights to officiate still in behalf of the sons of men he carries their names on his heart there and though some of their persons be on earth and he in his bodily presence is in Heaven yet distance of place cannot deaden his delights in the remembrance of them he is ever minding his Father of his people in the neather world he tells him that they are his all in all upon the earth all his joy and all his delight and all his portion as men use to give portions to their children so God having but one Son by eternal generation he hath given the Elect unto him as his portion and hence he makes it his great business in Heaven to provide mansions for his portion to take up God's heart for his portion to beg favour and love for his portion Here 't is the joy of Christ in Heaven in going to his Father and telling him Why Father I have a small portion yet on earth and because they are on earth they are still sinning against thy Majesty but I have suffered and satisfied for their sins and hither am I come to mind Thee of it and contiunally to get out fresh pardons for new sins come look on my old satisfaction didst Thou not promise Isa 53.11 12. is it not in the Articles of agreement betwixt Thee and me that I should see of the travel of my soul and should be satisfied didst Thou not say that because I poured out my soul therefore Thou wouldst divide me a portion with the great and the spoyle with the strong O my Father now I make intercession for the transgressors give me out pardons for an hundred thousand millions of sins Thou hast said and sworn that Thou hast no pleasure in the death of sinners and it is my pleasure my joy my infinite delight to save sinners these are my seed my portion my redeemed ones and therefore let them be saved Thus Christ intercedes and his delight in his Saints as knowing it to be his Fathers mind draws him on to this intercession indeed this reason hangs upon that primary and first reason it is God's will that Christ should intercede as it is Christ's delight to do the will of his Father in Heaven I delight to do thy Will O my God 7. It is Christs compassion that causeth intercession Christ is such an high Priest Heb. 4.15 saith the Apostle as cannot but be touched with the feeling of our infirmities He was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin When he was on earth he felt our infirmities frailties miseries and as a man that hath felt the Stone or Gout or Fever or especially that hath felt soul-troubles cannot but compassionate those that are in the like condition so Christ having had the experience of our outward and inward sufferings he cannot but compassionate us and hence it is his very compassion's moving that he intercedes to his Father in our behalf It is observed that the very office or work of the High-Priest was to sympathize with the people of God onely in the case of the death of his kindred he was not as others to sympathize or mourn but Jesus Christ goes beyond all
the High-Priests that ever were before him he doth fully sympathize with us not in some but in all conditions In all our afflictions he is afflicted Isa 63.9 I believe Christ hath carried a man's heart up with him to Heaven and though there be no passions in him as he is God yet the flower the blossom the excellency of all these passions which we call compassions are infinitely in him as he is God he striketh and tryeth and yet he pittieth when Ephraim bemoaneth himself God replies Is Ephraim my dear son is he a pleasant child for since I spake against him Jer. 31.21 I do earnestly remember him still therefore my bowels are troubled for him Surely there 's a violence of heavenly passion in Christ's heart as God-man which makes him to break out into prayer to God and into compassions towards Men O that tempted souls would consider this it may be Christ is giving you a cup of tears and blood to drink but who knows what bowels what turnings of heart what motions of compassion are in Jesus Christ all the while those who feel the fruit of Christ's intercession know this and cannot but subscribe to this truth O ye of little faith why do ye doubt of Christ's bowels is he not our compassionate High-Priest hath not the tenderest meekest mildest heart of a man that God possibly can form met with the eternal and infinite mercy of God himself in Jesus Christ you have heard that Christ in both natures is our High-Priest Mediator Intercessor and if either God or Man know how to compassionate Heb. 4.15 Christ must do it O the bowels of Christ He is touched saith the Apostle with the feeling of our infirmities it is an allusion to the rolled and moved bowels of God in Jer. 31.20 Christ in Heaven is burning and flaming in a passion of compassion towards his weak ones and therefore he pleads intercedes and prays to God for them Thus far we have propounded the object which is Christ's intercession our next work is to direct you how to look upon Jesus in this respect CHAP. II. SECT I. Of knowing Jesus as carrying on the great work of our Salvation in his Intercession LET us know Jesus carrying on this great work of our salvation in his Intercession Is it not a rare piece of knowledge to know what Christ is now doing in Heaven for us on Earth If I had a weighty suite at Court on which lay my estate and life if I knew that I had a friend there that could prevail and that he were just now moving in my behalf were not this worth the knowledge I dare say in the behalf of all believers in the World Christ is now interceding for us at the right hand of God ever since his ascension into Heaven he hath been doing this work it is a work already of above sixteen hundred years and Summer and Winter Night and day without any tiredness of Spirit Christ hath been still praying still interceding Christ's love hath no vacation no cessation at all yea even now whiles you read this Christ is acting as an Advorate for you Christ hath your names ingraven as a seal on his heart and standing right opposite to the eye of his Father the first opening of the eye-lids of God is terminated upon the breast of Jesus Christ Is not this worth the knowledge O my soul leave off thy vain studies of natural things if they do not conduce some way or other to the right understanding of this they are not worth the while What is it for an Aristotle to be praised where he is not and to be damned where he is O the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ such a knowledge if true is no less than saving Come study his intercession in all the former particulars I have run them over for the work is swoln under my hands and I would now abbreviate only remember this that in Christ's intercession are many secrets which we must never know on this side Heaven oh take heed of entring into this labarinth without the clew of the Word above all desire the guidance of the Spirit to enlighten thy darkness and what ever thou knowest know it still for thy self SECT II. Of considering Jesus in that respect 2. LET us consider Jesus carrying on this work of our salvation in his intercession many of God's people have found the benefit and for my part I cannot but approve of it as an excellent quickning and enlivening duty to be much in a way of meditation or consideration especially when we meet with such a blessed subject as this is Psal 104.34 My meditation of him shall be sweet saith David I will be glad in the Lord it is enough to make a meditation sweet and refreshing when it is conversant about such a subject as Christ's intercession Is it not as incense a sweet odour and perfume with God himself and shall not each thought of it be sweet to us come let us be serious in this duty and that we may do it throughly let us consider it in these several particulars As 1. Consider of the nature of Christ's intercession what is it but the gracious Will of Christ fervently desiring that for the vertue of his death and sacrifice thy person and performances might be accepted of God As Christ on earth gave himself to the death even to the death of the Cross for the abolition sin so now in Heaven he prayes the Father by his agony and bloody sweat by his his cross and passion by his death and sacrifice that thy sins may be pardoned thy service accepted and thy soul saved This is the Will of Christ even thy justification sanctification and salvation accordingly he presents his Will Father I will that all those priviledges flowing from my death may be conferred on such a person by name such a soul is now meditating and considering of my intercession and my will is that his very meditation may find acceptance with God O what workings would be in thy heart and spirit if thou didst but consider that Christ even now were speaking his Will that thy person and duty might both find acceptance and be well-pleasing with God 2. Consider of the person that intercedes for thee it is Christ in both Natures it is thy Mediator the middle one betwixt God and man in this respect thou mayst consider him as one indifferent and equally inclining to either party like a pair of scales that hang even neither side lift up or depressed more than the other Gal. 3.20 A Mediator is not of one saith the Apostle Christ indifferently partook of both Natures God-head and Manhood that so he might be fit to stand in the gap between his Father and us he is a Priest according to both Natures he is a Dayes-man wholly for God and a Dayes-man wholly for us and on our side 3. Consider of the person to whom Christ intercedes is it
in reading pardons for his redeemed ones or in presenting petitions from them and pleading for them Surely he is still interceding every day it is his present work for our souls O desirable work 2. In this present transaction lies the application of all Christ's former actings whether of his habitual righteousness or of his active and passive obedience All those passages of Christ's incarnation conception circumcision birth life and death which more especially we look upon as the meritorious causes of our salvation had been nothing to us if they had not been applyed by Christ they were the means of impetration but Christ's intercession is the means of application Christ purchased salvation by those precedaneous acts but he possesseth us of our salvation by this perfective and consummate act of his intercession The order of this is laid down by the Apostle Heb. 5.8 9 10. in that first He learned obedience by the things which he suffered and then being made perfect he became the Author or applying cause of eternal salvation to all them that obey him being to this purpose called of God an High-Priest after the order of Melchizedeck Now is not this the desirable act above all other acts Alas what am I better for a Mine of Gold in such or such or such a field in which I have no propriety at all I am throughly convinc'd that Christ's merits are most precious merits but oh that they were mine Oh that Christ's intercessions would bring the salve and lay it to my sore Oh that I could hear that voice from Heaven My son I was incarnate for thee and conceived for thee and born for thee and circumcised for thee and I did the Law and suffered the penalty for thee and now I am interceding that thy very soul may have the benefit of all my doings and of all my sufferings Why if Christ's intercessions be the applying cause if it bring home to my soul all the former transactions of Christ saying All these are thine even thine oh how desirable must this intercession be 3. In this application lies that communion and fellowship which we have with the Father and the Son John 17.21 I pray for these that as thou Father art in me and I in thee that they also may be one in us Understand this soberly we cannot think that there should be that oneness in equalitie betwixt God and us as betwixt God and Christ no no but there is oneness in similitude and reallity even in this life by vertue of Christ's intercession we have oneness with God and Christ not onely in comforts but also in graces I pray you mark this when I speak of communion with God in this life I mean especially the communication of grace between God and the soul on God's part there 's a special influence of grace and favour to man and on man's part there is a special return of grace and honour to God Some trembling souls are apt to think that all communion with God and Christ consists only in the comforts of the holy spirit whereas Christians may as really and advantagiously have communion with God in secret conveyances of grace inward supports in a concealed acceptation of service in the hidden drawings of the soul God-ward as in the more open and comfortable manifestations of God unto the soul communion with God is a familiar friendship I speak it in an holy humble sence now do we not as usually go to a friend for councel and advice as for comfort and cheering in a friends bosom we intrust our sorrows as well as our joys Suppose a soul even spiritually overwhelmed and ready to break be taking it self unto God and venting it self before the Lord now if afterwards the soul hath no more case than by the bare lanching of the sore if God pours in no balm at all but only gives support shall we say that this soul in this case hath no communion with God O yes in God's secret visits of the soul and in the souls restless groping after God though nothing but darkness be apprehended yet that soul lives in the light of God's countenance the Sun shines though a cloud interposeth God smiles though the soul do not perceive it or certainly thou hast his strengthening-supporting presence if not his shining John 17.23 now this is the fruit of Christ's blessed intercession and this is the subject-matter of Christ's intercessions O my Father that these may be one in us I in them and thou in me I in them by the influence and power of my Spirit and thou in me by the fulness and power of the Godhead And is not this a most desirable thing 4. In this communion lyes the vision and fruition of Jesus Christ in glory grace brings to glory If communion here we shall have communion hereafter and this also is a part of Christ's prayer and intercession Father I will that they also whom thou hast given me may be with me where I am John 17.24 that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me Jesus cannot be in Heaven long without his Saints indeed it is impossible that Christ should be in Heaven and that pieces and bits of Christ-mystical should be in Hell or yet long on Earth Christ will draw in his Legs and Members on earth up nearer to the Head certainly Christ and you that are believers must be under one roof ere long Is not he gone before to prepare a place yea many mansions for you John 14.2 we think them happy on earth that have their many stately Halls and Palaces their summer and their winter-houses O Christians how happy will you be when you come to be Lords and Heirs of many stately Mansions in the streets of Heaven but what speak I of Mansions now I am naming Christ Mansions are nothing many Mansions are but little yea many Mansions in Christ's Fathers house are but created chips of happiness in comparison of that communion which by vertue of Christ's intercession we shall have with Christ It is the saying of an eminently learned holy Divine Sam. Rutherford I should refuse heaven saith he if Christ were not there take Christ away from Heaven and it 's but a poor dark heartless dwelling Heaven without Christ would look as the direful land of death And therefore after Christ had spoke of many Mansions and of a place that he would prepare for his Saints he adds further to increase their joy John 14.3 I will come again saith he and receive you unto my self that where I am there ye may be also Mansions are but as places of bryers and thornes without Jesus Christ and therefore I would have Heaven for Christ and not have Christ for Heaven O this communion with Christ is above all desirable and this is the subject-matter of Christ's prayer Father I would have the Saints to be with me where I am that they may behold my glory Why this is the
communion which the Saints shall have with Christ never will their eyes be off-him never will their thoughts wander after any other objects O the intimacy that will be then betwixt Christ and Christians Oh what communication of glory will there be to each other These shall walk with me saith Christ for they are worthy Rev. 3.4 O my soul if this be the business of Christ's intercession if all these particulars are contained in the bowels of this one transaction how is it that thou art not in a fainting swoon how is it that thou art not gasping groaning sick unto death with the vehement thirst after thy part and portion in Christ's intercession if there be such a thing as the passion of desire in this heart of mine O that now it would break out Oh that it would vent it self with mighty longings and infinite aspirings after this blessed Object why Lord I desire but help thou my faint desires blow on my dying spark it is but little and if I know any thing of my heart I would have it more Oh that my spark would flame why Lord I desire that I might desire Oh breath it into me and I will desire after thee SECT IV. Of hoping in Jesus in this respect 4. LEt us hope in Jesus carrying on this work of our salvation in his intercession It is good that a man should hope Indeed if it were not for hope Lam. 3.26 the heart would not hold only look that our hope be true hope very hypocrites have a kind of hope but if God's Word be true The hope of unjust men shall perish Prov. 11.7 Job 27.8 9. Job 8.13 14. What is the hope of the hypocrite Will God hear his cry whe◠trouble cometh upon him No no The hypocrites hope shall perish his hope shall be cut off and his trust shall be as a Spiders web O my soul hope in Jesus but rest not till thou canst give a reason of thy hope till thou canst prove that they are the hopes which Grace and not only Nature hath wrought that they are grounded upon Scripture-promises and sound evidences that they purifie the heart that the more thou hopest the less thou sinnest that they depend on sure and infallible causes as on the truth power and mercy of God on the merits mediation and intercession of Jesus Christ what is this last amongst the rest I mean the intercession of Christ the spring of thy hope canst thou follow the stream till it brings thee to this Fountain or Well-head of hope that now thou canst say O this intercession is mine come search and try it is worth the pains and to put thee out of question and in a more facile way of discerning I shall lay down these signs As 1. If Christ's intercession be mine then is the Spirits intercession mine or if thou wouldst rather argue from the effect to the cause then thus if the Spirit 's intercession be mine then is Christ's intercession mine In this case we need not to ascend up into Heaven to learn the truth rather let us descend into our own hearts and look whether Christ have given us of his spirit which makes us cry unto God with sighs and groans which cannot be expressed he that will know whether the Sun shine in the Firmament he must not climb into the clouds to look rather he must search for the beams thereof upon the earth which when he sees he may conclude that the Sun shines in the Firmament O come and let us ransack our own consciences let us search whether we feel the Spirit of Christ crying in us Abba Father certainly these two are as the cause and the effect Christ's intercession in Heaven and his Spirits intercession on earth are as twins of a birth or rather such is the concatenation of these two that Christ's intercession in Heaven breeds another intercession in the hearts of his Saints It is the same Spirit dwelling in Christ and in all his Members that moves and stirs them up to cry Abba Father Here then is my Argument if Christ hath put his spirit into thy heart and if the Spirit hath set thine heart on work to make incessant intercessions for thy self then is Christ's intercession thine There is a kind of a round in the carrying on of this great work of intercession as 1. Christ intercedes for his people O that my Spirit might go down 2. God harkens to the intercession of Christ Away holy spirit get thee down into the hearts of such and such 3. The spirit waits on the pleasure of them both and no sooner down but he sends up his intercession back again Christ cries to God and God sends the spirit and the spirit goes and ecchoes in the hearts of Saints to the cries of Christ Gal. 4.6 Much of this is contained in that one Text God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our heart 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 crying as if he meerly acted our tongues Abba Father here is God the Father God the Son and God the holy Ghost and all are acting their parts on the elect people of God the Son intercedes O that my spirit may be given to these the Father willingly grants Away holy spirit and as my Son asketh enter and take possession of those sinful hearts the holy spirit obeys and no sooner in the hearts of his Saints but he cryes in them Abba Father God hears Christ and the spirit hears God and the Elect hear the spirit and now because the Spirit speaks in the Elect Mosea 2.21 God hears the Elect much like unto this is that of the prophet And it shall come to pass in that day I will hear saith the Lord I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth and the earth shall hear the corn and wine and oyl and they shall shall hear Jezreel O my soul to the test hath God sent forth the spirit of his Son into thy heart hast thou the in-dwelling of the Spirit and now by the help of the spirit canst thou pray with earnestness confidence and an holy importunity canst thou cry Abba Father Canst thou cry with earnestness Father with confidence and Abba Father or Father Father with an holy importunity why these are the very signs of the spirits intercession O my soul that thou wouldst deal faithfully with thy own self canst thou by the help of the spirit go to the Father in the name of Christ as Christ is gone before into the holy of holies to intercede so canst thou with boldness follow after Heb. 10.19 and enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Canst thou say God hath given me his spirit and his spirit hath shewed me Christ as my Mediator at the right hand of God and now under the wing of such a Mediator I can by the Spirits assistance go with boldness 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with assuming a liberty to speak any thing I
made is a curious question and sets many wits on work in this Scripture it is set out by the sound of a Trumpet * Anselmus in elucidario Suarez tuba ex aere Doctor Slater who faith I see not but we may take it properly c. Cornelius a lapide Mat. 24.31 1 Cor. 15.52 1 Thes 4.16 Now some would have it to be a material Trumpet because the Scriptures frequently call it a Trumpet He shall send his Angels with the sound of a Trumpet saith Christ and in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump we shall be changed saith Paul for the Trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised And the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout and with the voice of the Archangel and with the Trumpet of God But whether this Trumpet shall be of Silver or of Brass or of the Air or of the Cloud and Meteors whereon Christ rides they cannot agree †Piscator Estius Aretius alii fere omnes others more probably look upon this Trumpet as nothing else but a metaphor or a sound formed in the Air like the sound of a Trumpet A voice it is without all controversie and metaphorically it may be called a trumpet both from the clearness and greatness of the sound so loud shall it be that 't will pierce into the ears of the dead in their graves It will shake the world rend the rocks break the mountains dissolve the bonds of Death Cui omnia obediunt elementa petras scindit inferos aperit c. Chrysost in 1 Cor. 15. burst down the gates of Hell and unite all spirits to their own Bodies An horrible terrible voice shall it be But how should Angels who are spirits make a voice by a collision of the Air which the Angels can move at their pleasure and who can tell say some but there may be some new-created instrument trumpet-like adapted for the Angels at the sides of which by a force and collision of the air this great shout may be to convene all the World or who knows say others but that the Lord Jesus may fill the Angels even as trumpets are filled with a loud blast and that through them this loud blast shall come rushing like a mighty wind upon the dead Saints and so awaken their bodies out of the dust we all know this was usual in all the Jews solemnities to convene the people by the found of a trumpet And the Lord spake unto Moses saying Make thee two trumpets of silver Numb 10 1 2 3 9. That thou mayest use them for the calling of the Assembly And when thou shalt blow them all the Assembly shall assemble themselves and if ye go to war then ye shall blow an alarme with the Trumpets and in the same way say they Christ now will convene all the World with the sound of a trumpet or with the sound of some such instrument of divine power and vertue whereby the dead shall be raised and their bodies and souls re-united Amidst all those Authors if I may deliver my opinion I suppose the Text that will clear all to us above all that is written is that of 1 Thessalonians 4.16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout 1 Thes 4.16 with the voice of the Archangel and with the trumpet of God Give me leave to insist on it that we may come up yet to a more full and perfect knowledg of this passage In these words is shewed or held forth the coming of Christ in three particulars with a shout with a voice and with a trumpet some think this to be one and the same set out in variety of expressions but I am of another mind It is agreed by most that the transactions at the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai were a representation of the proceedings which shall be at the great day of Judgment now in that transaction we read of a three-fold voice The voice of God the voice of Thunder and the voice of a Trumpet Exod. 19.16 compared with Exod. 20.1 and accordingly we find the Apostle speaking of a three-fold voice Of the voice of Christ of the voice of Thunder and of the voice of a Trumpet 1. The Lord himself shall descend with a shout Arius Montanus and the vulgar translate it with a command Lyra and others think this to be the voice of Christ himself saying John 11.48 with a loud voice Arise ye dead and come to Judgment Thus Jesus cryed with a loud voice Lazarus come forth and with such a voice will he call on the dead at the last day Jâ—hn 5.25 So much Christ himself hath taught us The hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live The hour is because by his voice he raised some at his first coming and the hour is coming because in the like manner he will raise up all men at the last day Marvel not at this saith Christ for the hour is coming John 5.28 in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and they shall come forth As at the creation of the World he said Let there be light and there was light so at the dissolution of the World he will say Let the dead arise let the Sea give up the dead that are in it and Death and Hell deliver up the dead which are in them and it will be so 2. The Lord shall descend with the voice of the Archangel Two questions here 1. Who is this Archangel 2. What is this voice For the first some argue this Archangel to be Gabriel others Raphael others Michael The Jews have an antient tradition that there are seven principal Angels that minister before the throne of God and therefore called Archangels The Scriptures seem to speak much that way Revel 4.5 Rev. 5.6 Zach 4.10 Rev. 8.2 calling them seven Lamps of fire burning before the throne and seven hornes and seven eyes of the Lamb and the seven spirits of God sent forâ—h into all the earth and seven eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth and yet more plainly seven Angels that stand before God Now which of these Seven is the Archangel here spoken of is hard to determine only probable it is that all the Archangels and all the angels are hereby understood as comprehended under that one to which agrees Matth. 24.31 Mr. Aynsworth observes that when things are done by a multitude where one is chief that the action is frequently ascribed either to the multitude or to him that is chief indifferently as Jehoiadah brought forth the Kings Son and he put the Crown upon him 2 Kings 11.12 or they brought forth the Kings son and they put upon him the Crown 2 Chron. 23.11 so David offered burnt-offerings 2 Sam. 6.17 or they offered burnt offerings 1 Chron. 16.1 and
Word and Sacraments and the like but when that Kingdom where these Administrations are made use of shall be delivered up then shall God himself be all in all without means without defect without end It is observable that Christ in his mediatory Kingdom hath some such things as bear an Analogy to the means and instruments of governing in the Kingdomes of men As 1. He hath his Militia and his Laws with threatnings and promises in the ordinances of his Word 2. He hath his grants and seals with many priviledges to confirm his people in the Ordinances of his Sacraments 3. He hath his Officers and Embassadours for the management of spiritual affairs in the Ordinances of his Ministry but the ceasing of Christ's Kingdom is the ceasing of all these and he therefore ceaseth his Kingdom that God may immediately succeed all these without any means or without any Mediatour at all he himself may be instead of all or all in all In prosecution of this I shall discuss 1. The meaning what it is for God to be all in all 2. The particulars wherein more especially is God all in all 1. For the meaning it is a periphrasis of our compleat enjoyment of God that God may be all in all is as much as to say that we may enjoy God alone to all purposes neither wanting nor willing any thing besides himself for a person to be all in all to me it is to have an enjoyment of that person to all purposes so that I neither do nor need I to enjoy any thing besides himself thus God is to the Saints in glory he is their exceeding great reward they need nothing else besides himself their very droughts of happiness is taken in immediately from the fountain and they have as much of the fountain as their souls in their widest capacity can possibly hold 2. For the particulars wherein more especially is God our all in all I answer 1. In our enjoying God immediately here we enjoy God by means either he communicates himself unto us through his Creatures or through his Ordinances and hence it is that we know him but in part we see him but in a glass darkly 1 Cor. 13.12 1 John 3.2 but when he shall be our all in all we shall see him face to face we shall then see God as he is clearly and immediately Oh how excellent is this enjoyment above all present enjoyments here below as the enjoyment of a friend in his picture letters tokens is short of what we enjoy when we have his personal presence or as the heat and light of the Sun through a cloud is beneath that heat and light when the glorious body of it is open to us without any interposition even so all the injoyments of God in the use of means graces blessings ordinances are infinitely inferior to that enjoyment of God which shall be without all means all the ravishments of our spirit in prayer hearing reading meditating is but a sip of those Rivers which we shall have in heaven I know the remembrance of God in a private meditation is sweet Psal 104.34 and communion with God in any Ordinance is a feast of sweetness and marrow and fatness Psal 63.5 6. But when the soul shall immediately possess God when this Kingdom of grace shall expire and all the Administrations of it shall vanish away will not the fountain be much more sweet then all the streams surely feasts and sweetness and marrow and fatness are terms exceedingly too diminitive to give us any more than a small hint of that incomprehensible satisfaction by immediate communion O the wonders of Heaven there shall be Light without a candle and a perpetual day without a Sun there shall be health without physick and strength of Body without use of food there shall be knowledge without Scriptures and setled government without a written Law there shall be Comunion without Sacraments and Joy without promises to be its fewel the soul in glory shall go streight unto God and immediately perticipate his glory and happiness 'T is the comparison of a Learned Divine suppose you saw a company of Chrystal Globes placed in a parallel line because their posture will not admit the Suns immediate beams we 'll suppose another single Globe set by the middle of them to transmit the Sun-beams unto all those Globes by this means they all shine though it be only by reflection but when the Sun shall so come about as that they may immediately receive its beams there 's no further use of the single Globe then so here while we through our distance from God are uncapable of immediate enjoyment there 's a necessity of Christ's Mediation but when all things that cause the distance are removed and we brought into the presence-chamber of God himself ther 's no such need of a Mediator then Now here is one thing wherein he is our all in all shall enjoy him immediately 2. It consists in our enjoying of God fully Now I know in part saith the Apostle but then I shall know even as I am known 1 Cor. 13.12 our enjoyment of God is but here in its infancy there it will be in its full age here it is in drops there it will be in the Ocean here we see God's back parts and we can see no more but there we shall see his face not his second face as some distinguish which is his grace and favour enjoyed by Faith but his first face which is his Divine essence enjoyed by sight Yet I mean not so as if the soul which is a creature could take in the whole Essence of God which is incomprehencible but the soul shall and must be so full of God as that it shall not be able to receive or desire one jot more And oh how excellent is this enjoyment above all present enjoyments it is now our highest happiness to have some glimpses of his glory shining on us and some drops of his favour distilled into us oh but when God shall be our all in all we shall have as much of God as our souls can hold we shall have the glory of God so poured in till we shall be able to receive no more And here is that which gives the soul a full satisfaction never would it be satisfied till it came to this suppose that God would draw out all the beauty sweetness goodness that he hath communicated to all Creatures in the world and bring the quintessence of all and communicate that unto the soul of one poor Saint certainly it would not serve the turn there must be a greater comunication before the soul be fully satisfied and rest content only once admit it into the glorious presence of him who is all in all and presently it expires its infinite desire into the bosome of that God for there 's enough to fill his spirit he cannot desire so much but there is more and yet infinitely more if there be enough in God for
the sprrits of all just men made perfect with God if there be enough in God for Angels whose capacities are greater than the Saints if there be enough in God for Jesus Christ whose capacity is yet far wider than the Angels if there be enough in God for God himself whose capacity is infinitely greater than them all then there must needs be satisfaction enough in God to any one poor soul Here is another thing wherein God is our all in all we shall enjoy him fully 3. It consists in our enjoying God solely Not as if there were nothing else in Heaven but onely God but that God in Heaven shall be all in all and instead of all it is God in Heaven that makes Heaven to be Heaven the Saints blessedness and Gods own blessedness doth consist in the enjoyment of God himself the Schoole-men tells us that we shall not properly enjoy any thing else but only God we may have some use of the Creatures but no fruition and therefore is God said to be all or as good as all And indeed what can we imagine to be in Heaven which is not eminently in God himself if it be greatness power and glory and victory and majesty all these are his if it be joy or love or peace or beauty or any thing amiable or desirable all these are in him Hence some take it to be David's meaning when he said he had none in Heaven but God Psal 73.25 that the sole enjoyment of God of God and of nothing else but God is the souls true happiness when it is at highest whom have I in heaven but thee whom why there are Angels there are Saints there are the spirits of just and perfect men are these nothing with David O yes all these are good but they are not able to satisfie a soul without God himself Whether God will make use of any Creatures for our service then or if any of what Creatures and what use is more than I yet know but to make up a full enjoyment there is required a gracious-glorious presence a sweet effusion or communication of that presence a just comprehension of the excellency of that communication a perfect love and a perfect rest in the love of whatsoever it is we comprehend now this is proper only to God it is he only that fills the whole capacity of the Soul it is he that so fills it that it can hold no more it is he only that is the object of love intended to the utmost and therefore he only is properly enjoyed he only is possessed with a full contentment as portion enough and as reward enough for the soul for ever But shall not the Saints have to do with something else in Heaven but only with God O yes I believe there shall be in Heaven a communion of the blessed Spirits in God an association of the Saints and Angels of God yet this shall not take away the sole enjoyment of God that he should not be their all in all For they shall not mind themselves or their own good as created things but altogether God they shall not love them or one another as for themselves but only for God here we love God for himself and it is a gracious love but there we shall love our selves for God and 't is a glorious love why this is to enjoy God solely in this respect he is all and in all whom have I in Heaven but thee Here 's a point enough to wean us to the World Alas the time is coming on a pace Vse that all this World shall be dissolved and then God shall be all in all here lies the Saints happiness to have God immediately God fully and God solely and will not Saints prepare themselves for such a condition as this you that have the World use it as if not 1 Cor. 7.31 for the fashion of this World passeth away and you that have but a little to do with the World improve that condition surely 't is your own fault if you have not more to do with God for you have little else to take up your hearts God may dwell and walk in your hearts without disturbance give me neither poverty nor riches saith the wise man upon that account a mean condition is more capable of happyness than that which over-loads us with outward things whilst others are casting up their accounts you may say with David how precious are thy thoughts unto me O God Psal 139.17 how great is the sum of them whil'st others are following their suits at courts of Justice you may follow all you have at a Throne of grace whil'st others are numbring their Flocks and Heards all your Arithmetick may be imployed to number your days whilst others cannot get out of the clutches of the world you may get into the embraces of your God why this is to prepare your selves for fuller and fuller enjoyments of God it is God will be all in all and this is the very top of Heavens happyness surely the less you have of the World now if you can but improve it the more you may have of Heavens happiness even upon earth for what is the happiness of Heaven but the sole enjoyment of God Christians if you feel any inclinations pantings breathings after this world give me leave to tell you that you will never be happy till you have lost all till you have no friends nor estates no enjoyment but God alone when all his done when this world is nothing when means shall cease both for bodies and souls and when Christ shall cease his Mediators office and the Son of man be Subject to his Father then God shall be all in all SECT X. Of Christs notwithstanding this being all in all to his blessed saved redeemed Saints to all Eternity 10. FOR Christ's being all in all to his blessed saved redeemed Saints to all Eternity we shall dilate in this Section Some may object if God be all in all what then becomes of Christ is not this derogatory to Jesus Christ I answer no in no wise for 1. It is not the Father personally and only but the Deity essentially and wholly that is our all in all when we say God is all in all we do not exclude the Son and holy Ghost for the whole God-head is all in all to all the Saints as well as the first person in the Trinity the Father is all and the Son is all and the holy Ghost is all and in that Christ is God and the Son of God we may say of Christ that he is all in all only the truth of this position is not from the humane nature but from the divine nature of Jesus Christ 2. It is not derogatory to Christ but rather it doth exceedingly advance Christ in the thoughts of all his Saints while it was necessary Christ veyled his Deity and when his work of Mediation is fully finished Christ then shall reveal his Deity
to his Saints more then ever before In this respect might I say if any person in the Trinity receives more honour than other Christ should have most Rev. 5.13 every Creature which is in heaven heard I say blessing honour glory and power be unto him that sitteth on the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever not only unto God but particularly to the Lamb for ever and ever It is true that God only and God fully and God immediately is all in all but doth that hinder that Jesus Christ is not also only fully and immediately all in all see how the Scripture joyns them together Rev. 21.22 23. which plainly argues that they may consist I saw no Temple in the City for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the Temple of it and the City had no need of the Sun neither of the Moon to shine in it for the glory of God does lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof Now then as I have spoken of God so that I may speak of Christ and conclude all with Christ I assert this Doctrine that the glory of Christ which the Saints shall behold in Christ to all eternity is their all in all In the discussion of which I shall open these particulars 1. What is the glory of Christ 2. How the Saints shall behold his glory 3. Wherein is the comprehensiveness of this expression that the beholding of Christ is our all in all 1. What is the glory of Christ I answer that the glory of Christ is either humane or divine 1. There is an humane glory which in time was more especially conferred upon his manhood 2. There is an essential or divine glory which before time and after time even from everlasting to everlasting issueth from the God-head I shall speak to both these that we may rather take a view of Christ in those glories as we are able wherein he will appear to his Saints as their all in all to all Eternity 1. For his humane glory that is either in regard of his Soul or body for his Soul Christ was from the first instant of his conception full of glory because even then he received grace not by measure as we do but as comprehension he had the clear vision of God even as the Angels of heaven which arose from that hypostatical union of two natures at his first conception It is true that by the special dispensation of God the fullness of thy accompanying that glory was with-held from Christ in the time of his passion and the redundancy of glory from his soul unto his body was totally deferred until the exaltation of Christ but Christ no sooner exalted and set on the right hand of God but immediately the interruption of joy in his soul and the interception of glory from his soul to his body was altogether removed Then it was that his soul was filled with all joy solace pleasure which could possibly flow from the sight of an object so infinitely pleasing as is the essence Majesty and glory of God And then it was that his body was replenished with as much glory as was proportionable unto the most vast capacity of any creature not only his soul but his body is a glorious Creature it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a body of glory that is a most glorious body in it self And the spring of glory unto others ought not Christ to have suffered these things Luk. 24.26 and so to enter into his glory it is called his glory as if it were appropriated unto him as the most eminent subject and principal efficient of glory as if he had the monopoly of glory all the glory in heaven is in some sort his glory Surely Christ's manhood is exalted unto an higher degree of glory than the most glorious Saint or Angel ever was or shall be principalities powers mights and dominions fall short of his glory But some object that the mediatory office of Christ shall wholly cease and that the body and soul of Christ shall then be annihilated Indeed this was the opinion of Eutiches that the human nature of Christ should be changed or converted into the divine and thus he interprets that Scripture then shall the Son also himself be subject that God may be all in all what is this subjection saith he but a conversion of the Creature into the very substance 1 Cor. 15.28 or essence of the Creatour himself Vt ipsam subjectionem communicationem conversionem credat futuram creaturae in ipsam substantiam vel essentiam creatoris Aug. de Trinit lib. 1 c. 8. Aret. in loco Job 19.27 2 Thes 1.10 But we deny the interpretation the Son as man shall be subject and yet the manhood of Christ shall still remain it is true that his Mediatory office shall wholly cease but it follows not that therefore the manhood of Christ shall be converted or changed into the Deity there may be other reasons for the continuation of his human nature besides the execution of his Mediatory office As 1. That the lustre of his Deity might shine through his humanity and that thereby our very bodily eyes may come to see God as much as is possible for any creature to see him I shall see him saith Job not with other but with these same eyes 2. That the Saints may see how the power of an infinite God can conveigh the lustre of his Deity into a Creature upon this account I verily believe that Angels and Men will be continually viewing of Jesus Christ he shall come to be admired of the Saints he shall be admired as we have heard at the Judgment-day nor is that all but the Saints in heaven shall see with their eyes such excellencies in Christ as that they shall admire for ever I say for ever as much as they did at the first moment when they saw him here if we see any thing excellent we admire at first but after a while we do not so but in heaven there will be so much excellency in Christ that we shall admire as much to all Eternity as we did at the very first moment there will be no abatement in glory of our being taken with the sight of the glory in Jesus Christ 3. That Christ by his humanity may converse more freely and familiarly with his brethren in his Fathers house oh the intimacy that will be there betwixt Jesus Christ and his Christian Saints oh the mutual rejoycing and delight that will be there betwixt Jesus Christ and his dearest darlings as Christ from Eternity rejoyced in the habitable part of his Earth so will the Saints his habitable Earth to all eternity rejoyce in Christ the eye of the Saints in glory can never be off Christ as Mediator and God now the eye of the Saints in glory shall never be off Christ as God and Mediatour then Thus far of his human glory 2. For his Essential divine glory it is that
and destroys the sense as the Sun by its brightness darkens the eye and other things by mighty sounds bring deafness to the ear Paul indeed had a vision of glory but because his faculties were not glorified he was he knew not how whether in the body or out of the body whether alive or dead he did not know certainly the sight of the glory of the other world would amaze distract and destroy us if we had a sight of it as now we are but in heaven the eye shall have great pleasure in beholding the brightest light because it shall be advanced to the highest pitch of strength that may be 2. As the eye shall be glorified so it shall act in a glorified body and this will make the sight of the glory of Christ in stead of hurting us to leave upon us a more sweet enlivening and powerful impression By this means all the impediments that hinder the conveyance of divine influences from that heavenly object will be removed To illustrate this let the most excellent sight be set before a man that is defective in his bodily state and it doth not take him what should a sick man do with such things he makes nothing of the most pleasant gardens orchards buildings nor of the most glorious sights that are when he is sick they are but sick things to him and of none effect but in heaven the body shall be glorified and stript of all corruptions and imperfections so that there shall be no bar unto the influences of the glory of Christ which shall there be seen 3. As there shall be a glorified eye acting in a glorified body so it shall be acted by a glorified Spirit the eye is but the organ or instrument of sight and without the spirit would conveigh no more then a glass doth it is the Spirit of a man that gives life to vision it is the Spirit of a man that discovers things and sets them forth in their worth vertues ends now in heaven the spirit of men shall be glorified and enabled to perform all those offices in perfection so that when a man shall look on the man Christ Jesus by vertue of a glorified spirit he shall see more know more taste more than any other can As a man of understanding when he looks on a diamond or a wedge of gold he hath other apprehensions of it and a further touch upon his spirit then a beast or a child in a cradle hath so where the sight of the eye is acted by a glorified mind it takes in more from the sight of every thing which is to be seen unexpressibly more then what can be done here by the most sanctified Spirit in the World Now in these respects Christ's glorified body though it be the brightest visible thing in the Heaven of Heavens yet may it be the object of the eye of Saints for they shall have glorified eyes in glorified bodies and acted by their glorified spirits 2. There is a mental vision a sight of Christ by the eyes of our understandings and surely this exceeds the former the eye of the body is only on the body of Christ but the eye of the soul is on the body and soul on the Humanity and Deity of Jesus Christ This is the very top of heaven when Saints shall be illightned with a clear and glorious sight of Christ as God Divines usually call it Beatifical vision Quest But how shall Saints behold the glorious Essence or God-head of Christ Answ 1. Some say Christ as God or the God-head of Christ shall be known by the Humanity of Christ such a lustre of his Deity shall shine through his humanity as that thereby and by no other means shall the Essential glory of Christ appear 2. Others say That besides the Humanity of Christ there shall be a species representing the Divine Essence of Christ and a light of glory elevating the understanding by a Supernatural strength and that thereby the glorious Essence of Christ shall be discovered 3. Others say That the Divine Essence shall be represented to the glorified understanding not by Christs humanity nor by any species but immediately by it self yet they also require a light of glory to elevate and fortifie the understanding by reason of its weakness and infinite disproportion and distance from the incomprehensible Deity 4. Others hold that to the clear vision of Christ as God there is not required a sight of Christ's humanity as the first suppose nor a species representing the Divine Essence as the second suppose nor any created light elevating the understanding as the third suppose but only a change of the natural order of knowing It is sufficient say they that the Divine Essence be immediately represented to a created understanding which though it cannot be done according to the order of nature as experience tells us for so we conceive things as first having passed the sense and imagination yet it may be done according to the order of Divine grace I shall not enter into these Scholastical disputes 1 Cor. 13.12 Rev. 22.4 it is enough for a sober man to know that in heaven we shall see him face to face his Servants shall serve him and they shall see his face Quest His face what 's that I answer Answ 1. They shall see Christ as God of the same Essence with the Father and the holy Ghost and yet a distinct Person from them both they shall see the Unity in Trinity and Trinity in Unity they shall see how the Son is begotten of the Father and how the holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son they shall see the difference between the generation of the Son and procession of the Spirit These are mysteries in which we are blind and know very little or nothing but in seeing his face we shall see all these 2. They shall see Christ at their first being or principle of all the good that is in the World they shall see how all things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made they shall see all the good in the creature as flowing from Christ John 1.3 and as contained in the absolute perfection of Christ's Divine Nature they shall see in one Christ all the excellencies of all the creatures united which is indeed to see him in his eminency if there be any beauty riches honour goodness in any creature that is eminently transcendently and originally in Christ and that shall be seen 3. They shall see Christ in all his ways counsels decrees executions transactions from everlasting to everlasting that great business of Election and Reprobation will then be discovered it is an expression of Augustine They shall then see the reason why one is Elected and another Reprobated why one is rich and another poor they shall then see all the works that ever God did or that ever God will do it is not yet Six thousand years since
that sitteth on the Throne and unto the Lamb for ever and ever Amen Ver. 13. Why this is their continual work in heaven they have nothing else to do but with joy and gladness to sing forth the praises of God and of Christ and that his mercy endureth for ever And this likewise is comprehended under that notion of the Saints beholding of Christ which compleatly makes up the proposition asserted that Christ or the glory of Christ which the Saints shall behold to all eternity is their all in all Thus far we have propounded the object which is Jesus carrying on the Salvation of his Saints in his coming again to earth and taking them up with himself and his Angels into heaven our next work is to direct you how to look unto Jesus in this respect and then we have done CHAP. II. SECT I. Of knowing Jesus as carrying on the great work of our Salvation in his second coming WHAT looking is and what it contains we have often heard and that in these respects we may look on Jesus 1. Let us know Jesus carrying on the Saints Salvation in his second coming and taking them to Heaven Many glorious excellent things many precious passages many high and heavenly carriages are in this transaction Is it not of high concernment that he that now sits at God's right hand interceding for us should thence come again to judge the World and after judgment take up his Saints with him into glory can we read of the several actings of this general Assize and not desire to read on still nay is not all our reading mixt with admiration of every passage come wonder and sit and pause and stop at every word stay and wonder and adore that light which appears in any beam of truth and in the admiration of that truth which doth appear cast thy self down at the feet of Christ and cry out O the depth of Glory and Majesty and goodness and grace in thee O the riches of love that thou shouldst let out thy self in these several admirable dispensations come be exact in this study gather up all the crumbs and fillings of this gold the least beams of the glory of Christ especially as it shines and glitters at his second coming have so much light and love and splendour in them as that they will be very sweet to look upon them every piece or part of this knowledge will be of special use and worth yea the low and imperfect knowledge of this mystery is of infinite more value then the high and perfect knowledge of Ten thousand things besides And one thing O my soul let me tell thee it is possible for thee to attain a very sweet and satisfactory degree of this very knowledge And therefore study close run over again all that hath been spoken and dig yet deeper into that glorious mine content not thy self with a bare discovery of that gold-oare which is only upon the superficies or top of the mine but go so far as to find out the inward spiritual and experimental knowledge which the Saints by the light of the Spirit may come to attain O study Christ in his second coming to judgment SECT II. Of considering Jesus in that respect 2. LET us consider Jesus carrying on this work of Salvation at his second coming It is not enough to know but we must meditate and seriously consider of it A meer student may know Christ and study Christ as he knows and studies other things he may keep together many notions concerning Christ and his coming to Judgment but he hath no impression of the holiness of Christ upon his heart and in this respect he is a stranger to Christ and all his actings alas he studies Christ but he doth not rightly seriously inwardly consider of Christ but he doth not look unto Jesus as one that looks to his pattern or as one that looks to his refuge hope and help true and spiritual consideration is a serious matter it s not some few and freeting thoughts that are the discharge of this work but thoughts resting dwelling fixing and staying upon Christ until they come to some profitable issue O it is another manner of business then many are aware of it 's a thinking with thought upon thought it 's a reiteration and multiplication of the thoughts of the mind upon the Subject propounded so the Scripture expresseth it I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought Eccles 2.11 12. and in that next verse I turned to see he looked upon and considered his works and he returned to behold them he thought on them before but now he returned to think he renewed his thoughts upon the matter and took a new view of them Indeed when the understanding works seriously and spiritually it will fetch things into sight and not only so but it will hold them there and fasten upon them Lam. 4.20 and when they are gone it will fetch them again my soul hath them still in remembrance my soul in remembring doth remember them and will not off till the end he obtained so a man eyes Christ till he have more of Christ more of his presence and more of his light and more of his favour and more of his image O let this be our work let us thus consider Jesus in reference to his second coming to judgment And that we may do it in Order 1. Consider Christ's preparing for judgment realize it as if thou sawest or heardst the same no sooner the time determined which God hath appointed but Christ commands make ready ye Angels to wait upon me and make ready ye glorious souls that now are with me it is the Fathers pleasure and it is my pleasure to go down into the neather World and to call before me all the men and women that ever lived in it there will I pass my doom upon all flesh and reward every one good and bad according to his works O what a shout may I imagine in heaven at this news what joy is in the souls of Saints that now they must go to their bodies and enter into them that both their souls and bodies which sometimes lived together may now dwell together with Christ in glory and never part more if those that live on earth are commanded by Christ To lift up their heads because their redemption draweth nigh how much more shall they joy in Heaven who also have waited for the adoption to wit Rom. 8.23 the redemption of their bodies that now the long-looked-for day is come it is come O the exaltation of the Angels at this tydings This is worthy a pause a Selah to be set upon it 2. Consider Christ's coming to judgment all now in readiness the Son of God comes forth with all his glorious attendants Matt. 16.27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels and with the souls of Saints that for a time have been in
Paradise Oh what a goodly sight is here In this meditation I may see with John Rev. 21.2 The new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband Down comes Christ and down come the Angels and down come the spirits of the just made perfect and as they come along see how they shake the Heavens and dim and dark the very lights of Heaven see what a flood of fire goes before them see how they pass into the cloud where Christ makes a stand and erects a Throne for himself to sit on Sure 't will be a guilded glorious cloud when Christ with all his celestial servants shall sit upon it a mornings cloud guilded with the beams of the Sun is admirably fair and shining but what a shining cloud is that where the Sun of righteousness with all his morning stars do sit and shine here 's enough to dazzle my eyes and to take up my thoughts O my soul think on it 3. Consider Christ's summons of the Elect to come under judgment no sooner in the cloud but He shall send his Angels with a great sound of a Trumpet Mat. 24.31 and they shall gather together his Elect from the four winds from the one end of heaven to another Will not this be a strange sight to see Christ a coming with Trumpets sounding before him causing all the dead to awaken out of their sleeps of death the very sound of this Trumpet was ever in Jerom's ears Arise ye dead and come to Judgment and no question but thy ears shall be filled with the blast thereof the Trumpet shall found that shall bp heard over all the World and then shall the dead arise out of their graves and every Saints soul shall re-enter into his own body by vertue of the resurrection of Christ their Head Can I pass this meditation without some reflection on my self O my soul how joyfully wilt thou greet thy body when thou shalt enliven it again how wilt thou say O my dear Sister whom I left behind me in the dust when I went to Heaven how sweet is thy carcass how comely is thy countenance how do I enter into thee and animate thee and I will never more leave thee thou wast my yoke-fellow in the Lords Labours and my companion in persecution and wrong now shall we enter together into our Masters joy see lift up thy head behold Jesus Christ yonder sitting in the cloud and lo here the Angels waiting on us and coming to take us with the rest of the Saints into the Air to meet our Redeemer there Could I but realize this summons this resurrection this meeting of the soul and body and going with the Angels into the judgment-seat oh how would it work and what work would it make within 4. Consider Christ and the Saints meeting at the judgment day oh how shall the Saints look and stare and gaze at the beauty of Jesus Christ oh how will they break out into admiration at the first view of those glories which never before appeared on this side Heaven is not this he will they say of whom we read so often that he was fairer than the sons of men that he was white and ruddy the chiefest of ten thousands that his countenance was as Lebanon excellent as the Cedars glorious as when the Sun shineth in his strength but was ever the half told us of what now we see and behold O the super-excellent transcendent beauty of this Son of righteousness O the treasures of loveliness in this Jesus Christ never seen before And thus as they admire so they adore now they begin those Hallelujahs that never never shall have end they fall at the feet of Christ and the Lord Christ takes them up with his hands and folds them in his arms oh what mutual reciprocal salutations are these betwixt Christ and his members oh my head and oh my body oh my husband and oh my spouse oh my dear and oh my darling never two lovers met with such heat of love as Christ and his Saints come saith Christ and sit you down here at my right hand and let the world be on my left hand it was otherwise with you in your life-time my gold and my jewels were then cast in the dust you were then cloathed with infamy and the vilest of men were then guilded with honour but now I will set all right now the dust shall be swept away and the jewels of my Kingdom shall be gathered up now the Goats shall be driven into the desart and you who are the Sheep shall be brought into my fold Oh my soul what a meeting is this what a sight will this be to behold the Saints in this condition and thy self amongst them couldst thou but realize this one very passage it were enough to quench thy lust and to kindle a flame of pure love in thy heart to Jesus Christ it is a quickning rouzing rising rejoycing consideration 5. Consider Christ sentencing the Saints for eternal glory then shall the books be opened and all the good works of the Saints shall be revealed and made known and then shall the Judg from his Throne of Majesty in the sight and hearing of all the world pronounce that sentence Come ye blessed of my Father inherite the Kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world Mat. 25.34 q. d. Come my Saints come with me into glory come now from labour to rest from disgrace to glory from the jaws of death to the joys of eternal life for my sake ye have been railed on reviled and cursed but now it shall appear to all those cursed Esaus that you are the true Jacobs that shall receive the blessing and blessed shall you be come now and possess with me the inheritance of Heaven where you shall be for love Sons for birth-right heirs for dignity Kings for holiness Priests come you may boldly enter in for my Father hath prepared and kept it for you ever since the first foundation of the World was laid O my soul dost thou not remember when sometimes thou hast been at the feet of Christ in the beauty of holyness and there tookest in those droppings of his spirit which were better to thee than the feasts of Kings dost thou not remember when sometimes thou hast had the very beams of light darted from the face of Jesus Christ when he whispered to thy soul the forgiveness of thy sins saying Fear not thy sins shall not hurt thee I am thy salvation oh what joy was then what meltings movings stirrings leapings of heart were then in thy bosom but was that joy any thing to this or to be compared with this that was a drop but here 's an Ocean here 's fulness of joy oh what leapings of heart what ravishments will be within when thou shalt see thy self in the arms of Christ and shalt receive words of life from the mouth of Christ in the face of
excellencies meet together rest in Christ and Christ is all good things to all his Saints in Heaven he is Beauty to their Eyes Musick to their Ears Honey to their mouths Perfume to their Nostrils Health to their Bodyes Joy to their Souls Light to their Understandings Content to their Wills he is Time without sliding Society without loathing Desire without fainting Alpha and Omega the beginning and ending wanting both needing neither yet the Author of them both he is All in all from one not all Even all the Strength Wit Pleasure Vertues Colours Beauties Harmony and goodness that are in Men Beasts Fishes Fouls Trees Herbs and all Creatures are nothing but sparkles of those things which are in Christ Christ himself will then supply their use so that the best Creatures which now serve the Saints shall not have the honour to serve them then Rev. 21.23 There will be no need of the Sun nor of the Moon to shine in that City for the glory of God doth lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof And hence the beholding of Christ is the All in all to his glorified Saints this was Christ's Prayer Father I will that those whom thou hast given me be with me where I am to what end John 17.24 that they may behold my glory Christ's heavenly presence is conspicuous he is not present as some things that are not seen and yet are present but his presence is or certainly shall be conspicuous to all his Saints when he was in the world his glory was covered under a mean outside he was like a bright light in a dark-Lanthern and there were very few that knew him then but in Heaven he shall be as a Cabinet opened or as the Sun in his full glory We shall know him as we are known and behold him face to face 1 John 3.2 and we shall see him as he is Nor only will he be conspicuous but his presence shall be vital a stone may be with us and seen clearly but there 's little in the sight of that in the beholding of Christ there will be an acting of kindness upon the Saints there will be visions with life and dear refreshing O the influences that the sight of Christ will have on his Saints in Heaven nor onely will he be conspicuous and vital but his presence shall be fixed he shall abide with the Saints that they may for ever behold him Oh if there was such running after Christ in this world some getting on hills and others on trees that they might behold him when he passed by what will the sight of Christ in Heaven be when he shall be alwayes in the eye of his Saints and never out of sight when they shall be alwayes viewing of him and be alwayes satisfied with that view nor only will he be conspicuous vital fixed but his very presence shall transform They shall see his face and they shall reign for ever and ever O the influence of this sight Revel 22.4 5. it is of such a transforming Nature that to see the King will make Kings this vision of glory amounts unto a fruition of glory if ever thou art a spectator of Christ thou art sure to be a partaker of Christ in all his glory I shall be satisfied Psal 17.15 1 John 3.2 when I awake with thy likeness It doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him why so for we shall see him as he is And no wonder for if the imperfect beholding of his glory in the glass of his Gospel change the soul into the same image from glory to glory how much more shall the full view of his glory in Heaven transform both the souls and bodies of his Saints into a fulness of glory 1 Cor. 13.12 Here then is the top of Heaven here is the All in all here is the satisfaction of souls to the very uttermost if Christs glory in his transfiguration was so satisfactory to Peter as that he desired his sight of it might never have end or interruption O it is good to be here let us here build Tabernacles and yet Peter was onely a spectator of this glory for he had himself no share in it O then what infinite satisfaction mayst thou expect in the beholding of Christ's Glory in Heaven which will be accompanyed with an everlasting enjoyment the lusture of his glory will be diffused unto all so that some shall enjoy the glory of the Sun others of the Moon and others of the Stars O my soul if thou art but a Star there yet if thou art filled with that light that comes from the Sun of righteousness it is enough O remember oh consider oh never forget this Looking unto Jesus as it is thy duty on Earth so it is thy priviledge and highest happiness in Heaven for ever and ever SECT III. Of desiring after Jesus in that respect 3. LET us desire after Jesus carrying on this work of man's Salvation at his second coming It is true many shrink at the thoughts of death and judgment and 't is an high pitch to desire the dissolution of our selves and of this world the best Christians are compounded of flesh and spirit and if the spirit long to be in Heaven yet the Flesh is loath to leave this Earth Speak out of my soul thou prayest daily Come Lord Jesus let thy Kingdome come but is not the Flesh afraid lest God should hear thy Prayers Oh that we could loath our loathness in that respect oh that we could long for this second coming of Christ to Judgment And Christians this is attainable or otherwise I should not perswade you to it Phil. 1 2â— I am in a strait said Paul between two having a desire to depart and to be with Christ which is far better And this is the voice of the desolate Bride Come for the spirit of Christ within her saith come The Spirit and the Bride say come Yea the whole Creation saith come Rev. 12.17 Rom. 8 21 23. Waiting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the Sons of God and not onely they but our selves also which have the first-fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the adoption to wit the redemption of our body Oh that we could groan oh that we could come up to this high pitch even to sigh out not our breath but our spirits even to groan out not some vapours but our hearts I know it is suitable to flesh and blood to tremble at the thoughts of judgment When Paul reasoned of righteousness temperance and of Judgment to come Felix trembled Acts 24.25 Weak Christians as well as Heathens may have many terrible fancies and notions of that day Oh to think of a time When there shall be a great earthquake Rev. 6.12 13 14 15 16 17 when the Sun shall become
respect 4. LET us hope in Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us in his second coming Hope is of good things to come hope is an act of the will extending it self towards that which it loves as future onely the future good as it is the object of hope is difficult to obtain and therein it differs from desire for desire looks at future good without any apprehension of difficulty but hope respects the future good as it is gotten with difficulty Lazy hopes that will not be in use of means though difficult are not true hopes we see many desirable things set before us of which we may say Oh that we had our part and portion of them but shall we go on and search and find out the truth whether we have any part or portion in them or whether we have any hopes of any such thing oh this is worthy our pains come then let us yet make a further progress let us not only desire that it may be thus and so but let us say on some sure and certain grounds we hope it is thus and so we hope Christ will come again John 14.3 and receive us to himself that where he is there we may be also Heb. 9.12 Indeed there is the Christians stay and comfort such an hope is a sure Anchor that will hold the ship in a storm onely because our souls lie upon it we had need to look to it that our hopes be true the worst can say They hope to be saved as well as the best but I fear the hopes of many will be lamentably frustrated Our Saviour brings in many pleading with confidence at the last day for life who shall be rejected with miserable disappointment Many shall say to me at that day Lord Lord c. and I will confess unto them I never knew them depart from me Now to clear this point that our hopes are of the right stamp and not counterfeit hopes I shall lay down some signs whereby we may know that Christ's coming is for us and for our good and for the grace that is to be given us at the revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 1.3 4. 1. If we are born again then will his glorious coming be to glorifie us Blessed be the God and Father of Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope to an inheritance incorruptible Whoever hath the true hope of Heaven John 3.3 he is one that is begotten again so our Saviour Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God Many things may be done as Herod heard John the Baptist and did many things but except a man be born again those many things are in God's account as nothing When Peter had told Christ that he and his fellow-disciples had forsaken all Math. 19.28 and followed him Then Jesus said verily I say unto you that ye which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the Throne of his glory ye shall also sit upon twelve Thrones Judging the twelve Tribes of Israel q. d. Peter you have forsaken all and followed me but know that bare forsaking is not enough but you who have felt the Work of God regenerating your souls upon which ye have followed me ye shall sit upon twelve Thrones In those who are alive at the last day there will be a change and this change will be to them instead of death 1 Cor. 15.51 Behold I shew you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed Certainly in those who at the last day shall sit on Thrones with Christ there must be a change likewise in this life i.e. a new spirit and a new life must be put into them Oh what a change is this suppose a rational soul were put into a beast what a change would be in that Creature suppose an angelical nature were put upon us what a change would there be in us oh but what a change is this when a man is born again of water and of the spirit I must tell you that the highest degree of glory in Heaven is not so different from the lowest degree of grace here as the lowest degree of grace here is different from the highest excellency of nature here because the difference betwixt the highest degree of the glory of Heaven and the lowest degree of grace is only gradual but the difference that is betwixt the lowest degree of grace and the highest excellency of nature is a specifical difference Oh there 's a mighty work of God in preparing souls for glory by grace and this change must they have that must sit on Thrones Come then you that hope for glory try your selves by this is there a change in your hearts words and lives is there a mighty work of grace upon your spirits are you experienc'd in the great mystery of regeneration why here 's your evidence that your hopes are sound and that you shall sit upon Thrones to judge the world Heb. 9.28 2. If we long for his coming then will he come to satisfie our longings Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for they shall be satisfied how satisfied but in being saved Christ was offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation unto them that look for him or long for him shall he appear the second time unto salvation it is very observable how this looking for Christ is in Scripture a frequent description of a true believer in Christ Who are true sincere and sound Christians but such as live in a perpetual desire and hope of Christs blessed coming 2 Pet. 3.12 they are ever looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God Here are two signs in one verse looking for and hasting unto true believers are not only in a posture looking for the coming of Jesus Christ but also as it were going forth to meet Jesus Christ with burning Lamps Luther could say Mat. 6.10 That he was no true Christian neither could he truly recite the Lord's prayer that with all his heart desired not this day of the coming of Christ. It is true that whether we will or no that day will come but in the Lord's prayer Christ hath taught us to pray that God would accelerate and hasten the day of his glorious coming thy Kingdom come i.e. the Kingdom of glory at the Judgment as well as the Kingdom of grace in the Church It is true that the day of the Lord is a terrible day the Heavens and Earth and Sea and Air shall be all on a bone-fire and burn to nothing nevertheless we according to his promise look for new Heavens and a new Earth we that have laid hold upon God and laid hold on him by the right handle according to his promises we look for
shall be quenched But I have in some measure already discovered all those acts of his grace and love till his second coming and therefore I begin there 1. Christ will come is not this love as his departure was a rich testimony of his love John 14.18 It is expedient for you that I go away so is his returning I will not leave you comfortless I will come unto you Oh how can we think of Christ's returning and not meditate on the greatness of his love might he not send his Angels but he must come himself is it not state and majesty enough to have the Angels come for us but that he himself must come with his Angels to meet us more than half the way what King on Earth would adopt a beggar and after his adoption would himself go in person to fetch him from the dunghil to his Throne we are filthy lazars from the crown of our heads to the soles of our feet we are full of sores and yet the King of Heaven puts on his best attire and comes in person with all his retinue of glory to fetch us from our graves to his own Court of Heaven Oh the loves of Christ in this one act he will come again he is but gon for a while but he will come again in his own person 2. Christ will welcome all his Saints into his presence and is not this love after he is come down from Heaven he stays for them a while in the Clouds and commanding his Angels to bring them thither anon they come and oh how his heart springs within him at their coming what throbs and pangs of love are in his heart at the first view of them as they draw near and fall down at his feet and worship him so he draws near and falls upon their necks and welcomes them Methinks I hear him say Come blessed souls you are my purchase for whom I Covenanted with my Father from eternity O you are dearly welcome to your Lord in that now I have you in my arms I feel the fruit of my death the acceptation of my Sacrifice the return of my prayers for this I was born and dyed for this I rose again and ascended into Heaven for this I have interceded a Priest in Heaven these many years and now I have the end and design of all my actings and sufferings for you how is my joy fulled look as at the meeting of two lovers there is great joy especially if the distance hath been great and the desires of enjoying one another vehement so is the meeting of Christ with his Saints the joy is so great that it runs over and wets the fair brows and beauteous locks of Cherubims and Seraphims and all the Angels have a part of this banquet at this day 3. Christ will sentence his Saints for eternal life here is love indeed every word of the sentence is full of love it contains the reward of his Saints a reward beyond their work and beyond their wages and beyond the promise and beyond their thoughts and beyond their understanding it is a participation of the joyes of God and of the inheritance of the Judge himself Come enter into your Masters joy inherit the Kingdom Oh but if all the Saints have only one Kingdom where is my room fear not O my soul thou shalt have room enough though but one Kingdom yet all the Inhabitants there are Kings whole Heaven is such a Kingdom as is intirely and fully injoyed by one glorified Saint all and every one hath the whole Kingdom at his own will every one is filled with God as if there were no fellows there to share â—ith him Oh that I may come under this blessed sentence never was more love expressed in words than Christ expresseth in this sentence Come ye blessed c. 4. Christ will take up all his Saints with him into glory where he will present them to his Father and then be their all in all to all eternity This is the heigâ—t of Christ's love this is the immediate love that comes out from the precious heart and bowels of Jesus Christ this is that Zenith of love when sensibly and feelingly it burns at hottest it is true that Christ's love breaks out in all those precedaneous acts we have already spoken Oh but what loves will he cast out from himself in glory the more excellent the Soyl is and the nearer the Sun is the more of Summer and the more of day the more delicious must be the Apples the Pomgranates the Roses the Lillies that grow there surely Christ in glory is a blessed soyl Roses and Lillies and Apples of love that are eternally Summer-green and sweet grow out of him the honey of Heaven is more than honey the honey of love that is pure and unmixt and glorious in Christ must needs be incomparable I cannot say but that Christ's love like himself is the same yesterday and to day and for ever there is no intension 1 John 4.8 or remission of his love as in it self for God is love he is essentially love and therefore admits of no degrees yet in respect of the sense or manifestation of this love of Christ there must needs be a difference thus if he loved his spouse on earth how much more will he love her when his Bride in Heaven If he loves us while sinners and enemies to his holiness how much more will he love us when we are sons and perfected Saints in glory he that could spread his arms and open his heart on the Cross will he not then open arms and heart and all to them that reign with him in his Kingdom if in this life such is loves puissance that we usually say of Christ Though the head be in heaven yet he hath left his heart on earth with sinners what shall we say of Christ in glory where love like the Sun ever stands in the Zenith Deut. 33.27 where the eternal God is the souls everlastiâ—g refuge and underneath are his everlasting arms 5. And if Christ love thus how should we love again for such a love Lord what a sum of love are we indebted to thee is it possible that ever we should pay the debt can we love as high as deep as broad as long as love it self or as Christ himself no no all we can do is but to love a little and Oh that in the consideration of his love we could love a little in sincerity Oh that we were but able feelingly to say Why Lord I love thee I feel I love thee even as I feel I love my friend or as I feel I love my self Such arguments of love have been laid before us as that now I know no more we have seen whole Christ cap-a-pe we have heard of the loves of Christ from eternity to eternity we have had a view of the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ wherein his love is represented to us as hot as death or as
Cant. 8.14 Many prayers are in the bowels of this as that Christ when he comes may bid us welcome and give us a place on his Throne on his right hand and pronounce us blessed and take us to himself to live with himself in eternal glory c. But I mention onely this general and let each soul expatiate on the rest 2. Let us praise him for his coming and for all his actings at his coming Our engagement to Christ even for this transaction is so great that we can never enough extol his Name at that day the books shall be opened and why not the book of our engagements to Jesus Christ if it must be opened I can surely tell you it is written full the page and margent both within and without is written full it 's an huge book of many volumes O then let our hearts be full of praises let us joyn with those blessed Elders that fell down before the Lamb and sung Worthy it the Lamb that was slain to receive power Rev. 5.12 and riches and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Yea let us joyn with all those creatures in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the Sea whom John heard saying Blessing Honour Glory and Power be unto him that sitteth on the throne Ver. 13. and unto the Lamb for ever and ever Amen SECT IX Of conforming to Jesus in that respect 9. LET us conform to Jesus as coming again to judge the World Looking to Jesus contains this when the Apostle would perswade Christians to patience under the cross he lays down first the cloud of witnesses all the Martyrs of the Church of Christ and secondly Jesus Christ himself as of more vertue and power than all the rest the Martyrs suffered much but Christ endured more than they all and therefore saith the Apostle Heb. 12.2 look unto Jesus surely he is the best exemplar the chief pattern to whom in all his transactions we may in some way or other conform But how should we conform to Christ in this respect I Answer 1. Christ will in his time prepare for judgment Oh let us at all times prepare for his judging of us doth it not concern us to prepare for him as well as it concerns him to prepare for us if Christ come and find us careless negligent unprepared what will become of us the very thought of Christ's sudden coming to judgment might well put us into a waiting watching posture that we might be still in readiness it cannot be long and alas what is a little time when it is gone how quickly shall we be in another World and our souls receive their particular judgments and so wait till our bodies be raised and judged to the same condition or salvation it is not an hundred years in all likelyhood till every soul of us shall be in heaven or hell it may be within a year or two or ten or thereabouts the greatest part of this congregation will be in Heaven or Hell and I beseech you what is a year or two or ten what is an hundred or a thousand years to the dayes of eternity how speedily is this gone and how endless is that time or eternity that is come is it not high time then to prepare our lamps to trim our souls to watch and fast and pray and meditate and to remember that for all our deeds good or evill God will bring us to Judgment herein is our Conformity to Christ's coming before he comes he prepares for us oh let us against his coming prepare for him 2. Christ at his coming will summon all his Saints to arise to ascend and to come to him in the clouds O let us summon our souls to arise to ascend and to go to Christ in the Heavens What Christ will do really at that day let us do spiritually on this day It was the prodigal's saying I will arise and go to my Father and say unto him Luk. 15.18 We are naturally sluggish we lye in a bed of sin and security and we are loath to arise to ascend and to go to God Oh then let us call upon our own souls Awake awake Deborah why art thou so heavy O my soul let us stir up our spirits consciences wills affections every day let us wind them up as a man doth his Watch that it may be in a continual motion Alas alas we had need to be continually stirring up the gifts and graces that are in us it is the Lords pleasure that we should daily come to him he would have us on the wing of Prayer and on the wing of Meditation and on the wing of Faith he would have us to be still arising ascending and mounting up in divine contemplation to his Majesty And is it not our duty and the Saints disposition to be thus Whethersoever the dead carcass is thither will the Eagles resort Matth. 24.28 if Christ be in Heaven where should we be but in Heaven with him For where your Treasure is there will your hearts be also Oh that every morning and every evening at least our hearts would arise ascend and go to Christ in the Heavens 3. Christ will at last judge all our souls and judge all the wicked to eternal flames oh let us judge our selves that we may not be judged of the Lord in that sad Judgment If we would judge our selves saith the Apostle we should not be judged 1 Cor. 11.31 Good reason we have to conform to Christ in this point or otherwise how should we escape the judgment of Christ at the last day but in what manner should we judge our selves I answer 1. We must search out our sins 2. We must confess them before the Lord. 3. We must condemn our selves or pass a sentence against our own souls 4. We must plead pardon and cry mightily to God in Christ for the remission of all those sins whereof we have judged our selves and condemned our selves 1. We must search out our sins Winnow your selves O people not worthy to be beloved Zeph. 2.1 There should be a strict scrutiny to find out all the prophaness of our hearts and lives all our sins against light and love and checks and vows winnow your selves If you will not I pronounce to you from the eternal God that ere long the Lord will come in the Clouds and then will he open the black Book wherein all your sins are written he will search Jerusalem with candles he will come with a Sword in his hand to search out all secure sinners every where and then will all your sins be discovered to all the World O that we would prevent this by our search and scrutining a forehand 2. We must confess our sins before the Lord we must spread them before the Lord as Hezekiah did his letter onely in our confessions observe these rules As 1. Our confession must be full of sorrow Psal 38.18 I
conceive the most usual and ordinary course of Faiths working and of the souls conforming to Jesus Christ in its closing with Christ As thus 1. Faith hearing the great things proposed in the Covenant of Grace it stirs up in the heart a serious consideration of their blessed condition that are in covenant with God Blessed art thou O Israel a People saved by the Lord What Nation in the Earth is like thy People Deut. 33.29 2 Sam. 7.2.3 even like Israel whom God went to redeem for a People unto himself Time was saith the Soul that I counted the proud blessed and the rich blessed and the honourable blessed time was when I placed my blessedness in other things as in Riches Preferments Favour Credit with men but now these are become vile and things of no value Faith makes us change our voice and to speak as the Psalmist Blessed are the People whose God is the Lord. Psal 144.15 2. Faith stirs in the heart a longing desire after this condition good being believed cannot but be desired and longed for Desire naturally springs from the apprehension of any good being made known hence Faith we say is both in the understanding and in the will as it is in the understanding it opens the eye to see and clearly to discern the Blessing of the Covenant as it is in the will it pursues and desires the attaining of the Grace revealed nor are these desires faint desires but very earnest eager violent sometimes it is called a thirsting after God and sometimes a panting after God and sometimes a gasping after God it is such a desire as cannot be satisfied by any thing without God himself 3. Faith stirs in the heart some hope to enjoy this condition I say some hope for Faith being as yet in the Bud or in the Seed though its desire be strong yet hope of obtaining is but feeble and weak hence Faith is taken up with many thoughts fain would the Soul be joyned to Christ but being as yet dismayed with the sense of Sin it stands like the Publican afar off as yet Faith can scarce speak a word to God only with Jonah it can look towards his holy Temple As a poor weak babe who lies in the Cradle sick and weak and speechless only it can look towards the Mother for help the cast of the eye expresseth in some sort what it would say thus Faith being weak it would speak to God but it cannot or dares not only it hath its eye towards Heaven 2 Chr. 20.12 as Jehoshaphat sometimes said Our eyes are towards thee It feels a need and fain would have but sense of unworthyness and the sense of the Law strikes such a fear into the heart that it dares not come near Consider Israels Case and we shall find it parallel to this God proclaims on the Mount I am the Lord thy God what was this but Gods offer to be in Covenant with Israel and yet the terrour of the Thunder was so great that Israel durst not come near a poor Soul hearing the Lord to offer himself to be in Covenant in him Come soul I am the Lord thy God Why alas it dares not come near What am I the Lord or what is my Fathers House that I should enter into a Covenant with the most high God The Soul is unquiet within it self it is hurried to and fro and finds no rest it hears of Peace with God but feels it not there is much ado with the Soul to sustain its hope only Faith sets the mind again and again to consider the promises invitatiâ—â—â— and all other incouragements which God hath given in his Word 4. Faith stirs in the heart some resolves to go to Gods Throne and to sue for Grace Faith speaks within as they did Jonah 3.9 Amos. 5.15 Who can tell whether the Lord will return And it may be the Lord God of Hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph So Who can tell saith the Soul It may be the Lord will saith the Soul and this begets some resolves as those Lepers in Samaria knew they were sure to perish if they sate still therefore they resolved to try whether the Aramites would save them Or as Esther knowing all was undone if she would not stir she would try whether the King would hold out his Golden Scepter So the poor Soul knowing there is no way but perishing if it continue in its Natural State therefore it resolves to go to God Doth the Lord say Seek my Face Why Jer. 3.22 thy Face Lord will I seek Doth the Lord say Come unto Me Why Behold Lord I come unto Thee for Thou art the Lord our God And now the Soul betakes it self unto God it sends up Complaints of it self it laments its own sinful Rebellions it puts out a whole Volley of Sighs Groans and strong Cryes towards Heaven it confesseth with Grief and bitter Mourning all its former Iniquities it smites with Repenting Ephraim upon its Thigh it lyes down at God's Foot-stool it puts its Mouth in the Dust it acknowledgeth God's Righteousness if He should condemn and cast off for ever and yet withal it pleads for Grace that it may be accepted as one of His It sayes unto God Lord I have nothing to plead why Thou may'st not Condemn me but if Thou wilt receive me Thy Mercy shall appear in me O let Thy Mercy appear take away all Iniquity and receive me graciously Thus the Soul lyes at God's Throne and pleads for Grace 5. As Faith is thus earnest in suing to God for Grace so it is no less vigilant and watchful in observing what Answer comes from the Lord even as the Prisoner at the Bar not only cries for Mercy but he marks every Word which falls from the Judges Mouth if any thing may give him Hope or as Benhadad's Servants lay at catch with the King of Israel to see if they could take occasion by any thing which fell from him to plead for the Life of Benhadad So the poor Soul that is now pleading for Life and Grace it watcheth narrowly to see if any thing may come from God any Intimation of Favour any Word of Comfort that may tend to Peace O let me hear Joy and Gladness I will hear what the Lord will say for He will speak Peace unto His People 6. As Faith waits for an Answer so accordingly it demeans it self 1. Sometimes God answers not and Faith takes on and follows God still and cryes after Him with more Strength as resolving never to give over till the Lord either save or destroy Nay if the Lord will destroy Faith chuseth to die at God's Feet as when Joab was bidden to come forth from the Horns of the Altar and to take his Death in another Place Nay saith Joab but I will dye here Or as when Christ saw no Deliverance come in His Agony He Prayed more earnestly So a poor Soul Luke 22.44 in the Time
of its Agony when it is striving as for Life and Death if Help come not at first Call it prayes again and that more earnestly Faith is very urgent with God and the more slack the Lord seems in answering the more earnest is Faith in plying God with its Prayers It will wrestle with God as Jacob with the Angel it will take no Denyal but will crave still Bless me even me also O send me not away without a Blessing 2. Sometimes God answers in part He speaks as it were out of a Dark Cloud He gives some little Ease but He speaks not full Peace In this manner He speaks to the Woman Go thy way and sin no more He doth not say Go in Peace thy Sin is forgiven thee John 8.11 No no but Go thy way and sin no more Hereby Faith usually gets a little Strength and looks after the Lord with more Hope It begins to plead with God as Moses did O Lord Thou hast begun to shew Grace unto Thy Servant go on Lord to manifest unto me all Thy Goodness Here Faith takes a little hold on the Covenant of Grace It may be the Hand of Faith is feeble shaking and trembling yet it takes a little Hold it receives some Encouragement it finds that its former Seeking is not in vain 3. Sometimes God answers more fully and satisfactorily He applyes some Promise of Grace to the Conscience by His Spirit He lets the Soul feel taste the Comforts of himself or of such and such a Promise more effectually than ever before Fear not Isa 41.10 saith God for I am thy God Here Faith waxeth bold and with a glad Heart entertains the Promise brought Home unto it The Apostle calls this the Embracing of the Promises Now Heb. 11.13 Embracing implies an Affectionate Receiving with both Arms opened So the Soul embraceth the Promise and the Lord Jesus in the Promise and having Him like Simeon in his Arms it layes Him in the Bosom it brings Him into the Chamber of the Heart there to rest and abide for ever And now is the Covenant struck betwixt God and the Soul Now the Soul possesseth God in Christ as her own it rests in Him and is satisfyed with Him it praiseth God for his Mercy as Simeon did when he had Christ in his Arms it commits it self wholly and for ever to that Goodness and Mercy which hath been revealed to it O my Soul Hast thou come thus by little and little to touch the Top of Christ's Golden Scepter Why then Is thy Hand given to God Then art thou entred into a Covenant of Peace Christ's Offering and thy Receiving the Covenant of Grace bears a sweet Agreement an harmonious Conformity 2. God in Christ keeps Covenant with us so we through Christ should be careful and diligent to keep Covenant with God In the Things of this Life a strict Eye is had to the Covenants we make Now it is not enough for us to enter into Covenant with God but we must keep it The Lord never will never hath broken Covenants on His Part but Alas we on our Parts have broken the first Covenant of Works Take heed we break not the second for then there remains not any more place for any more Covenants As the Lord keeps Covenant with us so let us keep Covenant with Him and therein is the Blessing Psal 103.17 18. The Mercy of the Lord is from Everlasting to Everlasting to such as keep his Covenant There is much also in this keeping of the Covenant and therefore give me leave a little to enlarge Sundry Acts of Faith are required to this keeping of the Covenant As thus 1. Faith in keeping the Covenant hath alwayes an Eye to the Rule and Command of God As in Things to be believed Faith looks on the Promise so in Things to be practised Faith looks upon the Command Faith will present no strange Fire before the Lord it knows that God will accept of nothing but what is according to His own Will 2. As Faith takes Direction from the Rule so in keeping of the Covenant it directs us to the right End that is to the Glory of God We are of Him and live in Him and by Faith we must live to Him Rom. 14.7 8. 2 Cor. 5.15 Psal 50.15 Psal 86.12 for Him For none of us liveth to himself and no Man dieth to himself for whether we live we live unto the Lord whether we die we die unto the Lord whether we live therefore or die we are the Lord 's Again He died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto Him which died for them This God claims as His right and due Thou shalt glorifie Me saith God Yes saith Faith I will glorifie thee for ever 3. Faith in keeping the Covenant shields the Soul against all Hinderances that it meets withal As for instance Sometimes we are tempted on the Right Hand by the Baits and Allurements of the World All these will I give thee saith the World if thou wilt be mine but then Faith overcomes the World by setting afore us better Things than these Sometimes we are tempted on the Left Hand by Crosses Afflictions Persecutions and Sufferings for the Name of Christ but then Faith helps us to overcome and makes us Conquerours through Christ that loved us by setting before us the End of our Faith and Patience Heb. 12.2 It is said of Jesus That for the Joy that was set before Him He endured the Cross and despised the Shame 4. Faith encourageth the Soul that the Lord will have a Gracious Respect unto its keeping Covenant Acts 10.33 In every Nation he that feareth Him and worketh Righteousness is accepted with Him Surely this is no small Encouragement to well-doing What would not a Servant do if he knew his Lord will take it in good part Now Faith assures the Soul there is not one Prayer one Holy Desire or one Good Thought or Word which is spoken or done to the Glory of God but God takes notice of it and accepts it in good part Then they that feared the Lord Mal. 3.16 spake often one to another and the Lord hearkned and heard it and a Book of Remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His Name 5. Faith furnisheth the Soul with Strength and Ability to keep the Covenant By Faith we get a Power and Strength of Grace As thus 1. By Faith we look at Christ as having all Fulness of Grace in Himself It pleased the Father Col. 1.19 that in Him should all Fulness dwell All others have but their Measures some more some less according to the Measure of the Gift of Christ but Christ hath received the Spirit John 3.34 not by Measure but in the Fulness of it 2. By Faith we know that whatever Fulness of Grace is in Christ He had it not for Himself
manner of conversation Then is Christ's life mine when my actions refer to him as my Copy when I transcribe the Original of Christ's life as it were to the life Alas what am I better to observe in the life of Christ his Charity to his Enemies his Reprehensions of the Scribes and Pharisees his subordination to his heavenly Father his ingenuity towards all men his effusions of love towards all the Saints if there be no likeness of all this in my own actions The Life of Jesus is not described to be like a Picture in a chamber of Pleasure only for beauty and entertainment of the eye but like the Egyptain Hieroglyphicks whose very feature is a precept whose Images converse with men by sense and signification of excellent discourses to this purpose 2 Cor. 3.18 saith Paul we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed in the same Image from Glory to Glory Christ is the Image of his Father and we are the Images of Christ Christ is Gods Masterpeice and the most excellent device and work and frame of heaven that ever was or ever shall be now Christ being the top-excellency of all he is most fit to be the the pattern of all excellencies whatsoever and therefore he is the Image the Idea the Pattern the Platform of all our sanctification Come then O my soul look unto Jesus and look into thy self yea and look and look till thou art more transformed into his likeness Is it so that thou art changed into the same image with Christ took into his disposition as it is set forth in the Gospel look into his carriage look into his conversation at home and abroad and then reflecting on thy self look there and tell me canst thou find in thy self a disposition suitable to his disposition a carriage sutable to his carriage a conversation sutable to his conversation art thou every way like him in thy measure in Gospel allowance in some sweet resemblance why then here 's another ground of hope O rejoyce in it and bless God for it 3. If Christs life be mine then shall I admire adore believe and obey this Christ All these were the effects of those several passages in Christ's life respectively 1. They admire at his Doctrine and Miracles Luke 4.22 Matth. 15.31 For his Doctrine all bear him witness and wondered at those gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth and for his Miracles they wondred and they glorified the God the God of Israel yea sometimes their admiration was so great that they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure and wondred Mark 6.51 Luke 9.43 They were amazed at the mighty Power of God and they wondred every one at all things which Jesus did 2. And as they admired so they adored there came a Leaper and worshipped him Matth. 8.2 Matth. 9.18 Matth. 14.33 saying if thou wilt thou canst make me clean and there came a Ruler and worshipped him saying My Daughter is even now dead come lay thy hand on her and she shall live and they that were in the Ship came and worshipped saying of a truth thou art the Son of God The very worshipping of Christ confesseth thus much that he is the Son of God 3. And as they adored so they believed If thou canst believe said Christ to the Father of the possessed Child all things are possible to him that believeth Mark 9.23 24. and straight way he cried out and said with tears Lord I believe help thou my unbelief And when many of his Disciples fell away then said Jesus to the twelve will ye also go away Peter answers for the rest to whom shall we go Why Lord we believe John 6.66 69. and are sure that thou art the Christ the Son of the living God not only worshipping of Christ but believing in Christ is a right acknowledgment that Christ is God Rom. 6.17 Mat. 4.19 20 22. 4. And as they believed so they obeyed ye have obeyed from the heart said Paul to the Romans that form of Doctrine which was delivered to you no sooner Peter and Andrew heard the voice of Christ follow me but they left all and followed him and no sooner James and John heard the same voice of Christ follow me but they left all and followed him Matth. 9.9 John 8.31 and no sooner Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom heard that voice of Christ follow me but he rose and followed him Why then are ye my Disciples indeed said Christ to the believing Jews if ye continue in my word Come then put thy self O my soul to the test thou hast seen and heard the wonderfull passages of Christ's Life the Baptism of Christ the Fasting of Christ the Temptations of Christ the Manifestations of Christ the Doctrine of Christ the Miracles of Christ the Holiness of Christ and is this the issue of all Dost thou now begin to admire and adore and believe and to obey this Christ is thy heart warmed thy affections kindled Forbs tells us that the word of God hath three degrees of opperation in the hearts of his chosen first it falleth to mens ears as the sound of many waters a mighty great and confused sound and which commonly brings neither terrour nor joy but yet a wandering and acknowledgment of a strange force and more than humane power this is that effect which many felt hearing Christ when they were astonished at his Doctrine as teaching with authority Mat. 1.22 27. Luke 4.32 John 7.46 what manner of Doctrine is this never man spake like this man the next effect is the voice of thunder which bringeth not only wonder but fear also not only filleth the ears with sound and the heart with astonishment but moreover shaketh and terrifieth the conscience the third effect is the sound of harping while the Word not only ravisheth with admiration and striketh the Conscience with terror but also lastly filleth it with sweet peace and joy In the present case give me leave to ask O my soul art thou struck into a maze at the mighty Miracles and divine Doctrine of Jesus Christ dost thou fall down and worship him as the Lord and thy God dost thou believe in him and relie on him for Life and Salvation dost thou obey him and follow the Lamb which way soever he goes dost thou act from Principles of Grace in newness of life and holiness of conversation dost thou walk answerably to the commands of Jesus Christ or at least is there in thee an earnest endeavour so to walk and is it the sorrow of thy soul when thou observest thy failings and dost thou rejoyce in spirit when thou art led by the Spirit why then here 's another ground hope that virtue is gone of Christ's life into thy soul 4. If Christ's life be mine then I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me Gal. 2.20 Paul speaks out this evidence I am crucified
the injury we have done unto God as our Judge and the other is a performance of a service which we owe unto God as our Maker O then how large and full and comprehensive is this life of Christ 2. Consider the excellency the glory of this Object Christ's life is glorious and hence it is that the righteousness of Christ is the most glorious garment that ever the Saints of God did wear It is Marlorat's saying Marlorat Rev. 12.1 that the Church which puts on Christ and his righteousness is more illustrious than the Ayr is by the Sun John thus sets her out in his Vision And there appeared a great wonder in heaven a woman cloathed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet I take this to be a lofty Poetical description of Christ's imputed righteousness imagine a garment were cut out of the Sun and put upon us how glorious should we be O but the righteousness of Christ is much more glorious No wonder if the Church cloathed with the Sun tread the Moon under her feet i.e. if she trample on all sublunary things which are uncertain and changeable as the Moon I count all things but dung saith Paul that I may win Christ Phil. 3.8 9. and be found in him not having my own righteousness which is of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the righteousness which is of God by Faith When Paul compares Christ's righteousness with the glory of the world then is the world but dung O the glory O the excellency of the righteousness of Christ 3. Consider the suitableness of this object Christ's life and the virtue of it is most suitable to our condition Thus I might apply Christ to every condition if thou art sick he is a Physitian if thou fearest death he is the way the truth and the life if thou art hungry he is the bread of Life if thou art thirsty he is the water of Life But not to insist on these words It is the daily complaint of the best of Saints O my sins I had thought these sins had been wholly subdued but now I feel they return upon me again now I feel the springs in the bottom fill up my soul again Oh I am weary of my self and weary of my life Oh what will become of me In this case now Christ's life is most sutable his righteousness is a continual righteousness it is not a Cistern Zech. 13.1 but Fountain open for thee to wash in as sin abounds so grace in this gift of righteousness abounds much more Christ's life in this respect is compared to changes of Garments Thou criest O what shall become of me Oh I feel new sins and old sins committed afresh why but these changes of garments will hide all thy sins Zech. 3.4 if thou art but cloathed with the robes of Christ's righteousness there shall never enter into the Lords heart one hard thought towards thee of casting thee off or of taking revenge upon any new occasion or fall into sin Why here is the blessedness of all those that believe Oh then believe Say not would Christ be incarnate for me would he lead such a life on earth for my soul Why yes for thy soul never speak of thy sins as if they should be any hinderance of thy Faith If the wicked that apply this righteousness presumptiously can say Let us sin that grace may abound and so they make no other use of Grace but to run in debt and to sin with a licence how much rather mayest thou say on good ground Oh let me believe Oh let me own my portion in this righteousness of Christ that as my sins have abounded so my love may abound that as my sins have been exceeding great so the Lord may be exceeding sweet that as my sins continue and encrease so my thankfulness to Christ and glory in God and triumph over sin death and the grave may also encrease Why thus be encouraged to believe thy part in the Lord Jesus Christ SECT VI. Of Loving Jesus in that respect 6. LEt us love Jesus as carrying on the great work of our salvation for us during his Life Now what is Love but a motion of the Appetite by which the Soul unites it self to what seems fair unto it And if so O what a lovely Object is the Life of Christ who can read over his Life who can think over his worthiness both in his person relations actions and several administrations and not love him with a singular love That which set the Daughters of Jerusalem in a posture of seeking after Christ was that Description of Christ which the Spouse made of him My Beloved is white and ruddy Cant. 5.10 11.12 13 14 15. the chiefest of ten thousands his head is as the most fine Gold his Locks are bushy and black as a Raven his eyes are as the eyes of Dovâ—s by the Rivers of water washed with milk and finely set his cheeks are as a bed of Spices and sweet flowers his lips like Lillies dropping sweet smelling myrrhe c. By these are intimated unto us the government of Christ the unsearchable counsels of Christ the pure nature of Christ without any impurity or uncleanness the gracious promises of Christ the soul saving instructions of Christ the holy actions and just administrations of Christ the tender affections and amiable smilings of Christ the gracious inward and wonderful workings of Christ so that he is altogether lovely or he is composed of loves from top to toe there is nothing in Christ but 't is most fair and beautiful lovely and desirable Now as this Description enflamed the Daughters of Jerusalem so to act our loves towards the Lord Jesus Christ take we a copy of the Record of the Spirit in Scriptures see what they say of Christ John 5.39 this was his own advice Search the Scriptures for they are they which testifie of me O my soul much hath been said to perswade thee to Faith and if now thou believest thy part in those several actings of Christ why let thy Faith take thee by the hand and lead thee from one step to another from his Baptism to his Temptations from his Temptations to his Manifestations and so on Is not here fewel enough for Love to feed upon Canst thou read the history of Love for such is the history of Christ's Life and not be all on a flame Come read again there is nothing in Christ but 't is lovely winning and drawing as 1. When he saw thee full of filth he goes down into the waters of Baptism that he might prepare a way for the cleansing of thy defiled and polluted soul 2. When he saw the Devil ready to swallow thee up or by his baits to draw and drag thy soul down to hell he himself enters into the List with the Devil and he overcomes him that thou mightest overcome and triumph with Christ in his Glory 3. When he
saw thee in danger of death through thy own unbelief for except thou sawest in his hands the print of the nails and put thy finger into the print of the nails except thou hadst clear manifestations of Christ even to thine own sense thou wouldest not believe he condescends so far to succour thy weakness as to manifest himself by several witnesses three in heaven and three on earth yea he multiplies his three on earth to thousands of thousands so many were the signes witnessing Christ that the Disciple which testified of them John 21.25 could say If they should be written every one the world could not contain the Books that should be written 4. When he saw the buying and selling in the Temple yea making Merchandize of the Temple it self I mean of thy Soul which is the Temple of the holy Ghost he steps in to whip out those Buyers and Sellers those Lusts and Corruptions O cries he will you sell away your souls for Trash O what is a man profitted though he gain the whole world and lose his own Soul Prov. 30.2 3. 5. When he saw thee like the horse and mule more brutish than any man not having the understanding of a man thou neither learnedst wisdom nor hadst the knowledge of the most holy he came with his instructions adding line unto line and precept on precept teaching and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and sealing his truths with many Miracles Mat. 4.23 that thou maist believe and in believing thou mightest have life through his Name and Oh! what is this but to make thee wise unto salvation 6. When he saw thee a sinner of the Gentiles a stranger from the common-wealth of Israel and without God in the world he sent his Apostles and Messengers abroad and bad them preach the Gospel to thee q. d. Go to such a one in the dark corner of the world an Isle at such a distance from the Nation of the Jews and set up my Throne amongst that people open the most precious Cabinet of my Love there and amongst that People tell such a Soul that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom he is one O admirable Love 7. When he saw thee cast down in thy self and refusing thy own Mercy crying and saying what is it possible that Jesus Christ should send a Message to such a dead Dog as I am why the Apostles Commission seems otherwise Go not into the way of the Gentiles Mat. 10.5 6. or into any City of the Samaritans enter ye not but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel O I am a lost sheep but not being of the House of Israel what hope is there that ever I should be found He then appeared and even then he spred his arms wide to receive thy soul he satisfied thee then of another Commission given to his Apostles Go teach all Nations And he cried even then Come unto me thou that art weary and heavy laden with sin and I will receive thee into my bosom Mat. 28.19 and give thee rest there 8. When he saw thee in suspence and heard thy complaint But if I come shall I find sweet welcome I have heard that his ways are narrow and straight Oh it is an hard passage and an high ascent up to heaven Many seek to enter in but shall not be able Luke 13.24 Oh! what shall become of my poor Soul why then he told thee otherwise Prov. 3.17 that all his ways were ways of pleasantness and all his paths peace he would give thee his Spirit that should bear the weight and make all light he would sweeten the ways of Christianity to thee that thou shouldest find by experience that his yoke was easie Mat. 11.29 and his burden was light 9. When he saw the wretchedness of thy Nature and original pollution he took upon him thy Nature and by this means took away thy original sin O here is the lovely Object What is it but the absolute holiness and perfect purity of the Nature of Christ This is the fairest Beauty that ever eye beheld this is that compendium of all Glories now if Love be a motion and union of the Appetite to what is lovely how shouldst thou flame forth in loves upon the Lord Jesus Christ this is rendered as the reason of those sparklings Thou art fairer than the children of men Psal 45.2 10. When he saw thee actually unclean a transgressor of the Law in thought word Heb. 10.9 and deed then he said Lo I come to do thy will O God and wherefore would he do Gods will but meerly on thy behalf O my Soul canst thou read over all these passages of Love and dost thou not yet cry out O stay me comfort me for I am sick of Love Can a man stand by an hot and fiery furnace and never be warmed Oh for an heart in some measure answerable to these Loves Surely even good natures hate to be in debt for love and is therein thee O my soul neither grace nor yet good nature O God forbid awake awake thy ardent love towards the Lord Jesus Christ why thou art rock and not flesh if thou beest not wounded with these heavenly darts Christ loves thee is not that enough fervent affection is apt to draw love where is little or no beauty and excellent beauty is apt to draw the heart where there is no answer of affection at all but when these two meet together what breast can hold against them See O my soul here is the sum of all the particulars thou hast heard Christ loves thee and Christ is lovely his heart is set upon thee who is a thousand times fairer than all the children of men doth not this double consideration like a mighty loadstone snatch thy heart unto it and almost draw it forth of thy very breast O sweet Saviour thou couldst say even of thy poor Church though labouring under many imperfections Thou hast ravished my Heart Cant. 4.9 10. my Sister my Spouse thou hast ravished mine heart with one of thine eyes with one chain of thy neck how fair is thy love my Sister my Spouse how much better is thy love than wine and the smell of thy oyntments than all Spices Couldst thou O blessed Saviour be so taken with the incurious and homely features of the Church and shall not I much more be enamoured with thy absolute and divine Beauty It pleased thee my Lord out of thy sweet ravishments of thy heavenly love to say to thy poor Church Turn away thine Eyes from me for they have overcome me but Oh let me say to thee Turn thine eyes to me that they may overcome me my Lord Cant. 6.5 I would be thus ravished I would be overcome I would be thus out of my self that I might be all in thee Thus is the Language of true love to Christ but alas how dully and flatly do I speak