we have offended God we must seek to him for pardon and mercy and the like But that God communicates himself through Christ and that not one drop of mercy in order to eternal life can be communicated from God but through Christ the mediator of this there is not one footstep in all the works of God This is that which is so supernaturall that 't is above perfect nature Adam knew nothing of this in his perfect estate Yea this is that which the Angels themselves desire to pry into looking upon it as a mighty depth 1 Peter 1. 12. the Angels stoop downe for so the word signifieth 't is as if a thing should lye in a deep pit and when any would see it they stoop down with their bodies to pry into the pit that 's the propriety of the word so the Angels they see a mighty depth in the mystery of the Gospell and they stoop downe to pry into it that they may know what it is Yea this is that which requires a worke of the spirit beyond the ordinary work of the spirit of God to reveale it to the soul 1 Cor. 2. 10. speaking there of the Mystery of the Gospell sayes the Apostle The spirit that searcheth the deep things of God c. discovers this that is the spirit of God in an extraordinary worke of his as he is a spirit searching the deep things of God so he is a discovering spirit of this truth unto us and therefore seeing it is thus it is not so light to be past over I you will say 't is true all must come through Jesus Christ well you see a little at first but there is much more in this truth then we are aware of 'T is a truth that is the most profitable of all the truths contained in the book of God there is no growing up in godlinesse till we come to know God in Christ the knowledge of God is something to worke upon the heart and many labour against their sinne because they see it is against the law of God and set upon duties because God requires them and this is well but till they come to understand indeed the mystery of the Gospell of Gods letting himselfe out unto his people through a mediator they doe but bungle in the wayes of godlinesse they doe not thrive and grow up in them and therefore these Christians that live under such a ministry where though they have many good truths revealed to them yet having but little of the mystery of Christ as the mediator their way of Christianity is very low they doe not sanctifie God in their conversation I remember a speech that Erasmus hath when they would have had him write against Luther and promised him a great Bishopricke for it he answers Luther is greater then that I can write against him for I am instructed more in one small page of Luther then out of whole Thomas Aquinas that was the great Schoolman So certainly the understanding but some one truth some one sentence in the mystery of the Gospell in this way of Gods communication of himselfe unto us through his Christ doth instruct the soul and cause it to thrive and grow up in godlinesse abundantly more then thousands of Sermons about meere moralities and you have a most admirable Text for this Ephes 3. 17. and so on That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge marke what followes That yee might be filled with all the fulnesse of God v. 19. By coming to know God in Christ that is to know Christ to be the way of Gods communicating himselfe unto us we come to be filled with all the fulnesse of God many Christians their hearts are very scant and empty there is not a fulnesse in their spirits and all because they know so little of God in Christ in this mystery of the Gospell Lastly there is no truth revealed in all the Scriptures whereby we can honour God so much as by this this indeed is the great honour that God would have in the world to be honoured in his Son and in the great designe he hath of bringing forth glorious things by his Son and therefore though we know never so much of God and would honour him meerely as the Creator of heaven and earth yet God doth not accept of that honour that is but to honour him in a naturall way we never know what it is to honour God aright so as to be accepted of him till we come to honour him in an Evangelicall way to honour him in his Son and yet the greatest honour he hath from most in the world yea from multitudes in the very Church of God that heare the mystery of Christ opened to them is tendred up to him meerly in a naturall way and not in this spirituall Evangelicall service of God You see now the consequence of the point let us then fall to it And First I shall shew you the truth of it in Scripture And Secondly how it comes to passe that there can be no good communicated to us from God in order to eternall life but by Christ And Thirdly how Christ comes to be the meanes and way of conveighance of all good unto us from his father Fourthly I shall instance in some speciall things great things wherein most of the goodnesse of God is communicated to us and shew you how in them Christ is all in all to us And Fifthly the reasons why God will have this way of communication of himselfe unto us through his Son why he will not communicate himselfe immediatly to us but through a mediator these are the five things for the doctrinall part For the first the course of Scripture especially of the new Testament runs this way you know that of Christ John 14. 6. I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me there is no coming to the Father but by Christ and Christ he is the way and that in 1 Cor. 3. at the latter end sayes the Apostle there All things are yours whether Paul or Apollo or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours How is that marke All are yours and ye are Christs and Christ is Gods God the Father he is the principle of all good all firstly comes from him but it comes not from him immediatly he doth not say all are yours for ye are Gods because you have an interest in God therefore all comes to be yours no but all are yours and you are Christs and Christ is Gods so that you see here how that Christ comes between yours and Gods All good is in God true but how shall we come to partake of that good there is such a distance between these
cut then thou art gone for ever For after death comes judgement In the meditation of this point me thinks I cannot but look upon God as beholding all the children of men in their fallen lost sinful and miserable estate with pity and compassion saying poor creatures they have sinned against me and have made themselves liable to eternal wrath which they understand not which they are not able to beare well a little time I will grant unto them to sue out their pardon and to come in and make up their peace with me and I will give them meanes for that end but let them look to themselves for according to the improvement of the time that I now give them so shall it be with them to all eternity if they neglect it they are gone for ever mercy then shall doe them no good so that the tenour upon which we all hold our lives it is no other then as a malefactor condemned to dye who hath granted to him through the favour of the Prince a little time of reprieval and some intimation withal given of a possibility in that time to sue out his pardon and according as he spends that time so it shall be with him for life or death Thus I say we all hold our lives we are all condemned before the Lord onely God hath out of his infinite grace provided a way and meanes of salvation for the children of men and gives us a little time we know not how long whether two or three dayes but as long as we live to look about us to provide for the making of our peace with him and if that be neglected all is gone and we are undone for ever great things then doe depend upon this uncertaine small time of our lives It is reported of Alexander that when he went against any City he did use to set up a lampe burning and would make proclamation that whosoever came in while this lampe was burning should finde favour and have his life but whosoever staid till this lampe was out he was but a dead man and must expect no mercy brethren know that God hath set up a lampe and our life is this lampe and God proclames Whosoever comes in while this lampe is burning shall finde mercy but if you stay till the lampe be out there is nothing but eternal misery to be expected Now this lampe of your lives may not onely goe out upon the consumption of the oyle but it may be put out by accidental meanes and if this lampe be once out and your work not done you are lost for ever We read 1 Kings 6. 7. that when Solomon was preparing the Temple he made all things so ready before hand that there was no noise of axe or hammer heard there Whosoever God intendeth for a living stone in the glorious Temple of Heaven he squares and fits them here there is no noyse of repentance and sorrow for sin after this life what is to be done must be done here nothing will doe it hereafter Whatsoever thou hast to doe doe it with all thy might for there is no work nor device nos knowledge nor wisdome in the grave whòther thou goest Eccles 9. 10. and Chapter 11. vers 3. In the place where the tree falleth there it lyeth Which way thou fallest when thou dyest that way thou shalt lie eternally if Godward then God is thine for ever if sinward then misery and destruction is thine for ever Eccles 12 7. Then shall the dust returne to the earth as it was and the spirit shall returne unto God who gave it The souls of wicked men doe returne to God that gave them as well as the souls of the godly that is they doe presently returne to God to receive the sentence of their eternal doome from him and to be stated in their everlasting condition there is a mighty change in the soul immediately after it is departed from the body and is brought to stand before the glorious God to be stated in its eternal condition There are twelve houres in the day sayes Christ wherein a man may worke but the night comes when no man can work John 9. 4. The time of this life is thy working time I but the night is coming and then no man can work Revel 6. 8. And I looked and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was death and hell followed him Hell immediately followes death where death surprizeth any in their natural condition that have not finished the work of making their peace with God 2 Cor. 5. 10. We must all appeare before the judgement seat of Christ to receive according to what we have done in the flesh whether it be good or bad It is not according to what we doe afterwards but according to what we have done here in the flesh so it must be with us for ever There can be no repenting no believing after this life body and soul being parted the whole man is not capable of a work of God upon it And besides immediately after death God takes all meanes away you shall never heare Sermon more never have admonition more never have good connsel more never have any working of Gods spirit more to draw you soules to Christ And not onely so but God then withdrawes himself so fully in regard of all the common workes of his spirit that there is a kinde of stating the soul in sin which yet cannot so properly in regard of God be said to be sin as evil so that it shall be impossible for thee to doe any thing but sin as the Saints though while they live here they have many lusts and corruptions in them yet immediately after death their souls are so fully possessed of the spirit that then they cannot sin so on the contrary though wicked men while they live here have divers common gifts of Gods spirit and many restraints upon them yet immediately after death they are so fully separated from God and God so fully withdraws himself from them that it is impossible for them to doe any thing else but sin and rebell against God and blaspheme him to his face There was in Adam in innocency a possibility not to have sinned there is in us while we live in this world an impossibility but that we should sin but in the world to come there is in the Saints an impossibility that ever they should sin and look how the impossibility is on the one hand with the Saints so is the impossibility directly contrary on the other hand with the wicked therefore the wicked must needs be stated in an everlasting evil condition There is no more possibility for the damned souls in hell ever to doe any thing but to blaspheme God then there is a possibility for the Saints in heaven ever to sin against God And yet further at the great day Christ gives up the kingdome to the Father and then there will be another manner of administration then before
Christ will not then be exercised in the work of his mediatorship to mediate any further for those for whom he did not mediate in this life And presently after the separation of the soul from the body the spirit of God wholly departes from the soul and the wrath of God is let out so fully into it that it breaks the soul and fills up every faculty of it so that it is impossible in regard of the strong current of divine wrath that carries the soul along with it that ever it should be exercised to all eternity any one moment in any thing but onely in bearing of torment and divine wrath As the Saints shall be filled up with the presence of God and carried on with such a strong current of divine mercy that it shall be impossible that their souls should ever to all eternity be exercised in any other thing but in the enjoyment of God and living to his praise so on the quite contrary is it with the wicked therefore after death there is a stating of both I will enlarge my self no further in the opening of this point but come presently to apply it for this point is applicatory rather then doctrinal and I shall content my self with three or foure branches of application and so conclude In the first place hence we may see what cause we have to blesse God for the continuance of our lives especially any that are here this day that have not throughly made their peace with God that are not upon certaine and infallible termes in this great businesse of providing for their eternal estates If there remaines but any doubt in thy heart concerning thy eternal condition and if the feares of eternity have been upon thy spirit thou Wilt from this point that hath been thus briefly spoken to see cause to blesse God with thy face up on the ground adoring the riches of his grace that thou art alive this day why because thy life it is the time of making up thy peace with God it is the time of providing for thy eternal condition if thy life be at an end and this work not done then all is gone then judgement comes and thou wilt be infallibly and unalterably stated in a lost and undone condition O therefore it s well that thou art alive this day if a man have a great businesse to doe that concernes his whole estate or life and it must be done in a very little time O what a favour would he count it to have his time lengthned out though but a little because his businesse is of great weight and he thinkes with himself if I miscarry in it I am lost and undone for ever so all those that have ever had serious apprehensions of the infinite consequence of what depends upon their lives here they cannot but sit downe and blesse God for lengthening out their lives for the time of this life is a happy time it is a day of grace a day of salvation O how happy would those poor creatures upon whom this judgement is past that are stated in their eternal condition think themselves if they might have but one day wherein it might be said there is a possibility for them to make provision for themselves concerning their eternal estate As they were not long since so art thou now and therefore know how to prize thy life O the lives of men and women especially such as have not yet done that great work are worth a thousand thousand worlds I remember I have heard of a speech of a great Gentleman who being very sick and Physitians telling him that there was no way for him but death O sayes he that I might live though it were but as a Toad and indeed what man or woman is there that hath not got a thorough and Scripture-assurance of this great work that their peace is made up with God but may upon very good ground if sicknesse be upon them desire to live though but as a Toad because such great things depend upon their lives here in this world Brethren doe but say this to your own hearts upon serious meditation of this that I am now speaking of What if God should come now to this Congregation and say to every one of you Well now the time that I have given you to provide for your eternal estate is at an end if you have done your work well and good you shall be saved and possesse eternal glory but you must be cast according to that which is now done I feare if such a message should come from heaven to many of us it would make our hearts to ake within us and we should cry out O Lord give me a little space before I goe hence and be no more seen O that I might yet have a little more time Suppose God had taken you away when he took away such a kinsman or kinswoman of yours such a neighbour or friend and death had come then and judgement had then been past upon you which way doe you thinke you must have been cast cannot some of you remember that if God had taken you away at such a time or when such a one dyed you were then in such a case that you have cause to think you had been certainly stated in a condition of eternal misery therefore blesse God that you are alive at this day to heare of such a doctrine as this is that so long as you live God gives you time to provide for your eternal estate Psalm 78. 38. the Text sayes God did not stirre up all his anger but called back his wrath when sicknesse comes upon men and women some part of Gods anger is let out I but if God had let out his anger but a little more what would have become of you you had been gone one stroake more had cast you for ever I but God was pleased to call back his anger and did not stirre up all his wrath O blesse God for sparing you at such a time for certainly had you died then your condition had been as irrecoverable as the Devells themselves now t is a day of grace now you have the voyce of the Gospel and the glad tidings of salvation sounding in your eares but then you had been past the time of grace past praying and past repenting now that you are not past this day you are to prize your lives And brethren know wherein consists the worth of your lives and the continuance of them there is a horrible impudence in some men they would faine have their lives lengthened to have their lusts more satisfied did God give thee thy life for this end no the end why thou shouldst desire to live is that thou mayest have further time to make provision for that which is of such infinite consequence which if it be not done it had been better for thee to have been a Toad or Serpent or the vilest creature that ever lived O that we had hearts to give God
people from Egypt and carrying of them through the Red-sea And this song is the most ancient song that ever was in the world it is the first in Scripture and we know of no Author before Moses those that were skilfull in the way of Poetry were many hundred yeares after Moses It is a spirituall and most excellent song the stile of it is full of Elegancy the matter of exceeding variety it is Eucharisticall Triumphant Propheticall and 't is pitty we have not such an excellent song as this is turned into Meeter to be sung in our Congregations And it is a most delightfull song and therefore you shall observe when God promised a great mercy to his people in which they should exceedingly rejoyce he hath reference to this song Hosea 2. 15. And I will give her Vineyards from thence and the valley of Achor for a doore of hope and she shall sing there as in the dayes of her youth and as in the day when she came up out of the Land of Egypt When God intended any great mercy to his people he would have them sing according to this song of Moses So then if God be in a way of mercy if he be opening a doore of hope to us you see how seasonable this song is And 't is a Typicall song as of the deliverance of Gods people out of Egypt so a Type of the deliverance of Gods people from the bondage of Antichrist therefore it is very observable that this song was to be sung againe when the people of God should be delivered from Antichrist In Revel 15. and the beginning you may see Gods judgements upon Antichrist and in vers 3. it is said they sing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb saying Great and marvellous are thy workes Lord God almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints By this you may see that God would shew us that the bondage under Antichrist is like the bondage in Egypt and therefore Rome is called Egypt in the Revelations because when we shall be delivred from Antichristian bondage we shall renew this song of Moses So that if we now expect deliverance from bondage under Antichrist it is good for us to acquaint our selves with this song because it is that which shall be sung over againe when the bondage of Antichrist is removed It is a miraculous song according to the opinion of Austin he brings in this song as one of the miracles that is that God did at the same time by the spirit inspire all the people of Israel that they sung together one and the same song and therefore it was miraculous true if it had been so but the Scripture is not cleere in that But we leave generalls and come to the words though there be many excellent things in the Chapter to make way to that I have read yet because I would not be hindered I will come instantly to the words which are as it were a recapitulation of all containing the substance of all as if he had said I have spoken of many particulars that God doth for his people but there is none like unto the Lord who is glorious in holinesse fearefull in praises doing wonders There are four things you see then wherein the name of God is advanced here First there is none like the Lord Secondly glorious in holinesse Thirdly fearefull in praises Fourthly doing wonders I confesse when my thoughts were first to speake upon this Text I intended onely the third particular the opening of that Title of God fearefull in praises we finde not any such Title that I know of in all the book of God but onely in this place but because I saw there was much of God in the two former therefore I thought it might be usefull to shew you what there is of God in them and was unwilling to passe them by For the two first then who is like to thee O Lord amongst the Gods who is like unto thee glorious in holinesse who is like to thee this you see is put by way of interrogation now interrogations in Scripture are especially brought in two wayes First by way of admiration Secondly by way of negation Sometimes by way of admiration Isaiah 63. 1. Who is this that cometh from Edom with died garments from Bozrah Many others we might name by way of admiration and by way of negation you know there are hundreds of examples and both these we are to understand here in the Text First by way of admiration who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods c. The spirit of Moses and the people being struck with astonishment at the glory of God now manifested by the great workes he did they â—â—mire and say who is like unto thee O Lord and then by way of negation who is like unto thee O Lord that is there is none like unto thee that is the first expression of the glory of God the lifting up of the name of God above all things whatsoever there is none like to God And God doth much glory in this expression of his glory that there is none like to him we have it very often in Scripture 1 Chron. 17. 20. O Lord there is none like thee neither is there any God besides thee according to all that we have heard with our eares So in Psalm 86. 8. Among the Gods there is none like unto thee O Lord and Psalm 89. 6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord we might name divers other places where God glories much in this expression of his glory and the people of God have gloried much in it and there is great cause they should doe so It is said of the godly Machabees that at first by reason their name was an offence meeting with this sentence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who is like unto thee O Lord amongst the Gods and being much taken with it they wrote the first Hebrew Letter of every word in this sentence in their ensignes of warre and carried them about with them and upon this ground they were called the Machabees glorying in this Title of God who is like unto thee And upon this ground the Holy Ghost concludes that all should honour and glorifie God because there is none like unto him Psal 86. 8. Among the Gods there is none like unto thee O Lord neither are there any works like unto thy works Mark what followes in 9. 10. 11. 12. verses All Nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee O Lord and shall glorifie thy name for thou art great and doest wondrous things for thou art God alone teach me thy way O Lord I will walke in thy truth unite my heart to feare thy name I will praise thee O Lord my God with all my heart and I will glorifie thy Name for evermore Thus you see how the
hope for great and glorious things as I gave you a hint of them Now let faith be exercised and strengthened in these things if all those blessed things we spak of were present to the soul O how would our hearts be above the creature how should we look upon all things here below as dung filth drosse how would our thoughts be raised in the admiration of spirituall and heavenly things how would our spirits be taken up in wondering at the glory of God that appeares in these things how would our hearts be enflamed with love to God! how would our conversations be in heaven for the present what heavenly thoughts and heavenly affections would be in us in all our wayes and how would we venture to goe through fire and water for God! to doe any thing suffer any thing be any thing for God And did our faith make such glorious things as these reall and substantial to us how substantial would our duties and services be Why is it then that our duties have so much vanity in them are so empty having nothing but circumstance in them certainly brethren if our faith gives a subsistance to such blessed glorious things of eternal life it will likewise give a subsistance to all our duties and services that we shall not tender to God empty and dead services Consider this you who though you dare not omit duties yet what empty duties doe you tender to God your works should be the works of faith and faith should give them a subsistance as well as it gives your hopes therefore satisfie not your selves with that faith that will not give a subsistance to your duties and doe not think it will give a subsistance to such glorious things we speak of Thus much of the first particular Faith is the substance of things hoped for I would faine speak a little of the second It is the evidence of things not seen There are two things here First that the things of grace spiritual and heavenly things are things not seen And secondly that faith gives an evidence to those things First that grace spirituall and heavenly things are things not seen The Apostle sayes Gal. 5. 19. 22. the works of the flesh are manifest but when he comes to the workes of the spirit he sayes the workes of the spirit are these he doth not say they are manifest for indeed they are things that are not seen though t is true the operations of them appear yet there is no externall work of grace but an hypocrite may doe it therefore the workes of the spirit cannot be said to be seen either by the eye of sense or reason And then for the things of heaven sayes the Apostle 2 Cor. 2. 18. While we look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporall but the things which are not seen are eternall I might here discover to you how it comes to passe that spirituall and heavenly things are not seen unto sense and reason Many arguments I thought to have given to discover this I must but cull out two or three particulars The riches of a Christian in spirituall and heavenly things are like the riches of the Sea it may be outwardly you see nothing but hideous waves and a great deal of filth I but the riches are at the bottome and the riches of the earth are within and hidden they doe not appear so the riches and treasures of a Christian are things not seen they are things that are in the very bosome of God in the very heart of God Now as no man knowes the things of a man but the spirit of man so no man knowes the things of God but the spirit of God and him to whom God doth reveal them And then they are things that are beyond the principles of reason they are too high and so too glorious for such a faculty as reason is if an object be too glorious for sense it destroyes the sense so these objects are too high for reason and and therefore cannot be seen by reason And the blindnesse of man naturally is such that he cannot see these things And chiefly God so orders things in his providence that he goeth a quite contrary way as to sense and reason to that which he hath promised I say it is the way of God to hide his glorious excellencies by seeming to goe in the wayes of his providence directly crosse to what he hath promised we might shew how God hath hid from sense and reason his mercy to his own people that of Abraham is considerable there were two promises God made to Abraham the one of going out of his own country and carrying him to a land flowing with milk and honey the other that he would make his seed as the stars of heaven for multitude and that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed Mark now if Abraham had not had something to evidence that which was not seen he could never have seen the faithfulnesse of God in these promises for when he was gone out of his own country he comes to Ganaan the country promised but as soon as he was there he was ready to starve and was faine to flye to Egypt and if he had not had faith he would have fallen off and have been ready to turne back againe And then for the second promise That in his seed all the Nations of the earth should be blessed Abraham goeth on seaventy yeares and his wife had no childe and it ceased to be with her after the manner of women she was old and Abrahams body dead and after he had a child he must kill him and being saved Isaac must be forty yeares before he is married and when he is married he must have no childe in twenty yeares and in the first hundred and fifty yeares after the promise there was but seaventy of all his seed yet this was the promise that in his seed all the Nations of the earth should be blessed thus God seemes to goe crosse to what he promised We might instance also in Jacob God commands Jacob to returne from Laban and after that mark how God followes him First his uncle Laban followes him with thoughts to slay him Secondly In his Journey his wives nurse dyeth Thirdly his wife dyes Fourthly Dinay is ravished Fifthly his two Sons Simeon and Levy commit that villany that makes him stink in the nostrils of the people of the land Sixtly Esau comes to destroy him and all this in that journey that God commanded Jacob to take Now if Jacob had not had faith to look through these to the things that might encourage him in his way to things not seen it had been impossible he should have gone on So when God brings Israel to Canaan you know what a way they goe about through the wildernesse when they were come to Canaan a land flowing with milk and hony God