is not my basenesse that hinders mee but my corruptions that oppose the worke of grace in my soule and that will be my bane I know that God is able to doe what is needfull and Christ is willing to doe what he is able to those that beleeve in him and rest upon him but this proud heart opposeth the worke of his grace and the operation of his Spirit my minde is so blinde that nothing in the world takes place my heart is still polluted and my distempers still hang upon mee nay sometimes my soule is wearie of the good word of the Lord that would pluck them from me insomuch that I could almost bee content to pluck out my heart and will the Lord shew mercie to mee that oppose mercie and will the Lord make mee partaker of his redemption that resists the worke of his redemption I answer God hath appointed Christ for this purpose and Christ hath undertooke this worke therefore if God hath appointed it and Christ will worke it who can hinder it thy ignorance cannot hinder the Lord Jesus Christ if hee will teach thee hee will inlighten thy blinde minde and convince that stubborne heart of thine nay all the corruptions under heaven cannot oppose this worke of God hee hath appointed it and hee hath power to pull downe a stout stomack and bee hath power to sanctifie a polluted heart corruptions are many and temptations fierce but if he will redeeme who can destroy if he sanctifie who can pollute if he justifie who can condemne this is the worke of a Saviour if Christ will doe it none can hinder it if God hath appointed it nothing can let it but it is the worke of a Christ and God hath appointed it therefore cheare up thy heart in the consideration hereof you that are the Saints of God cast off all those cavils and pretences against the power of Christ and his grace and goe out of your selves and see the privileges that God vouchsafes unto you and reason thus with your selves It is true Lord my heart is naught and I have no power my minde is blinde and I have no wisdome but I know that Christ is made wisdome to mee and thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ to be made wisdome and sanctification to the soule of thy servant though sin pollute me yet Christ can sanctifie mee though the guilt be great yet the pardon of a Christ is greater than the guilt and where sinne abounds grace abounds much more therefore lift up your selves and cheare up your hearts and goe away comfortably what is awanting God will give what hee gives he will maintaine what hee maintaines hee will quicken what hee quickens hee will perfect and he will crowne you and your grace and all in the kingdome of heaven for ever what would you have in this kinde nay let mee speak one thing more Hee is the redeemer of his servants what is that why the Scripture saith the last enemy of all is death and that is the aime of all the wicked that is the worst they can doe now in Saint Matthew Christ saith Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of hell shall not prevaile against it the gates of hell what 's that it was the fashion among the Jewes as our sessions and assises are kept in the market place so their place of meeting was at the gates so that when he saith The gates of hell shall not prevaile against it his meaning is this when Beelzebub and all the Devils in hell shall joyne together to destroy the Church all the policie of all the Devils in hell shall not prevaile the worst they can doe is to bring them unto death but Christ will bee redemption unto them art thou in captivity he will free thee art thou in persecution he will deliver theeâ— nay when thy body shall lye downe in the grave though the Heathen said when they had burnt the bodies of Gods Saints and throwne them into the water Let us now see how they will rise againe they were deceived thou must be contented for Christ will redeem that dust and say to the earth Give up and to the sea Give up thy dead deliver up the bodies of my servants let their sinews and bones come together and body and soule shall come together and enjoy happinesse in heaven together for evermore if then neither the guilt of sinne can condemne us nor the filth of sinne pollute us if neither misery nor persecution can hurt us then goe away not only comfortably but triumphantly into persecution and prison into holes and caves and dens of the earth Christ will bee all in all unto you in grace here and in glorie hereafter therefore let this comfort you Vse 3 In the third place it is the use the holy Ghost here makes Is it so that there is a conveyance of all grace from Christ to the beleever hee doth what he doth by him and hath what he hath from him then it is a word of instruction to teach us all to lye downe in the dust let no man glorie in man but let him that glories glorie in the Lord this is the maine collection the Apostle inferres God hath chosen the foolish and base things of the world that no man might glorie in flesh as who should say it is not my parts but Christ it is not my abilities but mercie it is not what I can doe but what Christ will performe therefore if Christ then bee Author of all wee have or can doe let him receive all the honour and praise of all we have or doe doth the Lord worke all our workes in us and for us then let him receive the tribute due to his Name and take nothing to your selves away with that proud heart that bars God of his honor and praise and of the due which indeed belongs unto him and ought to be performed by all his servants dost thou thinke the Lord will bestow all his favour upon thee and worke all for thee and thou in the meane time pranke up thy selfe and lift up thy crest no I charge you you Saints of God as to know your owne privileges to be thankfull for them so to know your owne unworthinesse and to lie downe in the dust and be abased for ever and to give God the honour due unto his Name Revel 4.8 The foure and twentie Elders fell downe and laid downe their crownes at the Lambes feet and said Thou onely art worthy to receive all honour and glory and praise If wee had a thousand crownes never so much honour and riches and credit and abilities fling away all at the foot of Christ let him have all the praise thou art worthy Lord we are unworthy thy assistance wee have received thy comfort thou hast continued and thou art worthy of all the honour in that thou hast beene pleased to worke any worke in us and by us to the praise of
course of profession in the way of life and salvation but they never come to bee opposers and resisters of God and his grace till there comes some to bee wiser and stricter in a Christian course than they and then hee fals away Vse 4 Is it so that the faithfull soule is thus neerly knitted to Christ as the member to the body or the branch to the vine then all you that beleeve in Christ observe from hence a ground of strong consolation against all the contempt of the world and the misery that can betide and against all the temptations that Sathan can lay against you to cause you to fall finally or totally First it is a ground of great comfort and consolation to carry up the soule and lift up the heart against all the contempt and disgrace against all the troubles and miseries and persecutions that can betide or befall you or can be cast upon you in this wandring pilgrimage of yours when a Christian begins to turne his face heaven-ward and goe home to the Lord then all his friends flie away and depart from him David complaines that his honours stood afarre off and hee was a mocking to the enemie and a contempt to those that were before neere unto him so it will bee with you nay it is so with most that live in the bosome of the Church how often can many of you speake of it when the Lord hath given you a heart to walke with him and depend upon him how often are you made the off-scouring of the world your carnall friends detest your persons and scorne your societies why raise up your hearts with the consideration of the former truth yee that doe endure it or may feare it comfort your selves doth man cast you off doth man cast you out Christ will receive you why then are you discouraged what though the servant frowne if the Master welcome what though we be not with the wicked if we be with Christ and Christ with us why are we then discontented it is that which comforts a party that matcheth against her parents minde when her parents frowne this comforts her heart though she hath not their love and society yet she hath the love and company of her husband and that contents her so it is with every beleeving soule you have matched against the minde of your carnall friends they would not have you take that course Oh then they tell you Woe and beggerie will befall you well though you have matched contrarie to the mindes of your carnall friends or master or husband yet comfort thy selfe though thou hast the ill will of an earthly husband yet now God will be a husband in heaven thou maist sing care away and bee for ever comforted and refreshed it was that which God himselfe gave for a cordiall to cheare up Iacob in that long and tedious journey of his when hee was going into a farre countrie Genes 28.14 15. when he was going from his owne countrie and had no friends to succour him the Lord met him and said I will goe with thee and keepe thee in all places whither thou goest and I will bring thee back into this land and I will never leave thee untill I have done that which I spake unto thee of this was that which lifted and bare up the heart of the good man though hee could not but expect hard dealing why yet saith the Lord I will goe with thee and never leave thee thinke of it and consider of it seriously what a ground of consolation may it be when we shall wander up and downe and goe into caves and holes and dens of the earth when wee shall goe into prison or banishment and friends may not nor will not goe with us yet Christ will goe Esay 43.2 When thou passest thorow the waters I will be with thee and thorow the rivers they shall not overflow thee when thou walkest thorow the fire thou shalt not be burnt neither shall the flame kindle upon thee a man cannot save his wife sometimes in the water though shee bee ready to be drowned a man cannot goe into the fire to helpe her though she be ready to be burnt but Christ will be with thee in the water and in the fire that is in the heaviest trials and forest troubles what can come to us if Christ be with us if miserie and sorrow and trouble bee with us if Christ our husband be with us what matter he is the husband of his spouse and the Saviour of his people why should wee then bee discouraged or disquieted Secondly as it is a ground of comfort against all opposition and troubles of the world so it is a ground of comfort to stay our soules against the fiercenesse of all temptations whereby Satan labours to plucke us from the Lord Iesus Christ and our hearts sinke within us and we shall wee say one day perish by the hands of Saul by the hand of the enemy attempting and corruptions prevailing cleare your hearts and know though temptations may outbid your weaknesses and corruptions may outbid your abilities and when you would doe good evill is present with you and sinne cleaves and sticks close to you why cheare your hearts with this consideration that you have Christ that sticks closer to you than your sinnes and this should cheere up weake and feeble ones I know what troubles you were I as strong as such a christian had I such parts and such strength of faith and shall such a poore little one as I am beare the brunt of persecution and indure in the time of perplexitie Why consider though thou canst not helpe thy selfe yet Christ can and know this that Christ will not lose the least member he is a perfect Saviour the Lord will not suffer Satan to take thee away from him nor suffer his love to bee taken from thee Rom. 8. the two last verses it was the triumph of the holy Apostle Paul I am perswaded saith he that neither death nor life nor Angels nor Principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which it in Christ Iesus our Lord when health is separated from thy body and light from thy eyes and strength from thy feeble nature yet remember that when thy body is separated from thy soule the Lord will not separated his love from thee neither from thy body in the grave nor from thy 〈…〉 it is departed out of thy body he will love thy body in the grave he loves the dust of his Saints and he will take thy soule up into heaven therefore cheare up thy heart and comfort thy soule in the consideration of Gods goodnesse Vse 5 Lastly are the Saints knit to Christ thus firmly then it shews us our dutie we ought to take notice of the goodnesse of the Lord vouchsafed unto us hath the Lord advanced you thus highly then walke
the union drawes somewhat neerer so that wee see first there is a holy Ghost in the promise and secondly wee see that the Holy Ghost leaves a supernaturall worke upon the soule and brings it home to Christ Conclus 3 The third conclusion is this the Spirit of grace in the promise working thus upon the heart it causeth the heart to close with it selfe in the promise the Spirit of God by the promise so works upon the soule that it makes the soule close with the promise and with it selfe in the promise and this is to be one Spirit and this I take to bee the meaning of that place Philippians 3.12 Paul saith that he was apprehended of Christ as if he should say I was not so much apprehending as apprehended not so much that he did it but Christ in him and upon him and by him for I told you the worke of the Lord in the worke of conversion is upon us by us to bring us to himselfe The Spirit of the Lord is in heaven and it is in the promise and that Spirit in the promise comes to the soule of a beleever and leaves a spirituall worke upon the soule of a beleever and the soule is moved by vertue of that Spirit to close with that promise and with that Spirit that is in the promise I would expresse my selfe by these two comparisons looke as it is with the moone the naturall Philosopher observes that the ebbing and flowing of the sea is by vertue of the moone she flings her beames into the sea and not being able to exhale as the sunne doth shee leaves them there and goes away and that drawes them and when they grow wet they returne backe againe now the sea ebs and flowes not from any principle in it selfe but by vertue of the moone being moved it goes being drawne it comes the moone casting her beames upon the waters it moves the sea and so drawes it selfe unto it selfe and the sea with it so the heart of a poore creature is like the water unable to move towards heaven but the Spirit of the Lord doth bring in its beames and leaves a supernaturall vertue by them upon the soule and thereby drawes it to it selfe or looke as it is with a claspe and a keeper take a great claspe put it thorow the keeper and being brought thorow it closeth with it selfe so it is with an humble broken heart it is like this keeper the good Spirit of the Lord is like this claspe the Spirit workes upon the soule and leaves a supernaturall vertue upon the soule and goeth with that vertue and puls the soule by the power of it selfe and knits it to its selfe it workes upon the heart in this manner and clasps the humbled sinner and brings him home and holds him to the promise and to it selfe in the promise Now I would contract these three conclusions in the former sermons into three questions to make them so familiar that weake ones which have any spirituall grace may be able to come to aprehend and understand them Quest 1 I aske therefore what is there in the promise of the Gospell or what is there in the Word of God is there nothing but letters and sillables and sentences Answ I answer Yes humane Authours have words and sentences but oh the glorious God the third person of the Trinitie the blessed Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is inseparably present with and accompanying of the promises of God the words are but the shell but the substance is the Spirit of grace how were your hearts comforted in the time of trouble and how were your hearts broken and brought out from your lusts Oh it was the Spirit for man was never able to doe it but Lord thy almighty hand came downe from heaven and broke this heart of mine and if Christ that Lion of the tribe of Judah had not come downe from heaven this lion-like heart of mine would never have yeelded nor come downe this is the answer to the first question Quest 2 What doth the beleever doe aske your owne hearts doe your hearts close and meet with the good Word of the Lord and doe you say Oh it is the good Word of the Lord my heart consented to it and closed with it thus Answ Oh yes saith the soule me thought I was even knit to the Word then I aske againe was thy heart knit to the Word onely and the sillable only and did thy heart close with the sentences only the soule answers No the truth is my eare did receive the sound and my minde the sense but my soule received the Lord Jesus Christ To as many as received him to them he gave power to become the sonnes of God 1 Iohn 12. the words are but only as the conduit to convey the water of life and the Spirit of grace but they lay hold upon Christ there and that it is so I prove it thus did not you finde your hearts comforted at such a time Oh yes saith the soule me thinks I see the Ministers face still and when he came to such a point and such a passage good Lord mee thought I was in heaven could words and reasons and sentences have done it No surely the Spirit of grace was there and my heart did close with the same the stomack receives not meat as the dish or vessell doth but the stomack doth receive it and is fastned to it and hath the sweetnesse of it and is made one with it Iohn 6.63 The words that I speake they are Spirit and life and this is the excellencie of the Word when all the learned Doctors and Schoolemasters shall have the tongues but shall never humble one soule nor purge nor convert one heart yet the Word and the Spirit in it will doe that which is usefull and helpfull for thee in this kinde the Words that I speake they are Spirit and they are life saith our Saviour so then you see you that are ignorant and weake you say to your selfe how shall I come to be knit to the Lord Jesus Christ seeing hee is in heaven and I am on earth Oh but quiet thy selfe in this he is in a most speciall manner in the preaching of the Word and if thou cleavest to the Word aright then thou cleavest to the Spirit of Christ Quest 3 In the third place I aske how doth the Spirit of man come to close and to be one with the Spirit of Christ in the promise Answ I answer are your owne hearts able to doe this or is nature or your wits or parts able to doe this for you No the good Spirit of the Lord wrought upon and fitted and framed the hearâ— hereunto and put this temper upon it as the workman gives a temper to the knife and another makes iron draw iron and he doth it thus he drawes the magnet or load-stone over the iron and the vertue thereof makes it able to draw iron to it selfe so the soule saith
how also it should bee implanted into him being called by the Spirit of God in vocation wee have heretofore fully and largely discussed and concluded that point then wee came to the second thing which is the second part of this implanting or ingrafting a sinner into the Lord Jesus Christ and it is the growing to of a sinner with our Saviour and that is accomplished and fully brought about by two workes there are two parts of it for it is not enough for the graft to be put into the stock but it must grow together with it if ever there be any conveyance of any sap or any helpe and strength which it may receive from the same so it is with the beleeving soule faith doth not onely bring us unto Christ but it makes us grow together with Christ and this growing is discovered in two particulars The first is a spirituall union of the soule with our Saviour when the soule comes to be united to and made one with the Lord of life that wee have also handled and concluded in the two last lectures Againe the second part that accomplisheth and makes up this growing together with Christ it is that heavenly communion that the soule doth get with our Saviour when the stock of the merits of our Saviour and the vertue of his grace is communicated to the soule for this we must remember that these two things make up the growing of the stock and the graft together First there must be an union of the graft with the stock Secondly there must be an intercourse or a communication of the sap in the stock to the graft so it is with Christ what ever he hath he hath for his Church and people and what ever he doth he doth for his Church and servants so that there is a kinde of conveyance of the vertue of his merits and power of his grace unto the soules of those that beleeve in him and are knit unto him by a true and a lively faith wee have done with the 〈◊〉 that the soule hath with Christ we are now to speake of the heavenly and spirituall communion the intercourse betweene the Lord and the soule when the soule is married unto him and this is that wee aime at this is that wee looke at at this time and this I must tell you by the way that our purpose is not to meddle with the particulars at this time but onely with the generall nature of the communion of the soule with Christ now for the discovery of this worke wee have chosen the words of the text now read unto you and the scope of the words it is mainly this to discover unto us the dowrie and feofment of all that spirituall grace that is conveyed and made sure to the beleeving soule being made one with the Lord Jesus that looke as it is with a man that hath a faire estate to himselfe it is only his owne but when the wife is wooed and brought home married he gives over the right of himselfe unto her and if hee make over his estate unto her shee hath title thereunto this now is the dowry of a Christian the Lord Jesus Christ is no bad match you must not thinke you could have done better it is a wonder that ever our Saviour would take us to himselfe or shew favour to us but the case is cleare if a beleever be called and brought home to Christ Christ is made to us wisdome and righteousnesse and sanctification and redemption Christ hath all and whatsoever Christ hath it is all yours you have title thereunto and shall receive sap and benefit therefrom if you have hearts to take that good God offers and you may receive wee will not now meddle with the severals in the verse but these two things must be specially attended to in the words that we may make way for our selves in the point we have to trade withall First take notice of the compasse of that happinesse and spirituall grace which God vouchsafeth unto his and it is ranged into foure heads the text saith Christ is made unto us wisdome righteousnesse sanctification and redemption all that Christ hath or can communicate all that the beleeving soule can desire or want may be referred to these foure First Wisdome that is the declaration of the way of God and eternall happinesse in and through the Lord Jesus Christ which all the policie of all cunning men and all subtill pates in the world could never pry into that wisdome which revealed the secret things and the deepe things of God the Lord Jesus is made that wisdome to the beleeving soule Secondly Christ is made unto us righteousnesse that is whatsoever guilt lieth upon us whatsoever sinne hath beene committed by us what ever punishment wee have deserved Christ is made unto us righteousnesse to acquit us of all Thirdly Christ is made unto us sanctification the soule of a poore sinner is defiled with many corruptions and polluted with many distempers now Christ is made unto him sanctification to purge and purifie him from all those sinnes and distempers Lastly because while we wander up and downe this vale of teares and in this pilgrimage of ours wee shall bee oppressed with many evils that will lye upon us and death it selfe which is the last enemy will seize upon us and captivate our bodies in the grave therefore Christ is made unto us redemption he will take away all trouble and wipe all teares from our eyes nay hee will breake open the grave and deliver his Saints from thence The Heathen to make the Saints of God sure in time of persecution they first slew them and then they burnt their bodies to ashes and then threw them into the water and then they said Let us now see how they will rise againe alas poore creatures why the Lord loves the very dust the very ashes of his Saints in the grave and the Lord will redeeme our bodies from the grave and our names from dishonour and our lives from trouble and our soules from sinne and will set us free from all miseries and inconveniences at the great day of account these are the foure things wherein the dowry and feofment of a beleeving soule consists I will not now trade in the particulars but only in the generall and shew how that every beleeving soule that rests upon Christ by faith hath an interest in these The second thing considerable is this to whom all these things belong and the text tels us Christ is made all this to us and the truth is it is made over to all beleevers there is not one man exempted not one man excluded every beleeving creature hath a part and portion herein however the holy Apostle crowds in for a share and if wee looke into the 26 27 28. verses wee shall see to whom this belongs Ye know your calling brethren how that not many wise men after the flesh not many mightie not many noble are called but God
after the improvement of all helps and opportunities our mindes are still blinde our hearts still stupid and the means prevaile not with us worke not upon us for our good we come to the Word and returne as bad as ever proud before and proud still covetous before and we are as covetous still polluted and dead hearted before wee remaine so still and continue so still why alas grace originally was never made here away to Christ hee is the shop from whence all grace is to bee had wisedome and righteousnesse and all is in him there you must have it but you will say will Christ be made wisedome to me that am so ignorant to me that am so base will Christ bee made sanctification to mee that am so vile and so filthy to mee that am so defiled and polluted why let this incourage you hee is wisedome to such as are polluted hee hath chosen the base things of the world and the things that are not hee came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance hee came not to call the wise but the foolish to inlighten them all that thou hast to doe is to take it wisedome is made for thee and sanctification is made for thee and redemption is made for thee if thou wilt but receive it it is thine owne it was made and sit of purpose for thee Looke as it is with a father hee sends his childe to the taylors shop tels him the cloth is bought the money paid the suit made for him onely bids him goe fetch it and put it on this is our folly and it is our misery also wee either thinke to purchase or to coine grace out of our owne abilities I tell you no you must goe to the shop it is bought and made already onely put on wisedome and put on sanctification and it is yours Ah but you will say what is the reason if Christ have so much grace that his servants have so little if this bee so why is it thus As shee spake in another case If the Lord be made wisedome to the soules of his servants if the Lord Iesus bee made sanctification to the soule of a poore sinner why are wee then such fooles notwithstanding all the wisedome of Christ why are wee such polluted wretches after all the meanes of sanctification vouchsafed to us If Christ bee so rich then what is the reason we goe so tattered and are such beggerly bancrouts in our Christian course such beggerly prayers such beggerly duties such beggerly performances I answer it is not because Christ will not vouchsafe abundance of grace to us hee offers it freely Oh every man that will let him come and take freely of the water of the Well of life not a spoonefull but a whole bucket full and that freely too nay God hath bound himselfe by an immutable oath Heb. 6. that we might have strong consolation nay the Lord commands in joynes his servants to abound yet more in wisedome yet more and more in patience yet more and more in holynesse Secondly againe I say the fault is not in Christ where is the fault then I answer it is in thine owne selfe-wild pride and sturdinesse of heart and haughtinesse of spirit you thinke you are never well but when you are complaining of your sinnes and quarrelling with your owne soules your mindes are blinde and your hearts are hard and dead and untoward and therefore you fling away the promise and cast Gods kindnesse into his face againe I tell you it is horrible pride because wee cannot have what wee would in our owne power wee will not goe to Christ for a supply of what wee want you complaine you want such grace and you are pestered with such corruptions why thanke your proud venomous heart for it if you have it not if you want it still the fault is your owne you will not repaire thither whereunto you may have succour and receive supply upon all occasions Christ would give it but you will not bestow the fetching of it no matter therefore if you never obtaine it But you will say what course shall we take what means shall we use to get these things at Christs hands First eye the promise dayly and keepe it within view within the ken of the soule as we use to call it be sure the promise of grace never goe out of sight of the soule Looke as it is with a childe that travels to a Faire with his father or goeth into a crowd his eye is alwayes upon his father he bids him doe not gaze about and lose mee the childe is carefull to keepe his father within sight and view and then if hee bee weake and weary his father can take him by the hand and lead him or take him into his armes and carry him or if there be any thing hee wants or would have his father can buy it for him bestow it upon him but if the childe bee carelesse and gazeth about this thing and that thing and never lookes after his father hee is gone one way and his father another he cannot tell where to finde him whose fault is it now it is not because his father would not be within his sight or because hee could not keepe within the view of him but because hee out of carelesnesse lost the sight of his father therefore hee sure alwayes to eye the promise you know as long as the game is within sight the hounds run amaine so I would have the soule make a prey of the promise for so the phrase is in the originall that wee should seeke the Lord and hunt after Christ and seeke the game it selfe the promise it selfe from day to day It is the advice of the Prophet Esay 50. Looke up unto me all yee ends of the earth looke up to mee and your sins shall be pardoned looke up to mee and your soules shall be saved looke up to me and you shall bee sanctified It is not enough for a man to have a conduit full of water and to have the streames run abundantly continually but he must put his vessell under the spout and then he shall bee sure to receive abundance of water so it is with the promise it is not enough to say Christ is wisedome and Christ is righteousnesse but it is not thus with my soule why put thy vessell under the spout then and looke up unto Christ in the promise This is that the Prophet David resolves of I will lift up mine eyes to the mountaines from whence commeth my helpe what is meant by mountains there you know the Temple upon the mount of Moriah now in the Temple in Gods ordinance is Gods presence therefore saith the Prophet David I will lift up mine eyes to those mountains of mercie those everlasting mercies I will looke up to God in his Ordinances from whence commeth all my help as who should say grace comes not from a mans parts grace comes not from a mans abilities but
threatnings of God can take no hold upon them but though they are so rebellious here yet everlasting condemnation shall take hold of them and shall have power over them hereafter and will drag their soules and bodies downe to hell and there they shall suffer intolerably and incomprehensibly and then hell and condemnation shall tell them thus much seeing the commands of God could take no hold upon you therefore we will the mercies of God could not perswade with you but the judgements of God shall prevaile against you What becomes of all the great and mighty men of the world where is Pharaoh and Nimrod and the rest of them the wrath of God hath throwne them upon their backs in hell but you that are true beleevers the second death shall have no power over you though wrath and condemnation seeme to lay hold upon you yet there is no power in them to condemne you because if Christ hath taken away the paines of the second death then it shall never oppresse such as belong to the Lord Jesus Christ therefore goe your way comforted there is nothing that shall ever prevaile against you Object Oh but saith the soule could I see Heaven gates set open if the way were open and plaine that I might see the way and walke in it then I could be comforted but what I in heaven the Angels are all holy and God is a holy God and a pure redeemer and all things there are pure and undefiled can such a wretch as I am come to heaven certainly the Saints will goe out of heaven if I come there Answer No the blood of Christ will doe all this for you and it will make way for thee into heaven as Hebr. 10.19 20. Seeing therefore brethren that by the blood of Iesus we may most boldly enter into the holy places by the new and the living way which hee hath prepared for us through the vaile which is his flesh marke two things in that place you may have boldnesse you feare now that your sinnes will not bee pardoned and that God the Father will not accept of you well be not proud and sawcie but take the blood of Christ along with you and goe on boldly and chearfully All you that have an interest in the great worke of God either for brokennesse of heart or vocation to call you to rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ bee thou a sinner If thou hast faith I speake not of the measure of faith but hast thou faith then why sittest thou here drooping Go you on cheerily and undauntedly and goe with comfort to everlasting happinesse every thing gives you comfort had you but eyes to see it God and men Heaven and earth sinne justice hell and condemnation gives you all comfort If you looke up to justice that saith you poore beleeving creatures goe your way comforted I am setisfied to the full If you looke to hell and death and condemnation they say be comforted you poore beleeving soules we have no power over you the Lord Iesus Christ hath conquered us and if you looke to your owne sinnes they tell you thus much and say be for ever comforted for wee have pleaded against you but wee have lost the cause If you looke up to heaven there you may see glory and happinesse and blessednesse ready to entertaine every beleeving soule and they all call after you and say Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you therefore goe away cheerily and get you to heaven and when you come there be discomforted if you can if Christ and God and Heaven and all call you and say come all hither you beleeving soules then lift up your heads with joy and draw the waters of comfort and consolation from this truth onely remember this here when you finde your sins roaring upon you and telling your Father that you have sinned and justice cries and hell threatens then take the blood of Christ and see before your eyes all that ever Christ hath suffered and see justice fully satisfied and heare the blood of Christ speaking as well as the clamours of sinne it is the misery that we are in that we can here the bawlings of Satan and of corruption crying and saying what you salvation and yet have these and these corruptions we heare these and we hearken not to the other the blood of Christ hath pardoned all and will cleanse all Oh heare that voyce and you shall see and heare that it speakes admirable things this is the second use Vse 3 Thirdly hath Christ done all this then stand amazed at that endlesse and boundlesse love of the Lord Jesus Christ but onely that the Scripture cannot lie and God hath said which is faithfull and true and cannot be deceived and is infinite in all his workes otherwise man that is sensible of his sins and wants could not beleeve it but yet Christ hath done it and it is worth the while to weigh it and to consider of it in a holy admiration although wee are not able to walke in any measure answerable thereto had our Saviour only sent his creatures to serve us and had we onely had some Prophets to advise us in the way to Heaven or had hee onely sent his holy Angels from his chamber of presence to attend upon us and minister to us it had beene a great deale of mercy or had Christ come downe from the heavens to visit us It had beene a peculiar favour that a King will not onely send to the Prison but goe himselfe to the lungeon and aske saying is such a man here a man would thinke himselfe strangely honoured and the world would wonder at it and say the King himselfe came to the prison to day to see such a man certainly he loves him dearly or had Christ himselfe come onely and wept over us and said Oh that you had never sinned and oh that you had more considered of my goodnesse and the excellency of happinesse oh that you had never sinned this had beene marvellous mercy but that Christ himselfe should come and strive with us in mercy and patience and we slight it and not onely to provide the comforts of this life but the means of a better life and to give us peculiar blessings nay that the Lord Jesus should be so fond of a company of rebels and hell-hounds that he thinkes nothing good enough for them hee hath prepared heaven for them and he gives them the comforts of the earth for their use too nay he hath given them his blood and his life and all and yet you are not at the highest what doe you talke of life hee was not onely content to part with life but hee was content to part with the sense and sweetnesse of Gods love which is a thousand times better than life it selfe as David saith The loving kindnesse of God is better than life it selfe He was content to be accused that we might be blessed he was content