THE SOULS EXALTATION. A TREATISE containing The Souls Union with Christ, on 1 Cor. 6.17. The Souls Benefit from Union with Christ, on 1 Cor. 1.30. The Souls Justification, on 2 Cor. 5.21. By T. H. ROM. 8.30. And whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified. LONDON, Printed by john Haviland, for Andrew Crook, and are to be sold at the black Bear in S. Paul's Churchyard, 1638. A TABLE OF THE Souls union with CHRIST, out of these words: 1 COR. 6.17. He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit. Doctrine 1. EVery true believer is joined unto Christ. page 3 This knitting of a believer to Christ, consists in three Particulars. Particular 1. A true believer doth gather up all the faculties of his soul, and doth employ them upon Christ. p. 5 Partic. 2. The believer is satisfied with Christ, and the riches of his grace. ibid. Partic. 3. Is th●: that the believer doth bind the heart to the exercising of both these. p. 6 The manner of this union doth discover itself in three Particulars. Partic. 1. It is a real union, though spiritual. p. 7 Partic. 2. This union it is a total union. ibid. Partic. 3. This union it is an unseparable union. p. 8 Use 1. Information to instruct us of the happy privilege of the poor Saints of God; though despised of the world, yet they are received into covenant and union with Christ. p. 9 Use 2. It is an use of terror to all opposites against Christ. p. 10 Use 3. It is an use of examination and trial, from hence may be known whether the soul doth rightly cleave to Christ, or whether it doth only dissemble with Christ. p. 16 Use 4. It is a ground of comfort for the Saints against all contempt, and disgrace, against all troubles, miseries, and persecutions that the world can cast upon them. p. 20. Secondly, against all temptations of Satan. p. 22 Doctrine 2. The faithful do enjoy such an union with Christ, that they are one Spirit with him. p. 25 For the opening of this Doctrine, two particulars are to be discovered. Partic. 1. The first Particular is the manner how the soul comes to be one spirit with Christ. p. 25 and this doth consist in three conclusions. p. 26 Conclusion 1. The first conclusion is this, that the Spirit of God doth really accompany the whole Word, but in a more special manner he doth accompany the precious promises of the Gospel. p. 27 Conclusion 2. The second conclusion is this, that the Spirit of grace doth leave a supernatural dint and power, and a spiritual and overpowering virtue upon the soul, and thereby doth bring it unto Christ. p. 28 Conclusion 3 The third conclusion is this, that the Spirit of grace in the promise working thus upon the heart, it causeth the heart to close with it in the promise. p. 33 Part. 2. The second particular is the order of this union, whether the believer is knit to the humane nature of Christ first, or to the Divine. p. 39 Use 1. Instruction to inform us, that the sins of the faithful are marvellous heinous in God's account, because of their union. p. 45 Use 2. It is an use of trial, whereby a man may see, what spirit most men of the world are of: as their souls close with Christ, and receive him, so they are. p. 49 Use 3 It is a word of exhortation to close with such, as Christ himself doth close withal. p. 52 A TABLE OF THE communion that the Soul hath with Christ from the union with him, out of these words: 1 COR. 1.30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Doctrine 1. THe Doctrine from these words is this, that there is a conveyance of all spiritual grace from Christ, to all those that believe in him. p. 63 The Tenure of this conveyance discovereth itself in those particulars. Partic. 1. The first particular is this, that there is fully enough in the Lord jesus Christ for every faithful soul. p. 66 Partic. 2. As there is enough in Christ to supply all the manes of this Saints, so Christ doth supply unto them whatsoever is ●st fit to the need of every poor Saint. p. 68 Partic. 3. Is this, as the Lord Christ doth communicate what is fit, so he doth preserve what he doth bestow and communicate to the believing soul. p. 73 Partic. 4. Is this: the Lord doth not only preserve what grace, he doth give, but he quickens the grace he maintains. p. 76 Partic. 5. Is this: As he quickeneth what he maintains, so he perfects what he quickens. p. 77 Partic. 6. Is this: the Lord at last doth crown all the grace, he hath perfected. p. 79 Use 1. It is a word of lamentation, and terror to every unbelieving creature under Heaven; here they may see the misery of their condition. p. 81 Use 2. It is a ground of comfort to all the Saints of God, that have interest in all the riches of this goodness. p. 84 Use. 3. It is a word of instruction to teach every Saint to lie down in the dust, that they all might glory in the Lord. p. 91 Use 4. It is an use of exhortation, or direction, to teach the Saints, whither to go to fetch succour and supply, of what ever grace they want: Christ is made all in all; why then away to the Lord jesus Christ. p. 99 Question. But you will say, what course or means shall we use to get these things at Christ's hands? Answer. The means are two: First, eye the promise daily, keep it within view. p. 104 Secondly, you must labour to yield to the Soul, to the power of the Spirit, and to the virtue of grace which is in Christ. p. 109 Now this particular conveyance of grace from Christ, it is done two ways; partly by imputing, partly by imparting. p. 113. and they are both in the Text: Christ is made righteousness, or justice, that is, he doth justify a sinner by imputation, and Christ is made sanctification, and redemption; that is, he doth redeem and sanctify a sinner by communication. ibid. Doctrine. God doth justify a believing soul, not for what he hath or doth, but only for what Christ hath done for him. p. 116 In the opening of the point, two things are to be cleared: First, what it is to justify: Secondly, what is mean that God doth not justify any one, for what he hath or doth. p. 116 To justify it is a word of judicial proceeding, when in a legal manner, the judge doth pronounce a man free, and doth acquit him. p. 116 Secondly, God doth justify a poor sinner, not for any thing he hath or doth. The meaning is this, no grace that a man hath, no duty that he can perform, for which as the material and formal cause of our justification, God doth pronounce any man to be righteous. p. 117 Reason 1. That which in no measure is answerable to God's justice, and agreeable to the exactness of the Law, and for which a man may be condemned, that cannot justify a man: but it is so here; therefore they cannot be justified. p. 119 Use 1. It is a ground of confutation of the Church of Rome, that holds the formal cause of the justication of a sinner, it is the frame of holiness wrought in him, not imputed to him. p. 122 Use 2. It is a word of consolation, and it is a Cordial to cheer up a man's heart, and to carry him through all troubles whatsoever can betide him, or shall befall him. ibid. Use 3. It is an use of exhortation: will nothing do the deed, but a Christ? why then above all, labour for a Christ more than all, labour to prise a Christ. p. 127 A TABLE OF THE Souls justification, out of these words: 2 COR. 5.22. For he hath made him to be sin for us, which knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Out of these words, two things are to be opened: First, the description of justification: Secondly, opening of the description. p. 132 justification, it is an act of God the Father upon the believer, whereby the debt and sins of the believer are charged upon the Lord jesus Christ, and by the merits and satisfaction of Christ imputed to the believer, he is accounted just, and so is acquitted before God as righteous. ibid. Doctrine 1. justification, is an act of God the Father, upon the believer. p. 133 For the clearing of the doctrine, 2. particulars are to be opened. Particular 1. The first particular is this, why is it called an act of God the Father? Answ. First, because the Father was the party that was properly offended. p. 135. Secondly, because the Father is the Fountain in the Deity. p. 137 Particular 2. Why it is an act of God the Father upon the believer? Answer. Because it is a transient action that passeth from God upon the creature, and so doth work thereby a change and alteration upon the creature. p. 139 The charge that is wrought upon the creatures, is two ways. Particular 1. The Lord is said to pass a work or an action upon the creature, when he puts some kind of ability upon the creature, either spiritual, or natural: as when the Lord makes a wicked man, a good man: an adulterous man, a chaste man: and this we call a natural change, because there is a gracious frame put into the heart. p. 140 Secondly, the Lord is said to make a change upon the creature, when he takes off some relations, and respects, which the creature had, and puts upon it other respects: and this is called a moral change. p. 140 Use 1. It is a ground of admirable comfort to bear up the heart of a poor sinner, above all the accusations of sin, Satan, or the envy of the world. p. 143 Use 2. It is a word of direction to all the Saints, to appeal to the judge of the Court in their judgement. p. 148 Use 3. It is a groung of terror to the wicked, and to all unbelievers, that they have no share in this point of justification. p. 154 Doctrine. Christ jesus never yielded the least improvement of heart to sin, neither did he ever commit the least sin in his life. p. 159 Reason 1. Look into the nature of our Saviour, and it was pure. p. 159 Reason 2. Look into the Office of our Saviour, and he was without sin. p. 160 Use 1. It is a word of exhortation to the faithful to conform their hearts and conversations answerable to Christ. p. 161 Doctrine. God the Father did impute all the sins of all the world to the charge of our Saviour. p. 166 When God the Father doth charge the sins of the faithful upon Christ, it doth appear in these three particular acts. Particular. 1. God the Father, and the Lord jesus Christ, made a mutual decree, and purpose, that so many as should believe, should be saved: and this was left to the care of Christ, that he should make them believe. p. 170 Particular 2. Our Saviour having undertaken to keep these, he therefore put himself into the room, and place of all those lost sheep. p. 173 Particular 3. Our Saviour having put himself into the room of a sinner, the Law now proceeds with full scope against him. p. 175 Reason 1. That which the Lord jesus Christ did willingly submit himself to without sin, that God the Father might justly charge upon him. p. 176 Reason 2. Because the justice of God requireth this at the hands of jesus Christ, that he should take the guilt of sinners upon himself. p. 177 Reason 3. Because herein is abundantly magnified the love and mercy of Christ. p. 179 Use 1. It is a word of instruction to the Saints: if God the Father hath laid thy sins upon Christ, then do not thou take them from him to thyself. p. 180 How fare a believer may charge himself with his sin, doth appear in these four conclusions. Conclusion 1. Every believer is bound to see and examine the sinful carriage of his soul, and to judge that it hath power to make him guilty, and also to condemn him. p. 182 Conclusion 2. Every believing soul justified, aught to acknowledge that it were righteous with the Lord to let out his wrath against him, though not to condemn him, yet to distract him. p. 185 Conclusion 3. Every believer accepted, and justified, in and through Christ by the Father, yet he is thus fare bound to charge his sins upon himself, as to maintain in his own heart a sense of the need that he hath of Christ, as well to continue his respect and acceptation with God, as to bring him at first into the love and favour of God. p. 187 Conclusion 4. Thus fare the Saints of God ought to go in charging their own souls with their sins, so far to see them, and to be affected with them, as to bring their hearts to be truly carried with hatred against them, and with resolution to get power and strength against them. p. 189 How fare a believer may not charge himself with his sin, may be conceived in these two conclusions. Conclusion 1. A believer should not in his judgement conceive, nor in his heart be persuaded, that any sin, nor all his sins shall ever be able to fasten the guilt of sin upon him, so as to cause revenging justice to proceed against him, to his condemnation. p. 192 Use 2. It is a word of terror to all unbelievers, they are destitute of all hope of the pardon of their sins. p. 197 Use 3. It is a word of exhortation to the Saints: was Christ made sin for thee? then be thou content to be made shame for him. p. 200 Use 4. It is a word of comfort to all the faithful: learn to cast all thy sins on the Lord jesus Christ. Doctrine 4. The Lord jesus Christ suffered fully, whatsoever punishments divine justice required, or were deserved by the sins of the faithful. p. 202 For the opening of the Doctrine, three questions are to be answered. Question 1. What were the kinds of punishments which Christ did suffer, and how fare did be suffer them? Answer. First, Christ did suffer death natural, that is, the dissolution of soul and body. p. 210 How far our Saviour did suffer death natural, appeareth in three conclusions: Conclusion 1. Whatsoever did appertain to the substance and essentials of the first death, that Christ did suffer, p. 210 Conclusion 2. Christ did undertake to die the death of the cross, a most shameful and base death; only appropriated to the basest malefactors, that he might thereby show the heinousness of sin, which deserveth the worst death of all. p. 211 Conclusion 3. Those dishonourable infirmities which befell men, because of the infirmity of the flesh, as the having the body to rot in the grave, to be torn in pieces: our Saviour would not undergo these, because he had no need to suffer these. p. 206 Use 1. It is a sweet cordial to all the Saints of God, upon their death beds: for the death of Christ hath taken away the evil of death. p. 207 Secondly, Christ did also suffer in his soul, in that there was a real withdrawing of the mercy and compassion of God. p. 213 Secondly, there was a real inflicting of the indignation of the Lord; and that fills the soul of a poor creature. p. 214 Question 2. How fare our Saviour suffered these pains? Answer. This is to be known in these five conclusions. Conclusion 1. It is possile that some pains of hell may be suffered in this life, therefore the living of our Saviour in this life is no hindrance, but that he might undergo them. p. 215 Conclusion 2. Some pains of Hell were endured by Christ, and yet the union of the Manhood, with the Godhead, might still be untouched, p. 216 Conclusion 3. Our Saviour suffered pain in his soul, as he was our Mediator in our room, and in our stead. p. 218 Conclusion 4. Whatsoever punishment proceeded from the Father, our Saviour took it upon himself yet so, as that he neither had personal sin to deserve it, neither did he sin in bearing of it, as the wicked do, which are damned. p. 220. Conclusion 5. The desperation of a damned soul in hell, and the eternity of torments: they are no essentials of the second death, and therefore they could not, nor ought not to be suffered by our Saviour. p. 227 Use 1. It is a word of information: labour from hence to see the heinousness of sin, and to hate it, because it hath brought all this evil upon thy Saviour, and would have brought the same upon thee, had not the Lord jesus stepped in between thee, and the wrath of the Father. p. 234 Use 2. Did our Saviour suffer these pains? then see here the strictness of God's justice. p. 241 Question 3. When did our Saviour begin these sufferings? Answer. Our Saviour did begin the pains of the natural death from his cradle, to his grave; he began to die, as soon as he began to live. p. 245 Secondly, our Saviour did suffer these pains in his soul; partly in the garden, partly upon the cross. p. 247 Question 3. Whether our Saviour did suffer in body alone or in soul alone, or in both. Answer. Christ did properly and immediately suffer the wrath of God in his soul, as well as he did the pains of death in his body. p. 249 Use 1. Is it so; was the Lord jesus driven to this astonishment, and to all this misery? then let every soul learn from hence what will be the fruit of sin, and what he may expect from sin. p. 260 Reason 1. Is taken from the divine justice of God, which required this by way of satisfaction, as being only suitable, and agreeable, to the divine justice of God, by reason of sin. p. 283 Reason 2. Is taken from the office of Christ, because our Saviour was our surety, and so he was bound to it by faithfulness. p. 287 Use 1. It is a word of confutation, and it directly meets with Popish Purgatory. p. 288 Use 2. It teacheth us that all the troubles, miseries, afflictions, either inward, or outward, they cannot properly be called punishments inflicted upon the faithful, but chastisements. p. 289 Use 3. It is a word of comfort to all you that are believers: you have heard the treasures of mercy, and the death of our Lord jesus Christ laid open: view them, and take them all for your comfort. p. 293 FINIS. Several Treatises of this AUTHOR. 1 THE unbelievers preparing for Christ, out of Revelations 22.17. 1 Corinth. 2.14. Ezekiel 11.19. Luke 19.42. Matthew 20.3, 4, 5, 6. john 6.44. 2 The soul's preparation for Christ, or a Treatise of Contrition, on Acts 2.37. 3 The Souls humiliation, on Luke 15. verses 15, 16, 17, 18. 4 The Souls vocation, or effectual calling to Christ, on john 6.45. 5 The Souls union with Christ, 1 Corin. 6.17. 6 The Souls benefit from union with Christ, on 1 Cor. 1.30. 7 The Souls justification, eleven Sermons on 2 Corin. 5.21. 8 Sermons on judges 10.23. Sermons on Psalm 119.29. Sermons on Proverbs 1.28, 29. Sermons on 2 Tim. 3.5. THE SOULS union with CHRIST. 1 CORIN. 6.17. He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit. WE told you that the application of the merits of Christ, consists especially in two things: First, the preparation of the soul for Christ. Secondly, the engrafting or the knitting of the soul to the Lord Jesus Christ. Of this preparation we have heretofore largely treated: partly in contrition, where the soul is cut off from sin: partly in humiliation, whereby the soul is cut off from itself; whereby the Lord races the foundation of all carnal confidence, whereby a man rests upon his own privileges and performances, and makes his services his Saviour; either the soul seethe no need to departed from sin, or else it think it can help itself out of sin: when both these are removed from the soul, than it is fitted to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the soul comes to be engrafted into Christ: and that hath two parts: First, the calling of the sinner; or the putting of the soul into Christ. Secondly, the growing of the soul with Christ: these two take up the nature of engrafting a sinner into the stock: First, it is put into the stock. Secondly, being put into the stock, it grows together with the stock: these two things are answerable in the soul. The former of these two we have largely treated of, and fully finished in the great work of vocation, when the Lord brings the sinner to himself by the call of mercy, and the voice of the Gospel: we are now to proceed; and we have made some entrance into the second; and that is the growing of the soul together with Christ: for though the graft be in the stock, yet it cannot be fruitful, unless it grow together with the stock: now this growing together is accomplished by two means: The first is the union which the soul hath with Christ. The second is a conveyance of sap, or sweetness, or a communion with Christ, and all the treasures of grace and happiness that is in him: then to make up the growing together of the graft and the stock; First, the graft is put into the stock. Secondly, there must be a communicating of the moisture that is in the stock, to the graft, and so they grow together; otherways it grows not at all, but withers away: now we are first to describe the nature of the work in general, and then we will descend to particulars, and the several parts of it: now we will define this union so fare as it concerns our purpose, not entrenching into particulars. It is such a joining of the faithful soul in such a means to Christ, that it becomes one spirit: these are not by way of collection to be gathered, but they are plainly expressed in the text: and two points of doctrine I mean to prosecute: the first point is from the first part of the text. Doctr. 1 Every true believer is joined unto Christ's the word in the original is, glued; he is glued, he is waxed, he is firmly and nearly combined and knit to the Lord Jesus Christ. The second part of the description, is the second point in hand. Doctr. 2 He is so joined unto the Lord, that he becomes one spirit: as the adulterer and the adulteress is one flesh; so he that believes in Christ, is so nearly joined to him, that he becomes one spirit: so we see the verse offers two doctrines: First, that a faithful soul is firmly and nearly knit unto Christ. Secondly, he is so knit that he becomes one spirit. But first of the first doctrine. What ever by way of comparison can be alleged, concerning the near combination of one thing with another, they are all tied to this knitting of the soul to Christ: look what a friend is to a friend; look what a father is to a child; what a husband to a wife; look what a graft is to a tree; and that is nearer than a husband to a wife: nay, go yet farther, Galat. 2.20. what the soul is to the body; the soul is not only knit to the body, as one member to another, as the hand is knit to the arm, and the arm to the shoulder; but the soul doth communicate itself universally thorough the least part of the body: so the Apostle saith, Christ is the very soul of a believer, I live, yet not I, but the Lord jesus liveth in me; so that look as the body liveth by the soul, the soul closing, and communicating, and quickening of the same, so Christ is in a Christian, and speaks in a Christian, and enableth a Christian to the performance of that he doth; hence the body of the faithful is called Christ, 1 Corin. 12.12. but we will open this a little further in two passages: First, the carriage of the soul in this closing. Secondly, the manner how it doth close. The carriage we shall desire to discover in three particulars, which may be expressed in a graft, when it is put into the stock: and I say, therein observe three particulars: First, there is an exercise of the elements that are in the graft upon the stock, and are so fare mingled one with another, and do so fare close one with another, that they become one. Secondly, the graft joins to the stock, and none other. Thirdly, they do not only act thus, but are bound one to another: and this makes them act answerably to these three particulars. There is also an expression of the knitting of the soul to Christ in three particulars: First, the soul gathers up itself, and all its spirits, its faculties, that doth exercise in the work thereof upon Christ, and that makes the soul to grow unto the Lord: when the soul turns the promise into good blood, it doth not only chew the meat, but digest it, and it becomes good blood: a true believer gathers up all the faculties of his soul, and employs them upon Christ: hope expects Christ, and desire longs for Christ, and love and joy embrace Christ, and the will closeth Christ; thus the soul settles itself upon Christ, hoping, expecting, longing, desiring, loving, embracing: look as it is with a woman that kneads dowgh, if there be two parts of it, the moulding and the kneading knits them together, and makes them one lump: so there is the moulding of the soul to the promise, hoping, and desiring, and longing, and choosing; faith kneads all these together, and knits them unto God, and draws the soul to him. Secondly, the soul is satisfied with Christ, and the riches of his grace; the believer doth repose his confidence wholly thereupon: Prov. 5.19. that which makes the love of a husband increase towards his wife, is this, He is satisfied with her breasts at all times, and then he comes to be ravished with her love: if a husband hath a lose heart, and will not content himself with the wife of his youth, but hath his back doors, and his doings out; this makes a breach in matrimonial affection; but when he is satisfied with her breasts, he is ravished with her love: so hope hath an expectation of mercy, and is satisfied therewith; desire longs for mercy, and is satisfied therewith; the will closeth Christ, and it is fully satisfied with him; and if it were to choose again, it would choose none but Christ: thus suck thou up the consolations in the promise, and be satisfied therewith, and then thou wilt grow there upon; but if you will be resting here, and staying upon the contentments of the world, this is weak confidence, and draws the soul from God. Thirdly, the last thing is the binding of the heart upon both these, viz. the keeping of the heart to the exercise of the promise, and to be satisfied with the promise; 1 Coloss. 23. If ye continue in the faith; being grounded and settled, so that a man doth stake down his heart to the promise, and holds hope, and desire, and love, and joy, and the will unto it: it receives all Christ, and none but Christ, and stays here, and continues here for ever: this same covenant that binds the soul to Christ, is that which makes the union between Christ and the soul: thus we see how the soul carries itself in this union. The second thing considerable, is the manner how it is done, and the quality of this union: and this we will discover in three particulars; First, it is a real union, but it is spiritual, you must not conceive it grossly, as if my body were joined to Christ; but there is a real union which is spiritual: there is a union between the nature of Christ, God and man, and a true believer: that which I desire to declare is upon this ground, to difference this union from that which Divines are deceived in; viz. that it is an union more than it bare notion and apprehension of the mind; for what ever a man conceives, his understanding closeth with it; as whatever I apprehend, I close with that; there is a conveyance of the thing into my mind, and I close with it: now the union of a believers soul with Christ is more than this: it is not a bare apprehension, a wicked man will go fare in the apprehension of Christ; but this union is somewhat more, and I call it a real union, because there is a knitting and a closing, not only of the apprehension with a Saviour, but a closing of a soul with a Saviour. Secondly, I say this is a total union, the whole nature of a Saviour, and the whole nature of a believer are knit together: first, that it is a real union, all the places of Scripture do intimate as much: what the branch is to the vine, the soul is to Christ: now they are more than imagination; so what the husband is to the wife, the soul is to Christ. Now they are more than in understanding; for a man may conceive of another woman, as well as of his wife; but this is another union, whereby the person of the one is knit unto another: the bond of matrimony knits these two together. This is the frame and guise of knitting the soul to Christ, it is no bare apprehension but we feed upon Christ, and grow upon Christ, and are married to Christ: Hosea 2.20. I have married thee to myself, in truth, in judgement, and in righteousness. Secondly, I say it is total in so much that Christ is the head, and a believer, a member; in both these regards they are joined: Christ is the head of the Church, not only according as he is God, but as he is God and man; and a believer is a member not only according to his body, but according to his body and soul: now whole Christ being the head, and the whole believer being a member, therefore a whole Christ, and a whole believer must be joined together. The third is this, this union is inseparable: jeremy 32.40. The Lord promiseth to make an everlasting covenant with the house of Israel, and I will never part away from them to do them good: so Psalm 89.33.34. It is spoken there concerning Solomon as I conceive the Psalmist saith, If he sin against me, I will scourge him, and I will visit him with stripes; nevertheless, my loving kindness I will not take away from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail my covenant; I will not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth: mark that the Lord out of faithfulness doth establish thee to him in vocation, the Lord hath made a covenant with the soul in vocation, the hand of the Lord lays hold upon the soul, and brings it home; now though the Lord correct the soul sharply, yet will be not leave it totally and finally; it is inseparably knit to Christ; what can it be, what shall it be, that can separate a poor sinner from Christ? if Satan could have hindered him from coming to a Saviour, he would have then hindered him from coming to a Christ, when he had his greatest dominion over him: if sin could have let him when a man had nothing else but sin, he would not have forsaken that and have been brought home to Christ. If the world could have prevailed, Christ should never have plucked him from it; but when Satan had his greatest power over him, when a man was nothing else but sin by nature, when the world most prevailed, yet than God by his good Spirit plucked thy heart from sin and self: that soul is mine, saith Christ, Satan must give way, and shall not hinder it: that soul is mine, saith Christ, sin shall not let it from coming to me: that soul is mine, saith Christ, and the world shall not stop the work of a Saviour; and if Satan in the height of his malice, and the world in the top of its force, could not prevail to keep the soul from Christ; then much less shall these be able to pluck us from a Saviour: the point than is undeniable, that the soul is really, totally and inseparably knit to the Lord Jesus Christ. Use 1 We may here take notice of the high and happy privilege of poor creatures; how ever the poor Saints of God are despised and contemned of the world, yet they are received into covenant with the Lord; they are made one with Christ, and are of the blood royal: and this is the greatest privilege that can be; this should bear up the hearts of poor Christians; ye are now in the very gate of Heaven, nay let me say as the Apostle speaks; and I see no reason why a man may not say that he is in Heaven in truth, though not in that measure and largeness of glory he shall be afterwards. 1 Thess. 1.17. The happiness that a Christian shall have in Heaven, is this, He shall be ever with the Lord jesus; Heaven were not Heaven, unless a man might be with Christ there: the place doth not make a man happy, but the union with a Saviour that makes him happy, and to be joined to Father, Son, and holy Ghost, that makes him happy, and the believer is now knit to them, and therefore must needs be happy; Deut. 33. the last verse, as he said of the people of Israel, so may I say of all faithful souls, Happy are thou, oh Israel, saith the text, who is like unto thee, saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and the sword of thy excellency; so may I say, Happy are ye, oh believing souls, who is like unto you? ye are saved by God, and are married to the Lord Jesus Christ, and are the spouses of the Saviour of the world; and he that is the Judge of the world, is your Husband, your beloved, and you are his: let nothing therefore dismay your hearts. Use 2 The second use is that of terror, and it is like a thunderbolt, able to break the hearts of all those that are opposite to them that believe in Christ: that which I would have all consider on is this, that the persecution of the Saints is a sin of a high nature, it is a most heinous abominable sin in the sight of God, how ever the world thinks not so of it, yet they shall be sure one day to find: I know men think not then, because haply the law of man provides not in this case to punish those that oppose the Lord jesus Christ, and the power of his grace, because haply the Magistrate doth not, or haply cannot smite those that set themselves against those that fear God and trample upon them: therefore wicked men make the Saints of God the mark of their malice, and the aim of their rage, and all these indignation is bend that way, they glory in what they have done, and threaten what they will do; they will hang and draw, and quarter within themselves: this is that which the proud spirits of the world make their main prize, and they think thereby to procure praise unto themselves, and great preferment in their own eyes this way: let me speak a little to these, you that are guilty of this sin, see the compass of it, take notice of the reach how fare this rebellion goeth: I would wish these men that persecute the Saints, I would have them underst & the compass of their course, how fare their wicked practice extendeth, it is not against a despised Christian; no, let them know it, their rage and malice ascends up to Heaven, and offers violence to the Lord jesus Christ, and the labour what they can to pluck Christ from the right hand of his Father, and they endeavour what in them lies to shed his blood, and take away his life: let all know that have been professed opposers and dead haters of the Saints of God, let them know they are melted of light treason, and that in a most heinous manner against the Lord of Heaven and Earth, against the Lord jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world: I would that these men would not cousin themselves, for God will not be mocked: they profess they love Christ with all their hearts, and they will do any thing for him, but those nice fellows, those spruce fellows, it is those that they hate to the death: do you so indeed? thou hast said enough then, for thou hatest Christ in hating them, and thou persecutest Christ in persecuting them: Esay 37.23.28. Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed, saith the text, and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy one of Israel: and in the 28. verse, I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me; so that how ever Senacherib aimed at Hezekia only, and those that profess the truth, yet the Lord takes it at done to himself: he that knew their hearts and their malice, he saith, I know thy rage against me, it was against the holy One of Israel that they railed. Wicked men persecute the lives of believers; now Christ lives in them, and thou hatest the life of Christ, and persecutest the life of Christ: Acts 9 Paul had gotten letters from the Synagogue, and he would have haled to prison all the Saints of God that professed the Name of Christ; now if a man had come to Paul, and asked him, Paul why do you persecute Christ; he would have been in great indignation; what, reverenced Paul, learned Paul, zealous Paul; what, he persecute the Lord of life? why, Christ proclaims it, he doth so, and he puts it to an upshot, and ends the controversy, and puts the question out of doubt, I am jesus, saith he, whom thou persecutest: as if he had said, Poor fool; thou knowest not, and I perceive thou thinkest it not, but I receive the wound; the foot is pricked, and the head complains. I would have a man make the case his own, and be his own Judge: If any man should pretend friendship to you, and profess he loves you, and tells you he tenders your person, but yet he will torment your body; and he loves your head, but yet he will cut off your arm: there is no man so weak, but he would loathe such cursed kind of dissimulation: a man cannot love the head and hate the member; love the person and torment the body: just so these men deal with the Lord jesus Christ; Gods faithful believing servants are his eyes: Zacharie 2.8. He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye; they are flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone: thou that pretendest to love Christ, and to tender the head, and in the mean time loathest his members, and his poor Saints; know that thou dost not persecute the Saints so much, but thou persecutest Christ much more: but haply thou wilt say; I am no drunkard, nor no whoremonger; I tell thee this sin is worse than drunkenness, or whoredom: the text saith, Luke 13. that Herod was an incestuous person, and married his brother Philip's wife; but he added this sin above all the rest, he put john in prison; therefore all that hear the Word of God: if a man did see an incestuous wretch in the congregation, whom humanity, and reason, and nature doth loath, we would abhor and detest him, nay every man knows that it deserves death. Look upon thy own soul, and lay thy hand upon thy heart, thou that persecutest the Saints: thy sin is greater, and thy condemnation shall be fare sorer than such a man's: hence it is that God threatens such men with the heaviest judgements: Psalm 82.5. it is spoken there concerning Doeg; we may see the story: 1 Samuel 22. When Abimelech gave David shewbread and Goliahs' sword, Doeg saw it and told Saul, and afterwards slew eighty five persons of the Priests; now this Psalmist made this Psalm against this man: and he saith, Thy tongue deviseth mischief like a sharp razor working deceitfully, and God shall likewise destroy thee for ever; He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and out of the land of the living; because he did oppose himself against Abimelech; therefore the Lord would not let him go without a punishment: nay as God threatens the sorest punishment against such person; so the Saints of God by their prayers set themselves most against them: Psalm 129.5. Let them all he confounded and turned back that have ill will at Zion, neither do they that go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you: the poorest man that lives, that is in the meanest place, if he walks in an honest calling, the Saints wish a blessing to him; but they that oppose the Saints of God, the Saints curse them in the name of the Lord: it is true, I confess, we must be wary and wise, but being wise and wary, it is a thing we may and should do; David by way of Revelation knew who were implacable and obdurate; though we know not this, yet aiming at none in particular, but only in the general, at those who be incorragible; the Saints of God curse them, and that bitterly in all their desires that they put up to God; nay the greatest indirement at the day of judgement proceeds against sinners because of the persecution of his Saints, because in them they persecute Christ himself; they tear out the very eyes of Christ, and rend his heart in pieces: jud. 14. The Lord cometh with thousands of his Angels to execute judgement upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly amongst them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him: Matthew 25. the latter end, Depart from me, ye cursed, I know ye not; I was in prison, and ye visited me not; I was naked, and ye clothed me not: why, Jesus Christ is gone to Heaven, and haply they never saw him: b●● faith he, in that you did it not to one of these, ye did it not to me. Now Divines reason thus, that all the doom that shall pass upon the wicked at the day of judgement, shall go in this tenure: because ye have not done this and that; and if those shall be condemned that did not visit the Saints when they were in prison: if those shall be damned that did not cover the naked, what shall become of those that 〈…〉 hearts, and rend the 〈◊〉 of 〈…〉 the Lord hath not only torments for them here, but he hath devils in hell to torment them for evermore: Therefore let me speak a word of advice to those that are guilty of this great sin of persecuting the Lord of life; go aside and reason with your souls, and parley with your hearts, and think with yourselves, Oh poor fool that I was, it was not any poor Christian, any poor Saint that I hated, but it was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, and of glory, that I persecuted, that I would have plucked out of his Throne; I would have tore his flesh off his body, and rend his members asunder; and alas, I never knew it; it was not the Saints I opposed, but the Lord Jesus Christ. I speak not this to countenance faction, my aim is at those that persecute religion and sanctity of life. Use 3 For examination and trial; we may hence see who are those that cleave unto Christ, as also those that are false and dissemble with Christ, which pretend great love, and profess great kindness unto our Saviour, and how much they respect him, and how near Christ is to them. From the former Doctrine, you may discover whether this be true or false: he that is a true believer, and knit so to Christ as never more to be separated and parted, he takes up the whole strength of his soul, and bottoms it upon a Saviour; he is sanctified with the freeness of his grace, and is resolved for ever to cleave unto him, and bestow himself upon him: he that truly believes, is thus knit, thus joined to the Lord jesus Christ: look as it is sometimes with a mighty branch of a tree, ●r with the arm of a man's body, however the bough of the tree may be rend sometimes, and haled aside by the violence of the tempest, or by the pulling of a man's hand, yet it will hold by the body, and when the hand is gone, it will go up again: so it is with a faithful soul, he so cleaves to Christ, that he will never be parted from him, he will never be separated, what ever provocation or opposition comes to the contrary: the believing soul is sometimes rend and strained by the weight of persecution and temptation, and with the violence of corruptions; but as soon as the temptation and the weight is gone, it clings to Christ again; and as the bough, take away the hand, and it will rise up again: so whatsoever temptations come, or corruptions come, or oppositions betide, yet it will not be plucked off from the Lord, and though it may be swayed aside, yet it grows to the Lord: therefore the first of Samuel 10.26. it is said, The hearts that God touched did cleave unto Saul; so it is with a believer, those that are famous in the eyes of the world, and have professed great kindness to him, in the time of persecution they will fly off; but those whose hearts God hath fully touched, they will follow Christ, notwithstanding all opposition; as it is with the needle of a dial, it may be stirred and moved, but it will never r●● till it come to the right place again: so it is with the soul that is ●uit to Christ by faith, though he may be 〈◊〉 ●ering and doubting, yet he will never be 〈…〉 till he come to be fastened the right way to Christ; but others there are that cleave feignedly to Christ, and herein it will appear; either they will off when occasion serves, or else whither in the very work of the profession of the Gospel, though they continue therein: some there be that fall away wholly from their profession; of this sort are thousands of your common protestants, that are only knit unto Christ by peace and prosperity: there are millions, if the day of trouble should come, and fire and sword should come, and make them make profession of their faith, they would fly off from their profession, and they would leave the Lord, and the Gospel, and all in the lurch, because they are not knit unto Christ by saving faith. In the second place there are others, who though they do not fall away totally, yet notwithstanding they whither, and die, and come to nothing: and these are your cunning and close hearted hypocrites, those that are knit to Christ, and grow to him by some help, and succour, and assistance, which they have from him, by which they flourish, grow green in the profession of the Lord: there is a generation of cunning dissemblers, and close false dealers with the Gospel, that grow to Christ by some help they receive from him, and that makes them make a glorious show in the profession of the Gospel; but yet if God take away his assistance, they whither, and die, and fade, and vanish: look as it is with the hairs of a man's head, or with the leaves of a tree, the leaves grow to the tree, and the hairs to the head, but they grow not so much upon the substance of the body, nor the leaves upon the substance of the tree, as the arm and the branch doth, but they grow only by the moisture that comes from the body, and the moisture that comes from the root: or look as it is with a wen in a man's body, it is no part of the body, but it grows out of the superabundant humours of the body, and that feeds the wen, and increaseth it; but if the body grow weak and feeble, and that humour be taken away, it withers and comes to a dry skin: just so it is with these cursed close hearted hypocrites, as the hairs and leaves grow, so they grow to the Lord Jesus, namely, the Lord vouchsafeth some sap and moisture, and some assistance to the performance of some services, but they never grow to the substance of a Saviour, they never grew to the holiness of Christ, they never had the Spirit of Christ powerfully prevailing with them: as it is with the wen, so it is with these glorious hypocrites, that can vent themselves very gloriously, they are wens in the profession of the Gospel, they look full bigly, and stare every man in the face, and to the appearance of the world, are men of great account▪ but if once the Lord take away his assistance from heaven, they are like leaves upon the tree, if they fall not, yet they whither away: I have oserved sometimes, you shall have dry leaves stay upon an oak tree, till new ones come again: so these haughty hearted hypocrites, they will take up a kind of a dying course of profession in the way of life and salvation, but they never come to be opposers and resisters of God and his grace, till there comes some to be wiser and stricter in a Christian course than they, and then he falls away. Use. 4 Is it so that the faithful soul is thus nearly knitted to Christ, as the member to the body, or the branch to the vine? then all you that believe 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 Satan 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 soul, 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 wand'ring pilgrimage of yours: when a Christian gins to turn his face heaven-ward, and go home to the Lord, than all his friends fly away, and departed from him: David complains, that his honours stood afar off, and he was a mocking to the enemy, and a contempt to those that were before near unto him; so it will be with you, nay, it is so with most that live in the bosom of the Church: how often can many of you speak of it, when the Lord hath given you a heart to walk with him, and depend upon him? how often are you made the offscouring of the world? your carnal friends detest your persons, and scorn your societies; why? raise up your hearts with the consideration of the former truth; ye that do endure it, or may fear it, comfort yourselves: doth man cast you off? doth man cast you out? Christ will receive you, why then are you discouraged? what though the servant frown, 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 parent's mind, when her parents frown, 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 believing soul, you have matched against the mind of your carnal friends, they would not have you take that course; Oh than they tell you, Woe and beggary will befall you; well, though you have matched contrary to the minds of your carnal friends, or master, or husband, yet comfort thyself, though thou hast the ill will of an earthly husband, yet now God will be a husband in heaven, thou mayst sing care away, and be for ever comforted and refreshed: it was that which God himself gave for a cordial to cheer up jacob, in that long and tedious journey of his, when he was going into a fare country, Genes. 28.14, 15. when he was going from his own country, and had no friends to secure him, the Lord met him, and said, I will go with thee, and keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and I will bring thee back into this land, and I will never leave thee, until I have done that, which I spoke unto thee of; this was that which lifted and bore up the heart of the good man, though he could not but expect hard dealing; why yet saith the Lord, I will go with thee, and never leave thee; think of it, and consider of it seriously, what a ground of consolation may it be, when we shall wander up and down, and go into caves, and holes, and dens of the earth; when we shall go into prison or banishment, and friends may not, nor will not go with us, yet Christ will go; Esay 43.2. When thou passest thorough the waters, I will be with thee; and thorough the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest thorough 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 she be ready to be drowned; a man cannot go into the fire to help 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 misery, and sorrow, and trouble be 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 we then be 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 souls against the fierceness of all temptations, whereby Satan labours to pluck us from the Lord jesus Christ; and our hearts sink within us, and we shall (we say) one day perish by the hands of Saul, by the hand of the enemy attempting, and corruptions prevailing; clear your hearts and know, though temptations may outbid your weaknesses, and corruptions may outbid your abilities, and when you would do good, evil is present with you, and sin cleaves and sticks close to you: why cheer your hearts with this consideration, that you have Christ that sticks closer to you than your sins; and this should cheer up weak 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 poor little one as I am, bear the brunt of persecution, and endure in the time of perplexity: Why consider though thou canst not help thyself, 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 be taken from thee: Rom. 8. the two last verses, it was the triumph of the holy Apostle Paul; I am persuaded (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 jesus 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 soul, 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 soul up into heaven; therefore cheer up thy heart, and comfort thy soul in the consideration of God's goodness. Use. 5 Lastly, are the Saints knit to Christ thus firmly? then it shows us our duty; we ought to take notice of the goodness of the Lord vouchsafed unto us; hath the Lord advanced you thus highly? then walk worthy of this advancement, it is the use that the Apostle makes, Walk worthy of the calling whereunto the Lord hath called you; are ye the members of Christ? why then behave yourselves as the members of Christ; are you joined thou nearly to Christ? then carry yourselves as beseems you; let the dog return to his vomit, and the sow to the wallowing in the mire; but let the Saints that are knit unto a Saviour, walk worthy of that mercy, and union, and prerogative that God hath vouchsafed unto them; it is a shame to see, that servants of Christ's family, and the plants of his vineyard do walk after the conversation of the world: what manner of persons ought we to be in all manner of holiness of conversation? we are knit unto Christ, and therefore aught to be holy, as he is holy; pure, as he is pure: we ought to do nothing, but that which may beseem and content a Saviour; but ye will say, the world will hold up their hands at us, and their mouths will be open against us; why God hates the world, and ye are redeemed from the world, ye are called out of the world, therefore live not as if ye were in the world, but as God hath called you to live with himself in heaven, your conversation should be such, as if ye were in heaven: I would not have a Saint of God tamper with the least distemper, or be addicted to any base course, but walk exactly before the Lord. Thus we see a faithful soul is knit unto Christ: now that which follows is this; it is so knit, that it is made one Spirit. The point we named before, it is this: Doct. 2 The faithful enjoy such a union with our Saviour, that they are one Spirit with him. The point is difficult, and the mystery great, and beyond the reach and room of that little light I enjoy, only we shall be desirous with sobriety and modesty to communicate what shall be most suitable to the mind of God; not being unwilling, but desirous to hear any advice from another concerning the same: the doctrine than is; a believer is so knit to Christ, that he becomes one Spirit: for the opening whereof, because it is a deep mystery, suffer me to deal plainly and punctually, and that I may express my thoughts, and communicate what I conceive, suffer me to discover two particulars: First, the manner how the soul comes to be one Spirit with Christ. Secondly, the order thereof. These two we will labour to clear so fare as we are able: First for the former: the manner how the soule● come 〈…〉 be one Spirit with Christ, it is an undeniable principle, and confessed by Divines on all parts, that the soul comes to be one Spirit, by the power of the Spirit on God's part, and by the power of faith on the believers part; they confess that the Spirit of God works upon a believer, and the believer goes out again to God by faith: but we have now only the terms in the general, if we come to the particular examining of these and ask a weak soul how the soul comes to be one Spirit, by the Spirit on God's part, and by faith on our part, we are as far to seek as we were before, and most of the congregation can understand little of it. This is our misery, we content ourselves with terms in the general, and never crack the shell that we may see the kernel: we never dive into the truth, that we may see the intent of the Spirit therein; therefore for the opening of the point, viz. the manner how the soul comes so to be knit to Christ, as to be made one Spirit: (not denying any thing of the former truth, but holding thereto) we will open it so far as our light serves us. Quest. If the question then be, how the soul by the spirit on God's part, and faith on the soul's part, comes to be one spirit. Answ. That which I intent to speak, I will cast into three particulars, or three conclusions: Conclus. 1 The first conclusion is this, know that the spirit of God, the holy Ghost, the third Person in the glorious Trinity, he doth really, and inseparably accompany the whole word: (that is the general) but he doth more specially accompany the precious promises of the Gospel: the Spirit of the Lord is in these in a more special manner, though he be a God every where in regard of his providence, yet he is in a more special manner going with, and accompanying of his Word; and in a more special and particular fort he is in the promises, the soul comes to be one with Christ, and to be knit unto him principally by the promise; the law prepares the soul, and the promise that calls the soul, and knits it unto Christ; God hath appointed his Word, and specially the promise for the converting of a sinner; and therefore the Spirit of God goes therewith, and works thereby, and gives a blessing thereunto, according as he in his wisdom thinks fit: for he is a voluntary agent, and therefore may use the word as he will, and when he will; the Spirit doth always work in the word, but not always after the same manner. You make nothing of the Gospel, and of the Scripture; I tell you the Spirit of the Lord God, blessed for ever, is there after an extraordinary manner, and hardens the hearts of the reprobates, and humbles, and converts and comforts the souls of his servants: and when? not when I will, or you will, but when the Spirit of the Lord will. This is that I take to be the best expression of it; look as it was with the brazen Serpent set up in the wilderness, there was an healing virtue inseparably accompanying of that brazen Serpent; and it was as possible that hardness should be separated from the brass, as his healing virtue: for whosoever looked upon it, healing virtue did undoubtedly and inseparably go with it, because God had appointed this; therefore he did bless this, and undoubtedly work by this: Just so it is with the good Word of the Lord; the Spirit of the Lord, though he be God every where, yet he doth bless this Word especially, and goes with it, and hath appointed it for the salvation of his servants: therefore when the sound comes to the ear, and the sense to the mind, the Spirit goes with the Word when thou hearest it, either to convert thee, or to confound thee: therefore the text saith, ye stiff necked and hard hearted, ye have resisted the Spirit of the Lord: they would have plucked Christ out of Heaven, and the Spirit and all. Now that this is a case undeniable, I prove it thus: that word which is able to discover the thoughts of the heart, and to raise the dead to life, and can comfort a distressed soul, and persuade the soul of God's everlasting favour, that word must needs have a supernatural power go with it, for no created power can do the former things: the Word tells the deep things of God, the Word saith, I am sanctified, therefore I am justified, therefore called, therefore elected: the Word reveals these deep things of God, therefore the spirit must needs go inseparably with it: this is an undoubted conclusion. Conclus. 2 The second is this, and I take it to be somewhat difficult; the Spirit of grace, the holy Ghost, the third Person in Trinity, working with and accompanying of the promise of grace and salvation; it doth therein and thereby leave a supernatural dint and power, and a spiritual and overpowering virtue upon the soul, and thereby carries it, and brings it unto Christ, and there lieth a great weight, and observe it: The principal and efficient cause in the work of the soul, to bring it to believing, it is not so much any thing in the soul, as a spiritual assisting, and moving, and working upon the soul; by virtue of which working and motion it is moved and carried to the Lord jesus Christ, as thus: the spirit let in a power to stir hope, and it is stirred and moved; it lets in a power to quicken desire, and it goes; it lets in a power to kindle love, and it flames; it lets in a power to persuade the will, and it takes and chooses: the Spirit moves upon these faculties, and by virtue thereof they are moved, and carried to the Lord: therefore I conceive the main principal cause of faith is rather an assisting power working upon, than any inward principal put into the soul to work of itself, but the work is upon the soul: the soul by that power and assistance is conveyed and carried home to Christ: observe it, I will express it in several passages, because here lies the difficulty of the point. Then know that the Spirit of God doth in the first stroke of faith, as the Spirit of God did upon the waters: Gen. 1.2. the text saith, there 〈◊〉 confused lump, and the Spirit moved upon the 〈◊〉 and set upon that confused lump, fas●●● 〈…〉 the creature out thereof: so it is with the Siprit, (and when I speak of the Spirit, I intent the promise too) the Spirit in the promise meeting with an humbled soul now abased, and staggering and quarrelling with himself, he is in a confused estate, he knows not what to make of himself, nor of his confused condition: now the good Spirit of the Lord moves upon the soul, and leaves a spiritual dint and supernatural work upon it; and the soul by virtue thereof is carried, and fitted, and fashioned to go to Christ: this I take to be the meaning of that place, Acts 26, 18. Saint Paul was sent to turn men from darkness to light: Now it is a confession amongst all Protestant Divines, that the first stroke of the Spirit is upon the soul: there is nothing in the soul that can drive sin from the soul, and pluck the soul from sin; but the Spirit works this, and the soul takes this blow, and by virtue of that Spirit, the soul is pulled from corruption, and turned from sin: this is a confessed truth, that the first stroke in conversion is not from any thing within the soul, but it is from the Spirit; nay the same stroke doth two things; it turns from darkness to light: the same hand, and the same stroke doth both these; as for example, when you tear one thing from another, as you rear it from the other, you pull it to yourself: he that pulls a bough from a tree, as he pulls it from the tree, he plucks it to himself: so the same Spirit that works upon the soul in calling it from sin, it doth work upon the soul in drawing it to Christ: it pulls off hope from the world, and makes it expect a Christ; it pulls off desire from the world, and makes it long for Christ; it pulls off love from the world, and makes it entertain a Christ; it pulls off the will from the world, and makes it choose a Christ; so that one stroke doth both, and it is plain, therefore the work of the Spirit upon the soul must bring it unto Christ. The like phrase we have, john 15.19. I have called you out of the world, therefore the world hates you: so that it is there the same voice, the same spirit that calls a man from sin; as that is not the way, thou poor sinner, the way of pride and idleness, etc. that is not the way to Heaven. Now that call as it pulls the soul from sin, so that motion and moving, and supernatural work that it leaves upon the soul, the soul thereby being moved and drawn, it is coming to the Lord: the soul hath not so much the work of the Spirit of grain in him, as the work of the spirit of grace working upon him, to draw him from evil, and to turn him to the Lord; and by virtue of the same work he is drawn from the one, and brought to the other: this I conceive to be the great difference between the union that Adam had with God, and that which the faithful have. Adam had a stock in his own hand, God made him wise, and holy, and righteous; this was his stock, he had a principle within himself, either to hang upon God, and so to be sustained, or to slide and withdraw himself from God: he had power either to hold, or to let go: he had the staff in his own hand, he might turn unto God, and close with the command if he would, or he might departed from God, and withdraw himself from the assistance which he lent him as he did: but now here is a main difference in the bringing of the heart home to Christ in this union, because the first stroke that draws the soul, and brings the soul to Christ, is not from any thing within, so much as from the spirit without: the hand of Christ it lays hold upon the heart, and works upon the heart, and brings him home to himself; this first stroke is from without, we do believe being framed thereunto, and drawn by the Spirit of the Father; the everlasting arm of the Lord that appears in the Gospel, he lets it down, and works upon the soul, and brings the heart to himself, and so the heart is brought to Christ, not from any Principle first in itself, but by the Spirit that works upon it: when the Word of God comes to the soul, the Spirit of God accompanies that Word, and pulls the earthly mind from earthliness, and the unclean heart from his lusts, and saith, Come out, thou poor soul, this is the way to a Christ that will pardon thee, this is the way to a Christ that will purge thee; so that my soul moves, but it is because it is moved; my will closeth, but it is because it is persuaded: so that the first stroke of this union is not from myself, but it comes from Christ; the hand of the Spirit lays hold on me, and draws me to him: hence in the third place, the union draws somewhat nearer; so that we see, first there is a holy Ghost in the promise, and secondly, we see that the Holy Ghost leaves a supernatural work upon the soul, 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 itself in the promise: the Spirit of God by the promise so works upon the soul, that it makes the soul close with the promise, and with itself in the promise: and this is to be one Spirit, and this I take to be 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 work of the Lord in the work of conversion, is upon us, by us, to bring us to himself. The Spirit of the Lord is in heaven, and it is in the promise, and that Spirit in the promise comes to the soul of a believer, and leaves a spiritual work upon the soul of a believer, and the soul is moved by virtue of that Spirit, to close with that promise, and with that Spirit that is in the promise: I would express myself by these two comparisons; look as it is with the moon, the natural Philosopher observes, that the ebbing and flowing of the sea, is by virtue of the moon, she flings her beams into the sea, and not being able to exhale as the sun doth, she leaves them there, and goes away, and that draws them, and when they grow wet, they return back again; now the sea ebbs and flows not from any principle in itself, but by virtue of the moon, being moved, it goes, being drawn, it comes; the moon casting her beams upon the waters, it moves the sea, and so draws itself unto itself, and the sea with it: so the heart of a poor creature, is like the water, unable to move towards heaven, but the Spirit of the Lord doth bring in its beams, and leaves a supernatural virtue by them upon the soul, and thereby draws it to itself: or look as it is with a clasp and a keeper; take a great clasp, put it thorough the keeper, and being brought thorough, it closeth with itself: so it is with an humble broken heart, it is like this keeper, the good Spirit of the Lord is like this clasp, the Spirit works upon the soul, and leaves a supernatural virtue upon the soul, and goeth with that virtue, and pulls the soul by the power of itself, and knits it to its self, it works upon the heart in this manner, and clasps the humbled sinner, and brings him home, and holds him to the promise, and to itself in the promise. Now I would contract these three conclusions, in the former sermons, into three questions, to make them so familiar, that weak ones, which have any spiritual grace, may be able to come to apprehend and understand them: Quest. 1 I ask therefore, what is there in the promise of the Gospel, or what is there in the Word of God, is there nothing but letters, and syllables, and sentences? Answ. I answer, Yes, humane Authors have words and sentences, but oh the glorious God, the third person of the Trinity, 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 do it, but Lord thy almighty hand came down from heaven, and broke this heart of mine, and if Christ that Lion of the tribe of Judah, had not come down from heaven, this lion-like heart of mine would never have yielded nor come down: this is the answer to the first question. Quest. 2 What doth the believer do? ask your own hearts, do your hearts close and meet with the good Word of the Lord? and do 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 soul, me thought I was even knit to the Word: then I ask again, was thy heart knit to the Word only, and the syllable only? and did thy heart close with the sentences only? the soul answers, No, the truth is, my ear did receive the sound, and my mind the sense, but my soul received the Lord Jesus Christ: To as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, 1 john 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 find your hearts comforted at such a time? Oh yes, saith the soul, me thinks I see the Minister's face still, and when he came to such a point and such a passage, good Lord, me 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 stomach receives not meat, as the dish or vessel doth, but the stomach doth receive it, and is fastened to it, and hath the sweetness of it, and is made one with it: john 6.63. The words that I speak, they are Spirit and life; and this is the excellency of the Word, when all the learned Doctors and Schoolmasters shall have the tongues, but shall never humble one soul, nor purge nor convert one heart, yet the Word and the Spirit in it, will do that which is useful and helpful for thee in this kind; the Words that I speak, they are Spirit, and they are life, saith our Saviour; so than you see, you that are ignorant and weak, you say to yourself, how shall I come to be knit to the Lord Jesus Christ, seeing he is in heaven, and I am on earth? Oh but quiet thyself in this, he is in a most special manner in the preaching of the Word, and if thou cleavest to the Word aright, than thou cleavest to the Spirit of Christ. Quest. 3 In the third place I ask, 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 own hearts able to do this? or is nature, or your wits, or parts able to do this for you? No, the good Spirit of the Lord wrought upon, and fitted, and framed the hear● 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 draws the magnet or loadstone over the iron, and the virtue thereof makes it able to draw iron to itself; so the soul saith, Alas, I do it not, it was the Lord that wrought this heart in me, I have seen the day, when I could have been as well content to hear the Minister preach plainly, as to have a knife run to my heart, but the Lord wrought my heart to it, therefore the Spirit puts that magnet stone of the mercy and grace of Christ upon my heart, he puts this temper upon my heart, and makes it able to close with itself in the promise: in 2 Corin. 5.5. when Paul there had disputed of his desire to lay down his life for the Gospel, and to put his body upon suffering for the Gospel's sake, he was even weary of the world, and would fain have been gone, how got he this temper? why? the text saith, Now he that hath wrought us for the same thing if God, who also hath given us the earnest of his Spirit; it is a great while before we can be brought to this temper, when all the Ministers tongues are even worn to the stumps, and the wicked will be wicked still, yet the Lord doth work it: so than you see, that the Spirit of God by the promise works upon the soul, and leaves a dint upon the heart, and so brings the soul by the Spirit to close with itself in the promise, and hence you may collect two things for your information in this kind: Colect. 1 First, that the believer, being moved by the stroke of the Spirit of the Father, is made able to close with the Father and the Son, because the Spirit of the Lord doth fasten, fit, and frame the heart hereunto in this manner; and hence it is, that the soul can close with the Father, and the Son too; why? because the Spirit which proceeds and comes from the Father and the Son, is able to frame the soul to close with both; for the Spirit hath something of the Father, and something of the Son, and therefore is able to make the soul to close with both: 1 john 1.3. These things have I written unto you, that you may have fellowship with us; holy john was a spiritual father unto them, and he writes to them, that thereby they might have fellowship with the Saints, and he saith, Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son jesus Christ; why doth he not say, our fellowship is with the Father, as well, as to say, our fellowship is with the Father and the Son? because it is presumed before hand, that a man must have fellowship with the Spirit, before he can have fellowship with the Father and the Son; because it is the Spirit that hath fitted the heart, and framed it, to close with both. Colect. 2 Secondly, hence it comes to pass, that the person of the believer may be knit to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ: the foot is knit to the head by the continuance of the order of the body, and the members thereof, as the foot is knit to the leg, and the leg to the thigh, and the thigh to the body, and so to the head, this is the (meaning of that phrase, john 6.56. our Saviour presseth this hard upon the Disciples, and saith, My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed, he that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and in him; then they begun to wonder at it, and to say, How can this be? and yet Christ saith, what if you see the the Son of man carrying the body of his flesh into heaven, you will think it more hard to eat my flesh then, yet you must eat my flesh then too; how? it is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak, they are Spirit and life; as if he had said, my good Spirit is in the word and promise, close you with my Spirit, and then you draw my Spirit, my flesh and my blood down into your whole natures; the words that I speak, they are Spirit and Life; that is, my Spirit is in the Word of the promise, though my body be gone up into heaven; therefore close you with my Spirit in the promise, and then you close with my flesh spiritually. Thus much for the manner of the union. Now for the order of this union how this is done, and there the question will be this. Whether the believer is knit first to the humane nature of Christ, or to the Divine nature. Quest. 2 I am not greatly willing to meddle with this point in this popular congregation, because there are many wise and orthodox Divines, and godly too, which are of contrary opinion; they confess both, but they differ about the order: but that I may bring no prejudice to the judgement of any, I will shortly show you the sum of those arguments, Answ. which either side hold, and will show to which I do incline, and so leave the point to the judgement of those that hear it, to incline to which side they think best, and thus I shall wrong none at all. First, some Divines, wise, holy, and orthodox, and many too, do go that way; all of them have it from that root: they that hold that the soul is knit to the humane nature of Christ first, have two reasons for it. First, say they, as the Scripture reveals Christ to us, so also our hearts embrace him, and close with him, but the Scripture reveals the Lord Christ more often and frequently, in regard of his Manhood, than in regard of his Godhead; as in that place, The seed of the Woman shall break the Serpent's head, and such like: therefore the understanding first closeth with this, and the heart first receives it: the second reason why they hold this is thus much. If, say they, all the great works of our redemption, both sanctification, and justification, and redemption, were wrought in the humane nature of Christ, and as by a channel conveyed to us by his humane nature, than it is reason that the soul should first close with the humane nature; but it is so that all the great works of justification, sanctification, etc. were all accomplished in the humane nature of Christ: for as the text saith, He died for our sins, and triumphed over sin, and hell, and death: therefore, say they, it is fit that the soul should first close with the humane nature of Christ; and this is the life and pith of all their arguments. Again, other Divines, and they are wise and orthodox, they hold this; and though all hold the main substantial truths of eternal life, yet they differ in this, they say the believer is first knit to the Deity, and they have also two arguments, and the first is this: That which is the main and the proper object of faith, to that the soul first looks, and to that the soul is first united: for all union comes by operation in this kind, but the Godhead is the first object of faith in believing; the Godhead, and the third person of Trinity, they are the first objects of faith; therefore, say they, in the whole course of Scripture, faith is cast upon the Godhead, as Esay 50.10. Who so is wise amongst you, that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant; he that walketh in darkness and hath no light, let him trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay himself upon his God; all the phrase of Scripture runs thus: Trust, and hope, and rely upon the Lord. So john 14.1, 2. verse. Let not your hearts be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me: mark this Now did a man believe upon the Father, as Father only, than he did not believe upon the Son; or did he believe only upon the Son, as Son, than he did not believe upon the Father, but in that he believes upon the Father and the Son: It is therefore plain that he falls first upon the Godhead; and seeing it is so that we must believe upon the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; therefore we are not to believe upon one of them only, but upon the whole Deity and the divine nature, and all the three Persons in the divine nature: for as the Schoolmen say, that which doth appertain to this, as this, belongs to this and to none other. Now we believe in all the whole Trinity, and therefore we close with all three, the Father, Son, and holy Ghost: and hence it is that these Divines observe, that when we are said to believe in the Scriptures, and in the promise (not that any do it properly) but so fare as the promise that God in Christ, revealing, and promising, and communicating himself: so fare we believe in the promise, that is, in his faithfulness, truth and mercy, revealed in the promise. The second reason which they allege is this: say they, that which in reason must stay & satisfy the soul of a believer, it is that in reason to which the soul must first betake itself, and upon which it most first stay itself; for faith goes out for succour, and for good: therefore, that which only can satisfy faith, to that only it must first go: the believer is dead in sins, because of the commission of them, but there is life in God: therefore to an infinite God the soul comes to work an infinite satisfaction for him, which all creatures cannot do in this case, the Godhead prepares the humane nature, and works by the humane nature, and gives power to the humane nature, and makes it able to suffer and to satisfy, faith sees that he hath offended an infinite God, and deserved punishment of an infinite value; therefore he must repair to him that can only repair in mercy to his soul: therefore saith the Prophet David, Psalm 130.7. verse, Hope in the Lord for ever, for with the Lord is plenteous redemption: and in Esay 26.4. Trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord jehovah, is everlasting strength; we have everlasting miseries, and troubles, and distempers, but with the Lord jehovah is everlasting strength, therefore trust in him for ever: nay hence it is that our Saviour saith, john 17.3. This is life eternal, that they know thee to be the very God, and whom thou hast sent even jesou Christ. Now if you ask me which of these judgements I follow; I answer, because I love not to be as a man that is here, and there, and no where in truth, but I love to be as a man that dwells at home, for I am not ignorant that many Divines wise and learned, whose parts and gifts I reverence, they follow the former opinions; and for my part I leave a judicious hearer to take which side he will; but in truth the two last arguments have prevailed with me, that the heart of a poor: sinner believes, and stays itself, firstly, upon the Godhead, and Deity, and afterwards upon the Humanity: and me thinks the two former arguments seem not to compel any man's understanding: for be it granted, that the former Scriptures do reveal the Lord Jesus Christ, and mention him often as man, yet it is as true they reveal him to be God, and mention his Godhead, not mentioning at all his humanity; but whensoever they do mention his humanity, firstly, it is for good reason, partly by way of prophecy to foretell of Christ, what he should be, and partly by way of story and relation to relate of Christ what he was; yet this reason infers not that faith must therefore firstly lay hold upon the humanity before the deity; but when the Lord is pleased to reveal Jesus Christ to the soul in the way of conversion, than we must apprehend Christ, as God and Man in the point of conversion, and then let the question be this: whither the soul shall go for that which it wants? Now I see no reason why the soul should firstly go to the humanity for what it wants and seeks: hence it is that when the Scripture comes to speak in the way of conversion, the Godhead is set first: as in the 2 Cor. 5.19. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself; as God in Christ reconciles the world unto himself; so God reveals himself to his faithful Ministers, and so they reveal him to the people; it was the Godhead that was offended, and must first of all be pleased, and unto that God we must first go for what we want; so jeremy 33.16. In those days judah shall be saved, and Israel shall be saved, and this is the Name whereby they shall call him the Lord our righteousness: so said the Angel, they shall call his Name Emanuel, which is by interpretation, God with us: this is to the first reason; now to the second argument I answer thus; If it be good in reason that we must first go to the humane nature for these reasons propounded, and if this be sufficient to call my faith that way; because all the great works are wrought that way; then much more seeing the humane nature was enabled to the work by the divine nature; therefore my faith must first look that way, because the weight of the work lies upon the Deity; the humane nature cannot assume to take to itself this glory, not be any way available to satisfy divine justice, but that the Deity enabled it, and therefore faith must first of all look unto that. Thus it is confessed that the soul of a believer is advanced to a marvellous high privilege; now the use of it is referred to these three heads. Use 1 First, are the souls of the faithful come thus near to Christ, not only to believe in him, and to embrace him, but to be one Spirit with him? then this may be a use of instruction, and it shows to us that the sins of the faithful are marvellous heinous in God's account, and exceeding grievous to his blessed Spirit that hath come so near to us, and brought us so near unto himself; every sin is as a mountain, or as a wall of separation, but the sins of the faithful are no less than rebellion, not only because of mercies, bonds and engagements, which the believer hath received, but because a man is come so near to Christ, and now to commit sin and vex him, it must needs be a marvellous provocation to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to his good Spirit: he that should entertain a friend into his family, or the King into his house, or a woman to entertain a loving husband in matrimony with her, all base dealing by any of these a man can hardly brook it; It was one of my own subjects, saith the King; it was my wife, saith the husband, and it was my friend, as David saith, that did eat at my table; but now to entertain a professed enemy, or a traitor into the bedchamber with the King, and to lodge them both in one bed, this were abominable; and so the wife not only to entertain a whoremonger into the house, but also to lodge him in the same bed, this were not to be endured: Oh how his blood would rise against it, as the King said of Haman, Hester 7.8. What, will he force the Queen before my face? Now therefore, brethren, go home to your own souls and behaviours in particular: dost thou through God's grace and mercy receive this favour at the hands of God, that thou art become one Spirit with the Lord Jesus Christ, and wilt thou then receive a company of base lusts, and that in the very face and sight of the Lord jesus Christ, and lodge an unclean spirit, with the clean Spirit of the Lord? the holy God cannot endure this, nay, he will not bear it at the hands of those that belong to the election of grace: 1 Sam. 2.17. The sons of Ely were great sinners before the Lord, saith the text, and why? because they waited upon the Lord, to do the work of the Sanctuary; for where the ordinances of the Lord are, there is God himself: therefore Cain in the apprehension hereof, said, I am cast out from the presence of the Lord, that is, from the powerful beauty of the Lord in his ordinances. Now because they were the Priests and Leaders, and they were greater sinners, they would outbrave the Lord with their sins, and commit them in the sight of God, therefore their sin was the greater: as in Ezechiel 8.3. The Lord brought the Prophet to behold the abominations of the Elders of Israel, he brought him into a secret place, and shown him the image of jealousy, which provoked to jealousy, they did it in the sight of the Sun to provoke him to anger, therefore it is called the image of jealousy; as if he had said, Let your idols go to the land of Vrre, but will you dare to set up idols in the sight of God, to provoke him to jealousy. I beseech you apply this to yourselves; are not we Priests, and the very Spouse of Christ, and not only the outward Sanctuary, but the Temple of the Lord itself is with us; as the Apostle saith, Ye are the temples of the living God: Now wilt thou set up an idol lust, and an idolatrous self seeking heart, and set it up by the Lord jesus Christ ● this is a horrible crying sin, and it provokes the Lord marvellous fiercely: it was the collection which the Apostle made a little before the text, in 1 Cor. ●. where he saith, speaking concerning adultery and fornication, he comes with a glr● and a gall to the hearts of believers, saying, What, shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbidden, that's careful: Do you not know that he which coupleth himself to an harlot, is one body; shall I do thus? no, the Lord forbidden; I am near to Christ, let the members of Satan be made the members of a harlot, if they will, but you that are the members of Christ, will you do so? Consider it, wilt thou take the head of Christ, and contrive wickedness with it? and wilt thou take the heart of Christ, and make it a cage of unclean lusts? and wilt thou take the tongue of Christ, and make it speak wickedly? and wilt thou take the foot of Christ, and make it run to all wickedness? what a fearful thing is this? shall the unclean spirit be put to the clean spirit? shall the motions of the Devil be here, and the motions of the good Spirit of the Lord too? the Lord in mercy keep you off from this: Ephes. 4.29. Let no filthy communication come out of your mouth, why, what if there do? If there were no greater sins than these, I hope I should do well enough: What saith the Apostle; A Christian, and a liar; a Christian, and a swearer; a Christian, and a base vile wretch; Oh grieve not the good Spirit of God: why? because by it ye are sealed up unto the day of redemption: the good Spirit of the Lord hath sealed you up unto redemption, and knit you unto him, and will you rend yourselves from him, and grieve him? if you were not sealed up, and if you had none of the Spirit of Christ, it were no great matter: but now, Oh grieve not the holy Spirit, if you do, you have no salvation by it; away to hell if you will grieve the good Spirit of the Lord; if the Lord do bestow his Spirit upon thee, wilt thou then grieve his good Spirit? how canst thou, or how darest thou do thus, and dishonour the Name of God, look that place, Matthew 12.44. When the unclean spirit returns again to his rest, he findeth it empty, swept and garnished; then he taketh to himself seven other spirits worse than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; the end of that man is worse than the beginning. It is well observed by one, that pride and idleness sweeps the house for the devil; a proud heart which stays itself up upon its own abilities, and so grows idle, and lazy, and secure; if it be a Minister, or Magistrate, this makes clean work for the Devil, you cannot do this, but you will grieve the good Spirit of the Lord: Now look to this, when a man stays himself upon his parts, and gifts, he doth little good: you sweep the house for the Devil, whereas a watchful painful heart doth wonderfully please God; it is a good, and a pure, meek, and holy Spirit, which God accepts of, therefore be thou so too: now you that are Christians, do not go away, and think that you have warrant to be idle, and careless, take heed of such cursed distempers of heart; if thou art a Christian, thou darest not do or say, as others dare, for the sin of a Christian is abominable in the eyes of God, because he is so nearly united to his blessed Spirit: this is the first use of the point. Use. 2 Again in the second place, here is a word of examination and trial, here a man may see of what spirit the most men of the world are; You know not of what Spirit you are, saith Christ; look how the soul closeth with, and receives those that are most exact in a Christian course: if thy heart be estranged from such as do walk exactly before God, either because he hath given them parts and gifts, or because he hath made them humble and faithful: if the Spirit of the Lord be in the Saints, than the Spirit of malice and of the Devil is in thee; God's Spirit closeth with all the faithful ones, but thy Spirit cannot close with them; when they are made one Spirit with Christ, wilt thou be of two Spirits with them? then either Christ is to be blamed, or else thou art to be condemned for this baseness of thine; either Christ knows not how to choose a good Spirit, or else thou art a base vild spirit; this is the great sin of this last age of the world, men are lovers of themselves, and not lovers of God, nor his grace nor Spirit: it is admirable to see how every one that is wicked, finds favours in the world, but only those that are holy, and gracious, and one spirit with Christ: a drunkard is no man's enemy but his own; and with adulterers you can make matches, and if they were murderers or thiefs, we have a kind of lamentation for them; but when it comes to a sincere soul, their hearts rise up against him, with a desperate spleen, and they say, these are the holy brethren, why what are they? Oh, saith the Father, he is quite spoilt, I had a son which I had some hopes of, but now he is gone down the wind, and he will never be good for any thing; and then saith the drunkard, he was as good a companion as ever lived, and had ●s brave jests to make us merry withal, but now he is quite spoilt, than thy meaning is, that when he had an unclean spirit, thou didst love him, but now because he is come to have a near union with the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore thou art estranged from him; then cursed be thy wrath, for it is fierce, and thy rage, for it is cruel; if the Spirit of God be holy and good, to which he is united, than thou art a vild unholy wretch: I hope now you may know what will become of such and such in the towns and places where you live, such I mean as are holy and gracious, and yet are hated and despised; even those poor creatures are glued to the Lord Christ, nay, they are holy spirited men, which the Spirit of God delights in, therefore thy spirit is of Satan, that thou dost thus malice him; I confess a godly heart will have his sits and excursions now and then, like an unruly colt, and may run wildly into sin; this may befall a godly gracious heart, but all this while this is poison, and the soul of a godly man sees this, and is weary of it, and is marvellously burdened with it, and saith, Oh vild wretch that I am, what would I have? and what is he that I cannot love him? is it because the good Spirit of the Lord is there ● shall I resist the good Spirit of the Lord? and so commit the sin against the holy Ghost? away thou vild wretched heart, I will love him; thus the soul labours and strives for that exactness, and would fain have that goodness which he sees in other: it is in this thing, as it is in a man's meat, he that hath an unwholesome stomach, and seethe that the meat is good, and known not but that he may eat it, he will not blame the meat, if he be ill after it, but his stomach; but there are some that love to be cating lome walls, and such trash as is naught for them, for the stomach is vild within, and would have as bad as himself: so out of the pride of nature and self-confidence these distempers will be rising in us, but a gracious soul is even sick at the heart, and weary of his life, and he is never well, until he hath gotten a purge; but he that hath the disease, and is sick of hatred and malice, look how his heart is, so is his tongue, and as his heart is, so is his carriage: Oh poor wretched creature, what God may do for him, I know not, but for the present he hath the spirit of the Devil in him; he is no man but a toad that can live of poison, and make a meal of it, and yet his heart never be affected with it. Use. 3 In the third place; is man a sociable creature, and must he have some to keep company with him? then in the next place be exhorted to close with such as Christ himself doth close withal, choose such companions as the good Spirit of the Lord doth meet withal: dost thou see a gracious sincere hearted Christian, that is one spirit with the Lord? love him, and let thy heart be one Spirit with him too, and not only the rich, but the poor too, it is that which we have in nature, every man desires to have one that is of a fair nature and a loving disposition, he is a ●● man to make a friend of, and these things are not discommendable; it is strange to see when God hath cut the 〈◊〉 of these wolves, how ta●● and quiet they are; but would you have a man of a good nature indeed? for as one saith, he that hath no more than restraining grace, is no more than a tame Devil, but would you have a friend of a good nature indeed? for this is the main of all, then choose such as are one with Christ, and remember that place, in 2 Peter 1.4. We are partakers of the divine nature; he that is one Spirit with Christ, he is partaker of the divine nature, even the nature of God himself, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of meekness, and self-denial is in him; therefore let thy heart be enlarged towards him, and join thou side with him which is joined so nearly to the Lord: it was the old practice of those in Zach. 8.22. when God shall honour the Jews, and make them glorious in sanctification and holiness, and they shall go to market, and buy and do all things holily, then shall ten men take hold of the skirt of him that is a jew, and shall say, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you; would you not go with the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes, Oh then get you to the Saints of God, and get them to your houses, and lay hold upon gracious Christians, and say, I will live and converse with you, for the Spirit of Christ is with you. THE SOULS BENEFIT FROM UNION WITH CHRIST. By T. H. LONDON, Printed by john Haviland, for Andrew Crook, and are to be sold at the Black Bear in S. Paul's Churchyard. 1638. THE SOULS BENEFIT from Union with CHRIST. 1 CORIN. 1.30. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. HOw the soul of a sinner should be prepared for our Saviour, and how also it should be implanted into him, being called by the Spirit of God in vocation, we have heretofore fully and largely discussed and concluded that point: then we came to the second thing, which is the second part of this implanting or engrafting 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 works: 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 help and strength, which it may receive from the same: so it is with the believing soul, faith doth not only bring us unto Christ, but it makes us grow together with Christ: and this growing is discovered in two particulars; The first is a spiritual union of the soul with our Saviour, when the soul comes to be united to, and made one with the Lord of life; that we have also handled and concluded in the two last lectures. Again, the second part that accomplisheth and makes up this growing together with Christ, it is that heavenly communion that the soul doth get with our Saviour, when the stock of the merits of our Saviour, and the virtue of his grace is communicated to the soul; 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 kind of conveyance of the virtue of his merits, and power of his grace, unto the souls of those that believe in him, and are knit unto him by a true and a lively faith: we have done with the 〈◊〉 that the soul hath with Christ: we are now to speak of the heavenly and spiritual communion, the intercourse between the Lord and the soul, when the soul is married unto him; and this is that we aim at, this is that we look 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 only with the general nature of the communion of the soul with Christ: now for the discovery of this work, we 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 dowry and feoffment of all that spiritual grace that is conveyed and made sure to the believing soul, being made one with the Lord Jesus: that look as it is with a man that hath a fair estate to himself, it is only his own, but when the wife is wooed, and brought home, & married, he gives over the right of himself unto her, and if he make over his estate unto her, she hath title thereunto: this now is the dowry of a Christian, the Lord Jesus Christ is no bad match, you must not think you could have done better; it is a wonder, that ever our Saviour would take us to himself, or show favour to us, but the case is clear, if a believer be called, and brought home to Christ, Christ is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, 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: we 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 ourselves in the point we have to trade withal; First, take notice of the compass of that happiness and spiritual grace which God vouchsafeth unto his, and it is ranged into four heads: the text saith, Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; all that Christ hath or can communicate, all that the believing soul can desire or want, may be referred to these four: First, Wisdom, that is, the declaration of the way of God, and eternal happiness, in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, which all the policy of all cunning men, and all subtle pates in the world could never pry into, that wisdom which revealed the secret things, and the deep things of God; the Lord Jesus is made that wisdom to the believing soul. Secondly, Christ is made unto us righteousness, that is, whatsoever guilt lieth upon us, whatsoever sin hath been committed by us, what ever punishment we have deserved, Christ is made unto us righteousness, to acquit us of all. Thirdly, Christ is made unto us sanctification; the soul of a poor sinner is defiled with many corruptions, and polluted with many distempers, now Christ is made unto him sanctification, to purge and purify him from all those sins and distempers. Lastly, because while we wander up and down this vale of tears, and in this pilgrimage of ours, we shall be oppressed with many evils, that will lie upon us, and death itself, 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 tears from our eyes, nay, he will break 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 burned their bodies to ashes, and then threw them into the water, and then they said, Let us now see how they will rise again; alas, poor creatures, why, the Lord loves the very dust, the very ashes of his Saints in the grave, and the Lord will redeem our bodies from the grave, and our names from dishonour, and our lives from trouble, and our souls from sin, and will set us free from all miseries and inconveniences at the great day of account; these are the four things, wherein the dowry and feoffment of a believing soul consists: I will not now trade in the particulars, but only in the general, and show how that every believing soul, 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 tells us, Christ is made all this to us; and the truth is, it is made over to all believers, there is not one man exempted, not one man excluded, every believing creature hath a part and portion herein: however the holy Apostle crowds in for a share, and if we look into the 26, 27, 28. verses, we shall see to whom this belongs, Ye know your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the things that are mighty; why then to you fools, why then to you weak things, Christ is made wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; to you poor ones, to you weak ones Christ is made all this; nay, look into the 28. verse, God hath chosen the base things of the world, and the things that are despised; nay, and the things that are not, to bring to nought the things that are; that is to say, the offscouring of the world, the scrape, as I may so say: look as a man flings away the scrape of things as nothing worth, why so the parings of the world, you that are nothing in the esteem of the world, a company of poor base simplicians; Christ is made wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption to them; in a word than be it known to every believing creature, though he have not a strong faith, yet if he have but a true faith, to you Christ is made all that mercy and grace, that the word discovers, and the Lord hath purchased, and you need. Now add the last thing, the text saith, Christ is made all this; the meaning is, Christ is appointed, and set apart, and fitted by God the Father to this purpose, to be wisdom and righteousness, and to the poor, and the base, and despised, and to the things that are not, God hath set him apart to this purpose; as for the wise, and honourable, and mighty, they must shift for themselves, and trust to their own strength and sufficiency; but you that are poor and base, you that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is made unto you, all that the soul can want, or the heart desire; so that now than we have done with the meaning of the words, and the opening thereof, so fare as serveth our purpose, intending only to trade in the general, concerning the communion of the graft with the stock; we have showed you, how the soul is made one with the Lord Jesus, and how the soul is contracted to Christ; and now we shall come to show the feoffment that God hath promised, and we shall receive at his Majesty's hand. Doctrine. The doctrine is, that there is a conveyance of all spiritual grace, from Christ, to all those that believe in him, I doubt not, but every man would be content, if he had a fair estate, to see his evidences, and every woman that matcheth with a man, would see what she might hold herself to; what if the man dye? and what if his means decay, what will he estate her in? now see your dowry, and the point is this, that there is a conveyance of all spiritual grace from Christ to all faithful believers in the world; well then, you see the point; we will add a little by way of confirmation, and you shall see the consent of the Scriptures, how they agree together herein, and we will add somewhat also by way of explication, to unfold the nature thereof, that we may see what these invaluable treasures are: for the proof of the point, one or two places will be sufficient to cast the case; Ephes. 1.3. there Paul blesseth God in Jesus Christ, that hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; so that there are blessings of three sorts, all blessings, all spiritual blessings, all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, and all given freely, but it is in Christ, he is the conduit that conveyeth this, and wherein the streams of life and grace flow amain, to make glad the city of God, to make glad the Saints of God, and the souls of those that believe in him; hence (it is remarkable jude 2.) it is called, Common salvation by Christ; and so Christ is said to be a common Saviour consequently, not common to all the world, that every beast may browse upon him, and sin, and have a Saviour to save him, but he is common to all the faithful, common to all believers: that look as it is in a common or forest, every dweller, and every inhabitant upon the common hath a share therein, no man can challenge any part of the common peculiar to himself, and say, This part is mine, and no man shall put any cattles here but I, but the common is every man's that dwells thereupon, and the poorest man may put on his cattles without control, and drive his cattles whither he list, on to the best part thereof, and improve it to his best benefit, without contradiction: so Christ is a common Saviour, and the richest mercies, and the preciousest promises, and the greatest grace and salvation that is in Christ jesus, every poor believing soul, thou art a commoner, and a borderer, and it is a common salvation, there is a fountain set open for judah and jerusalem to wash in, thou mayst take any, and receive benefit from the greatest and preciousest promises that the word reveals, or thou standest in need of; 1 Pet. 1.3. he than saith, that God through his divine power hath given unto us all things belonging to life and godliness, through the acknowledgement of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, what ever it is a man would have or can need, belonging to life or godliness, he hath given unto us all things through the acknowledgement of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; if thou canst rest upon Christ in believing, than God will give unto thee all things through Christ, belonging to life and godliness; so than we have the proof of the point, by the joint consent of several Scriptures: now we will add a word or two by way of explication, that we may see the value of this dowry, that God hath promised, and will bestow upon those that love and fear his name: now for the explication of the point, we will do these two things; First, we will show you the tenure of this covenant, and how Christ conveyeth these spiritual graces unto us. Secondly, the reason why Christ is made so unto us, and why he will communicate thus unto us. We will first begin with the former, wherein lieth the marrow and pith of the point: we have said, that all blessings belonging to life and godliness, the common salvation of Christ, belongs to all believers, but how shall we perceive this? how is this conveyed to those that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? now the tenure of this conveyance discovers itself in several particulars, there are five or six of them in number: The first is this, there is fully enough in the Lord Jesus for every faithful soul, that whatever grace, or whatever mercy he shall stand in need of or want, there is no scarcity, there is no kind of scantness in the Lord Christ this way; in all other graces in this world, in all temporal things, when any estate is to be imparted, it is but in some particulars, either money must be paid such a day, or land must be possessed when such a party dies, but there was never any man could make such tenure, as if a man should make a feoffment to his wife, of long life, and peace, and grace, and salvation, it is in no man's power to do this; some men have a great deal of good things in this world, and many have little beside; and again, all men have not an all-sufficiency to supply and secure a man according to all his necessities; but here is the excellency of this dowry, that whatever it is the soul wants or stands in need of, the Lord hath it in himself, and will communicate it to the soul for his good; Colos. 2.3. this is that the Apostle implies, In whom, saith he, are all the treasures of wisdom and holiness; and mark the value and worth of the phrase; he doth not say, great sums of holiness, and wisdom, and mercy, and the like, but the treasures, and not some treasures, but all: the richest men in the world, that have the greatest estates and treasures, one man's estate lieth in lands, another man's lieth in goods, another man's lieth in money, but no man hath all treasures, but in Christ are all the treasures of all mercy, and all compassion, of all grace and salvation, whatever is needful for us, and may be beneficial to those that believe in him, and rest upon him by a true and a lively faith; and however the soul may think this treasure may be spent, and this fountain of mercy, and compassion drawn dry, and can my sins be pardoned? and my corruptions subdued? Christ doth prevent this also; we may spend what we will, there is still enough to spend upon; Ephes. 3.8. There are insearchable riches in Christ; as who should say, Thou knowest no end, thou findest no bottom of the vileness of thy heart, that doth pollute thee and defile thee, why there is no end of the riches of Christ, no bottom of the Ocean sea of God's mercy, that may comfort thee and relieve thee upon all occasions; john 3.34. the text saith, Christ received the Spirit above measure, as if Christ would prevent the cavils of a poor creature, and pluck up a discouraged heart; when the sinner thinks, my sins are out of measure sinful, and my heart is out of measure hard; why think and remember, that in Christ there is mercy out of measure merciful, and grace out of measure powerful, there thou shalt see bloody Manasses, idolatrous Manasses, abominable Manasses, in the Lord Jesus he hath received the pardon of all his sins, and yet there is pardon enough for thee too: there thou shalt see Paul a persecutor, and the bloody jailor; there is that power in the Lord jesus, that crushed the pride of the heart of Paul, and that broke the heart of the bloody jailor, that stood it out a long time, the earth shaken, and the prison shaken, and the doors flew open, he stood still all this while, at last the Lord made him shake and all, as well as the earth; why, and yet there is power enough for thee too; in Christ there is fullness without measure, take you may what you will, there is enough still for all; Ephes. 1 last verse, the text saith, that Christ is the head of all his church, and the church is his body, and what followeth? even The fullness of him that filleth all in all things, that is, he fills all his servants with all that grace, and mercy, and compassion they need, so that there is a fullness in the Lord Jesus, and there is enough to supply all the wants of a believing creature, and to relieve him in regard of all those necessities, that lie upon him; that is the first. Secondly, as there is enough in Christ to supply all the wants of his Saints, so in the second place Christ doth supply unto them whatever is fitting for them, there is enough for every Saint of God, and the Lord doth supply whatever is most fit for every man, whatever is most proportionable to the need of a poor soul, and to the place and condition wherein God hath set him; this is the limits of God's bounty, whatever may supply my need or fit my place, that God hath see me in and called me to, that God supplies and gives sufficient grace and mercy, answerable thereunto; I will open the point at large, because it is somewhat difficult; look as it is with a wise father that hath a fair estate, and hath enough for his children, and those that depend upon him, and is willing also to bestow abundantly upon them according to their occasions; this is the wisdom of a wise father, he will stock his child according to the calling wherein he is; so many hundreds will do no more than serve one man in that place whereunto he is called, whereas so many scores haply will serve another man; if one man hath less, he cannot trade; if another man hath more, he cannot use it, he hath more stock than he can employ; the merchant that ventures fare, hath great employments, many thousands will scarce furnish him: but a poor man, as a weaver, or a shoemaker, or the like, many thousands are more than he can use in his trade: again, the wise father considers, if the child be a spendthrift and in debt, there is more required to set up him, than him that is but now going into the world, or haply aforehand: so Christ as a wise father deals with his faithful servants, there are many of God's faithful servants, which are advanced, some to greater places in the Church, some in the commonwealth, some godly Magistrates, and religious Ministers; now there is a great deal of wisdom required for a Magistrate that stands in the face of the world, and in the mouth of the canon, to accomplish great things for the glory of God, and the good of his Church; so a Minister, a little grace which is sufficient to save a man's soul, is not enough for him to trade withal; some again are leaders and commanders, as masters of families; some again are able Christians, which are fit to be helpful unto others; again, some are cast behind hand in a Christian course, who, before God opened their eyes, and discovered their sins, and brought them home, they lived a riotous course, those old arrearages of pride and looseness many years together, a man is wonderful in debt in this manner; now to bring home such a sinner, and to pardon such a sinner, and to sanctify such a soul, there is a great deal of mercy required, and a great deal of grace required, there are many proud-hearted, and many stouthearted, as Beelzebub himself, that take up arms against God himself, and stand in defiance against the Lord of hosts: now answerable to their conditions and corruptions, answerable to their debts and base courses, when God will bring such a creature home unto himself, he hath answerably strange blows for him; as it is said of Nebuchadnezer, the Lord humbled him mightily; so when the Lord comes to meet with an old lose adulterer, and an old base drunkard, and a sturdy persecutor as Paul was, an ordinary stroke will not do the work, therefore as he had a great deal of mercy for Paul, so he had a great deal to do before he could humble Paul, he fling him off his horse, as he was posting to Damascus, and might have broken his neck: again, men sometimes are driven to great trials and straits, as when God calls men to great trials and sufferings; now God doth apply to every man, according to his estate and condition; he that God hath set as a commander in his Church, as a Minister to teach, and a Magistrate to rule, and a master of a family, God's fits graces unto them, according to their estates, the Lord takes measure of a man's estate as it were, and suits him proportionably with all graces necessary for his condition: again, they that are meaner and poorer, they shall have wisdom, and sanctification, and redemption, but answerable to their conditions; that is observable, Ephes. 4.16. Paul there calling our Saviour Christ the head of the Church, and his faithful servants the members of this head, he saith, By whom all the members being knit together, according to their effectual working in their measure they receive increase; as for example, in the body so much life and spirit, as belongs to the finger is in the finger, but there is more in the arm than in the finger, and more in the bulk of the body than in the arm, that which suits with such a part, it hath it, and that which suits with such a part, nature bestows it, there is not so much in the finger, as in the hand, nor so much in the hand, as in the arm, nor so much in the arm, as in the body, because it is not suitable and proportionable; nature will not do it, God will not suffer it: so some Christians are arms in the body of the Church, some fingers, some legs; some are strong Christians, that bear up a great weight in profession, stout, and strong, and resolute, and the like: now the Lord communicates all grace and mercy suitable for every man's place and condition; thou that art a finger, shalt have so much grace as befits a finger; and thou that art an hand, thou shalt have so much grace as shall save thee, and is fit for thy place; but another is an arm, and he shall have more, but all shall have that which is fitting; therefore the text saith, Christ is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; that look as a man that makes a garment, he takes measure of the man for whom he makes it, and fits every part according to the part of the body, the arm of the doublet is suitable to the arm of the body, and so Christ is made righteousness and sanctification to all poor believing creatures; thou art an arm in the body of Christ, he is made so much wisdom and sanctification to thee, as will serve thy turn; thou hast had a great many sins, and hast been a rioter and a roister before God opened thine eyes, and brought thee home to himself: why, there is great mercy in Christ suitable to thy sins, there is mercy in Christ to justify thee, if thou hast never so few sins, and there is mercy enough in Christ to justify the greatest sinner, if he can but believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; and this is the second passage in this article of agreement, in the tenure of the conveyance of grace from Christ to the soul: the Lord hath enough for all, and he doth communicate what is fit and proportionable to every man's estate and condition. The third thing is this, as the Lord doth communicate what is fit, so he doth preserve what he doth bestow and communicate, and give to the believing soul; he doth not give grace to the believing soul, and there leave him, and let him manage his estate, but when he hath wrought grace in the soul, he preserves it, and nourisheth his own work; Psal. 16.5. there the Prophet David saith, The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and he maintaineth my lot; he doth not only give him his lot, but he maintains his lot: it is a comparison taken from the children of Israel, when they came into the land of Canaan, it was divided to every tribe by lot; now God did not only bring them into the land, and give them their lot, but he maintained that lot, he defended them, and relieved them from the fury and rage of their adversaries, that went about to take away that which God had bestowed upon them; now the Psalmist saith, The Lord is my portion, and he maintaineth my lot; every believing soul hath a lot and portion in Christ, so much grace, and holiness, and so much assurance; now the Lord doth not only give this, but when you are weak and feeble, the Lord keeps your grace, and preserves your grace which he hath bestowed upon you; therefore Christ is said to be the preserver of his Church, jude 1. To you that are called, and sanctified, preserved by jesus Christ; Christ is not only the giver of grace, but he is the preserver of his Church, and that is the meaning of that phrase, when our Saviour had implanted grace in the heart of Peter, he did not only plant it by his Spirit, but he watered it by his prayers, that it might not whither away, I have prayed, that thy faith fail not, he did not only give him faith, that was not enough, but he watered his faith by his prayers, that it might not whither, and dye, and decay; 1 Pet. 1.4. hence it is said, that he preserves us by the power of God through faith unto salvation; and faith keeps the soul, and Christ keeps faith, faith is the hand that lays hold upon Christ, and Christ lays hold upon faith, and we have a kingdom preserved for us, and he preserveth us for it, and this is the pith of that phrase, Psal. 1. the text saith, The righteous man is like the tree planted by the river's side, that brings forth fruit in due season, whose leaf shall not fade; he doth not say, his sap shall not whither, but his leaf shall not whither, not only that gracious disposition of heart which is wrought shall never decay in the Saints of God, but a zealous profession shall never decay in conclusion; how ever a tree be nipped with the cold and frost, yet in conclusion it will bud forth again: so the sap of grace that Christ works in us, and conveyeth to us, being planted by the fountain of the Lord Jesus in the midst of persecution and fiery trial, they shall grow humble, and meek, and holy in despite of what can befall them, for a Christian is not conquered when he loseth his life, but when he loseth his grace; as take a man that is led into captivity, into Turkey, into Algeir, or the like, the aim of him that takes him, is not to take away his life, but to make him deny his colours and commander, and if he can make him do this, than he conquers him, but if he die under the hand of the tyrant, if he be more able to stand for his commander and country, than he is to drive him from it, if he can bear misery better than he can inflict it, than he is not conquered, but conquers; so it is here, a Saint of God is never mastered, before his patience be mastered, and his holiness crushed; but when a man is more able to bear misery, than the enemy to lay misery upon him, if his patience hold, and his courage hold, and his uprightness hold, he is not conquered in this case, but he is a conqueror: therefore the place is excellent, Esay 58.8. see how the Lord preserves his people, he is said to be the whole army of his servants, (however there be many storms, yet the rivers of water make glad the people of God) the text saith, Thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward; (when a man doth walk uprightly and sincerely, we must presume, that a man is in a combat, for why doth he speak of the rearward else) there are two parts in a battle; first, the vanguard, which is the former part of the battle; Secondly, the rear- ward, which is the hinder part of the battle; now Christ is both these, you shall have enemies before you in the vanguard, and you shall have enemies behind you to smite you in the rear-ward, now righteousness shall go before thee, that is the vanguard; and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rear-ward, that is, God is all about his servants, the vanguard before them to secure them, and the rear-ward behind them to relieve them; so that he doth not only give grace, but he maintains and preserves that grace he gives to the souls of his servants. The fourth part of the tenure and conveyance of grace to the faithful soul is this (and I speak but only in the general) the Lord doth not only preserve what grace he gives, but he quickens that grace he maintains, he draws forth that ability he bestows, he puts life unto that strength and succour which he vouchsafeth to work in the hearts of his children; hence all those places are marvellous pregnant, God giveth the will and the deed, so that it is not only the having, but the doing, that we have need of from God; and Paul professeth, that he hath not only grace from Christ, but he lives not, but Christ liveth in him, if Christ did all in him, and this is that we shall observe, Luke 1.74. That he would grant us, saith the text, that being redeemed from the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear; take notice of two things here, First, that the Saints of God are redeemed and justified by Christ, and now one would think a man that is justified, and hath Christ, ●ght trade for himself, no, but that he would grant us, that being redeemed from the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear, it is one grant to be redeemed, and it is a new grant to serve him without fear; as it is a mercy for God to bestow ability before we have it, so it is a mercy to quicken that ability which he vouchsafes, that we may honour him by it, and he may honour himself by us; therefore it is a most pregnant place, Colos. 1. last verse, when Paul was there labouring what he could, yet as though he had nothing, as though he did nothing, he gives all to God; for mark the manner of the sense of the words, Whereunto, saith he, I also labour and strive; (the word in the original signifies, I sweat at it, and take great pains) according to his working, which worketh in me mightily; Paul laboured and strove; but how comes this about? his striving is by the working of Christ, and by his working he works; as who should say, It is grace I have any grace, it is he assisting, it is he co-operating, it is he accompanying, (I know not what to say) it is his work works, and he works mightily in them that work and strive to advance the glory of God: so than we have those four particulars, that in reason almost might satisfy any man; what you want, Christ hath; what is fit, Christ will bestow; if you cannot keep it, he will preserve it for you; if you be sluggish, he will quicken it in you; what would you have more? one would think this were enough, but that nothing might be wanting, take a passage or two more. Fiftly, therefore as he quickens what he maintains, so he perfects what he quickens, he doth not only enable us to do what we should, but he makes us make work of it, and he brings to perfection what he bestows, Heb. 12.23. there the text speaks of the spirits of just and perfect men, he gins the work, and never leaves, till he makes the work perfect; it is Christ that puts a man's weapons into his hands, it is Christ that teacheth him to fight with those weapons, and it is Christ that gives him the victory in that fight; 1 Corin. 15.55. 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 blessed be God, that hath given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ; the weapons are Christ's, and the fight is Christ's, and the victory is Christ's; he will not only bring you into the field, and put weapons into your hands, but give you the victory and all: you Saints of God that sink under the fierceness of temptations without, and corruptions within, he will give you grace, he will give you weapons, and you shall triumph over all your enemies; therefore Ephes. 4.13. it is said, He will bring his body to a perfect stature; all the Saints of God are compared to members, now look as it is in the body, every member doth increase, according to its measure, till it come to its full bigness; so it is in the body of Christ, all the members thereof shall increase, till they come to be perfect: hath God given thee a heart to look towards Zion? and hast thou any intimation of his love? then though the word and means may fail, he will provide help and means, he will never leave thee, till thou art a perfect man and woman, till thou hast attained to be a perfect member in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ: there is no withered bow in this stock of the Lord Jesus Christ, but as he gives grace, so he will bring it to perfection in its measure, God will never leave thee till he hath brought thee to that perfection he hath appointed: now a man would think here were enough, but yet a little further, and then I am as fare as I can go, my thoughts can reach no higher. Sixtly, then when the Lord hath perfected that grace he hath bestowed upon us, then when a man comes to the end of his days, he crowns all the grace he hath perfected; it were enough, and a child's portion to give us grace, and vouchsafe us mercy, but when we come in heaven, when he hath given us weapons, and taught us to fight, and made us conquerors, than he will crown us, and is not this enough? but so it is, 2 Tim. 4.6. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, from henceforth is laid up for me a crown of glory, and not for me only, but for all those that love the appearing of his coming; he makes us work, and he rewards us for what he hath wrought in us; he inables us to do the service, and he pays us our wages: in the second commandment, the text saith, I will show mercy to thousands of generations, in them that love me; one would think now, that they which loved God deserved mercy, no, I will show mercy, what you do, it is all from God's mercy, if you love God, it is mercy, and if God crown that mercy, it is love also; so Paul saith, The Lord show mercy to Onesiphorus, for he relieved me; one would think that this would have merited everlasting life; no, the Lord show mercy, he hath refreshed me in my trouble, and done service of love to me, and glory to God, now the Lord show mercy to him; so that the Lord gives us grace, and he crowns that grace he gives, he makes us work, and he rewards the work, he gives us the victory, and he makes us triumph, and be more than conquerors; thus than we have the tenure of this conveyance: and now I may read your feoffment to you, you poor Saints of God, you live beggarly and basely here, yet this is the best match that ever you made in the world, you are made for ever, if you have a Saviour, it is that which will maintain you, not only Christianly, but triumphantly; you shall have enough here, & too much hereafter, if too much can be conceived or received; what you want Christ hath, you need not go a begging to other men's doors; Secondly, you need not think he is churlish and unkind, but whatsoever you need, and is fit for you, he will give you, but you must not be malapert and saucy with the Lord Jesus, and say, Why have not I this as well as others? no, you shall have what is fitting; Thirdly, he will maintain what he gives; and fourthly, he will quicken what he maintains; and fifthly, he will perfect what he quickens; and lastly, he will crown that he perfects, he will give you an immortal crown of glory. We have read now the feoffment of a faithful soul, and you see what you shall have from the hand of the Lord Jesus, we should now come to the reasons of the point, but that time will prevent us, and we have had the pith of the point already, in opening the tenure of the conveyance of grace to the believing soul, we will therefore pass on to the use of the point. Use. 1 Is it thus then? to us, saith the text, to us; who are those? I pray, inquire of it; look into the 26. verse, You know your calling, that is, those that are called, those that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; to us, those are the people mentioned, those are the persons intended; therefore in the first place it is a matter of lamentation and complaint, which we shall in a word intimate, to those to whom it belongs, if all this good be appointed for all the servants of God, and only the servants of God, for the called, and none but the called, than it is a thunderbolt, able to break the heart, and sink the soul of every unbelieving creature under heaven, and make him shake at the misery of his condition, and the evil that shall betide him: you that are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity, that have stood it out with Christ, and he could never prevail with you, but you would take up your own courses, and he hath come, and called, and knocked, will that proud heart never come? will that drunken wretch never be reform? you that are such, whatever you be, I say, know this, and know it to your sorrow, and trouble, and vexation of spirit, you are shut out from sharing in, you are cut off from partaking of the riches of the grace, and the plentiful redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ to this day, you that are unbelievers, I say, to this day you are in darkness, your minds were never enlightened, to this day the guilt and curse of sin lies upon your consciences, and the pollution of sin lies upon your souls and defiles them, to this day condemnation hangeth over your heads, john 3.18. He that believes not, is condemned already, and he shall never see light, but the wrath of God abideth on him; I beseech you observe it, this is that which one would think, should cut a man's conscience, and be a corasive to his soul, whatsoever he doth, wheresoever he is, we think this should crush all his delight, he that believes not, shall never see light; he may see his gold and the profits of the world, and he may see his friends, and the comforts of this life, and then he hath his portion; all you drunken unbelieving wretches, all you stubborn, profane, malicious creatures, you have your portion, much good do you with your sops, you have your part, but there is no meddling for you with the consolation and redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ: the text saith, He is made to us; you poor Saints of God, do not suffer them to scramble, and take the meat off the table, he was made to us, take you your portion, and God refresh your hearts therewith, but you that are unbelievers, have no part nor portion at all in this rich revenues and precious dowry that God vouchsafeth to his Saints; I know what they will be ready to say, but they cozen themselves; we are haply naught, and our courses are vile, but yet I hope there is mercy, and sanctification, and redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ: ay, it is true, there is enough, there is rich mercy, that is more, and there is plentiful redemption, I tell you that too; but this is thy misery, thou poor creature, thou hast no part nor share therein, when a man that is hungry shall see all dainties prepared, when a man that is almost starved, shall see abundance of provision, wardrobes of clothes to cover him, and abundance of meat to refresh him, and yet one starves, and the other famisheth; this is the greatest misery of all, to see meat and not to eat it, to see clothes and not to put them on; now the Lord open your eyes, and prevail with your hearts, there are many unbelievers, there are a world of unbelievers, but now take notice of it, this will be thy misery, because thou shalt see whole treasures of mercy counted out before, mercy for Manasses, and mercy for Paul, and mercy for the bloody jailor, and mercy for such a rebellious sinner, that humbled himself before God, and no mercy for thee, there is plentiful, rich, abundant redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ, but thou shalt never partake thereof; when thou shalt see Abraham, and Isaak, and jakob, and a company of poor creatures go into heaven at the day of the resurrection, when thou shalt see a company of poor creatures go up to Christ, and receive mercy, and great redemption, and thou shalt go without, this will be gall and wormwood to thy soul, and strike thy soul into everlasting despair, therefore the Lord open thine eyes, that thou mayst come in, and receive mercy at his Majesty's hand: now you have your share, now stand by, and let us set the bread before the children, that they may take their part also, and be cheated and comforted: than you that are believers in the Lord, you that are called attend to your share, and sit down and eat, and be refreshed, O my wellbeloved receive what comes, and be happy in receiving it. Use. 2 The second use therefore is a ground of comfort, and that is the proper inference and collection from the former doctrine; is it so, that the Lord Jesus Christ conveyeth all grace to all believers, to all his poor servants from day to day? then you that have a share therein, and have interest to all the riches of God's goodness, let this be a cordial to cheer your drooping hearts, and stay your souls, notwithstanding temptations, notwithstanding persecution, notwithstanding opposition, notwithstanding any thing that may befall you for the present, or any thing you may fear for the future time, cheer up your drooping spirits in the consideration hereof, and be for ever comforted, for ever contented, for ever refreshed; you have a fair portion, what would you have? what can you desire? what would quiet you? what will content you? would the wisdom of a Christ satisfy you? would the sanctification of a Christ please you? would the redemption of a Christ cheer you? you complain your hearts are hard, and your sins great, and yourselves miserable, and many are the troubles that lie upon you: will the redemption of a Christ now satisfy you? if this will do it, it is all yours; his wisdom is yours, his righteousness is yours, his sanctification is yours, his redemption is yours, all that he hath is yours, and I think this is sufficient, if you know when you are well: therefore go away cheered, go away comforted, Christ is yours, therefore be fully contented. I would not have the Children of God drooping and dismayed, because haply of the policy of the world, their parts are great, and they reach deep, and in the mean time your parts are small, and your ignorance great, and your memories feeble: 1 Pet. 11. Be not thou troubled, be not thou discontented, because of that which they have thou wantest: for know, thy portion is better than theirs; the wisdom of Christ, is better than all the policy of the world; the sanctification of a Christ, is better than all the reformation, and all the tricks of all cunning Hypocrites under Heaven; the redemption of a Christ, is better than all the hope and safety the world can afford: this is thy part and portion, therefore be thou satisfied therewith: the wisdom, saith james, that is malicious and envious, and the like, it is earthly, carnal, sensual, and devilish; but the wisdom that is from above, it is first pure, then meek, then abundant in good works: one drop of this wisdom of a Christ, is better than all the wisdom in the world: art thou a poor creature, and knowest Christ to be thy Saviour, and hast an intimation of the love of God to be thy Father, and the Spirit thy Comforter? thy knowledge is more worth, than all the knowledge of all the great Cardinals, and mighty Popes, and learned Clerks, upon the face of the earth; a dram of gold is better than a cartload of earth, it is little, but it is precious; so it is here, a dram of spiritual wisdom, it is golden wisdom, it is heavenly wisdom, it is able to make thee wise unto salvation; a dram of that wisdom, though it be little, is worth a thousand cartload of that dunghill, carnal wisdom, that all the machivilian Politicians in the world can have or improve; therefore quiet thyself, and content thy soul, that it is sufficient, that what thou wantest, Christ will supply unto thee, dost thou want wisdom? Christ will be thy wisdom; dost thou want memory? Christ will be thy remembrance; hast thou a dead heart? Christ will enlarge thee; whatever is wanting on thy part, there is nothing wanting on Christ's part, but he will do whatsoever is fitting for thee; therefore let nothing hinder thee from that comfort that may bear up thy heart in the greatest trial: but I know what troubles you; the poor soul will say, Is Christ wisdom to me? that is a like matter, did I but think that, were my judgement convinced, and my heart persuaded of that, I were satisfied; What I? what such a base creature as I am? let not that baseness that hangs upon thee, nor the means of thy condition that troubles thee, discourage thy heart, for that cannot withdraw God's favour from thee, nor abridge thee of that favour and mercy, that is tendered unto thee in the Lord Jesus Christ, all the baseness of the place wherein thou art, and the means of thy condition cannot hinder thee of this favour; look upon the text, to whom is this promise made? to whom doth the Apostle speak? He is made to us; to us base ones, to us foolish ones; thou art ignorant and foolish, be it so; thou art base and weak, grant that; despised in the world and made nothing of, confess that, and all: nay, thou art not in thine own account, nor in the account of the world, there is no regard had of thee, no value put upon thee in this nature; why? mark what the text saith, God hath chosen the foolish things, the weak things, the base things, the despised things, nay, the things that are not; to whom is Christ made wisdom? to you fools; to whom is Christ made strength? to you weak ones; to whom is Christ made honour? to you base; to whom is Christ made sanctification and redemption? to you that are not in the world: thou hast nothing, thou canst do nothing, it skils not, God the Father hath appointed it unto thee, and Christ hath brought it; therefore be cheered herein, though thou be'st a fool, Christ is able to inform thee; though thou be'st base, and weak, and miserable, Christ is able to secure and relieve thee, and sanctify that soul of thine, therefore be fully contented, and fully settled with strong consolation for ever: but you will confess, it is not my baseness that hinders me, but my corruptions that oppose the work of grace in my soul, and that will be my bane, I know that God is able to do what is needful, and Christ is willing to do what he is able, to those that believe in him, and rest upon him, but this proud heart opposeth the work of his grace, and the operation of his Spirit, my mind is so blind, that nothing in the world takes place, my heart is still polluted, and my distempers still hang upon me, nay, sometimes my soul is weary of the good word of the Lord, that would pluck them from me, insomuch that I could almost be content to pluck out my heart, and will the Lord show mercy to me, that oppose mercy? and will the Lord make me partaker of his redemption, that resists the work of his redemption? I answer, God hath appointed Christ for this purpose, and Christ hath undertook this work; therefore if God hath appointed it, and Christ will work it, who can hinder it? thy ignorance cannot hinder the Lord Jesus Christ; if he will teach thee, he will enlighten thy blind mind, and convince that stubborn heart of thine; nay, all the corruptions under heaven cannot oppose this work of God; he hath appointed it, and he hath power to pull down a stout stomach, and be hath power to sanctify a polluted heart; corruptions are many and temptations fierce but if he will redeem, who can destroy? if he sanctify, who can pollute? if he justify, who can condemn? this is the work of a Saviour, if Christ will do it, none can hinder it; if God hath appointed it, nothing can let it; but it is the work of a Christ, and God hath appointed it, therefore cheer 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 go out of yourselves, and see the privileges that God vouchsafes unto you, and reason thus with yourselves; It is true, Lord, my heart is naught, and I have no power, my mind is blind, and I have no wisdom, but I know that Christ is made wisdom to me, and thou hast appointed the Lord Jesus Christ to be made wisdom and sanctification to the soul of thy servant: though sin pollute me, yet Christ can sanctify me; though the guilt be great, yet the pardon of a Christ is greater than the guilt, and where sin abounds, grace abounds much more: therefore lift up yourselves, and cheer up your hearts, and go away comfortably, what is wanting God will give, what he gives he will maintain, what he maintains he will quicken, what he quickens he will perfect, and he will crown you, and your grace, and all in the kingdom of heaven for ever; what would you have in this kind? nay, let me speak one thing more, He is the redeemer of his servants, what is that? why, the Scripture saith, the last enemy of all is death, and that is the aim of all the wicked, that is the worst they can do; 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 prevail against it; the gates of hell, what's that? it was the fashion among the Jews, as our sessions and assizes 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 prevail against it; his meaning is this, when Beelzebub, and all the Devils in hell shall join together to destroy the Church, all the policy of all the Devils in hell shall not prevail, the worst they can do, is to bring them unto death, but Christ will be redemption unto them; art thou in captivity? he will free thee; art thou in persecution? he will deliver thee● nay, when thy body shall lie down in the grave (though the Heathen said, when they had burnt the bodies of God's Saints, and thrown them into the water, Let us now see how they will rise again; 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 soul shall come together, and enjoy happiness in heaven together for evermore: if then neither the guilt of sin can condemn us, nor the filth of sin pollute us, if neither misery nor persecution can hurt us, then go away, not only comfortably, but triumphantly into persecution and prison, into holes and caves, and dens of the earth; Christ will be all in all unto you in grace here, and in glory hereafter, therefore let this comfort you. Use. 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 believer? he 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 lie down in the dust; let no man glory in man, but let him that glories glory in the Lord, this is the main collection the Apostle infers, God hath chosen the foolish and base things of the world, that no man might glory in flesh; as who should say, it is not my parts, but Christ; it is not my abilities, but mercy; it is not what I can do, but what Christ will perform: therefore if Christ then be Author of all we have or can do, let him receive all the honour and praise of all we have or do; doth the Lord work all our works in us and for us? then let him receive the tribute due to his Name, and take nothing to yourselves: away with that proud heart that bars God of his honour and praise, and of the due which indeed belongs unto him, and aught to be performed by all his servants: dost thou think the Lord will bestow all his favour upon thee, and work all for thee, and thou in the mean time prank up thyself, and lift up thy crest? no, I charge you, you Saints of God, as to know your own privileges to be thankful for them, so to know your own unworthiness, and to lie down in the dust, and be abased for ever, and to give God the honour due unto his Name: Revel. 4.8. The four and twenty Elders fell down, and laid down their crowns at the Lamb's feet, and said, Thou only art worthy to receive all honour, and glory, and praise; If we had a thousand crowns, 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, we have received thy comfort thou hast continued, and thou art worthy of all the honour, in that thou hast been pleased to work any work in us, and by us, to the praise of thy Name. The Apostle was marvellous tender to meddle with any thing belonging to the Lord; as joseph said to his mistress in another case, when she tempted him to folly; My master hath given me all he hath in his house, save thee his wife; how then shall I commit this wickedness? This was that which wrought upon the heart of joseph, and prevailed with the spirit of joseph, being his master was marvellous kind, all that he had in his house was his, save only his wife, and that was requisite and reasonable● so it is with the soul of a Christian, all is yours; you shall have wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, but let God have the glory of it, that only he reserves for himself: My glory I will not give to another; my grace and mercy I will give to another, but my glory I will not give to another; why, give it him then, and say, Not unto us Lord, not unto us, but to thy Name be the praise: When your hearts begin to think of some credit, and aim at some base ends, (as it was with Herod when the people cried out, The voice of God, and not of man, he took it to himself, whereas he should have rebounded it to God) hath God vouchsafed mercifully, and graciously to humble your souls, and make you seek him? hath he given you any ability of prayer and conference? remember when your souls begin to take any honour and credit to themselves, away with it, do not take it; Not to us Lord, not to us, but to thy Name be the glory: thou workest all, thou preservest all, thou art the Author of all, therefore thou shalt have the praise of all; beat it back again, and rebound it to the Lord, from whence all help and assistance came; therefore Saint Paul was marvellous shy and tender in this kind, Hath the Lord given me all but his glory? nay, I have Christ, and grace, and heaven, and happiness, all but his glory; will nothing but that content me? what haughty high minded Devils are we? will nothing serve us but the crown on Gods own head? if you can seek God, and have ability to perform duty, you must justle God out of his throne, and set his crown upon your head; what monstrous pride is this? deal wisely therefore as joseph did, and as Saint Paul did, Gal. 6.14. Now God forbidden, what's that? that I should glory in any thing, save in the cross of Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I to the world; let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the strong man glory in his strength, let not the Minister glory in his preaching, nor the people in their hearing, God forbidden we should glory in any thing but in Christ; as who should say, the Lord keep us from it, and preserve us from it, Christ only reserves the Crown to himself, he will do any thing for us, work any thing in us, and by us, and this is all the glory a Christian hath, that Christ will use him, and do any service by him; all the glory of the Lantern, is the candle: so let us glory in nothing but Christ, and walk so humbly, that a man may see nothing but Christ; let your actions manifest it, and let your speeches declare it, and hold out Christ and mercy; grace hath done this, and mercy hath done this; that men may see not us, but Christ in us, and glorify him for that which is done by us: It was a marvellous sweet disposition of spirit, which the holy man David had, when the Lord had enlarged him, and the people to give liberally toward the Temple, 1 Chron. 29.14. it is a fine passage, he lifts up God, and lieth down himself; as when a man lifts another over a wall, he that is lifted up is seen, but he that lifts him doth not appear: So David lies down upon his honours, and kingdoms, and parts, and abilities, he appeared not, but the Lord appeared: mark what the Text saith, Thine is honour, and power, and praise for ever: when the Lord enlarged his heart, and the hearts of his people, to come freely, and give liberally, he gives God the praise; But who am I, Lord, and what is this people, that thou shouldst give us hearts to offer so freely? as who should say, thou art a blessed God, and I a poor worm; thou art a glorious God, and we are base creatures; all is thine, and all is from thee; as who should say, the gift is thine, and the action thine, the ability thine, and the work thine, and what are we that thou shouldst work by us, and honour thyself in us, and give us hearts to do thee service? The heart is thine, and the work is thine, and all is thine; when therefore thy heart finds any succour from God, any assistance in the performance of duty, if it gins to lift up itself and say, aye this is somewhat, then check thy soul with that of the Apostle, what hast thou, which thou hast not received? what, brag of a borrowed suit? who did this? let him that did it receive all the praise: dost thou do any thing? Christ inables thee; dost thou increase in any holy service? Christ enlargeth thee: thou hast all from free mercy, thou hast nothing, but that thou hast received: therefore I conclude with that of the Prophet Zacharie 4 8, 9 speaking there of the building of the Temple, the Text saith, the same hand of Zorobabel that laid the first stone, shall lay the last stone: he laid the first stone and began it, and he laid the last stone and perfected it, and all the people cried grace; not Zorobabel, but grace: so it ought to be with us, as it was in the material Temple; so in the Spiritual Temple, as in the outward: so in the inward building of the soul, from the beginning of humiliation, to the end of salvation; from the beginning of conversion, to the end of glorification; from the lowest stone of the one, to the top stone of the other: the same hand that layeth the first stone, layeth the last stone, it is all from Christ; therefore when Christ gives what is wanting, and maintains what he gives, and quickens what he maintains, and perfects what he quickens, let all say, Not I, not man, not means, but Christ hath done all this; he that is the Author of all, let him have the praise of all: in Christ, from Christ, through Christ, and by Christ, is the phrase of the Apostle: Romans 11.30. To him be praise for evermore: in Christ, he is the fountain; from Christ, he is the Author; through Christ, he is the means, and by Christ, he is the assister; it is all from Christ: therefore let us give all to him, that we may be no more in ourselves, but that he may be all in all in us, and do all by us, that he may do all in all unto us, when we shall be no more. 1 COR. 1.30. Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. Doctrine. THere is a conveyance of all spiritual graces from God unto all believers: for the explication of the point, we discovered the tenure of this conveyance, and that appeared in six particulars. The first is this, there is a fullness of all grace in Christ, whereby he is able to supply whatsoever is needful to all those that belong unto him; it is not with Christ as it was with Isaac; when he had blessed jacob, Esau came and said, hast thou but one blessing my father, bless me, even me also my father: no, there is enough in Christ for all believers: that mercy which pardoned Manasses, stubborn Manasses, idolatrous Manasses, that mercy is still with Christ; that mercy that broke the heart of the bloody Jailor, that stood it out to the last; the earth shaken, and the bolts broke in sunder, and the prison doors flew open, and yet the heart of the bloody Jailor stood still, was not moved one jot; at last the Lord made him tremble too, and his heart shaken as well as the earth shaken; why the same mercy is still in Christ to pardon thy sins, as well as Manasses sins, the same Spirit can humble thy soul, as well as it did break the heart of the cruel Jailor. Secondly, as there is a fullness of all grace and mercy in Christ to fulfil all the wants of his poor Saints, so Christ doth supply unto them whatsoever he seethe may be most fit and convenient for them, whatsoever is most proportionable for a poor soul, and for the place which God hath called him, for the condition in which he hath set him to carry him through the discharge thereof, shall be bestowed upon him: look as it is in the body of a man, every member hath so much spirits and blood in it, as is fit and necessary for it, but the finger hath not so much as the arm, nor the arm so much as the leg; just so it is here in the body of Christ; some Christians are legs, some are hands, some again are but fingers, in the Body of Christ: the Ministers of God, and the Magistrates they have need of a great deal of grace, abundance of mercy, abundance of sufficiency to help them in the discharge of their great and weighty duty, but every one shall have what is fit for him. Thirdly, as Christ hath grace enough for all, bestows enough upon all, so he maintains the grace which he doth bestow, he doth not only give what we want, but maintains what he gives. Fourthly, he quickeneth what he maintains. Fifthly, he perfects what he quickeneth. Lastly, he crownes the grace that he hath perfected, he doth the work in us, and then rewards us for the work. Use 1 The first use is an use of mourning and lamentation, it may pierce the hearts and sink the souls of all unbelieving creatures under Heaven; Christ is wisdom, but not to thee; Christ is justification, but not to thee; Christ is sanctification and redemption also, but not to thee; thy horror of heart, and thy guilt of sin and pollution of conscience, remain still upon thy soul to this very day; therefore no comfort to thee. Use 2 Secondly, it is a ground of comfort and consolation to all the Saints of God, though you are weak and feeble, and have no wisdom to direct you, no memory, no parts, no sufficiency, why Christ is made wisdom to you fools, Christ is made righteousness to you unrighteous: you know your calling; not many wise, not many noble, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise thereof. Use 3 The third use is a ground of humiliation of Spirit: Let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord; I laboured, saith Saint Paul, not I, it was through the might of jesus Christ that strengthened me, through the grace of Christ that enabled me to it. Use 4 The last use is an use of exhortation or direction, namely we hence see whither the Saints of God should go to fetch succour and supply of what ever grace they want, and perfection and increase of what they have already, Christ is made all in all to his servants; why then away to the Lord Jesus, if you will have any thing; he calls and invites, Revelation 3. I counsel thee to buy of me eye salve, if thou be an accursed man, buy of Christ justification; if thou be a polluted creature, buy of Christ sanctification: I counsel thee to buy of me eye salve: there it is only to be had in that shop, therefore go thither for it. It was the resolution of the Prophet David, Psalm 31. With thee is the wellspring of life, and in thy light shall we only see light: it is not here to be had in your hearts, nor in your heads, nor in your performances, nor in the means themselves, but with thee is the Well of life: yea, 'tis there, 'tis not here in ourselves, 'tis only in a Christ to be found, only from a Christ to be fetched and received; improve all means, we should do so; use all helps, we ought to do so; but seek to a Christ in the use of all, with him is the Well of life; but you will say, if Christ be made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, why have not the Saints of God that grace they stand in need of, and those inlargements, in prayer, and holy services, which they crave and desire? they seek and have not, they pray and obtain not; why the truth is, we do not go to Christ for it, we seek for the living among the dead, we never came where it grew, where it was made, your hand is in a wrong box, you are come to a wrong place, grace was never made here. If a man should come out of France, to buy silks or velvets here in England, every man would tell him you are come to a wrong place for these commodities, they are not made here; if you would have broad cloth, and says, here you may have; but as for silks and velvets, they are not made here: so you would have grace out of the means of grace, why grace never grew there. The Sacrament saith, grace is not in me; Prayer saith, grace is not in me; hearing saith, grace is not in me: we indeed convey grace, but it is not originally in us; Christ is the fountain of grace, Christ is made unto us righteousness, Christ is made unto us sanctification and redemption, these tell you we have heard of the notice of grace, we have heard such a rumour, such a report, that there is wisdom, and there is grace, and there is mercy, and sanctification, and redemption; but the truth of it is, it is not in us, it is in Christ only to be had, he is indeed made unto you righteousness, and sanctification; go then to him for it, and there you may receive it, this is the reason why that after the use of all means, after the improvement of all helps and opportunities, our minds are still blind, our hearts still stupid, and the means prevail not with us, work not upon us for our good; we come to the Word, and return as bad as ever, proud before, and proud still; covetous before, and we are as covetous still, polluted and dead hearted before, we remain so still, and continue so still: why alas, grace originally was never made here, away to Christ, he is the shop from whence all grace is to be had, wisdom, and righteousness, and all is in him, there you must have it: but you will say, will Christ be made wisdom to me that am so ignorant, to me that am so base? will Christ be made sanctification to me that am so vile and so filthy? to me that am so defiled and polluted? why, let this encourage you, he is wisdom to such as are polluted, he hath chosen the base things of the world, and the things that are not; he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance; he came not to call the wise, but the foolish to enlighten them; all that thou hast to do, is to take it, wisdom 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 own, it was made and sit of purpose for thee: Look as it is with a father, he sends his child to the tailor's shop, tells him the cloth is bought, the money paid, the suit made for him, only bids him go fetch it, and put it on: this is our folly, and it is our misery also, we either think to purchase or to coin grace out of our own abilities; I tell you no, you must go to the shop, it is bought and made already, only put on wisdom, 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 be so, why is it thus? As she spoke in another case, If the Lord be made wisdom to the souls of his servants, if the Lord jesus be made sanctification to the soul of a poor sinner; why are we then such fools notwithstanding all the wisdom of Christ: why are we such polluted wretches after all the means of sanctification vouchsafed to us: If Christ be so rich, than what is the reason we go so tattered, and are such beggarly bancrouts in our Christian course; such beggarly prayers, such beggarly duties, such beggarly performances. I answer, it is not because Christ will not vouchsafe abundance of grace to us, he offers it freely: Oh, every man that will, let him come and take freely of the water of the Well of life; not a spoonful, but a whole bucket full, and that freely too, nay God hath bound himself by an immutable oath, Heb. 6. that we might have strong consolation; nay the Lord commands, in joins his servants, to abound yet more in wisdom, yet more and more in patience, yet more and more in holiness. Secondly, again I say, the fault is not in Christ, where is the fault then? I answer, it is in thine own self-willed pride, and sturdiness of heart, and haughtiness of spirit; you think you are never well, but when you are complaining of your sins, and quarrelling with your own souls, your minds are blind, and your hearts are hard, and dead, and untoward, and therefore you fling away the promise, and cast God's kindness into his face again. I tell you it is horrible pride, because we cannot have what we would in our own power, we will not go to Christ for a supply of what we want; you complain you want such grace, and you are pestered with such corruptions, why thank your proud venomous heart for it; if you have it not, if you want it still, the fault is your own, you will not repair 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 obtain it. But you will say what course shall we take, what means shall we use to get these things at Christ's hands? First, eye the promise daily, and keep it within view, within the ken of the soul (as we use to call it) be sure the promise of grace never go out of sight of the soul. Look as it is with a child that travels to a Fair with his father, or goeth into a crowd, his eye is always upon his father: he bids him do not gaze about and lose me, the child is careful to keep his father within sight and view, and then if he be weak and weary, his father can take him by the hand, and lead him, or take him into his arms and carry him; or if there be any thing he wants, or would have, his father can buy it for him, bestow it upon him; but if the child be careless and gazeth about this thing and that thing, and never looks after his father; he is gone one way, and his father another, he cannot tell where to find him: whose fault is it now? it is not because his father would not be within his sight, or because he could not keep within the view of him, but because he out of carelessness lost the sight of his father: therefore he sure always to eye the promise; you know, as long as the game is within sight, the hounds run amain; so I would have the soul make a prey of the promise: for so the phrase is in the original, that we should seek the Lord, and hunt after Christ, and seek the game itself, the promise itself, from day to day. It is the advice of the Prophet Esay 50. Look up unto me, all ye ends of the earth, look up to me, and your sins shall be pardoned; look up to me, and your souls shall be saved; look up to me, and you shall be sanctified: It is not enough for a man to have a conduit full of water, and to have the streams run abundantly, continually, but he must put his vessel under the spout, and then he shall be sure to receive abundance of water: so it is with the promise, it is not enough to say, Christ is wisdom, and Christ is righteousness, but it is not thus with my soul: why, put thy vessel under the spout then, and look up unto Christ in the promise. This is that the Prophet David resolves of, I will lift up mine eyes to the mountains, from whence cometh my help: what is meant by mountains there? you know the Temple upon the mount of Moriah; now in the Temple in God's ordinance is God's presence: therefore saith the Prophet David, I will lift up mine eyes to those mountains of mercy, those everlasting mercies; I will look up to God in his Ordinances, from whence cometh all my help; as who should say grace comes not from a man's parts, grace comes not from a man's abilities, but look up to God from whence it comes, look to those mountains of mercy that will secure you, look up to a Lord Jesus that will supply all your wants, that will furnish you with all grace, look only to him for all, for he only is the Author and giver of all; look as I have observed it, there is a foolish conceit that hath been bred by some curious nice brains, that they have persuaded themselves they can make the Philosopher's stone, the nature of which is to turn all metal into gold, which is utterly impossible; for the Mines of gold are in the earth, and God continueth them by an ordinary course of his providence; but all the men upon earth can never make gold by any Art or means in the world. To turn the nature of one metal into the nature of another, it is a kind of creation, therefore beyond the reach of any man to do it; they may try and try, and spend their heart blood and all, but it is all but lost labour: So it is with our foolish blind deluded hearts, and distracted spirits; we think to make gold, and to coin grace out of our own powers, and parts, and abilities, I tell you, you can never do it while the world stands; no, no, you do but lose your labour: go to the Mine of gold, the Mine of grace, go to the God of all mercy, away to the Lord Jesus Christ, I say, he is made unto us wisdom, and he will inform us; he is made unto us righteousness, and he will acquit us; he is made unto us grace: go to him therefore, and he will communicate all grace unto our souls. Look as jacob said to his sons, when the famine was sore in the Land of Canaan, he sent his sons into Egypt to buy corn, that they and their little ones might not famish; and mark how he calls upon them, Why stand you here gazing one upon another? I doubt not but then they were laying their heads together, and plotting and conferring, saying, the famine is great, and the times dangerous, and we are miserable now; but oh, what will become of us afterwards, if these times last? now the Lord help us, now the Lord be merciful to us and deliver us, what means shall we use? what course were we best to take? In the mean time jacob calls upon them, Why stand you here gazing one upon another? away, get you down to Egypt presently, and buy us food; you will never get provision to sustain us, by plotting and talking one with another; you will never get any come to sustain you, by looking and gazing one upon another; no, no, down to Egypt with all speed, there corn is to be had, that we and those that belong unto us may live and not die; so it is with the souls of God's children, the poor distressed heart partly through the Devils cunning and subtlety partly also through our own ignorance and folly, we stand gazing at our corruptions, and it begin to think and wonder what will become of us; no means prevail, no mercies melt, no judgements humble, no reproofs awe us, the famine grows strong, my corruptions fierce, and my case heavy, that I know not almost what course to take; why stand you thus gazing after this fashion? what, do you think to get grace upon these terms, by discouragements and disquieting yourselves, and vexing your own hearts thus? No, no, away to Egypt, to the promise of life, to the Lord jesus for help and assistance, and then you shall have mercy and grace abundantly bestowed upon you, and that freely with your money in the mouth of your sacks again, you shall have grace that you need, and sufficiently bestowed upon you: Look as it is with Eliah, when he was to departed from Elisha, and be taken up into Heaven, Elisha craves one thing of him, and that was this, 1 Kings 2.9. That the Spirit of Elias might he doubled upon Elisha; now mark how Eliah answered; Thou hast asked a hard thing, saith he, nevertheless, if thou canst see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be granted to thee. Now some Interpreters have observed, and that very wisely, that it was not so much the sight of Elias, as the sight of God taking up of Elias that should do this; as if he had said, wouldst thou have a double portion of God's Spirit vouchsafed unto thee, because many miseries are like to come in upon thee; great and heavy troubles, and sore persecution is approaching; what course then is to be taken why, see God taking up of Elias; that God that took up Elias, and that God that wrought grace in the heart of Elias, see that God, and be within the view of that God, and thy request shall be granted to thee; the collection is fair: so I say here, if thou wouldst have a double portion of grace, do not go to prayer only, do not go to hearing only, do not go to the Sacraments only and barely; but oh see a Christ, and look upon a promise, and then thou shalt have a double portion of wisdom to inform thee, a double portion of sanctification to cleanse thee, a double portion of grace, and power, and strength, against thy corruptions, from Christ conveyed and communicated to thy soul: and this is the first rule. The second rule is this, as we must have an eye daily upon the promise, so we must labour to yield the soul to the power of that Spirit, and to the virtue of that Grace which is in Christ, and would work upon thee; do not only eye a Saviour, and behold grace in the promise, but yield thyself and give way to the stroke of the promise, and to the power of the spirit; that by the power thereof, thou mayst be enabled to do what God requires. 2 Cor. 3.18. The holy Apostle, disputing there how men should be transformed into the glorious Image of God; or as the word is, metamorphosed from one degree of glorious grace unto another; more holy, and more meek, and more patiented, and more heavenly minded: He that was cold before, should now become more zealous; he that was faint hearted before, should now become more courageous how is this done? even as by the Spirit of the Lord, saith the Text, as if he had said, it is not by your spirits that this must or can be done, do not think that you can master your own corruptions, or that you can pull down the distempers of your own hearts, and get what grace you list; no, no, it is not your spirits can do this, it must be the Spirit of Christ, as by the Spirit of the Lord, so the Apostle. The phrase of the Prophet David is sweet in his kind, Teach me the way unto thee; thy Spirit is good; as who should say, O Lord, my spirit is a naughty spirit; my spirit is a proud spirit; my spirit is a profane spirit; my spirit is a weak spirit; my spirit is an ignorant and a blind spirit; but oh, thy Spirit is a good Spirit, thy Spirit is a blessed Spirit: by the virtue of that Spirit, Lord, teach me the way to thee, and let it lead me into the land of uprightness. We know, a child that hath his hand to write, if he will not be ruled by him that teacheth him, but will take the pen into his own hand and write after his own scauching fashion, he will never write well, nor make a letter handsomely as he should do; but let his hand write by the man's hand, and that will guide him, and that will teach him quickly to write well in a short time: so, wouldst thou have thy heart framed aright? why then keep thy soul under the hand of the Spirit, and thou shalt be guided by the virtue of that Spirit of God, and moved and enabled to accomplish the good pleasure of the Lord, and receive what ever grace thou standest in need of. I have observed it sometimes upon the Sea; look as it is with the mariner that is going down the stream, if the wind be fair, will any man pull down his sail and set it up again? why no, for he doth but trouble himself, and turmoil and wearieth himself, and troubleth the boat too with keeping such a pother, and misseth the gale of wind and all; therefore a wise mariner, he will set up his sail, and hold out his sail, that it may take the gale of wind fully, and so go on speedily; all that he hath to do is to keep his sail spread, and to catch the wind: your only course is to set up the sail, and attend the gale of the Spirit to comfort you, attend the gale of the Spirit to assist you; hold thy heart, and spread to the Spirit, that it may catch the gale of grace, that it may blow upon thy soul, and by the virtue and power thereof thou shalt be transported comfortably, and carried on cheerfully to walk in that way which God chalks out before thee: as for examples sake; Imagine thy heart gins to be pestered with vain thoughts, or with a proud haughty spirit, or some base lusts and privy haunts of heart, how would you be rid of these? why you must not set up and pull down, and set up and pull down, quarrel and contend, and be discouraged: no, but eye the promise, and hold fast thereupon and say, Lord, thou hast promised all grace unto thy servants; why therefore take this heart, and take this mind, and take these affections, and let thy Spirit frame them aright according to thine own good will; by that Spirit of wisdom, Lord inform me; by that Spirit of sanctification, Lord cleanse me from all my corruptions; by that Spirit of grace, Lord quicken and enable me to the discharge of every holy service, thus carry thyself and convey thy soul by the power of the Spirit of the Lord, and thou shalt find thy heart strengthened and succoured by the virtue thereof upon all occasions: Rom. 8.26. the Text saith, The Law of the Spirit of life hath freed me from the law of sin and death: the meaning is this, you must know that sin is a tyrant; now a tyrant when he wins a city, he swears all to his laws: so sin will swear thy soul to his laws; pride saith, I will have thee proud; I will have thy heart unchaste, saith uncleanness; I will have thee intemperate, saith drunkenness: now by the Law of the Spirit of life God will free us from the law of sin: the Spirit of Christ in the promise, it takes away the power of the law of sin; the Law of the Spirit of meekness, takes away the law of the spirit of pride; the Law of the Spirit of purity, takes away the law of the spirit of uncleanness; the Law of the Spirit of holiness, takes away the law of the spirit of profaneness; and so in all other distempers of this nature, this only shows us how to run over all. Gather up now, and so conclude this passage: Eye the promise daily, yield thy soul to the Spirit of the Lord in the promise, let that have his full sway, resist not those good motions the holy Spirit puts into thee, and that is the way to have all grace, and help and assistance communicated unto thee: and thus much may suffice to have been spoken in the general touching this conveyance of grace into the heart: we come now to the scanning of the particulars. This conveyance it is of two kinds, both in the Text: Christ conveys his grace two ways; partly by imputing, partly by imparting: they are the terms of Divines, and I know not how to express myself better; but thus if you will, partly by imputation, partly by communication: This is that I would have you to take notice of in the general; they are both real, but one is habitual; both these, both imputation and communication express a real work of God upon the soul, but the last only leaves a frame and a spiritual ability and quality in the soul; the conveyance by imputation doth not, it leaves a thing moral (as we use to term it.) These two, imputation, communication, are both in the Text; Christ is made righteousness, or justice, that is, he doth justify a sinner by imputation, and he doth sanctify and redeem a sinner by communication; he conveys and works some Spiritual ability, and leaves a Physical change; when the Apostle saith, Christ is made justice, that is, he doth justify a sinner by imputation, when he saith, Christ is made Sanctification, and Redemption, that is, by way of communication; he delivers the soul from the pollution of sin, that is, sanctification; he delivers the soul from the power and dominion of sin, that is, redemption; This communication it is a Spiritual habit, or a spiritual power, or a spiritual quality or ability; (take which you will) left upon the soul. We will begin with the former, touching the imputation of Christ's righteousness to a soul, whereby the sinner comes to be justified: this is a point then, which I take it, none more necessary, and yet none less understood, none less studied, none more mistaken than these two great works of justification, and sanctification. I speak it by experience, Christians aged and experienced, yet here they fail in the very catechetical points, and it drives many of our best Divines to a stand; we will open it a little: this justification we term a conveyance of the merits of Christ, by way of imputation: but what is the meaning of this word, by way of imputation? Thus you must conceive it, this is the main thing I would have you look unto; Imputation is this, when that which another hath, that which another doth, is accounted mine, is set upon my score as though I had it, as though I had done it, this is Imputation. I have it not, I do it not, another hath it, another doth it, and it is accounted mine, and reckoned mine in course of justice. Now in the point of communication it is otherwise: because I have something, something is wrought in me, some qualities and habits; for it is not a moral thing, but a physical alteration by the power of grace implanted in me, which I have, so that imputation discovers two things. First, that I have no help in myself in what I have, or what I do. Secondly, it implieth that something which another hath and doth, it is in conclusion made mine, and I have the benefit thereof, as well as if I had it, as well as if I had done it. It is an old comparison that Divines use, and there cannot be a better to express the full nature and the meaning of the point now in hand. Take a debtor now arrested, imprisoned, and he cannot pay the debt; another man comes, and will be his surety: now mark this, another man payeth the money, another man satisfieth the creditor in the behalf of the debtor; the creditor acquits this man, cancels all his bonds, let's him out of prison, confesseth he hath nothing to say to him, nothing to charge him withal, he is fully satisfied, he hath given him full content: why the debtor paid no money to the creditor himself, but because the surety paid it, therefore the payment is counted his, as if the debtor had paid it: this is the very nature of imputation. This I take to be the meaning of the first part of the Text, in which now a little I mean to trade: the Text saith, He is made unto is righteousness; that is, God in Christ doth justify a beleeleever by way of imputation, though he hath nothing in himself, though he doth nothing of himself whereby to be justified in God's account, yet God will justify him through the justice of Christ imputed to him, and counted upon his score: so that imputation implieth two things. First, that a man hath nothing, can do nothing. Secondly, that he is justified by something, Christ hath, and hath done for him, the point than is clear, and that is this. Doctrine. God doth justify a believing soul, not for what he hath, not for what he doth but only for what Christ hath, and hath done for him: I say Christ is made unto us justice, God the Father doth justify a believer, only in and through the merits of Christ. For the opening of the point, we must first inquire what it is to justify. Secondly, what do we mean when as we say he is made justice for nothing a man hath or doth. To justify, in the phrase of Scripture, it doth imply two things: First to justify, is to make a man just, and this is very seldom used in Scripture: I mean thus to put some holiness, or some gracious disposition, and some spiritual faculty and ability into the soul, and to make a man just: as when an ignorant man, is made a wise man; when a profane man, is made a pure man; when an unclean man, is made a righteous man, and so really changed: this I take to be the meaning of that place; Revelation 22.11. He that is just, let him be just still; and he that is unjust, let him be unjust still: as who should say, when God hath bestowed all means upon him, and vouchsafed all mercies and encouragements to him, if yet for all this he will be unjust, let him be unjust still, let him be for ever unjust: There is no hope of him, but he that is holy, let him be more holy, let him increase in grace, but we do not take it so now in this Doctrine. Secondly, to justify, it is a word of judicial proceeding, when in a legal manner the judge doth pronounce a man free, and acquit him, and proclaim it as if he were, and saith the law hath nothing to do with him, he doth pronounce he hath not offended the Law: now this is opposite and contrary to condemnation, and this I take to be the meaning of that place, and it is a pregnant one; but this gives us great light and insight into the place: he that justifieth the wicked and condemns the just, they are both an abomination to the Lord: to justify in the former sense, is to make a wicked man a good man; and is he an abomination to the Lord? this were a gross folly: no, but the meaning is this: he that acquits any man as guiltless that is guilty, this is an abomination to the Lord. Thus we see the first word opened, so that when we say God doth justify you, our meaning is not this, that God sends grace or holiness into you, for this is the work of sanctification; but God doth justify you, that is, he doth pronounce before his Tribunal, that his justice and Law is fully satisfied, that he will lay nothing upon your score, require no satisfaction at your hands, but he will fully and freely discharge you of all your sins which you have committed. Secondly, again, God doth justify a poor sinner not for any thing he hath not for any thing he doth: mark that, the meaning is this; no privilege that a man doth enjoy, no part of wit, understanding or memory, or any thing that way: nay, I say more, there is no grace that a man hath, no duty that he can perform, for which as the material and formal cause of our justification, God doth pronounce any man to be righteous. If a man could weep out his eyes in sorrow, if a man could hunger and thirst for Christ, more than for his daily bread, God would not justify a sinner for all these things; how doth God then justify a man? why he justifieth a sinner, for what Christ hath done for him, the surety hath paid it, and he accounts it ours: a man is justified by imputation only, not by any action: those are necessary concomitants, not real causes of our justification. But you will say, is not a man justified by faith, and is not faith a grace, and hath not a man that ability wrought in him by God. I answer, true the Lord doth justify a man by his faith, but he doth not justify him for his faith; that is, faith is the hand that lays hold upon the obedience and merits of Christ, and it is for his merits, not for our faith, though by our faith we are justified: a man lives by faith, not that faith nourisheth him. As we use to say, a man lives by his hands, not that his hands nourish him, but his hands labour, and his labour procures money, and his money provides meat, and by his meat he lives: but because his hands are the means to get it, his hands are the means to obtain it, therefore we say he lives by his hands: Just so it is here, a man is justified by faith in Christ, not that faith will acquit any man under Heaven, but because Christ's merits are through faith received and applied to us, and so through Christ we are justified: so than we hear the meaning of the point: Phil. 3.9. mark the Apostles two phrases, That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the Law, but that which is of the righteousness of faith in Christ, which is of God by faith: there is but these two righteousnesses in the world. First, a man's own righteousness which he hath wrought, and God hath given him, and the duties which he performs and this is the righteousness of the Law; now Paul doth profess that he is not justified by this, but only by the righteousness of God, that righteousness which is in Christ, that righteousness which is imputed to him from Christ, he labours to be found in that righteousness, for by that he shall be justified. The ground and reason of the point is this, that which in no measure is answerable to God's justice, and agreeable to the exactness of the Law and for which a man may be condemned, that cannot justify a man; but what ever a man hath or doth, all the graces of God wrought in him, and all the performances done by him, there is that imperfection or blemish even in them, for which God may justly condemn him: therefore a man cannot be justified thereby: this is an undenied rule of the Apostle, what ever condemns a man, cannot justify a man, but the Law condemns a man for what he hath or can do: therefore it cannot justify a man. There is no grace in a man, no duty to be performed by a man, but if God will look into it according to the strictness and exactness of the Law, he may justly condemn him for it: that I prove, Gal. 5.17. every Saint of God hath these two things, the Spirit lusting against the flesh, and the flesh lusting against the Spirit; and these two are contrary: In the best of God's servants there is flesh, and a lust of the flesh to hinder them from holy duties: so there are two laws, the law of the mind, and the law of the members; the Law of God requires that a man should be perfectly holy without any stain of sin, perfect in the performance of duty without any blemish or stain therein, but every gracious man hath a stain of pollution in his soul, that is one thing; and a stain in his performances, that is another thing; therefore no man's duty, no man's ability, or sufficiency cannot justify him before God. It is that the Apostle Paul crieth out of, Rom. 7.13. A law in his members rebelling against the law of his mind; so that the case is clear, if it were thus with holy Paul, as he professeth of himself, then much more of the best Saints now, for that they have not more grace than Paul had: therefore they cannot be justified for what they have or do. Take a lame limb, as the lameness of the leg will make every motion of the leg lame, a man cannot but go lamely: so it is with the soul of a poor sinner, when a man hath a lame heart, a corrupt sinful heart, all his actions will be lame, his thoughts lame, and his services lame; so that neither heart, nor life, nor actions, are in a right frame, all are impure and weak: I appeal to your own consciences in this case, would you be willing to appear before God's Tribunal with those prayers, and those performances of thine, and justify thyself by them, and say, Lord thou canst not lay any thing to my charge, the Law of God can bring inditements enough against thee, to confound thee; nay, we condemn ourselves in this case: these dead hearts, and these blind minds, and this want of faith, shall the Lord than acquit any man for that which he condemns himself? If then the best and most gracious Saint hath sin in the frame of his heart, and sin in the best of his services, than neither soul nor service can be answerable to the Law of God, and he cannot be justified thereby: but the best of God's servants not only before grace, but after grace, in the best heart a man hath, the best action he doth, there is weakness in the action: therefore they cannot justify a man, therefore we must be justified only through the merits and obedience of Christ: thou canst not do, Christ hath done for thee; thou canst not suffer, Christ hath suffered for thee; in him thou art justified, through him thou shalt be saved. So that when the soul of a poor sinner, shall appear before the Tribunal of the Lord, and justice comes to put in a plea against him, Christ shall step in and say, Lord, for this poor soul that believes in me I have died: for this poor soul I took the nature of man upon me; therefore let thy justice be fully satisfied with what I have done for him: well than saith justice, go thy way, I have nothing to say to thee: the Lord makes a proclamation, Be it known to all men and angels, I acquit this soul; there is no imputation of sin he hath committed, no failing in any duty shall condemn him, this is the way of justification. The first use of the point is this, we have here a ground of confutation of the Church of Rome: I will not accuse them wrongfully, but lay the charge upon them according to their own words, and it shall appear how they have wholly perverted the wisdom of the Lord, in this great point of justification, look into the 6. Session, and the 7. Chapter of the Council of Trent; you that are wise and have read it, observe it; you that never did read it, I will read it to you: the words of the Council are these, which is a confirmed doctrine, and unto which they are all bound generally to subscribe, & is taken for the doctrine of the church of Rome: the words run thus, That the alone formal cause for which a sinner is justified in the sight of God, it is justice implanted, ● a new quality of grace and holiness wrought in the soul, and not the merits and obedience of Christ imputed to the soul. Imputation argueth that I have and do nothing, but another hath, and another doth for me, and imputes it to me● the Church of Rome profesly holds the contrary, and punctually point blank in the force of contradiction: they are the very words of the Council, the alone formal cause, and that which gives life and being to the justification of a sinner; it is the change and frame of holiness wrought in him, not impured to him, this is profes●y contrary. Use 1 It is a word of consolation, and it is a cordial to cheer up a man's heart, and carry him through all troubles whatsoever can be●ide him, or shall befall him. This doctrine of justification it seems to me to be like Noah's Ark, when all the world was to be drowned: God taught Noah to make an ark, and to pitch it about, that no water, nor winds, nor storms could break through, and so it bore up Noah above the waters, and kept him safe against wind and weather▪ when one was on the top of a mountain crying; Oh save me, another clambering upon the trees, all floating, and crying, and dying there; there was no saving, but for those only that were gotten into the ark: Oh so it will be, you poor foolish believers, the world is like this sea, wherein are many floods of water, many troubles, much persecution: Oh get you into the ark the Lord jesus, and when one is roaring and yelling, Oh the devil, the devil; another is ready to hang himself, or to cut his own throat; another sends for a Minister, and he crieth, Oh there is no mercy for me, I have opposed it; get you into Christ, I say, and you shall be safe enough, I will warrant you, your souls shall be transported with consolation to the end of your hopes. This was that which comforted Saint Paul, and made him bid defiance to all the world: Rom. 8. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? as who should say, shall all the angels in Heaven, shall all the devils in Hell, shall all the men upon the earth, shall sinne within, shall actions without? it is God only that justifieth, not for anything we have or do, but for Christ's sake: This is that I conclude withal, this one doctrine affords supply in all wants, and courage in all trials: I know what troubleth you, will this blind mind never be enlightened? I think I shall never be able to conceive of the truths of God aright, how can the Lord accept of me, when I condemn myself? how can the Lord show any favour to me, when I fall out with myself, and wonder that I am not in the bottomless pit? such a base heart I carry about with me, and such a polluted conversation, and yet live, and not in hell: I have thought sometimes God cannot be Just, if he do not condemn me; why I say art thou burdened with thy sins, and dost thou go out of thyself for the pardon of them? why go away comforted, the Lord will justify thee, not for thy works, but for Christ's merits: thou hast committed all iniquity, Christ hath performed all righteousness; thou hast nothing of thyself, Christ hath enough for thee; and thou art not justified for what thou hast or dost, but for the Lord jesus sake: look up to him therefore, and bring him to God's tribunal to answer for thee, that when Satan shall bring in his bills of indictment against thee, and say, what do you hope to go to Heaven? do you not consider the sins which you have committed? do you not remember the base courses which heretofore you have taken up and practised? do you not know that every sinner must die? why answer Satan again, all this is true: Ay, but remember the Lord jesus, it is true I can do nothing, but Christ hath done all for me; what canst thou say to the Lord jesus? though I have offended, he hath never offended; though I have sinned, yet Christ hath fully satisfied; I have deserved the wrath of God, why Christ hath boar the wrath of God: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He was once forsaken of God, that I might be for ever accepted of God: go thy ways therefore comforted and refreshed: the place is admirable, Isaiah 43.25. Thou hast made me serve with thy sins, and wearied me with thy rebellions, but I, even I, am he that blotteth out all thine iniquities, and will remember thy transgressions no more: The Lord takes notice of this; are there any wicked? they are as bad; are there any vile? they are as sinful; they tired God with their wickedness: All you poor drunkards, you try God with your drunkenness; you prophaners of the Lords day, you tyre God with your profanations; and you swearers, you try Christ jesus with your oaths and hideous blasphemies that you belch forth against him upon all occasions: you would wonder that God should save such as you, and truly so you may well enough; for it is a wonder, it is a miracle indeed; but if you can go out of yourselves, and sins, and go unto Christ and rest upon him, the Lord saith, I will blot out all those abominations of yours: and Ezekiel 33.32. compare both those places together, I will forget all your sins, even for mine own names sake: as who should say, it is not for your sakes; no, no, be it known to those stout hearts of yours, it is not for your parts, or gifts, or graces, no nor it is not for all the services we can discharge, but it is only for mine own Names sake that I will pardon you, and remember your sins no more, remember thy pride and stubbornness no more, remember thy profaneness no more, remember thy vanity and looseness no more; remember thou to be humbled, and the Lord will never remember thy sins any more: Satan it may be will come in and accuse thee, here is a Sabbath-breaker, Lord condemn him: no more of that, Satan, saith God, Christ hath suffered and satisfied for him; no more therefore of that, let me hear no more of those things, I have forgotten them, saith God, this will cheer a man's heart at that great day. This also is a ground of encouragement to us, against all the trials that can befall us in the course of the world: we see that innocence goeth to the walls, no man can stand against envy, and hatred, and backbiting: why though you find hard dealing here at the hands of wicked men, though you be accused here with false surmises, and false accusations, and slanderous speeches, yet set one against the other, you shall never be condemned hereafter: There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ; there may be persecutions, there may be accusations, there may be oppositions here upon earth raised against thee; why yet go on cheerily, there is no condemnation in Heaven: if God acquit, let men condemn; if God approve, let men disallow: nay lastly, here is consolation even in death also; what though your bodies be deprived of your souls, and you leave all, when you return again it is but only thus, Come ye blessed of my Father, you that are believers, you shall be for ever blessed. Use 3 The third use is of exhortation: will nothing do the deed, but a Christ? why, Oh then above all labour for a Christ, more than all labour to prise a Christ, never let thy heart be quieted, never let thy soul be contented, until thou hast obtained Christ. Take now a malefactor, sentence is passed, execution to be administered upon him, suggest any thing to him, how to be rich, or how to be pardoned; how to be honoured, or how to be pardoned: Ay, saith he, riches are good, and honours are good, but oh a pardon or nothing: ay but then you must leave all for a pardon; why take all, saith he, and give me a pardon that I may live, thought in poverty; that I may live, though in misery, though in beggary; this is the nature of such a poor creature: So it is with a poor believing soul, there is but one way, every man hath committed sin, must suffer for his sin: the sentence is passed, every man that believes not, is condemned already: what would you have now? thou faint thorough couldst have a pardon, but wouldst thou not have riches, or friends? the soul saith, Alas, what is that to me to be rich, and a reprobate; honoured, and damned: let me be pardoned, though impoverished; let me be justified, though debased, though I never see good day beside: why then labour for a Christ, for there is no other way under heaven: get a broken heart, get a believing heart, but oh above all, get a Christ to justify thee, get a Christ in all to save thee. If I could pray like an angel, could I hear and remember all the Sermon; could I confer as yet never man spoke, what is that to me if I have not a Christ? I may go down to hell for all that I have or do, look into your souls, and observe your lives and conversations: when a man hath prayed, and he finds his mind dull, his heart awke and untoward, his thoughts wand'ring and roving; why, think with yourselves, do we condemn ourselves for the duties we do perform, and judge ourselves for the services we have discharged, and yet do we think to be acquitted by the Law of God: Oh, therefore above all entreat the Lord to give thee a Christ, that he may justify thee here, and save thee everlastingly hereafter: Phil. 3.8. I count all things dross and dung in comparison of a Christ: Paul was a proud Pharisee, learned Paul, reverend Paul, a man of admirable parts; yet saith the Apostle, That I thought to be gain, was loss to me, yea dung and dog smeat in comparison of a Christ; yea doubtless, and I do count all things loss, that is, not only my parts, and credit, and privileges when I was a Pharisee, but the best duty that ever I did, the best service that ever I performed, I account all as dung and dogsmeat in the point of justification, in respect of the Lord jesus Christ: grace therefore is good, and duties are good, seek for all, we should do so; perform all, we ought to do so; but oh, a Christ, a Christ, a Christ in all, above all, more than all. Thus now I have showed you the way to the Lord jesus, I have showed you also how you may come to be implanted into the Lord jesus; and now I leave you in the hands of a Saviour, in the bowels of a Redeemer, and I think I cannot leave you better; the worst is past, now you are come hither: Rom. 5.9. If you be justified by his death, then much more shall you be saved through his righteousness, and merits. You whose eyes God hath opened, whose hearts God hath humbled, and whose souls God hath called home to himself, you are now in the hands of the Lord; go your way, and when you see hell flaming, and the devils roaring, and the damned yelling and crying out, look back I say and see this ditch out of which you are escaped; look upon the pit which you were going over: you may bless God, and say, we are passed that, those days are gone, we are passed from death to life: Acts 20.32. when Saint Paul was to go away from them, and for aught he knew should never see their faces more, why yet mark what he saith to them: Brethren, I commend you to God, and the Word of his grace, that is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance among those that are sanctified: as who should say, God and his Word was the best Commandment he could put them over to: as who should say, Paul must departed, and Paul must be imprisoned, and Paul must die; so that now he shall be with you no longer to teach, to inform, to direct you, but the good Word of the Lord endures to comfort for ever, to cheer for ever, to assist, refresh for ever those that are weak and discouraged. I put you over therefore to a good Word, to an everlasting Word, I commend you to a blessed and a living Saviour, who will be with you for ever, by the immutable assistance of his blessed Spirit: I leave you in the hands of your Saviour, that when the head of your Minister haply shall lie full low, or death overtake him, why yet remember I have put you over to a Saviour. Oh love this Word, and love this Christ more than all, prise this Christ above all, and he will preserve you: and this I will wish you, that you would keep yourselves close to this good Word, that will inform you, and to this blessed Saviour that will support you from day to day. THE SOULS justification. 2 COR. 5.22. For he hath made him to be sin for us, which knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. FOr our more orderly proceeding herein, you may remember that I shown you before, for what a man is not justified. Now we come to handle for what a man is, and may be justified; and this I conceive, so fare as my light serves me, to be in the words of the Text; for the Apostle having showed that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, and not imputing their sins: Now in this Text he shows the reason how this comes to pass, namely God ●aid their sins to Christ's charge, and made him sin for us, that knew no sin. It's no wonder then though God did not justify a poor sinner, for what he had and did, and though he did not expect perfect righteousness at their hands, for, He hath made him to he sin for 〈◊〉, which knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. For our more orderly proceeding, I will do two things. First, I will discover the Doctrine of justification, in a description: Secondly, I will open the description. Quest. 1 For the first, If any man ask me what justification is, it is this briefly: Answer. justification is an act of God the Father upon the believer, whereby the debt and sins of the believer are charged upon the Lord jesus Christ, and by the merits and satisfaction of Christ imputed to the believer; he is accounted just, and so is acquitted before God as righteous. There are four particulars in the description. First, it is an act of God the Father, upon the believer. Secondly, the debt of the believer is charged upon our Saviour, God the Father follows (as it were) the suit upon the surety, and not upon the debtor: both these are in these words of the Text, He hath made him sin for us, which knew no sin. Thirdly, the satisfaction of Christ is put over to the believer, and set upon his score, as in these words, That we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Fourthly, by this means, the debt on our sides being laid upon the Lord jesus Christ, and his righteousness being applied to us, God the Father acquits us, and pronounceth us righteous by a legal course of proceeding; as in these words, That we might be made the righteousness of God in him: such a righteousness as God the Father will work in us, and will accept of us. As when the wife is betrothed and married to a man, all her old debts are laid upon her husband, and the law meddles no more with her: and secondly, all his lands, at least the third part of them are made over to her. What she hath in point of debt is put over to him: so all our sins and debts of corruptions are laid upon Christ, and all the rich fefments of grace and mercy in Christ, are made over to a believer, and hence a believer comes to be acquitted and justified before God. From the first part of this description, the point is this. Doctrine. justification is an act of God the Father, upon the believer. It is an act that passeth from God the Father, upon the believer. For the proof of this point there are three verses in the same Chapter, which make it good, the 18, 19, 20. verses, and so on to the end of the Text; in the 18. verse, he saith, All things are of God, which hath reconciled us unto himself by jesus Christ; of God, that is, of God the Father, and yet more plainly in the 19 verse, God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their sins to them. Now what is meant by God in these two verses? the old rule of Divines is this; that wheresoever you find the Name of God put in opposition to jesus Christ, it must not be taken essentially, but personally, for the Father. For it were almost an absurd thing, to say that Christ were in Christ reconciling the world unto himself: therefore the Apostle implies thus much; God the Father was in Christ reconciling, and God the Father by Christ, reconciled the world unto himself: and then in the 20. and 21. verses, he saith, Now than we are Ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you through us; we pray you in Christ's stead that ye be reconciled to God, that is, to God the Father; for he hath made him sin for us, which knew no sin: and another proof is in the 3. of Saint john, 14.15. and so to the end of the 18. verse: it is an observation of wise Divines, and good Interpreters, when our Saviour comes to trade with Nichodemus about eternal life, he doth not only content himself to speak of himself alone, as he was Christ the Redeemer of the world, but he sets him yet a little higher in the 14. verse, he saith, As Moses lifted up the brazen Serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life: A man would have thought that this had been enough, but he stays not here, but he puts him one pin above all these, and saith, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son for it, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life: as if he had said, there is not only a Christ prepared and sent, but God the Father also loved the world: here is the highest stair to stay up the heart, so that the point is plain and sure enough. Now let us make it clear, and that I shall do by answering two questions: Quest. 1 First, why it is called an act of God the Father? Quest. 2 Secondly, why an act of the Father upon the believer? Quest. 1 For the former, why doth the description say, it is an act of God the Father? Answer. I answer, it is an act of the Father, not excluding the Son, or the work of the holy Ghost, which must both be understood: it is an act of God the Father upon the believer, but it is through Christ: there are these two grounds or reasons, why it is given to the Father. Reason 1 First, because the Father was the party that was properly offended: the Father is the first person in the Trinity, and he was directly offended by Adam's sin; it is true, the Son and the holy Ghost were offended too, as being friends with the Father, and having a relation to the Father, and a sweet fellowship with the Father; but the sin was directly against the Father, and indirectly against the Son, and the holy Ghost. The ground of the point is this, it wronged that work of Creation, wherein the manner of the work of the Father appeared in a special manner, and the manner of the work of the Son appeared in redemption, and the manner of the work of the holy Ghost appeared in sanctification: so that God the Father was the first in the work of the Creation, the Son second in the work of redemption, the holy Ghost third in the work of sanctification: Now creation being the work wherein the power of the Father did most show itself, Adam falling away from this, did principally wrong the Father, for his manner of work appearing herein: therefore Adam did herein go directly cross to God. Excellent is that phrase, 1 john 2.1. Little children, these things writ I unto you, that ye sinne not; but some may say, what if we do sin? why saith he, we have an Advocate with the Father, even jesus Christ the Iust. Now no man saith, we have an Advocate with an advocate, no, for that were absurd: for no advocate pleads to another advocate, but he pleads to the party offended, for the party which hath offended: now in that the Apostle saith, We have an Advocate with the Father, even jesus Christ: It is plain that God the Father was the Person directly offended; the issue than is thus much; The Father being the Creditor, and the Person directly offended, the Lord jesus Christ became our Surety, and the creditor doth require the debt at the hands of our Surety, and acquits the debtor; the creditor requires this, but the acquittance comes mainly and properly from the Father, because the debt was due to him: so that God the Father is the Creditor, the Son is the Surety, the poor sinner is the debtor, the holy Spirit is the messenger, that brings the acquittance from God the Father, and saith, lo the Father hath accepted of thee in his Son, the Surety hath paid the debt for thee, and see here is the acquittance for thee; so that though the holy Ghost doth bring the acquittance, yet the Father must give it: This is the first reason. Reason 2 Secondly, we say that justification is an act of God the Father, because the Father is the fountain in the Deity, as Divines use to say, in all the works that are done by the Deity, the Father is the first: for as the Persons are in their being, so they are in their working: The Father in order works before the Son and the holy Ghost; the Son works not before the Father hath wrought, and the holy Ghost works not before the Father and the Son have wrought. Hence it is that actions are given especially to the Father, though not excluding the Son, nor the holy Ghost; but yet howsoever they are all equal in their working, in regard of time, yet the Father is first in regard of order. A malefactor is now arraigned and condemned, and the pardon is to be begged, and none but the King's son, the young Prince, can have a pardon, his abilities are only able to carry him through the work; the Prince begs it, the Favourite brings it, but the King only grants it: so it is here, the Lord jesus Christ is the Son of the everlasting Father, and the Prince of peace, and he it is that begs the pardon of his Father, he sends it to us by the hands of the holy Ghost, but only the Father grants the pardon. When the soul hath long been humbled and self denying, and said, Lord forgive the trespasses of thy servant, and yields, and lays down the weapons of deflance, and falls at the footstool of the Lord jesus Christ, and rowles itself upon his merits; then the Spirit comes and saith, thy sins are pardoned, thy person is accepted, I bring thee this news from God the Father; God is now reconciled to thee, in and by the Lord jesus Christ: now the Father is the King that grants this pardon, the Son is he that begs it, and the Spirit is the messenger that brings it. Now you see how it is an act of God the Father. Quest. 2 Secondly, I come to show why it is an act of God the Father, upon the believer. Answer. The reasons of the question are these, we must understand that the actions of God are of two sorts. First, there are some actions which do remain in God, which are confined within the compass of his own Council, and go no further, and they are immanent actions, they stay in God and go no further. A man may conceive in his mind what heresolves to do in his heart; whether he will do such a thing or no, and no man can tell what he intends to do but himself; but if a man will practise answerably according to his purpose, than he doth express the work outwardly, which he intended inwardly, and now he works upon the creature, and makes it to receive some impression of that good which he kept secretly in himself. There are some actions which remain in God, as the decrees and purposes of God, before the foundation of the world, and they are confined within the high Council table of Heaven, Father, Son, and holy Ghost, and these never appeared to the eye of the world. Secondly, there are actions also which pass from God upon the creature, and do work a change and an alteration upon the creature; and these we call transient actions, or actions that pass, which are not only in God, but pass from God, and do frame, and order, and dispose of the creature, as God sees fit; and of this sort are all the actions that belong to a Christian, except predestination: for the Lord doth not reveal those secrets unto any by the work of vocation, which is wrought upon the creature, for there the Lord quickens desire, and stirs up hope, and kindles love and joy, and the Lord turns the face of the soul God-ward, and in adoption, regeneration, and all the works of grace and salvation, and of this kind is justification: and this is the reason why I call it a transient action, because it passeth upon the creature, but that must be warily understood with a grain of salt, as the Proverb is: now what change is this? I answer, the Lord works a change upon the creature two ways. First, the Lord is said to pass a work or an action upon the creature, when he puts some kind of ability upon the creature, either spiritual, or natural: as when the Lord makes a wicked man, a good man; an adulterous man, a chaste man; and of an envious proud malicious man, a patiented meek and holy man; and this we call a natural change, because there is a gracious frame put into the heart and soul which overpowers the creature, and all things are become new; new affections, new desires: but this is not all, for here is the difficulty. Secondly, the Lord is said to make a change upon the creature, when he takes off some relations and respects which the creature had, and puts upon it some other respects, he doth not put them into the soul, but puts the soul into another room, and they are not naturally qualities, but only relations, which are imprinted upon the soul of man, and these are called moral, and of this kind is justification, as thus: Take a Apprentice that is bound by covenant and Indenture for so many years, and he is now fallen into an ague, or a burning fever, he hath two relations: First, he is an apprentice: Secondly, he hath a weak sickly distempered body: now there may be a double change wrought in this man, according to this double disposition: first the master burns the Indentures, and gives him his time, and sets him free from his service, and he that was an apprentice before, is now a freeman, this is a moral change, for all this while he is as sick as he was before: but the former relation is quite gone, and the master cannot now command him to his service; now the fellow servants cannot domineer over him, because he is not now a servant: but now the wise Physician he comes, and he by good means helps the man of his disease, and brings him to a fair, sweet, and wholesome temper of body, and now there is a change in the very nature of this servant; before he was distempered, but now he is well ordered; before hot, but now finely cool: here is something wrought in the nature of this man. Just so it is in this change of the soul: there is a moral change in justification, a man is bound to the Law, and liable to the penalty of it, and guilty of the breach of it: now God the Father in Jesus Christ, acquits a man of this guilt, and delivers him from this revenging power of the Law, and that's not all, but withal he puts holiness into the heart, and wisdom into the mind, and purity into the affections, & this is called a natural change, because there are new spiritual abilities put into the heart; not because of the nature of it, but because of the thing which it works: as to take the example of Scripture, 1 john 3.14. We are translated from death to life: As it is with a man taken prisoner in Turkey, or some other place, haply a Christian of England, he is accounted a Traitor there, and is condemned as a Traitor: the man being weak of himself, and not able to deliver himself, he must be dealt by as a Traitor: but now if this man be rescued, and find some way of escape, and be set upon some other shore, whereby he may be conveyed into England, than he is here accounted a good subject, and he is so far from being condemned, that he is wonderfully advanced and honoured by the King: here is a change, in Turkey he was condemned as a Traitor, but in England he is counted a good subject, and is received into favour, and honoured; here is a moral change: but now here is no natural change, here is nothing put into this man: If he were ignorant before, he is ignorant still; if he were wicked before, he is wicked still: but he hath a good relation as a subject, and is pardoned in England: he is in another room and rank, this is a moral change: But now if a man were ignorant before, and since he came into England he were framed and made wise and holy, this is a spiritual change: before he was ignorant, and now he is learned; before graceless, but now gracious: this is a natural change, or rather a spiritual change. Just so it is with a faithful soul, the poor sinner as he is landed here upon the shore of sin and corruption, take him as he is by nature, he is liable to divine justice, and a Traitor in God's account, and as he stands liable to the Law he is a damned man, he is sick of sin. But now when the Father hath brought him home to the Lord Jesus Christ, and landed him upon another Coast, he is now sure to partake of life, and of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ: and he that before was attached of treason, is acquitted of all in the Lord Jesus Christ, the respects of treason and condemnation are taken off, and other respects and relations are put on: this is done in justification, and afterward when he is justified, than the Lord will honour and adorn the soul; so that though the soul before was ignorant, the Lord will now make him wise unto salvation; though before he were polluted, yet now he shall be sanctified. And thus much of the reasons why I call it an act of God the Father upon the believer. Use 1 The proper fruit of this Doctrine is this; Is it so, that justification is an act of God the Father upon the believer? then it is a ground of admirable comfort to bear up the heart of a poor sinner above all the accusations, and all the power and the policies of our enemies against us, or the intendments of the wicked to hurt us: remember but this, that God the Father justifies, and this will be a cordial to bear up the heart against whatsoever the world, or the devil, or the wicked shall lay to the charge of a believer: If thou art justified before God's tribunal in Heaven, why shouldst thou care, or fear, or be troubled or disquieted, when thou art condemned by the wicked upon the earth? this justification on God's part can wipe away and scatter all the clouds, and all the accusations on man's part: 1 Cor. 4.2.3. It is required of the dispensers, that every man be found faithful, but as for me, I pass very little to be judged by man's judgement: the word in the original is very excellent, I pass not to be judged by man's day; men have their days of meeting and of judging, and their days of rioting in the alehouse, and in the brothel-house, and there they can toss the names of God's Servants up and down, and they sit upon their names, and lives, and liberties, and they raise what reports they will; these are the drunkards days, and the malicious man's days, there they sit and give their dooms what they will do to such a Christian, and to such a Minister, but mark what Saint Paul saith, I pass not for man's days, it is no more to me than the dust of the balance, or the drop of the bucket; but he alludes to another day, to the day of judgement; when the Lord shall judge all the world, when he that is holy, shall be approved of and acquitted, and he that is vild and wicked shall be condemned, I look to that day. Were he not worthy to be begged for a fool, that should go away troubled and disquieted, because a company of drunkards had condemned him upon the alebench, when the Judge had cleared him upon the bench of justice: therefore steel your faces against all the malicious accusations of the wicked: let them sit and condemn thee upon the alebench if they will, so long as thou art acquitted in heaven, herein be for ever cheered through his mercy. It was that which made the holy Prophet so marvellously confident in Isaiah 50.8.9. and to throw down the gauntlet saying, He is near that justifies me, who will contend with me? see whether you can set your foot to mine, vow for vow, and word for word: who is mine adversary, let him come near: behold the Lord God will secure me, who will condemn me? lo they all shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up, they shall vanish, and shall not be able to appear at the day of accounts; nay the moth shall eat them up, nay the wicked shall say in hell as the wise man saith, We fools thought this man's life madness, and we passed our judgements upon these precise fellows that must ever and anon be in a corner to weep for their sins; but we find now that we are the fools that have neglected grace, and salvation, and happiness, which now they enjoy for ever. If a man had a case to be tried in the Chancery, if the Lord Chancellor were his friend, he need not fear any thing, for the Lord Chancellor would suffer nothing to come in against him, but would cast them all out, and hear none of them: so you that are believers, and have a friend, and a Father that sits in the high Court of Chancery in Heaven, howsoever there are many which would be meddling with you, yet your Father is the Judge of the Court, and he will dishonour all those that seek to dishonour you: It is the ground of that blessed boldness which the Apostle concludes with himself, not only that the thing should not be carried against him, as Rom. 8.33. but that all should be for him: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen? it is God that justifieth: Let the gates of Hell be set open, and Belzebub and all the Devils come roaring out against him, and let the wicked come that bear him ill will, and let all his sins come and his own conscience too, yet he need not fear any thing: the ground is hence, because it is God that justifies; he doth not say, they shall never prevail against God's servants, but they shall not plead against them: and he doth not say, they shall not condemn them, but they shall not accuse them: as he said, Acts 19.38. The Law is open, and there are Deputies, let them accuse 〈◊〉 plead one against another; so that here shall not be so much as pleading against a poor believer, because God the Father hath justified him. Now the ground of this comfort lieth in three particulars, or it affords a threefold consolation. First, because God the Father hath all things to do with the soul of a believer: all the suits that are to be made against a poor soul, they come from God, and if he will cease the suit, who can follow it? if he will say he is satisfied, and well paid, than who can take any advantage against the soul? Look as it is with the Lord of a manor, haply he hath an ill neighbour lives under him, and doth him much damage many ways, and the Noble man at last is resolved to follow the law against him: therefore the poor man comes in and desires pardon of all that he hath done amiss, and promiseth never to do the like, and the Gentleman out of his noble disposition acquits him, and forgives all: now imagine some of the servants come in and raise clamours and complaints against him, and all the servants of the family are against him: well, the poor man makes them this answer, I have wronged none of you, therefore if your Lord be contented to acquit me, I care not what you say, I have not wronged you, neither do I fear you: this is that which should cheer up our hearts infinitely, that God the Father is the Lord of the manor, even the Lord of the whole world, and if there be any transgression done against thy neighbour whatsoever, he is the Lord of the manor, it were no offence to steal, but that he hath forbidden it; and it were no offence to be disobedient to Parents, but that he hath said, Honour thy father and mother, etc. The goods of thy neighbour are the Lords, and the damage that is done is against the Lord: Now if God the Father do mercifully acquit you, and saith he will pardon the breach of all his Commandments, if God acquit us, what need we fear or care what the Devil says against us? it may be the Devil will come in and commence a suit against us, and say, what, you be saved? yes, that's a likely matter, are you not guilty of this and that? well, brethren, we have done the Devil no wrong, against thee only have I sinned, saith David, it was against the commands of my good God and his holy Spirit, it was against my Father and my Redeemer, and they will pardon my sin: God saith, I will forgive all that wrong done to me, then let the Devil go and shake his ears: look as it is with a creditor, if he hath gotten the surety in suit, he will acquit the debtor, and if the debtor be acquitted, all the bailiffs in the world can do him no hurt, and he saith, I am out of your debt and danger: so it is here, God the Father is the Creditor, we have wronged God most infinitely, we own unto God all that we have, but yet he hath blotted out all our iniquities: therefore if the Devil follow the suit, it matters not, The Lord saith, I will remember his sins no more: therefore the Devil can pursue him no further. Secondly, there can be no court in the world can alter our justification: if a man be righted in a lower court, a higher court may call it over again and overthrow it, but this is admirable consolation, doth God the Father acquit us in Heaven? then let the Devil go and appeal where he will. A man never appeals from a higher court to a lower, but from a lower court to a higher: now all your sins are pardoned, and you are acquitted in Heaven: therefore go your way comforted, and let the Devil appeal where he will, no man can reverse it: The mercy of the Lord and his sentence endureth for ever: you know it was Saint Paul's plea, when he saw that the Jews were maliciously bend against him to have his life, he said, No man may deliver me unto them, I appeal unto Cesar: he saw he should have hard dealing there if he were committed to them, therefore he appeals unto Cesar: so we, we have had our case tried in Heaven, we have Caesar's judgement seat to go unto, the first person of the Trinity is our Father, the Creditor hath made it good unto us by the witness of the Spirit, that our iniquities are pardoned, and that he will hear no more of them: therefore go away for ever cheered and comforted. Use 2 Again in the second place we have here a word of direction: Is God the Father the Judge of the Court? then let me speak a word to all humble broken hearted sinners; when you have many Judges to sit upon you in your own heart, be sure that you be not judged by them, but repair unto God the Father, and get his sentence upon them, and whatsoever he speaks, submit unto it, and be contented to judge yourselves and your estates answerable by it. This is the great misery of many poor creatures, that as many miseries as they have, so many Judges they have: sometimes their fear sits upon them, and then they are damped: sometimes their suspicion sits upon them, and then they are marvellously disquieted; and sometimes hope sits upon them, and then they are a little comforted▪ Oh brethren and beloved in the Lord, be wise now for your souls, and put your case to be tried only by the Lord, and not by every one. We would count him a mad man, that having a case of weight to be tried, should commit it to an enemy that hates him, or else to an ignorant man that hath no skill at all in the business, no wise man will do it: but he appeals to the Judge of the court, and lets him cast the cause: just so it is here, there are many of you, some there are I am sure, that have a sight of your sins, and sometimes you think that God will certainly commence the suit against you: what, so many sins within me, and so many corruptions to follow me, and oppress me? certainly my heart is naught, are you so ignorant to commit your cause to be judged by them? your carnal reason is an enemy, and your own hearts are weak, and not able to understand: therefore go to a higher court, and say with yourselves, I care not what the world saith, and what carnal reason saith, I pass not▪ speak thou, Lord, a word of comfort to my soul, and if his word be for you, then be for ever comforted and quieted, and look only to the judgement of the Lord, and to none other; it is in his hands only to pass sentence, and to condemn, as he seethe fit in his righteous judgement: therefore stand to the sentence of him, whose Word must stand, and shall stand for ever as mount Zion. If a plaintiff have a case to be tried in the court of justice, he cares not what the dispute of the lawyers be: One man thinks thus, & another thinks thus, & another would be passing sentence, and saith, thus it must be; he cares not what they say, he knows that they are not Judges, but he stays till the Judge comes, and he quakes and trembles till he hears what the sentence of the Judge will be. Now therefore be as wise for your spiritual estates, as you are for your temporal estates: Psalm 85.8. I will hearken what the Lord will say, disputing there of the miseries and troubles which were like to befall the Church of God, and himself too: he looks up to Heaven, and saith, I will hearken what the Lord will say, for he speaks peace to his people: look not what sense and feeling, and fear and suspicion say, for they will speak killing words, and will tell you that your condition is naught and damnable: what, all this vildness, and baseness, and stubborness, and yet go to heaven? that cannot be: Good brethren harken not to these, for they are not the Judges of the court, the sentence must come from God, and remember that God will speak peace and comfort unto his people, he will comfort your distressed consciences: and therefore let not Satan, nor your own distempered hearts be harkened unto, for though they speak never so much terror to your consciences, yet God will justify you: it is the liberty which the law allows, and every man will take it to himself, if he know the law, when a man is questioned for his life, he will not cast himself upon every Jury, but he will take the benefit of the law; and if there comes in one that is an ignorant person, or one that is an enemy of his, he may justly except against them, and put them out, and he will say, Good my Lord, do not cast away a poor man for no cause at all, I except against these men of the Jury, they are mine enemies, they have sought my blood, many years, and they have informed against me, and seek to take away my life, and I can prove it, and the rest are ignorant, and cannot understand the matter▪ good my Lord, let me have a good Jury: this the court of justice allows, and every man will be sure to take it to himself, as occasion serves: in Acts 28.19. Paul was constrained to appeal into Cesar, and therefore he saith, Chap. 2●. 10.11. I stand a● Caesar's judgement seat, where I ought to be judged. You see, beloved, how wise men are for the good and safety of their bodies, oh be much more careful for the good of your souls, and hazard not your souls upon every base Jury; stand not to the trial of temptation, fear and suspicion, but appeal to the great God of Heaven, and say, Lord it is an unjust Jury, you ●eele not these abilities; and you feel not this assurance of God's love, and when corruption begins to stir in the heart; then carnal reason saith, if a man had grace, could he have all these corruptions? if I had any grace it would not, nor it could not be thus with me: Oh complain to the Lord that they are an unjust Jury: look up to the Throne of mercy, and have your cause heard there, and say, Lord, these have been my professed enemies, the Devil, and this carnal proud froward heart of mine have been deadly enemies both to thee, and to thy grace, and to the good of my poor soul: and as for fear and suspicion, they have betrayed my comforts, and ●ut the throat of them, and many a time have taken away the hope of eternal life from me: and as for my weaknesses and infirmities, they are too ignorant, they cannot pass righteous judgement because they know not what belongs to grace here, or happiness hereafter: therefore appeal to the Lord, and say, you stand at God's mercy seat, let mercy do what it will with you, and mercy will certainly save you, and let mercy be for ever honoured, and be sure to lie down at the footstool of mercy. If thou art content to go to God, and depend upon mercy, and let it do what it will with thee, than mercy shall certainly save thee; if thou wilt come to believing, thou art sure to be acquitted: let the Devil come in against thee, and plead, and say, Lord wilt thou acquit such a man that hath been a despiser of thy grace and mercy; and the world saith, to my knowledge he hath closed with me and hath forsaken thee; and then saith conscience, I have told him of many sins, but he would never reform them; therefore Lord give Justice against him: then the Lord makes answer, and saith, It skils not what he hath been, If he will come to me, and believe in me, and repent of his sins, I will freely acquit him of all that he hath done amiss: therefore avoid the court, Satan, take this as an everlasting rule, and you shall find it by experience. If a man might have all the favour in the world shown him, and have his own friends to pass sentence against him, and have his best duties and services to plead for him, if he should commit his case to them to be tried by them, he would be for ever condemned by them; there is so much pride on the one side, and deadheartednesse on the other side, and so much wand'ring in your prayers, that they would cry to God for wrath and condemnation upon you: 1 Cor. 4.4. I know nothing by myself, yet am I not thereby justified: you must appeal to the Father of mercies, or else you will never be acquitted by them: therefore stand to that judgement of God, whose judgement must and shall stand, when the sentence of sin and Satan, and carnal reason shall be overthrown. The cause why many poor humbled broken selfe-denying hearts go drooping and discouraged, it is because they have a bad Jury goes upon them, and they dead their own hearts, because they appeal not to that God, who is willing to acquit them through the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Object. But some may object and say, how shall I know whether God will justify me or no? Answer. For answer hereunto, look what the word saith, if the word acquit thee, it shall stand; and if the word condemn thee, though all the men in the world acquit thee, yet thou shalt be condemned; to all that believe not in my Gospel, shall be confusion, saith the Apostle: and the words of Christ are, He that believeth not, is condemned already: therefore look what the word saith, and cleave to that for ever. Use 3 In the third place from hence we have a ground of terror to the wicked, and it is like a thunderbolt to break the hearts of all unbelievers, and it is able to cut the sinews of all their comforts, and to sink their souls to Hell, to think that they are unbelievers: I speak not to those that have some doubtings and troubles arising in their hearts, but to such as never yet believed in Christ, howsoever a man may have parts, and gifts, and be advanced, yet that which will be as gall and wormwood to the soul is this thou shalt never be justified. When Simon Magus would have bought the gift of the holy Ghost with money in Acts 8.21. Saint Peter answered him, thy money perish with thee: and furthermore, he cuts him up to the quick, and saith, Thou art still in the gall of bitterness, thou hast no share nor portion in this matter: so you unbelievers, you have no share in this point of justification, 1 Peter 4.17. If judgement, that is, temporal judgement begin at the house of God, that is, at the Saints of God which believe in the Lord jesus Christ, then what will the end be of all that obey not the Gospel of God, and believe not in the Lord jesus Christ? for it is all one in the phrase of Scripture: If a believer do come to heaven with much difficulty and trouble, and perplexity of heart, and the ship is all broken, and he comes to heaven with much difficulty; then what will the share of those men be that have no part nor portion in Jesus Christ? they can ruffle it out with the best for a while, and the men of the world do admire at them, and acquit them many times, the people of God being deluded with their smooth carriage, and fair shows, and having a charitable opinion of them, they do acquit them: but mark the end of it, thou mayst be admired and acquitted here, but thou shalt be for ever condemned hereafter: the sentence is gone forth, and it shall never be revoked: Heb. 3.18. To whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but unto them that obeyed not? You must think the Lord is highly displeased, when he sweareth that such a man shall never see his face with comfort, nor come to Heaven; he swears, and when the sentence is past, it is unchangeable, unalterable: So Hebrews 6.17. God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the stableness of his Council, bound himself by an oath: When the Lord would establish the heart of Abraham, he took an oath; as it is among men, an oath puts an end to all controversies: so if the Lord once swears, it is done in Heaven, never to be altered more, and therefore ask them this question: What are they, and what may we think of them that God swears against? certainly they are unbelievers, God must make a new Gospel, and must forswear himself, or else none of these unbelieving persons shall ever come to Heaven. Hence it is that the Apostle makes the thing almost impossible, That God cannot save an unbeliever: Rom. 11.23. And they also if they abide not in unbelief, shall be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again: as if he had said, the poor dispersed unbelieving Jews may also be saved, and receive sap and sweet from the grace of Christ, if they abide not in their unbelief: It is as much as to say, if they do abide in their unbelief, God is not able to graft them in; and the Apostle saith, God cannot deny himself, he will not cross the course of his providence, for never an unbelieving wretch under Heaven: He hath said it, and if there be ever a Devil in hell, thou shalt be one, if thou continuest as thou art: Therefore you that are convinced in your consciences, that you obey not the Gospel, nor submit to the grace of God in Christ, consider with yourselves whether it be good continuing in that estate or no: when the wrath of God hangs over your heads ready to fall upon you: see your misery therefore you poor souls, and take up that lamentation of Reuben, Gen. 37.29. when his brother joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites, the child is not yonder, and I, whither shall I go? so say thou, my comfort is lost, I am an unbeliever; and therefore I, whither shall I go? and I poor soul, whither shall I go? If I go to the Law, that condemns me; and if to the Gospel, that I have abused; if I go to God the Father of mercies, he will not acquit me: and therefore whither shall I go? I can go no whither but to hell, if I remain still in my unbelief, therefore be any thing rather than unbeliever, for if thou art so, and continuest so, the Lord hath sworn thy misery and destruction: john 3. the last verse, He that believeth not, the wrath of God abideth on him: If thou continuest still in thy unbelief, there is nothing to be expected but the fierceness of God's wrath and indignation to be poured upon thee: Thus much for the first Doctrine. Now before I come to the main proposition, let me take up one point by the way, to prevent all false and wicked surmizes: the Text saith, He hath made him sin for us, that knew no found: n●w when the Apostle saith, He hath made him sin for us, why, may some say, had Jesus Christ any sin? no, saith the Apostle, abhor such thoughts for ever: therefore to prevent all sur●izes that may prejudice the Holiness, Honour, and primity of Christ, let me lay down a point by the way, and the question shall be this: Quest. What is it to know no sin? Answer. Knowledge in Scripture, implies two things. First, a bare work of the understanding, when we are able to pierce into a thing that is offered to us, and are able to fathom what is offered to our view: and thus Christ did know sin, and thus to know sin is not evil: The Minister knows sin, when he preacheth against sin; and thus God himself knows sin, and thus Christ knew sin, and he was able to fathom the vildness and loathsomeness of sin, but that is not here meant. Secondly, there is another, namely an experimental knowledge, that is, when from some good that we have or do receive, or any good that we do of ourselves, or some evil that we do commit, or fearing some misery to come upon us, we read the nature of the good and the nature of the evil: as when a man hath a sinful distemper of wrath and passion, and he knows the nature of his anger and pride, because he observes the venom of it in his own spirit: this is experimental knowledge, and they call it so because we read our own dispositions, and thereby we judge the nature of it, by judging ourselves: The Physician knows the disease, and therefore he is able to apply medicines accordingly, but he knows it not experimentally; as we use to say, such a man never knew what poverty meant, and such a man never knew what the gout meant, that is, he never had it; and such a man never knew what a prison meant, that is, he never was in prison: This is the meaning of it in this place, Christ knew no sin, his heart never affected any, and himself never practised any: therefore he knew no sin by his own experience, yet by his infinite wisdom being God, he was able to find out the venom and ●ildnesse of sin: So the point which I observe by the way is this: Doctrine. Our Saviour Christ never yielded the least improvement of heart to sin, neither did he ever commit the least sin in his life and conversation: our Saviour Christ knew no sin at all by experience; this is that which all the types and sacrifices of the old Law did signify, which were all as so many several testimonies of the holiness and purity of the Lord Jesus Christ: therefore he was called the Lamb without blemish: and it was prophesied of him in Esay 53.9. That he had done no wickedness, neither was deceit found in his mouth: and his enemy Pilate said, I find no fault in him at all: and our Saviour himself saith, the Prince of this world cometh and hath nought in me, that is, no sin, john 14.30. The arguments are briefly these. Reason. Look into the Nature of our Saviour, and the Office of our Saviour, look into his Manhood, as he was perfect Man, for the seed of the woman was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, and was purged and sanctified, and the course of original sin was stayed, and when the body was framed, the Godhead dwelled bodily in Christ, and all the fullness of grace was in him; then the point must needs be clear, that there was no evil in him, no mutability to incline to any evil, nor no power could prevail with him to draw him to any evil: Again, look into the Office of our Saviour, for he that came to be a sacrifice for sin, must needs want sin, or else he could not be a sacrifice for sin: so the point is clear: we come now to the application. Use 1 The first use is a word of exhortation, and it ought to provoke all you that are faithful, and are believers, to conform your hearts and conversations answerable to the heart and life of Christ: did not Christ give the least improvement of heart to any sin, nor practise the least sin in any measure? then go thou and do likewise, be thou like thy Saviour, that thou mayest have some evidence that thou hast a title unto him: It is that which the Apostle makes as a special collection, Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but be you followers of God as dear children: Ephes. 5.1. Christ had no sin, nor fellowship with sin; let his course and practice be thy copy: But some will say, what, would you have us to be Saints here on earth ● how can it be that we should know no sin, when we have such a body of death hanging upon us? yes, we may know no sin, though it do hang about us: the Apostle doth not say, equal God in holiness, but imitate him; and he doth not say, follow him fully, but even as dear children: Now though the child cannot go so fast as the father, yet he will follow as fast as he can, and when he hath done what he can, than he cries to his father to help him, and carry him to the journeys end; and so ought we to do, nay so we will do, if we are true children and not bastards: the Father is infinitely full of holiness: Fellow God as dear children, do what you can and then ●rie to him to enable you to do what you cannot do. It was the practice of the Prophet David, Psalm 63.1. My soul thirsteth for thee, and my heart longeth after thee: therefore in the 119. Psalm, 4, 5. Thou hast commanded to keep thy Commandments diligently, oh that my heart me● so directed tha● I might do it: as if he had said, I know the Law requireth it, and it is my duty to do it: help Lord, and take Lord, and carry Lord thy poor servant, and lead me into the land of righteousness; it is an evidence of one that is borne of God: 1 john 5.18. Whosoever is borne of God sinneth not, and the evil one toucheth him not: so if you are such as have Christ Jesus form in you, you will labour to keep yourselves that the wicked one touch you not he doth not say he will not entertain it, but he will not keep company with it. A man must do by sin, as we would do by a man whose company we shun; if we would not have acquaintance with him, than we carry ourselves strangely to him; if he call, we will not answer; if he knock, we will not open; we keep ourselves close, that we may not change a word with him: so it will be with every one of you that are borne of God, you will have nothing to do with your old pettish lusts, and base humours and haunts of spirits, and whomsoever it be that hath had dalliance with you heretofore, you will avoid the place and presence of them, and say, I know not those distempers, nor the place not occasions of them, I will meddle with them no more, I will not own them, I have done it too too much already, if they come I will not yield; and if they follow, I will flee. I have read an old story of a man that was carried away much by a harlot; at last the Lord meets him, and opened his eyes, and humbled his soul, and brought him out of his sinful condition: many a day after the harlot met him again, and the man would not look on her, and she began to seft kindness upon him, and said, I am she, you know we have had much sweet dalliance together: Oh, but saith he, blessed be God, I am not I; that is, I am not the man that I was before: so should we, though we are nothing but sin by nature, and know nothing but corruption, yet if the old sluggishness and stubbornness of heart, and haughtiness that we have too too much received; if they come and say, we are the darlings that have had much sweet fellowship and communion with you, make them answer and say, I am not the man, I will have no more to do with you. Let every heart be here encouraged not to regard the base respects of sin, or of the world, they will say it is not good to be too holy, and too precise; make answer and say, I cannot be too holy, Jesus Christ knew no sin; the heart and life of Jesus Christ is that which we ought to respect and imitate. Now I come to the main proposition, and that is this; that the debt of the sinner is charged upon our Saviour: so saith the description, and so say the words of the Text: conceive here thus much, that our Saviour had the debt of a sinner charged upon him, partly by imputation, and partly by personal performance, he did perform the payment personally, the debt was by imputation, but the payment was by real and personal performance: and as our sins and debts were made his by imputation, so the payment was his really laid down, and suffered for us: Two things I must lay down before I can open the point: First, what is meant by sin. Secondly, why Christ is said to be made sin. First, what is meant by sin? Answer. I answer, sin so fare as it concerns our purpose, is taken two ways. First, the breach of the Law, as any guilt when a man is subject to the Law. Secondly, it is sometimes taken for the sacrifice of sin; for so the punishment in Scripture is sometimes called by the name of sin, as Leviticus 5.15. If a man sin and trespass through ignorance, he shall then bring unto the Lord for a trespass offering, a ram without blemish: If any man offer a gift for the sin which he hath committed, for so the word is in the original; if he offer a sacrifice, because of the guilt of sin which is upon him: and so Gen. 4.7. If thou dost not well, sin lieth at the door; that is, punishment lieth at the door: now in what sense it is taken here in this place, it is a point of great difficulty amongst many Divines some that have had a new way for justification, they have had also a new way for to interpret this place: but in my judgement it is to be taken in the first sense, though the second also must be included, and cannot but be collected from the former, and not only the former, but also latter Divines carry it this way: the argument here in the Text seems to be clear, and the reasons out of the Text are three: First, look at the opposition that is here between sin and righteousness; God made Christ sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ: that sin is here meant which is opposite to that righteousness which is here mentioned; but the sacrifice of sin is not opposite to the righteousness here meant, but the breach of the Law that is opposite to it: therefore righteousness doth imply the professed opposition to sin in this place, sin being profestly opposite to righteousness. Secondly, if we look at the comparison and proportion between the first part of the verse, and the last part, For as Christ was made righteousness to us; not that righteousness which we have, but that which he had, and which is made ours by imputation: so Christ also was made sin for us, not that Christ had sin, but he took our sin by imputation: so that I reason thus; That sin is here meant, which is so imputed to Christ, as his righteousness is imputed to us: but not the sufferings or punishments of sin is imputed, but the guilt and the breach, Christ did really and personally suffer; and therefore he needed no such imputation for suffering, but for the breach of the Law which he never did, that only is imputed to him. Thirdly, let us take what they give, and grant that Christ is our sacrifice for sin, that very grant infers that Christ also must have sin imputed to him; for he that did really pay that which was due on our parts, and which the justice of God exacted as a due payment for what we had committed, he must also have the debt imputed to him; for otherwise to make a man pay the debt which he hath no relation to, and cannot be charged withal, this stands not with justice; but God the Father exacted payments and sufferings from our Saviour for our sin; and therefore he charged our Saviour with our sins: As for example, a creditor sues the surety, and forceth him to pay the debt; why? because he stands charged with the debt, for when he entered bond with the creditor, he became surety, and a debtor to pay the debt, and the debtor was acquitted: but now he that never was bound for the money, cannot be forced to pay the debt: so that all things considered, it is evident that our Saviour was made sin, that is, that the sins of the whole world were set upon his score. Secondly, what is it to be made sin? It is not to be meant, that Christ had any sin of his own, no more than we had righteousness; neither that God the Father did make him sinful, these are hellish and devilish blasphemies: but we must understand it so, as may stand with God's Justice, Holiness, Christ's purity, etc. God the Father charged all our sins upon the Lord Jesus Christ by imputation: but if you ask me, why doth the Text say, that he made him sin and not a sinner; the reason is this, because our Saviour did not bear the sins of any one man in particular, but he bore the sins of all the world: all the evils which they had committed, were charged upon our Saviour, and God the Father follows the suit upon the surety, and accounted him as the debte●, and as one that was guilty of all those sins, because he had taken them upon him; so the point of Doctrine hence is this: Doctrine. God the Father did impute all the sins of all the world to the charge of our Saviour. All you that are debtors to the Lord, consider of it; if a man had forfeited his bond, and had great payments to make, if he knew any friend that would become a debtor for him and would pay the debt, oh how would he rejoice! Now we are all debtors and stand bound to God, therefore take notice of the point, God the Father charged all the sins of all the faithful upon the Lord Jesus Christ: if you ask me why I say the faithful; because the Text saith, He was made sin for us saith the Apostle, for us that believe: he would be sure to have some of that mercy, as he saith in another place, Christ came to save sinners, whereof I am chief: he, engrosseth mercy to himself; therefore you hard hearted and unbelieving wretches be packing, for Christ was made sin for us, that is, for us believers: so that none of the faithful are exempted from the benefit of this Doctrine; Christ was made sin for every believer, for every believing creature in the world that can but rest upon Christ, and can touch the hem of his garment: it is not the greatness of your faith, but the sincerity of your faith, that helps you to come within compass of this point. For the proof of this Doctrine consider thus much: this is a truth of the Scripture undeniable, and that which hath from age to age been delivered to the people of God, all the offerings and sacrifices of the Law do show so much, and all the types of the Law do testify so much, as in Leviticus 1.4. compare it with Leviticus 5.5. in Chap. 1.4. he saith, The offender shall bring the burnt offering without blemish, and he shall put his hands upon the head of the sacrifice, and it shall be accepted of the Lord to be an atonement: and in Chap. 5.5. When he hath sinned in any of these things, than he shall come and confess that he hath sinned therein; this was the legal ceremony: now what is the substance of it? the sacrifices were types of Christ, he is the sacrifice without blemish, without sin, and the offering up of the sacrifice was the believing upon, and the tendering of the Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father by faith, and this must be done at the door of the Tabernacle: the meaning is, he is a common Saviour to all believers, that as it is in a common ground, every one hath a share in it, and every borderer though never so poor, may come and put on and feed his cattle as well as the best: so here every poor believer may come and feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ: therefore the Apostle in the 3. verse of jude calls it the common salvation; not common to all the wicked and unbelievers, but to all the faithful that border upon the promises, and do believe in them, it is common to them all; and the man that offered the sacrifice was to lay his hand upon the head of the sacrifice, and there to confess all the sins of the children of Israel; this was the unburthening himself of his sin, and laying it upon the head of the sacrifice the Lord Jesus Christ; that so what we are not able to bear, he may bear for us, and answer divine justice for us; and so there was another ceremony, Leviticus 16.21. Of the escape goat, there were two sacrifices to be offered, the one was to be a burnt offering, and the other was to escape; Aaron was to put his hand upon the head of the live goat, and to confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and their trespasses, putting them upon the head of the live goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a man appointed into the wilderness; so the goat shall bear upon him all the iniquities to a land not inhabited: and the other was to be offered up for a burnt offering: this was the type; now the intendment of the ceremony was this; the goat was the Lord Jesus Christ, and when Aaron did put his hands upon the head of the goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and did put them upon the head of the goat; it was thus much, God the Father did charge all the sins of all the world upon the Lord Jesus Christ, even of all, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, and did put them all upon the Lord Christ; and howsoever he was a sacrifice for sin, yet he was a escape goat, and hath escaped out of the hands of hell and death, and is now in Heaven, and with him all believers shall escape from hell and death, by the power of his merits. Further ye see how the Prophet expounds the Law, Esay 53.4, 5. We thought him afflicted and buffeted for himself, but he was wounded for our sins, and broken for our iniquities; he was neglected amongst the wicked, and they judged him as smitten for his own sins, but he was wounded for our sins imputed to him, that we through him might be eased thereof; and therefore the Text saith, He bore our iniquities: and me thinks it hath reference to the escape goat, and it is that which the Apostle doth peremptorily say, Heb. 7.22. He was made a surety of a better covenant: Now the surety hath not only the payment to make, but he is accounted as the debtor; the debt is laid to his charge, as well as the payment is required, thus the point is proved: Now for the better discovery of this Doctrine, let me do two things: First, I will show after what manner God did this, and what is the behaviour of the Lord, when he chargeth the sins of the faithful upon Christ. Secondly, I will show the reasons of it, why God the Father did so, whereby it shall appear, that it is reasonable, and it doth wonderfully magnify the Justice, and mercy of God. Quest. 1 For the first, if a man ask me what God the Father doth, when he chargeth the sins of the faithful upon Christ; Answer. I answer, this act carries three things in it, or God brings about the work by a threefold act. First, God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ made a mutual decree and purpose, that so many should believe, they should be saved: And they did not only purpose this, but they did make a mutual agreement between themselves, that the Lord Jesus Christ should take the care of those souls to make them believe, and to save them by believing, and the Lord Jesus Christ undertook the work according to their compact, God the Father said, I will have these children saved, and Christ saith, I will take the care of them: john 10.14, 15, 16. It's strange to see, how our Saviour there speaks of his Office, in the 14. verse, he saith, I am the good Shepherd and know mine, and am known of mine, that is, I know those that are committed to my charge and knowledge, even as the shepherd knows his sheep: but how doth the Lord Christ know, who God the Father will have to be saved? look verse 15. As the Father knoweth me, so know I the Father. and we have agreed amongst ourselves, that so many shall be saved: The Father hath said, I will have so many souls saved, and Christ saith, those souls shall be my care and charge: and in the 16. verse, he saith, Other shee● I have also which are not of this sold, them also must I bring, and they shall hear my voice: when the Father hath revealed, that so many in such a place, and so many in such a place shall be saved, than the Lord Christ undertakes the care of them, and he calls at such a door, and saith, I must have that poor drunken creature, and he must be humbled and broken hearted, and he must believe, and he calls at such a door, and finds the adulterer in the arms of the harlot, and he saith, I must have that unclean wretch, I must humble him for his sins, and I must make a separation between him and his sins: A good shepherd will have a care of his sheep, and will fetch them wheresoever they be; as it was with David, He did fetch his prey from the mouth of the Lion: so though there were never so many baits to allure a man, yet if the Lord Christ intent to save him, he will fetch him out of the mouth of the Lion; and he saith, that poor soul is mine, I have taken the charge of him, and therefore I must have him, and he must hear my voice, nay he shall hear my voice: Many times you have turned the deaf ear upon Christ, and he calls and knocks, and yet that will not serve the turn, until he breaks in upon the soul by horror of heart: therefore God the Father commits the care of all those wand'ring souls to the charge of Christ, and he will have them by one means or other: As it is with a Husbandman that hath a great flock of sheep, and he saith to his son, lo, I commit the care of them to thee, lo here they are, I would have thee to be careful of them, the number thou knowest, and the mark thou feast, than the son concludes with the father, and they enter into agreement, and the son saith, I will feed and keep those sheep: so it is with God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; God the Father gives all the names of all the faithful from the beginning of the world to the end of it▪ and saith, all these are my children, there is a poor creature in such a blind corner of the country which I must have saved, and in another place there is another base drunkard which I must have saved, that I may make the world to wonder at it; the foundation of the Lord standeth sure, and hath this seal, the Lord knoweth who are his, the Lord hath elected and called them, that's his mark; and therefore our Saviour Christ undertakes the care of them, and God the Father looks that all those that are committed to the care of Christ, should be saved; as in john 17.12. Of all that thou hast given me, have I lost none, but the child of perdition, that is, he was a wolf, and no sheep, and a lion, and a cunning fox, and none of my charge, but of all that thou hast given me have I lost none: all you poor ignorant and weak Christians, little lambs, that cannot help yourselves, Christ will not lose one of you; but though you are never so mean and poor, the Lord will carry you in his arms, and bring you to everlasting life: 1 Cor. 15.24. Then shall the end be, when the Lord jesus hath delivered up the Kingdom to the Father; and shall say, Father, thou hast given me the charge of so many in England, so many in Spain, so many in Asia, so many in the Palatinate, the Lord Jesus Christ shall deliver up the whole number to God the Father. Secondly, our Saviour having undertaken to keep these, he addresseth himself to the work, to use those means by which he may keep and save them, and that he doth thus: he puts himself into the room and place of all those poor lost sheep of his, and this is the difficulty to open this to you that are weak. Now what is it to be put in the room and place of another? Christ doth willingly submit himself to the power of the revenging justice of the Father, that whatsoever the Law and Justice of God required at the hands of the faithful, that doth Christ stand unto and will answer it all, as thus: the debtor is taken and imprisoned, and they that are his friends desire some releasement for him; how upon consultation, and conference with the creditor, it is agreed that such a man shall undertake to help him, and to free him from all the extremity that he lies in for the debt, and he must do it by one of these two ways, either he must break the prison, and so rescue him by strong hand, or else he must yield and submit to what the Law requires, and is due to the creditor; and the creditor saith, if you will be content to become debtor, and acquit him of the debt, if you will enter bond with me to become a paymaster of the whole debt due to me, than I am content to free him: Now the man that thus yields himself, to what the power of Law and Justice can do against the debtor, that man becomes a surety for him, he will be as one that owes the money, and that must pay, and the Law proceeds as fully against him, as against the debtor: the debtor did personally owe the money, and lay in prison for it, but the surety is as one that hath forfeited and must pay; he submits himself to the power of Law, and Justice, that look what the Law requires of a man forfeiting and owing, he is content that the Law require it of him. Just so it is here, the sinner is this debtor, and Christ undertakes for him by a mutual consent between the Father and him, and he yields and submits himself to all the power of Justice, that look how the Law accounts of a sinner, it should account of him: Now the Law of God accounts of this man as one that hath broken the Law, and deserved eternal death, and Christ submits himself to these, the Law requires doing and suffering, and Christ is contented to undergo all these for all that shall believe: as Gal. 4.4, 5. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his only Son made of a woman, and made under the Law, that he might redeem them which were under the Law: the meaning is this, look how we were under the Law, so was Christ under the Law for us, that so he might redeem those that were under the Law; the Law laid guilt to our charge, and the Law did condemn us, and the Lord Christ was content to be under all that commanding, revenging authority, which the Law had over us, so that now Christ is come into the room of all the faithful: hence is that speech of Luther, which the Papists so much cavil at; he saith our Saviour was the greatest sinner of all the faithful that ever was upon the face of the earth, not that he had any sin of his own inherent in him, or committed by him, but because all the sins of all the world were charged upon him, and Christ put himself into the room of all the world, that look whatsoever the Law required of any, the same it required of him; and what the Law accounted of any, it accounted the same of him. Thirdly, our Saviour having put himself into the room of a sinner, the Law now proceeds with full scope against him, and God the Father may justly proceed according to rule, and may justly express the power of his revenging Justice upon him: and hence it is that God the Father accounts of Jesus Christ as a sinner, and proceeds against him, and condemns him as a sinner, and doth require of him whatsoever he requires of a sinner, a sinner must do or die, and so must the Lord Christ, because he hath put himself into the room of a sinner. As it is with a creditor, haply the debtor grows a bankrupt, and flies his country, the creditor cares not, for, saith he, I will lay the debt upon the sureries back, such a man was bound for him, I have him still in my chest, and it is as good to me, as if the debtor himself were able to pay me: so it is here when poor sinners wrong God, and wound his Spirit, and dishonour his Name, and transgress his Laws, and they are not able to answer him one of a thousand, though they should go to bell for it; now God the Father saith, I must be righteous, I will lay all their sins upon the Lord Jesus Christ, he became a debtor, and undertook for them, and therefore I will require it of him, as well as of them. Thus much of the first part of the discovery of this point, that God the Father charged our sins upon our Saviour, and that Christ charged them upon himself, they both make a compact, that poor lost man shall be saved, and Christ submits, and is contented to bear their sins, and to have the Law proceed against him. Now I come to the reasons why God the Father doth charge the sins of all the faithful upon Christ: the reasons are three, and I reason from the explication thus: Reason 1 First, that which the Lord Jesus Christ did willingly yield and subm●●imselfe to without sin, that God the Father might lay upon him without any wrong, and might charge it upon him as due debt; I say, what the Lord Jesus Christ did willingly submit himself to, without any dishonour to himself, that God the Father might justly charge upon him; but our Saviour did willingly submit himself to the divine Justice of God the Father, to take their sins, and to bear their sorrows, and to be in the room of a sinner, he came voluntarily in our room, and therefore being under the Law, and being our scapegoat, the Father might justly lay and charge our debts upon him, because he had taken them upon himself: he that will enter into bond with the creditor, and free the debtor, it is very equal that the creditor proceed against him, as against the debtor. Reason 2 Secondly, the justice of God requires this at the hands of Jesus Christ to wit, that he should not only suffer for sinners, but also take the very guilt of sinners upon himself by imputation, and be in their room. And that the justice of God doth require this at the hands of Christ, may thus be conceived: The anger, justice, and severity of God, were manifested in the fall of man; for when man back sinned and fallen, than anger and justice began to work, and now Adam saw God to be an angry and a just God; now the glory of those attributes appeared, and now all the complaint stands upon mercy's side; and therefore mercy appeals to the great Court in Heaven, and then it saith, wisdom, and power, and goodness, have all been manifested in the Creation; and anger and justice, they have been glorified in the fall of Adam: but I have not yet been manifested; Oh let some poor souls be comforted and saved, that they may know there is a merciful God, and then the case is debated, only justice steps in, and takes itself as wronged: It is true, saith justice, it is fit that mercy should be honoured, yet it is not fit that I should be wronged: must my glory be injured? would you have a company of sinful rebels pardoned and forgiven, when they have thus abused holiness, and goodness, and resisted the Will of God? nay, except they be punished, I cannot have my due: mercy must be honoured, but yet justice must not be wronged. Now God is a just God, and he must give every one their due; glory to whom glory belongs, and justice to whom justice belongs: justice must not be offended, but must be apaid, and have its right: this is the controversy, therefore the Lord Jesus Christ steps in, and makes up all even on both sides; and there is a way devised whereby justice may be fully satisfied, and yet mercy magnified, and so much the more is mercy magnified, by how much justice was wronged: Then Christ comes in and saith, that justice shall punish all unbelievers, and so it shall be satisfied for all the wrong done to it, and mercy shall be magnified upon the believing souls, because the believer is not able to bear divine justice himself: therefore Christ Jesus is contented to be accounted guilty, that justice may inflict punishment upon him as deserving it; for otherwise, to punish the innocent, and to acquit the guilty, will not stand with justice: Now therefore that justice may have his due from him, and yet do him no wrong; therefore he was content to be accounted guilty; and though he were innocent, yet he was contented to be accounted noce●. Now if God in justice require punishment of our Saviour, than the same justice must account our Saviour as guilty, otherwise, he should punish the innocent, which he cannot in justice do: but God the Father did punish Christ Jesus, for justice is satisfied by the punishment, therefore it is requisite that he should be under the Law: also God in justice must account him guilty, that in justice he may be punished: so the issue is this; If God the Father do in justice punish Christ, than it is required that he● should be accounted as guilty, and under the Law; but the Father did do it; therefore he did account him as a sinner, and as guilty, and did lay their sins unto his charge. Reason 3 Thirdly, the third argument is taken from the love and mercy of Jesus Christ, which abundantly is magnified herein, in taking upon him the room of a sinner: for whatsoever the Lord Jesus Christ could do for a poor sinner without sin, that he did do, in the pardon of sin; but this Christ might do without sin; and is doing thereof, might express abundance of love, not only to lay down his life for us, but to veil his innocence for us: he was accounted a malefactor and a sinner for us, this is the highest pitch of admirable love that can be; for the lower the degree of his abasement was, the greater was his love: for it is one thing to die, and it is another thing to veil his honour and holiness, and he that was God equal with the Father, to be accounted as guilty of sin, this argues marvellous mercy and love, therefore it was fit that it should be taken. Use 1 The first use is a word of instruction to all the faithful of God: they are to learn this point of wisdom. Is it so that God the Father hath laid thy sins upon Jesus Christ? doth the guilt of them lie there, and hath Christ taken them, and the guilt of them upon himself, and the condemnation due unto the same; then do thou not take them from him to thyself. Therefore what the Jews did with the sacrifice, so do you with a Saviour, Leviticus 16.21. When Aaron came to offer up the scapegoat, he laid both his hands upon him with all his might, and he put all the sins of Israel upon the head of the live goat. The Hebrew Writers observe three things in the words: First, he laid on both his hands with all his might: Secondly, there was nothing between the hand of the offerer and the sacrifice which was made: Thirdly, he must confess his sins, and the sins of all the Israelites over the goat, and say, Lord, I have transgressed, and have committed this and that iniquity, but now Lord I return to thee, and bring an offering of atonement, and I beseech thee good Lord to accept it: So let this be the guise of the heart of every faithful Christian, when he would have quiet and ease, if ever you would have acceptance with Christ, then carry him with thee to the Father, and let your soul's rest upon him with all your strength, and unburthen thyself of all thy sins, and the guilt of them, and put them upon the Lord Christ: commit thy soul to him, and then for ever expect grace and mercy from him, and resolve of this, that the Lord Jesus Christ which was made guilty for thee, will make thee guiltless; and he that was condemned in thy room, he will acquit thee in his mercy and goodness. But some may here object and say, is not this a ground of comfort, and a ground of looseness, for drunkards and carnal libertines: for they may say, why should we not live in our sins, seeing Christ hath take● the guilt of them upon him, and will deliver us from them; they think they may be careless of whatsoever they do, and sing care away, never to be troubled for, nor affected with the burden of their sins and rebellions any more, because Christ stands charged with their sins, therefore they may throw away the care of them. Thus, as I may say with holy reverence, they make Christ a stolen for all their sins: therefore let me show all such lose libertines of this last age of the world, what fond conceits they have: I mean the Anabaptists, but specially the Familists, who think it is unprofitable for a believer to trouble himself for his sins, and to go up and down with his heart full of grief, and his eyes full of tears; and they think it unwarrantable and unlawful, and therefore they grow careless of sin, and fearless when they have committed sin: hath Christ undertaken for sin, say they, then why should a believer take sin to himself? This is the cursed opinion of the Familists. There is an unspeakable, and an unmeasurable measure of comfort in this Doctrine for all the people of God, and the other suck as much poison from it. I have borne a secret grudge against this doctrine of theirs many a day, but I could not tell how to meet with it, neither do I love to meddle with it, till I meet at in my dish: therefore to prevent the cavils of the wicked, that a carnal heart may not presume of the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, and also that the poor sinner may not burden himself with needless ●ea●es, nor with his sin more than God requires, suffer me to clear the Doctrines by laying open two things: Quest. 1 First, how fare a sinner may and aught to charge himself with his sin, and how fare ho may go. Quest. 2 Secondly, how fare a sinner should not lay his sin upon himself, nor charge his folly upon himself; and this will touch and discover the bounds and limits of the free grace of God, and will open the way that we may walk therein with comfort. For the former: Quest. 1 The question here grows how fare a believer that hath an interest an Christ, may charge himself with his sin. Answer. I answer for the manner of it, it shall appear in these particular rules or conclusions. First, every believer under heaven, both the weakest and the strongest, even he that hath the strongest measure of grace, is bound to this, to the uttermost of his power to see and examine the sinful carriages of his soul: whether distempers inwardly, or ungodly practices outwardly: he is bound to consider of them, and to judge of these his sins, and every of them, knowing that even the least of them is sufficient to make him guilty of eternal death, and to bring condemnation upon him; as he must see what his sin is, so he must judge that it hath the power to make him guilty, and also to condemn him, should not the Lord by the power of his grace prevent it. Every sin in his own nature, and power, doth and will procure guilt and condemnation to the soul, by the sin committed, unless the Lord in mercy do prevent it, and Christ by the power of his merits stop the power and condemnation of sin, as the Apostle saith, Rom. 1.31. which men though they knew the Law of God, how that they which do these things are worthy of death: that is, that in the least sin which a man commits, there is a fitness in it to make a man guilty, and it hath a power to condemn him, unless the Lord did marvellous graciously stop the power of corruption: as the Text saith, the repenting Church shall judge themselves worthy to be condemned: every sinner may say of every sin he commits, that there is enough in it to damn him, if God should deal with him after his own deservings; If I should be left to the power of my pride, and malice, & hatred, & dead heartedness, it were enough to condemn me for ever. The wife Physician that sees his Patient is in a pleurisy, will say, here is enough in this man to kill him, if I should neglect him but a few days, it would kill him: but now if the Physician lets him blood, he stops the power of it, that so the corrupted blood cannot bring death upon him: so every sin that a man commits, both the distempers of the heart inwardly, and the abuse of the means of grace and the practice of sin outwardly, there is enough in that pleurisy of sin to take away a man's comfort and happiness, unless the Lord be pleased to hinder the condemning power of them, that they cannot hurt us: therefore the sum of all is this, as every believer must examine his own heart and life, so he must judge the nature of sin, and judge himself worthy to be condemned: 1 Cor. 11.31. If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged, that is, if we condemn ourselves, and judge ourselves worthy to be condemned for them: I say not that a man should say, that the Lord will condemn him, but that he is worthy to be condemned for them, and he deserves condemnation. Every fiery Serpent in the wilderness had a kill nature in it, and if it did not kill, it was not for want of power in it, but because the virtue and power of the brazen Serpent (which was a Type of Christ) took away all the kill power of the fiery Serpents: this is the practice of the soul whom the Lord hath truly brought home to himself: as Ezekiel 16.36. after they were justified in God's sight, then shall they remember their evil ways, saith the Text, and be ashamed, and never open their mouths more, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done: Though God hath accepted of a poor believer, yet he must see his sins, and lay his mouth in the dust, and never prank up his heart more, but walk humbly before the Lord; and though he is accepted and pardoned, yet he shall judge himself worthy to be condemned: This is the first conclusion. Secondly, every believing soul justified, and having an interest in Christ, ought thus fare to acknowledge his sins, as that it were righteous with the Lord to execute his wrath against him, and to take all the advantages against him: and howsoever the Lord will not condemn him, yet to let out his wrath against him; though not to condemn him, yet to distract him: This is that which job makes to be the ground of that bitter complaint of his, and made him sit down in distractedness of heart, under the heavy displeasure of the Lords wrath, that though God would not damn him, yet when the Lord takes away his loving countenance, and lets in his indignation into his soul, to his humiliation, terror, and vexation; this sunk him infinitely, and this God might do to every believer under Heaven, job 13.24, 26. Why hidest thou away thy face, and takest me for thine enemy? God seemed to be displeased with him, and to frown upon him, and carried himself to job as an enemy: and in the 26. verse, Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to inherit the sins of my youth: The old lusts, and the old bruises of his youth, whereby he had dishonoured God, though these were pardoned before, yet God renews them, and puts in the suit against him the second time, and makes the sins of his youth to be inherited by him; that look as the land descends to the heir, so the Lord made the sins and vanities of his soul to be possessed by him, and brought out all his abominations out of record, Thou writest bitter things against me, that is, the Lord took all the advantages against him that might be, and said, Remember the old lusts of thy heart, and the vanities of thy youth; and this made him like a dry leaf tossed too and fro: as verse 25. Oh how easy were it for God, if he should but report to a man's conscience any little sin, that was committed the night before, and set it on, and seal it to the heart, it would drive the stoutest heart under heaven to despair: Psalm 88.15. Thy terrors have I suffered from my youth upwards, and I have been distracted with them; Lord, why castest thou off my soul? I am afflicted, and ready to die. It is certain, and I have known it, that the most stoutest heart, and rebellious lion-like disposition, that sets himself against God and his grace; if God let him but see his sin, and say, this is thy pride, and thy stubbornness and rebellion, it would drive the stoutest heart under heaven beyond itself; nay, to utter distraction of mind, Psalm 40.12. Innumerable troubles have taken hold upon me, they have so compassed me about, that I am not able to look up: Every sin is like a great bandog that is muzzled, and if he be once let lose, he will tear all in pieces: so the Lord sometimes muzzles a man's corruptions, and keeps them under, and if the Lord do but now and then let them lose, than they pull a man down: and hence comes all those pale looks, and discouragements of soul, these are they that will thus worry a man: Thus every believer must acknowledge that it were just with the Lord to let lose his sin, howsoever not to condemn him, yet to make him live at little peace or quiet; and hence it is that the Prophet David prays so against it, Psalm 51.9. when he had committed those two great sins of adultery and murder, though God after his confession had sealed to his soul the pardon of them, yet he went with broken bones; and therefore he saith, Hid away thy face from my sins, and put away all mine iniquities; as if he had said, look not upon my sins as a judge, do not follow the Law against me, let not my sins, or my person be once brought into the Court, or be once named, but look upon the Lord Jesus Christ for me, and for his sake blot out all mine iniquities. Thirdly, every believer accepted and justified in and through Christ by the Father, yet he is bound thus fare to charge his sin upon his own soul, and lay them so much upon himself, as to maintain in his own heart a sense of the need that he hath of Christ, as well as to continue our respect and acceptation with God, as to bring us at first into the love and favour of God: Indeed if we could quit ourselves, and clear our hands of any sin committed by us, it were something, than we would be ready to say as the people to jeremy, We are holy, we are lords, we will come no more at thee: No it is necessary, seeing Christ is yet in the work of the mediatorship, that we should see a daily need of him; this is the reason of that great complaint of David, Psal. 51.1.2. a man would think that he would have been comforted, and gone away cheerfully, having the pardon of his sins: but mark how he cries, Have mercy upon me oh God, according to the multitude of thy compassions, wash away all my transgressons: wash me throughly from all my transgressions, and purge me from my sin. He had not only need of Christ before his conversion to justify him, but he had need of Christ now to continue the assurance of his justification; it is not a drop, but a bucket full of mercy; not a little mercy, but a whole ocean: Lord, I have had a great deal of mercy for the sins of my youth, and I have need of a great deal of mercy still to wash away the guilt of my sins: this the Law required of every man that did offer sacrifice, as they were to offer their daily sacrifice, so we have daily need of Christ, and therefore we must have a daily recourse to Christ: therefore the sacrificer was to lay his hands upon the head of the sacrifice: Even so do thou lay thine hands upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and rest upon him, and thou shalt find acceptance with him, this is that which sometimes cheers up the drooping heart, and bears it up in the midst of all the waves of wickedness, when he sees the vanity of his mind, and the deadness of his heart, and frothiness of his speech, and now sin, and then sin, and in every thing sin, as you cannot but see and confess it: this stands the poor sinner in stead when he considers this, and saith, though I am daily sinning, yet there is a Saviour in Heaven, and mercy and grace in him, that I may be comforted therein for ever, Hebrews 7.25. He is able to save to the uttermost, those that come to God by him: It implies these two things, not only from all sin, but also at all times; not only from the sins of your youth, but also to the uttermost of your days: the reason is, he lives for ever to do it; this is the cheering of a poor sinner, and this we should labour to maintain, and to keep the sight and sense of our sin, though our sins endure for ever, our living and sinning go together, and we still continue to be as sinful, and lazy, and idle, as ever; yet see a need of a Saviour that lives for ever, and he is able to save for ever: He hath not only been a Saviour in times past, but he is still; you may haply live many days, and therefore go to Christ which liveth for ever, to pardon and to intercede for the comfort of the soul. The wise man saith, Proverbs 28.13. He that confesseth and forsaketh shall find mercy: the original runs thus, confessing and forsaking findeth mercy, the best of God's people have their sins, their pride, and other distempers: therefore labour to see thy sins, and to see thy need of Christ, that thou mayst find pardon for them. Fourthly, thus fare the Saints of God ought to go in charging their own souls with their sins; so fare see them, and be affected with them, as to bring thy heart to be truly carried with hatred against them, and with resolution to get power and strength against them; lay thy burden upon thy own soul, that thou mayst be affected with it, and be carried with a hatred to it, and a resolution to get more strength and power against it: Famous is that example of David herein, and this was the cause of his practice; it is a conceit of the Familists, that if he had once gotten the assurance of God's love, he might have gone away cheered, but though the Lord had pardoned his sin, yet he would not pardon sin in himself: the Lord shown mercy to his soul, but yet he would not show any pity to his sin, but shown all the hatred and revenge against it, that possibly he could: As the Apostle said concerning the incestuous Corinth, Ye should rather have sorrowed, that the sin might have been removed; had you sorrowed for your sins, than you would have resisted them; And when he had showed them their transgressions, and convinced them of their sins, see what fruit it wrought in them, in 2 Cor. 7.10. For this thing that ye have had godly sorrow, what great care it hath wrought in you; yea, what clearing of yourselves; yea, what indignation; yea, what fear, what zeal, what revenge, & c? The Familists scornfully and sinfully inquire and say, why should a believer go drooping, and mourning under his sins and corruptions, and have his eyes full of tears, and his heart full of grief, seeing Christ hath pardoned all, as though a man did become a Mediator to himself? their demand is weak, and their scorn is hellish, and therefore I answer them thus: If there be a daily need that every believer see a necessity of Christ, then there is a daily need to repent and sorrow for sin; for if he must be more sanctified, than he must be more mortified; therefore he must daily see his sins or else he will never see a need of Christ, nor repent, nor be more sanctified nor mortified: Again, if every believer must express his love unto God daily, than he must hate every thing that is evil. I hope you will confess that every believer is bound to love Jesus Christ, therefore he must hate sin; and if he must hate sin that he may not commit it, than he must mourn for it when it is committed. If a man have any good nature, it will work trouble in his heart, to think that he should sinne against so good a God; thus fare a Christian ought to go, and must go in the charging himself with his sin. Quest. 2 Now in the second place the question is this, how far may not a believer charge himself with his sin; this is that which hath bred all these vain conceits in the spirits of those Familists: I say no more therefore but this, they make Christ not a King of Saints, but of sin; there is great weight in it, and admirable comfort, if Christians would but be persuaded to make conscience of the word of God. You that are weak not only be persuaded to listen to the word, but also make conscience of what is revealed out of the word: now how fare he may not charge himself with his sin, may be conceived of in these conclusions. First, a believer should not in his judgement conceive, nor in his heart be persuaded that any sin, nor all his sins shall ever be able to fasten the guilt of sin upon him, so as to cause revenging justice to proceed against him to his condemnation, if he seriously repent, and amend, and forsake his old ways: for he must not in his judgement conceive, nor in his heart think that ever sinne repent of shall be able to fasten guilt upon him so, as to draw out the execution of justice against him: It is one thing to be worthy of condemnation, and it is another thing to fasten guilt and condemnation upon him, as many poor creatures will say, I shall be condemned, and I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul, and these sins will be my everlasting destruction: take heed what you do; for if you are believers, true penitents; you sinne highly in so doing, and saying, walk as humbly as thou wilt, and lay thy mouth in the dust, and speak not a word more, and say, it is mercy that thou art not in hell; yet know this also, that all thy sins, and all thy pride shall never be able so to fasten guilt upon thee, as to draw out God's justice against thee: sin hath a power to make us guilty, and to condemn us, but it shall never fasten its work upon thy penitent soul: remember that story of Saint Paul, Acts 5.28. He went and gathered up sticks with the rest of the company to make a fire, (for he took no great state upon himself, being but a poor tentmaker) and there came a viper out of the heat, and leapt on his hand: by and by the Heathens they proclaimed him to be some notorious malefactor, some murderer, whom though he had escaped the Sea, yet vengeance hath not suffered him to live: but mark what the Text saith, He shaken off the viper into the fire, and had no hurt; this viper would have slain him, being a deadly venomous creature, but Paul had a promise before, that if he touched any poisonful thing, it should not hurt him. This is the admirable happiness of the Saints, and servants of God: oh that they were persuaded of it. All thy pride, and envy, and malice, and covetousness, all thy sins are of a poisonous viperous nature, but if thou art a believer, if a true penitent and convert, thou hast the promise, that the sting of the Serpent, sin, shall not hurt thee, it is taken off from thee, and laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore shake off the guilt of all thy abominations, and go on cheerfully and comfortably to Christ, and yet humbly too, and praise his Name that he hath been pleased to take that guilt of sin upon him, which thou wert never able to bear: therefore, though all thy pride, thy rebellion and other sins should come in against thee; as the sins of Manasses, if thou repentest and forsakest them, yet they shall never be able to fasten any guilt upon thee to condemn thee. Look as it was with the three children, the fire in its own nature was able to burn them; therefore they that put them in were consumed by the flame, but the three children had no hurt: the Lord stopped the power of the flames, that it burned only their bonds, but not one hair of their head was sienged, nor there was no smell of fire upon them; it was not because the fire would not, or could not, but the Lord stopped the acting of the fire. So every sin is able to fasten guilt upon thee, and to condemn thee, but upon thy repentance, the Lord hinders it in the act; and therefore though sin doth send the wicked and impenitent down to hell to fry in torments, yet it shall never send thee down, nor fasten guilt upon thee: Thus it was likewise with Daniel, Chap. 6.22, 23, 24. when he was put into the Lion's den, the Princes of the king Darius had a spleen against Daniel, because he was a holy man, and had gotten some interest in the king's favour, and they could get no hold against him, but in the matter of his God▪ now he that loved God better than himself, He opens his window boldly towards jerusalem, professing God's truth when he was called to it, therefore they went to the king to have him to be cast into the den of Lions, according to the decree; now he was cast into it, and though the Lions were hungry, yet God shut the mouth of the Lions, they had power, and were able to hurt him if they had not been restrained, but God had shut up their mouths that they could not hurt him; but when the enemies of Daniel were cast into the den, the Lions did tear them all to pieces, before they came at the bottom of the den they rend them in pieces suddenly: what's the reason of it? they had as much power before, and were as able and as hungry before, but the Lord stopped their mouths, that they could not devour Daniel: Just so it is with the sins of the penitent, and the sins of the impenitent; the sins of the one, though they are of a kill, and a Lion-like nature, (for the wages of every sin is death, and there is condemnation in it) yet the Lord stops the mouth of the Lion, he takes off the guilt and condemning power of sin, that though it hath power in itself to condemn yet it cannot do it; but now when it meets with an impenitent unbeliever, the malice of the malicious shall kill him, and the pride of the ambitious shall one day rend his heart; but it is not so with the sins of the penitent believers, their sins have teeth indeed, and power to make a man worthy of condemnation, but they shall never fasten condemnation upon him; this is the meaning of that place, Romans 8.3. That which was impossible to the Law to do, in as much as it was weak, because of the flesh, God sending his only Son in the similitude of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: It is an excellent place, and hath much weight in it, and howsoever there are many interpretations of the place, yet I will follow that interpretation, which I now express, that it was impossible for the Law to acquit a man of sin, because he cannot keep the Law, and therefore he cannot be justified by it: but how comes it to pass then, that the Saints of God are delivered? The text saith, Christ took flesh on him, and it was sinful flesh by similitude or imputation, not actually by commission; the nature of our Saviour had no evil inherent in him nor committed by him, but he was only a sinner by imputation, and then he condemned sin in the flesh, what is that? it is a law case, and Master Calvin hath it excellently, he damned sin, as a man will say when he loseth the suit, he fell from his cause, and from his plea which he made, he lost it utterly; so Christ taking upon him our nature by imputation, he made sin lose its claim which it would make to the soul in this case, he that breaketh the Law of God is guilty, and shall be condemned by it: but this man hath broken the Law of God, and therefore is guilty of condemnation thereby: Now Christ takes off these, and saith, It is true, he is guilty of sin, and worthy of condemnation, unless another be contented to be guilty for him, but I have undertaken the guilt for him, and have paid the debt for him; and therefore this soul is free from sin, thou hast nothing to do with this soul, neither shalt thou condemn him. Observe it, when all your sins shall muster in upon you, and come from East to West, saying, thou art guilty of pride, guilty of malice, etc. and shalt be condemned for them; make answer and say it is true, Lord, I am so, but Christ hath taken away the guilt and condemnation, and I have repent of my sins: therefore, sin, thou hast nothing to do with this soul of mine, Christ hath taken it and redeemed it, and therefore I leave it with him: This is the first conclusion. Use 2 In the second place we hear what the Doctrine saith, that God the Father charged all our sins upon Christ, and that they shall never condemn the penitent and faithful; then what will become of the faithless and unbelievers think ye? This truth is like a thunderbolt, and it is able to shake the hearts of all unbelievers, and to dash them all in pieces: Hence it is evident that every obstinate unbeliever is destitute of all hope of succour and pardon of his sin: consider of this all you that are unbelievers; you must pay your own debts, and bear your own burdens. I know your hearts cannot but testify that the condition of such poor souls is very miserable; it is that which sometimes comforts a man, that either he hath good friends that will help him, or else he hath means of his own by which he is able to relieve himself; but he that hath no relief of himself, nor cannot expect no● hope for any, this man sinks down in sorrow, because he knows there is no way in the world to help him: This is thy condition right, thou that art an unbeliever; what to be cast out of heaven and earth too, this is miserable, to be for saken of God and man too, that no means in heaven nor earth will stand him in steed for his good, whilst he thus continues. Consider of this you that make nothing of the sin of unbelief, though you have some care of other sins; whither will you go for secure in that great day of accounts? will you go to the Saint they dare not; will you go to the Creatures? they cannot, will you go to the Lord Jesus Christ? he will not secure you: If you go to any of the Saints to see if they will take the guilt of your sins upon them, they say we have too many inabilities to procure pardon for any one sin, and never a Saint in the world dares to meddle with the guilt of another's sins, and therefore they dare not meddle with them; but they say as the wise virgins did to the foolish ones, Matth. 25.9. When the foolish virgins said, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out; not so, said they, lest there be not enough for you and us too, but rather go unto them that sell, and buy for yourselves: Even so, if you go to the Saints, and say, I pray you undertake the pardon of my sins, and rebellions, and bear you the guilt of my sins, because you are holy and righteous; no, say they, we cannot; so all the creatures cannot secure you. If all the creatures in heaven and earth should conspire together to save you from the burden of any one sin, they could not do it: nay, the creatures become your accusers; the bed whereupon thou hast committed so many abominations, and the alehouse where thou hast been drunk, and hast blasphemed, and the habitation where thou dwellest, and all the creatures groan against thee, under the burden of thy abominations: as Rom. 8.22. Therefore they will take no more guilt upon them, than what they have already, they are too weary of the weight of what they feel already; but though the saints dare not, and the creatures cannot save you, yet there is hope in heaven, & there is help to be had in Christ; well were it with thee, if thou hadst any share in that Christ; but this is that which will sink thy heart, that there is no hope for thee there: what dost thou talk of grace and of mercy, when thou hast opposed the Gospel of grace, and of mercy, and thou continuest in unbelief? this is the height and depth of the misery of all unbelievers, that there is no hope for them in heaven: This was that which the wicked said, when they insulted against David in Psalms ●. 2. There is no help for him in his God: what they said of David falsely, God saith it truly of thee, there is no help for thee in God; there is mercy in Christ, but that's thy misery, for there is none for thee, being an unbeliever: Psalm 18.41. David there expresseth the misery of the wicked, Because the Lord leaves them in their troubles, they cried, but there was none to save them; yea, even unto the Lord, but he answered them not: That's thy estate right, though thou callest to heaven, and to Christ, and to the God of mercy, and to the merits of Christ, yet they will not help thee: thou hast many sins, and thou shalt bear them every one: Now think what your sins have deserved, and how you will be able to bear them, when all flesh shall appear before God: then the Lord will charge all thy sins upon thy soul, and thou must bear; and if every sin deserves condemnation, then how wilt thou be able to bear all those condemnations that are due to all thy sins which thou canst not number, even the dregs of vengeance, and the bottom of the cup of the Lords indignation. Christ in john 17.9. speaking of the faithful, and how he prays to the Father for them; he saith, I pray not for them of the world, but for these, whom thou hast given me out of the world: When a poor unbeliever shall come to Jesus Christ, and shall entreat him to speak a good word for him, when he hath never regarded his person, not accepted of his gracious offers of mercy, and shall entreat Christ to pray for him, no, saith Christ, I never prayed for the obstinately wicked: now if Christ will not speak a good word for thee, dost thou think that he will pardon the guilt of thy sins upon him? nay, he only pardons the guilt of the sins of the faithful; but as for thee, thou must bear thy sins, and suffer for them for evermore. Use 3 The third use, is a word of exhortation, and instruction, to all the saints and faithful of God; if Christ were content to be made sin for all the faithful, then what must you be contented to do for your Saviour? was he made sin for thee? then be thou content to be made shame for him; be thou willing to bear the shame, and disgrace, and reproach that comes unto thee for the Name of Christ; be content to be accounted the such, and offscouring of the earth; be not evil doers, but be contented to be counted as evil doers: 1 Cor. 4.13, We are persecuted, and yet we pray; we are reviled, and yet we bless; we are accounted as the offscouring of the earth, until this time: So do you, be content to bear any shame that is unjustly laid upon thee, for thy Saviour which was accounted a sinner for thee; Acts 24.14. S. Paul was resolute in it, and said, after the way that ye call heresy, worship I the Lord God of my Fathers; nay, he presseth this upon the hearts of God's Children; Hebrews 13.12, 13. speaking in the 12. verse, that Christ took our sins upon him, and went out of the city, and was slain without the gate; he saith in the 13. verse, Let us therefore go out of the Camp to him, bearing our reproach; be not afraid to be seen in a Christian cause, nor to be disgraced for it, go out boldly and resolutely, harden your faces, and steel your hearts against all such things, and let the dog's bark, and the winds blow, and the waves roar, go you out of the Camp for his honour, bearing his reproach comfortably; he hath borne sin for thee, bear thou shame for him. Use 4 Fourthly, it is a word of comfort and consolation, to all the faithful; be thy sins never so many, and the guilt of them never so great, yet learn this skill to cast it all on the Lord Jesus Christ, ease thy own soul of it, and hurl thy care on him that careth for thee: This is that which I would have all the faithful wary of, not to make their miseries more than they should. Now Christ not only took our sins by imputation, but also the payment of the debt was really discharged by our Saviour; he laid down the payment of the debt, and suffered the punishment really: though I do not conceive this to be directly intended, yet it may be inferred from the words of the Text, in the former point, Christ was charged with the sins of all the faithful; and now Christ did suffer their pains, and underwent the whole punishments which their sins required, so the point of Doctrine from hence is this: Doctrine. The Lord Jesus Christ suffered fully whatsoever punishments divine justice required, or were deserved by the sins of the faithful. I ground this Doctrine out of the Text thus; the text saith, Christ was made sin, that is, he had our sins imputed to him, and therefore he must be made a sacrifice for sin, and bear the punishment of sin: If Christ became a debtor for us, than he must also lay down the payment of the debt, only here remember this; consider the bounds and limits of this mercy of the Lord, it is limited only to the faithful, they only share therein, and are partakers of that benefit that comes by the sufferings of Christ. To prove this Doctrine, look Hebrews 2.17. compare it with Hebrews 4.15. In chap. 2.17. the text saith, Wherefore it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren in all things: and in chap. 4.15. He was tempted in all things like unto us, sin only excepted; for there were no punishments excepted, as appeareth in the former place; therefore in Esay 53.5, 6, 7, 8. the whole chapter is a full description of the punishments of our Saviour, and you shall find these three degrees of it in the afornamed verses, He was stricken, and so stricken that he was wounded, and so wounded that he was bruised for our transgressions; and then in the 6. verse, it is very pithily laid down, All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all; that is, the punishments of us all; they were laid, that is, God made all the sorrows, and all the punishments of all the faithful to meet upon our Saviour. It is a term taken from war, when an army is levied out, every town and county sets out so many men, and they all meet at such a place such a day: so every faithful soul sets out miseries, and man's out afflictions, and they all levy out an army of sorrows, and they all meet upon our Saviour: all those sins and miseries of the godly from one end of the world to the other, from east to west, from north to south, they run amain upon our Saviour, and besiege the soul and body of him, and they lie heavy upon him, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; that is, it overwhelmed him for the while, and made him cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Another proof of this point is, Gal. 3.13. The text saith, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; as it is written, cursed be every one that hangeth on a tree; He that was made such a curse for us as the Law did require, and such a curse as wherein the Law was satisfied, even he was made a full curse for us, and bore all the punishment due to us; but he was made such a curse as the Law prefigured, and wherein the Law was satisfied; and therefore he must needs bear whatsoever the Law required: and therefore I may say to the faithful soul, as Paul said to Philemon concerning Onesimus, If he hath hurt thee, or oweth thee aught, set that upon my score; so saith our Saviour, whatsoever punishments the faithful have deserved by their sins, I will bear it and answer it: Now for the opening of the Doctrine, give me leave to open these three questions: Quest. 1 First, what were the kinds of punishment which Christ did suffer, and how fare did he suffer them? Quest. 2 Secondly, when did those sufferings begin, and when did they end? Quest. 3 Thirdly, whether did he suffer them in soul, or in body, or in both? Quest. 1 First, what were the punishments that our Saviour suffered, of what kinds were they? Answer. For answer hereunto, he suffered the pains of the first death; by the first death, I mean the death natural, when the frame of the body and soul was taken down, and those two old familiar friends were parted: this death our Saviour did suffer, but if you ask me how fare he did suffer the death natural, let me answer it in three conclusions. First, whatsoever appertains to the substance, and the essentials of the first death; that is, the desolation of soul and body, that our Saviour Christ did suffer; for that only was threatened unto Adam by reason of his sin, therefore Christ needed not to suffer any thing, but that which was threatened in Genesis. 2.17. The curse threatened was this, In the day that thou dost eat thereof, thou shalt die the death: the curse doth not mention many deaths, nor doth it punctually set forth any one death; but whatsoever death it is, it is left indifferently to the choice of our Saviour: this I speak to wipe away a carnal cavil that is cast upon this truth, by some that would diminish the sufferings of Christ. If Christ did suffer punishment for all, then why was he not stoned with stones, as Steven was? and why was he not sawn in pieces, or burnt, or the like? The force of the argument follows not, our Saviour was not bound to suffer many deaths, nay, the curse doth not intimate any one death in particular, but only death in the general: Now, say they, if our Saviour suffered all the punishments of the faithful, than he suffered so many particular deaths: the argument is false, for look how Adam being in the root of all mankind, and committed sin; look what death he deserved, that death our Saviour was to suffer, and it was required of him, and this death our Saviour undertook; but when Adam had committed sin, there were not many deaths denounced; nay, nor any one particular death, but only death in the general; and therefore death in the general being only threatened, death in the general our Saviour was only bound to suffer. Secondly, though the curse doth not require any one particular death, and say, thou shalt be stoned, or sawn in pieces, or the like; yet that the Lord might show the heinousness of sin, which deserves the worst death of all, and to express the greatness of the l●●e of Christ that was contented to die in that manner, and that God the Father might show his justice in punishing of sin: for this end God the Father appointed it, and Christ undertook it to die the death of the cross, a most shameful, and base death, only appropriate to the basest malefactors; now Christ did willingly submit himself to this, and God the Father did lay this upon Christ, that sin might appear to be most heinous, and that sin might be hated, and Christ might appear most merciful and gracious, and holy in loathing sin, as Philippians 2.6, 8. Our Saviour being equal with the Father, and thought it no robbery so to be, yet he humbled himself, and took on him the form of a servant, and became obedient to the death, even the death of the cross. Thirdly, those dishonourable infirmities which befall men because of the infirmity of the flesh, because they cannot avoid them, and those dishonourable cruelties which are laid upon some men, as to be torn in pieces with wild horses, our Saviour had no need to suffer these. First, those dishonourable infirmities, as the rotting of the body in the grave, and returning to its own proper elements, the body of Christ did not so Secondly, some again are maliciously massacred with dishonourable cruelties, they are pulled the flesh from the bones, and burnt to ashes, etc. None of all these did fall to our Saviour, these are personal things, they belong not to the nature of man, and therefore it was no way requisite that Christ should undergo those kinds of death: mark these two passages to open it a little, Acts 2.27. quoted out of Psalm 16.10. Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption: Now the Saints of God do see corruption, but this was a dishonourable infirmity; for Christ though he suffered for us, yet he raised up himself from the vildness of the grave, and saw no corruption, and therefore it was no dishonour to him: john 19.33, 36. When the soldiers found our Saviour dead, they broke not his legs, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith, not a bone of him shall be broken: Whatsoever dishonour our Saviour Christ did submit himself unto, he was willing to suffer; but what was not by Law required, and what was not fit for him to suffer, that Christ would not suffer the Jews to do unto him, for the Law did not require this in the curse, that his legs should be broken, and therefore Christ would not undergo it: this is the third conclusion. Use 1 From the former truth that our Saviour Christ did die this natural death. I gather thus much; it is a marvellous sweet cordial to all the Saints of God upon their sick beds; it is a ground of strong consolation (as the Apostle saith) to bear up the hearts of God's people in the day of death, that they may lift up their heads with comfort, and look grizzeld death in the face with courage and boldness; for the death of Christ hath taken away the evil of thy death: therefore be not thou troubled with it, nor dismayed by it; there is no bitterness in that pill, nor no venom in that cup to thee, for the poison is gone, therefore be not you troubled with it whensoever God sends it upon you; for the sharpest death of a Saint of God, is like a humble Bee that hath no sting in it, which a child may play withal, and not be hurt: and thus Saint Paul played with death, 1 Cor. 15.55. Oh death, where is thy sting? as if he should say, the wicked fear death, because the sting is in it to them; but that sting is taken away from me, by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ: when Christ went down into the grave, he sugared it, and made it sweet, and easy as a bed of Down for believers to rest upon. There are three privileges which every believer may challenge upon his deathbed: the first is this: First, every believer may and should under the authority of mercy, challenge mercy, and in the virtue of the death of Christ he should boldly lay down his life. 1 Thes. 4.16. The dead in Christ shall rise first; that is the value of the phrase, in the virtue of the death of Christ we die also; that as he died, & by his own power rose again: so also we die, that we may rise again. The Saints of God die that they may be like to Christ, and be raised again, and so be for ever happy with Christ; this is the particular good that the death of Christ communicates to the faithful ones, 1 Cor. 15.36. Thou fool, that which thou somest, it is not quickened, unless it die; it must first be corrupted, that it may grow again into an ear of corn: the meaning is, a man therefore dies, that he may rise again, the body must lie down in the dust: 1 Cor. 15.53. This corruption must put on incorruption; and this mortality must put on immortality: Now corruption cannot put on incorruption, nor mortality cannot put on immortality, so long as we are here: the body of Adam could not be made immortal of itself, the frame of it would not afford so much, for Adam's body needed meat, and had it; but immortal bodies need no food, but live by the power of God's Spirit: therefore Christ took down the frame of this nature, that he might make it a more excellent frame. It is therefore said, that a Christian dies rather in the authority of mercy, than justice; that as Christ died and rose again, so Christ will have all his servants die, that he may of a corrupt nature, and a mortal body, make an immortal body; he will make it immortal, which nature itself, no not in its perfection, could not do: this is the first privilege. A second privilege which believers receive is this, the death of the believer puts an end to all his sins, and miseries, and sorrows; that when the soul and body shall part in sunder, than sin shall departed from both; and when they go out of this life, they shall go from all the miseries of this life: we shall never be more pestered with lusts, and corruptions, we shall never be drawn from the Lord more, Satan is now busy, but when the Saints of God die, there is a separation from all sins, from all sorrows, from all temptations, never to be assaulted more: this is the meaning of that place, 2 Cor. 4.10. Everywhere we bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord jesus, that the life also of jesus may be made manifest in our mortal bodies: the meaning is this, Christ by his death did subdue sin, and now by the sorrows and troubles he suffered, and by the power of his death, there is a total separation made from sin in soul and body: therefore when as in the power of Christ's death, we can lay down these bodies, then are we separated from sin; this is to bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus: this is quite contrary in every unbeliever, for death natural in an unbeliever is but the very beginning of all their other plagues; they sip of God's vengeance now, but they shall have the full cup then: sin in them now is restrained, but then their sins shall take full possession of them: Satan now doth but tempt them, but then ●e shall take possession of them; as it is said of the rich fool in the Gospel, This night shall they fetch away thy soul, and then as they shall be for ever plagued, so they shall be for ever sinful: nothing but sin shall be in them, they shall be altogether proud and for ever proud, they shall be altogether malicious, and for ever malicious, and the devils shall drag the soul of the wicked out of the body down to hell for evermore, and there shall tyrannise over it for ever: but on the contrary it is not so with the Saints, the end of their life is but the beginning of another; they go from a vale of tears, to a haven of happiness. Thirdly, the death of the believer is a mean to bring and estate them into the full possession of all that happiness and glory, which heretofore hath been expected, and Christ hath promised; now it shall be attained: the time now comes, when the Saints of God shall have no more tears in their eyes, nor sin in their souls, not sorrow in their hearts; when they die, than their sins and sorrows die too; you shall never be dead hearted more; than you shall have holiness in full possession which so long time you have longed for; it is now only in expectation, and you hope and look for it, when the Lord will put wisdom into your blind minds, and holiness into your corrupted hearts, but when death comes it will bring you to the fruition of all that holiness and happiness, and this is done by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 john 3.2. We are now the sons of God, but it doth not appear what we shall be, and we know that when he shall be made manifest, we shall be made like him: that is, like to him in all holiness, and happiness, as he is altogether holy, and altogether happy: now you are children, but only in nonage, now you are only wives betrothed, and you go up and down in your rags of sin, but when the solemnisation of the marriage shall be in the great day of accounts, than we shall be like him; and he will make us altogether holy, and he will fill our blind minds with knowledge, and possess our corrupt hearts withal purity, holiness, and grace, so far as thy soul shall be capable of it, and shall be needful for thee: what, are you unwilling to go to your husband? the wife sometimes receives letters from her espoused husband, she welcomes the messenger, and accepts the tokens kindly, and reads the letter gladly, and will not part with his tokens above any thing: but oh, how she longs to enjoy himself in his own person, this is her chiefest desire, to be possessed of him, and to have his company always: so the Lord Jesus Christ is your husband, he died that ye might live; he is ascended up into heaven; and hath made passage for you; you have many intimations of his mercy, and many sweet smiles from heaven, saying, well, go thy way, thy sins are pardoned, and thy soul shall be saved; these are his tokens, and I hope you will lay them up by you, & make much of them, but when will the time come that I may enjoy my Saviour? Now I have a little mercy, and a little holiness, and a little pardon of sin; but oh that I might enjoy my Saviour fully: Now it is quite contrary with the wicked; the death of the wicked is a means to shut them out of all the hope they had of receiving mercy, for when death parts soul and body, than there is no more cards and dice, no more lusts; the adulterer shall no more satisfy himself with his unclean lusts, the drunkard shall not then be drunk, the blasphemer shall not then blaspheme so as he was wont to do for nothing, but he shall be and blaspheme God for something, and his soul shall be full of God's vengeance; this is the death of the wicked: the death of the Saints is like a ferryman to convey them over to eternal happiness; but the death of the wicked is as a hangman to bereave them of life and salvation too: death to the saints is as a guide to convey them to happiness, but to the wicked, death is as a Jailor to carry them away to the place of execution. And thus much briefly of the former part of the answer, namely that our Saviour suffered the death natural. Now our Saviour did not only suffer in his body, but he suffered in his soul also: you may conceive of it in two particulars: First, there is a real withdrawing of the sense and feeling of the mercy and compassion of God, a stoppage, as I may say, and a taking off the sweet operation of God's love and favour from the soul, when that sensible refreshing and conveyance of the mercy and kindness of God's countenance is turned away from the soul: this is a part of the second death, and this is the pain of loss, that is, the poor sinner loseth that sweet influence of that abundant mercy, and compassion, and that sweetness that is in all those glorious attributes which should fill the soul with satisfactory sweetness and content; as thus sometimes it pleases God to discover those pain of hell unto his servants here on earth, and he brings them by the suburbs of hell, that they may know what it is to be in heaven, and also what it is to commit sin so against a gracious God, Psalm 31.22. I said in mine haste, I am cast out of sight: As if he had said, God hath taken away the sweet smiles of his countenance from the heart of David, and 〈◊〉 is 〈◊〉 a part of the second death; yet thou ●he art ●est the voice of thy prayer David was now in some distress, by reason of the withdrawing of the favour of God from his soul: this is the first part of the second death. Secondly, when the fierce indignation of the Lord seemeth upon the soul of a poor creature, when the Lord sets open the floodgates of his anger and wrath, and fills the soul unsupportably with his vengeance: Psal. 43. ●. Why hast thou cast me off? and Psalm 51.11. Cast me not away out of thy presence, etc. The Lord seemed to cast him away, and to send him packing, and he seemed to be cast away in his own apprehension; both these you shall see concluded on in job 13.24. Thou r●est bitter things against me, and hidest thy face away from me, and takest me for thy enemy: The Lord not only went away and hid him, but he made job a But, that so his arrows might come against him pell mel, and he let all his displeasure fall upon him with might and main: so then there is first a real withdrawing of the sweetness of the mercy of God from the soul: and secondly, a real inflicting of the indignation of the Lord, and that fills the soul of a poor creature. Quest. 2 Now the second question is this, how far our Saviour suffered these pains: To this I answer, that so I may carry the cause with as much plainness and nakedness as may be, that each poor creature may get something, give me leave to answer the question in these conclusions, one will make way for another▪ only here let me tell you thus much, that I mean only to make declaration of the truth of the point, and the argument shall be afterwards. First, it is possible that some pains of Hell may be suffered in this life, and therefore the living and being of our Saviour in this life, is no hindrance, but that he might undergo them. This I say to prevent a weak plea of some that desire to tie and entail all the pains of Hell to another life, and the place to be Hell, and they think that no man can suffer the pains of Hell, except he be in the very place of it; against which cavil, this truth doth profesly ma●ch, for the time and place are but common circumstances: the main substance of it, is not in regard of time or place, but in regard of the fierce displeasure of God, which seizeth upon a creature, and the vein of vengeance which is let into his soul, if God would be present with a man by his favour, though he were in the place of Hell, yet he should be as it were in Heaven: as Esay 30.33. Tophet is prepared of old, the burning thereof is fire and much wood, and the breath of the Lord as a ri●●r of brimstone doth kindle it: so that wheresoever the stream of the brimstone of God's wrath seizeth, there is Hell: again, the place is no part of debt, and therefore it is no part of the payment, but the payment of the money that makes the satisfaction: This is that which is spoken concerning Adam, Thou shalt die the death: he doth not say, thou shalt go to Hell: the wicked go to Hell because they cannot pay, as the debtor goes to prison, because he cannot pay the debt: all that justice requires is this, to have payment; he doth not say thou shalt go to Hell, but because the wicked cannot satisfy the justice of God, and answer the Law, therefore they are imprisoned, and cooped up in hell, and it may be more plain thus; there are many reprobates in this life, that have not only hell in expectation, but they have it so far in fruition; when the Lord wounds the spirit, and the terrors of the Almighty encamp a man and stab him to the very heart, and they are in the very beginnings of hell. Now because the wicked cannot bear the wrath of God, but they would break under it; therefore they must die, that they may ●e made immortal, and be able to suffer all the wrath of God forever: but our Saviour may as well pay the debt in mount Golgotha, as in the prison of hell. Secondly, some pains of hell were endured, and may be endured, by our Saviour, and yet the union of the manhood with the Godhead might still be untouched, and no way in the world be blemished, though there were a separation, and a withdrawing of the sense of the sweetness of the favour of God, yet this was not the separation of the union, but only of the loving countenance of the Lord, the humane nature saw not nor felt not those gracious smiles which formerly it did, yet he was ever united to the Godhead, and ever supported by the Godhead, and he did ever rest upon God, this doth cut in sunder the cavils of Bellarmine, as it was with job, he was able to grapple with a great deal of God's wrath by faith; and therefore he saith, Though thou kill me, yet will I trust in thee; Gods killing anger, and jobs trusting stood both together in this in the measure of it: Now if a poor saint of God can do it, and is able to bear the intimations of God's wrath, then much more Christ, being God and Man, might do it, and yet trust in him, and never be separated from him in regard of the union of the soul of our Saviour; for as it is with the death natural in the body of our Saviour, as the body of our Saviour died, and in dying, suffered death natural, as an effect of God's wrath, God smote him; howsoever the body died the death natural, yet the Godhead was still united to the body of our Saviour in the grave, and brought soul and body together again; so that the union with the Godhead is still maintained; so it is here, the soul of our Saviour might be separated from the sense and sweetness of God's favour and mercy, and yet the union between the Godhead and the Manhood be still maintained; as God might leave the body to the death natural, so he might leave the soul to a kind of supernatural death, and the soul might want the sense of the sweetness of the favour of God, and yet the union not be broken off: for why could not our Saviour bear this curse, as well as any other part of it, and not be blemished? this brought punishment upon our Saviour, but it pulled not away any grace which he was possessed withal: observe these three particulars herein: First, the Godhead in the death of our Saviour was fastened and united inseparably to the manhood, and did sustain and support the manhood. Secondly, the Godhead did preserve the manhood from corruption, and did sustain and support the Manhood. Thirdly, the sense and sweetness, and the feeling operation of God's mercy, and favour unto the soul, was restrained from both, and the wrath of God seized upon both. Thirdly, our Saviour suffered pain in his soul as he was our Mediator in our room, and in our stead, and as he had our sins imputed to him: The Manhood bore the sufferings, and the Godhead supported him in the sufferings: this conclusion I thought good to add, to meet with a strange dream of Bellarmine, and that is this, saith he, if the Lord Jesus Christ did suffer the wrath of God the Father, than the guiltless should have been condemned, and the innocent punished; and how can God do this? or how can our Saviour suffer this? Is not God the Father unjust to punish the just? and Christ unwise, to suffer as unjust, being just? I answer, it is a silly weak cavil, therefore take but these two respects with you, and you shall see it will be plain, for as Christ was in himself considered, he was guiltless, and therefore approved of, and beloved of the Father: but as he took our sins, and our guilt upon him, he was accounted as a sinner, though he was not a sinner, and he took our sins on him by imputation; and therefore no reason, but he should suffer them, and the punishment of them, not in regard of any sin that he had or did; but because it was imputed to him; therefore God the Father condemned him as guilty: so runs the phrase of Scripture, He suffered for our sins, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we were healed: he suffered not for any sins that he had committed, but for the condition of all sinful nature imputed to him, and these diverse respects we do practise, for ordinarily we are bound to love a creature as God made him, and then to hate him as he makes himself sinful, the Judge goes to the trial of a Nisi prius, and his son comes before him in the person of the debtor: now though the Judge love him as a son, yet he will condemn him as a surety; the Judge loves and pities him in one regard, but yet he passeth sentence against him in another regard: So it is here with the Lord Jesus Christ, when God the Father stands upon the tribunal of justice, and was pleased to follow the suit against the party offending, our Saviour steps into our room, and submits himself to the censure of the Father, and as we were accounted, so he was content to be accounted; and as we were to suffer, so he was content to suffer for us: God the Father loved him as he was God, and holy, and innocent; yet he condemns him, and lets in his wrath upon him as he was to bear our sins; for God the Father might love Jesus Christ, and yet give his body to death natural: so God the Father might love the soul of our Saviour, and yet give it over to pain supernatural: all the world confesseth that it was without anger that Christ died, and yet the Father slew him: this conclusion helps us to the interpretation of that place, Matthew 27.46. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He was a Father to our Saviour: and our Saviour a Son to him. Fourthly, whatsoever punishment proceeded from the Father, our Saviour took it upon himself; yet so, as neither his sins deserved it, neither did he sin in bearing of it, nor yet was he overwhelmed in bearing of it, as the wicked are which are damned, but he wrestled with it, and overcame it; he first took upon himself that should have come upon a believer; when the wrath of God comes out like a Lion to take the sinful sons of men from off the earth, and the sea of his indignation flows in amain, than the Lord Jesus Christ steps in between the wrath of the Father, and the soul of a believer, and he bears all, john 18.11. when Peter would have rescued our Saviour from the high Priests, Our Saviour said, suffer it to be so, put up thy sword into its place; shall I not drink of the cup which my Father giveth me to drink of? he doth not say, shall I not sip or taste of the cup, but, shall I not drink of it? that is, he drinks the cup of wrath which was prepared for poor sinners, clean off; therefore Esay 63.3. he is said to tread the winepress of the Father's wrath alone, he did squeeze it all out▪ observe these explications in this kind, and know thus much, that the want of the sense and feeling, and operation of God's love, and the feeling of the indignation of God's wrath in itself considered, it is not a sin, but so far as our sins deserve this wrath of God, and deserve this separation, and so far as we out of our infidelity dash the sweetness of God's love, we sin in this kind; but none of all this befell our Saviour, the bare want of the one, and the sense of the other is not a sin, but we sin in bearing it. It is a sweet observation of the Schoolmen, that our Saviour cried, my God, my God, even in the loss of the sweetness of God's favour; and when Christ complains, and sweat water and blood, yea clods of blood, so that his heart broke within him under the fierce indignation of the Lord: this fierce indignation may be attended two ways, or there are two things in it: I say in the separation of God from the soul, there are these two things to be attended: First, a want of that grace, and holiness, and confidence, whereby the soul should close with God, that howsoever God goes away, yet the soul should follow him, as jacob did after the Lord, when he said, I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me: Now it is one thing when God goes away, and it is another thing when we push him away: therefore that want of grace, and holiness, and confidence, whereby the soul should cleave to, and close with God, this is one thing which causeth the separation of God from us: this is on our part. Secondly, there is another work on God's part, that howsoever the soul stands Godward, and Christward, and it cleaves to him as job did that would trust in him, though he killed him; yet God may withdraw the sweet refreshing operation, and the sensible conveyance of his mercy and compassion from his soul, and he frowns upon him, and plucks away the hold, and lets in his indignation upon him: the first of these two can never be without sin, and it is a heinous sin when our souls sit lose from God, and when we shall separate ourselves from the mercy and goodness of God, and are weary of God's presence in his ordinances, as many wicked men are, and are weary of the promises, and say as those in job did, Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways: this is a cursed sin, and this never was, nor could not be in our Saviour: but now that the Lord may pluck away the sense of his love and favour, and take away the operation and conveyance of his mercy; this God may justly do as he seethe good: this was not a sin in job, that God did take away the sense of his love and mercy, and seemed to be his enemy, but if job had gone away from God, as God did from him, than he had sinned, but he held God still: this was not a sin in job, that God did thus forsake him, though haply it was through his sin deserving it: all this did befall our Saviour Christ, and yet he was full of holiness, and hangs upon God, and said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And God was angry with him, because he had our sins upon him; but the first of these was not in Christ, he did not departed from God: the second was inflicted upon our Saviour, and that might be justly; this adds much light to those passages; those two ardent petitions of those two worthy lights, Moses and Saint Paul, Exodus 32.32. Moses perceiving that the Lord was ready to destroy the Israelites for their sin, he saith, Now if thou pardon this sin, thy mercy shall appear, but if thou will not, then raze me out of the book of life which thou hast written: and in Rom. 9.3. Saint Paul foreseeing the rejection of the Jews, and that God would throw them away for sixteen hundred years together; the good man seeing the dishonour that was like to come to God, & the utter destruction of the people of the Jews, he saith, I could even desire to be separated from Christ, & to be cut off from the Nation of the jews, that they might not be forsaken of God: Now should a man pray to be removed out of God's presence, and to be separated from God for ever, and to be cut off from God, and to be separated from Christ Jesus? no, for this were sinful; either it signifies that Paul should have his heart loosened, and sit lose in his affections to God, and to Jesus Christ: this Paul did not pray for, for it is a horrible sin, and it is an argument he hated Christ and himself too. Now so fare as it implies our want of love to God, and our want of depending upon God, it is a fearful sin, and these holy men did not desire it: but this is the meaning, they were willing to have suffered the want of the sense and feeling of God's love and favour for the present: though they would have loved and closed with God still, yet they would have been content to want the sense of God's love, that God's glory might have been advanced, and the salvation of the Jews furthered: so it was here with our Saviour Christ, for howsoever according to his humane nature he did fear the death natural, and the wrath which he saw coming upon his nature, and therefore he said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; he might do it, and God by reason required it, that a man be sensible of misery, yet according to the holiness of the will of the Father, he did not pray against these, but prayed for these, and for the bea●ing of the punishment: for he was sent for this end, and it was a part of the Mediatorship: this is the meaning of that place, john 12.27. What shall I say, Father save me from this hour? no, but therefore came I unto this hour; that is, the hour of death; He came into the world for this end, and therefore, he submits himself: Thus much for the opening of the first part of this conclusion; that whatsoever wrath should have come forth from the Father upon the faithful, Christ did bear it all. Now the second part is this, Christ so bears it, that his own sin never deserved this wrath of God, nor he never sinned in bearing it, neither was he overwhelmed in bearing it, but he wrestled against it, and overcame it: it implies two things, and it prevents another cavil. First, the pain of the soul comes either from a cause without, or a cause within, or from both: If a man were to go to hell, it came either from his own sin deserving it, or from God's wrath inflicting it, or from both; now Christ did suffer punishments in his soul, but not so farre● they came for his own sin; the cause from within is sinful and detestable, but the cause from without is holy and righteous; therefore all that which came from God's wrath inflicting punishment, all that Christ did suffer was so; but the wicked have a cause of sin within them, and that Christ having not, he needed not to suffer, and because he had no sin in him, he did not suffer all pains of hell; he suffered the displeasure of God's wrath, but yet so much of the punishment as came from sin committed, that our Saviour did not suffer. Secondly, a poor creature bearing God's anger, he hath not only God's anger se●ing upon him, but also it overwhelms him, because he is not able to bear it: the plague prevails against him, not only the wrath of God lies upon a sinner in hell, but it crusheth him there, that he can never go from it: and this Divines call the absolute damnation, such a damnation as overturns a sinner in hell, and crusheth him there for evermore. The reason why a sins never comes out of hell, is this; because his sufferings are not infinitely satisfiable, according as his sins have been infinite to provoke God; for as Adam's sin was infinite and provoking because it was against his Godhead, so the sufferings must be infinite; now the sufferings of Christ were of infinite value, but Adam's sufferings were not of an infinite nature: Christ bore the wrath of God and wrestled with it, and overcame it, and came out from under the 〈◊〉 displeasure of God, and why? because the● were able to satisfy an infinite God, who was thus infinitely wronged by the sin of man; therefore the sufferings must be of an infinite satisfying nature, as you shall conceive thus: a finite sin of Adam committed against God, was infinitely provoking, but the sufferings of Christ were infinitely satisfying, and so answerable in proportion to what divine justice required; this was the meaning of that place i● Acts 2.24. Whom God raised up and loosed the sorrows of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden down of death; and it is the meaning of that place, 1 Cor. ●5. 54. Death is swallowed up in victory, Christ endures 〈◊〉 and overcomes it; and john 1●. 20. Christ will convince the world of sin, and of righteousness; why of righteousness? for I go unto the Father; and why doth he go to the Father? because he hath paid the debt to the uttermost: he did satisfy justice to the full, for had he not satisfied justice, he had been kept in the gra●e till this day, and we had been condemned; but now he hath borne and satisfied all, therefore he must come forth to immortality and glory. Remember these conclusions, and think thus, hath my Saviour done all this for me? well, I will remember it, and think upon it, and I will lay it by me for ever. The fift conclusion follows, and that is this: The desperation of a damned soul in hell, and the eternity of torments, they are no essentials of the second death, and therefore they could not, nor ought not to be suffered by our Saviour: this I say to stop the mouths of all Popish Jesuits, and especially of Bellarmine, who think to east a great scandal upon Calvin and others in this kind: let me open both he parts of it; first, the damned in hell despair, therefore, saith Bellarmine, if Christ suffered the pains of the second death, he did despair, and did suffer the pains of hell for ●vermore. Oh foolish creature, who will be so wicked as to say thus? Therefore that you may see this cursed opinion, consider two particulars in this desperation; First, the nature of desperation, what it is: Secondly, I will show that this desperation is no part of the second death. First of all, for the nature of it, what it is: desperation as the word carries i●, is to cast away all hope and expectation of any good, this is properly to despair: For if there be any good things with us, than we are said to have them in possession, and fruition: but if good things are absent from us, than we are said to expect them, and to hope and wait for them; and hope saith it may be otherwise: this is that which bears up the souls in the most heavy brunt▪ But for hope, the heart would break, saith the Proverb: and it is true indeed, in the greatest miseries that can befall ●●, and when we feel nothing, nor find nothing, nor have nothing in sense, ye● hope saith it may be otherwise, and though now I am sinful and miserable, yet I may be pardoned, and though now in the gall of bitterness, yet I may be purged and sanctified; and though now I am a damned creature, yet I may be succoured and delivered. This is that which sometimes bears up the heart, and it is that also which bears up the hearts of the wicked many times here upon the earth: when the Lord lets in the horror of heart, and fills the soul with his indignation, his heart would sink, but that a little lean starved hope supports him, and he sees than God's will is not yet fully revealed, but that he may be saved: and he saith, this conscience may be quieted, and this soul may be saved, and these sins may be pardoned; now despair is the quite contrary, when the soul hath no good in expectation, and that which cuts the heart strings of a man's consolation, and pluck a man's comforts up by the roots, as he hath nothing for the present, so all means and ways of getting any good are cut off, and then he casts off hope, and never looks to God more, because he never looks for mercy from God; and then hope goes out and saith, Oh when will it once be, cannot these sins be pardoned, & c? And at last he sees there is no way of getting any good, and therefore he never looks for mercy more, but expects hell and damnation, and cries out, I am damned, I am damned: This is despair, and this is the nature of it. Secondly, this despair is not any part or essential property appertaining to the pains of the second death, whether we look at the withdrawing of the sweetness of God's love, or whether we look at the inflicting of the wrath of God upon the soul, this is no part of them; for besides that which Divines will observe, namely, that all punishments are passions, and they suffer them; but despair is a work of the creature, and it issues from himself, and the creature doth it, and therefore it cannot properly be a punishment, nor any part of the second death; but besides all this which they observe, this desperation so opened, it is so fare from being any part of the second death, as that it is not a consequent which nextly follows from the second death, but from the weakness and sinfulness of the creature. Desperation is not any effect flowing immediately from the wrath of God upon the creature, but it proceeds and comes directly and immediately from the weakness and sinfulness of the creature. Imagine that ye saw the Lord jesus Christ coming in the clouds with thousand thousands of his holy Angels, and the thrones were set up, and all flesh appeared; the sheep on the right hand, and the goats on the left hand, and the Lord jesus Christ passeth the doom, and the sentence against them, saying, Go ye cursed into everlasting fire: Now when a poor damned creature seethe that the sentence is gone, and seethe the good will of God passed upon him, and the power of his wrath now to be expressed to the full against him, and he apprehends the will of God now fulfilled never to be crossed more, and the decree of God is now expressed never to be altered more, and he seethe the gates of hell now sealed upon him, and that the Lord hath cast upon him the tombstone of his wrath, and that he is buried under the power of the second death, and now he seethe the time is gone, and the justice of God can never be satisfied more, and this power of the Lords wrath can never be removed: Oh the time was, that I had the word and the power of into quicken me, and to inform me, and the Spirit of God to strive with me, and then there was some hope; but now the decree of God is ma●e unrevokable, and this wrath I shall never bear, nor never remove. There is now to word, no praying, no hearing, no conference, no mercy, nor salvation to be hoped for, and so the soul looks no more for any good, because the Lord hath so peremptorily set down his do●me; thus the soul breaks under the wrath of God, and is not able to satisfy, and the wrath of God can never be removed, the fire will ever burn, and the worm will ever gnaw, and now the soul casts off all hope; and this is the meaning of those phrases, 2 Pet. 3.7. and in the 6. verse of the Epistle of jude, where speaking of the devils, the text saith, They are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, to the judgement of the great day: the devil is hopeless, he hath no hope of good, nor shall never receive any good: but our Saviour Christ that was able by the power of his Godhead to suffer this wrath of God, and to satisfy justice, and to support himself under this wrath, and to come out from it, he hath a certain hope to please God the Father, and to have everlasting bliss and happiness with him; there is hope with our Saviour, because he can bear and satisfy, and come from under this wrath. Take a basin of water, and cast it upon a few coals of fire, and it will put them clean out, but throw the same boson full upon a great fire, and though it may damp it a little at first, yet it cannot quench it, but rather increaseth the flame, and makes it burn the faster: what's the reason of this, that it quenched the little fire, and not the great f●re? it was not firstly and nextly because of the coldness and crossness of the water to the fire, for the same water was as cold upon the great fire, and as crosse● the nature of the great fire; but the little fire was rob weak of itself to bear the coldness of the water, and therefore it was quenched; but the great fire was able to bear the coldness of the water, and therefore it was not quenched: so it is here, the wrath of God is like this water, as David saith, All thy waves and billows have passed over me; that is, the waves of God's indignation, and the ocean sea of God's wrath: ●hen this falls upon a poor weak sinful creature that cannot bear this, but breaks under this wrath, and cannot take off the vengeance of the Lord, but sinks under it; this creature despairs of all help, not because of the wrath of the Lord firstly, but because of the weakness, and the sinfulness of the creature that could not bear the wrath of the Lord: and hence he despairs, and the soul saith, alas, I am weak, and a poor sin creature, and this wrath of the Lord is of an infinite vigour, I shall never be able to bear it, nor to get from under it: therefore I despair and cast away all hope of help; but the Lord Jesus Christ being perfect God, and perfect man, having a great flame of holy affections kindled in him by the spirit of the Father, this did assist him hereby to bear the wrath of God in his soul, and not only was he able to bear it, but to overcome it; and although he were tossed up and down in the sea of God's wrath, yet he was not drowned; and though he sipped of the poison, yet he was not poisoned: therefore he bore the pains of the second death, and overcame them, and did not despair; he expected to receive good, because he knew he should have good: thus our Saviour, john 19.30. when he had so deeply drunk of the cup of affliction, he said, now it is finished; that is, now the fierce indignation of the Lord is over. Take a little child or infant new borne, and lay it in a little stream, if no man come to secure it, there can be no hope that it will live, not properly because of the water, but because the child is weak, and not able to keep itself from being overpowred by the water: and therefore there is no hope to have relief for it; but let a strong man come, and he will not be drowned by the stream, for he is of height and strength either to wade thorough it, or else to save himself by swimming: so there is the stream of the indignation of the Lord: Now God will not help a poor sinful creature, and he cannot help himself, therefore the stream will destroy him, and there is no hope, for he is never able to free himself, because God will not, and he himself cannot; but the Lord Jesus Christ that hath skill and power, because he is God, as well as man; therefore though he bear the wrath of God, yet because he is able to wade thorough it, and to bear it: therefore it is that he will deliver himself, and all us with him. Thus ye see that desperation is a consequent that follows from the sinfulness and weakness of the creature, and that it is no part of the second death. The second part of this conclusion follows, and I desire it may be attended to by all you that are weak ones; for this objection doth put many Divines themselves to a stand, and yet the case is very clear so fare as my light and line serves me. Secondly, the eternity of the punishments, say they, for if Christ suffered the pains of the second death, than he must be in hell for ever. It is a weak and a sinful plea; I say our Saviour might and did suffer the second death, and yet not the eternity of it: I beseech you to take notice of two things herein. First you must take notice of the difference between the death threatened, and the death denounced, and between the torments of hell: also between the eternity of time, and the circumstances of time, that may be altered and changed, as the debt or punishment is fully suffered or not suffered: As for example, the time of a man's lying in prison is no part of the payment, but he doth lie in prison because he cannot pay the debt: as thus; A man is in prison for a thousand pound, & he must lie in prison ten years, because he can pay but a hundreth pound a year; but now let a rich man come that can discharge the payment within ten months, or ten days, or ten hours; it is as well if he do it in ten hours, as if he did it in ten years, nay it is better done: Just so it is here, the debt is this; In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death: the punishment is death, and every poor creature must die the first and second death: Now because a poor creature cannot satisfy God's justice 〈◊〉 this life, (for if God should but let in the power of his wrath in this life into the soul, and fill the soul with his fierce indignation, it would kill a man even in this life) therefore the Lord by death takes away a poor creature, and drags him down to hell; he doth arrest him by conscience here, and saith, Thou hast sinned and deserved wrath, and thou canst not bear my wrath here; therefore thou shalt die and be made immortal, that thou mayst bear it for evermore; because a man cannot pay it now, therefore he is paying of it to all eternity, for he is never able to pay and satisfy for the whole sum: but now the Lord Jesus Christ hath cash ready at hand, and is able to lay down the payment for all the faithful to the full: he lays down the life natural, and he also suffers the pains of the second death: therefore he is able to deliver himself, and all those that are his. First of all, Use 1. hath our Saviour thus suffered, and hath he stepped in between the wrath of God the Father and the faithful? Justice saith, that foul hath sinned, and must be damned, and anger saith, I must break out against that poor soul; then the Lord Jesus Christ steps in and saith, I will bear all, and undertake the satisfying of all; I will bear all those punishments due unto them: you that are believers and have a share in Christ, unto you I speak; labour thou from hence to see the heinousness of sin, and to hate it, because it hath brought all this evil upon thy Saviour, and would have brought the same upon thee, had not the Lord Jesus Christ stepped in between thee, and the wrath of the Father. Oh look what thy sin hath done unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and see if you can love it, & take contentment in the commission of it: Let me teach you how to do it: send your thoughts afar off, and see our Saviour in the garden crying out, and saying, My soul is exceeding heavy unto the death, my soul is even beset with sorrows; oh watch and pray: And also when he was in that bitter agony in the garden, And he prayed yet more earnestly, and he stretched out his prayers, that it broke his heart almost; behold the tears in his eyes, and the clodded blood that came from him, and his soul was almost broken within him, under the fierce indignation of the Lord: and he fell upon the ground, and yet all this would not do the deed: follow him to the cross, and seeing him attended with the soldiers, and pierced thorough with a spear; see then if thou canst love thy sins that have done all this; and further, when you have seen him thus nailed to the cross, and pierced thorough with a spear, then if you have any hearts of men, (I do not say of Christians) listen a while, and here those hideous cries, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Oh brethren it went very heavy with our Saviour: Now imagine that you heard those heart breaking sighs which broke the heavens, and let them break thy heart too: Oh go your ways home I charge you in the Name of Jesus Christ, and answer your own hearts, or rather answer the petitions of our Saviour, and say, Lord, why hast thou forsaken? Oh Lord, it was for my pride, and my contempt of thy word, and my despising of holy duties, and for the rest of my sins, I should have been forsaken, and thou wast contented to be forsaken for me. Oh can you consider of this and love your sins still, which have brought all this misery upon a Saviour? if you can love your sins now, do; and if you can harbour that pride and stubbornness in your hearts which would have plucked the heart out of Christ's body, and his soul from his body, then do; can it be possible that men should harbour sin in them, if they did but know what it hath done to them, can you see it and not ha●e it. Oh behold that sin which hath caused God the Father to be angry with thy Saviour, and do thou hate it, and let thy soul for ever loath thy sin which hath caused Christ thus to do, to come down from heaven, and to be tortured by wicked miscreants, and to cry out My God, my God; why hast thou forsaken me? and as sin hath caused God the Father to punish thy Saviour, so go thou and be revenged upon thy sin, and say, Oh my pride, and my stubbornness, and my looseness, and uncleanness, and base drunkenness; these were the nails that pierced his hands a●● his feet, they pierced his sacred body, and 〈◊〉 the wrath of God the Father upon his soul; therefore let me be for ever revenged of this proud stubborn and rebellious heart of mine, and let me for ever loath my sin, because it brought all this sorrow upon my Saviour. To press this use a little more, I charge you brethren, as ever you had any tender love unto Jesus Christ, or any regard of your own comfort, go your ways, and be for ever cast down and humbled for those evil ways of yours, which have brought our Saviour to such a gulf of misery, and to be angry with those sins that have made God the Father angry with the Lord Jesus Christ, and take thou revenge upon that proud stubborn heart that brought all this misery upon thy Saviour: This is the course of humanity amongst men; if a man knew of any one which had murdered his father or his friend, whom he highly regarded and honoured, nature shows us thus much, that our hearts would rise against the man, and you would not be able to brook the sight of him, and you cannot endure to see him in your companies; and if law and conscience did not forbid it, you could be contented to give him his death's wound, and to be his bane, and you would cry out against him, Oh he hath murdered my father, or my dear friend, and though you would not run upon him and kill him, yet this every one would do, he would follow the Law to the uttermost, and if all the law in the land will do it, he will have him hanged; and if he might have it put to his choice what death he should die, he would choose him a death as bad as he could devise, and if he might be his Executioner, how would he mangle him, and say, thou wast the death of my father, and then he would give him one blow for this, and another blow for that; and say, thou wretch, thou hast taken away the life of my father, and I will have thy life: Now is a man thus enraged, and is the heart of a man carried with such violence unto him that hath murdered his father, or his friend, and that for the loss of the natural life; Oh then how should your hearts be transported with infinite indignation, not against the man, but even against the sin, which is the cause of all this, and which is wholly opposite against God; and not only because it hath taken away the life of the body of our Saviour, but also made him undergo the wrath of an everlasting father; your sins are they that have thus slain the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of life: Therefore follow thou the law against these sins, and raise hue and cry after them, and bring them to the Sessions, and set them before the tribunal of God, and cry justice Lord, justice against these sins of mine; these slew my Saviour, Lord slay them; they have crucified my Saviour, Lord crucify them; let me have life for life, body for body, and soul for soul: these are the sins that have taken away the life from the body of our Saviour, and took away all comfort from his soul, Lord take away their life: thus pursue thy sins, and never leave them, until thou seest them bleed their last: never think that thou hast power enough against corruption, nor never think that thou dost enough against them, but give thy corruptions one hack more, and confess thy sins once more, and say, Lord, his pride, and this stubbornness Lord, and this looseness of heart Lord, these are they that killed my Saviour, and I will be revenged of them, and herein consider this, when your hearts are inclining to any corruption, or to any temptation of Satan; and when thou findest thy soul drawn aside to any sin, and when thou findest some tempt unto corruptions and stir of cursed lusts, it is good then to have an actual consideration of what sin hath done to the Lord Jesus Christ, and reason thus with thyself and say, these sins were the death of my Saviour; and shall they be my delight? these sins did pierce his hands, and wounded his soul, and shall they give contentment to my soul? the Lord forbidden, did these sins pluck tears from his eyes, and blood from his heart, and shall I make them the delight of my heart? the good Lord in mercy forbidden it: were it so that our hearts were fully and throughly persuaded that all the vanities of our minds, and all the lusts of our hearts, and all the distempers of our affections were those that stabbed the Lord Jesus Christ, and wounded him to the heart; it could not be that we should so delight in them, and lavish out our souls and affections thereupon, nay, not only Christianity will do it, but nature and reason will even compel a man to do the contrary, could he but reason thus with himself, when corruptions tempt him, and occasions call him, and say thus with himself; was it not enough, and more than enough, that the Son of God came down from Heaven, and suffered such grievous pains, but shall I again crucify the Lord of life, and shall I again pierce those blessed hands of his, and pierce that blessed side of his, and all gore his sacred body with my unclean sins, and force him to cry out again, by reason of my sins which I have committed? this is more than brutish, and more than savage; I beseech you in the bowels of the Lord to consider well of it: you know what Christ said when Saul persecuted the poor Saints at Damascus, Saul, Saul, why persecurest thou me? It pierced the Lord Christ, when any of his members were pierced, Acts 9.4. but now for such as believe in Christ, and look for mercy from Christ, consider how nearly it will touch him, and trouble him; not only to have his members pierced, and persecuted, but also to have his good Spirit grieved, and himself to be wounded. Imagine you heard the Lord speaking, as the Church did in Lamentations 1.12. Is it nothing to you all, oh ye that pass by, is there any sorrow like unto my sorrow? have you no compassion at all upon a Saviour? what, will ye spit in my face? what you? what and to a Saviour too? and will ye pierce my soul by the corruptions of your hearts, and by the actions of your hands? thus the Lord Jesus Christ persuades you to see sin, and to abhor and 〈◊〉 it upon all occasions; and therefore let us answer the requests of our Saviour, and not show ourselves desperately wicked to pierce him again, and to renew his sufferings. Use 2 In the second place, did our Saviour suffer these pains? then see here the strictness of God's justice: Oh that exact precise severity of God's proceed without exception of any man's person; God puts no difference, although he were his Son, but he lays punishment upon him. This is the reason of that exact dealing of God, in Rom. 2.9. Tribulation and anguish shall be upon the soul of every one that sinned, and why? 〈◊〉 God is no respecter of persons; as verse 11. that the ground of it; and it is not only expressed but it 〈◊〉 also proved undeniable, Rom. 11.22. Behold therefore the bounty and severity of God; towards them which have fallen, severity, but towards that bountifulness: remember Gods just proceeding against the Jews, and therefore it is, that the Apostle citeth all the proceed of God's judgements, not only against the heathens that never knew him, or his enemies that always opposed him, but even to his friends such as he had showed much favour and mercy to: if they sin, they shall be destroyed for their sin. But oh the just exactness of the justice of the Lord, how severely just he is! for this exactness is not only upon the wicked, and open profane, but upon his own dear children, and they that have had his ordinances, as in Amos, the Prophet shows what favours they had received, in regard of the means; but yet feel how severely; the Lord punisheth them: but he hold the miracle of justice in the Lord Jesus Christ his only Son, in whom his soul delighted: our Saviour that had but the shadows of sin, had all punishments laid upon him in thick 〈◊〉. Now answer me whether God the Father be not a strict God or no, and a just and righteous God that would thus deal with his only Son. A man would have thought if any thing in the world could have stopped the hand of Divine justice, that it should not proceed from God the Father, than Christ he might have done it, for her had all that ever any one in the world could have: If the excellency of the person of our Saviour could have done it, or the holiness of the soul of our Saviour, than he might have been exempted from punishment, yet all these were not able to do it, because he was a surety; but yet a man would have thought that those tears of blood might in some measure moderate the matter: could not those servant petitions of him, have had so much as some abatement of the punishment, when he cried out saying, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me? and then again the second time, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nay the third time; Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. The Son of God was now upon the rack with it, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; let me only have a sip and away, and so let it pass from me. Surely if any thing could have stopped the hand of divine justice, than Christ might have done it, but God would not, nor did not abate our Saviour one drop of his indignation, but God inflicts it all, and Christ suffers ● all: behold therefore if thus be not a just God; hear and fear all you that hear the good word of the Lord this day, you that think that Christ is made all of mercy, it is a God of your own imagination, and your own devising; it is not that God which is the Lord of heaven and earth, it is not the God of hosts, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ: Oh say poor ignorant people, he is a very merciful God, and full of compassion; it is true, he is merciful indeed, but know this also to thy terror, that God is strict, and precisely righteous: you think to put off God with a few good words and lazy wishes, and with a Lord have mercy upon us; and if you can have but an hour's time before your death to cry God mercy, oh their you think all shall be well and God will go away with anything; and because you suffer a little punishments and afflictions in this life, therefore you think to be freed from them altogether hereafter: no no, know thou shalt not carry it away so: indeed thou hast troubles and afflictions here, but thou shalt have eternity of torments for ever in the life to come: if thou still continuest to be a sinful wretch, and an unbelieve, there is no way with thee, but to bear thy own plagues and miseries hereafter: when thou seest the Son of God himself corrected, dost thou think to go free? if God would not bare oils Saviour any thing of it, dost thou think he will abate thee any thing? again, our Saviour had our sins only imputed to him; but thy sins thou hast committed them thyself, and canst thou think to escape, that are proud, and stubborn, and malicious, and liest and livest be thy sins, and dost wallow in them, and allow of thyself in the commission of them? no, surely God will not spare any blasphemer, nor unclean wretch, nor profane person under heaven; if he did not spare his own Son, he will not spare thee, but he will inflict upon thee the sharpest punishments that can be imagined: therefore now if God be so severe against sin, then let your affections be answerable thereunto, do you pity none that are sinful, not only slaves, but in a child, a son, a husband; let us labour to get a hearefull of hatred against sin in any of these, nay though she were the wife of thy bosom, or thy child, or thy dear friend, if thou seest sin in them, be sure to punish it; especially you that are in places of authority, into whose hands God hath committed the sword of the Magistracy for the execution of justice: You that are Gods vice-gerents upon earth, do you as God himself hath done, and walk in his way, and so be blessed in whatsoever you do: I said ye are Gods saith David; every Magistrate, every Justice in the country, and every Master of a family; ye are Gods, that is, ye have the Image of God put into you, and therefore say thou with thyself in this manner; would God suffer a swearer, or a blasphemer, or a profane person, or a drunkard, or an adulterer, to go unpunished? and would God suffer a profaner of his Sabbath, and would not reform him? then whatsoever is amiss in thy own soul, or in thy wife or child, or servant, if it be in thy place punish, if not, then hate it to the uttermost: If God doth hate sin even in his own dear Son, though assumed only, then let thy heart be also carried with a hatred for evermore against it: Thus much of the first question, what the kinds of punishment were which our Saviour suffered, and how far he suffered them. Quest. 2 Secondly, when did our Saviour begin these sufferings, and when did be end them? To this I answer thus: Answer. Our Saviour Christ begun the pains of the natural death from his cradle, to his grave: I am not ignorant of the diversity of the judgements of Divines in this point; but that which I conceive to be most seasonable is this, he begun to die; as soon as he begun to live, and that upon this ground; look to the curse that God hath threatened, Gen. 2.17. In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death; so that Adam began to be a debtor, and must be a sufferer from the very beginning of his sin; and so all the sons of Adam, they have no sooner an entrance into life, but they are dying: The meaning is this, as thou eatest thereof thou shalt die; that's the meaning of the text as it is in the original; die, die, die, even from the beginning of thy life. Now when our Saviour became● debtor, he must also become a paymaster, and he must keep the 〈◊〉 of the payment: justice requires this, and they 〈◊〉 are faithful do and will keep this: now 〈◊〉 Saviour was a good paymaster, therefore the day of his humiliation was the day of his dissolution; he had sorrows and miseries even until his departure out of this life: nay, not only the curse required it, but also daily experience makes it good; look upon our Saviour as soon as ever he w●● borne, there was no room to be had for him 〈◊〉 ●nne, but be was laid in a manger in the stable; ●d not in a cradle neither, but in a cratch: and Herod; he fought his life too, and in his riper years, he suffered hunger, and cold, and backbitings; and all these were but as harbingers to make way for all that desolation and wrath which came upon him. There is never a child of Adam, but so soon as he is borne into the world, he falls to crying, and so he continueth in sorrows all the days of his life, and all these are but die: when the tiles begin to fall, and the thatch to moulder from off the house, we use to say the house will fall shortly: so all the sorrows and the disgraces that were cast upon our Saviour, so soon as he was persecuted, they were all preparations to his death. Again, look to the end why our Saviour came into the world, as in 1 john 3.8. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil, that as Satan brought sin into the world by Adam, and so death and condemnation by sin; so Christ through his sufferings, brought in life and sanctification; so that the plaster should be applied to the place from whence the 〈◊〉 the dis●e came: As Satan brought sin into the world, 〈◊〉 punishments by sin, so the plaster must be laid there, that all may be fully cured, Again, when did our Saviour suffer pains in his soul? To this I answer, our Saviour did suffer these pains, partly in the garden, and partly upon the cross this will be plain if you compare Matthew 26.37. with john 19.30. in Saint Matthew he saith, that Christ took with him Peter and the two sons of Zabedeus, and he began it 〈◊〉 sorrowful, and to be grievously troubled: he began to be sorrowful, this sorrow and heaviness was the pains of his soul: here he did begin it; and in john 19.30. when jesus had received of the vinegar, he said, now it is finished: what is that? there are many interpretations upon it, but I will follow that which I conceive to be most seasonable, as thus; it is finished, that is, the cup is ●ver, the heavy indignation of the Lord that did pursue we, and lie upon me, is now over; and remember this blo●d finished, doth argue that it had a beginning. There was a time when our Saviour begun to crapple with this wrath of God, and now it is finished: this is the meaning of it, for it could not be meant of all the Prophecies that were of Christ all which were not fulfilled, and though some were fulfilled, yet some were not; and therefore it could not be meant of them, as namely of this Prophecy: as jonah was three days 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: therefore, the text saith, that he began to be in an again in the garden, and when he cried, now it is finished, the●● was ended: that is, now the fit is over, and the indignation of the Lord is past: this shall be made good in the third question wherein it shall appear that he did suffer grievous pains in his soul: But before I come to the third question, give me leave to promise some cautions, that so you may see how the way lies; and the cautions are three First, that whatsoever the Scripture doth speak concerning the sufferings of Christ, it means them really; they were not shows nor semblances, but in substance. This I speak the rather to avoid a cavil of some which think that Christ did only say so, and did not suffer them really; this is a mere doring delusion, and for ever to be abhorred; for unless we yield it that Christ did suffer these really, we shake off the truth of the whole story, and so we can have no true foothold for our comfort. Secondly, I say that whatsoever is expressed in the Scripture, we must conceive of it without the least suspicion of sin in our Saviour: therefore evermore maintain a holy reverence, and a holy regard of the actions and the nature of our Saviour Christ, that you may not charge him with the least inclination to any distemper. Thirdly, our Saviour was not compelled properly to suffer, either out of the necessity of nature being weak and sinful; for indeed sorrows do come properly out of our corruptions, and flow out from thence; and as heat and fire go together, so sin and misery go together; but there was no such matter in the Lord Jesus Christ; nay, there was no outward cause in our Saviour, that could compel him to suffer miseries, whether he would or no: but he did most willingly submit himself to divine justice, her took our place and became our surety, and promised the payment of the debt freely; yet aside he had done thus, it was necessary upon condition promised, and he did also willingly make it necessary, that before he did suffer these punishments, he should undertake them; and then having thus undertaken, and upon certain conditions promised, it was very fit and necessary that he should make good what he had promised, and perform what he had undertaken: these cautions I thought good to add to stop the mouthed of all cavils that may arise in the hearts of those that are weak; for the ground of Christ's sufferings was freely and willingly according to the promise and agreement which was between the Father and himself. Quest. 3 The third question follows, and that is this: whether our Saviour did suffer in body alone, or in soul alone, or in both: Answer. The answer apparently and punctually is this: Christ did properly and immediately suffer the wrath of God in his soul, as well as he did the pains of death in his body; he did not only suffer by communion and consent between the soul and the body; as namely, therefore the soul is pierced, because the body is pierced, no, but he did properly and immediately receive and suffer the wrath of God in his soul, as well as his body did death. The Scripture doth express it this way, and the Prophet foretold this in Esay 63.10. God shall make his soul an offering for sin: you know every offering implies a full payment; they did use to confess their sins over the sacrifice, and then to slay it, intimating that the sacrifice was to undergo whatsoever punishment was due unto their sins: and so did Christ do in bearing our sins, nay Christ himself saith so: Matthew 26.38. My soul is very heavy and sorrowful, even unto the death: and that this must needs be the meaning of the text, it shall appear by further explication, and therefore give me leave to handle all the particulars of the sufferings of our Saviour: and for our proceeding herein, that I may be plain, and that this doctrine may drop as the dew, and that every spire of grass may receive some sap and sweetness, and spiritual moisture there from, let me do two things, wherein I will show you that the sufferings of our Saviour were done partly in the garden; and partly upon the cross; and for his agony in the garden, let me do two things: First, I will show you what the Scripture saith of that agony in the 14. of Saint Mark, and in the 26. of Matthew. Secondly, I will make it good that those sufferings were most grievous sufferings, which he suffered in his soul: For the first, what our Saviour suffered when he was in that agony in the garden, when he crieth out, Father, if it be possible let this cap pass from me. The Scripture discovers the pith of all that anguish of soul, and the whole compass of it, what it was that did thus fill the soul of our Saviour, and that is in these two things, and you shall find them both in Mark 13.33. where the text saith, when our Saviour was to enter into the combat, he saith thus; he began to his amazed, and to be very heavy: let me express them thus: he began to be driven to an astonishment, and to have his soul filled with the indignation of the Lord. First, our Saviour Christ foreseeing the wrath of God, and the combat of God the Father coming against him, he began to be amazed: the word in the original is this; That so you may see the depth of the distress, and the bottom of the cup. The word amazement comes from a word that signifies to be in a stand, or to be astonished: such a sorrow as men use to have for the loss of some dear friend; nay the preposition in that which is added signifies a grief beyond astonishment: whatsoever grief could befall a creature without sin, that all befell our Saviour: this word carries two things with it: First, there comes an admiration from the suddenness of the thing. Secondly, a stroke of error, which smiteth upon the soul with the admiration of it, as when a sudden and an unwonted and an intolerable evil beginneth to seize upon a man, and the stroke of some terror and fe●● strikes in and drives the soul to an amaze, and insomuch that the heart saith, good Lord what will this come to? if this befall me, what shall become of me? this is astonishment. The second part is this, and that goes further, and our translation expresseth it to the full; My soul begins to be very heavy, that's our translation; but the word goes a degree further, when this sorrow act only strooke and shaken the heart of our Saviour with the suddenness of it, but it entered into his soul, and filled it abundantly, and racked it to the uttermost of the abilities of nature to bear it: shall I deal nakedly? this word heavy, carries two things with it. First, that the soul of our Saviour was surcharged and filled, being full: with the indignation of the Lord, and that heavy vexation that lay upon him: for so the word implies, abundance of misery which doth bear down the heart of a poor creature, but this was not in the Lord Jesus Christ: though his soul were filled brim full of the indignation of the Lord, yet he was not overcharged with it. Secondly, hence it follows, that all the faculties of the whole nature of the soul of our Saviour, they gathered up themselves, and they drew up all their forces, to bear up themselves against the wrath of the Lord, which was now coming upon them; all the powers of his soul, the mind and the memory, and hope and fear, they were all gathered up: as in time of war, the soldiers come all forth from their garrisons to close in the main battle; so the Lord Jesus foresaw the wrath of the Father coming against him, and he drew forth all his abilities, and left all other employments wholly, and brought them to fence and to fortify themselves to bear this wrath of the Lord; as if our Saviour had said, Come ye all hither, and help to bear up my soul against the unsupportable wrath of God; this is the very skirt and selvedge of the word: yet observe this by the way, our Saviour was not deprived of this work of any of his abilities, but only they were called off from all other employments, and they wholly betook themselves to bean the wrath of the Lord, as the main work which now did lie upon them: and this may be done, and was done by our Saviour, and yet without sin. As it is with a clock, a man may sto● the wheels upon force, and make them stand still, though there be no distemper in the wheels causing it, but only the hand which stops it: So it was with Christ, there was no infirmity in the mind or memory of our Saviour; but the hand of God was so heavy upon him, and the wrath of God so seized upon him, that all other actions ceased, and he attended to no other thing, but to this, how to bear the wrath of God; the Evangelist in Matthew 26.38. shows the explication of both these, My soul is exceeding heavy, tarry ye here and watch with me; my soul is heavy even unto the death: that is, my soul is besieged and beset, and beleagered with sorrows, in every part, and I would express it thus: our Saviour Christ knowing God's counsel and the hour approaching, and the thrones of justice prepared, and God as an angry Judge sitting thereon, with all the books brought forth, and all the sins of all the world there laid open, and God the Father as a Judge saith, these are the sins of those, for whom thou hast undertaken to die, and if thou answer not for them they must be damned; and there he saw the sins of Manasses and David, and Peter and Paul, appear before the Lord, and withal, he saw the glorious attributes of God all coming out against him; and mercy pleads, I have been despised; and patience pleads and saith, I have been despised; and justice pleads and saith, I have been wronged by these men in the time of their ignorance: and therefore mercy, and patience, and goodness, and holiness, and long suffering, and all these that have been wronged, they all come to the Father for justice, and say, These have been opposers of thy grace, and spirit, and they have wronged us, if they be saved, Christ must be punished; and he seethe the wrath of the Lord making a breach against him, and seizing against him, and not only so, but even all the Devils, and all the Jews and Gentiles; God lets them all in upon our Saviour: now see whether he had good cause to complain; if he looked up to God, there were all his attributes crying for justice against him, and death before his face, and the Jews and the Gentiles, Herod and Pilate and all conspired against him to bring in sorrow upon our Saviour: therefore he cries, Oh my soul it heavy even to the death, my soul is beset with sorrows; the Jews, and the sins of all the world will have my life; thus he began to be astonished, and was fain to gather up all his abilities, that he might fortify himself against those evils. This is the sufferings of Christ in the garden, and yet I speak under it; and if I had the tongues of men and of Angels, I could not express it; for these words are never read of any mortal man, but that there is weakness in the same, only Christ hath expressed thus much, that howsoever misery and wrath was able to overcome a poor creature, yet he bore it, and that without sins. Let these two cavils of the Jesuits be removed before we go any further, and the explication before spoken of will answer both. Object. 1 First, say they, if Christ in his agony suffered the wrath of God, and if this made him to cry out, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, if this be so, then say they, our Saviour must continue in the agony from the garden, till he came upon the cross; but that he could not do, for he checks judas, and reproves Peter; not as a man astonished, but as a man in his right wits; and he answered Pilate calmly, and he prayed holily, and commended himself to God the Father, and he was not as a man astonished in all this: therefore he was not now in the agony. Answer. To this I answer, the objection grows upon a false ground, for they conceive that because he was in the agony, therefore it must continue until his being upon the cross; I say no, that's false; for our Saviour entered into the agony, as into a combat, and he that enters into a combat, hath many bouts in it: as there are many storms and tempests, but there are some beams of sunshine between them, so here there is some interims. It is in this case as it is with a man in a burning fever, a man hath many intermissions between the fits; so although our Saviour bore all the whole wrath of God, yet he had intermitting fits of it; as in Matthew 26.39, 42, 44, in the 39 verse, he prayed and said, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; and he went away again the second time, and prayed saying, Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; and he went again the third time, and prayed yet more earnestly saying, Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me: and as it is in Luke ●2. 44. He entered into the agony, that is, into the fit, as we use to say of a sick man; now the fit is upon him, he prayed once and came again, so one fit was over; he prayed yet again, so two fits were over; then he prayed yet more earnestly, so the the third fit was over: here are three bouts which he had, when he wrestled with the indignation of the Lord. There were three storms in this tempest, and between every little storm, he had a pleasant gale of ease and refreshing: This is the answer to the first objection. Object. 2 Secondly, if the wrath of God seized upon the soul of our Saviour, than the cause being the same, the effect must needs be the same; therefore he must needs be still in the agony, when he was upon the cross: You must know that the sorrows and sufferings of our Saviour issued only from these two causes. First, from the wrath of God coming upon him for our sins. Secondly, our Saviour did willingly according to the agreement made between him and the Father, put himself under the wrath of the Father; he laid his head upon the block, and upon the anvil, under the blow of divine Justice. Now it is not the wrath of God alone, nor the willingness of Christ alone, but from the wrath of God coming upon him, and his willingness in submitting to the wrath of God: for Justice saith, if these be saved, thou must suffer; and Christ saith, I am contented, I will, yet so fare as I see fit, and may be for my honour; this shows that he did it willingly: Therefore he was a cause by counsel, and a voluntary disposer of his own work; therefore he might either satisfy justice by bearing the whole wrath of God, or else he might take a breathing while as he saw fit; so that howsoever you frame the objection, yet the answer is clear: for when a man hath taken work to do by the great, he may go to his work, or he may leave his work, provided that he do perform it according to bargain: or a man may speak if he will, or else if he will, he may keep silence: so Christ undertook to suffer for us, but provided when he would, and as he would: Matthew 26.37. He began to wax sorrowful, that is, he did it freely, he entered into the combat of God's displeasure, he undertook it when he would, and as much at once as he would, provided that he did pay and suffer all, for the curse doth not require that Christ should suffer all at once, but only that he should satisfy the justice of God again: the humane nature of Christ could not so well bear all the wrath of God at once; therefore he took it at three times: as when a man cannot well drink a great potion at one draught, he drinks and breathes, and then drinks again and breathes, and then drinks the third time: so Christ was resolved to bear all the wrath of God, and because it was too grievous for the humane nature to drink it all at once, therefore he drinks and breathes again, and then drinks the second time, and breaths again; and so drinks the third time, and so our Saviour was able to suffer all, and not to be driven to any distemper or weakness; for all those distempers of affections, they arise from these three grounds: 1 Either affections prevent judgement: 2 Or else it will not yield to judgement: 3 Or thirdly, it disturbs judgement. Now our Saviour took one draught, and then breathed, and then took another draught, and 〈◊〉 had again, and so think it at the third time, so that none of all the sorrows of the agony that he undertook troubled him, because he undertook it when he would, and yet bore all, and so gave full satisfaction. Thus you see what our Saviour suffered in the garden in his soul, and it was such a kind of sorrow, that he took only Peter, and james, and john with him, and no more. Now in the next place, I come to fasten upon the proof of the point, to wit, that this sorrow must needs be more than can come from the pains of death, and I shall make it good by force of argument, that this sorrow cannot come barely from the natural death; I shall give you grounds from Scripture, and from reason, and I reason thus: All the sorrows that came upon our Saviour, they came by reason in this cup, that is, from these sorrows, and miseries that he was to bear, both in the agony in the garden, and upon the cross: Now that cup which brought astonishment in upon his soul, and filled it full of anguish, and drove him to an amaze, and not only to weep bitterly, but to trickle down drops of clodded blood, that cup must needs be more than the pains of a natural death, but that cup which caused all this, was that which brought them in, and made him thus to be astonished, and filled his soul with anguish, and wrested clodded blood from his body; therefore this was more than natural death: the latter part of the argument is undeniable, namely that the agony came from this cup; therefore the cup was the cause of his sorrows, and griefs, and tears; but to think that natural death should drive our Saviour to this astonishment, it is unreasonable to think it, that the Soldier should bear that which the Commander cannot bear, and that many a poor Christian that hath but a little grace, should bear the pain of a natural death for a good cause, and that comfortably; and shall not Christ the Fountain of all grace bear much more? it is unreasonable for any man to think so: therefore there must be more than the pains of a natural death, in the sufferings of our Saviour. He that gave his Saint's grace to bear these pains of the natural death, he hath much more grace in himself to bear them, and to come forth from under them. Use 1 Is it so that the Lord Jesus Christ was driven to this astonishment, and to all this misery? then what use will you make of the point? shake the ●ee, and gather the fruit: Let every soul learn from hence what will be the fruit of sin, and what he may expect from sin, if he do rightly conceive of it: we use to judge of physic by the working of it, especially if it be some strange kind of physic, than the working of it will discover the nature of it: And as it is with some great personages, as the Popes and such like, they have their tasters to taste their meat for them; for certainly if the meat do poison him that tastes it, than it will do him no good that eats i●: so see what sin hath done in Christ, and the same it will do in thee; what he hath received from it, do thou look to partake of the same, if thou continue in sin: He only tasted of it by way of imputation, and he had only the shadows of sin, as I have formerly showed: he had only the taste of sin by way of account, and charge, and imputation: therefore if it made him sick even to death, then know thou shalt be sure to feel the same: it will work upon thee much more that hast sin not by way of imputation, but thou hast it by way of commission: and thou canst sit at thy base pleasures, and lose company, and sinful occasions, and drawest on iniquity as it were with cart-ropes; it will be thy death, if the Lord be not merciful unto thee to save thee, and the Lord Christ gracious to pardon thee: therefore let us not judge of our sins according to our conceits; it is that which cousin's and deceives thousands of poor creatures; therefore let us not value our sins according to the sweetness that our own corrupt heart finds in them, nor according to the pleasure that we expect from them; they go down merrily now, but they kill as certainly. It is the great weakness of poor souls, that we see sin a great way off through many glass windows, many mediums and covers, there are many profits, and pleasures, and dalliances, that are between sin and us, and we see sin through all these, and therefore sin is welcomed and received, because it seems pleasant: but now I would have you see sin in the nature of it, and therefore look upon sin in the Lord Jesus Christ, and there see it in its colours, and see what vexation it brought on our Saviour, the same it will bring upon thee, unless the Lord be the more merciful. Is is with sinners, as it is with children; little children that know not the nature of a Bear or a Lion, if they lie sleeping, they will be ready to play with them; but if the Bear begin to shake himself, and the Lion begin to roar, it makes not only children afraid, but even the stoutest to fly, we dally with the hole of the Asp: sin hath devoured thousands at this day, and children that we are, we play with sin, and with the pride of our own cursed hearts, and our lusts, and our ambition, and uncleanness, and with the neglect of God's ordinances, and every other corruption: The drunkard plays with his drunkenness, and the adulterer with his dalliances, and the proud man with his ambitious thoughts, and so every wretch with his wicked practices, and this ambition is now asleep: but if you could see these roaring upon you, and ready to devour you, then certainly you that now take delight in them, would fly from them: Proverbs 7.27. It is observable what sin will do, the adulterous woman meets the poor deluded creature, and she enticeth him with her base lusts, and he dreams of nothing but Down beds, and all kind of dalliance, and he knows nothing but goes as an Ox to the slaughter, until a dart strike through his liver, and he knows not that it is for his life, he goes and his life goes: Her house is the way to the grave, which goeth down to the chambers of death: the like is in judas, he desired to betray Christ, and for what? only to get a little poor pittance of thirty pence: his covetousness was now asleep, and he had a murdering heart towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and a covetous heart for himself: all this while sin was asleep; but when Christ was attached and condemned, than judas began to be worried with his corruptions; he comes in horror of heart and throws down the thirty pence, and comes into the high Priests hall, and saith, I have sinned in betraying innocent blood: Now tell me, judas, is it good to be covetous now? when his conscience was awake, and thus wrath of God began to seize upon it, and that Lion began to roar upon him, than his heart begun to shake within him, and he departed and went away and hanged himself, his sin made way for it: and thus it will be with every wicked man in the world. Howsoever now you have del●ons to cousin others, and you have your unjust measures, and you can carry it away bravely; your corruptions are now asleep but that covetousness out of thy shop, and that adultery out of thy chamber, it will one day roar upon thee: look upon the hands of Christ, and they will say, there hands were pierced by sins, and it was sin that hath filled this soul with astonishment. Oh all you that see and hear the good word of the Lord this day, see what sin hath done with our Saviour, and expect the like effects from sin, if you still continue in it. Now we come to the second part, that is, his sufferings upon the cross, where we shall have much to do with the Jesuits. You see what he suffered in the garden, now follow him to the cross, for when he was in the garden, he only tasted of the cup; but when he was upon the cross, he drunk the cup quite off; in the garden he only sipped the top 〈◊〉 it, but now he drunk the dregs of it, and the bottom and all. For the opening of this, look Mat. 27.46. about the ninth hour, that is, about three of the clock in the afternoon, when he was crucified, he cried out saying, Eli, Eli, lamusabactani: Now Divines say, and Interpreter conclude and 〈◊〉 profess it, and I beseech you attend to it, that in this cry & complaint of our Saviour, was discovered the dregs of the cup of the fierce indignation of the Lord; now before I come to the 〈◊〉 and proper sense of the words, consider thus much: there are two interpretations of it; First, there is one of the Jesuits, which we must confute and remove. Secondly, there is another interpretation of sound Divines, which we must receive and yield unto. For the first, Bellarmine and others make the meaning of the words to be this, that our Saviour Christ here complains that he was left to the hands of the Jews, and that God the Father would not deliver him from that temporal death which they would put him to; therefore said they, our Saviour in the sense of the death natural, cries out that God had left him in the hands of those ungodly men; therefore they say the words run thus, My God, my God, why hast thou thus forsaken me, and lost me thus in the hands of Pilate, and Herod, and the Jews to crucify me: it is a sinew less and a weak imagination, that I may speak no worse of it, for I can hardly bear it with patience: and that this sense is false there are a reasons to bear against it. First, this meaning is taken from a false ground, and therefore the ground and bottom being brittle and weak, the building must needs fall. It is a weak thing for a man to say, that sometimes the miseries and deaths of the Saints of God, argue a forsaking of God: for I say, that though the Saints of God are sometimes delivered up to death by the wise providence of God, yet they are not said to be forsaken of God: 2 Cor. 4.9. We are persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but we perish not: You know what the ordinary promises are in this kind; I will be with thee in six troubles, 〈◊〉 the seventh I will deliver thee: mark this, the heaviest afflictions of the Saints of God, nay death itself is so fare from being an argument of Gods forsaking them, that it is an argument of their glorying in God; as in 2 Cor. 12.10. Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities and reproaches, necessities and persecutions: and in anguish for Christ's sake, the Apostle rejoiceth in persecutions, and in the midst of all extremities. A second reason why it is false is this, God is said to leave his servants two ways, and there are no other ways in Scripture that I know of First when God takes away his assistance in the time of trouble, and he lends not that strength and that assistance, whereby with patience they may be●e, and with courage go through those afflictions, but now and then he lets them not be soiled, by their own infirmities, and to fall by their weaknesses, that they may learn to see their own weaknesses, and learn not to trust in themselves, but in the Lord their God: Now this forsaking cannot, nor did not befall our Saviour in common sense, because he prayed for assistance, and whatsoever he prayed for, he had; as Hebrews 5.7. He was heard in that which he feared; and so consequently assisted: nay, he was confident of the issue of it, Luke 23.42.43. when the good thief upon the cross said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom; the Lord answered him, this way shall thou be with 〈◊〉 in Paradise: nay, David did prophesy this of Christ, and Christ himself performs it, Psalm 16.8. I have set the Lord always before mine eyes, for he is at my right hand, therefore I shall 〈◊〉 be moved: therefore God the Father did not leave our Saviour, but he did assist him, that he was above all sorrows, and all miseries. Secondly, the other kind of leaving which the Scripture speaks of, is this; when the Lord takes away the sense and feeling of the sweetness of his love, and 〈◊〉 from the soul: in Psalm 27.9. David saith, Hid not thy face away from me, neither cast away thy servants in displeasure, put not a servant 〈◊〉 of doors. Here I demand of any man, but especially of the Jesuits, whether of these two they will grant? God did not forsake the Lord Jesus Christ the first way; therefore he must do it this way, or none at all; and if any man grant this, than he grants the cause: for then there was not only the death natural, but the displeasure of the Lord seized upon his soul; and unless they do grant this, than this absurdity must needs follow upon it, that Christ was not at all forsaken of God: for he that was constantly assisted, and refreshed by the sense of the love and favour of God, he was no way forsaken: joseph was in prison, but God was with him; and Daniel was in the Lion's den, but God was with him: and in 2 Chron. 15.2. God is with you, while ye are with him: now if Christ had assistance from God the Father to strengthen him, and the sense of the sweetness of God's love to refresh him, than he was no way forsaken, which is profesly contrary to this truth, and it is to give the good Spirit of God the lie; therefore away with those imaginations, so that the answer is clear, that God the Father did take away the sense and feeling of the sweetness of his love from our Saviour; and this made him to cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? thus much to wipe away the cavils of the Jesuits. Now I come to show the right sense and interpretation of the words which we ought to receive; and here you may see the great work of Christ, and the love of Christ, and the comfort of a Christian: the text includes two things, which contains the very dregs of the cup: First, that God took away the sense and feeling of his love and favour: Secondly, God the Father laid a curse upon him. There is a dereliction, and a malediction, in the words forsaking, and the curse: therefore add to this place but Gal. 3.13. and you shall have the full sufferings of Christ, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us, because it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: so that when he was crucified and hanged on the cross, than he was made a curse for us, and then he was forsaken. Let me a little open both the passages to you: First for the forsaking of our Saviour, Why hast thou forsaken me? when he cried thus, and roared for the very disquietness of his soul, there was more in it than ordinary: I will discover the substance of this forsaking of Christ how fare it went, and that in three particulars, that you may know how far to steer your judgements in conceiving the sense of the Spirit of God in this place: this forsaking of Christ may be conceived of in three conclusions: First, it was not a total forsaking of our Saviour, but only in part, and it was not a perpetual forsaking, but for a while, and it was not a taking away the Godhead from the manhood of our Saviour; but the Godhead was ever united to the manhood, and did evermore support it. Secondly, this forsaking was on the Father's part, and not on our Saviour's part; the Father forsakes Christ, but Christ went after him: God took away the sense of his love, but the Lord Jesus Christ cried after him, and laid hold upon him, and saith, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? the Father went away, but the Lord Jesus Christ went after the Father, and would not let him go: God the Father might justly forsake our Saviour, being made sin for us by account and imputation: being our surety, God the Father might justly take away and withdraw the sense of the sweetness of his love and favour from the Lord Jesus Christ, without any sin; but now the Lord Jesus Christ could not have forsaken and gone away from the Father without sinning, so that this forsaking was on the Father's part, but our Saviour held fast, and would not be carried away, My God, my God, etc. As job saith, Though he kill me, yet will I trust in him: so that jobs trusting, and Gods killing anger might stand together: and when the Lord wrestled with jacob and said, Let me go, for the day breaketh; jacob said, I will not let thee go, until thou bless me. God may go away from jacob, but jacob may not go away from God for want of confidence, and affiance: so that this forsaking is to be apprehended wholly on the Father's part, for our Saviour did not go away from God by diffidence and distrust. Thirdly, and here lies the main pith and heart blood of the point, that we may speak tremblingly and wisely, in this great and difficult point. The conclusion is this, the soul of our Saviour, that is, the whole man was for the while deprived of the sense of God's favour, and the feeling operation of his love and mercy that might comfort him; I say, it was for the while, and this seems to be the reason of those strong cries, and heart-breaking complaints of his: You know when a man cries, than there is misery, and trouble upon him; and when he cries loud, and puts forth all his powers, it implies a marvellous weight, nay, it gives us to conceive of a kind of admiration, and a kind of wondering with himself, what the cause of it should be: It seems here that this was the cause of the sad complaint, because in his agony there were some inkling of God's mercy, and now and then a starlight, and a little flash of lightning to cheer him: but now all the sense and feeling of God's love was gone, and not so much as any little starlight to cheer him up; and that drives him to a wonderment, saying, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Is it possible that thou canst thus forsake thy Son? what's the reason of it? what, and an only begotten Son; not that the spirit of consolation was ever taken away from our Saviour, nor that the Godhead was taken away from the manhood, and so left comfortless, and supportlesse; no, no, but howsoever the spirit of comfort and consolation was there, yet the sweetness of that consolation, wherein he had refreshed and solaced himself, that was quite taken await. Object. Oh but, say the Jesuits, this seems strange; for if this be so that all the sense and sweetness of God's love was taken away from him, then how can he say, my God, my God? Answer. It is a conceit for a Jesuit, and not for a Christian; for faith and the want of feeling may go together: Christ longed after mercy, though he saw nothing, and he cried, my God, my God; though he had no sense of God's love, the strongest faith may stand where no sense is; Esay 50.10. He that walketh in darkness, and hath no light, that is, he that is altogether in misery, and sorrow, and anguish, and seethe no light of comfort and consolation, what must he do? must he cast away all hope? no, let him stay himself by the power of faith upon his God. So then Christ may have, and had confidence, to say, my God, my God, and yet he was deprived of the sense of God's love, and the feeling operation of his mercy and favour; and: God the Father might take away the sense and sweetness of it, without any weakness on our Saviour's part, because this withdrawing of the sweetness of: God's love, brings only a punishment upon the soul, and takes to grace nor holiness from the soul of our Saviour. Now we are come to the bottom, now our Saviour foresaw all the mercy, goodness, and compassion of God the Father going away from him, and he panted after it, saying, my God, my God, mercy is gone, and compassion is gone in regard of the sense of it. Now that you may see the weight of the sufferings of our Saviour, consider thus ●●ich; that the 〈◊〉 away the self of God's love, discovers itself in Scripture after this manner. The Lord in this work of his, and in this heavy withdrawing himself, he turns away his face, and looks another way, deprives him of the enjoying of the sweetness of his fellowship which formerly he had: jonah 2.4. jonah was a good and a gracious man, though he was a strange man, as one observes, yet when the Lord had dealt something strangely with him, and cast him into the sea, a whale receives him; and when he was swallowed up of the whale, he was then swallowed up of a greater grief; for God had taken away the sweetness of his love from him: therefore saith he, I am cast out of thy sight, he would play the run away with God, and would go to Tarsus; therefore God casts him out of his sight to his own apprehension: therefore saith he I am cast out of thy presence this was only in regard of the sense and sweetness of God's love and favour: this you may see in the example of David, Psalm 31.22. I said in my haste, I am cast out of thy sight; as no question but jonah prayed in the whales belly, and said, Lord pardon my sin, and forgive my transgressions; no, saith the Lord, get you down to Tarsus: so David prayed, and cried earnestly saying, not smile of thy favour Lord; no, saith the Lord, and he looked another way, yet thou heardest the voice of my prayer: and so jonah, yet will I look towards thy holy Temple; he looked to mercy whiles his eyes and his heart and all failed; so that faith may well stand, even there where there is no sense at all. Thus it was here in the case of our Saviour, and thus the Scripture speaks admirable pithily; Psalm 77.9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious, and hath he shut up his tender mercies? as if he had said, though I may not have mercy, yet let me see mercy: hath God in anger shut up his mercy? the face of mercy is sweet, and the presence of mercy is comely: but hath God in anger shut up his tender mercies? he hath not only sent him going out of doors, as he did jonah, but he shuts himself up that the poor sinner cannot come within fight of him. Oh saith the son, I would my father would but look out at the window that I might see him; but when he will not suffer his son to look upon him, this is heavy: so the Lord saith to his servants, no no, you have slighted my kindness, therefore I will lock it up, that you shall see him no more: In the second Book of Samuel, the fourteenth chapter, the twenty eighth verse; When Absolom had dwelled two years in jerusalem, and saw not the King's face, at length he sends for joab to send him to the King, and said, either let me see the King's face, or else wherefore do I live? It was a great favour that he might but see the King's face; though he might not enjoy fellowship with him: this is a great trouble, when the Lord shuts up his mercy in anger: mercy hath come home to your hearts, and it hath besought you to take it; but you have dealt basely with the Lord, and walked rebelliously against him, well the Lord will shut you out of his presence, and will shut up his mercy, and then you shall say that you had mercy offered to you once, and you would not accept it. Thirdly, and this is the highest degree of all; the Lord doth not only shut up his mercy that he cannot be seen, but he goes away that a man cannot tell where to seek him: Oh, saith the son, that I might but see my Father, but he is gone, and then his heart is even swalloweed up; nay, God doth not only take away the sense and feeling of his favour beyond sight, but he goes away from a man, that he cannot tell where to seek him, that if he would write letters as I may say, yet he knows not where to send them, and if he call his father, he cannot hear him: Thus the Scripture speaks, and thus the saints of God have found it from time to time, Psalm 77.7, 8, 9 Will the Lord absent himself for ever, and will he show no more favour? this translation is reasonable well, but the original runs thus; will he add no more to be favourable: as if he had said, what will he not only not entertain me; but is he gone that I cannot tell where to find him; and in the ●. verse, Is his mercy clean gone for ever? This is the last of all, and that which contains the pith of all, that our Saviour speaks expressly of himself, that God goes not only out of his presence, but out of his calling too: the place is excellent, Psal. 22.1. from whence these words were taken, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so fare from helping me, and from the words of my complaint? God is gone beyond call. Now that you may see the weight of the sorrows that lay upon our Saviour, consider thus much: our Saviour was not only cast out of God's favour, and God did not only take away the sense of his love, and the feeling operation of his favour, that so he received not the sweetness that he had done; but Christ took the place of sinners, and therefore God the Father shut him out amongst sinners, and drew his mercy out of sight, and out of hearing, and therefore he cried out, My God, my God, etc. Nay further, why art thou so fare from my help? He cried out that he ●ore his bowels again, and stretched out his throat and cries, my God, my God, and he follows the mercy of God the Father in this kind, not that his faith did not prevail, but he had not the sense and sweetness of God's love; and so David in all that he spoke, saying, Will he be favourable no more? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? All this while God was present with him by supportation, though he held that vision of mercy off from his soul: now at this time it seems to me, and the text will bear it, that though Christ before had but three bouts in the garden, yet now all the sins of all his elect children, and the cloud of sins of all the faithful did arise to a mighty great fog, and the cloud did overspread all the whole heavens as I may say, and did darken all the Sunshine of God's favour: as it is with the Sun in the firmament, when a little cloud grows greater and greater until it cover the whole heaven, than we think it is almost night: so all the sins of all the faithful did overspread all the whole heavens, that even the starlight of God's compassion, and the lightning of God's love and favour appeared not. Now I come to the reasons of our Saviour's grievous sufferings in his soul, and the reasons are these. First, from the cause. Secondly, from the place to which our Saviour was called. Thirdly, from the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, which makes it most plain of all. Reason 1 First from the cause, it cannot be that it was the Jews, and Herod, and Pilate, that made him cry out in this manner, but the justice of God the Father came against him, and the devil entered the combat with the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross: Luke 22.53. This is your hour, and the power of darkness; hell gates were set open, and the devils were all let lose upon our Saviour; and therefore as Divines do wisely and judiciously observe in Coloss. 2.15. He led captivity captive, and spoilt principalities and powers, and took the hand writing of ordinances that was against us, and fastened them to his cross: he was now in the main combat with all the powers of sin, hell, and death: These were they that did make the combat with the Lord of life. Reason 2 The second reason, is taken from the place which he underwent; he was to be a Priest, and he was to offer up himself for a sacrifice, not his body alone, but also his soul; as Hebrews 9.20.24. Christ offered up himself for a sacrifice. Reason 3 Thirdly, the love of the Lord Jesus was such, that of necessity it must be so, and those that think, that the Lord Jesus suffered nothing else but only the death of the body, they wonderfully wrong the love of the Lord Jesus Christ: the like love was never seen, for had he suffered only the death natural, than some of God's people had showed greater love than ever Christ did: as Paul, Romans 9.3. I could be content to want the sense of the love of Christ, for the people of the jews, etc. Now if our Saviour had only suffered the death natural, then Paul could have been content to do more than Christ did: Thus you see the nature of this forsaking of Christ. Secondly, there was also a curse which befell our Saviour, which here is intimated, but is fully expressed Gal. 3.13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, why? because he was made a curse for us; how doth he prove that? because it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: He proves the truth by the Type, the curse lay in this, that Christ did suffer whatsoever was due unto us: So the Apostle reasons, that whatsoever curse was due unto us, that our Saviour did suffer: the curse was this, the Father did not only withdraw the sense and sweetness of his love and favour from the Lord Jesus Christ, but he also let in his heavy indignation, and wrath into his soul, and that seized upon and filled the soul of our Saviour brim full, and this was the curses. The Scripture doth express it in two particulars, or there are two degrees of it. First, the justice of God had a single combat with our Saviour in the garden, and there it had three bouts with him, the Lord dealt very roughly with him, and the blows were very heavy that he laid upon our Saviour there, for they went to the heart of him, and yet that was but a little skirmish: Esay 53.4, 5. God smote him, and bruised him, insomuch that there was clodded blood seen to come dropping from him: these heavy bouts that he had, wounded him, and went to the very heart of him, but now patience, and forbearance, and long-suffering, and mercy, and compassion, they all come into rescue our Saviour, and they afford him a little breathing, and refreshing, so that though the blows were heavy, and the thrusts were sore, yet he did breathe and live; and it was not the main stroke of all, and the reason was, because patience, mercy, and goodness, and bounty, came in to rescue him: but then the second part was this: Not only God's anger had a single combat with him, but at last the justice of God gathered up all the powers of it, and the wrath of God drew up all the forces together, and they marched in furiously against Christ: and whereas before the Father smote at him, and did thrust at him, now he slew him. When our Saviour came to the cross, and the heat of the battle lay upon him, than all the sense and sweetness of God's countenance and favour, they all left our Saviour in the open field; for in the garden he had some refresh, and some breathing times, and mercy, and goodness did step in and say, slay him not, but let him have some refresh: but now the sense and the feeling of all these was gone. Use. The use of this last branch, it is a word of terror, and it is able to shake the hearts of the proudest wretches under heaven: they that let themselves against God and Heaven, and make nothing of the sins they have committed, nor of the wrath of God threatened, and when the Minister saith, Oh the end of those sins will be bitterness: this contempt of God, and grace, and holy services, and these oaths will be bitter in the latter end: How can you bear the wrath of God, and you cannot possibly avoid it; tus●, say they, come, let us talk of other matters, and not busy ourselves with these matters; well, saith the Minister, but the word is true, and the word saith it; well then, saith the soul, and I will bear it as well as I can: If I sin, I will bear it; and if I come into hell, I shall bear it as well as another, and I shall make a shift for one? Oh poor sinful creature, wilt thou bear it, and make thy part good as well as another? dost thou know what thou sayest? ler all those stouthearted men that sit in the feat of the scornful, and make nothing of God, nor his wrath, nor of hell, nor of the sins that they have committed: let them know that they shall never be able to bear the indignation of the Lord; see here and behold a little, all you that make nothing of the withdrawing of God's favour, Psalm 97.4, 5. and Revelations ●. 14, 15, 16, 17. The heavens departed away as a scroll when it is rolled, and every mountain and Isle were removed out of their places, and the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens, and rocks, and in the mountains, and said to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us from the presence of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? If any man could bear up himself, than it were the great ones of the world: now take a scantling of your own strength; if any were able to bear the wrath of the Lord, it were the kings and the mighty men, and the captains, and the rich men of the world, but faith the text, The day of the Lords wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? It is not the sovereignty of the king nor the skill and courage of the captain, or the liberty of the freeman, or the slavery of the bondman that can deliver them; but they all cry to the rocks, fall on us, and cover us from the presence of the Lord: nay, that you may yet see the vildness and wretchedness of your hearts, and the miserableness of your condition, when the presence of the Lord appears, see what the text saith, Psalm 114.5, 7. The sea fled, and the earth trembled, the hills melted at the presence of the Lord, nay, the devils themselves tremble; as in the 6. and 8. verses of the epistle of Saint jude, The Angels which kept not their first love, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness to be kept for the judgement of the last day: they have their portion for the while, but there is a great deal of wrath to come, and there are many plagues coming, and they know God's wrath, and they shake and tremble in the apprehension of it: now when you see this, go home to your own souls, and let every man that would heretofore (as his own conscience can tell him) flout God to his face, and make a scorn of hell, and of judgement, and condemnation: go home, I say, & lay this to your own hearts, and say, is it so, that the mountains shakebag, and the sea shrinks, and the devils tremble at the wrath of the Lord: good Lord then how shall I be able to bear it, that am not able to conceive of it, nay if any man think that he is able to undergo the wrath of God, and to bear it off with head and shoulders, look but here upon the Lord Jesus Christ that was perfect God, and perfect man, he that created heaven and earth, and boat up the foundation of heaven and earth, yet when he came to bea●t the wrath of God, it forced tears from his eyes, and clodded blood from his body, and made him cry out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Do but now compare yourselves with Christ, and say, did my Saviour buckle under the wrath of God? then certainly it will break you therefore say thou, if he that was the Creator of heaven and earth could not bear it, then how shall I be able to bear it, when he comes against me for my si● and corruption committed by me therefore heart and fear all you stout hearted of the world, rather now tremble while you may be comforted, than hereafter when you shall never be eased: think but with yourselves how dreadful that day will be, when all the glorious attributes of God shall take their leaves of you he that before had a great deal of mercy, and patience, and the Lord hath wooed him saying Oh once at last hear and see the things that belong to thy peace: there is not one of you all in this congregation, but that you have been compassed about with mercies, and the justice of God; it would have broken out against you, had not mercy stepped in to rescue you, how easy were it for the Lord to dash us all into the bottomless pit every creature of us: therefore thank mercy, and patience, and forbearance, that still you breathe, and say, blessed be God, that I have to deal with a gracious, merciful, and compassionate God, that hath kept me from judgement, that I have not ere now perished in it: Now think with yourselves what a day it will be when mercy shall weep over you, & take his leave of you, & say, remember thou poor creature how I met thee in thy walks, and kneeled down before thee, and besought thee to take mercy, and to be saved and pardoned, but thou wouldst not: adem therefore, this is the last time of ask, I will never see thy face more, and with that patience as it were buckles under the burden, and saith, I have bond with their thus long I have borne twenty years with some, thirty years with some, forty years with others, and all this which I have borne with thee in thy pride, and stubborness, and looseness, and uncleanness; but now adieu, never more patience to bear with you, what no more mercy, nor no more goodness, saith the soul, and they all say no; and stake their hands and say, adieu thou rebellious heart for ever, it will make thy heart shake within thee, and thou wilt say, I shall sink down suddenly, there is nothing but wrath to be expected, they are all gone to heaven, and you must be forever packing to hell. Oh fear, and fear all you whom it doth concern this day, if so be Christ cannot bear it, than you cannot suffer it, but you will sink under the same for ever. Now I come to the reasons of the point in general, why our Saviour suffered pains both in body and in soul, than the reasons of it are three, and they are all of special use. Reason 1 First, it is taken from the divine justice of God which required this by way of satisfaction, as being only surable and agreeable to the divine justice of God by reason of sin, whereby Adam had entrenched upon the privilege of God the Father: every breach of the Law of God intrencheth nearly upon God himself, and therefore every sin is of a provoking nature, because it is committed against an infinite majesty: therefore that divine justice may not be a loser, there must be a punishment not only corporal, but also spiritual, for justice abates not any thing of the satisfaction, God is just, and this is justice to give every one his due; honour to whom honour belongs, and punishment to whom punishment belongs; therefore that justice may be preserved, she must inflict these punishments upon our Saviour being in our room: the Jesuits have devised a cavil against this reason: say they, it needed not that Christ should suffer these, for the dignity of the person of our Saviour may dispense with some part of the punishment, and if he bear death, it is sufficient, he may be, freed from the other pains in his soul. Now that this conceit of theirs is a thing marvellous injurious to the justice of God the Father, and to the wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the death of Christ, I prove it thus; for by the same right that the dignity of the person of our Saviour might abate of the punishment, by the same right the dignity of his person might as well take it quite away: if one drop of the blood of Christ would save all the world, than what needed Christ to have suffered the pains of death; for if the dignity of the person might free him from the one, it might free him from the other also, but the Law and Justice of God required whatsoever Christ did in his wisdom suffer and the death of Christ was not superfluous, and besides the dignity of the person is to fare from freeing him from the punishment, that it fits him to bear the punishment, it exempts him not from the punishment, but it furnisheth him with abilities to bear it: as he must be man, that he may suffer finitely, so he must be God that must satisfy infinitely: the justice of God requires two things. First, such a kind of punishment as may be suitable to the wrong of the Law, by the sin of Adam, that is an infinite punishment. Secondly, the person must be such a one, as may be regarded: therefore he must be such a person, as must be able to bear the punishment, and to satisfy infinitely, and to come forth from under it: therefore the excellency of Christ as he was God, doth not dispense with the punishment, but enables him to suffer it, as the infinite wrath of God was express and showed upon man by reason of sin, in laying on this punishment both in body and soul: so the infinite sufferings of Christ underwent them both; therefore that which divine justice required and without which it is not satisfied, that he must suffer; but the justice of God did require it, and without it the justice of God was not satisfied: and therefore Christ did suffer both. Object. To this argument the Jesuits reply, it needed not, say they, that that curse which Adam did deserve, should be suffered by the second Adam, which is Christ, for, say they, God might have pardoned all the sin of Adam without any satisfaction, or else by his infinite wisdom and power he could have provided another way, and therefore if Christ suffer but in part, it may suffices Answer. To which I answer, it is a foolish, nice, and silly curiosity to inquire of God's absolute power what he might have done, and what he had power to do, when we see what he hath done: For as he will save the humble mercifully, so he will preserve his justice in the salvation of man, Esay 53.10. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, and Psalm 40.8. I desire to do thy will, oh my God: It is the will of God that Christ should come and should suffer for our sins; he hath revealed what his will is, and it is folly to inquire what God might do, when we see what he hath done: and beside, this I take to be an everlasting truth, that none of all the attributes of God can ever enterfeere or cross one another, it cannot be, for then God should not procure nor maintain his own glory, for when he should procure the glory of his justice, he should wrong the glory of his mercy, and when he should procure the glory of his mercy, he should wrong the glory of his justice; and the glory of his justice must be preserved as well as the glory of his mercy magnified; the mercy of God cannot wrong justice, nor the justice of God cannot overpower mercy: therefore hence I infer thus much; if there were no means in the world whereby the justice of God (which had received wrong) could be satisfied, but only by the sufferings of him who was God and man; than it was against the will of God, and against the will of Christ which was both God and man, and against their glory and dignity to devise another way or means to pardon sin without the satisfaction of divine justice, it is against his glory power, and wisdom, to wrong either justice or mercy, for he should either have wronged mercy in not pardoning, or else wronged justice in not punishing of Christ; therefore if there should be no way to do it, but only by the death of him who was both God and man, than there was no other way of redemption but this way, for an infinite justice being wronged, there is no way else to satisfy an infinite justice, but by the suffering of him who was infinite, and that was only the Lord Jesus Christ, for there was no more infinites in the world. I will wind it up thus, that punishment which was included in the curse, and which was deserved by the first Adam, that was suffered by Christ the second Adam; but the punishment both of soul and body, were the punishments included in the curse, and deserved by the sin of Adam; therefore it is borne by the second Adam, as certainly as it was deserved by the first Adam. Reason 3 The third reason is taken from the office of Christ, and the place which he underwent, because our Saviour Christ was our surety, and our sins were charged upon him, and he became paymaster: so that the covenant which he had made with God the Father, bound him to it, and his faithfulness and truth tied him to it, nay he took all our sins upon him, and therefore he must satisfy for thee. If the Lord Christ were our surety, and took all our sins upon him by imputation, and the debt was made his, than the payment also must be discharged by the Lord Jesus Christ, but certainly all your pride and stubbornness, etc. they were all charged upon our Saviour, and set upon his sore, and laid upon his back: therefore he must suffer for all, because he was made sin for all: so the issue of the point is this, unless the Lord Jesus Christ had suffered both in soul and body, justice had not been so fully satisfied; but the justice of God required both, and the curse included both, and therefore Christ suffered both, and hath fulfilled whatsoever was, or could be required by divine justice. Now to come to the use, something must be said to justify the riches of Gods free grace, the first use shall be this. Use 1 It shall be a word of confutation, and it directly meets with Popish Purgatory; a wicked error that falls like Dagon before the Ark, and like clouds dispersed by the Sun; so that sottish imagination is hence condemned by this doctrine: it is a dream devised to pick men's purses, and to delude men's consciences, and to fill the Pope's coffers, they think that Christ frees every faithful man from the punishments of hell, and from all that any sin hath devised, but only there are some venial sins, and the punishments of those, a man must suffer for himself; and therefore when a man dies, he must go down to Purgatory, and there be purged and cleansed from the evil of them: this is that which they say, if they can but persuade men that they shall be in Purgatory, and that the Pope can pardon them; what will not a man give to be freed from it? this dotage is clearly confuted with the evidence of the former truth, I will only express it thus: If Christ suffered all the plagues which divine justice required, then there is neither the punishments of Hell, nor Purgatory to be suffered by the faithful; but our Saviour suffered whatsoever the justice of God required: and therefore neither sin, nor hell, nor purgatory, have any thing to lay to the charge of Gods chosen. Secondly, it not only meets with them, but it dasheth in sunder another conceit that seems to find acceptance with others; for hence it is clear, that all the troubles, and miseries, and afflictions; either anguish of heart inwardly, or miseries outwardly; they cannot properly be called punishments inflicted upon the faithful, be they never so sharp and bitter in themselves: being laid upon the faithful they lose that property, and they become corrections; Christ hath suffered all punishments, and therefore God the Father will not require a double payment for one debt; and therefore howsoever their grievances are many and great, yet they are but chasticements at the worst, and they lose that venom of plague and of punishment; as it is with the sea water, it is salt of itself, and hath a brinish saltness, fretting wonderfully; yet when it passeth thorough the veins of the earth, all the saltness is gone, and it becomes fresh, and is of a cooling nature: Just so it is with the afflictions that are sometimes inflicted upon the godly, howsoever in themselves they are sharp, and brinish, and fretting; yet the heaviest afflictions, though never so sharp and bitter, yet when they pass through the merits and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, they retain only their cooling, cleansing, and refreshing nature. Object. But some will say, do not these things befall alike to all, as David saith, Psalm 88.15. Thy terrors have I suffered from my youth upwards, do not these things come alike to all? the same poverty, the same misery, the same anguish of heart; do not these fall alike to all, as in 1 Chron. 21.12; 13, 14. was there not much misery befell David, and do not the same plagues that befall the one, befall the other? the holiest man, and the profanest man partake alike in these; wherein lies the difference then? Answer. I answer, the difference lies in two particulars. First, the judgements that are laid on the wicked, they come from God's anger, and God requires them in way of satisfaction unto divine justice; but all the corrections, and chastisements, and terrors, and troubles that befall the godly, they come from God's love, and from his Fatherly care. A Physician cuts a man, and an enemy stabs a man, the knife was all alike; but to the one, it comes from a friend, and to the other it comes from an enemy: so God doth send afflictions to the godly, and to him they come from the hand of a Father, and to the other they come as from a Judge: there are no judgements are sent upon the wicked, but they come in part of satisfaction; and divine Justice faith, thou must to hell for all those sins of thine, and I will have something in part of payment, before thou come there; but to the godly, the wrath of God is satisfied to the full, and the debt is fully paid: and therefore God never lays any thing upon the Saints so much to satisfy divine justice, as to correct and amend them. Secondly, all the punishments and corrections that come upon the godly, the Lord so orders, and tempers, and sweetens them by his saving graces, and by the work of his Spirit, that they all work and turn to their good, the love of God is so fare shed abroad into their hearts by the power of Christ's merits, and so shown therein, that they procure good and comfort to their souls for ever; but in the punishments and curses of the wicked, they come from under the cross more hardened, and more blinded, and more fierce and rebellious against God and his grace; but the godly come from under the cross more holy, and more meek, and more patiented, and reform in their lives and conversations: as it is with the poison that is taken in hand by a skilful Physician, he knows the nature of it, and knows how to correct it, and to take away the malignant quality of it, either of the cold, or of the heat: so afflictions of themselves are plagues, and judgements, and they are able to harden the heart, and to blind the mind: this is that Ahaz, saith the text, even wicked Ahaz; this is the punishment and poison of the wicked; and it bringeth punishment upon them; it blinds their minds, and hardens their hearts; and therefore, whensoever a wicked man doth come forth from under the curse, he is fare worse than he was before, his heart more dead and more fierce, and he walks more rebelliously against God and his grace; but when they are laid upon the people of God, the Lord Jesus Christ takes away the malignant quality of them, and all the poison of punishment and poverty, and takes away all the venom of sickness and disgrace, and it is now a preservative, and it is good to be afflicted, as David saith, and to have the poison thus corrected, and to humble him, and to purge him, and to do him good in his latter end; they are the same in nature, that they are unto the wicked, but the difference is in the quality of them: therefore the conclusion is thus much; That all afflictions come from the hand of a loving Father upon the godly, and though they come in anger to their sins, yet they work for their good and salvation. Thus much for the point of speculation, and for the information of the judgement; now let us come home to the affections, and cheer up our hearts a little in the application of the point. Use 2 In the second place it is a word of comfort to all you that are believers: you that have heard the treasures of mercy, and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ laid open; view them & take them all to yourselves for your comfort: Are your heart● persuaded that Jesus Christ suffered all the punishments, and drank off all the cup, and hath left none for you? then me thinks this may make you go away cheered: there is no death, no hell, no divine justice for you to undergo; go your way cheered, and so you may, for you are delivered from wrath, hell, and punishment: this is an incomparable cheering of soul, to all the faithful of God; be their condition never so mean, and their estates never so low, come all hither, and take that grace and mercy that is purchased and offered in the Lord Jesus Christ. Object. But me thinks I hear some begin to cavil against this truth, and say, let them take mercy that have a right to it, and thank God for it those that have a title to it, and that have great parts and abilities, and answerable obedience, let those take it, and bless God that ever they saw the day: but, what I? have I any share in the death of Christ? and what, did Christ suffer the death of the cross for me, my sins so many, and my condition so bad, and I cannot tell whether I have any faith or no, it is so weak and feeble? are all punishments removed? I cannot think it; This is your own fault, for this mercy is for thee, for every faithful believing soul, be his estate never so low, be thy saith never so weak: Hast thou faith but as a grain of mustard seed, that thou canst scarcely know whether thou hast faith or no, yet if it be true faith, there is grace and mercy enough for thee in the Lord Jesus: therefore come and draw the water of life and comfort out of the wells of salvation, that is, out of the sufferings and obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have heard that the heart of our Saviour was amazed, and astonished, it was for thee; therefore be thou cheered, Christ suffered the wrath of the Father, and came from under it, and that is thy victory, be thou for ever cheered. Our Saviour was imprisoned, that thou mightest be delivered; he was accused, that thou mightest be acquitted; he was condemned, and therefore there is no condemnation to thy soul; he suffered death, that thou mightest live for evermore: therefore go your way, and go chearily, and the God of Heaven go with you: fear not any punishment now, for why should you fear them, when you shall not feel them? You may here have a ground of double comfort in the time of thy greatest distress; whether it be in horror of heart within, or trouble without; in both these the Lord Jesus Christ will pity you, and will rescue you from all in his own season: therefore lift up your heads in the midst of all troubles whatsoever. First in all outward troubles, and in the heaviest trials, thou shalt be pitied in them: though Christ be gone up to heaven, yet he hath his bowels of pity and of mercy with him, and his bowels of mercy in heaven, earn over a poor dismayed creature, that is dismayed either because of thy sins, or because of those punishments which thou fearest for sin: Hebrews 4.15. We have not an high Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all things tempted in like sort: we have not an high Priest that is a stranger to crosses and troubles, neither have we an high Priest like Gallio, that cared nothing for those things, that is, he was not troubled with the persecutions of others: as their cups are full, and they are not troubled with the poverty of others, they are at rest and ease, and they are not troubled with those that are in misery, but he was tempted in all things like unto us: and so Hebrews 2.13. wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be merciful, and a faithful high Priest, because he suffered and was tempted; he is also able to secure those that are tempted. When the poor do cry, oh pity and compassion for the Lords sake: oh you know not what belongs to a hungry belly, nor to a naked back; so I say, you know not what it is to have a distressed conscience, and therefore you have no remorse to them that are such; but you must not think that Christ was not touched with our infirmities: though he sit at the right hand of the Father, yet he hath not forgotten his people, but he hath left his love, and his compassion with us, and he is touched when we are troubled: Paul persecuted the Church, and Christ saith, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? the foot is pricked in earth, and the head complaineth of it in Heaven; he felt the rage and malice of Paul's persecutions, though haply poor goodman such a one, and poor goody such a one was persecuted, yet our Saviour was touched and troubled with it: therefore let me tell you how to secure yourselves, when you find the wrath of God lie heavy upon you, and the anguish of soul lies sore upon you: I might also speak of the rage and malice of the wicked, but when the arrows of God's wrath seize upon the soul, and God seems to be displeased, and to go away from the soul, and mercy, and love, and the sweetness of compassion is going; as it was with Christ, when he cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He finds not that sweetness of mercies that formerly he had done; these are troubles indeed: Now learn you to look up to Christ, and look to be pitied by the Lord Jesus Christ. It may be thy husband, or thy wife, or thy friends will not pity thee, but will say, he is turned a precise fellow, and see now what good he hath gotten by running to Sermons: thus they add sorrow to sorrow, and persecution to persecution; because God hath smitten thee, therefore they smite thee too, but yet notwithstanding all this, look thou up to the Lord Jesus Christ, and know that thou shalt find favour; he will have a fellow-feeling with thee in all thy miseries; therefore plead with the Lord Jesus Christ, and say, Lord in thy estate of humiliation, thou wert a man full of sorrows, and thou suffered'st much perplexity, thou knowest what it is to suffer the wrath of a displeased Father, and thou didst cry out, Father, is mercy, and love, and goodness, and all gone? Oh blessed redeemer, hear those cries of them that cry to thee for mercy; thou that didst suffer for poor sinners, do thou secure poor sinners: and Jesus Christ will certainly pity you, and will send his good Spirit from heaven to comfort you, and he will command loving kindness to comfort and refresh thee. You that groan under your burdens, he will command loving kindness to come to such a man's house, and to visit such a one, and will say, such a man is troubled, I command thee to comfort him: and, salvation, I charge thee go to such a house, and tell such a man that I love him, tell him that I suffered for him, and was forsaken, that he might not be forsaken, I was condemned, that he might be redeemed: It is a great comfort that the Lord Jesus Christ is touched, and knows how to deliver such as are tempted. He that bore up the frame of the heavens, and never groaned under the pillars of the earth, yet when he was to bear the wrath of God, he shrunk at it and said, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: he that bore the wrath of God for thee, he will certainly pity thee. Secondly, you shall not be pitied in outward sorrows only, but go your way for ever cheered; you shall be free from all inward miseries and troubles, you shall be delivered from hell and condemnation every believing soul of you. Do not think that God will pass by poor little ones, no he will not lose one of you, but he will in his appointed time help and deliver you: therefore be not troubled not dismayed, but resolve of this and say, I shall be delivered, therefore let my soul be for ever cheered, what would you have, and what do you fear? Is it your sins? do you think that they bear you an old grudge? and they will be clamouring up to heaven against you, and complaining of you at the throne of grace, do you fear them? so you may justly, because of that secret sliding off from the truth: Oh sayest thou, my errand is done in heaven before this time, and my sins knock at heaven gates, and say, Justice Lord, I have taken them in their sins, and therefore as thou art a God of justice, execute justice upon a rebellious soul. Now therefore remember that Jesus Christ hath suffered, he hath taken thy sins upon him, and hath suffered the punishments of them, 1 john 2.1. Little children sinne not at all: It were to be wished that a man might be always humble and poor in spirit, and do all good against the evil done to him; and it were to be wished that a man could walk exactly before God; but it is not possible so long as we have this body of death it will show itself, but if we do sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, jesus Christ the just; he is gone to heaven to tell the Father that all is fully answered, and he saith, Father save all those poor souls whom thou hast given me; I have paid all, and answered all for them; and therefore, Father, I will that all that thou hast given me, may be with me; where I am, that they may behold my glory: thus he plead; for he doth not plead as we do, but he saith, Father I will: now if there be any cry against the soul by reason of sin, Christ stops it; sin pleads, and Christ pleads, and who will prevail think you? therefore be not discouraged, we have an Advocate with the Father: the sins of your dreams this last night, they have done your errands in heaven before you did awake; but let them plead what they can, we have an Advocate with the Father in Heaven, and he pleads our cause in heaven, and he will prevail in whatsoever he pleads for; he will be heard, & all the pleas of sin shall be fully answered: Heb. 12.22, 23, 24. ye are not come to the mount that might not be touched, nor unto burning fire, etc. But ye are come unto the mount Zion, & to the city of the living God, and to the Spirits of just and perfect men, and to jesus Christ the Mediator of the new Testament, and to the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel: what did the blood of Abel speak? see that in Gen. 3.9, 10. where is Abel thy brother, said the Lord, and he answered, I cannot tell, am I my brother's keeper? Oh thou wretch saith the Lord the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the earth for vengeance against thee; thus all our sins do speak: but there are some sins that cry and say, Lord, this soul is taken to be a Christian, and a Professer, and one that hath some grace; but, Lord, against knowledge, and conscience, and the directions of the Ministers, he hath sinned thus and this: therefore good Lord execute judgement upon him; but now here is your comfort you poor Saints; I confess these wretched corruptions of your hearts play the back friends with you many times; but we have the blood of Christ, that cries for mercy, and pardon, and refreshing, and forgiveness: sin pleads and saith, Lord do me justice against such a soul, but the blood of Christ saith, I am abased and humbled, and I have answered all: Christ shall be heard, and if he plead the cause, the day is certainly yours, and he pleads without any fees, and his blood speaketh on your behalf, and your sins shall never be heard against you: but what sticks upon your stomaches? Object. Oh you have heard, that the Lord is a just God, he is so, he is holy and blessed, and of pure eyes that cannot endure to behold any polluted or unclean thing; and if God be strict to mark what is done amiss, who can abide it? Oh then, say you, you have these sins and corruptions, and God is pure, and you are polluted, and you have many secret windings, and turnings, and devices; and you say God knows all the crevices of my heart, and sees all the frame of my soul; and if the Lord mark what is done amiss, nay he will mark what is done amiss, Who then shall be able to stand? How shall I be able to answer it: especially considering that Satan saith, I have sinned, and why should I not be cast out as well as others have been cast out that have sinned; Lord execute justice upon them as they have deserved: how shall we help ourselves herein? yes admirably, for then the blood of Christ comes in, and that satisfies all, Gal. 5.22.23. The fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance, faith, against such there is no law: so it is here, there is no law, nor no condemnation to believers truly penitent for their sins, there is no punishment to them, nor no wrath to execute judgement upon them, because the debt is paid, and the Lord is just and cannot, and righteous and will not do it: but saith the Devil thou hast sinned, and why shalt thou not be condemned for it? but saith justice, hold thy tongue Satan, for there is no law against them that repent: what troubles you now? Answer. Why, the very truth is, the thoughts of Hell astonish my heart; me thinks I see a little peephole down into hell, and the devils roaring there, being reserved in chains under darkness, until the judgement of the great day; and me thinks I see the damned flaming, and judas and all the wicked of the world, and they of Sodom and Gomorah: there they lie roaring, and damnation takes hold upon them, and the wrath of God finks them down to hell: Now I have sinned, and therefore why should not I be damned, and why should not the wrath of God be executed against me? I answer, the death of Christ acquits thee of all, and although the wrath of God be of admirable power and force, yet you shall be acquitted by the death of the Lord Jesus: Revelations 20. ●●. Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first resurrection, for on such the second death shall have no power, that is, wicked men and the ruffians of the world that scorn all commands, and despise all the ordinances of God, and the laws of men, and neither of them can take place in their hearts, they break all bonds, and cast away all commands, and the threatenings 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 souls and bodies down 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 persuade with you, but the judgements of God shall prevail 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 thrown them upon their backs in hell; but you that are true believers, the second death shall have no power over you; though wrath and condemnation seem to lay hold upon you, yet there is no power in them to condemn you, because if Christ hath taken away the pains of the second death, than it shall never oppress such as belong to the Lord Jesus Christ: therefore go your way comforted, there is nothing that shall ever prevail against you. Object. Oh, but saith the soul, could I see Heaven gates set open, if the way were open and plain that I might see the way and walk in it, than 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 go out of heaven if I come there. Answer. No the blood of Christ will do 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 jesus we may most boldly enter into the holy places by the new and the living way which he hath prepared for us, through the veil which is his flesh: mark two things in that place, you may have boldness; you fear now that your sins will not be pardoned, and that God the Father will not accept of you: well, be not proud and saucy, but take the blood of Christ along with you, and go on boldly, and cheerfully. All you that have an interest in the great work of God, either for brokenness of heart, or vocation to call you to rely upon the Lord Jesus Christ, be thou a sinner, If thou hast faith; I speak not of the measure of faith, but hast thou faith, then why sittest thou here drooping? Go you on cheerily, and undauntedly, and go with comfort to everlasting happiness: every thing gives you comfort, had you but eyes to see it, God and men, Heaven and earth, sin, justice, hell and condemnation, gives you all comfort. If you look up to justice that saith, you poor believing creatures go your way comforted, I am setisfied to the full: If you look to hell, and death, and condemnation, they say be comforted, you poor believing souls, we have no power over you, the Lord jesus Christ hath conquered us, and if you look to your own sins, they tell you thus much, and say, be for ever comforted, for we have pleaded against you, but we have lost the cause: If you look up to heaven, there you may see glory and happiness, and blessedness ready to entertain every believing soul, and they all call after you and say, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you: therefore go 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 believing souls, then lift up your heads with joy, and draw the waters of comfort and consolation from this truth; only remember this here, when you find 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 hear the blood of Christ speaking, as well as the clamours of sin: it is the misery that we are in, that we can here the bawl of Satan, and of corruption, crying and saying, what, you salvation, and yet have these and these corruptions? we hear these, and we harken not to the other; the blood of Christ hath pardoned all, and will cleanse all: Oh hear that voice, and you shall see and hear that it speaks admirable things: this is the second use. Use 3 Thirdly, hath Christ done all this? then stand amazed at that endless and boundless love of the Lord Jesus Christ, but only that the Scripture cannot lie, and God hath said which is faithful and true, and cannot be deceived, and is infinite in all his works; otherwise, man that is sensible of his sins and wants could not believe 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 we are not able to walk in any measure answerable thereto: had our Saviour only sent his creatures to serve us, and had we only had some Prophets to advise us in the way to Heaven, or had he only sent his holy Angels from his chamber of presence to attend upon us, and minister to us, it had been a great deal of mercy; or had Christ come down from the heavens to visit us: It had been a peculiar favour, that a King will not only send to the Prison, but go himself to the lungeon, and ask, saying, is such a man here: a man would think himself strangely honoured, and the world would wonder at it, and say, the King himself came to the prison to day to see such a man, certainly he loves him dearly; or had Christ himself come only and wept over us, and said, Oh that you had never sinned, and oh that you had more considered of my goodness, and the excellency of happiness; oh that you had never sinned, this had been marvellous mercy; but that Christ himself should come and strive with us in mercy and patience, and we slight it; and not only 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 hellhounds, that he thinks nothing good enough for them; he 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 do you talk of life? he was not only content: to part with life, but he was content to part with the sense and sweetness of God's love, which is a thousand times better than life itself, as David saith, The loving kindness of God is better than life itself: He was content to be accused, that we might be blessed; he was content to be forsaken, that we might not be forsaken; and to be condemned, that we might be acquitted. Oh all you stubborn hearts, that heretofore have made nothing of the blood of Christ and his honour, but though the judgements of God, and the hammer cannot break your hearts, yet let this mercy break you, and reason with thy own heart in this manner, and say, Good Lord, is this possible? Lord, this is too much, for reason cannot reach it, nor nature cannot do it, to give himself and his life, and to be forsaken and despised: that a rebel and a traitor should be received to mercy, certainly I shall love him as long as I live, yes, and do so too; and seek to that Jesus Christ, and honour him, and say, for aught I know I may obtain a part in Christ, therefore I will never wrong him, nor grieve his good Spirit more. The Lord say Amen to the good desires of your hearts, that you may stand and wonder at this compassion of the Lord, that is out of measure great. Use 4 Hath the Lord suffered all these punishment for us? then what shall we do for the Lord Jesus Christ? return an answer to the Lord, what course you will take to answer the kindness of the Lord. When David had received many kindnesses from the Lord, he looks up to Heaven and saith, I will love thee dearly, O Lord my strength: Love is the loadstone of love; therefore have love enlarged in this duty, be not scanty in your love, but bestow your hearts fully, and liberally, upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and let all return love to the Lord Jesus Christ, and love him in all things by all means, and at all times, and know that the death of Christ requires this, and will call for it: I do not love that a man should give the Lord jesus Christ a little scanty desire, and a few lazy wishes, but love him with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and say, I will love thee dearly, Oh Lord my strength: when thou dost rise in the morning love jesus Christ, and bathe thy heart in it; and when thou art in the way, or at thy labour, love jesus Christ that strengthens thee; when thou feedest upon the sweetness of thy meat, think upon the sweetness that is in Christ, and thank the blood of Christ for all that thou hast, in all the riches thou seest, and in all the honours thou hast, and in all thy friends and means, and whatsoever thy heart loves or esteems, in that see Christ, and in that love Christ: why, what doth that concern Jesus Christ? I answer, it will make it appear that all that thou hast, is from the blood of Christ, and the blood of Christ is better than all the blessings you do enjoy, and they are all nothing without this: for it is the death of the Lord jesus Christ that adds a seasoning virtue to all the good things thou hast; so that these are not good to us, neither do they work good to us, but that they are given to us in and by the Lord Jesus Christ; for were they not given us in Christ, there is such venom and gall in our sins, and the wrath of God itself which slides thorough all the good things here below, that it makes all the morsels gravel in the belly: In a word, the blood of Christ takes away the venom and indignation of God's curse, which otherwise would bring a plague upon what we have, and what we do enjoy: how many rich and honourable are there, if the Lord let but in a vein of vengeance into their consciences, all their riches and honours are base, and worth nothing; what's that to me? if I be rich and a reprobate, honoured and damned, and the wrath of God to pursue me: therefore without the death of Christ all these things are but curses to us; the world is a prison, and the creatures are our enemies, and every one of our actions are our witnesses to condemn us, and all our comforts are but gall and wormwood to us, nay were it not for the blood of Christ, your prosperity would be your ruin, your beds your graves, and your comforts your confusion: and therefore that they are not so, and that thou hast any comfort from these, go bless God for it, and say, Lord it is through thy blood that I have received any blessing, upon these blessings Lord, I might have drunk the cup of thy wrath, when I drunk this beer; I might have eaten my bane, when I eat my meat. I bless thy Name, blessed Redeemer, for thy love, it is thy blood that hath purchased these things for me: if you have received from any thing here below any good at all, look up to Christ and bless his Name for it, and say, if this meat be so sweet, than what is the blood of Christ? therefore love Christ by all means, let all your words be words of love, and all your labour be the labour of love, and all your thoughts be thoughts of love, and muse of love, and speak of the treasures of mercy, and let all your affections be full of love, and all your works be love, and lift up his Name and say, all ye that see my conversation that I walk so comfortably, bless his Name for it; the blood of Jesus Christ hath done all this for me; I was a wretched creature, but the blood of Christ hath overpowred this rebellious heart of mine: honour him, and lift him up and say, my heart was hard and filthy, and my soul was destitute of all good, and my sins many, yet now I have some evidence of the love of God, blessed be his Name for it, the blood of Christ hath done this for me: muse of him, speak for him, work for him, and do all for him, in all miseries and troubles, sorrows and vexations, temptations without, and terrors within; love Jesus Christ therein, though these befall thee, yet the venom and poison of them is gone, and they are sweetened unto thee: thy prison is liberty, thy contempt is advancement, in all the things thou hast, love Jesus Christ that hath procured these: and now if you will not love Jesus Christ, let me ask you whom will you love? nay, whom else can you love? answer me, will you love your friends that are dear unto you, or your Parents that do provide for you, or your wife that is loving and merciful to you? you will love these, as there is good cause you should, but love Christ more than all these. If you will love a friend, or a father, then much more Christ, that is the Author of all, and the continuer and preserver of all: a friend would be an enemy, but that the blood of Christ frames his heart. A wife would rather be a trouble, than a help, but that the blood of Christ orders her: therefore I say with Paul, 1 Cor. 16.22. If any man love not the Lord jesus Christ, let him be Anathema, Maranatha: ask your neighbours if they love not the Lord Jesus Christ; Let that soul be accursed until the coming of Christ to judgement: Curse him all ye Angels in Heaven, and all ye Devils in Hell: Curse him all ye creatures, and let this curse remain upon him until the coming of Christ unto judgement, and let these curses be sealed down upon him for ever, and when you are come to the end of all, this will be the plague and the curse of all, that you had Christ and mercy rendered to you once, and you would not receive it: therefore since Christ hath thought nothing too good for us, even his life and blood, and was content to part with the sense and feeling of the sweetness of the love of God the Father, think nothing too good for Christ, but love him in all things, and by all means; the Lord grant we may. FINIS.