A GOLDEN-KEY TO OPEN Hidden Treasures, OR Several great Points, that refer to the Saints present blessedness, and their future happiness, with the resolution of several important questions.  
Here you have also The Active and Passive Obedience of Christ vindicated and improved, against men of corrupt minds, etc. Who boldly, in Pulpit and Press, contend against those glorious Truths of the Gospel.  
You have farther Eleven serious singular Pleas, that all sincere Christians may safely and groundedly make, to those ten Scriptures in the Old and New Testament, that speak of the general Judgement, and of that particular Judgement, that must certainly pass upon them all immediately after death,  
The Godhead and Manhood of Christ, is here largely proved, and improved against all Gainsayers, by what names and titles soever they are distinguished and known among us. Several things concerning Hell, and hellish torments, opened, cleared and improved against all Atheists, and all others that boldly assert, that there is no Hell, but what is in us. Some other points of importance are here cleared and opened, which other Authors (so far as the Author hath read) have passed over them in great silence, all tending to the confirmation of the strong, and support, peace, comfort, settlement and satisfaction of poor, weak, doubting, trembling, staggering Christians.  
By Tho. Brooks late Preacher of the Gospel, at Margarets-New-Fish-street.  
LONDON, Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's-Arms in the Poultry; and at the Ship and Anchor, at the Bridg-foot, on Southwark side, 1675.   

To his much Honoured, and Worthily esteemed Friend, Sir NATHANIEL HERNE, Kt. Sheriff of London, and Governor of the East-India Company.  
Grace, Mercy and Peace be multiplied upon you and yours. SIR,  
MUch might be said (were it necessary) for the Dedication of Books unto persons of worth, interest, service and honour; this having been the constant practice of the best and wisest of men, in all the Ages of the world: And therefore, I need not make any farther Apology, for my present practice.  
What is written is permanent, litera scripta manet, and spreads itself farther by far, for time, place and persons, than the voice can reach. Augustine, writing to Volusian, 
Aug Epist. 1. ad V●●●s.  saith, that which is written, is always at hand to be read, when the reader is at leisure. There are those that think (and as they conceive from Scripture grounds too) that the glory of the Saints in heaven, receives additions and increases daily, as their holy walk, and faithful service, when here on earth; doth after they are gone, bring forth fruit, to the praise of God, amongst those that are left behind them: If this be so, what greater encouragement can there be, to write, print, preach, and to walk holily in this world?  
I must also confess, that, that general acceptation that my former labours have found, both in the Nation, and 
It was a saying of 〈◊〉, concerning his first portraiture: I● 〈◊〉 liked, I will ●raw 〈◊〉 bei●e 〈…〉 this.  in foreign parts; and that singular blessing, that has attended them from on high, hath been none of the least encouragements to me, once more to cast in my Mite into the common Treasury. Besides I am not unsensible of your candid esteem of some form endeavours of mine in this kind; neither do I know any way, wherein I am more capacitated to serve the glory of God, the interest of Christ, the public good, reproached truths, and the interest of the Churches in my Generation, than this, as my case and condition, is circumstanced: And I am very well satisfied, that there is nothing in this Treatise, but what tends to the advantage, comfort, support, settlement, and encouragement of those, whose concernment lies in peace and truth, in holiness and righteousness, throughout the Nations.  
Sir, The points here insisted on, are of the greatest use, worth, weight, necessity, excellency, and utility imaginable; they are such, wherein our present blessedness, and our future happiness; yea, wherein our very all, both as to this, and that other world, is wrapped up. It will be 
D●u●. 30. 15, 19 cap. 32. 47.  your life, honour and happiness to read them, digest them, experience them, and to exemplify them in a suitable conversation; which that you may, let your immortal soul lie always open to the warm, powerful and hourly influences 
2 Cor. 5. 9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We ambitiously labour we count it our highest honour and glory to ●● accepted of God.  of heaven.  
Let it be the top of your ambition, and the height of all your designs, to glorify God, to secure your interest in Christ, to seve your Generation, to provide for Eternity, to walk with God, to be tender of all that have Aliquid Christi, any thing of Christ, shining in them, and so to steer your course in this world, as that you may give 
Mat. 25. 21.  up your account at last with joy: All other ambition is base and low. Ambition (saith one) is a guilded misery, 
B●rnard. Cardinal Bourbon, would not lose his part in Paris, for his part in Paradise: Act. and mon. Fol. 899.  a secret poison, a hidden plague, the Engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of envy, the original of vices, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, turning medicines into maladies, and remedies into diseases. In the enthronization of the Pope, before he is set in his chair, and puts on his triple Crown, a piece of tow, or wad of straw is set on fire before him, and one appointed to say, sic transit gloria mundi, the glory of this 
Act 25. 23.  world is but a blaze. St. Luke calls Agrippa's pomp 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a fantasy or vain show; and indeed, all worldly pomp and state is but a fantasy, or vain show. St. Matthew calls all the world's glory, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 
Mat. 4. 8.  an opinion: and St. Paul calls it, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Mathematical 
1 Cor. 7. 31.  figure; which is a mere notion, and nothing in substance: The word here used, intimateth that there is nothing of any firmness, or solid consistency in the creature; it is but a surface, outside, empty thing: all the beauty of it, is but skin-deep. Mollerus, upon that Psal. 
The Roman● built Virtue's & honours Temples close together, to show, that the way to true honour, was by Virtue, Aug.  73. 20. concludeth, that men's earthly dignities are but as idle dreams; their splendid braveries, but lucid fantasies. High seats are never but uneasy, and Crowns are always stuffed with Thorns; which made one say of his Crown, Oh Crown, more noble than happy: shall the spirit of God, the grace of God, the power of God, the presence of God, arm you against all other sins, evils, snares, and temptations, as you are by a good hand of heaven, armed against worldly ambition, and worldly glory:  
Sir, you know he was a Saul that said, honour me before 
1 Sam. 15, 30. 2 King. 10 16.  the people; and he was a Jehu that said, come, see my zeal for the Lord of hosts: and they were three Irish Kings, that rebelled in Henry the second's days; being derided for their rude habits and fashions: and they were some of the worst of Cardinals, that, when they were like to die, would give great sums of money for a Cardinal's 
E●asmus writes that he knew some such Cardinals.  hat, that they might be so styled upon their tombs: And they were the Romans, and other barbarous nations, that were most ambitions of worldly honour and glory: And he was a Julius Caesar, whose excessive desire of honour, made him to be mortally hated by the Senators, and all others. God grants no man a patent for honour, durante vita, but durante beneplacito (as the Lawyers speak) during his life, but during his own good pleasure. All worldly honour and glory is subject to mutability: Honours, Riches and Pleasures, are the three Deities, that in these days, a world of men adore, and to whom they sacrifice, morning and evening, their best thoughts; and these, for their unparallelled vanity, may well be called the vanity of vanities: Worldly honours 
Ec●l●s. 1. 2.  are but a more conceit, a shadow, a vapour, a feather in the cap, without substance or subsistence, and yet the most powerful charm of Satan, whereby he julls men to sleep, in the Paradise of fools; to cast them, when they are awake, into the bottomless pit of eternal woe: For had not Satan hold them to be the strongest of all his temptations, he had not reserved them for his last battery, against 
Mat. 4. 8, 9  the constancy of our blessed Saviour, as he did: And although this roaring Cannon of his could not prevail against Christ, the Rock of Ages; yet, how many 
cap. 16. 18.  thousands in these days, are captivated and deluded, by the glorious glistering of worldly honours: Men of great honour and worldly glory, stand but in slippery places: Adonibezek, a mighty Prince, was made fellow-commonner 
Judg. 1. 7. Dan. 4. 28.  with the Dogs: And Nabuchadnezzar, a mighty Conqueror, was turned a grazing among the Oxen: and Herod was reduced from a conceited God, to the most 
Act. 12. 23.  loathsome of men, a living carrion, arrested by the vilest creatures, upon the suit of his affronted Creator; the louse did fully confute his Auditory, and triumph over his Throne. A great Haman is feasted with the King one 
Hest. 7. 10.  day, and made a feast for Crows the next, In all the 
Isa. 23. 9  Ages of the world, God hath taken a delight to slain the pride of all the glory of this lower world: see it in a few instances.  
Valerian, The Roman Emperor, fell from being an Emperor, to be a footstool to Sapor, King of Persia, as often as he took horse.  
Bibulus the Consul, riding in his triumphant Chariot; by the fall of a Tyle-stone from a house, was made a Sacrifice, before he could reach the Capitol, to offer up there the Bulls and Garlands he had prepared.  
Aurelianus, The Roman Emperor, brought Tetricus his opposite, and the brave Queen Zenobia of Palmerina in Triumph to Rome in Golden chains.  
Sejanus, That podigious favourite, on the same day that he was attended by the Senate, on the same day he was torn in pieces by the people: Seneca, speaking of him, saith, that he who, in the morning, was swollen with Titles, ●ere night there remained not so much as a mammock of flesh for the hang man to fasten his hook in.  
Belisarius, a most famous General under Justinian the Emperor, after all the great and famous services that he had done, he had his eyes put out in his old age, by the 
See Decad. pag. 649, 650.  Empress Theodora; and at the Temple of St. Sophy, forced to beg: Date panem Belisario, etc. Give a crust to old blind Belisarius, whom virtue advanced, but envy hath brought into this great misery.  
Henry the fourth, Emperor, in sixty two Battles, for the most part, he became victorious; yet he was deposed, and driven to that misery, that he desired only a Clerk's place in a house at Spire, of his own building, which the Bishop of that place denied him: whereupon, he broke forth into that speech of Job; Miseremini 
Job 19 21.  mei amici, quia manus dei tetigit me: have pity upon me, oh my friends, for the hand of God hath touched me, he died of grief and want.  
Bajazet, a proud Emperor of the Turks, whom Tamburlaine a Tartarian took prisoner, and bound him in chains of Gold, and used him for a footstool, when he took horse; when he was at table, he made him gather crumbs and scraps under his table, and eat them for his food.  
Dyonisus King of Sicily, was such a cruel Tyrant, that his people banished him; after his banishment, he went to Corinth, whee he lived a base and contemptible life: At last he became a Schoolmaster; so that, when he could not tyrannize any longer over men, he might over boys.  
Pythias was pined to death for want of bread, who, 
9 Turk. History, pag. 220.  once was able to entertain and maintain Xerxes his mighty army.  
Great Pompey had not so much as room to be buried in, and William the Conqueour's Corpse lay three days unburied, his interment being hindered by one that claimed the ground to be his.  
Caesar having bathed his sword in the blood of the Senate, and his own Countrymen; is after a while, miserably murdered in the Senate, by his own friends, Cassius and Brutus.  
King Guillimer, a potent King of the Vandals, was 
12. Pr●●●ptus reports this of him.  brought so low, as to enteat his friend to send him a sponge, a loaf of bread, and a harp; a sponge to dry up his tears, a loaf of bread to maintain bis life, and a harp to solace himself in his misery.  
A Duke of Exeter, who, though he had married Edward 
13. Philip●le C●mines saw him thus beg.  the fourth's sister, yet was seen begging bare foot in the Low-countrieses.  
The Emperor Nero promoted Tygelenus to the greatest 
14. See Tac●●us in Otho's Life.  dignities of the Roman Empire, but it was because he had been the private Agent to his base and lascivious delights, for which he was justly deprived of his honours and life, by Otho the Emperor.  
By all these instances (and many more that might be produced) it is most evident; that worldly glory is but a breath, a vapour, a ●roth, a phantasm, a ●●adow, a reflection, an apparition, a very nothing: Like the Incubus or night mare in a dream, you imagine it a substance a weight; you grasp at it, and awake, and 'tis nothing. Pleasue and wealth will abide a sense or two; the one a touch or taste, the other a sight of the eyes; but this of glory can neither be felt, seen or understood. The Philosophers are at strife among themselves, where to fix it in any being or existence, whether in Honorante, or in Honorato, the giver or the taker; the inconstancy and slipperiness of it, is discernible in the instances last cited. It hath raised some, but hath ruined more; and those (commonly) whom it hath most raised, it hath most ruined: Sir, if there be any thing glorious in the world, 'tis a mind that divinely contemns that glory; and such a mind I judge and hope God hath given you. I have hinted a little at the vanity of worldly glory, because, happily this Treatise, passing up and down the world, may fall into the hands of such as may be troubled with that Itch; and if so, who can tell but that that little that I have said, may prove a sovereign salve to cure that Egyptian Botch, and if so, I have my end.  
Sir, Let nothing lie so near your heart in all the world, as these eight things: 1. Your sins, to humble you, and abase you at the foot of God: 2. Free, and rich, and sovereign grace, to soften and m●lt you down 
Col. 1. 10, 11, 12, 13. Phil. 4. 12, 13, 14. ●al. 2. 20. 1 Cor. 15. 10. 2 Cor. 12. 10. Psal. 119. 105. Amos 6. 3, 4, 5, 6. ●●●. 1. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  into the will of God: 3. The Lord Jesus Christ, to assist, help, strengthen, and influence you to all the duties and services, that are incumbent upon you: 4. The blessed Scriptures, to guide you, and lead you, and o be a lamp unto you feet, and a light unto your paths: 5. The afflictions of Joseph, to draw out your charity, mercy, pity, sympathy, and campassion, to men in misery: 6. The glory and happiness of another world, to arm you, and steel you against all the sins, snares, and temptations; that your high places, offices, and circumstances may lie you open to: 7. The grand points in this Treatise, which, being laid upon your heart by the warm hand of the spirit, are able to make you wise unto salvation; and to secure your precious and immortal soul, against those pernicious and most dangerous (may I not say damnable) errors and opinions, 
2 Pet. 2. 1.  that are preached, printed, and cried up in the vain world: 8. The interest of Christ and his people, which will be your honour whilst you live, your joy and comfort, when you come to die, and your Crown of 
1 Thess. 1. 19 20.  rejoicing in the great day of our Lord.  
Sir, I shall not so far disgust you, as to tell the world how many several score pounds of your money hath passed through my hands, towards the relief, refreshment, support and preservation of such; who, for their piety, and extreme poverty and necessity, were proper objects of your charity; but shall take this opportunity to tell you (and all others, into whose hands this Treatise may fall) that of all the duties of Religion, there are none, 1. More commanded, than this of charity, pity, compassion 
Prov. 3. 9, 10. Eccles. 11. 1, 2. Gal. 6. 10. 2 Cor. 8. 3, 4, 5. cap. 9 1, 2. Isa. 58. 7. to the 13. ponder upon it. Mat. 25. 34, to vers. 41.  and mercy to men in misery, especially to those of the household of faith: 2. There is no one duty more highly commended and extolled, than this: 3. There is no one duty, that hath more choice and precious promises annexed to it than this: 4. There is no one duty, that hath greater rewards attending it, than this: Evagrius a rich man, being importuned by Sinesius a Bishop, to give something to charitable uses, he yielded at last, to give three hundred pounds; but first took bond of the Bishop, that it should be repaid him, in another world, (according to the promise of our Saviour, 
Mat. 19 29.  with a hundred-fold advantage:) Before he had been one day dead, he is said to have appeared to the Bishop, delivering in the bond canceled, as thereby acknowledging that what was promised, was made good. It is certain, that one days being in heaven, will make a sufficient recompense, for whatsoever a man has given on earth.  
Neither shall I acquaint the world with those particular favours and respects, which you have showed to myself; but treasure them up in an awakened breast, and be your remembrancer at the throne of grace. Only, I must let the world know, that I own you more than an Epistle; and if you please to accept of this mite in part of payment, and improve it for your souls advantage, you will put a farther obligation upon me, to study, how I may farther serve the interest of your immortal soul.  
Let the lustre of your prudence, wisdom, charity, fidelity, generosity, and humility of spirit, shine gloriously, through all your places, offices, abilities, riches, employments and enjoyments; for this is the height of all true excellency: and that it may be so, remember, for ever, that the eyes of God, of Christ, of Angels, of 
Jer. 16. 17. Job 34 21. Prov. 5. 21. Jer. 32. 19 Heb. 4. 13. 'Tis a saying of the Schoolmen, quic quid est in deo est in deo est ipse deus.  Devils, of Sinners, of Saints, of Good, of Bad, are always fixed upon you; God is all ear to hear, all hand to punish, all power to protect, all wisdom to direct, all goodness to relieve, all grace to pardon, and he is Totus Oculus, all eye to observe the thoughts, hearts, words, ways and walkings of the children of men. As the eyes of a well drawn picture are fastened on us, which way soever we turn; so are the eyes of the Lord. Zeno a wise Heathen, affirmeth, that God behold even the very thoughts of men: Athenodorus, another Heathen, saith, that all men ought to be careful of the actions of their life, because God was every where, and behold all that was done. Of all men on earth, Magistrates and Ministers had need pray with David, Teach us thy 
●sal. 27. 1.  way, O Lord, and lead us in a plain path, because of our enemies; or nearer the Hebrew, because of our observers: in all the Ages of the world, there have been saul's and Doegs, who have looked upon God's Davids with an evil 
Jer 20. 10.  eye, and watched for their halting: there are multitudes that will be still eyeing and prying into the practices, offices, carriages and conversations of Magistrates and Ministers, the more it concerns them to watch, pray, act and walk like so many earthly Angels, in the midst of a crooked, perverse and froward Generation. 
Phil. 2. 15.   
Wise and prudent Governors are an unspeakable mercy to a Kingdom or Commonwealth; which Jethro well understood, when he gave Moses that good counsel: To make choice out of the people, of grave and able men, such as feared God, men of trath hating covetousness; 
Ex●d. 18. 21, 22. 〈◊〉 tirum in ●●a, is a maximas true as old.  and to make them rulers over thousands, and rulers over hundreds, over fifties, and over ten: But in the Nations round, how rare is it to find Magistrates qualified, suitable to Jethroes counsel. Alphonsus, King of Spain, coming very young to the Crown; some advised, that seven Counsellors might be joined to govern with him; who should be men fearing God, lovers lovers of Justice, free from filthy lusts, and such as would not take bribes: To which, Alphonsus replied; if you can find seven such men, nay, bring me but one so qualified, and I will not only admit him to govern with me, but shall willingly resign the Kingdom itself to him. Wicked policies are ever destructive to their Authors; as you may see in Pharaoh, 
Ex●d. 1. 10, 22. 2 Sam. 16. cap. 23. 23. Est. 7. 10.  in Achitophel, in Haman, etc. As long as the Roman Civil Magistrates, Senators and Commanders of Armies, were chosen into places of honour and trust, for their noble descent, their prudence and valour; their State did flourish, and did enlarge its Dominions, 
See Livim De●●●●.  more in one Century of years, than it did in three, after these places of honour came to be venal, and purchased by concession: For than men of no parts, were for money, promoted to highest dignities: whereupon civil contentions were fomented, factions increased, and continual bloody intestine Wars maintained; by which, the ancient Liberties of that State, were suppressed; and the last Government of it, changed into an Imperial Monarchy. As long as the chief officers of the Crown of France, and the places of Judicature of the Realm, were given by Charles the fifth, surnamed the wise, to men of Learning, of Wisdom, and Valour, in recompense of their Loyalty, virtue and merits, that Kingdom did flourish, with peace, honour and prosperity; and the Courts of Parliaments 
See the History of France.  of France, had the honour, for their Justice and equity, to be the Arbitrators and Umpires of all the differences that happened in those days, between the greatest Princes of Christendom: But when these places of honour and trust were made venal, in the reigns of Francis the second, Charles the ninth, and Henry the third, and sold for ready money to such as gave most for them; then was Justice and Equity banished, and that flourishing Kingdom reduced to the brim of ruin and desolation, by variety of factions, and a bloody Civil War: The wicked Counsel given by the Cardinal De Lorraign, and the Duke of Guise his brother, to Charles the ninth, King of 
See the Massa●● of Par●● ●n the Inventory of France.  France, to allure all the Protestants to Paris, under colour of the Marriage of Henry de Bourbon, with Margaret de Valois, the King's sister, to have them all as in a trap, for to cut their throats in their beds, as they did for the greatest part; proved fatal to the King, to the Cardinal, and the Duke: For the King, by the just judgement of God, died shortly after by an Issue of blood, which came out of his mouth, ears and nostrils, and could never be stopped; and the Cardinal and the Duke were both slain by the Commandment of Henry the third, in the Castle of Blois. The barbarous policy of Philip the second, 
See the 〈…〉  King of Spain, to banish two or three hundred thousand Moors, with their wives and children, under colour of Religion, on purpose to confiscate all their Land, and to appropriate the same to his demesns, was fatal to him, and to all the Spanish Nation; for, by the just judgement of God, he was eaten up of louse, and the Spanish Nation never thrived since, etc. Were it not for exceeding the bounds of an Epistle, I might show, in all the Ages of the world, how destructive the wicked policies of Rulers and Governors, have been to themselves, and the States and Nations under them, etc. But from such policies, God has, and I hope, will for ever deliver your soul. Sir, the best policy in the world, is to know God savingly, to serve him sincerely, to do the work of your Generation throughly, and to secure your future happiness and blessedness effectually, etc.  
Sir, I do not offer you that which cost me nothing, or little, God best knows the pains, the prayers, and the 
Mal 1. 13, 14.  s●●dy, that the midwifing of this Treatise into the world hath cost me; in the midst of trials, troubles, temptations, afflictions, and my frequent labours in the Ministry. The truths that I offer for your serious consideration, in this Treatise, are not such as I have formerly preached, in 
Commonly, men preach those points first, that afterwards they print: but not knowing how long the door of liberty may be open: I have sent this Treatise into the world. Eph. 5. 15, 16. ●ol s● 4. 5. Eccls ● 9 10.  one place or another, at one time or another; but such as at several times, the Lord has brought to hand: and I hope, in order to the service, and saving of many, many souls. And should you redeem time from your many and weighty occasions, and live to read it as often over, as there be leaves in it; I am apt to think, you would never repent of your pains, when you come to die, and make up your account with God. Sir, I must, and shall say (because I love and honour you, and would have you happy to Eternity) that it is your greatest wisdom, and should be your greatest care, to redeem time from your worldly business, to acquaint yourself more and more with the great and main points of Religion, to serve your God, to be useful in your day, and to make sure and safe work for your soul to escape hell, and to get heaven. Sir Thomas More, one of the great wits of that day, would commonly say, there is a Devil called negotium, business, that carries more souls to hell, than all the devils in hell beside. Many men have so many Irons in the fire, and 
●uk. 10. 40, 41, 42. When one pre●ented Antipater King of Macedo ●ia, which a book treating of happiness; his answer was on Scholazo, I am not at leisure. The Duke of Alva had so much to do on earth, that he had ●o time to look up to heaven.  are cumbered about so many things, that upon the matter, they wholly neglect the one thing necessary, though I hope better things of you. The stars which have the least circuit, are nearest the pole: and men that are least perplexed with a crowd of worldly business, are commonly nearest to God. Sir, as you love God, as you love your soul, as you love Eternity, as you would be found at Christ's right hand at last, and as you would meet me with joy in the great day of the Lord, make much conscience of redeeming time daily from your secular affairs, to be with God in your closet, in your family, to read the Scriptures, to study the Scriptures, and such men's writings that are sound in the faith, and that treat of the great things of the Gospel. 'Tis dangerous crying cras, cras, to morrow, to morrow; Mannah must be gathered in the morning, the orient Pearl is generated by the morning-dew: There is nothing puts a more serious frame into a man's spirit, than to know the worth and preciousness of time. Time (saith one) were a good commodity in hell, 
Bernard. Blessed Ho●p, was spare of diet, sparer of words, & sparest of time. And Bradford counted that hour lost, where in he did not some good, by his tongue, pen or purse. A Heathen could say, he lived no day without a line: that is, he did something remarkable every day. Ma●k Cato was wont to say, that there were three things which he abhored: 1. To commit secrets to a woman: 2. To go by water, when he might go by land: 3. To spend one day idle. Plutar●h.  and the traffic of it most gainful; where, for one day, a man would give ten thousand worlds, if he had them. One called his friends thiefs, because they stole time from him; and certainly, there are no worse thiefs, than those that rob us of our praying seasons, our hearing seasons, our mourning seasons, etc. There was an eminent Minister, who would often say, that he could eat the flesh off his arm, in indignation against himself for his lost hours.  
It was good counsel, that an ancient Christian, that is now triumphing in glory, gave to another, who is still alive, be either like Christ or Mary: The first was always doing good, the latter was still a receiving good: this is the way to be strong in grace, and to be soon ripe for glory. Certainly, time is infinitely precious, in regard of what depends upon it; What more necessary than repentance? yet that depends upon time, Rev. 2. 21. I gave her space to repent of her fornications: What more desirable than the favour of God? This depends upon time, and is therefore called the acceptable time, Isa. 49. 8. What more excellent than salvation? this likewise, depends upon time, 2 Cor. 6. 4. Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Pythagoras saith, that time is anima coeli, the soul of heaven: But to draw to a close, what can there be of more worth, and weight, and moment, than Eternity? it is the Heaven of Heaven, and the very Hell of Hell; without which, neither would Heaven be so desirable, nor Hell so formidable. Now this depends upon time, Time is the Prologue to Eternity, the great weight of Eternity hangs upon the small wire of Time: Whether our time here, be longer or shorter, upon the spending of this depends, either the bliss or the bane of body and soul to all Eternity; This is our seedtime, Eternity is the harvest; whatsoever seed we sow, whether of sin or grace, it cometh up in Eternity; whatsoever a man soweth, 
Gal. 6. 7, 8. 2. Cor. 9 6.  the same shall he reap. This is our market time, in which, if we be wise Merchants, we may make a happy exchange; of earth, for heaven; of a Valley of tears, for a Paradise of delights. This is our working time, I must work the works of him that sent me, the night cometh, 
Joh. 9 4.  when no man can work; according as the work is we do now, such will be our wages in Eternity: Though time itself lasts ●ot; yet whatsoever is everlasting, dependeth upon it; and therefore, should be carefully improved to the best advantage for our souls, and for the making sure of such things as will go with us beyond the grave.  
Shall your Lady live to be an honour to God, to be wise 
1 Pet. 3. 3, 4, 5. 1 Tim. 2. 9, 10. Eph. 6. 4. Prov. 31. 1, 2, 3, Gal. 4. 19 1 Tim. 1. 5, 6. Isa. 44. 3, 4. cap. 59 21. Psal. 112. 1, 2. Eph. 1. 3.  for Eternity, to be a pattern of piety, humiliy, modesty, etc. to others, to be a joyful mother of many children, and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; Shall you both live to see Christ form up in your Offspring, and to see their souls flourish in grace and holiness, and God bestowing himself, as a portion, upon them; Shall you all round be blessed with all spirival blessings, in Heavenly places, in Christ; and shall you all round, be crowned with the highest glory, happiness and blessedness in the world to come; Shall you all live in the sense of divine love, and di● in the sense of divine favour. Now, to the everlasting arms of divine protection, and to the constant influences of free, rich 
Gal. 5. 22, 23.  and sovereign Grace and Mercy, he commends you all; who is,  
Sir, Your much obliged friend, and soul's servant, Tho. Brooks.   

TO THE READER,  
Christian Reader,  
SOme preachers in our days, are like Heraclitus, who was called the dark Doctor; because he affected dark 
Heraclitus was a Philosopher of Ephesus, he was surnamed, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Obseurus, because he affected dark speeches. Joh 38. 2.  speeches; so they affect sublime noions, obscure expressions, uncouth phrases; making plain truths difficult, and easy truths hard, etc. They darken counsel by words without knowledge: Men of abstracted conceits, and wise speculations, are but wise fools; like the Lark that soareth up on high, peering and peering, but at last falleth into the net of the Fowler: Such persons commonly, are as censorious as they are curious; and do Christ and his Church but very, very little service in this world.  
The Heathenish Priests had their Mythologies, and strange canting expressions, of their imaginary unaccessable Deities, to amaze and amuse their blind superstitious followers; and thereby to hold up their Popish and apish Idolatries, in greater Veneration, the prudent reader can tell how to make application.  
If thou affectest high strains of wit, or larded, pompous, and highflown expressions, or eloquent trappings, or fine new notions, or such things that thou mayest rather wonder at, than understand. I shall not encourage thee to the perusal of this Treatise. But,  
First, If thou wouldst be furnished with sovereign Antidotes, 
1. 2 Pet. 3. 16. 1 John 4. 1, 2, 3. 2 Ep●st. John 7, 8. 9, 10. 11.  against the most dangerous errors, that are rampant in these days, then seriously peruse this Treatise.  
Secondly, if thou wouldst be established, strengthened, settled, and confirmed in the grand points of the Gospel; then 
2. 1 Pet. 5. 10.  seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
3. Thirdly, If thou wouldst know what that faith is 
3. John 1. 12. cap. 3. 16. John 5. 24.  that gives thee an interest in Christ, and in all that fundamental good that comes by Christ; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Fourthly, If thou wouldst have thy judgement rightly informed 
4. 1 Cor. 2. 6, 7. Psal. 119. 18.  in some great truths, about which, several men of note have been mistaken; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Fifthly, If thou wouldst know what safe and excellent 
5. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 9 27.  Pleas, to make to those ten Scriptures, that refer to the general Judgement, and to thy particular day of Judgement, then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Sixthly, If thou wouldst have thy heart brought and kept 
6. Psal. 34. 18. Isa. 57 15. 2 Chron. 34. 27.  in an humble, broken, bleeding, melting, tender frame; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Seventhly, If thou wouldst always come to the Lord's table, with such a frame of spirit, as Christ may take a delight to meet thee, to own thee, to bless thee, to bid thee welcome, 
Mat. 26. ●6, 27, 28 Luk. 22. 19, 20. 1 Cor. 11. 23. to the 30.  and to seal up his love, and thy pardon to thee; then seriously peruse this Treatise, especially that part of it, where the dreadful and amazing sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in body and soul, are at large set forth. But,  
Eightly, If thou wouldst have a clear sight of the length, 
8. Eph. 3. 18. Isal. 146. 8.  and breadth, and depth, and height of the love of Christ; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Ninthly, If thou wouldst have thy love to Christ tried, 
9 Cant. 1. 7. cap. 8. 5, 6, 7.  raised, acted, inflamed, discovered and augmented, etc. then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Tenthly, If thou art a strong man in Christ Jesus, and 
10. 2 Tim. 2. 1. H●b. 5. 14. 1 ●o●. 2. 6, 7. 1 Joh. 2. 14.  wouldst have thy head and heart exercised in the great things of God, and in the deep things of God, and in the mysterious things of God, then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Eleventhly, If thou art but a weak Christian, a babe, a 
11. 1. Cor. 3. 1. Heb. 5. 13. 1 Pet. 2. 2. 1 John 2. 1, 12, 13.  little child, a shrub, a dwarf, in grace, holiness and communion with God; and in thy spiritual attainments, enjoyments and experiences; then seriously peruse this Treatise, especially the first part of it. But,  
Twelfthly, If thou wouldst know whether thou art an indulger 
12. Job 20. 11, 12, 13 14. Mica 6. 6, 7. Rom. 13. ult. James 4. 3.  of sin, and if thou wouldst be stocked with singular remedies against thy special sins; then seriously peruse the former part of this Treatise. But,  
Thirteenthly, If thou wouldst be rooted, grounded, 
13. 1 Pet. 5. 10. Isa. 53. Heb. 10. 10, 12, 14 Gal. 4. 4, 5. Rom. 8. 3, 4. 2 Cor. 5. 21.  strengthened and settled, in those two grand points of the Gospel, viz. The active and passive obedience of Christ; and be daily refreshed with those pleasant streams, with those waters of life, that flow from thence; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Fourteen, If thou wouldst be throughly acquainted 
14. Isa. 53. cap. 63. 2. 1 Pet. 2. 21, 22, 23, 24. John 10. 11, 15. 17, 16.  with the sufferings of Christ, in his body and soul, with their greatness and grievousness, etc. And if thou wouldst understand the mighty advantages we have by his sufferings; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Fifteenthly, If thou wouldst be able, strongly to prove (against the Socinians, and the high Atheists of the day, and such as make so great a noise about a light within them) that there is a Hell, a place of torment, provided and prepared 
Mat. 25. 41. Psal. 9 17. Prov. 5. 5.  for all wicked and ungodly persons; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Sixteenthly, If thou wouldst, in a Scripture-glass, see the torments of hell, and know how to avoid them, and what divine improvements to make of them, and be resolved in several questions concerning hell and hellish torments; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Seventeenthly, If thou wouldst be able, strenuously to 
17. 1 John 1. 2, 14. 1 Tim. 2. 5.  maintain and defend Christ's Eternal Deity, and Manhood against all corrupt Teachers and Gain-sayers; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Eighteenthly, If thou wouldst be rooted and grounded in 
18. Jer. 23. 6. Isa. 45. 24. cap. 61. 10. 1 Cor. 1. 30.  that great Doctrine of the Imputed Righteousness of Christ; and be warmed, refreshed, cheered, comforted, and delighted, with those choice and singular consolations, that flow from thence; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Nineteenthly, If thou wouldst be set at liberty from many 
19 Psal. 42. 5, 11. Psal. 55. 5. 2 Cor. 7. 5.  fears, and doubts, and disputes, that often arise in thy soul, about thy internal and eternal estate; then seriously peruse this Treatise. But,  
Twentiethly, If thou wouldst have all grace to flourish 
20. Psal. 92. 12, 13, 14. Rom. 15. 13. Act. 13. 36. 2 Cor. 12. 9, 10. Rev. 12. 1. 2 Cor. 2. 14.  and abound in thy soul, if thou wouldst be eminently serviceable in thy Generation, if thou wouldst be ripe for sufferings, for death, for heaven, if thou wouldst be Temptation-proof, if thou wouldst be weaned from this world, and triumph in Christ Jesus when the world triumphs over thee; then seriously peruse this Treatise.  
Reader, if thou wouldst make any earnings of thy reading this Treatise, than thou must, 1. Read, and believe what 
Act. 18. 8. cap. 24. 14. Psal. 1. 2. Psal. 119. 5, 18. Act. 17. 11. Psal. 119. 9 John. 13. 17. Psal. 119. 105, 106.  thou readest: 2. Thou must read, and meditate on what thou readest: 3. Thou must read, and pray over what thou readest: 4. Thou must read, and try what thou readest, by the touchstone of the word: 5. Thou must read, and apply what thou readest; that plaster will never heal, that is not applied, etc. 6. Thou must read, and make conscience of living up to what thou readest, and of living out what thou readest; this is the way to honour thy God, to gain profit by this Treatise, to credit Religion, to stop foul mouths, to strengthen weak hands, to better a bad head, to mend a bad heart, to rectify a disorderly life, and to make sure work for thy soul, for heaven, for eternity.  
Reader, In a fountain sealed, and treasures hid, there is little profit, or comfort, no fountain to that which flows for common good, no treasures to those that lie open for public service. If thou gettest any good by reading this Treatise, give God alone the glory; and remember the Author, when thou art in the Mount with God; his prayers for thee are, that thou mayest be a knowing Christian, a sincere Christian, a growing Christian, a rooted Christian, a resolute Christian, an untainted Christian, an exemplary Christian, an humble Christian; and then he knows thou wilt be a saved Christian in the day of Christ: so he rests, who is  
Thy Cordial Friend, and Souls Servant. Tho. Brooks.   

The Interest of Reason in Religion; together, with the Import and Usage of Scripture Metaphors; and the Nature of the Union between Christ and Believers, modestly discoursed. All occasioned by some late Writings; particularly, a Book of Mr. Sherlock's, entitled, Knowledge of God; by Robert Ferguson.   

Serious and Weighty QUESTIONS, CLEARLY And Satisfactorily Answered.  
The first Question or Case is this.  
1. Quest. WHat are the special Remedies, Means, or Helps against cherishing, or keeping up of any special or peculiar sin, either in heart or life; against the Lord, or against the Light & Conviction of a man's own Conscience.  
Before I come to the Resolution of this Question, I shall promise a few things that may clear my way.  
1. First: When men's hearts are sincere with God; when they don't indulge, cherish, or keep up any known Trangression in their hearts, or lives against the Lord. They may on very good grounds, plead an interest in God, in Christ, and in the Covenant of Grace, though their Corruptions prevail against them, and too frequently worst them, and lead them Captive, as is most evident in these special Scriptures, 2 Sam. 23. 5. Psal. 65. 3. Rom. 7. 23. 25. Isa. 6●. 16, 17, 19 Jer. 14. 7, 8, 9 Hos. 14. 1, 2, 3, 4, 8.  
But now when any man's heart doth condemn him for dealing deceitfully and guilefully with God, in this, or that, or the other particular; or for conniving, or winking at any known Transgression that is kept up, either in his heart, or life, against the Lord; and against the light of his own Conscience, which he will not let go, nor in good earnest use the means, whereby it should be subdued and mortified: It is inot to be expected that such a person can come to any clearness, or satisfaction about their interest in Christ, and the Covenant of Grace, and their right to the great things of that other world; when a person will dally with sin, and will be playing with snares and baits, & allow a secret liberty in his heart to sin, conniving at many workings of it, and not setting upon Mortification with earnest endeavours; though they are convinced, yet they are not persuaded to arise with all their might, against the Lords Enemies, but do his work negligently, which is an accursed thing; and for this, God ca●●s such a person into sore straits, and lets him wander in the dark, without any sight, sense, or assurance of their gracious estate or interest in Christ, etc. The Is●ac●●●es should perfectly have rooted out the Canaanites, but because they did it but by halfs, and did not engage all their power and strength against them, therefore God left them to be as Thorns in their eyes, and as Goads in their sides. So when men have taken Christ's Press-money, and are engaged to fight with all their might, against those Rebels that war against him in their hearts, ways, and walkings; and to pursue the Victory to the utmost, till their Spiritual Enemies lie dead at their feet, and yet they do but trifle and make slender opposition against their sins: This provokes God to stand afar off, and to hid his Reconciled Face from them.  
'Tis true, when men are really in Christ, they ought not to question their state in him; but yet a guilty Conscience will be clamorous, and full of objections, and God will not speak peace unto it, till it be humbled at his foot. God will make his dearest Children know that it is a bitter thing to be bold with sin. Now before I lay down the Remedies, give me leave to show you what it is to indulge sin, or when a man may be said to indulge or cherish, or keep up any known Transgression in his Soul against the Lord; now for a clear understanding of me in this particular, take me thus.  
First: To indulge sin, or to cherish it. It is to make daily provision for it, Rom. 13. ult. it is to give the Breast to it, and to feed it, and nourish it, as fond Parents do feed and humour the sick Child, the darling Child; it must have what it will, and do what it will; it must not be crossed. Now when men ordinarily, habitually, commonly, are studious and laborious to make provision for sin, than sin is indulged by them. But  
Secondly: When sin is commonly, habitually, sweet and pleasant to the Soul; when a man takes a daily pleasure and delight in sin, than sin is indulged, 2 Thes. 2. 12. You read of them that had pleasure in Unrighteousness, Isa. 66. 3. And their Soul delighteth in their Abominations, Prov. 2. 14. who rejoice to do evil, etc.  
Thirdly: When men commonly, habitually side with sin, and take up Arms in the defence of sin, and in defiance of the commands of God, the motions of the Spirit, the checks of Conscience, and the reproofs of others, than sin is indulged. But  
Fourthly: When men ordinarily, habitually do yield a quiet, free, willing, and total subjection to the Authority and commands of sin, than sin is indulged; that man that is wholly addicted and devoted to the service of sin, that man indulges sin. Now in none of these senses does any Godly man indulge any one sin in his Soul. Though sin lives in him, yet he doth not live in sin. Every man that hath drink in him, is not in drink. A Child of God may slip into a sin, as a Sheep may slip into the mire; but he does not, nor cannot wallow in sin as the Swine does in the mire, nor yet keep on in a Road of sin, as Sinners do, Psal. 139. 24. See if there be any way of Wickedness in me. A course, a Trade of sin is not consistent with the truth or state of grace, Job. 10. 7. Thou knowest that I am not Wicked. He doth not say, thou knowest that I am not a Sinner, or thou knowest that I have not sinned: No! for the best of Saints are Sinners, though the worst and weakest of Saints are not wicked. Every real Christian, is a renewed Christian; & every renewed Christian takes his denomination from his renovation, and not from the remainers of Corruptions in him; and therefore such a one may well look God in the Face, and say, Lord, thou knowest that I am not Wicked. Weaknesses are chargeable upon me, but Wickednesses are not chargeable upon me. And certainly, that man gives a strong demonstration of his own uprightness, who dares appeal to God himself that he is not wicked.  
That no Godly man does, or can indulge himself in any course, or way, or Trade of sin, may be thus made evident.  
First: He sins not with allowance; when he does evil, he disallows of the evil he does, Rom. 7. 15. For that which I do, I allow not: A Christian is sometimes wherried and whirled away by sin before he is a ware, or hath time to consider of it. See Psal. 119. 1. 3. 1 Joh. 3. 9 Prov. 16. 12.  
Secondly: A Godly man hates all known sin, Psal 119. 128. I hate every false way. True hatred is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, against the whole kind. That contrariety to sin, which is in a real Christian, springs from an inward gracious nature, or principle, and so is to the whole species, or kind of sin, and is irreconcilable to any sin whatsoever. As contrarieties of nature, are to the whole kind, as light is contrary to darkness, and fire to all water: so this contrariety to all sin, arising from the inward man, is universal to all sin. He who hates a Toad, because it is a Toad, hates every Toad; and he who hates a Godly man, because he is Godly, he hates every Godly man; and so he who hates sin, because 'tis sin, he hates every sin, Rom. 7. 15. What I hate, that do I.  
Thirdly: Every Godly man would fain have his sins not only pardoned, but destroyed; his heart is alienated from his sins, and therefore nothing will serve him, or satisfy him, but the blood and death of his sins, Isa. 2. 20 chap. 30. 22. Hos. 14. 8. Rom. 8. 24. Saul hated David, and sought his life; and Haman hated Mord●cat, and sought his destruction; and Absalon hated Amnon, and killed him; Julian the Apostate hated the Christians, and put many thousands of them to death. The great thing that a Christian has in his eye, in all the duties he performs, and in all the Ordinances that he attends, is the blood, and death, and ruin of his sins.  
Fourthly: Every Godly man groans under the burden of sin, 2 Cor. 5. 4. For we that are in this Tabernacle, do groan, being burdened. Never did any Porter groan more to be delivered from his heavy burden, than a Christian groans to be delivered from the burden of sin, the burden of affliction; the burden of temptation, the burden of desertion, the burden of opposition, the burden of persecution, the burden of scorn and contempt, is nothing to the burden of sin; ponder upon that, Psal. 38. 4. and Psal. 40. 12. ver. and Rom. 7. 24 ver.  
Fifthly: Every Godly man combats and conflicts with all known sin. In every gracious Soul there is a constant and perpetual conflict. The flesh will be still a lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, Gal, 5. 17 Rom. 7. 22, 23. ● King. 14. 30. 31. Though sin and grace were not born together, and though sin and grace shall never die together, yet whiles a Believer lives in this world, they must live together; and whilst sin and grace do cohabit together, they will still be opposing and conflicting one with another.  
Sixthly: Every gracious heart is still a crying out against his sins; he cries out to God to subdue them; he cries out to Christ to crucify them; he cries out to the Spirit to mortify them; he cries out to faithful Ministers to arm him against them; and he cries out to sincere Christians, that they would pray hard that he may be made Victorious over them. Now certainly, it is a most sure sign that sin has not gained a man's heart, a man's love, nor his consent, but committed a Rape upon his Soul, when he cries out bitterly against his sin. It is observable, That if the Ravished Virgin, under the Law, cried out, she was guiltless, Deut. 22. 25, 26, 27. certainly such as cry out of their sins, and that would not for all the world indulge themselves in a way of sin; such are guiltless before the Lord. That which a Christian does not indulge himself in, that he does not do in divine account. But  
Seventhly: The fixed purposes and designs of a Godly man, is not to sin, Psal. 17. 3. I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress; that is, I have laid my design so, as not to sin. Though may have many particular failings, yet my general purpose is not to sin, Psal. 39 1. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a Bridle, while the wicked is before me. When ever a Godly man sins, he sins against the general purpose of his Soul. David laid a Law upon his tongue; he uses three words in the first and second verses to the same purpose, which is, as if he should say in plain English, I was silent, I was silent, I was silent; and all this to express how he kept in his passion, that he might not offend with his tongue. Though a Godly man sins, yet he doth not purpose to sin, for his purposes are fixed against sin; Holiness is his highway; and as sin is itself a by-way, so it is besides his way. The honest Traveller purposes to keep strait on his way; so that if at any time he miss his way, he misses his purpose. Though Peter denied Christ, yet he did not purpose to deny Christ; yea, the settled purpose of his Soul, was rather to die with Christ, than to deny Christ, Math. 26. 35. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Interpreters agree that Peter meant as he speak. But  
Eighthly: The settled Resolutions of a gracious heart, is not to sin, Psal. 119. 106. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy Righteous Judgements; Neh. 10. 28, 29, 30, 31. dwell on it, Job. 31. 1. etc. Micha 4. 5. For all people will walk, every one in the name of his God, and we walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever. So Daniel and the 3 Children.  
Blessed Hooper resolves rather to be discharged of his Bishopric, than yield to certain Ceremonies.  
Jerom writes of a brave Woman, who being upon the wrack, bid her Persecutors do their worst, for she was resolved that she would rather die then lie.  
The Prince of Conde being taken Prisoner by Charles the Nineth of France, and put to his choice; first, whether he would go to Mass; or second, be put to Death; or thirdly, suffer perpetual Imprisonment: Answered, as for the first, I will never do by the assistance of God's grace; and as for the other two, let the King do with me what he pleaseth, for I am very well assured that God will turn all to the best.  
The Heavens shall as soon fall (said William Flower to the Bishop, that persuaded him to save his life by retracting) as I will forsake the Opinion and Faith I am in, God assisting of me.  
So Marchus Arethusius chose rather to suffer a most cruel Death than to give one halfpenny towards the Building of an Idol Temple.  
So Cyprian, when the Emperor, in the the way to his Execution, said, Now I give thee space to consider whether thou wilt obey me in casting a grain of Frankincens into the fire, or be thus miserably slain: Nay, saith he, there needs no deliberation in the case. There are many thousands of such instances scattered up and down in History.  
Ninethly: There is a real willingness in every gracious Soul to be rid of all sin, Rom. 7. 24. Hos. 14. 2. 8. Job 7. 21. Saving grace makes a Christian as willing to leave his sin, as a Slave is willing to leave his Galley, or a Prisoner his Dungeon, or a Thief his Bolts, or a Beggar his Rags. Many a day have I sought Death with scars (saith blessed Cooper) not out of impatience, distrust, or perturbation, but because I am weary of sin, and fearful of falling into it. Look as the Daughters of Heath even made Rebeccah weary of her life, Gen. 27. 46. so Corruptions within makes a gracious Soul, even weary of his life: A gracious Soul looks upon sin with as evil, and as envious an eye as Saul looked on David when the evil spirit was upon him. O! saith Saul, that I was but once well rid of this David; and O saith a gracious Soul, that I was but once well rid of this proud heart, this hard heart, this unbelieving heart, this unclean heart, this earthly heart, this froward heart of mine.  
Tenthly: Every Godly man complains of his known sins, and mourns over his known sins, and would be fain rid of his known sins, as might be made evident out of many scores of scripture, 7 Job. 21. 51. Psal. 14. Hos. 2.  
Eleventhly: Every gracious Soul sets himself mostly, resolutely, valiantly, and habitually against his special sins, his constitution sins, his most prevalent sins, Psal. 18. 23. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine Iniquity. Certainly that which is the special sin of a Godly man, is his special burden; it is not delighted in, but lamented; there is no sin which costs him so much sorrow as that, to which either the temper of his body, or the occasions of his life leads him. That sin which he finds his heart most set upon, he sets his heart, his whole soul most against. The Scripture gives much evidence that David (though a man after Gods own heart) was very apt to fall into the sin of Lying, he used many unlawful shifts; we read of his often faltering in that kind, when he was in straits, and hard put to it, 1 Sam. 21. 2. 8. 1 Sam. 27. 8, 10, etc. but it is as clear in Scripture, that his heart was set against lying; and that it was the grief and daily burden of his Soul: Certainly that sin is a man's greatest burden and grief, which he prays most to be delivered from. O! how earnestly did David pray to be delivered from the sin of lying, (Psal. 119. 29.) Keep me from the way of lying. And as he prayed earnestly against lying, so he as earnestly detested it; (ver. 163.) I hate and abhor Lying. Though Lying was David's special sin, yet he hated and abhorred it as he did Hell itself. And he tells us how he was affected or afflicted rather with that sin, whatsoever it was, which was his Iniquity, (Psal. 31. 10,) my life is spent with grief, and my years with sigh; my strength faileth, and my bones are consumed, or Motheaten as the Hebrew has it, (here are deep expressions of a troubled Spirit;) and why all this? Mark, he gives you the reason of it in the same verse, because of mine Iniquity: as if he had said, there is a base corruption which so haunts and dogs me, that my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: He found (it seems) his heart running out to some sin or other, which yet was so far from being a beloved sin, a bosom sin, a darling sin; that it was the breaking of his heart, and the consumption of his bones. So Psal. 38. 18. I will declare mine Iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin. There is no sin that a gracious heart is more perfectly set against, than against his special sin; for by this sin God first, has been most dishonoured; and secondly, Christ most crucified; and thirdly, the Spirit most grieved; and fourthly, Conscience most wounded; and fifthly, Satan most advantaged; and sixthly, Mercies most embittered; and seaventhly, Duties most hindered; and eighthly, Fears and doubts most raised and increased; and ninethly, Afflictions most multiplied; and tenthly, Death made most formidable and terrible, and therefore he breaks out against this sin with the greatest detestation and abhorrency. Ephraim's special sin was Idolatry, Hos. 4. 17. he thought the choicest gold and silver in the world hardly good enough to frame his Idols of: But when it was the day of the Lords gracious power upon Ephraim, than he thought no place bad enough to cast his choicest Idols into, as you may see by comparing of these Scriptures together, Hos. 14. 8. Isa. 2. 20. and chap. 30. 22. True grace will make a man stand stoutly and steadfastly on God's side, and work the heart to take part with him against a man's special sins, though they be as right hands, or right eyes. True grace will lay hands upon a man's special sins, and cry out to Heaven, Lord Crucify them, Crucify them; down with them, down with them even to the ground: Lord do justice, do speedy justice, do signal justice, do exemplary justice upon these special sins of mine; Lord how down root and branch; let the very stumps of this Dagon be broken all in pieces; Lord curse this wild fig-tree that never more fruit may grow thereon: But  
Twelfthly: There is no time wherein a gracious Soul cannot sincerely say with the Apostle in that H●b. 13. 18. Pray for us, for we trust we have a good Conscience, in all things willingly to live honestly; gracious hearts affect that which they cannot effect: So Acts 24. 16. And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a Conscience void of offence towards God, and towards men, in all cases, in all places; by all means, and at all times: a sincere Christian labours to have a good Conscience, void of offence towards God, and towards men, Prov. 16. 17. The highway of the upright, is to departed from evil; that is, it is the ordinary, usual, constant course of an upright man to departed from evil. An honest Traveller may step out of the King's highway into a House, a Wood, a Close; but his work, his business is to go on in the King's highway; so the business, the work of an upright man, is to departed from evil. 'Tis possible for an upright man to step into a sinful path, or to touch upon sinful facts; but his main way, his principal work and business is to departed from Iniquity; as a Bee may light upon a Thistle, but her work is to be gathering at flowers; or as a Sheep may slip into the dirt, but its work is to be grazing upon the Mountains, or in the Meadows; but  
Thirteenthly, and lastly: Jesus Christ is the real Christians only Beloved; he is the Saints only darling, 2 Can. 3. As the Appletree among the Trees of the Wood, so is my Beloved among the Sons: ver. 8. The v●yce of my Beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the Mountains, and skiping upon the hills; ver. 9 My Beloved is like a Roe, or a young Hart, ver. 10. My Beloved spoke, and said unto me, Rise up my Love, my fair one, and come away, ver. 17. Turn my Beloved, and be thou like a Roe, or a young Hart upon the Mountains of Bether. Can. 4. 16. Let my Beloved come into his Garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. Seven times Christ is called the Beloved of his Spouse in the fifth of Canticles, and twice in the sixth Chapter, and four times in the seaventh Chapter, and once in the eighth Chapter. In this Book of Solomon's Song, Christ is called the Churches Beloved just twenty times. I might turn you to many other Scriptures, but in the mouth of twenty Witnesses you may be very clearly and fully satisfied, that Jesus Christ is the Saints Beloved. 1. When the Dutch Martyr was asked whether he did not love his Wife and Children, he Answered, Were all the World a lump of gold, and in my hand to dispose of, I would give it to live with my Wife and Children in a Prison, but Christ is dearer to me than all. 2. Saith Jerom, If my Father should stand before me, and if my Mother should hang upon me, and my Brethren should press about me, I would break through my Brethren, throw down my Mother, and tread underfoot my Father, that I might cleave the faster and closer unto Jesus Christ. 3. That Blessed Virgin in Basil, being condemned for Christianity to the fire, and having her Estate and Life offered her if she would worship Idols, cried out. Let money perish, and life vanish, Christ is better than all. 4. Love made Hierom to say, O! my Saviour, didst thou die for love of me, a love more dolorous than death, but to me a death more lovely than love itself. I cannot live, love thee and be longer from thee 5. Henry Voes said, If I had ten heads, they should all off for Christ. 6. John Ardley Martyr said, If every hair of my head were a man, they should all suffer for the Faith of Christ. 7. Ignatius said, Let fire, racks, pulleys, yea, & all the torments of Hell, come on me, so I may win Christ. 8. George Carpenter being asked whether he loved not his Wife and Children, when they all wept before them; Answered, My Wife and Children are dearer to me than all Bavaria, yet for the love of Christ, I know them not. 9 O Lord Jesus, said Bernard, I love thee more than all my Goods, and I love thee more than all my Friends, yea, I love thee more than my very self. 10. Austin saith he, would willingly go through Hell to Christ. 11. Another saith, He had rather be in his Chimney-Corner with Christ, than in Heaven without him. 12. Another cries out, I had rather have one Christ than a thousand Worlds; by all which 'tis most evident, that Jesus Christ is the Saints best Beloved, and not this or that sin.  
Now by these 13 Arguments. 'tis most clear that no gracious Christian does, or can indulge himself in any Trade, course, or way of sin.  
Yea, by these thirteen Arguments 'tis most evident that no Godly man, has, or can have any one beloved sin, any one bosom, darling sin, though many worthy Ministers, both in their Preaching and Writings, make a great noise about the Saints beloved sins, about their bosom darling sins. I readily grant, that all Unregenerate persons have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins; but that no such sins are chargeable upon the Regenerate is sufficiently demonstrated by the thirteen Arguments last cited: And O! that this were wisely and seriously considered of, both by Ministers and Christians; there is no known sin that a Godly man is not troubled at, and that he would not be rid of. There is as much difference between sin in a Regenerate person, and in an Unregenerate person, as there is between poison in a Man, and poison in a Serpent: Poison in a man's body, is most offensive and burdensome, and he readily uses all Arts and Antidotes to expel it, and get rid; but poison in a Serpent, is in its natural place, and is most pleasing, and delightful: So sin in a Regenerate man is most offensive and burdensome, and he readily uses all holy means and Antidotes to expel it, and to get rid of it: But sin in an Unregenerate man is most pleasing and delightful, it being in its natural place. A Godly man still enters his protest against sin; a gracious Soul, while he commits sin, hates the sin he commits.  
O Sirs! there is a vast difference between a special and a beloved sin, a darling sin, a bosom-sin: Noah had a sin, and Lot had a sin, and Jacob had a sin, and Job had a sin, and David had a sin, which was his special sin; but neither of these had any sin which was their beloved sin, their bosom sin, their darling sin; that passage in Job 31. 33. is observable. If I covered my Transgression as Adam, by hiding mine Iniquity in my Bosom. Mark in this Text, while Job calleth some sin or other his Iniquity, he denyeth that he had any beloved sin; for saith he, Did I h●de it in my Bosom, did I show it any favour, did I cherish it, or nourish it; or keep it warm in my Bosom. O! No, I did not. A Godly man may have many sins, yet he hath not one beloved sin, one bosom sin, one darling sin; he may have some particular sin, to which the Unregenerate part of his will may strongly incline, and to which his unmortified affections may run out with violence too; yet he hath no sin he bears any good will to, or doth really or cordially effect. Mark, that may be called a man's particular way of sinning, which yet we cannot, we may not call his beloved sin, his bosom sin, his darling sin; for it may be his greatest grief and torment, and may cost him more sorrow and tears than all the rest of his sins; it may be a Tyrant usurping power over him, when it is not the delight and pleasure of his Soul. A Godly man may be more prone to fall into some one sin rather than another; it may be Passion, or Pride, or Slavish fear, or Worldliness, or Hypocrisy; or this, or that, or t'other Vanity; yet are not these his beloved sins, his bosom sins, his darling sins; for these a●e the Enemies he hates, and abhors; these are the grand-Enemies that he prays against, and complains of, and mourns over; these are the potent Rebels that his Soul cries out most against, and by which his Soul suffers the greatest violence. Mark, no sin: but Christ is the dearly beloved of a Christians Soul; Christ, and not this sin, or that, is the chiefest of ten thousand to a gracious Soul; and yet some particular corruption or other may more frequently worst a Believer, and lead him Captive; but then the Believer cries out most against that particular sin: O! saith he, this is mine Iniquity; this is the Saul, the Pharaoh that is always a pursuing after the blood of my Soul. Lord let this Saul fall by the Sword of thy Spirit; let this Pharaoh be drowned in the Red Sea of thy Son's blood. O! Sirs, It is a point of very great importance, for gracious Souls to understand the vast difference that there is between a beloved sin, and this, or that particular sin, violently Tyrannising over them; for this is most certain, whosoever giveth up himself freely, willingly, cheerfully, habitually, to the service of any one particular Lust, or Sin, he is in the state of Nature, under wrath, and in the way to eternal Ruin.  
Now a little to show the vanity, folly, and falsehood of that Opinion that is received, and commonly avowed by Ministers and Christians, viz. That every Godly person hath his beloved sin, his bosom sin, his darling sin; seriously and frequently consider with me of these following particulars.  
First: That this Opinion is not bottomed or founded upon any clear Scripture or Scriptures, either in the Old or New Testament.  
Secondly: This Opinion that is now under consideration, runs counter cross to all those thirteen Arguments, but now alleged, and to all those scores of plain Scriptures, by which those Arguments are confirmed.  
Thirdly: This Opinion that is now under consideration, has a great tendancy to harden and strong then wicked men in their sins; for when they shall hear and read that the Saints, the dearly beloved of God, have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins, what inferences will they not be ready to make: What are these they call Saints, wherein are they better than us? have we our beloved sins? so have they Have we our bosom sins? so have they; have we our darling sins? so have they. They have their beloved sins, and yet are beloved of God, and why not we? why not we? Saints have their beloved sins, and yet God is kind to them; and why then not to us, why not to us also? Saints have their beloved sins, and yet God will save them; and why then should we believe that God will damn us? Saints have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins, and therefore certainly they are not to be so dearly loved, and highly prized, and greatly honoured as Ministers would make us believe. Saints have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins, and therefore what Iniquity is it to account and call them Hypocrites, Deceivers, Dissemblers, that pretend they have a great deal of love to God, and love to Christ, and love to his Word, and love to his ways; and yet for all this, they have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins. Surely these men's hearts are not right with God; with much more to the same purpose.  
Fourthly: If Christ be really the Saints beloved, than sin is not their beloved, but Christ is the Saints beloved, as I have formerly clearly proved; and therefore sin is not there beloved. A man may as well serve two Masters, as have two Beloved's, viz. a Beloved-Christ, and a beloved Lust.  
Fifthly: Those supernatural Graces, or those Divine qualities that are infused into the Soul at first conversion, are contrary to all sin, and opposite to all sin, and engages the heart against all sin; and therefore a converted person can have no beloved sin, no bosom sin, no darling sin. Seriously weigh this Argument.  
Sixthly: This Opinion may fill many weak Christians with many needless fears, doubts, and jealousies about their Spiritual and Eternal conditions Weak Christians are very apt to reason thus; Surely my Conversion is not sound; my Spiritual Estate is not good; my Heart is not right with God; a saving work has never yet past upon me in power: I fear I have not the root of the matter in me: I fear I have never had a through change: I fear I have never yet been effectually called out of darkness into his marvellous light: I fear I have never yet been Espoused to Christ: I fear the Spirit of God hath never taken up my heart for his Habitation: I fear that after all my high profession, I shall at last be found an Hypocrite: I fear the Execution of that dreadful Sentence, Math. 25. Go ye Cursed, etc. And why all this, O poor Soul? Answer, Because I carry about with me my beloved sins, my bosom sins, my darling sins. Ministers had need be very wary in their Preaching & Writing, that they don't bring forth fuel to feed the fears and doubts of weak Christians, it being a great part of their work, to arm weak Christians against their fears and faintings: But  
Seaventhly: This Opinion that is now under consideration, is an Opinion that is very repugnant to sound and sincere Repentance; for sound, sincere Repentance includes and takes in a divorce, an alienation, a detestation, a separation, and a turning from all sin, without exception or reservation. One of the first works of the Spirit upon the Soul, is the dividing between all known sin and the soul; 'tis a making an utter breach betwixt all sin and the soul; 'tis a dissolving of that old League that has been between a Sinner and his sins, yea, between a Sinner and his beloved Lusts. One of the first works of the Spirit, is to make a man to look upon all his sins as Enemies, yea as his greatest Enemies, and to deal with his sins as Enemies, and to hate and loathe them as Enemies, and to fear them as Enemies, and to arm against them as Enemies. Seriously ponder upon these Scriptures, Ezek. 18. 28. 30, 31. 14. of Ezek. 6. 2. Cor. 7. 1. Psal. 119. 101. 104. 128. verses. True Repentance is a turning from all sin, without any Reservation, or exception; he never truly repent of any sin, whose heart is not turned against every sin. The true penitent casts off all the rags of Old Adam, he is for throwing down every stone of the old building; he will not leave a horn, nor a hoof behind. The reasons of turning from sin, are universally binding to a penitent Soul. There are the same reasons and grounds for a penitent man's turning from every sin, as there is for his turning from any one sin. Do you turn from this or that sin, because the Lord has forbid it, why upon the same ground you must turn from every sin; for God has forbid every sin as well as this or that particular sin. There is the same Authority, forbidding or commanding in all; and if the Authority of God awes a man from one sin, it will awe him from all. He that turns from any one sin, because it is a Transgression of the holy and righteous Law of God, he will turn from every sin upon the same account. He that turns from any one sin, because it is a dishonour to God, a reproach to Christ, a grief to the Spirit, a wound to Religion, etc. will upon the same grounds turn from every sin.  
Quest. But wherein does a true penitential turning from all sin consist? Answ. In these six things.  
First in the alienation and inward aversation and drawing off of the Soul from the love and liking of all sin, and from all free and voluntary subjection unto sin, the heart being filled with a loathing and detestation of all sin, Psal. 119. 104. 128. as that which is most contrary to all goodness and happiness.  
Secondly: In the wills detestation and hatred of all sin, when the very bent and inclination of the will is set against all sin, and opposes and crosses all sin, and is set upon the ruin and destruction of all sin, than the Penitent is turned from all sin, Rom. 7. 15. 19 21. 23. Isa. 30. 22. 14. Hos. 8. When the will stands upon such terms of defiance with all sin, as that it will never enter into a league of friendship with any sin, then is the Soul turned from every sin.  
Thirdly: In the judgements, turning away from all sin, by disapproving, disallowing, and condemning all sin, Rom. 7. 15. O! saith the judgement of a Christian, sin is the greatest evil in all the world, 'tis the only thing God abhors, and that brought Jesus Christ to the Cross, that damns Souls, that shuts Heaven, and that has laid the foundations of Hell. O! It is the pricking thorn in my eye, the deadly arrow in my side, the two-edged-sword that hath wounded my Conscience, and slain my comforts, and separated between God and my Soul. O! sin is that which hath hindered my prayers, and imbittered my mercies, and put a sting into all my crosses; and therefore I can't but disapprove of it, and disallow of it, and condemn it to death, yea, to Hell from whence it came.  
Fourthly: In the purpose and resolution of the soul, the soul sincerely purposing and resolving, never willingly, wilfully, or wickedly to transgress any more, Psal. 17. 3. The general purpose and resolution of my heart is not to transgress, though particular failings may attend me; yet my resolutions and purposes are firmly set against doing evil, Psal. 39 1. The true Penitent holds up his purposes and resolutions to keep off from sin, and to keep close with God, though he be not able in every thing, and at all times to make good his purposes and resolutions, etc. But  
Fifthly: In the earnest and unfeigned desires, and careful endeavours of the Soul to abandon all sin, to forsake all sin, and to be rid of all sin, Rom. 7. 22, 23. You know when a prudent, tender, indulgent Father sees his Child to fail and come short in that which he enjoins him to do; yet knowing that his desires and endeavours is to please him, and serve him, he will not be harsh, rigid, sour, or severe towards him; but will spare him, and exercise much tenderness, and indulgence towards him; and will God, will God, whose mercies reach above the Heavens, and whose compassions are infinite, and whose love is like himself, carry it worse towards his Children then men do carry it towards theirs? Surely no. God's Fatherly indulgence accepts of the will for the work, Heb. 13. 18. 2 Cor. 8. 12. Certainly, a sick man is not more desirous to be rid of all his Diseases, nor a Prisoner to be freed from all his bolts and chains, than the true Penitent is desirous to be rid of all his sins.  
Sixthly and lastly: In the common and ordinary declining shunning, and avoiding of all known occasions of sin, yea, and all temptations, provocations, inducements, and enticements to sin, etc. That royal Law, 1 Thes. 5. 22. Abstain from all appearance of evil, is a Law that is very precious in a Penitent man's eye, and commonly lies warm upon a Penitent man's heart; so that take him in his ordinary course, and you shall find him very ready to shun, and be  of the very appearance of sin, of the very shows and shadows of sin. Job made a Covenant with his eyes, Job. 31. 1. and Joseph would not hearken to his bold tempting Mistress, to lie by her, or to be with her, Gen. 39 10. And David when himself, would not sit with Vain persons, Psal. 26. 3, 4, 5. Now a true penitential turning from all sins, lies in these six things, and therefore you had need look about you; for if there be any one way of wickedness, wherein you walk, and which you are resolved you will not forsake, you are no true penitents, and you will certainly lose your souls, and be miserable for ever.  
This Opinion that is now under-consideration, is an opinion that will exceedingly deject many precious Christians, and cause them greatly to hang down their heads, especially in four days. 1. In the day of common calamity. 2. In the day of personal affliction. 3. In the day of death. 4. In the great day of account.  
First: In a day of common Calamity, when the Sword is drunk with the blood of the slain; or when the raging Pestilence lays thousands in heap upon heap, or when Fevours, Agues, Gripes, and other Diseases, carry hundreds every week to their long homes. O! now the remembrance of a man's beloved sins, his bosom sins, his darling sins (if a Saint had any such sins) will be very apt to fill his soul with fears, dreads, and perplexities: Surely now God will meet with me, now God will avenge himself on me for my beloved sins, my bosom sins, my darling sins: O! how righteous a thing is it with God, because of my beloved lusts, to sweep me away by these sweeping Judgements that are abroad in the Earth? On the contrary, how sweet and comfortable a thing is it, when in a day of common Calamity, a Christian can appeal to God, and appeal to Conscience, that though he has many weaknesses, and infirmities that hang upon him, that yet he has no beloved sin, no bosom sin, no darling sin, that either God or Conscience can charge upon him. O! such a consideration as this, may be as life from the dead to a gracious Christian, in the midst of all the common Calamities that does surround him; and that hourly threaten him.  
Secondly: In the day of personal Affections, when the smarting Rod is upon him, and God writes bitter things against him; when the Hand of the Almighty has touched him in his Name, Estate, Relations, etc. O! now the remembrance of a man's beloved sins, his bosom sins, his darling sins, (if a Saint had any such sins) will be as the hand writing upon the Wall (Dan. 5. 5, 6.) that will make his counteance to be changed, his thoughts to be troubled, his joints to be loosed, and his knees to be dashed one against another. O! now a Christian will be ready to conclude, O! 'tis my beloved sins, my bosom sins, my darling sins that has caused God to put this bitter cup into my hand, and that has provoked him to give me gall and wormwood to drink, Lam. 3. 19 Whereas on the contrary, when a man under all his personal trials, though they are many, and great, yet can lift up his head and appeal to God and Conscience, that though he has many sinful weaknesses, and infirmities hanging upon him, yet neither God nor Conscience can charge upon him any beloved sins, any bosom sins, any darling sins: O! such a consideration as this, will help a man to bare up bravely, sweetly, cheerfully, patiently, and contentedly, under the heaviest hand of God, as is evident in that great instance of Job: who so sorely afflicted as Job? and yet no beloved sin, no bosom sin, no darling sin, being chargeable upon him by God or Conscience (Job. 10. 7. chap. 31. 33.) How bravely, sweetly, and Christianly does Job bear up under those sad changes and dreadful providences that would have broke a thousand of such men's hearts, upon whom God and Conscience could charge beloved sins, bosom sins, darling sins? But  
Thirdly: In the day of death; Death is the King of terrors, as Job speaks; and the terror of Kings, as the Philosopher speaks: Oh how terrible will this King of terrors be to that man upon whom God and Conscience can charge beloved sins, bosom sins, darling sins: This is certain, when a wicked man comes to die, all the sins that ever he committed done't so grieve him, and terrify him, so sad him, and sink him, and raise such horrors and terrors in him, and put him into such a hell on this side Hell, as his beloved sins, his bosom sins, his darling sins; and had Saints their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins, Ah what a Hell of horror and terror would these sins raise in their souls, when they come to lie upon a dying Bed! But now when a Child of God shall lie upon a dying Bed, and shall be able to say, Lord thou knowest, and Conscience thou knowest, that though I have had many and great failings, yet there are no beloved sins, no bosom sins, no darling sins, that are chargeable upon me. Lord thou knowest, and Conscience thou knowest: 1. That there is no known sin that I don't hate and abhor. 2. That there is no known sin that I don't combat and conflict with. 3. That there is no known sin that I don't grieve and mourn over. 4. That there is no known sin that I would not presently, freely, willingly, and hearty be rid of. 5. That there is no known sin that I done't in some weak measure endeavour in the use of holy means to be delivered from. 6. That there is no known sin, the effectual subduing and mortifying of which, would not administer matter of the greatest joy and comfort to me. Now when God and Conscience shall acquit a man upon a dying Bed, of beloved sins, of bosom sins, of darling sins, who can express the joy, the comfort, the peace, the support that such an acquittance will fill a man with?  
Fourthly: In the day of Account, the v●ry thoughts of which day, too many, is more terrible than Death it self, such Christians as are Captivated under the power of this opinion, viz. That the Saints have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins; such cannot but greatly fear, and tremble to appear before the Tribunal of God. O! saith such poor hearts, how shall we be able to answer for beloved sins, our bosom sins, our darling sins, as for infirmities, weaknesses, and follies that has attended us, we can plead with God, and tell him; Lord, when Grace has been weak, Corruptions strong, Temptations great, and thy Spirit withdrawn, and we off from our Watch, we have been worsted and captivated. But what shall we say as to our beloved sins, our bosom sins, our darling sins; O these fill us with terror and horror, and how shall we be able to hold up our heads before the Lord, when he shall reckon with us for these sins. But now when a poor Child of God thinks of the day of Account, and is able, through grace, to say, Lord, though we cannot clear ourselves of infirmities, and many sinful weaknesses, yet we can comfortably appeal in thee, and our Consciences, that we have no beloved sins, no bosom sins, no darling sins. O with what comfort, confidence, and boldness, will such poor hearts hold up their heads in the day of Account, when a Christian can plead those six things before a Judgement seat, that he pleaded in the third particular, when he lay upon a dying Bed? how will his fears vanish, and how will his hopes and and hopes and heart revive, and how comfortably and boldly will he stand before a Judgment-Seat? But  
Ninethly: This opinion that is now under consideration, has a very great tendancy to discourage and deaden the hearts of Christians to the most noble and spiritual duties of Religion, viz. 1. Praising of God. 2. Delighting in God. 3. Rejoicing in God. 4. Admiring of God. 5. Taking full content and satisfaction in God. 6. Witnessing for God, his Truth, his Ordinances and ways. 7. To self-tryal and self-examination. 8. To the making of their Calling and Election sure. I cannot see with what comfort, confidence, or courage, such souls can apply themselves to the Eight duties last mentioned, who lie under the power of this opinion, viz. That Saints have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins: But now when a Christian is clear, and he can clear himself, (as every sincere Christian can) of beloved sins, of bosom sins, of darling sins, how is he upon the advantage ground to fall in roundly with all the Eight duties last mentioned? But  
Tenthly and lastly: This opinion that is now under consideration, has a very great tendency to discourage multitudes of Christians from coming to the Lords Table. I would willingly know with what comfort, with what confidence, with what hope, with what expectation of good from God, or of good from the Ordinance, can such Souls draw near to the Lords Table, who lie under the power of this opinion or persuasion, that they carry about with them their bosom sins, their beloved sins, their darling sins? How can such souls expect that God should meet with them in the Ordinance, and bless the Ordinance to them? How can such souls expect that God should make that great Ordinance to be strengthening, comforting, refreshing, establishing and enriching unto them How can such souls expect, that in that Ordinance God should Seal up to them his Eternal Loves, their Interest in Christ, their Right to the Covenant, their Title to Heaven, and the Remission of their sins, who bring to his Table their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins? But now when the People of God draw near to the Table of the Lord, and can appeal to God; that though they have many sinful failings and infirmities hanging upon them, yet they have no beloved sins, no bosom sins, no darling sins that they carry about with them: How comfortably and confidently may they expect that God will make that great Ordinance a blessing to them, and that in time all those glorious ends for which that Ordinance was appointed, shall be accomplished in them, and upon them? Now by these ten Arguments, you may see the weakness, and falseness, yea, the dangerous nature of that opinion that many worthy men have so long Preached, Maintained, and Printed to the World, viz. That the Saints have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins; neither do I wonder that they should be so sadly out in this particular, when I consider how apt men are to receive things by Tradition, without bringing of things to a strict examination; and when I consider what strange definitions of Faith many famous, worthy men have given, both in their writings and Preach; and when I consider what a mighty noise many famous men have made about legal preparations, before men presume to close with Christ, or to give up themselves in a Marriage Covenant to Christ; most of them requiring men to be better Christians before they come to Christ, than commonly they prove, after they are implanted into Christ, etc.  
Now though I have said enough, I suppose to lay that Opinion asleep that has been last under consideration, viz. That the Saints have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins; yet for a close of this discourse, promise with me these five things.  
First: That all Unconverted persons have their beloved sins, their bosom sins, their darling sins. The beloved, the bosom, the darling sin of the Jews was Idolatry: The beloved, the bosom, the darling sin of the Corinthians, was Uncleanness, Wantonness, 1 Cor. 6. 15. 20. The beloved, the bosom, the darling sin of the Cretians, was Lying, 2 Titus 12. Jeroboams beloved sin was Idolatry, and cain's beloved sin was Envy, and Corahs' beloved sin was Gain saying, and Esau's beloved sin was Profaneness, and Ishmaels' beloved sin was Scossing, and baalam's beloved sin was Ambition; Simoon and Levios' beloved sin was Treachery, Manasses beloved sin was Cruelty, and Nebuchadnezars' beloved sin was Pride, and Herod's beloved sin was Uncleanness, and Judas his beloved sin was Covetousness, and the Young man's beloved sin in that 19th. of Matthew was Wordly-mindedness, etc.  
Secondly: Promise this with me, that the Elect of of God, before their Conversion, had their beloved sins, Manass●s beloved sin was Cruelty, and Ephraim's beloved sin before Conversion was Idolatry, Hos. 4. 17. and Zacheus, his beloved sin before Conversion, was worldly-mindedness and defrauding of others; and Paul's beloved sin before Conversion, was Persecution; and the Jailor's beloved sin before Conversion, was Cruolty; and Mary Magdolens beloved sin before Conversion, was Wantonness and Uncleanness, etc.  
Thirdly: Premise this with me, viz. That after Conversion, there is no Sin that the heart of a Christian is more seriously, more frequently, more resolutely, and more perfectly set against, than that which was once his beloved Lust: The hatred, detestation, and Indignation of a Converted person, breaks out and discovers itself most against that Sin which was once a beloved Sin, a bosom Sin, a darling Sin; his care, his fear, his jealousy, his watchfulness is most exercised against that Sin, which was once the darling of his soul: The Converted person eyes this Sin as an old Enemy; he looks upon this Sin, as the Sin by which God has been most dishonoured, and his own Conscience most enslaved, and his Immortal soul most endangered, and Satan most advantaged, and accordingly his Spirit rises against it, Hos. 14. 8. 2. Isa. 20. chap. 30. 22. And all Christians experience confirms this truth; but of this more before.  
Fourthly: After Conversion, a Christian endeavours to be most eminent in that particular grace which is most contrary and opposite to that Sin which was once his beloved Sin, his bosom Sin, his darling Sin. Zacheus his boloved Sin was Worldliness and Defrauding, but being Converted, he labours to excel in restitution and liberality: The Jailor's beloved Sin was Severity & Cruelty, but being Converted, he labours to excel in pity and courtesy: Paul's beloved sin was Persecution, but being Converted, how mightily does he bestir himself to Convert souls, and to edify souls, and to build up souls, and to strengthen souls, and to establish souls, and to encourage souls in the ways of the Lord; he gives it you under his own hand, That he laboured more abundantly than they all, 2 Cor. 11. 23. Augustine's beloved Sin, his bosom Sin, his darling sin, before his Conversion, was Wantonness and Uncleanness; but when he was converted, he was most careful and watchful to arm against that Sin, and to avoid all temptations and occasions that might lead him to it afterwards. If a man's beloved Sin before Conversion has been Wordlinesse, then after conversion he will labour above all to excel in Heavenly-mindedness; or if his Sin, his beloved Sin, has been Pride, than he will labour above all to excel in Humility: or if his beloved Sin has been intemperance, than he will labour above all to excel in temperance and sobriety; or if his beloved Sin has been Wantonness and Uncleanness, than he will labour above all, to excel in all Chastity and Purity; or if his beloved Sin has been Oppressing of others, than he will labour above all, to excel in Piety and Compassion towards others; or if his beloved Sin has been Hypocrisy, than he will labour above all to excel in sincerity, etc. But  
Fifthly: Though no Godly man, though no sincere gracious Christian hath any beloved Sin, and bosom, darling Sin, yet there is no Godly man, there is no sincere gracious soul, but has some Sin or other, to which they are more prone than to others. Every real Christian hath his inclination to one kind of Sin rather than another, which may be called his special Sin, his peculiar Sin, or his own Iniquity, as David speaks in Psal. 18. ver. 23. Now the main power of grace and of uprightness is mainly seen and exercised in a man's keeping of himself from his Iniquity. Now that specal, that peculiar Sin, to which a gracious soul may be most p●one and addicted to, may arise, 1. From the temperament and constitution of his body; the complexion and constitution of a man's body may be a more prepared instrument for one vice rather than another: or 2. It may arise from his particular Calling; Christians have distinct and particular Callings that incline them to particular Sins. For instance, the Soldiers Calling puts him upon Rapine and Violence, Luk. 3. 14. Do Violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages. And the Tradesman's Calling, puts him upon Lying, Deceiving, Defrauding, and overreaching his Brother. And the Ministers Calling puts him upon Flattering of the Gallants and great ones of his Parish, and upon pleasing the rest, by speaking of smooth things, Isa. 30. 10. and by sowing of Pillows under their Elbows, Ez●k. 13. 18, 20. And the Magistrates, Judges, and Justices Employments lays them open to Oppression, Bribery, Injustice, etc. If Christians are not very much upon their watch, their very Callings and Offices may prove a very great snare to their souls: Or 3dly, It may arise from his outward state & condition in this world, whether his state be a state of Prosperity, or a state of Adversity; or whether he be in a Marriage state, or in a single state. Many times a man's outward state and condition in this world, hath a strong influence upon him, to incline him to this▪ or that particular sin, as best suiting with his condition: or 4thly, It may arise from distinct and peculiar Ages; for it is certain, that distinct and peculiar Ages do strongly incline persons to distinct and peculiar Sins; Youth inclines to Wantonness and Prodigality; and Manhood, to Pride, and Ambition; and Old Age, to Covetousness and Frowardness. Common experience tells us, that many times Wantonness is the Sinners darling in the time of his youth, and Worldliness his darling in the time of his age; and without controversy, Christians distinct and peculiar Ages may more strongly incline them to this or that Sin, rather than any other: or 5thly, It may arise from that distinct and particular way of Breeding and Education which he has had. Now to arm such Christians against their special Sins, their peculiar sins (whose Sins are advantaged against them, either by their constitutions and complexion, or else by their particular Calling, or else by their outward state and condition, or else by their distinct and peculiar ages, or else by their particular way of Breeding and Education) is my present work and business; for though the reigning power of this, or that special peculiar Sin be broken in a man's Conversion, yet the remaining life and strength that is still left in those corruptions, will by Satan be improved against the growth, peace, comfort, and assurance of the soul: Satan will strive to enter in at the same door, and by the same Dalilah, by which he hath betrayed and wounded the soul, he will do all he can to do the soul a further mischief; Satan will be still a reminding of the soul of those former sweets, pleasures, profits, delights, and contents that have come in upon the old score; so that it will be a hard thing, even for a Godly man to keep himself from his Iniquity, from his special or peculiar Sin, which the Fathers commonly call, (though not truly) peccatum in delitiis, a man's special darlin and beloved Sin. Well Christians, remember this once for all, viz. That sound Conversion includes a noble and serious revenge upon that Sin which was once a man's beloved, bosom, darling Sin, 2 Cor. 7. 11. Yea, what clearing of yourselves; yea, what Indignation; yea, what fear; yea, what uchement desire; yea, what zeal; yea, what revenge. You see this in Cranmer, who when he had subscribed with his right hand, to that which was against his Conscience, he afterwards, as a holy revenge, put that right hand into the flames; so Mary Magdalen takes that hair of hers. Of all Sins; (saith the sound Convert) I am resolved to be avenged on my once beloved, bosom, darling Sins, by which I have most dishonoured God, and wronged my own precious and immortal soul, and by which I have most endangered my everlasting Estate.  
Having thus cleared up my way, I shall now endeavour to lay before you some special remedies, means, or helps against cherishing or keeping up of any special or peculiar Sin, either in heart, or life, against the Lord, or against the light and conviction of a man's own Conscience.  
First: Cherrishing or keeping up of any special or peculiar Sin, either in heart or life against the Lord, or against the light and conviction of a man's own Conscience will hinder assurance these several ways:  
First, It will abate the degrees of our Graces, and so make them more undiscernible. Now grace rather in its degrees, than in its sincerity, or simple being only, is that which gives the clearest evidence of a gracious estate, or of a man's interest in Christ. Sin, lived in, is like a Vermin to the Tree, which destroys the fruit; Grace cannot thrive in a sinful heart: In some soil, Plants will not grow: The cherrishing of Sin, is the withering of Grace: The casting of a favourable eye on any one special Sin, hinders the growth of Grace: If a man has a choice Plant or Flower in his Garden, and it withers and shrevils, and is dying, he opens the ground, and looks at the root, and there finds a Worm gnawing the root; and this is the cause of the Flowers fading: the Application is easy.  
Secondly: The cherrishing of any special peculiar Sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, and against the light of a man's own Conscience, will hinder the lively actings and exercise of grace, it will keep Grace at an under, so that it will hardly be seen to stir or act; yea, it will keep Grace so down, that it will hardly be heard to speak. When a special, or peculiar Sin is entertained, it will exceedingly mar the vigorous exercises of those graces which are the evidences of a lively Faith, and of a gracious state, and of a man's Interest in Christ: Grace is never apparent and sensible to the soul, but while it is in action; therefore want of action must needs cause want of assurance. Habits are not felt immediately, but by the freeness and facility of their acts, of the very being of the soul itself, nothing is felt or perceived, but only its acts. The fire that ly●th still in the flint, is neither seen nor felt; but when you smite it, and force it into act, it is easily discernible. For the most part, so long as a Christian hath his graces in lively action, so long he is assured of them: He that would be assured that this sacred fire of grace is in his heart, he must blow it up, and get it into a flame. But  
Thirdly: The cherrishing of any special Sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression (in heart or life) against the Lord, and against the light of a man's own Conscience, so blears, dims, and darkens the eye of the soul, that it cannot see its own condition, nor have any clear knowledge of its gracious state, or of its interest in Christ, etc. Sometimes men in riding, raise such a dust, that they can neither see themselves, nor their dearest Friends, so as to distinguish one from another; the Application is easy. The Room sometimes is so full of smoke, that a man cannot see the Jewels, the Treasures that lies before him; so 'tis here. But  
Fourthly: Cherrishing of any special or peculiar Sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, or against the light of a man's own Conscience, provokes the Lord to withdraw himself, his comforts, and the gracious presence and assistance of his blessed Spirit; without which presence and assistance the soul may search and seek long enough for assurance, comfort, and a sight of a man's interest in Christ, before it will enjoy the one, or see the other. If by keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, you set the holy Spirit a mourning, which alone can comfort you, and assure you of your interest in Christ, You may walk long enough without comfort and assurance, Lam. 1. 16. The Comforter that should relieve my Soul, is far from me; so in that 1 John 3. 21. It is supposed, that a self-condemning heart, makes void a man's Confidence before God. The precious Jewel of Faith can be holden in no other place, but in a pure Conscience, that is the only Royal Palace, wherein it must and will dwell, 1 Tim. 1. 19 Holding Faith and a good Conscience, Heb. 10. 22. Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of Faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience. He that comes to God with a true, honest, upright heart, being sprinkled from an evil Conscience, may draw near to God in full assurance of Faith; whereas guilt, clouds, clogs, and distracts the soul, that it can never be with God, either as it would, or as it should; Conscientia pura, semper secura, A good Conscience hath sure confidence. Conscience is mille testes, a thousand Witnesses for, or against a man. Conscience is God's Preacher in the bosom. 'Tis better with Euagrius to lie secure on a bed of Straw, than to have a turbulent Conscience on a bed of Down. It was a Divine saying of (Seneca) a Heathen, viz. That if there were no God to punish him, no Devil to torment him, no Hell to burn him, no man to see him; yet would he not sin, for the ugliness of sin, and the grief of his own Conscience. But  
Fifthly: Cherrishing of any special or peculiar sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression (in heart or life) against the Lord, and against the light of a man's own Conscience, will greatly hinder his high esteem and reputation of Jesus Christ, and so it will keep him from comfort, assurance, and sight of his interest in him; so that sometimes his dearest Children are constrained to cry out, God is departed from me, and he answereth me not, neither by Dream, nor Vision, neither this way, nor that, 1 Sam. 28. 15. But  
Sixthly: The greatest and most common cause of the want of assurance, comfort and peace, is some unmortified Lust, some secret, special, peculiar sin, unto which men give entertainment, or at least, which they do not so vigorously oppose, and hearty renounce as they should and might, hinc illae lachrymae, and this is that which casts them on sore straits and difficulties; and how should it be otherwise, seeing God, who is infinitely wise, holy, and righteous, either cannot, or will not reveal the secrets of his love to those who harbour his known Enemies in their bosoms? the great God either cannot, or will not regard the whinings and complain of those who play or dally with that very sin which gauls their Consciences, and connive and wink at the stir and workings of that very Lust, for which he hides his face from them, and writes bitter things against them. Mark, all fears, and doubts, and scruples, are begotten upon sin, either real, or imaginary: Now if the sin be but imaginary, an enlightened rectified judgement, may easily and quickly scatter such fears, doubts, and scruples as the Sun doth mists, and clouds, when it shines in its brightness; but if the Sin be real, then there is no possibility of curing those fears, doubts, and scruples arising from thence, but by an unfeigned Repentance, and returning from that sin. Now if I should produce all the Scriptures and instances that stand ready pressed to prove this, I must transcribe a good part of the Bible; but this would be labour in vain, seeing it seemeth to have been a notion, engraven even on natural Conscience, viz. That sin so defiles persons, that till they be washed from it, neither they, nor their services can be accepted; from whence arose that custom of setting water-pots at their entrance into their Temples, or places of worship. Let him that wants assurance, comfort, peace, and a sight of his interest in Christ, cast out every known sin, and set upon a universal course of Reformation; for God will not give his Cordials to those that have a foul Stomach; those, that against light, and checks of Conscience, dally and tamper with this sin, or that, those God will have no commerce, no communion with; on such, God will not lift up the light of his countenance, Rev. 2. 17. To him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and in that stone, a new name written. These are all Metaphorical expressions, which being put together, do amount to as much as Assurance; but mark, these are promised. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to him that overcometh, to him that rides on conquering, and to conquer. O that Christians would seriously remember this The dearer it cost any one to part with his sins, the more sweet and comfortable will it be to call to mind the Victory, that through the spirit of grace he has got over his sins. There is no comfort, joy, or peace to that which arises from the conquests of sin, especially of special sins. When Goliath was slain, what joy and triumph was there in the Camp? So here,  
Seventhly: Cherrishing of any special or peculiar sin, or the keeping up of any known transgression (either in heart or life) against the Lord, and against the light of a man's own Conscience, will hinder the soul from that warm, lively, fervent, frequent, seasonable, sincere, and constant way of duty, as contributes most to the increase of grace, peace, comfort, and assurance, etc.  
Eighthly: Seriously consider of the several assertions and concurrent judgements of our best and most famous Divines in the present case: I shall give you a taste of some of their Say.  
First: A man (saith one) can have no peace in his Conscience, that favoureth and retaineth any one sin in himself against his Conscience.  
Secondly: Another saith, A man is in a damnable state, whatsoever good deeds seem to be in him, if he yield not to the work of the Holy Ghost, for the leaving but of any one known sin which fighteth against peace of Conscience. But  
Thirdly: So long (saith another) as the power of mortification destroyeth thy sinful affections; and so long as thou art unfeignedly displeased with all sin; and dost mortify the deeds of the body by the Spirit, thy case is the case of Salvation. But  
Fourthly: Another saith, A good Conscience stands not with a purpose of sinning, no not with irresolution against sin; this must be understood of habitual purposes, and of a constant irresolution against sin.  
Fifthly: The rich and precious box of a good Conscience (saith another) is polluted and made impure, if but one dead fly be suffered in it. One sin being quietly permitted, and suffered to live in the soul, without being disturbed, resisted, resolved against, or lamented over, will certainly mar the peace of a good Conscience.  
Sixthly: Where there is but any one sin (saith another) nourished and fostered, all other our graces are not only blemished, but abolished, they are no graces; Dike, of the deceiptfulness of the heat, chap. 16.  
Seventhly: Most true is that saying of Aquinus, That all sins are coupled together, though not in regard of conversion to temporal good, for some look to the good of gain, some of glory, some of pleasure; yet in regard of aversion from eternal good, that is God: So that he that looks but towards one sin, is as much averted and turned back from God, as if he looked to all; in which respect St. James says, He that offendeth in one, is guilty of all, 2 Jam. 10. Now that ye may not mistake Aquinas, nor the Scripture he citys, you must remember that the whole Law is but one copulative, Exod. 16. 18. Ezek. 18. 10, 11, 12, 13. v Mark, he that breaketh one Command, habitually breaketh all; not so actually. Such as are truly Go●ly, in respect of the habitual desires, purposes, bents, byasses, inclinations, resolutions, and endeavours of their Souls, do keep those very commands that actually they daily break. But a dispensatory Conscience keeps not any one Commandment of God; he that willingly and wilfully, and habitually gives himself liberty to break any one Commandment, is guilty of all: That is 1. Either he breaks the chain of duties, and so breaks all the Law, being copulative; or, 2. With the same disposition of heart, that he willingly, wilfully, habitually breaks one, with the same disposition of heart he is ready pressed to break all. The Apostles meaning in that, Jam. 2. 10. is certainly this, viz. That suppose a man should keep the whole Law for substance, except in some one particular; yet by allowing of himself in this particular, thereby he manifests that he kept no precept of the Law in obedience and conscience unto God; for if he did, than he would be careful to keep every precept: thus much the words following import, and hereby he manifests that he is guilty of all. Some others conceive, that therefore such a one may be said to be guilty of all, because by allowing of himself in any one sin, thereby he lies under that Curse which is threatened against the transgressors of the Law, Dan. 27. 26.  
Eighthly: Every Christian should carry in his heart (saith another) a constant and resolute purpose not to sin in any thing; for Faith and the purpose of sinning can never stand together: This must be understood of an habitual, not actual; of a constant, not transient purpose: But  
Ninethly: One flaw in a Diamond (saith another) takes away the lustre and the price. One puddle, if we wallow in it, will defile us. One man, in Law, may keep Possession. One piece of ward Land, makes the Heir liable to the King. So one sin lived in, and allowed, may make a man miserable for ever: But  
Tenthly: One turn may bring a man quite out of the way. One act of Treason makes a Traitor. Giddcon had seventy Sons, but one Bastard, and yet that one Bastard destroyed all the rest, Judg. 8. 13. One sin (as well as one Sinner) lived in, and allowed, may destroy much good saith another.  
Eleaventhly: He that favoureth one sin, though he forgo many, does but as Ben adab recover of one disease, and die of another; yea, he doth but take pains to go to Hell, saith another.  
Twelfthly: Satan, by one Lie to our first Parents, made fruitless what God himself had Preached to them immediately before, saith another.  
Thirteenthly: A man may by one short act of sin▪ bring a long Curse upon himself and his Posterity; as Ham did when he saw his Father Noah Drunk, Gen. 9 24, 25. And Noah awoke from his Wine, and knew what his younger Son had done unto him, and he said, Cursed is Canaan, a Servant of Servants shall he be unto his Brethren. Canaan was Hams Son: Noah (as God's mouth) Prophesied a Curse upon the Son for his Father's sin. Here Ham is cursed in his Son Canaan, and the curse entailed not only to Canaan, but to his Posterity. Noah Prophecies a long series and chain of curses upon Canaan and his Children; he makes the cur●e Hereditary to the Name and Nation of the Canaanites: A Servant of Servants shall he be unto his Brethren, that is, the vilest and basest Servant; for the Hebrews express the superlative degree by such a duplication (as Vanity of Vanities) that is most vain; (a Song of Songs,) that is a most excellent Song So here, a Servant of Servants; that is, the vilest, the basest Servant: Ah heavy and prodigious Curse, upon the account of one sin. But  
Fourteen: Satan can be content that men should yield to God in many things, provided that they will be but true to him in some one thing; for he knows very well, that as one dram of Poison may poison a man; and one stab at the heart may kill a man; so one sin unrepented of, one sin allowed, retained, cherrished, and practised, will certainly damn a man. But  
Fifteenthly: Though all the parts of a man's body be sound, save only one; that one Diseased and Ulcerous part may be deadly to thee; for all the sound members cannot preserve thy life, but that one diseased and Ulcerous member will hasten thy death: So one sin allowed, indulged, and lived in, will prove killing and damning to thee.  
Sixteenthly: Observe (saith another) that an unmortified sin, allowed, and wilfully retained, will eat out all appearance of Virtue and Piety. Herod's high esteem of John and his Ministry, and his reverencing of him, and observing of him, and his forward performance of many good things, are all given over and laid aside at the instance and command of his master-sin, his reigningsin. John's head must go for it, if he won't let Herod enjoy his Herodias quietly. But  
Seventeenthly: Some will leave all their sins but one; Jacob would let all his Sons go but Benjamin: Satan can hold a man fast enough by one sin that he allows and lives in; as the Fowler can hold the Bird fast enough by one wing, or by one claw.  
Eighteenthly: Holy Policarp, in the time of the fourth Persecution, when he was commanded but to swear one Oath, he made this Answer; Four-score and six years have I endeavoured to do God Service, and all this while he never hurt me; how then can I speak evil of so good a Lord and Master who hath thus long preserved me: I am a Christian, and cannot swear; let Heathens and Infidels swear if they will, I cannot do it, were it to the saving of my life  
Nineteenthly: A willing, and a wilful keeping up, either in heart or life, any known transgression against the Lord, is a breach of the holy Law of God; it is a fight against the honour an glory of God, and is a reproach to the Eye of God, the Omnipresence of God.  
Twentiethly: The keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, may endanger the souls of others, and may be found a fight against all the cries, prayers, tears, promises, Vows, and Covenants that thou hast made to God, when thou hast been upon a sick bed, or in eminent dangers, or near death; or else when thou hast been in solemn seeking of the Lord, either alone, or with others; these things should be frequently and seriously thought of by such poor souls as are entangled by any Lust.  
Twenty-one: The keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, either in heart or life, is a high tempting of Satan to tempt the soul; it will also greatly unfit the soul for all sorts of duties and services that he either owes to God, to himself, or others; it will also put a sting into all a man's troubles, afflictions, and distresses; it will also lay a foundation for despair, and it will make Death, which is the King of terrors, and the terror of Kings, to be very terrible to the soul.  
Twentytwo: The keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, either in heart or life, will fight against all those patterns and examples in holy Writ, that in duty and honour we are bound to imitate and follow. Pray where do you find in any of the blessed Scriptures, that any of the Patriarches, Prophets, Apostles, or Saints, are ever charged with a willing, or a wilful keeping up either in their hearts, or lives, any known transgression against the Lord.  
Twenty-three: The keeping up of any known transgression against the Lord, will highly make against all clear, sweet, and standing communion with God. Parents use not to smile, nor be familiar with their Children, nor to keep up any intimate communion with them, in their neglects and disobedience; 'tis so here.  
: The keeping up, either in heart or life, of any known transgression against the Lord, will fight against the standing joy, peace, comfort, and assurance of the soul. Joy in the Holy-Ghost, will make its nest no where, but in a holy soul; so far as the Spirit is grieved, he will suspend his consolations, Lam. 1. 16. A man will have no more comfort from God, than he makes Conscience of sinning against God. A Conscience good in point of Integrity, will be good also in point of Tranquillity If our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God (and I may say also towards men, Act. 24. 16) Oh what comfort and solace hath a clear Conscience, he hath something within to answer accusations without. I shall conclude this particular with a notable saying of one of the Ancients. The joys of a good Conscience are the Paradise of Souls, the delight of Angels, the Garden of delights, the Field of blessing, the Temple of Solomon, the Court of God, the habitation of the Spirit: Bernard.  
Twentyfive: The keeping up of any known transgression, either in heart or life against the Lord, is a high contempt of the All seeing Eye of God, of the Omnipresence of God. It is well known what Ahashuerus, that great Monarch said concerning Haman, when coming in, he found him cast upon the Queen's bed, on which she sat; What (saith he) will he force the Queen before me, in the house, Esth. 7. 8. There was the kill Emphasis in the words, before me; Will he force the Queen before me? What, will he dare to commit such a Villainy, and I stand and look on? O Sirs! to do wickedly in the sight of God, is a thing that he looks upon as the greatest affront and indignity that can possibly be done unto him. What (saith he) wilt thou be Drunk before me, and Swear, and Blaspheam before me, and be wanton and unclean before me, and break my Laws before my Eyes. This then is the kill aggravation of all sin, that it is done before the Face of God, in the presence of God, whereas the very consideration of God's Omnipresence, that he stands and looks on, should be as a B●r, a Remora, to stop the proceed of all wicked intendments, a dissuasive rather from sin, than the least encouragement thereunto. 'Twas an excellent saying of Ambrose; If thou canst not hid thyself from the Sun, which is God's Minister of light, how impossible will it be to hid thyself f●om him whose Eyes are ten thousand times brighter than the Sun, Ambrose. offic. l. 1. c. 14. God's Eye is the best Marshal to keep the Soul in a comely order. Let thine Eye be ever on him, whose Eye is ever on thee. The Eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good, Prov. 15. 9 There is no drawing of a Curtain between God and thee. God is totus Oculus, all Eye; He seethe all things, in all places, and at all times. When thou art in secret, consider Conscience is present, which is more than a thousand Witnesses; and God is present, which is more than a thousand Consciences. It was a pretty fancy of one that would have his Chamber painted full of eyes, that which way soever he looked, he might still have some eyes upon him; and he fancying himself according to the Moralists advice, always under the eye of a Keeper, might be the more careful of his carriage. O! Sirs, if the eyes of men, makes even the vilest to forbear their beloved lusts for a while; that the Adulterer watcheth for the twilight; and they that are Drunken, are Drunken in the Night. How powerful will the Eye and Presence of God be with those that fear His Anger, and know the sweetness of his Favour? The thought of this Omnipresence of God will affrighten thee from sin. Gehezi durst not ask, or receive any part of Nahamans Presents in his Master's presence, but when he had got out of Elisha's sight, than he tells his Lie, and gives way to his Lusts. Men never sin more freely, then when they presume upon secrecy; They break in pieces thy people O Lord, and afflict thy Heritage. They slay the Widow and Stranger, and murder the Fatherless, yet they say, The Lord doth not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it, Psal. 94. 5, 6, 7. They, who abounded in abominations, said, The Lord seethe us not, the Lord hath forsaken the Earth, Ezek. 8, 9, 12. The wise man dissuadeth from wickedness upon the consideration of God's Eye and Omniscience. And why wilt thou my Son be ravished with a strange Woman, and embrace the bosom of a Stranger; for the ways of man are before the Eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his go, Proverbs 5. 20, 21. Joseph saw God in the Room, and therefore durst not yield; but his Mistress saw none but Joseph, and so was impudently alluring and tempting him to folly. I have read of two Religious men that took contrary courses with two lewd Women, whom they were desirous to reclaim from their Vicious course of life: One of the Men, told one of the Women, that he was desirous to enjoy her Company, so it might be with secrecy; and when she had brought him into a close room, that none could pry into, he told her, All the bars and bolts here cannot keep God out. The other desired the other Women to company with him, openly in the streets, which when she rejected as a mad request; he told her, It was better to do it in the eyes of a multitude, than in the eyes of God. O why shall not the presence of that God, who hates sin, and who is resolved to punish it with Hell-flames, make us ashamed or afraid to sin, and dare him to his face.  
Twenty-six: There have been many a Prodigal, who by one cast of the Dice, have lost a fair Inheritance. A man may be killed with one stab of a Penknife; and one hole in a Ship may sink it: and one Thief may rob a man of all he has in the world. A man may escape many gross sins, and yet by living in the allowance of some one sin, be deprived of the glory of Heaven for ever. Moses came within the sight of Canaan, but for one sin, not sanctifying God's Name, he was shut out; and no less will it be to any man, that for living in any one sin, shall be for ever shut out of the Kingdom of Heaven; not but that there may be some remainders of sin, and yet the heart taken off from every sin: but if there be any secret closing with any one way of sin, all the profession of Godliness, and leaving all other sins, will be to no purpose, nor ever bring a man to happiness.  
Twenty-seaven: As the Philosopher saith, a Cup, or some such thing that hath a hole in it, is no Cup, it will hold nothing, and therefore cannot perform the use of a cup, though it have but one hole in it. So if the heart have but one hole in it, if it retain the Devil but in one thing, if it make choice but of any one sin, to lie and wallow in, and tumble in, it doth evacuate all the other good by the entertainment of that one sin; the whole box of Ointment will be spoilt by the dropping of that one Fly into it. By the Laws of our Kingdom, a man can never have a true Possession, till he have voided all. And in the state of grace, no man can have a full interest in Christ, till all sin, that is, all reigning, domineering sin be rooted out.  
Thus you see the concurrant judgements of our most famous Divines, against men's allowing, indulging, or retaining any one known sin against their light and Consciences; but that these Say of theirs may lay in more weight and power upon every poor soul that is entangled with any base Lusts; be pleased seriously and frequently to consider of these following particulars.  
First: 'Tis to no purpose for a man to turn from some sins, if he does not turn from all his sins, Jam. 1. 26. If any man seem to be Religious, and bridle not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's Religion is in vain. This at first sight may seem to be a hard saying, that for one fault, for one fault in the tongue, all a man's Religion should be counted vain; and yet this you see the Holy-Ghost does peremptorily conclude. Let a man make never so glorious a profession of Religion, yet if he gives himself liberty to live in the practice of any known sin, yea, though it be but in a sin of the tongue, his Religion is in vain, and that one sin will separate him from God for ever. If a Wife be never so officious to her Husband in many things, yet if she entertains any other Lover into his Bed besides himself, it will for ever alienate his affections from her, and make an everlasting separation between them: The Application is easy, to turn from one sin to another, is but to be tossed from one hand of the Devil to another; it is but with Benhadad, to recover of one disease, and die of another; It is but to take pains to go to Hell. If a Ship spring three leaks, and only two be stopped, the third will sink the Ship; or if a man have two grievous wounds in his body, and takes order only to cure one, that which is neglected will certainly kill him. 'Tis so here. Herod, Judas, and Saul, with the Scribes and Pharisees, have for many hundred years experienced this truth. But  
Secondly: Partial obedience, is indeed no obedience, it is only universal obedience, that is true obedience, Exod. 24. 7. All that the Lord hath said, will we do, and be obedient. They only are indeed obedient, who have a care to do all that is commanded: For to obey, is to do that which is commanded, because it is commanded; though the thing done be commanded, yet if it be not therefore done, because it is commanded, it is no obedience. Now if this be the nature of obedience, then where obedience is indeed, it is not partial but universal; for he that doth any one thing that is commanded, because it is commanded, he will be careful to do every thing that is commanded, there being the same reason for all. They that are only for a partial obedience, they do break a sunder the bond and reason of all obedience; for all obedience is to be founded upon the Authority and will of God, because ●od (who hath Authority over all his Creatures) doth will and command us to obey his voice, to walk in his Statutes; for this very reason do we stand bound to obey him; and if we do obey him upon this reason, then must we walk in all his Statutes, for so hath he commanded us; and if we will not come up to this, but will walk in what Statutes of his we please, then do we renounce his Will, as the obliging reason of our obedience, and do set up our own liking and pleasure as the reason thereof. God has so connexed the duties of his Law one to another, that if there be not a conscientious care to walk according to all that the Law requires, a man becomes a transgressor of the whole Law, according to that of Saint James, chap. 2. 10. whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all, the bond of all is broken, the Authority of all is slighted, and that evil disposition, that sinful frame of heart, that works a man to venture upon the breach of one command, would make him venture upon the breach of any command, were it not for some infirmity of nature, or because his purse will not hold out to maintain it, or for shame, or loss, or because of the eyes of Friends, or the sword of the Magistrate, or for some other sinister respects. He that gives himself liberty to live in the breach of any one command of God, is qualified with a disposition of heart to break them all. Every single sin contains virtually all sin in it. He that allows himself a liberty to live in the breach of any one particular Law of God, he casts contempt and scorn upon the Authority that made the whole Law, and upon this account breaks it all. And the Apostle gives the reason of it in c●●r. 11. For he that said, Do not commit Adultery, said also, Do not k●ll: Now if thou commit no Adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the Law, not that he is guilty of all distributively, but collectively; for the Law is copulative, there is a chain of duties, and these are all so likened one to another, that you cannot break one link of the chain, but you break the whole chain. No man can live in the breach of any of any known command of God, but he wrongs every command of God, he hath no real regard to any of the Commandments of God, that hath not a regard to all the Commandments of God. There is one and the same Lawgiver in respect of all the Commandments, he that gave one command, gave also another; therefore he that observes one Commandment in obedience unto God, whose Commandment it is, he will observe all, because all are his Commandments; and he that slights one Commandment, is guilty of all, because he doth contemn the Authority of him that gave them all. Even in those Commandments which he doth observe, he hath no respect to the Will and Authority of him that gave them; therefore as Calvin doth well observe upon Jam. 2. 10, 11. That there is no Obedience towards God, where there is not an uniform endeavour to please God, as well in one thing as in another.  
Thirdly: Partial obedience tends to plain Atheism; for by the same reason that you slight the Will of God in any Commandment, by the same reason you may despise his Will in every Commandment; for every Commandment of God is his Will, and it is holy, spiritual, just, and good, Rom. 7. 12, 14. and contrary to our sinful Lusts; and if this be the reason why such and such Commandments of God wont down with you, then by the same reason none of them must be of Authority with you.  
Fourthly: God requires universal Obedience, Deut. 5. 33. etc. chap. 10. 12. and chap. 11. 21, 22, ver. etc. Jer. 7. 23. Walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you, Math. 28. 20. Teaching them to observe all things that I have Commanded you etc.  
Fifthly: Partial Obedience is an audacious charge against God himself, as to his Wisdom, or Power, or Goodness; for those Statutes of God which you will not come up unto, either they are as Righteous as the rest, and as Holy as the rest, and as Spiritual as the rest, and as Good as the rest, or they are not: If they be as holy, spiritual, just, righteous, and good as the rest, why should you not walk in them, as well as in the rest? To say they are not as holy, spiritual, righteous, etc. as the rest, O what a Blasphemous charge is this against God himself, in prescribing unto him any thing that is not righteous and good, etc. and likewise in making his will, (which is the rule of all righteousness and goodness) to be partly righteous, and partly unrighteous; to be partly good, and partly bad.  
Sixthly: God delights in universal Obedience, and in those that perform it, Deut. 5. 29. O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my Commandments always; upon this account Abraham is called the friend of God in Scripture, three times, Isa. 41. 8. 2 Chron. 20. 7. James 2. 3. and upon the very same account, God called David, A man after his own heart, Act. 13. 22. I have found David the Son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my Will. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. All my wills, to note the universality and sincerity of his Obedience.  
Seventhly: There is not any one Statute of God, but it is good, and for our good, ergo, we should walk in all his Statutes, Deut. 5. 25. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you; that you may live, and that it may be well with you; what one path hath, the Lord commanded us to walk in, but as it concerns his own glory, so likewise it concerns our good?  
Is it not good for us to love the Lord, and to set him up as the object of our fear, and to act faith on him, and to worship him in spirit and in truth, and to be tender of his glory, and to sanctify his day, and to keep off from sin, and to keep close to his ways. But  
Eighthly: Universal Obedience, is the condition, upon which the promise of mercy and salvation runs, Ezek. 18. 21. If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all his Statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die:  
Ninethly: Our hearts must be perfect with the Lord our God, Deut. 18. 13. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God, and Gen. 17. 1. Walk before me, and be thou perfect. Now how can our hearts be said to be perfect with God, if we do prevaricate with him; if in some things we obey him, and in other things we will not obey him; if we walk in some of his Statutes, but will not walk in all his Statutes; if in some part we will be his Servants, and in other part of our lives, we will be the Servants of sin. But  
Tenthly: If the heart be found, and upright, it will yield entire and universal Obedience, Psal. 119. 80. Let my heart be sound in thy Statutes, that I may not be a shamed, and v. 6. Then shall I not be ashamed when I have respect to all thy Commandments; by these verses compared together, it appears, that then the heart is sound and sincere, when a man has respect unto all God's Commandments: without a universal Obedience, a man can never have that hope which maketh not ashamed. But  
Eleventhly: Either we must endeavour to walk in all the Statutes of God, or else we must find some dispensation or toleration from God to free us, and excuse us, and hold us indemnified, though we do not walk in all of them. Now what one Commandment is there from Obedience, whereunto God excuseth any man? or will not punish him for the neglect of obedience unto it: The Apostle saith, That whosoever shall keep the whole Law, ●nd yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all, Jam. 2. 10. If he prevaricates with God, as to any one particular Commandment of his, his heart is naught, he is guilty of all, he hath really no regard of any of the rest of God's Laws. But  
12thly: The precious Saints and Servants of God, whose examples are recorded, and set forth for our imitation; they have been very careful to perform universal Obedience; will you see it in Abraham, who was ready to comply with God in all his Royal Commands. When God commanded him to leave his Country, and his Father's House, he did it, Gen. 12. When God Commanded him to be Circumcised, though it were both shameful and painful, he submitted unto it, Gen. 17. When God commanded him to send away his Son Ishmael, though when Sarah speak to him about it, the things seemed very grievious unto him, yet as soon as he saw it to be the Will of God, he was Obedient unto it, Gen. 21. When God commanded him to Sacrifice his Son Isaac, his only Son, the Son of his Old age, the Son of the Promise, the Son of his ●elight; yea, that Son from whom was to proceed, that Jesus in whom all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed; and though all this might seem to cross both Nature and Grace, both Reason and Religion, yet Abraham was willing to obey God in this also, and to do what he commanded, Gen. 22. so David was a man after Gods own heart, which fulfilled all his Wills, as the original runs in Acts 13. 22. And it is said of Zacharias, and Elizabeth, that they walked in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord, etc. Luk. 1. 6. 1 Thes. 2. 10. Ye are Witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblamably we behaved ourselves among you that believe.  
13thly: Universal Obedience speaks out the strength of our love to Christ, and the reality of our friendship with Christ, Joh. 15. 14. Ye are my Friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. That Child shows most love to his Father, that observes all his precepts; and that Servant shows most love to his Master, that observes all his Master's commands, and that Wife shows most love to her Husband, that observes all he requires in the Lord: So here, etc.  
14thly. Universal Obedience will give most peace, rest, quiet, and comfort to the Conscience. Such a Christian will be as an eye that hath no Mote to trouble it; as a Kingdom that hath no Rebel to annoy it; as a Ship that hath no leak to disturb it, Psal. 119. 165. Great peace have they which love thy Law, and nothing shall offend them. But  
15thly: Man's holiness must be conformable to God's Holiness, Ephe. 5. 1, 2. Be ye followers of God as dear Children, Math. 5. 48. Be ye perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Now God is Righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works, and so ought all to desire and endeavour to be, that would be saved, 1 Pet. 1. 15. As he who hath called you is Holy, so be ye also holy in all manner of Conversation. v. 16. because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. But  
16thly. The holiness of a Christian must be conformable to the holiness of Christ. Be ye followers of me, as I am of Christ, 1 Cor. 11. 1. Now Christ was holy in all things. It behoveth us (said he) to fulfil all Righteousness. And this should be the care of every one that professeth himself to be Christ's, to endeavour to be holy as Christ was holy, 1 John 2. 6. He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself to walk even as he walked. But  
17thly. Servants must obey their earthly Masters, not in some things only, but in all things, to wit, that are just and lawful, Tit. 2. 9 Exhort Servants to be obedient to their own Masters, and to please them well in all things. What Master will be content that his Servant should choose how far forth he will observe and do those things which he doth require of him? much less may we think that such arbitrary and partial performances will please that God who is our Heavenly Master.  
18thly: The promises of mercy, both spiritual and temporal, are made over to universal obedience, 1 King. 6. 12, 13. Deut. 28. 1, 2, 3, Ezek. 18. 21, 22, 27, 28. turn to all these promises and dilate on them, etc.  
19thly. One sin never goes alone, as you may see in the falls of Adam and Eve, Lot, Abraham, Noah, Jacob, Joseph, Job, David, Solomon, Peter, Ahab, Judas, Jeroboam; one sin will make way for more; as one little Thief can open the door to let in many great ones: Satan will be sure to nest himself, to lodge himself in the least sins, (as Birds nest & lodge themselves in the smallest branches of the Tree) and there he will do all he can to hatch all manner of wickedness. A little wedge makes way for a greater; & so do little sins make way for greater.  
20. The reasons of turning from sin, are universally binding to a gracious soul. There are the same reasons and grounds for a penitent man's turning from every sin, as there is for his turning from any one sin; do you turn from this or that sin, because the Lord hath forbid it? why, upon the same ground you must turn from every sin; for God has forbid every sin as well as this or that particular sin; there is the same Authority forbidding or commanding in all; and if the Authority of God awes a man from one sin, it will awe him from all, etc. But  
21stly One sin allowed, and lived in, will keep Christ and the Soul asunder. As one Rebel, one Traitor, hid and kept in the House, will keep a Prince and his Subject asunder; or as one stone in the Pipe, will keep the water and the Cistern asunder. So here. But  
22dly. One sin allowed, and lived in, will unfit a person for suffering; as one cut, or one shot in the shoulder, may hinder a man from bearing a burden; will he ever lay down his life for Christ that can't, that won't lay down a Lust for Christ. But  
23dly. One sin allowed and lived in, is sufficient to deprive a man for ever of the greatest good. One sin allowed, and wallowed in, will as certainly deprive a man of the blessed Vision of God, and of all the treasures, pleasures, and delights that be at God's right hand, as a thousand. One sin stripped the fallen Angels of all their glory; and one sin stripped our first Parents of all their dignity and excellency, Gen. 3. 4, 5. One fly in the box of prccious Ointment, spoils the whole box: One Thief may Rob a man of all his treasure; one Disease may deprive a man of all his health; and one drop of Poison will spoil the whole glass of Wine: and so one Sin allowed, and lived in, will make a man miserable for ever. One Mill stone will sink a man to the bottom of the Sea, as well as a hundred: 'tis so here. But  
24thly. One Sin allowed, and lived in, will eat out all peace of Conscience; as one string that jars, Will spoil the sweetest Music; so one sin countenanced and lived in, will spoil the music of Conscience. One Pirate may Rob a man of all he has in this world. But  
25thly. and lastly: The Sinner would have God to forgive him, not only some of his sins, but all his sins; and therefore 'tis but just and equal that he should turn from all his sins. If God be so faithful and just to forgive us all our sins, we must be so faithful and just as to turn from all our sins. The Plaster must be as broad as the Sore, and the Tent as long, and as deep as the Wound. It argues horrid Hypocrisy, damnable folly, and wonderful impudence, for a man to beg the pardon of those very sins that he is resolved never to forsake, etc.  
Object. But it is impossible for any man on Earth to walk in all God's Statutes, to obey all his Commands, to do his will in all things, to walk according to the full breadth of God's Royal Law. Sol. I Answer, there is a twofold walking in all the Statutes of God; there is a twofold Obedience to all the Royal Commands of God.  
First: One is legal, when all is done that God requireth; and all is done as God requireth, when there is not one path of duty, but we do walk in it perfectly and continually: thus no man on Earth doth, or can walk in all God's Statutes, or fully do what he Commandeth; For in many things we offend all, Jam. 3. 2. So Eccles. 7. 20. There is not a just man upon the Earth, that doth good, and sinneth not, 1 King. 8. 46. For there is no man that sinneth not, Prov. 20. 9 Who can say I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin, Job. 14. 4. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean, not one, 1 Joh. 1. 8. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  
Secondly: Another is Evangelical, which is such a walking in all the Statutes of God, and such a keeping of all the Commands of God, as is in Christ accepted of, and accounted of, as if we did keep them all; (this walking in all God's Statutes, and keeping of all his Commandments, and doing of them all, is not only possible, but it is also actual in every Believer, in every sincere Christian) and it consists in these particulars.  
First: In the Approbation of all the Statutes and Commandments of God, Rom. 7. 12. The Commandment is holy, and just, and good. ver. 16. I consent unto the Law that it is good; there is both assent and consent, Psal. 119. 128. I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right. A sincere Christian approves of all Divine Commands, though he can't perfectly keep all Divine Commands. But  
Secondly: It consists in a Conscientious submission unto the Authority of all the Statutes of God. Every Command of God hath an Authority within his heart, and over his heart, Psal. 119. 161. My heart standeth in awe of thy Word. A sincere Christian stands in awe of every known Command of God, and hath a spiritual rega●d unto them all, Psal. 119. 6. I have respect unto all thy Commandments. But  
Thirdly: It consists in a cordial willingness, and a cordial desire to walk in all the Statutes of God, and to obey all the Commands of God, Rom. 7 18. For to Will is present with me, Psal. 119. 5. O! that my ways were directed to keep thy Statutes, ver. 8. I will keep thy Statutes. But  
Fourthly: It consists in a sweet complacency in all God's Commands, Psal. 119. 47. I will delight myself in thy Commandment which I have loved, Rom. 7. 22. I delight in the Law of God after the inward man. But  
Fifthly: He who obeys sincerely, obeys universally, though not in regard of practice (which is impossible) yet in regard of affection, he loves all the Commands of God, yea, he dearly loves those very Commands of God, that he cannot obey, by reason of the infirmity of the flesh, by reason of that body of sin and death that he bears about with him; ponder upon that, Psal. 119. 97. O how I love thy Law. Such a pang of love he felt, as could not otherwise be vented; but by this pathetical exclamation, O how I love thy Law, ver. 113, 163, 127, 159, 167. ponder upon all these verses. But  
Sixthly: A sincere Christian obeys all the Commands of God; he is universal in his obedience, in respect of valuation or esteem; he highly values all the Commands of God; he highly prizes all the Commands of God, as you may clearly see by comparing these Scriptures together, Psal. 119. 72, 127, 128. Psal. 19 8, 9, 10, 11. Job 23. 12. But  
Seventhly: A sincere Christian is universal in his Obedience, in respect of his purpose and resolution; he purposes and resolves, by Divine assistance, to obey all, to keep all, Psal. 119. 106. I have sworn, and will perform it, that I will keep thy Righteous Judgements, Psal. 17. 3. I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. But  
Eighthly: A sincere Christian is universal in his Obedience. In respect of his inclination, he has an habitual inclination in him to keep all the Commands of God, 1 King. 8. 57, 58. 2 Chron. 30. 17, 18, 19, 20. Psal. 119. 112. I have inclined my heart to perform thy Statutes always, oven to the end. But  
Ninethly and lastly: Their Evangelical keeping of all the commands of God consists in their sincere endeavour to keep them all; they put out themselves in all the ways and parts of obedience; they do not willingly and wittingly slight or neglect any Commandment, but are striving to conform themselves thereunto; as a Dutiful Son doth all his Father's commands, at least in point of endeavour. So your sincere Christians make Conscience of keeping all the Commands of God, in respect of endeavours, Psal. 119. 59 I turned my feet unto thy Testimonies. God esteems of Evangelical Obedience, as perfect obedience; Zacharias had his failings, he did hesitate through unbelief, for which he was struck dumb; yet the Text tells you, That he walked in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless, Luk. 1. 6. Because he did cordially desire and endeavour to obey God in all things. Evangelical Obedience is true for the essence, though not perfect for the degree. A Child of God obeys all the Commands of God, in respect of his sincere desires, purposes, resolutions, and endeavours; and this God accepts in Christ for perfect and complete obedience. This is the glory of the Covenant of Grace, that God accepts and esteems of sincere obedience as perfect obedience. Such who sincerely endeavour to keep the whole Law of God, they do keep the whole Law of God in an Evangelical sense, though not in a legal sense. A sincere Christian is for the first Table as well as the second, and the second as well as the first; he doth not adhere to the first, and neglect the second, as Hypocrites do; neither doth he adhere to the second, and contemn the first, as profane men do. O Christians, for your support and comfort, know, that when your desires and endeavours are to do the Will of God entirely, as well in one thing as another, God will graciously pardon your failings, and pass by your imperfections. He will spare you as a man spareth his Son that serveth him, Mal. 3. 17. Though a Father see his Son to fail, and come short in many things which he enjoins him to do; yet knowing that his desires and endeavours are to serve him, and please him to the full, he will not be rigid and severe with him, but will be indulgent to him, and will spare him, and pity him, and show all love and kindness to him. The Application is easy, etc.  
The second Question or case is this, viz: What is that Faith that gives a man an interest in Christ, and in all those blessed benefits and favours that comes by Christ? or whether that person that experiences the following particulars, may not safely, groundedly and comfortably conclude that his ●aith is a true justifying, saving faith, the faith of God's E●ac●, and such a faith as clearly evidences a gracious Estate, and will certainly bring the Soul to Heaven? Now in Answer to this important Question, we may suppose the poor Believer is ready to experess himself thus:  
First: Upon search, and sad experience, I find my self a poor lost, miserable, and undone Creature, as the Scriptures every where do evidence, Ephe. 2. 1, 2, 5, 12. Colos. 2. 13. Rom. 8. 7, Luk. 19 10.  
Secondly: I am convinced that it is not in myself to deliver myself out of this lost, miserable, and forlorn Estate; could I make as many Prayers as might be piled up between Heaven and Earth; and weep as much blood as there is water in the Sea, yet all this could not procure the pardon of one sin, nor one smile from God, etc.  
Thirdly: I am convinced that it is not in Angels or men to deliver me out of my lost, miserable, and undone condition. I know provoked Justice must be satisfied, Divine wrath pacified, my sins pardoned, my heart renewed, my state changed, etc. or my soul can never be saved; and I know it is not in Angels or Men, to do any of these things for me.  
Fourthly: I find that I stand in absolute need of a Saviour to save me from wrath to come, 1 Thes. 1. 10. to save me from the curse of the Law, Gal. 3. 10. 13. and to save me from infernal slames, Isa. 33. 14. so that I may well cry out with those in Act. 2. 37. Men and Brethren what shall we do: And with the Jailor, Act. 16. 36. Sirs, what shall I do to be saved?  
Fifthly: I see and know (through grace) that there is an utter impossibility of obtaining salvation by any thing, or by any person, but by Christ alone, according to that of the Apostle, Act. 4. 12. Neither is there Salvation in any other, for there is no other name (that is, no other person) under Heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved. I know there is no Saviour that can deliver me from eternal death, and bring me to eternal life and glory; but that Jesus, of whom it is said, that he shall save his People from their sins, Luk. 1. 21. and therefore I must conclude that there is an utter impossibility of obtaining Salvation by any other person, or things, etc. But  
Sixthly: I see and know (through grace) that Jesus Christ is an All-sufficient Saviour, that he is a mighty, yea, an Almighty Saviour, a Saviour that is able to save to the utmost all them that come to him, as the Scripture speaks, Psal. 89. 19 I have laid help upon one that is mighty, Isa. 63. 1. I that speak in Righteousness, mighty to save, Heb. 7. 25. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. I know that the Lord Jesus is mighty to save me from that Wrath, and from that Curse, and from that Hell, and from that Damnation that is due to me, by reason of my sins: And that he is mighty to justify me, and mighty to pardon me, and mighty to reconcile me to God the Father, and mighty to bring me to glory, as the Scripture does every where testify. But  
Seventhly: I know (through grace) that Jesus Christ is the only person anointed, appointed, fitted, and furnished by the Father, for that great and blessed work or office, of saving Sinners souls, as these Scriptures amongst others do clearly testify, Isa. 61. 1, 2, 3, 4. Luk. 4. 17. 18, 19, 20, 21. Math. 1. 20, 21. John 6. 27. Certainly were Jesus Christ never so able, and mighty to save, yet if he were not anointed, appointed, fitted, and furnished by the Father for that great office of saving poor lo●t Sinners; I know no reason why I should expect Salvation by him. But  
Eighthly: (I know through grace) that the Lord Jesus Christ hath sufficiently satisfied, as Mediator, the justice of God, and pacified his wrath, and fulfilled all Righteousness, and procured the favour of God and the pardon of sin, etc. for all them that close with him, that accept of him, as he is offered in the Gospel of grace, Gal 3. 19, 20. 1 Tim. 2. 5. Heb. 8. 6. Heb. 9 14, 15. chap. 12. 24. Heb. 10. 12, 14. Math. 3. 15. Rom. 8. 1, 2, 3, 4. 33, 34. chap. 5. 8, 9, 10. Act. 13. 39  
Ninethly: I find that Jesus Christ is freely offered in the Gospel to poor lost undone Sinners, such as I am. I find that the Ministers of the Gospel are commanded by Christ to proclaim in his Name a general pardon, and to make a general offer of him to all, to whom they Preach the everlasting Gospel, without excluding any, Mark. 16. 15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the World, and preach the Gospel unto every Creature; and what is it to preach the Gospel unto every Creature, but to say unto them as the Angels did to the Shepherds? Luk. 2. 10, 11. I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord, etc.  
Tenthly: I know (through grace) that all sorts of Sinners are invited to come to Christ, to receive Christ, to accept of Christ, and to close with Christ, Isa. 55. 1, 2. Math. 11. 28, 29. Joh. 7. 37. Rev. 3. 20. and chap. 22. 17. etc. But  
Eleventhly: Through grace I do in my understanding really assent to that blessed record and report that God the Father, in the blessed Scriptures has given concerning Christ, 1 Joh. 5. 10, 11, 12. The report that God the Father has made concerning the Person of Christ, and concerning the Offices of Christ, and concerning the work of Redemption by Christ, I do really and cordially assent unto, as most true and certain, upon the Authority of God's Testimony, who is truth itself, and cannot lie. Now though this assent alone is not enough to make a saving reception of Christ, yet it is in saving faith, and that without which, it is impossible there should be any saving faith. But  
12thly. I can say (through grace) that in my judgjudgment, I do approve of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only as a good, but as the greatest good, as a universal good, as a matchless good, as an incomparable good, as an infinite good, as an eternal good, and as the most suitable good in Heaven and Earth to my poor soul, as these Scriptures do evidence, Psal. 73. 25, 26. Cant. 5. 10. 45. Psal. 1, 2. Phil. 3. 7, 8, 9, 10. 1 Tim. 1. 15. I know there is every thing in Christ that may suit the state, case, necessities and wants of my poor soul; there is mercy in him to pardon me, and power in him to save me, and wisdom in him to counsel me, and grace in him to enrich me, and righteousness in him to  me, etc. and therefore I can't but approve of the Lord Jesus, as such a good as exceeds all the good that is to be found in Angels and Men; the good that I see in Christ doth not only counterpoise, but also excel all that real or imaginary good that every I have met with in any thing below Christ. Christ must come into the will, he must be received there, else he is never savingly received. Now before the Will will receive him, the Will must be certainly informed that he is good, yea, the best, and greatest good, or else he shall never be admitted there. Let the understanding assent never so much to all propositions concerning Christ, as true, if the judgement doth not approve of them as good, yea, as the best good, Christ will never be truly received; God in his working, maintains the faculties of the Soul in their actings, as he made them.  
13thly. So far as I know my own heart, I am sincerely willing to receive the Lord Jesus Christ in a Matrimonial Covenant, according to these Scriptures, Hos. 2. 19, 20. 2 Cor. 11. 2. Isa. 54. 5. Isa. 61. 10. Isa. 62. 5. Cant. 3. 11. etc. Through grace I am,  
First: Sincerely willing to take the Lord Jesus Christ for my Saviour and Sovereign Lord. So far as I know my own heart, I do through mercy, give my hearty consent, that Christ, and Christ alone shall be my Saviour and Redeemer. It is true, I do duties, but the desire of my soul is to do them out of love to Christ, and in obedience to his Royal Law and Pleasure. I know my best Righteousnesses are but as filthy rags, Isa. 64. 6. And woe would be to me, had I no other shelter, or Saviour, or resting place for my poor soul, than rags, than filthy rags. And so far as I know my own heart, I am sincerely willing to give up myself to the guidance and government of Jesus Christ, as my sovereign Lord and King, desiring nothing more in this world, than to live and die under the guidance and government of his Spirit, Word, and Grace. But  
Secondly: I am willing, through grace, to give a Bill of Divorce to all other Lovers, without exception or reservation. So far as I know my own heart, I desire nothing more in this world, than that God would pull out right-eye sins, and cut off right-hand sins. I am very desirous, through grace, to have all sins brought under by the Power, Spirit, and Grace of Christ; but especially my special sins, my head corruptions. I would have Christ alone to Rule & Reign in the haven of my heart, without any Competitour. But  
Thirdly: I am sincerely willing, through Grace, to take the Lord Jesus Christ for Better, for Worse, for Richer, for Poorer, in Sickness and in Health, and in his Strength: I would go with him through fire and water, resolving (through his Grace) that nothing shall divide betwixt Christ and my Soul. So far as I know my own heart, I would have Christ, though I beg with him, though I go to Prison with him, though in agonies in the Garden with him, though to the Cross with him. But  
Fourthly: So far as I know my own heart, I am sincerely willing, First, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ presently, 1 John 12. Secondly, to receive him in all his Offices, as King, Prophet, and Priest, Col. 2. 6. Acts 5. 31. Thirdly, To receive him into every room of my soul; to receive him into my understanding, mind, will, affections, etc. Fourthly: To receive him upon his own terms, of denying myself; taking up his Cross, and following of him wherever he goes, Math. 16. 21. Rev. 14. 4. etc.  
Fifthly and lastly: So far as I know my own heart, I do freely consent. 1. To be really Christ's. 2. To be presently Christ's. 3. To be wholly Christ's. 4. To be only Christ's. 5. To be eminently Christ's. 6. To be for ever Christ's, &c.  
Certainly that Christian that has and does experience the particulars last mentioned under the second question, that Christian may safely, groundedly, boldly, and comfortably conclude that his faith is a true, justifying, saving Faith, the Faith of God's Elect, and such a Faith as clearly evidences a gracious Estate, and will never leave his Soul short of Heaven.  
Now how many thousand Christians are there, that have this Faith that is here described, which is doubtless a true, justifying, saving Faith, that gives a man an interest in the person of Christ, and in all the blessings and benefits that comes by Christ, who yet question whether they have true faith or no, partly from weakness, partly from temptations, and partly from the various definitions that are given of Faith by Protestants, both in their Preach and Writings; and it is, and must be for a lamentation, that in a point of so great moment, the Trumpet should give such an uncertain sound.  
The third Question, or case is this, viz. whether in the great day of the Lord, the day of general Judgement, or 
Eccles. 11. 9 cap. 12. 14. Matth. 12. 36. cap. 18. 23.  in the particular Judgement that will pass upon every soul immediately after death, which is the stating of the soul in an Eternal estate or condition, either of happiness or misery; whether the sins of the Saints, the follies and 
Luk. 16. 2. Rom 14. 10, 12. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 9 27. cap. 13 17. 1 Pet. 4 5.  vanities of Believers, the infirmities and enormities of sincere Christians shall be brought into the judgement of discussion and discovery, or no? Whether the Lord will either in the great day of account, or in a man's particular day of account or judgement, publicly manifest, proclaim, and make mention of the sins of his people, or no? This question is bottomed upon the ten Scriptures in the Margin, which I desire the Christian Reader to consult; and upon the sad and daily complaints of many dear sincere Christians, who frequently cry out, O! we can never answer for one evil thought of ten thousand, nor we 
J●●. 9 3. Psal 19 12. Psal 143. 2. Ezr 19 6.  can never answer for one idle word of twenty thousand; nor we can never answer for one evil action of a hundred thousand, and how then shall we stand in Judgement? how shall we look the Judge in the Face? how shall we be ever able to answer for all our Omissions, and for all our Commissions; for all our sins of Ignorance, and sins against light and knowledge; for all our sins against the Law, and for all our sins against the Gospel, and for all our sins against sovereign Grace, and for all our sins against the Remedy, against the Lord Jesus, and for all the sins of our Infancy, of our Youth, 
Heb. 9 27.  and of old Age, etc. What account shall we be able to give up, when we come to our particular day of Judgement, immediately after our death, or in the great and general day of account, when Angels, Devils, & Men shall stand before the Lord Jesus; whom God the Father hath ordained to be the Judge of Quick and Dead, Act. 17. 31.  
Now to this great Question I Answer, that the sins of the Saints, the infirmities and enormities of Believers shall never be brought into the Judgement of discussion and discovery, they shall never be objected against them, either in their particular day of Judgement, or in the great day of their Account. Now this truth I shall make good by an induction of particulars thus.  
First: Our Lord Jesus Christ, in His judicial proceed in the last day, which is set down clearly and largely in Math. 25. 34. to ver. 42. doth only enumerate the good works they have done, but takes not the least notice of the spots and blemishes of the infirmities or enormities 
Deut. 32. 4, 5, 6. Dan. 9 24.  of the weaknesses or wickednesses of his people. God has sealed up the sins of his people, never to be remembered or looked upon more. In the great day, the book of God's Remembrance shall be opened, and publicly read, that all the good things that the Saints have done for God, for Christ, for Saints, for their own Souls, for Sinners; and that all the great things that they have suffered for Christ's sake, and the Gospel's sake, may be mentioned to their everlasting praise, to their eternal honour. And though the choicest and chiefest Saints on 
Rom 7. 23, 24. Gal. 5. 17.  Earth have, 1. Sin dwelling in them: 2. Operating and working in them. 3. Vexing and molesting of them, being as so many Goads in their sides, and Thorns in their eyes. 4. Captivating and prevailing over them, yet in that large Recital which shall then be read of the Saints lives, Math. 25. There is not the least mention made either of sins of Omission, or Commission; nor the least mention made, either of great sins, or of small sins; nor the least mention made, either of sins before Conversion, or after Conversion. Here in this world the best of Saints have had their butts, their spots, their blots, their specks, as the fairest day hath its Clouds, the finest Linen its spots, and the richest Jewels their specks; but now in the judicial process of this last and universal Assizes there is not found in all the Books that shall then be opened, so much as one unsavory but, to blemish the 
Rev. 20. 12. Dan. 7. 10. Num. 23. 21.  fair Characters of the Saints. Surely he that sees no Iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel, to impute it to them whilst they live, he will never charge Iniquity or perverseness upon them in the great day. Surely, he who has fully satisfied his Father's Justice for his people's sins, and who hath by his own Blood balanced and made 
Isa. 53.  up all Reckon and Accounts between God and their souls, he will never charge upon them their faults and follies in the great day. Surely he, who hath spoken so much for his Saints, whilst he was on Earth, and who hath continually interceded for them since he went to 
John 17. Heb. 7. 25.  Heaven, he won't (though he hath cause to blame them for many things) speak any thing against them in the great day. Surely Jesus Christ, the Saints Paymaster, 
Heb. 10. 10, 12, 14. Matth. 18. 24. Col. 2 14.  who hath discharged their whole debt at once, who hath paid down upon the nail the ten thousand Talents which we owed, and took in the Bond, and nailed it to the Cross; leaving no back-reckoning unpaid, to bring his poor Children, which are the travail of his soul, afterward 
Isa. 53. 11.  into any danger from the hands of Divine Justice; he will never mention the sins of his people; he will never charge the sins of his people upon them in the great day. Our dear Lord Jesus, who is the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth in the great day of account, He will bring in Omnia bene, in his presentment all fair and well, and accordingly will make Proclamation in that High-Court of Justice, before God, Angels, Devils, Saints, and Sinners, etc. Christ will not charge his Children with the least unkindness, he will not charge his Spouse with the least unfaithfulness in the great day; yea, he will represent them before God, Angels, and Men, as complete in him, as all fair and spotless, as without spot or wrinkle, as without fault before the Throne of God; as holy and 
Col. 2. 10. Cant. 4. 7. Ephe. 5. ●7 Rev. 14 5.  unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight; as immaculate as the Angels themselves, who kept their first Estate. This honour shall have all the Saints, and thus shall Christ be glorified in his Saints, and admired in all 
1 Th●s. 2. 10  them that believe. The greatest part of the Saints by far, will have past their particular judgement long before 
Heb 9 27.  the general judgement, and being therein acquitted and discharged from all their sins, by God the Judge of the quick and dead, and admitted into Heaven upon the credit 
2 Tim. 4. 1.  of Christ's Blood, Righteous satisfaction, and their free and full justification. It cannot be imagined that Jesus Christ, in the great day, will bring in any new charge against his Children, when they have been cleared and absolved already. Certainly when once the Saints are freely and fully Absolved from all their sins by a Divine Sentence, than their sins shall never be remembered, they shall never be objected against them any more. For one Divine Sentence cannot cross and rescind another: the Judge of all the world had long since cast all their sins behind his back, and will he now set them before his face, 
Isa. 38. 17.  and before the faces of all the world? surely no, he has long since cast all their sins into the depths of the Sea, (bottomless depths of everlasting Oblivion) that they might 
Micah. 7. 19  never be buoyed up any more! He has not only forgiven their sins, but he has also forgotten their sins: And 
Jer. 31. 34.  will he remember them, and declare them in the great day? surely no: God has long since blotted out the transgressions 
Isa 43. 25.  of his people. This Metaphor is taken from Creditors, who when they purpose never to exact a Debt, will blot it out of their Books. Now after that a Debt is strucken out of a Bill, Bond, or Book, it cannot be exacted; the Evidence cannot be pleaded, Christ 
Col. 2. 14.  having crossed the debt-Book with the red lines of his Blood. If now he should call the sins of his people to remembrance, and charge them upon them, he should cross the great design of his cross: Upon this foundation stands the absolute impossibility that any sin, that the least sin, yea, that the least circumstance of sin, or the least aggravation of sin should be so much as mentioned by the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth, in the process of that judicial Trial in the great day, except it be in a way of absolution, in order to the magnifying of their pardon. God has long since blotted out as a thick Cloud 
Isa. 44. 22.  the transgressions of his people, and as a Cloud, their sins. Now we know that the clouds, which are driven away by the winds, appear no more; nor the Mist which is dried up by the Sun, appears no more, other Clouds, and other Mists may arise, but not they which are driven away and dried up. Thus the Sins of the Saints being forgiven, they shall no more return upon them; they shall never more be objected against them.  
Further, The Lord saith, Though your sins be as Scarlet, 
Isa. 1. 18.  they shall be as white as Snow; though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as Wool: Pardon makes such a clear riddance of sin, that it is as if it had never been; the Scarlet Sinner is as white as Snow, Snow newly fallen from the Sky, which was never sullied: The Crimson Sinner is as Wool, Wool which never received the least tincture in the Dye-fat: you know Scarlet and Crimson are double and deep dies, dies in grain; yet if the Cloth died therewith, be as the Wool before it was died, and if it be as white as Snow, what is become of those dies? are they any more? is not the Cloth as if it had not been died at all? even so, though our sins by reiterating them, by long lying in them, have made deep impressions upon us, yet by God's discharge of them, we are as if we had never committed them.  
Again, The Psalmist pronounceth him blessed, whose 
Psal. 32. 1.  sin is covered. A thing covered is not seen; so sin forgiven, is before God as not seen: The same Psalmist pronounceth him blessed, to whom the Lord imputeth not sin. 
Psal. 32. 2.   
Now a sin not imputed, is as not committed. The Prophet Jeremiah tells us, That the Iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found. Now is not that fully 
Jer. 50. 20.  discharged which shall never be found, never appear, never be remembered, never be mentioned. Thus by the many Metaphors used in Scripture, to set out forgiveness of sin, pardon of sin, you plainly and evidently see, that 
Jer. 31. 34. Ezek. 18. 22.  God's discharge is free and full, and therefore he will never charge their sins upon them in the great day. But  
Some may object and say, that the Scripture saith, that God shall bring every work into Judgement, with every 
Eccles. 12: 14.  secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil: How then can this be, that the sins of the Saints shall not be mentioned, nor charged upon them in the great day.  
I Answer: This Scripture is to be understood Respective, etc. with a just respect to the two great parties 
Matth 25 3●, 33.  which are to be judged, Sheep and Goats, Saints and Sinners, Sons and Slaves, Elect and Reprobate, Holy and Profane, Pious and Impious, Faithful and Unfaithful; that is to say, all the Grace, the Holiness, the Godliness, the Good of those that are good, shall be brought into the Judgement of mercy, that it may be freely, graciously, and nobly rewarded, and all the wickedness of the Wicked shall be brought into the Judgement of Condemnation, that ●t may be righteously and everlastingly punished in this great day of the Lord. All Sincerity shall be discovered and rewarded; and all Hypocrisy shall be disclosed and revenged. In this great day, all the works of the Saints shall follow them into Heaven; and in this great day, all the evil works of the Wicked shall hunt and pursue them into Hell. In this 
See Wisd. 2. th●ough●u●, and cap. 5. from the first verse to the tenth.  great day, all the hearts, thoughts, secrets, words, ways, works, and walkings of Wicked men, shall be discovered and laid open before all the world, to their everlasting shame and sorrow, to their eternal amazement and astonishment. And in this great day, the Lord will make mention (in the years of all the world) of every Prayer that the Saints have made, and of every Sermon that they have heard, and of every Tear that they have shed, and of every Fast that they have kept, and of every Sigh and Groan that ever they have fetched, and of all the good words that ever they have spoke, and of all the good works that ever they have done, and of all the great things that ever they have suffered. Yea, in this great day, they shall reap the fruit of many good Services which themselves had forgot. Lord, when saw we Thee Hungry, and fed Thee; or Thirsty, and give 
Math 25 34. 41.  Thee drink; or Naked, and Clothed Thee; or Sick, or in Prison, and Visited Thee? They had done many good works, and forgot them; but Christ records them, remembers them, and rewards them before all the World. In this great day, a bit of Bread, a cup of cold Water, shall not pass without a reward. In this great day, the Saints shall reap a plentiful and glorious crop (as the 
Matth 10. 24. 25. recles. 11. 16.  fruit) of that good seed, that for a time hath seemed to be buried and lost. In this great day of the Lord, the Saints shall find that Bread which long before was cast upon the waters. But my  
Second Reason is taken from Christ's vehement protestations, That they shall not come into Judgement, Joh. 5. 24. Verily, Verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my 
Vide Aqu●● 87. Sup●l. est. in l. 4. S●●. didst 47.  Word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into Condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Those words, shall not come into Condemnation, are not rightly translated; the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, shall not come into Judgement, not into Damnation, as you read it in all your English Books: I will not say, what should put men upon this Exposition, rather than a true translation of the Original word; further, it is very observable, that no Evangelist useth this double asseveration but St. John, and he never useth it, 
J●h. 1. 51 ch. 3. 3, 11 chap. 6. 26. 32, 47, 53, etc.  but in matters of greatest weight and importance, and to show the earnestness of his Spirit, and to stir us up to better attention, and to put the thing asserted, out of all question, and beyond all contradiction; as when we would put a thing for ever out of all question, we do it by a double asseveration, verily, verily, 'tis so, etc.  
Thirdly: Because his not bringing their sins into Judgement, doth most and best agree with many precious and glorious expressions that we find scattered (as so many shining, sparkling Pearls) up and down in Scripture; As  
First: With those of Gods blotting out the sins of his people. I, even I am he, that blotteth out thy transgressions, 
Isa. 43. 25. Isa. 4●. 22.  for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins. I have blotted out, as a thick Cloud, thy transgressions, and as a Cloud, thy sins.  
Who is this that blots our transgressions? he that hath the keys of Heaven and Hell at his girdle; that opens and no man shuts; that shuts and no man opens; he that hath the power of life and death, of condemning and absolving, of killing and making alive; he it is that blotteth out transgressions: If an Under-Officer should blot out an Indictment, that perhaps might do a man no good; a man might for all that, be at last, cast by the Judge; but when the Judge, or King, shall blot out the Indictment with their own hand, than the Indictment cannot return; now this is every Believers case and happiness.  
Secondly: To those glorious expressions of Gods not remembering of their sins any more, Isa. 43. 25. And I 
Jer. 31. 34.  will not remember thy sins: And they shall teach no more every man his Neighbour, and every man his Brother, saying, Know ye the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their Iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. So the Apostle, For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, 
Heb. 8 12.  and their sins, and their iniquities will I remember no more.  
And again; The same Apostle saith, This is the Covenant that I will make with them; After those days, 
Heb. 10. 17. That which Cicero said flatteringly of Caesar, is truly affirmed of God, Nihil obliv●sci solet praeter injurias, he forget●eth nothing but the wrongs that daily are done him by his.  saith the Lord; I will put my Laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.  
The meaning is, their iniquities shall be quite forgotten, I will never mention them more, I will never take notice of them more, they shall never hear more of them from me: though God hath an Iron memory to remember the sins of the wicked, yet he hath no memory to remember the sins of the righteous.  
Thirdly: His not bringing their sins into Judgement, doth most and best agree with those blessed expressions, of his casting their sins into the depth of the Sea; and of his casting them behind his back. He will turn again, he 
Mic. 7. 19  will have compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the Sea. Where sin is once Pardoned, the Remission stands never to be repealed; pardoned-sin shall never come in account against the pardoned man, before God any more; for so much doth this borrowed speech import: If a thing were cast into a River, it might be brought up again; or if it were cast upon the Sea, it might be discerned and taken up again; but when it is cast into the depths, the bottom of the Sea, it can never be buoyed up again.  
By the Metaphor in the Text, the Lord would have us to know, that sins pardoned shall rise no more, they shall never be seen more, they shall never come on the account more; he will so drown their sins, that they shall never come up before him the second time.  
And so much that other Scripture imports; Behold, 
Isa. 38. 17.  for Peace I had great bitterness; But thou hast in love to my Soul delivered it from the Pit of Corruption; for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back▪ These last words are a borrowed speech, taken from the manner of men, who are wont to cast behind their backs, such things as they have no mind to see, regard, or remember. A gracious soul hath always his sins before his face, (I acknowledge 
Psal. 51. 3.  my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me) and therefore no wonder if the Lord cast them behind his back. The Father soon forgets, and casts behind his back, those faults that the Child remembers, and hath always in his eyes; so doth the Father of Spirits.  
Fourthly: His not bringing their sins into Judgement, doth best agree with that sweet and choice expression of Gods pardoning the sins of his people.  
And I will cleanse them from all their Iniquity, whereby 
Jer. 33. 8.  they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their Iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. So in Micah, Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth Iniquity, and passes by the transgressions of 
Mic 7. 18.  the remnant of his heritage (as though he would not see it, but wink at it) He retaineth not his Anger for ever, because he delighteth in Mercy. The Hebrew word, (Nose from Nasa) that is here rendered, pardoned, signifies a taking away; when God pardons sin, he takes it shire away; that if it should be sought for, yet it could not be found, 
Jer ●0. 20.  as the Prophet speaks; In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the Iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them whom I reserve; and these words, and passeth by, in the () seventh 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gnab●●, he passed over.  of Micah, and the 18th. according to the Hebrew (Vegnober Gnal) is and passeth over, God passeth over the transgression of his heritage; that is, he takes no notice of it; as a man in a deep muse, or as one that hath haste of business; seethe not things before him, his mind being busied about other matters, he neglects all to mind his business.  
As David, when he saw in Mephibosheth the feature of his friend Jonathan, took no notice of his lameness, or any other defect, of deformity: So God beholding in his people, the glorious Image of his Son, winks at all their 
●sa. 40 1, 2.  faults and deformities; which made Luther say, Do with me what thou wilt, since thou hast pardoned my sin; and what is it to pardon sin, but not to mention sin?  
Fifthly: His not bringing their sins into the Judgement of Discussion and Discovery, doth best agree to those expressions of forgiving, and covering; Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. In the Original, 
Psal. 32. 1.  it is in the plural Blessednesses; so here is a plurality of Blessings, a chain of Pearls.  
The like expression you have in the 85th. Psalms, and the second v. Thou hast forgiven the Iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. For the understanding of these Scriptures aright, take notice, that to Cover, is a Metaphorical expression; Covering is such an action 
Sic vel●●tur, ut in judicio non r●vel. ntur.  which is opposed to disclosure; to be covered, it is to be so hid and closed, as not to appear. Some make the Metaphor from filthy, loathsome objects, which are covered from our eyes, as dead carcases are buried under the ground; some from Garments, that are put upon us to cover our nakedness; others from the Egyptians that were drowned in the red Sea, and so covered with water; others from a great Gulf in the earth, that is filled up, and covered with earth, injected into it; and others make it in the last place, an allusive expression to the mercy-seat, over which was a covering.  
Now all these Metaphors in the general, tend to show this, that the Lord will not look, he will not see, he will not take notice of the sins he hath pardoned, to call them any more to a judicial account.  
As when a Prince reads over many Treasons, and Rebellions, and meets with such and such, which he hath pardoned, he reads on, he passeth by, he taketh no notice of them, the pardoned person shall never hear more of them, he will never call him to account for those sins more. So here, etc. When Caesar was painted, he puts his finger upon his scar, his wart. God puts his fingers upon all his people's scars and warts, upon all their weaknesses and infirmities, that nothing can be seen but what is fair and lovely; Thou art all fair, my Love, and there is no spot in thee, Cant. 4. 7.  
Sixthly: It best agrees to that expression of not imputing of sin. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not Iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. So 
Psal 32 2.  the Apostle in that, Rom. 4. 6, 7, 8. Now not to impute Iniquity, is not to charge Iniquity, not to set Iniquity upon his score, who is blessed and pardoned, etc.  
Seventhly and lastly: It best agrees with that expression that you have in the 113. Psalms, and the 11, and 12. Verses, For as the Heaven is high above the Earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him; as far as the East is from the West, so far hath he removed our Transgressions from us. What a vast distance is there betwixt the East and West? of all visible latitudes, this is the greatest; and thus much for the third Argument. The  
Fourth Argument that prevails with me, to judge that Jesus Christ will not bring the sins of the Saints into the judgement of discussion and discovery in the great day, is, because it seems unsuitable to three considerable things, for Jesus Christ to proclaim the infirmities and miscarriages of his people to all the world.  
First: It seems to be unsuitable to the glory and solemnity of that day, which to the Saints will be a day of refreshing, a day of Restitution, a day of Redemption, a day of Coronation, as hath been already proved; now how suitable to this great day of solemnity, the Proclamation of the Saints sins will be, I leave the Reader to judge.  
Secondly: It seems unsuitable to all those near and dear relations, that Jesus Christ stands in towards his; 
Isa. 9 6● Heb 2. 11, 12. Eph● 1. 21, 22. Rev. 19 7. Joh. 15. 1. Joh. 2. 1, 2.  he stands in the Relation of a Father, a Brother, a Head, a Husband, a Friend, an Advocate: Now are not all these by the Law of Relation, bond rather to hid, and keep secret (at least from the world) the weaknesses, and infirmities of their near and dear Relations; and is not Christ, is not Christ much more? By how much he is more a Father, a Brother, a Head, a Husband, etc. in a spiritual way, than any others can be in a natural way, etc.  
Thirdly: It seems very unsuitable to what the Lord Jesus requires of his in this world; the Lord requires that his people should cast a Mantle of Love, of Wisdom, of Silence, and Secrecy over one another's weaknesses and infirmities, etc.  
Hatred stirreth up strifes, but Love covereth all sins: Loves mantle is very large; Love will find a hand, a plaster to clap upon every sore. Flavius Vespacianus, 
Prov. 10 12. 1 Pet 4: 8:  (the Emperor) was very ready to conncal his friends Vices, and as ready to reveal their Virtues: So is Divine love in the hearts of the Saints, If thy Brother offend thee, go and tell him his fault between him and thee alone; If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy Brother. As the Pills of Reprehension are to be gilded and sugared over 
Mat. 18. 15.  with much gentleness and softness; so they are to be given in secret; tell him, between him and thee alone, Tale-bearers, and Tale-hearers are alike abominable.  
Heaven is too hot, and too holy a place for them, Psal. 15. 3. Now will Jesus Christ have us carry it thus towards offending Christians, and will he himself act otherwise? Nay, is it an evil in us to lay open the weaknesses and infirmities of the Saints to the World? and will it be an excellency, a glory, a virtue in Christ, to do it in the great day, etc.  
A fisth Argument, is this, It is the glory of a man to pass over a Transgression, The discretion of a man deferreth his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression, 
Prov. 19 11.  or to pass by it, as we do by persons or things, we know not, or would take no notice of. Now, is it the glory of a man to pass over a transgression, and will it not much more be the glory of Christ, silently to pass over 
Non 〈◊〉 quen-● quam nisi offendam, said a Heathen.  the transgressions of his people in that great day? The greater the Treasons and Rebellions are, that a Prince passes over, and takes no notice of, the more is his Honour and Glory: and so doubtless it will be Christ's in that great day, to pass over all the Treasons and Rebellions of his people; to take no notice of them, to forget them as well as to forgive them.  
The Heathens have long since observed, that in nothing man came nearer to the Glory and Perfection of God himself, than in Goodness and Clemency; Surely, if it be such an honour to man, to pass over a Transgression, it cannot be a dishonour to Christ, to pass over the Transgressions of his people, he having already buried them in the Sea of his blood. Again, saith Solomon, It is the glory of God to conceal a thing. And why it should not make 
Prov 25. 2.  for the Glory of Divine Love, to conceal the sins of the Saints, in that great Day, I know not: And whether the concealing the sins of the Saints in the great day, will not make most for their joy, and wicked men's sorrows, for their comfort, and wicked men's terror and torment, I will leave you to judge, and time and experience to decide; and thus much for the resolution of that great question.  
Now from what has been said, in answer to this third Question, a sincere Christian may form up this first plea as 
Eccles. 11 9 cap. 12. 14. Math. 12. 14. cap. 18. 23. Luk. 16 3. Rom 1●. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb 9 27. cap. 13. 17. 1 Pet. 4 5  to the ten Scriptures in the Margin, that refer either to the general judgement, or to the particular judgement that will pass upon every Christian immediately after death. O blessed God, Jesus Christ has by his own blood balanced and made up all reckon and accounts that were between thee and me; and thou hast vehemently protested, that thou wilt not bring me into Judgement; that thou wilt blot out my Transgressions as a thick Cloud, and that thou wilt remember my sins no more; and that thou wilt cast them behind thy back, and hurl them into the depth of the Sea; and that thou wilt forgive them, and cover them, and not impute them to me, etc. This is my Plea, O Lord, and by this plea I shall stand; Well, saith the Judge of Quick and Dead, I own this plea, I accept of this plea, I have nothing to say against this plea; the plea is just, safe, honourable and righteous, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.  
Secondly: Every Sinner at his first believing and closing with Christ, is justified in the Court of glory from all his sins, both guilt and punishment. Justification 
Act. 13. 39  doth not increase or decrease, but all sin is pardoned at the first act of believing. All who are justified, are justified alike; there is no difference amongst Believers, as to their justification, one is not more justified than another, (for every justified person hath a plenary Remission of his sins, and the same Righteousness of Christ imputed) but in Sanctification there is difference amongst Believers. Every one is not sanctified alike, for some are 
1 Cor. 12. 19, 1●, 14. 1 Joh 2 1. 12, 13, 14.  stronger and higher, and others are weaker and lower in grace: As soon as any are made Believers in Christ, all the sins which they have committed in time past, and all the sins which they are guilty of, as to the time present, they are actually pardoned unto them in general, and in particular. Now that all the sins of a Believer are pardoned at once, and actually unto them, may be thus demonstrated.  
First: All phrases in Scripture imply thus much, Esa. 43. 25. I, even I am he, which blotteth out thy Transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins, Jer. 31. 34. I will forgive their Iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more, Jer. 33. 8. And I will pardon all their Iniquities whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have Transgressed against me, Ezek. 18. 22. All his Transgressions, that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him, Heb. 8. 12. I will be merciful unto their unrighteousness, and their sins, and their Iniquities I will remember no more; ergo, all is pardoned at once. But  
Secondly: That Remission of sins that leaves no Condemnation to the party offending, is the Remission of all sins; for if there were any sin remaining, a man is still in 
2. At a sinners first Conversion his sins are truly and perfectly pardoned 1. All as to sin already past 2. All as to the state of Remission; they had a perfect right to the pardon of all their sins pa●t, present, and to come, though not an equal 〈◊〉.  the state of Condemnation; but Justification leaves no Condemnation; Romans 8. 1. verse. There is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, and for 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? It is God that justifieth; and ver. 38, 39 Nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the Love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; and Joh. 5. 24. He that heareth my Word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into Condemnation, but is passed from death to life: ergo, all sins are pardoned at once, or else they were in a state of Condemnation, etc. Thus you see it evident, that there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; therefore there is full remission of all sins to the soul at the first act of believing. But  
Thirdly: A Believer (even when he sinneth) is still united to Christ, Joh. 15. 1. 6. Joh. 17. 21, 22, 23. 1 Cor. 6. 17. And he is still Clothed with the Righteousness of Christ which covers all his sins, and dischargeth him from them, so that no guilt can redound to him, Isa 61. 10. Jer. 23. 6. 1 Cor. 1. 30. Phil. 3. 9 etc. But  
Fourthly: A Believer is not to fear Curse, or Hell, at all, which yet he might do if all his sins were not pardoned at once; but some of his new sins were for a while unpardoned, etc. But  
Fifthly: Our Lord Jesus Christ, by once suffering, suffered for all the sins of the Elect, past, present, and to come; the infinite wrath of God, the Father, fell on him for all the sins of the chosen of God, Isa. 53. 9 Heb. 12. 14. chap. 10. 9, 10, 12, 14. If Christ had suffered for ten thousand worlds, he could have suffered no more than he did; for he suffered the whole infinite wrath of God the Father; the wrath of God was infinite wrath, & the sufferings of Christ were infinite sufferings; ergo, Look as Adam's sin was enough to infect a thousand worlds, so our Saviour's merits are sufficient to save a thousand worlds; those sufferings that he suffered for sins past, are sufficient to satisfy for sins present, and to come. That all the sins of God's 
Isa. 54. 5, 6.  people (in their absolute number, from first to last) were laid upon Christ, who in the days of his sufferings, did meritoriously purchase perfect remission of all their sins; to be applied in future times to them, and by them is most certain. But  
Sixthly: Repentance is not at all required for our justification (where our pardon is only to be found) but only Faith; therefore pardon of sin is not suspended, until we repent of our sins. But  
Sevently: If the Remission of all sins be not at once, it is either because my faith cannot lay hold on it, or because there is some hindrances in the way: But a man by the hand of faith, may lay hold on all the merits of Christ, and the word reveals the pardon of all; and the Sacrament of the Lords Supper seals and confirms the pardon of all; and there is no danger nor inconvenience that attends this assertion, for it puts the highest obligation imaginable upon the soul, as to fear and obedience, Psal. 1 30. 3. v. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark Iniquities? O Lord, who shall stand, ver. 4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. Forgiveness makes not a Christian bold with sin, but fearful of sin, and careful to obey, as Christians find in their daily experience: By this Argument it appears clear, that the forgiveness of all sins is made to the soul at once, at the first act of Believing. But  
Eightly: If new sins were not pardoned until you do repent, than we should be left to an uncertainty whiles our sins be pardoned, or when they will be pardoned; for it may be long ere we repent, as you see in David, who lay long under the guilt of Murder and Adultery before he repent; and you know Solomon lay long under many high sins before he repent, etc. and it may be more long ere we do, or can know that we do truly repent of our sins. But  
Ninethly: If all sins were not forgiven at once, than justification is not perfect at once, but is more and more increased and perfected, as more and more sins are pardoned, which cannot consist with the true doctrine of justification. Certainly, as to the state of justification, there is a full and perfect remission of all sins (considered under the differences of time past, present, and to come) as in the state of Condemnation, there is not any one sin pardoned, so in the estate of Justification, there is not any one sin but is pardoned; for the state of Justification is opposite to all Condemnation, and Curse, and Wrath. But  
Tenthly: All agree, that as to God's eternal decree or purpose of forgiveness, all the sins of his people are forgiven. God did not intent to forgive some of their sins, and not the rest, but an universal and full, and complete forgiveness was fixedly purposed and resolved on by God. Forgiveness of sins is a gracious act, or work of God for Christ sake, discharging and absolving, believing and repenting persons, from the guilt and punishment of all their sins; so that God is no longer displeased with them, nor will he ever remember them any more, nor call them to an account for them, nor condemn them for their sins, but will look on them, and deal with them as if they had never sinned, never offended him.  
Thirdly: Consider, that at the very moment of a Believers dissolution, all his sins are perfectly and fully forgiven; all their sins are so fully and finally forgiven them, that at the very moment of their souls going out from the body, there is not one sin of omission or commission, nor any aggravation, or least circumstance left standing in the book of God's remembrance; and this is the true reason why there shall not be the least mention made of their sins in their trial at Christ's Tribunal, because they were all pardoned fully and finally at the hour of their death; all debts were then discharged, all scores were then crossed; so that in the great day, when the Books shall be opened and perused, there shall not one sin be found, but all blotted out, and all reckon made even in the blood of Christ.  
Indeed, if God should pardon some sins, and not others, he would at the same time be a friend and an enemy, and we should be at once both happy and miserable, which are manifest contradictions; besides, God doth nothing in vain: But it would be in vain for God to pardon some sins, but not all! for as one leak in a Ship, unstopped, will sink the Ship; and as one sore, or one disease, not healed, nor cured, will kill the body, so one sin unpardoned will destroy the soul.  
Fourthly: God looks not upon those as Sinners, whose sins are pardoned, Luk. 7. 37. And behold a Woman in the City which was a sinner: A notorious sinner, a branded sinner; mark, it is not said, behold a Woman which is a sinner, but behold a Woman which was a sinner; to note, that sinners converted and pardoned, are no longer reputed sinners. Behold a Woman which was a sinner: look as a man, when he is cleansed from filth, is as if he had never been defiled; so when a Sinner is pardoned, he is in God's account, as if he had never sinned. Hence those phrases in Cant. 4. 7. Thou art all fair my love, and there is no spot in thee, Col. 2. 10. And ye are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power; as though he had said, Because in himself he hath the Wellhead of Glory and Majesty, the which becometh ours; in that he is also the head of his Church, Col. 1. 21. And you that were sometime alienated, and Enemies in your mind, by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, ver. 22. In the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight; that is, by his Righteousness imputed and imparted; Ephe. 5. 27. That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. The word present, is taken from the custom of solemnising a Marriage; first the Spouse was wooed, and then set before her Husband adorned with his Jewels, as Rebecca was with isaac's; Rev. 14. 5. And in their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault, before the Throne of God. 1. They are without fault by imputation. 2. By inchoation. Hence Job is said, to be a perfect man, Job 1. And David to be a man after Gods own heart; Act. 13. 22. The forgiven party is now looked upon, and received with that love and favour, as if he had never offended God, and as if God had never been offended by him, Hos. 14. 1, 2, 4. Isa. 54. 7, 8, 9, 10. Jer. 31. 33, 34, 36, 37. Luk. 15. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. Here the sins of the Prodigal are pardoned, and his Father receives him with such expressions of love and familiarity, as if he had never sinned against him; his Father never so much as objects any one of all his high sinnings against him. Hence it is that you read of such sweet, kind, tender, loving, comfortable expressions of God towards those whose sins he had pardoned, Jer. 31. 16. Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears, verse 20. Is Ephraim my dear Son, is he a pleasant Child? Math. 9 2. Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. The Schools say, that the remission of sins is not only oblativa mali, but collativa boni, a remotion of guilt, but a collation of good. Look as he that is legally acquitted of Theft, or Murder, is no more reputed a Thief or Murdeter; so here, Isa. 50. 20. In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the Iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve. Pardoned sin, is in Gods account no sin; and the pardoned sinner in God's account is no sinner, as the pardoned debtor is no debtor. Where God hath pardoned a man, there he never looks upon that man as a sinner, but as a just man. Pardon of sin is an utter abolition of it, as it doth reflect upon the person making him guilty, and obliging him actually to condemnation; in this respect the pardoned man is as free as if he had never sinned. Therefore the Believer, the Penitent person hath infinite cause of rejoicing, that God hath perfectly pardoned his sins, and that he looks upon him no more a sinner, but as a just and righteous person. O Sirs, what can the great God do more for your comfort and consolation; and therefore never entertain any hard thoughts of God, as if he were like those men, who say, they forgive with all their hearts, and yet retain their secret hatred and inward malice as much as ever, but for ever live in the saith of this truth, viz. That when God doth pardon sin, he takes it so away, as that the party acquitted is no more looked upon as a sinner. Now upon this consideration, what a glorious plea hath every sincere Christian to make in the day of account. But  
Fifthly: Forgiveness takes off our obligation to suffer eternal punishment; so that look as a forgiven Debtor is freed from whatsoever penalty his debt did render him liable to; so is the forgiven sinner from the punishment itself. In this respect Aristotle saith, To forgive sin, is not to punish it. And Austin saith, To forgive sin, is not to inflict the punishment due unto it. And the Schools say, To remit the sin, is not to impute the punishment. When a King pardons a Thief, his theft now shall not prejudice him. The guilt obliging, is that whereby the sinner is actually bound to undergo the punishment due to him by the Law, and passed on him by the Judge for the breach of it; this is that which by the Schools is called the Extrinsecal guilt of sin, to distinguish it from the , which is included in the deordination of the act, and which is inseparable from the sin. And if you would know wherein the nature of forgiveness; immediately, and primarily consists, it is in the taking off this Obligation, and discharging the sinner from it. Hence it is that the pardoned sinner is said not to be under the Law; Rom. 6. 14. and not to be under the Curse, Gal. 3. 13. and not to be under the sentence of Condemnation. And according to this notion, all Scripture-phrases are to be construed, 
Rom. 8. 1.  by which forgiveness is expressed. God, when he forgives sin, he is said to cover them, Psal. 32. 1. Psal. 85. 2. Rom. 4. 7. to remember them no more, Isa. 43. 25. Jer. 31. 34. Heb. 8. 12. To cast them behind his back, Isa. 38. 17. To throw him into the depth of the Sea, Mica. 7. 19 To blot them out as a Cloud, Isa. 4●. 22. And to turn away his face from them, Psal. 51. 9 By all which expressions we are not to think that God doth not know sin, or that God doth not see sin, or that God is not displeased with sin, or that God is not displeased with Believers for their sins; but that he will not so take notice of them, as to enter into judgement with the persons for them. So that the forgiven sinner is free from Obligation of the punishment as truly, as surely, as fully, and as perfectly, as if he had never committed the sin, but were altogether innocent In every sin there are two things considerable; First, The offence which is done to God, whereby he is displeased: Secondly, The Obligation of the man so offending him to eternal Condemnation. Now remission of sin doth wholly lie in the removeing of these two; so that when God doth Will neither to punish, or to be offended with the person, than he is said to forgive. It is true, there remains paternal and medicinal Chastisements after sin is forgiven, but no offence or punishment strictly so taken: And is not this a noble plea for a Believer to make in the day of account? But  
Sixthly: Consider that all the sins of Believers were laid upon Christ their Surety, Heb. 7. 21, 22. What's that? that is, he became bound to God, he became responsible to him for all their sins, for all that God in justice could charge upon them, and demand for satisfaction, Isa. 53. 5, 6. Our Salvation was lai upon one that is mighty, Psal. 89. 19 Isa. 63. 1. As Judah became a Surety to Jacob for Benjamin, he engaged himself to his Father, I will be Surety for him, of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him 〈◊〉 unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever, Gen. 43. 9 Herein he was a Type of Christ (that came of him) who is both our Surety to God for the discharge of our debt and duty, and God's Surety to us for the performance of his Promises. Father, saith Christ, I will take upon me all the sins of thy people; I will be bound to answer for them; I will Sacrifice myself for them; at my hands do thou require satisfaction for their sins, and a full compensation unto thy justic●; I will die, I will lay down my 〈◊〉, I will make my soul an offering for sins; I will become a Curse, I will endure thy Wrath. O what unspeakable comfort is this, that there is a Christ to answer for that which we could never answer; Christ is a Surety in way of satisfaction, undertaking for the Debts, the Trespasses, the Sins of his Elect; in this respect it is that Christ is most properly called a Surety, in regard of his taking upon him the sins of his Elect, and undertaking to answer and make satisfaction unto the justice of God for them. Christ interposeth himself betwixt the wrath of God and his people, undertaking to satisfy their debts, and so to reconcile them unto God. Christ had nothing of his own to be Condemned for; nothing of his own to be acquitted from; He was Condemned to pay your Debt, as your Surety, and therefore you cannot be Condemned too; He was acquitted from it being paid as your Surety, and therefore you cannot but be acquitted too. He appeared the first time with your sin to his Condemnation, He shall appear the second time without your sin, unto your Salvation, Heb. 9 28. God the Father says to Christ, Son, if you would have poor Sinners pardoned, you must take their Debts upon yourself, you must be their Surety, and you must enter into Bonds to pay every farthing of that Debt poor Sinners own; you must pay all if you will undertake for them; for I will ne●er come upon them for it, but on you. Certainly these were some of those transactions that were between God the Father, and God the Son from all Eternity, about-the pardoning of poor sinners; If ever thy sins be pardoned, Christ must take thy Debts upon Himself, and be thy Surety, 2 Cor. 5. 21. He made him to be sin for us that knew no sin. Christ was made sin for us; 1. By way of imputation, for our sins were made to meet upon him, as that Evangelical Prophet hath it, Isa. 53. 6. And secondly by Reputation, for he was reckoned among Malefactors, ver. 12. The way of pardon is by a translation of all our sins upon Christ, it is by charging them all upon Christ's score. That is a great expression of Nathan to David; The Lord hath put away thy sin: But the Original runs thus, The Lord hath made thy sins to pass over; that is, to 
2 Sam 12. 13.  pass over from thee to his Son; he hath laid them to his charge.  
Now Christ hath discharged all his People's Debts and Bonds. There is a twofold debt which lay upon us, one was the debt of Obedience unto the Law; and this Christ did pay by fulfilling all Righteousness, Math. 3. 15. The other was the debt of punishment, for our transgressions; and this debt Christ discharged by his Death on the Cross, Isa. 53. 4, 10, 12. and by being made a Curse for us, to redeem us from the Curse, Gal. 3. 13. Hence it is, that we are said to be bought with a price, 1 Cor. 6. 20. chap. 7. 23. and that Christ is called our Ransom. Lutron. Math. 20. 28. and Antilutron, 1 Tim. 2. 6. The words do signify a valuable price laid down for another's Ransom. The Blood of Christ (the Son of God) was a valuable price, a sufficient price; it was as much as would take off all Enmities, and take away all Sin, and to satisfy Divine Justice, and indeed so it did; and therefore you read, That in his blood we have Redemption, even the forgiveness of our sins, Ephes. 1. 7. Col. 1. 14, 20. and his death was such a full compensation to divine Justice, that the Apostle makes a challenge to all, Rom. 8. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect, and vers. 34. Who is he that Condemneth, it is Christ that died. As if he had said, Christ hath satisfied and discharged all. The Greek word Antilutron is of special Emphasis: The vulgar Latin renders it Redemptionem, Redemption; Beza Redemptioms precium, a price of Redemption; but neither of them fully expressing the force of the word, which properly signifieth a counterprice, when one doth undergo in the room of another, that which he should have undergone in his own person. As when one yields himself a Captive for the Redeeming of another out of Captivity; or giveth his own life for the saving of another's. There were such Sureties among the Greeks, as gave life for life, body for body; and in this sense the Apostle is to be understood, when he saith, that Christ gave himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Ransom, a counterprice, paying a price for his people. Christ hath laid down a price for all Believers; they are his dear bought Ones, they are his choice redeemed Ones, Isa. 51. 11. Christ gave himself Antilutron, a counterprice, a Ransom, submitting himself to the like punishment that his redeemed Ones should have undergone. Christ, to deliver his Elect from the Curse of the Law, did subject himself to that same Curse of the Law, under which all mankind lay. Jesus Christ was a true Surety, one that gave his life for the life of others, as the Apostle saith of Castor and Pollux, that the one redeemed the others life with his own death. So did the Lord Jesus, he became such a Surety for his Elect, giving himself an Antilutron, a Ransom for them, Joh. 6. 51. Tit. 2. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 18. Rev. 1. 5. chap. 5. 9 O what comfort is this unto us to have such a Jesus, who himself bore our sins, even all our sins, left not one unsatisfied for! laid down a full ransom, a full price, such an expiatory Sacrifice, as that now we are out of the hands of Justice, and Wrath, and Death, and Curse, and Hell, and are reconciled, and made near by the Blood of the everlasting Covenant, the Blood of Christ (as the Scripture speaks) is the Blood of God, Act. 20. 28. So that there is not only satisfaction, but merit in his Blood; there is more in Christ's Blood than mere payment or satisfaction; there was merit also in it, to acquire and procure, and purchase all spiritual good, and all eternal good; for the people of God, not only immunities from sin, Death, Wrath, Curse, Hell, etc. but privileges and dignities of Sons and Heirs; yea, all Grace, and all Love, and all Peace, and all Glory; even that glorious Inheritance purchased by his Blood, Ephes. 1. 14.  
Remember this once for all, that in justification our debts are charged upon Christ, they go upon his accounts; you know that in sin, there is the vicious and staining quality of it, and there is the resulting guilt of it, which is the obligation of a Sinner over to the Judgement Seat of God to answer for it. Now this guilt (in which lies our debt) this is charged upon Christ. Therefore (saith the Apostle) God was in Christ, reconciling the World to himself, not imputing their Trespasses unto them, 2 Cor. 5. 19 And hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, ver. 21. You know in Law, the Wife's Debts are charged upon the Husband; and if the Debtor be disabled, than the Creditor sues the Surety. Fide jussor, or Surety and Debtor, in Law, are reputed as one person. Now Christ is our Fide jussor, He is made sin for us, saith the Apostle; for us, that is in our stead. A Surety for us, one who puts our scores on his accounts, our burden on his shoulders; so saith that Princely Prophet Isaiah, Isa. 53. 4, 5. He hath born our griefs, and carried our soroows; how so? He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities; that is, he stood in our stead, he took upon him the answering of our sins, the satisfying of our debts, the clearing of our guilt; and therefore was it, that he was so bruised, etc.  
You remember the scape-Goat, upon his Head, all the Iniquities of the Children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins were confessed and put; And the Goat did b●ar upon him all their Iniquities, Leu. 16. 21, 22. What is the meaning of this? Surely Jesus Christ, upon whom our sins were laid, and who alone died for the ungodly, Rom. 5. 6. and bear our burdens away. Therefore the Believer in the sense of guilt should run unto Christ, and offer up his Blood unto the Father, and say, Lord it is true, I own Thee so much, yet Father forgive me; remember that thine own Son was my Ransom, his Blood was the price, he was my Surety, and undertook to answer for my sins; I beseech thee accept of his Atonement, for he is my Surety, my Redemption: Thou must be satisfied; but Christ hath satisfied thee, not for himself; what sins had he of his own? but for me, they were my debts which he satisfied for; and look over thy book, and thou shalt find it so; for thou hast said, He was made sin for us, and that he was wounded for our transgressions. Now what a singular support, what an admirable comfort is this, that we ourselves are not to make up our accounts and reckon; but that Christ hath cleared all accounts and reckon between God and us. Therefore it is said, That in his blood we have Redemption, even the forgiveness of sins, Eph. 1. 7.  
Quest. Whether it were not against the justice of God, that 
Q.  Christ, who was in himself innocent (without all sin; a Lamb without a spot) should bear and endure all th●se punishments for us who were the offending, and guilty, and obnoxious persons only: Or if you please thus,  
Whether God was not unjust, to give his Son Jesus Christ 
Q.  to be our Surety, and Mediator, and Redeemer, and Saviour? for as much as Christ could not be any one of these, for, and unto us, but by a willing susception of our sins upon himself, to be for them responsible unto the justice of God, in suffering those punishments which were due for our sins.  
I shall speak a few words to this main Question. I say then, that it is not always, and in all cases unjust; but it is sometimes, and in some cases very just to punish one who is himself Innocent; for him, or those, who are the innocent, and guilty; Grotius in his Book, the satisfactione, gives divers instances; but I shall mention only two.  
First: In case of Conjunction where the innocent party, and the nocent party do become legally one party; and therefore, if a Man Marries a Woman indebted, he thereupon becomes obnoxious to pay her debts, although absolutely considered, he was not obnoxious thereunto. But  
Secondly: In case of Surety-ship, where a person knowing the weak and insufficient condition of another, doth yet voluntarily put forth himself, and will be bound to the Creditor for him, as his Surety to answer for him; by reason of which Surety-ship the Creditor may come upon him, and deal with him, as he might have dealt with the principal Debtor himself; and this course we do ordinarily take with Sureties for the recovery of our right, without any violation of justice. Now both these are exactly applicable to the business in hand; for Jesus Christ was pleased to Marry our Nature unto himself; he did partake of our flesh and blood, and became man, and one with us: And besides that, he did both by the Will of his Father, and his own free consent, become our Surety, and was content to stand in our stead or room, so as to be made sin and curse for us, (that is) to have all our debts and sorrows, all our sins and punishments laid upon him; and did engage himself to satisfy God, by bearing and suffering, what we should have born and suffered. And therefore, although Jesus Christ (absolutely considered in himself) was innocent, and had no sin inherent in himself, which therefore might make him liable to Death, and Wrath, and Curse; yet by becoming one with us, and sustaining the office of our Surety, our sins were laid on him; and our sins being laid upon him, he made himself (therefore) obnoxious, (and that justly) to all those punishments which he did suffer for our sins. I do confess, that had Christ been unwilling, and forced into this Surety-ship, or had any detriment, or prejudice risen to any party concerned in this transaction, than some complaint might have been made concerning the Justice of God. But  
First: There was a willingness on all sides for the passive work of Christ; First, God the Father (who was the offended party) he was willing, which Christ assures us of, when he said (Thy Will be done,) Math. 26. 42. Act. 4. 25, 26, 27, 28.) Secondly, We poor Sinners (who are the offending party) are willing. We accept of this gracious and wonderful Redemption, and bless the Lord, who so loved us, as to give his Son for us. And thirdly, Jesus Christ was willing to suffer for us; Behold I come, Psal. 40. 7. And shall I not drink of the Cup which my Father hath given me to drink, Joh. 18. 11. I have a Baptism to be Baptised with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished, Luk. 12. 50. He calls the death of his Cross a Baptism, partly because it was a certain immersion into extreme calamities, into which he was cast; and partly, because in the Cross, He was so to be sprinkled in his own Blood, as if he had been drowned and Baptised in it; the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is here rendered strained, signifies to be pained, pressed, or penned up, not with such a grief as made him unwilling to come to it, but with such as made him desire that it were once over. There seems (saith Grotius) to be a similitude employed in the Original word, taken from a Woman with Child, which is so afraid of her bringing forth, that yet she would fain be eased of her burden, Joh. 10. 11. I am the good Shepherd: The good Shepherd giveth his life for the Sheep; Christ is that good Shepherd by an excellency, that held not his life dear for his Sheep's safety, ver. 15. I lay down my life for the Sheep, vers. 17. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life; vers. 18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. A necessity there was of our Saviour's death, but it was a necessity of immutability (because God had decreed it, Act. 2. 23.) not of coaction; He laid down his life freely, He died willingly. But  
Secondly: No parties whatsoever were prejudiced or lost by it; we lost nothing by it, for we are saved by his death, and reconciled by his death, and Christ lost nothing by it; ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and enter into his glory? Luk. 24. 26. The Captain of our Salvation is made perfect through sufferings, Heb. 2. 10. You may see Christ's glorious Rewards for his sufferings in that, Isa. 53. 10, 11, 12. And God the Father lost nothing by it, for he is glorified by it; I have glorified thee on Earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, Joh. 17. 4. Yea, he is fully satisfied and repaired again in all the honour which he lost by our sinning: I say he is now fully repaired again by the sufferings of Christ, in which he found a price sufficient, and a Ransom, and enough to make peace for ever. In the day of account, a Christians great plea is, that Christ has been his Surety, and paid his debts, and made up his accounts for him.  
Now from what has been said last, a Christian may 
Eccles. 11. 9 cap. 12 14. Math. 12. 1●. cap. 18. 23. Luk. 16. 3. Rom. 14. 10. 2 Cor. 6. 10. Heb. 9 27 cap. 13. 17. 1 Pet 4. 5.  form up this second plea to the ten Scriptures in the Margin, that refer either to the general Judgement, or to the particular Judgement that will pass upon every Christian immediately after death. O blessed Lord! upon my first believing and closing with Jesus Christ, thou didst justify me in the Court of glory, from all my sins, both as to guilt and punishment. Upon my first act of believing, thou didst pardon all my sins, thou didst forgive all my iniquities, thou didst blot out all my transgressions; and as upon my first believing, thou didst give me the Remission of all my sins, so upon my first believing thou didst free me from a state of Condemnation, and interest me in the great Salvation. Upon my first believing, I was united to Jesus Christ, and I was clothed with the 
Rom 8. 1. Heb. 2 3.  Righteousness of Christ, which covered all my sins, and discharged me from all my transgressions; & remember, O Lord, that at the very moment of my dissolution thou didst really, perfectly, universally, and finally forgive all my sins; every debt that moment was discharged, and every Score that moment was crossed, and every Bill and Bond that moment was canceled; so that there was not left in the book of thy remembrance one sin, no not the least sin standing upon Record against my soul: And besides all this, thou knowest, O Lord, that all my sins were laid upon Christ my Surety, and that he became responsible 
Heb. 7. 21. 22.  for them all; he did die, he did lay down his life, he did make his soul an offering for my sins, he did become a curse, he did endure thy infinite wrath, he did give complete satisfaction, and a full compensation unto thy Justice for all my sins, debts, trespasses: This is my plea, O Lord! and by this plea I shall stand: Well, saith the Lord, I allow of this plea, I accept of this plea, as just, honourable, and righteous, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. But  
Seventhly: Consider, that what ever we are bound to do, or to suffer by the Law of God; all that did Christ do, and suffer for us, as being our Surety and Mediator. Now the Law of God hath a double challenge or demand upon us; one is of active obedience, in fulfilling what it requires; the other is of passive obedience, in suffering that punishment which lies upon us, for the transgression of it, in doing what it forbids. For as we are Created by God, we did owe unto him all obedience which he required; and as we sinned against God, we did owe unto him a suffering of all that punishment which he threatened, and we being fallen by transgression, can neither pay the one debt, nor yet the other; we cannot do all that the Law requires. (Nay of ourselves we can do nothing,) neither can we suffer, as to satisfy God in his Justice wronged by us, or to recover ourselves into life and favour again; and therefore Jesus Christ, (who was God made man) did become our Surety, and stood in our stead, or room; and he did perform what we should, but could not perform; and he did bear our sins and our sorrows; he did suffer and bear for us, what we ourselves should have born and suffered; whereby he did fully satisfy the justice of God, and made our peace, and purchased life and happiness for us. Let me a little more clearly and fully open this great truth in these few particulars.  
First: Jesus Christ did perform that active obedience unto the Law of God, which we should (but by reason of sin) could not perform; in which respect he is said, Gal. 4. 4. To be made under the Law, that he might redeem them that were under the Law; So far was Christ under the Law, as to redeem them that were under the Law. But redeem them that were under the Law, he could not, unless by discharging the bonds of the Law in force upon us; and all those bonds could not be, and were not discharged, unless a perfect righteousness had been presented (on our behalf, who were under the Law) to fulfil the Law. Now there is a twofold Righteousness necessary to the actual fulfilling of the Law; one is an internal Righteousness of the Nature of man; the other is an external Righteousness of the Life or works of man: both of these do the Law require. The former, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, etc. which is the sum of the first Table: And thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself, which is the sum of the second Table: the latter, Do this and live, Levit. 18. 5. He that continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the Law, to do them, is Cursed, Gal. 3. 10. Now both these Righteousnesses were sound in Christ; First, the internal, Heh. 7. 26. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, chap. 9 14. And offered himself without spot to God, 2 Cor. 5. 21. He knew no sin. Secondly, External, 1 Pet. 2. 22. He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, Joh. 17. 4 I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, Math. 3. 15. He must fulfil all Righteousness, Rom. 10. 4. Christ is the end of the Law, for Righteousness to every one that believeth. Now concerning Christ's active obedience, to the Law of God these things are considerable in it.  
First: The universality of it, he did whatsoever his Father required, and left nothing of his Fathers will undone; he kept the whole Law, and offended not in one point. What ever was required of us, by virtue of any Law, that he did, and fulfilled. Hence he is said to be made under the Law, Gal. 4. 4. Subject, or obnoxious to it, to all the precepts or commands of it. Christ was so made under the Law, as those were under the Law, whom he was to Redeem. Now we were under the Law, not only as obnoxious to its penalties, but as bound to all the duties of it; that this is our being under the Law, is evident by that of the Apostle, Gal. 4. 2●. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the Law; surely it was not the penalty of the Law they desired to be under, but to be under it in respect of obedience; so Math. 3. 15. Here Christ tell you, That it became him to fulfil all Righteousness, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, all manner of Righteousness whatsoever; that is, every thing that God required, as is evident from the Application of that general Oxiome to the Baptism of John. But  
Secondly: The exactness and perfection of it. He kept the whole Law exactly; as he was not wanting in matter, so he did not fail in the manner of performing his Father's Will; there was no defects, nothing lacking in his obedience; he did all things well, what we are pressing towards, and reaching forth unto, he attained; he was perfect in every good work, and stood complete in the whole will of his Father. And hence it is, that it is Recorded of him, that he was without sin, knew no sin, did no sin, which could not be if he had failed in any thing. But  
Thirdly: The constancy of it. Christ did not obey by sits, but constantly; though we cannot, yet he continued in all things which are written in the book of the Law, to do them. This Righteous One held on his way, he did not fail, nor was he discouraged; yea, when persecution and tribulation did arise against him, because of his doing the Will of his Father, he was not offended, but did always do the things which pleased his Father, as he told the Jews, Joh. 8. 29.  
Fourthly: The delight that he took in doing the Will of his Father, Psal. 40. 8. I delight to do thy Will, O my God; yea, thy Law is within my heart (or in the midst of my bowels, as the Hebrew runs,) by the Law of God we are to understand all the Commandments of God; there is not one Command which Christ did not delight to do. Christ's obedience was without murmuring or grudging; his Father's Commandments were not grievous to him; he tells his Disciples, that it was his 〈◊〉 to do the Will of him that sent him, and to finish his work, John 4. 34. But  
Fifthly: The virtue and efficacy of it, for his obedience, his righteousness never returns to him void, but it always accomplishes that which he pleases, and prospers in the thing whereto he ordains it, and that is the making others Righteous, according to that of the Apostle, Rom. 5. 19 For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners; so by the ●●bedience of one, shall many be made Righteous, 2 Cor. 5. 21. God made him to be sin for us, who knew no 〈◊〉, that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him; and accordingly we are, for of God he is made unto us Righteousness, 1 Cor. 1. 30.  
The perfect, complete Obedience of Christ to the Law, is certainly reckoned to us; that is an everlasting truth: If thou wilt enter into life, keep the Commandments, Math. 19 17. The Commandments must be kept either by ourselves, or by our Surety, or there is no entering into life; Christ did obey the Law, not for himself, but for us, and in our stead, Rom. 5. 18, 19 By the Righteousness of one, the free-gift came upon all men unto justification of life; By the Obedience of one, many shall be made Righteons'. By his Obedience to the Law, we are made Righteous; Christ's Obedience is reckoned to us for Righteousness. Christ, by his Obedience to the Royal Law, is made Righteousness to us, 1 Cor. 1. 30. We are saved by that perfect Obedience, which Christ, when he was in this world, yielded to the blessed Law of God. Mark, what ever Christ did as Mediator, he did it for those whose Mediator he was; or in whose stead, and for whose good he executed the Office of a Mediator before God; this the Holy Ghost witnesseth, Rom. 8. 3, 4. What the Law could not do, in that it was weak, through the flesh. God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us. The word Likeness, is not simply to be referred to flesh, but to sinful flesh, as Basil well observes; for Christ was like unto us in all things, sin only excepted: If with our justification from sin, there be joined that active Obedience of Christ, which is imputed to us, We are just before God, according to that perfect form which the Law requireth. Because we could not in this condition of weakness, whereinto we are cast by sin, come to God, and be freed from Condemnation by the Law, God sent Christ as a Mediator to do, and suffer what ever the Law required at our hands; for that end and purpose, that we might not be condemned, but accepted of God. It was all to this end, that the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us; that is, which the Law required of us, consisting in duties of obedience, this Christ performed for us: This expression of the Apostle, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; if you will add to it that of Gal. 4. 4. That he was so sent forth, as that he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, made under the Law; that is, obnoxious to it, to yield all the obedience that it doth require, compares the whole of what Christ did, or suffered; and all this, the Holy Ghost tells us, was for us, vers. 4. He that made the Law as God, was made under the Law as God-Man, whereby both the obligations of the Law fell upon him, 1. Penal. 2. Praeceptive. First, The penal Obligation to undergo the Curse, and so to satisfy Divine Justice. Secondly, The praeceptive Obligation, to fulfil all Righteousness, Math. 3. 15. This Obligation he fulfilled by doing, the other by Dying; Mark, this double Obligation could not have befallen the Lord Jesus Christ, upon any natural account of his own, but upon his Mediatory account only, as he voluntarily became the Surety of this New and better Covenant, Heb. 7. 22. so that the fruit and benefit of Christ's voluntary subjection to the Law, redoundeth not at all to himself, but unto the persons which were given him of the Father, Joh. 17. whose Sponsor he became; for their sakes he underwent the penal Obligation of the Law, that it might do them no harm, He being made a Curse for us, Gal. 3. 13. and for their sakes he fulfilled the praeceptive Obligation of the Law; do this, that so the Law might do them good. This the Evangelical Apostle clearly asserts, Christ is the end of the Law for Righteousness, to every one that believeth, Romans 10. 4. Christ is the end of the Law, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, what end? why sinis perfectiws, the perfection and accomplishment of the Law; he is the end of the Law for Righteousness; that is, to the end, that by Christ, his active obedience, God might have his perfect Law perfectly kept, that so there might be a Righteousness extant in the humane nature, every way adequate to the perfection of the Law: And who must wear this Garment of Righteousness, when Christ hath finished it? Surely the Believer, who wanted a Righteousness of his own; for so it follows, for Righteousness to every one that believeth; that is, that every poor naked Sinner, believing in Jesus Christ, might have a Righteousness; wherein being found, he might appear at God's Tribunal, but his nakedness not appears. But as Jacob in the Garment of his Elder Brother Esau, so the Believer in the Garment of his Elder Brother Jesus, might inherit the blessing, even the great blessing of Justification.  
The only matter of man's Righteousness, since the fall of Adam, wherein he can appear with comfort before the justice of God; and consequently, whereby alone, he can be justified in his sight, is the obdience and sufferings of Jesus Christ, the Righteousness of the Mediator; there is not any other way imaginable, how the Justice of God may be satisfied, and we may have our sins pardoned in a way of justice, but by the Righteousness of the Son of God, and therefore is his name Jehovah, Tridkenna The Lord our Righteousness, Jer. 23. 6. This is his name; that is, this is the prerogative of the Lord Jesus, a matter that appertains to him alone, to be able to bring in an everlasting Righteousness, and to make reconciliation for Iniquity, Dan. 9 24. It is by Christ alone, That they who believe, are justified from all things, from which they cannot be 
Eccl●s. 11 9 cap 12. 14 Matth. 1●. 14. cap. 18. 2●. Luk. 16. 3. Rom. 1●. 10. 2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 10. Heb 9 27. cap. 13. ●7. 1 Pet. 4. 5.  justified by the Law of Moses, Act. 13. 39  
Now from the active obedience of Christ, a sincere Christian may form up this third plea as to the ten Scriptures in the Margin, that refer either to the general judgement, or to the particular judgement that will pass upon every Christian immediately after death. O! blessed God, thou knowest that Jesus Christ, as my Surety, did perform all that active obedience unto thy holy and righteous Law that I should have performed; but by reason of the indwelling power of sin, and of the vexing and molesting power of sin, and of the captivating power of sin, could not. There was in Christ an habitual righteousness, a conformity of his nature to the holiness of the Law; for 
1 Pet. 1. 19  he is a Lamb without spot and blemish; the Law could never have required so much righteousness as is to be found in him; and as for practical righteousness, there was never any aberration in his thoughts, words, or deeds. 
H●b. 7. 26.  The Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. 
John 14. 30.  The Apostle tells us, That we are made the Righteousness of God in him; he doth emphatically add that clause, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 
2 Cor. 6. 21.  in him, that he may take away all conceit of inherence in us, and establish the Doctrine of imputation: As Christ is made sin in us by imputation, so we are made righteousness in him by the same way. Augustine's place which Beza citys is a most full Commentary; God the Father (saith he) made him to be sin, who know no sin, that we might be the Righteousness of God, not our own; and in him, that is in Christ, not in ourselves; and being thus justified, we are so Righteous, as if we were Righteousness itself. O! holy God, Christ my Surety hath universally kept thy Royal Law, he hath not offended in any one point; yea, he hath exactly and perfectly kept the whole Law of God, he stood complete in the whole will of the Father; his active obedience was so full, so perfect, and so adequate to all the Laws, demands, that the Law could not but say, I have enough, I am fully satisfied; I have found a Ransom, I can ask no more. Neither was the obedience of Christ fickle or transient, but permanent and constant; it was his delight, his meat and drink; yea, his Heaven to be still a doing the will of his Father. Assuredly; whilst our Lord 
Joh. 4. 33, 34.  Jesus Christ was in this world, he did in his own person fully obey the Law; he did in his own person perfectly conform to all the holy, just, and righteous commands of the Law. Now this his most perfect and complete obedience to the Law, is made over to all his Members, to all Believers, to all sincere Christians; it is reckoned to them, it is imputed to them, as if they themselves, in their own persons had performed it. All sound Believers being in Christ, as their head and Surety, the Laws righteousness is fulfilled in them legally, and imputively, though it be not fulfilled in them formally, subjectively, inherently, or personally suitable to that of the Apostle, That the Righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us; mark, not by us, but in us; for Christ in our Nature 
R●m 8 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which Beza well tenders, 〈◊〉 legis, that the right of the Law might be fulfilled in us.  hath fulfilled the right of the Law, and therefore in us, because of our communion with him, and our engrafting into him, God hath condemned sin the flesh of his Son, that, all that which the Law by a right could require of us, might be performed by him for us; so as if we ourselves, had in our own persons performed the same. The Law must have its right before a Sinner can be saved; we cannot of ourselves fulfil the right of it: But here's the comfort, Christ our Surety hath fulfilled it in us, and we have fulfilled it in him. Certainly, whatsoever Christ did concerning the Law, is ours by imputation, so fully, as if ourselves had done it. Does the Law require obedience? saith Christ, I will give it. Does the Law threaten Curses? saith Christ, 
Math 3 15. cap. 5, 17, 18,  they shall be borne. The precept of the Law, saith Christ, shall be kept, and the promises received, and the punishments endured, that poor Sinners may be saved. Our Righteousness and Title to eternal life do indispensably depend upon the imputation of Christ's active obedience to us; there must be a perfect obeying of the Law, as the condition of life, either by the Sinner himself, or by his Surety, or else no life, which doth sufficiently evince the absolute necessity of the imputation of Christ's active obedience to us; the Sinner himself being altogether unable to fulfil the Law, that he may stand Righteous before the great and glorious God. Christ's fulfilling of it must necessarily be imputed to him in order to righteousness. There are two great things which Jesus Christ did undertake for his redeemed one's; the one was to make full satisfaction to Divine Justice for all their sins. Now this he did by his Blood and Death, the other was to yield most absolute conformity to the Law of God, both in nature and life; by the one, he has freed all his Redeemed one's from Hell, and by the other he has qualified all his Redeemed one's from Heaven. This is my Plea O Lord, and by this plea I shall stand. Well, saith the Lord, I accept of this plea as honourable, just, and righteous, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.  
Secondly: As Jesus Christ did for us, perform all that active obedience which the Law of God required; so he did also suffer all those punishments which we had deserved by the transgression of the Law of God, in which respect he is said, 2 Cor. 2. 22. To be made sin for us, 1 Pet. 2. 24. Himself to bear our sins in his own body on the Tree, 1 Pet. 3. 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, Phil. 2. 8. To humble himself and to become obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross, Gal. 3. 13. To be made a Curse, an Exceration for us, Ephe. 5. 2. To give himself for us an Offering and Sacrifice unto God, Heb. 9 15. And for this cause he is the Mediator of the New Testament; that by means of Death, for the Redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Testament, they which were called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Now concerning the passive obedience, or suffering of Christ, I would present unto you these conclusions.  
First: That the sufferings of Jesus Christ were free and voluntary, and not constrained or forced. Austin saith, that Christ did suffer quia voluit, & quando voluit, & quomodo voluit, Joh. 10. 17. I lay down my life, ver. 18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again, Gal. 2. 20. Who gave himself for me. Christ's sufferings did rise out of obedience to his Father, Joh. 10. 18. This Commandment have I received of my Father, and Joh. 18. 11. The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? And Christ's sufferings did spring and rise out of his love to us, who loved me, and gave himself for me, Gal. 2. 20. so Ephe. 5. 25. As Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it. And indeed, had Christ's sufferings been involuntary, they could not have been a part of his obedience, much less could they have mounted to any thing of merit for us. Christ was very free and willing to undertake the work of man's Redemption; when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and Offerings thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me; Then said I, 
H●b. 1●. 5.  Lo, I come to do thy Will O God, It's the expression of one overjoyed to do the Will of God; So Luk. 12. 50. I have a Baptism to be Baptised with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished. There was no power, no force to compel Christ to lay down his life, therefore it is called the offering of the body of Jesus, Heb. 10. 10. Nothing could fasten Christ to the Cross, but the golden link of his free Love. Christ was big of love, and therefore he freely opens all the pores of his body, that his blood may flow out from every part, as a precious Balsam to cure our wounds. The heart of Christ was so full of love, that it could not hold, but must needs burst out through every part and member of his body into a bloody sweat, Luk. 22. 44. At this time it is most certain, that there was no manner of violence offered to the body of Christ; no man touched him, or came near him with Whips or Thorns, or Spears, or Lances. Though the Night was cold, and the Air cold, and the Earth on which he kneeled cold, yet such a burning love he had in his breasts to his people, as cast him into a bloody sweat. 'Tis certain that Christ never repent of his sufferings, Isa. 53. 11. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. It is a Metaphor that alludes to a Mother, who though she hath had hard labour, yet doth not repent of it, when she sees a Child brought forth. So though Christ had hard Travel upon the Cross, yet he doth not repent of but thinks all his sweat and blood well bestowed, because he sees the Manchild of Redemption is brought forth into the world. He shall be satisfied, the Hebrew word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies such a satiating as a man hath at some sweet repast, or banquet. And what does this speak out, but his freeness in suffering.  
But here some may object, and say, that the Lord Jesus, Obj. when the hour of his sufferings drew nigh, did repent of his Suretyship; and in a deep passion, prayed to his Father to be released from his sufferings: Father, if it be possible, let this Cup pass from me, (and that three times over,) Math. 26. 39, 42, 44.  
Now to this Objection I shall Answer, first more generally; Answ. and secondly, more particularly.  
First, in the general: I say that this earnest prayer of his doth not denote absolutely his unwillingness, but rather sets out the greatness of his willingness; for although Christ as a man, was of the same natural affections with us, and desires, and abhorrences, of what was destructive to nature, and therefore did fear and deprecate that bitter cup which he was ready to drink; yet as our Mediator and Surety, and knowing it would be a Cup of Salvation to us, (though of exceeding bitterness to himself) he did yield and lay aside his natural reluctancies as Man, and willingly obeyed his Father's will to drink it, as our loving Mediator, as if he should say, O Father, whatsoever becometh of me, of my natural f●ar, or desire, I am content to submit, to the drinking of this Cup, thy Will be done. But  
Secondly, and more particularly I Answer, that in these words of our Lord there is a twofold voice. 1. There is vox nature, the voice of nature; Let this Cup pass from me. 2. There is vox officii, the voice of his Mediatory office; 〈…〉 less, not as I will, but as thou wilt.  
The first voice (〈◊〉 this Cup pass) intimates the velleity of the inferior part of his Soul; the sensitive part proceeding from unnatural abhorrency of death as he was a Creature. The latter voice (Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt) expre●● the full and free consent of his will, complying with the will of his Father in that grand everlasting design of bringing many Sons unto glory, by making the Captain of their Salvation perfect through sufferings, Heb. 2. 10.  
It was an Argument of the truth of Christ, his humane Nature that he naturally dreaded a dissolution. He owed it to himself as a Creature, to desire the conservation of his being, and he could not become unnatural to himself, For no man ever yet hated his own Flesh, Ephe. 5. 29. Phil. 2. 8. But being a Son, he learned submission, and became obedient to the death, even the death of the Cross; that shameful, cruel, cursed death of the Cross; the suffering whereof he owed to that solemn Astipulation, which from everlasting passed between his Father and himself, the third person in the blessed Trinity, the Holy Ghost being witness. And therefore, though the Cup was the bitterest Cup that ever was given man to drink, as wherein there was not death only, but wrath, and curse: Yet seeing there was no other way left of satisfying the justice of his Father, and of saving Sinners, most willingly he took the Cup, and having given thanks (as it were) in those words, The Cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it: Never did Bridegroom go with more cheerfulness to be Married to his Bride, than our Lord Jesus went to his Cross, Luk. 12. 20.  
Though the Cup that God the Father put into Christ's hand, was bitter, very bitter, yea, the bitterest that ever was put into any hand, yet he found it sweetened with three Ingredients. 1. It was but a Cup, it was not a Sea. 2. It was his Father (and not Satan) that mingled it, and that 〈◊〉 in all the bitter Ingredients that were in it. 3. It was a gilt, not a Curse, as to himself; The Cup which my 〈◊〉 giveth me; he drank it, I say, and drank it 〈◊〉 every drop, leaving nothing behind for his Redeem 〈…〉 of Love and Salvation; in the Sacramen●● Cup of his own Institution, saying, This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood, for the Remission of sins; This 〈◊〉 in remembrance of me, 1 Cor. 11. 25. Math. 26. 28. Thus (my Friends) look upon Christ as Mediator (in which capacity only, he covenanted with his Father for the Salvation of mankind;) and there was not so much as a shadow of any receding from, or repenting of what he had undertaken. But  
Secondly: As the sufferings of Jesus Christ were very free and voluntary, so they were very great and heinous; what agony, what torment was our Saviour wracked with? how deep were his wounds, how weighty his burden, how full of trembling his Cup, when he lay under the Mountains of the guilt of all the Elect? How bitter were his Tears, how painful his Sweat, how sharp his encounters, how dreadful his Death? who can impute how many Vials of Gods inexpressible, insupportable wrath Christ drank off; in that 53. of Isa. you may read of despising, rejected, stripes, smile, wounds, sorrows, bruising, chastisement, oppression, affliction, cutting off, putting to grief, and pouring out of his soul to death; all these put together, speaks out Christ to be a very great sufferer; he was a man of sorrows, as if he were a man made up of sorrows, (as the man of sin, as if he were made up of sin) as if He were nothing else: He knew more sorrows than any man, yea, than all men ever did; 〈◊〉 Iniquity (and consequently the sorrows) of all men met in him, as if he had been their centre, and he was acquainted with griefs; he had little acquaintance else, grief was his familiar acquaintance, he had no acquaintance with laughter; we read not that he laughed at all, when he was in the world; his other acquaintance stood afar off, but grief followed him to the Cross, from his Birth to his Death; from his Cradle to the Cross; from the Womb to the Tomb; he was a man of sorrows, and never were sorrows like his; he might say, Never grief or sorrow like mine: 'Tis indeed impossible to express the sufferings and sorrows of Christ; and the Greek Christians used to beg of God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that for the unknown sufferings of Christ, he would have mercy upon them: Though Christ's ●●rings are abundantly made known, yet they are but little known; eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it, or can it enter into the heart of man to conceive what Christ suffered, who hath known the power of God's wrath? Christ Jesus knew it, for he underwent it, his whole life was made up of sufferings; He was no sooner born, but sufferings came trooping in upon him; He was born in an Inn, yea, in a Stable, and had but a Manuger for his Cradle. As soon as his Birth was noised abroad, Herod, under a pretence of worshipping of him, had a design to murder him, so that his supposed Father was fain to fly into Egypt to secure his life; he was persecuted before he could (after the manner of men) be sensible of persecution; and as he grew up in years, so his sufferings grew up with him; Hunger and Thirst, Travel and Weariness, Scorns and Reproaches, false Accusations and Contradictions still waited on him, and he had not where to lay his head, 1 Pet. 3. 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins. This is the wonderment of Angels, the happiness of fallen man, and the torment of Devils, etc. that Christ hath suffered. The Apostles words look like a Riddle, Christ hath suffered; as if he should say, read thou if thou canst what he hath suffered; as for my part they are so many, that in this short Epistle I have no mind to Record them; and they are so grievous, that my passionate love won't suffer me to repeat them, and therefore I content myself thus abruptly to deliver them. Christ hath suffered; Christ's sufferings were unspeakable, His sufferings were unutterable; and therefore the Apostle satisfies himself with this unperfect broken speech, Christ hath suffered. O what woes and lamentations, what cries and exclamations, what complaints and sorrows, what wring of hands, what knocking of breasts, what weeping of eyes, what wailing of tongues belong to the speaking and hearing of this doleful Tragedy? Even in the Prologue I tremble, and at the first entrance I am as at a nonplus, that I know not with what woeful gesture to act it, with what moanful voice to pronounce it, with what mournful words, with what pathetical speeches, with what emphatical phrases, with what interrupted accents, with what passionate compassionate plaints to express it. The multiplicity of the plot, and the variety of the acts and scenes is so intricate, that my memory falls to comprise it; the matter so importent, and the story so excellent, that my tongue sail● to declare it; the cruelty so savage, and the massacre so barbarous, that my heart even fails to consider it. Wherefore I must needs content myself (with the Apostle here) to speak, but unperfectly of it, and thinks this enough to say, Christ hath suffered; and well may I think this enough, for behold, what perfection there is in this seeming imperfect speech. For  
First, To say indefinitely, he suffered without any limitation of time; what is it but to say that he always suffered without exception of time? And so indeed the Prophet speaks of him, namely, That he was a man of sorrows, Isa. 53. 3. His whole life was filled up with sufferings. But  
Secondly: To say only he suffered, and nothing else; what is it, but to say, that he patiently suffered; he never resisted, never rebelled, never opposed? He was led as a Sheep to the slaughter; and as a Lamb dumb before the Sheerer, so opened he not his mouth, Act. 8. 32. Isa. 53. 7. And when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not, 1 Pet. 2. 23. But  
Thirdly: To say precisely he suffered, and no more; what is it, but to say that he freely suffered, that he voluntarily suffered? Christ was under no force, no compulsion, but freely suffered himself to suffer, and voluntarily suffered the Jews to make him suffer, having power to quit himself from suffering if he had pleased. I lay down my life, no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again, Joh. 10. 17. But of this before.  
Fourthly: To say plainly he suffered; what is it, but to say that he Innocently suffered, that he wrongfully suffered? for had he been a Malefactor, or an Offender, it should have been said, that he was punished, or that he was executed; but he was full of Innocency, he was holy and harmless; and so it follows in that 1 Pet. 3. 18. The just for the unjust. But  
Fifthly: To say peremptorily he suffered, what is it but to say that he principally suffered, that he excessively suffered: To say he suffered, What is it but to say he was the chief sufferer, the arch sufferer? and that not only in respect of the manner of his sufferings, that he suffered absolutely so as never did any; but also in respect of the measure of his sufferings, that he suffered excessively beyond what ever any did. And thus we may well understand, and take those words, He suffered. That lamentation of the Prophet, Lam. 1. 12. (is very applicable to Christ.) Behold and see if there be any sorrows like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fiorce anger. Now is it not enough for the Apostle to say that Christ hath suffered; but will you yet ask what? But pray Friends be satisfied, and rather of the two, ask what not? for what sufferings can you think of, that Christ did not suffer. Christ suffered in his Birth, and he suffered in his Life, and he suffered in his Death; he suffered in his Body, for he was diversely tormented; he suffered in his Soul, for his Soul was heavy unto death; he suffered in his Estate, they parted his Raiment, and he had not where to rest his head; he suffered in his good Name, for he was counted a Samaritan, a Devilish Sorcerer, a Wine-bibber, an Enemy to Caesar, etc. He suffered from Heaven, when he cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He suffered from the Earth, when being hungry, the Figtree proved fruitless to him: He suffered from Hell, Satan assaulting and encountering of him, with his most black and horrid temptations: He began his life meanly and basely, and was sharply persecuted; He continued his life poorly and distressedly, and was cruelly hated: He ended his life woefully and miserably, and was most grievously tormented with Whips, Thorns, Nails, and (above all) with the terrors of his Father's wrath and horrors of hellish agonies.  
Ego sum qui peccavi: I am the man that have sinned; but these Sheep, what have they done? said David, when he saw the Angel destroying his people, 2 Sam. 24. 17. And the same speech may every one of us take up for ourselves, and apply to Christ, and say, I have sinned, I have done wickedly; but this Sheep, what hath he done? yea, much more cause have we than David had, to take up this complaint. For  
First: David saw them die, whom he knew to be Sinners, but we see him die, who (we knew) knew no sin, 2 Cor. 5. 21. But  
Secondly: David saw them die a quick speedy death, we see him die with linger torments; He was a dying from six to nine, Math. 27. 45, 46. Now in this three hours' darkness, he was set upon by all the powers of darkness with utmost might and malice; but he foiled and spoiled them all, and made an open show of them (as the Roman Conquerors used to do) triumphing over them on his Cross, as on his Chariot of State, Col. 2. 15. attended by his vanquished Enemies, with their hands bound behind them, Ephe. 4. 8. But  
Thirdly: David saw them die, who (by their own confession) was worth ten thousand of them; we see him die for us, whose worth admitteth no comparison. But  
Fourthly: David saw the Lord of glory destroying mortal men; and we see mortal men destroying the Lord of glory, 1 Cor. 2. 8. O how much more cause have we then to say as David, I have sinned, I have done wickedly; but this Innocent Lamb, the Lord Jesus, what hath he done, what hath he deserved, that he should be thus greatly tormented. Tully, though a great Orator, yet when he comes to speak of the death of the Cross, he wants words to express it. (Quid dicam in crucem tollere,) What shall I say of this death, saith he. But  
Thirdly: As the sufferings of Christ were very great, so the punishments which Christ did suffer for our sins, these were in their kinds, and parts, and degrees, and proportion, all those punishments which were due unto us, by reason of our sins, & which we ourselves should otherwise have suffered: Whatsoever we should have suffered as Sinners, all that did Christ suffer as our Surety and Mediator, (always excepting those punishments which could not be endured without a pollution and guilt of sin●) The chasrisement of our peace was upon him, Isa. 53. 5. (And including the punishments common to the nature of man, not the personal arising out of imperfection, and defect, and distemper. Now the punishments due to us for sin, were corporal, and spiritual. And again, they were the punishments of loss, and of sense; and all these did Christ suffer for us, which I shall evidence by an induction of particulars.  
First: That Christ suffered corporal punishments, is most clear in Scripture: You read of the Injuries to his Person, of the Crown of Throns' on his Head, of the smiting of his Cheeks, of spitting on his Face, of the scourging of his Body, of the Cross on his Back, of the Vinegar in his Mouth, of the Nails in his Hands and Feet, of the Spear in his Side, and of his crucifying and dying on the Cross, 1 Pet. 2. 24. Who himself, in his own body on the Tree bore our sins, 1 Cor. 15. 3. Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, Rev. 1. 5. And washed us from our sins in his own Blood, Col. 1. 14. In whom we have Redemption through his Blood, even the forgiveness of sins, Math. 26. 28. For this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Christ suffered derision in every one of his Offices.  
First: In his Kingly Office: They put a Sceptre in his Hand, a Crown on his Head, and bowed their Knees, saying, Hail King of the Jews Matth. 27. 29.  
Secondly: In his Priestly Office: They put upon him a gorgeous white Robe, such as the Priests wore, Luk. 23. 11.  
Thirdly: In his Prophetical Office: When they had blindfolded him, Prophecy, say they, who it is that smiteth thee, Luk. 22. 64. Sometimes they said, Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a Devil, Joh. 8. 48. And sometimes they said, He is beside himself, why hear ye him, Mark. 3. 21.  
And as Christ suffered in every one of his Offices, so he suffered in every member of his Body; in his Hearing by their reproaches, and crying, Crucify him, Crucify him. In his sight by their Scoffing, and scornful gestures. In his Smell, in his being in that noisome place G●lgotha, Math. 27. 33. In his Taste, by his tasting of Vinegar mingled with Gall, which they gave him to drink, Math. 27. 33. In his Feeling, by the Thorns on his Head, blows on his Cheeks, spittle on his Face, the Spear in his side, and the Nails in his Hands; he suffered in all parts and members of his body from head to foot: His Head (which deserved a better Crown than the best in the world) was Crowned with Thorns, and they smote him on the head. Osorius writing of the sufferings of Christ, saith, That the Crown of Throns' bored his head with seventy-two wounds. To see that Head (before which, Angels cast down themselves and worshipped (as I may say) Crowned with Throns', might well amaze us. To see those Eyes that were purer than the Sun, put out by the darkness of death: To see those Ears, which hear nothing (to speak to capacity) but Hallelujahs of Saints and Angels, to hear the Blasphemies of the multitude: To see that Face which was fairer than the Sons of men (for being born and conceived without sin, he was freed from the contagious effects of it, Deformity, and was most perfectly beautiful, Psal. 45. 2. Cant. 5. 10.) to be spit on by those beastly wretched Jews. To see that Mouth and Tongue, that spoke as never man spoke, accused for false Doctrines, nay Blasphemy. To see those Hands, which freely swayed the Sceptre of Heaven, nailed to the Cross. To see those Feet, like unto fine brass, Rev. 1. 15. nailed to the Cross for man's sins. Who can behold Christ thus suffering in all the members of his Body, and not be struck with astonishment. Who can sum up the horrible abuses that were put upon Christ by his base Attendants. The Evangelist tells us, that they spit in his Face, and buffeted him; and that others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that smote thee? Math. 26. 67, 68 And as Luke adds, many other things Blasphemously speak they against him, Luk. 22. 65. What those many other things were, is not discovered, only some ancient Writers say, That Christ in that night suffered so many, and such hideous things, that the whole knowledge of them is reserved only for the last day of judgement. Mallonius writes thus, After Caiphas and the Priests had sentenced Christ worthy of death, they committed him to their Ministers, warily to keep till day, and they immediately threw him into the Dungeon, in Caiphas' house; there they bond him to a stony pillar, with his hands bound on his back, and then they fell upon him with their palms and fists. Others add, That the Soldiers, not yet content, they threw him into a filthy, dirty puddle, where he abode for the remainder of that night; of which the Psalmist seems to speak, Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, and in the deeps, and I sink in the deep mire, where there is no standing, Psal. 88 6. Psal. 69. 2. But that you may clearly see what horrible abuses were put upon Christ by his Attendants: Consider seriously of these particulars.  
First: They spit in his Face, Math. 26. 67. Now this was accounted among the Jews, a matter of great infamy and reproach, Numb. 14. And the Lord said to Moses, If her Father had spit in her Face, should she not be ashamed seven days. Spitting in the face, among the Jews, was a sign of anger, shame, and contempt, Job. 30. 10. They abhor me, they fly far from me, and spare not to spit in my Face. The face is the table of beauty or comeliness, and when it is spit upon, it is made the feat of shame. Spitting in the face, was a sign of the greatest disgrace that could be put upon a person; and therefore it could not but be very bitter to Job, to see base Beggars spit in that Face that was wont to be honoured by Princes: But this we are not to wonder at, for there is no indignity so base and ignominious, but the choicest Saints may meet with it, in and from this evil world. Afflicted persons are sacred things, and by the Laws of Nature and Nations, should not be misused and trampled upon, but rather pitied and lamented over: But barbarous Miscreants, when they have an opportunity, they will not spare to exercise any kind of cruelty, as you see by their spitting in the very Face of Christ himself. I hide not my Face (saith Christ) from 
Isa. 50. 6. 2.  shame and spitting, thou I was sairer than the Children of men, Psal. 45. 2. yet I used no Mask to keep me fair, though I was white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand, Cant. 5. 10. yet I preserved not my Beauty from their nasty spittle. O that, that sweet & blessed Face of Jesus Christ, that is so much honoured and adored in Heaven, should ever be spit upon by beastly wretches in this world.  
Secondly: They struck him, Joh. 18. 22. One of the Officers which stood by, struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high Priest so? Because our Saviour gave not the Highpriest his usual titles, but dealt freely with him, this impious Apparitor, or Sergeant, to curry favour with his Master, strikes him with his hand, with his rod say some, with his stick say others; like Master, like Man. O that that holy Face, which was designed to be the object of Heaven, in the beholding of which, much of the Celestial glory doth consist; that that Face which the Angels stare upon with wonder, like Infants at a bright Sunbeam, should ever be smitten by a base Varlet in the presence of a Judge. Among all the sufferings of Christ, one would think that there was no great matter in this, that a vain Officer did strike him with the palm of his hand; & yet if the Scriptures are consulted, you will find that the Holy Ghost lays a great stress upon it. Thus Jeremy, He giveth his Check to him that smiteth him, he is filled full with reproach, Lam. 3. 30. Christ did patiently and willingly take the stripes that vain men did injuriously lay upon him; he sustained all kinds of vexations from the hands of all kinds of ungodly ones. Thus Micah speaking of Christ, saith, They shall sinite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek, Mica. 5. 1. Hngo, by this Judge of Israel, understandeth our Lord Jesus Christ, who was indeed at his passion contumeliously buffeted and smitten with rods upon the cheek, Math. 26. 67. By smiting the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek, they express their scorn and contempt of Christ. Smiting upon the face, the Apostle makes a sign of great reproach, 2 Cor. 11. 20. If a man smite you on the face, there is nothing more disgraceful (saith Chrysostom) than to be smitten on the check, Christ. Hom. 82. in Joh. c. 18. And the divers reading of the original word does fully evidence it. He struck him with a rod, or he struck him with the palm of his han 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Now the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, say some, refers to his being struck with a rod, or club, or shoe, or plantofle; others say, it refers to his being struck with the palm of men's hands: Now of the two, it is generally judged more disgraceful to be struck with the palm of the hand, than to be struck with either a rod, or a shoe; and therefore we read the Text thus, He struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, that is, with open hand, or with his hand stretched out.  
Some of the Ancients commenting on this cuff, say, Let the Heavens be afraid, and let the Earth tremble at Christ's 
Crysost●m Hom. 81. in John c. 18.  patience, and this Servants impudence. O ye Angels! how were ye silent? how could you contain your hands, when you saw his hand striking at God? If we consider him 
Aug. in Trall. 13.  (saith another) who took the blow, was not he that struck him, worthy to be consumed of fire, or to be swallowed up of Earth, or to be given up to Satan, and thrown down into Hell. Bernard saith, that his hand that struck Christ, was 
Ber. ser. de pas. vinc. Serm. de pas. Ludo de vita Christi.  armed with an iron glove: And Vincentius affirms, That by the blow, Christ was felled to the Earth: And Ludovicus adds, that blood gushed out of his mouth, and that the impression of the Varlets fingers remained on Christ's cheek with a tumour and wan colour. If a Subject should but lift up his hand against his Sovereign, would he not be severely punished? but should he strike him, would it not be present death? O what desperate madness, and wickedness was it then to strike the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, whom not only men, but the Cherubims, and Siraphims, 
Rev. 17. 16.  and all the Celestial powers above adore and worship? Heb. 1. 6. Those Monsters in that Math. 26. 67. did not only strike Christ with the palm of their hands, but they buffeted him also. Now some of the Learned observe this difference betwixt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the one is given with the open hand, the other with the fist shut up; and thus they used him at this time; they struck him with their fists, and so the stroke was greater and more offensive, for by this means they made his face to swell, and to become full of bunches all over. One gives it in thus, by these blows of their fists, his whole head was swollen, his face became black and blue, and his teeth ready to fall out of his jaws. Very probable it is, that with the violence of their strokes, they made him reel and stagger, they made his mouth, and nose, and face to bleed, and his eyes to startle in his head.  
Now concerning Christ's sufferings on the Cross; I shall only hint at a few things, and so close up this particular concerning Christ's corporeal sufferings; take me thus.  
First: The death of Christ on the Cross; It was a bitter death, a sorrowful death, a bloody death; the bitter thoughts of his sufferings put him into a most dreadful agony, Luk. 22. 24. Being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as great drops of blood falling to the ground. The Greek word that is here used 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifies a striving or wrestling against, as two combatants or wrestlers do strive each against other. The things which our Saviour strove against, was not only the terror of death, as other men are wont to do, (for then many Christians and Martyrs might have seemed more constant and courageous than he) but with the terrible justice of God, pouring out his high anger and indignation upon him, on the account of all the sins of his chosen that 
Isa 53 4, 5, 6.  were laid upon him, than which nothing could be more dreadful. Christ was in a vehement conflict in his soul, through the deepest sense of his Father's wrath against sinners; for whom he now stood as a Surety and Redeemer, 2 Cor. 5. 21. And for a close of this particular, let me say, that God's justice which we have provoked, being fully satisfied by the inestimable merit of Christ's passion, is the surest and highest ground of consolation that we have in this world; but for the more full opinion of this blessed Scripture, let us take notice of these following particulars.  
First: His sweat was as it were blood: Some of the Ancients looks upon these words only as a similitude, or figurative hyberbole, it being a usual kind of speech to call a vehement sweat a bloody sweat; as he that weeps bitterly is said to weep tears of blood; but the most and best of the Ancients understand the words in a literal sense, and believe it was truly and properly a bloody sweat, and with them I close. But some will object and say, it was (sicut guttae sanguinis,) as it were drops of blood. Now to this I answer.  
First: If the Holy-Ghost had only intended that sicut for a similitude or hyperbole, he would rather have expressed it as it were drops of nature, than as it were drops of blood; for we all know that sweat is more like to water than to blood. But  
Secondly: I answer that sicut, as in Scripture-phrase, doth not always denote a similitude, but sometimes the very thing itself, according to the verity of it. Take an instance or two instead of many: We beheld his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father; and their words seemed to them as it were idle tales, and they believed them not; the words in the original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, are the same. Certainly Christ's sweat in the Garden was a wonderful sweat, not a sweat of water, but of red gore-blood. But  
Secondly: He sweat great drops of blood, clotty blood issuing through flesh and skin in great abundance. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, clottered or congealed blood. There is a thin faint sweat, and there is a thick clotted sweat; in this sweat of Christ, blood came not from him in small dews, but in great drops, they were drops, and great drops of blood, crassy and thick drops: Some read it droppings down of blood, that is blood distilling in greater and grosser drops; and hence it is concluded, as preternatural; for though much may be said for sweeting blood in a course of Nature, according to what Aristotle affirms, 
Arist. 〈◊〉 3. de hist. Animal. c. 29 August. h. 14. the civet dei. c 24.  and Austin saith, that he knew a man that could sweat blood, even when he pleased; & it is granted on all hands, that in faint bodies, a subtle thin blood like sweat may pass through the pores of the skin; but that through the same pores crassy thick & great drops of blood should issue out; it was not, it could not be without a miracle: Certainly the drops of blood that fell from Christ's body, were great, very great, yea, so great, as if they had started through his skin to outrun the streams and rivers of his Cross. But  
Thirdly: These great drops of blood did not only di 〈…〉 llare, drop out, but decurrere, run down like a stream so fast, as if they had issued out of most deadly wounds; They were great drops of blood, falling down to the ground: Here is magnitude and multitude; great drops, and those so many, so plenteous, as that they went through his Apparel, and all streamed down to the ground; and now was the time that his garments were died with crimson red; that of the Prophet, though spoken in another sense, yet in some respect may be applied to this. Wherefore art thou red in thy Apparel; and thy garments like him that treadeth the Wine-fat? O what a sight was here! his 
Isa. 63. 2.  head and members are all on a bloody sweat, and this sweat trickles down, & bedecks his garments which stood like a new firmament studded with stars, portending an approaching storm: Nor stays it there, but it falls down to the ground. Oh happy garden, that was watered with such tears of blood! Oh how much better are these rivers than Abana, and Pharpar, rivers of Damas●us, yea, than 
Bernard.  all the waters of Israel; yea than all those rivers that waters the Garden of Eden? so great was Scanderbegs ardour in Battle, that the blood burst out 
Bucholeer.  of his lips; but from our Champions, not lips only, but whole body burst out a bloody sweat: Not his eyes only were Fountains of tears, or his head waters, as Jeremy wished, but his whole body was turned, as it were, into 
Jer. 9 1.  Rivers of blood. A sweet comfort to such as are cast down for that, that their sorrow for sin is not so deep and soaking as they could desire.  
Christ's blood is put in Scripture (by a Synecdoche of the part) for all the sufferings which he underwent for the sins of the Elect, especially his bloody death with all its concomitants, so called. First, Because death, especially when it is violent, is joined with the effusion of blood: If we had lived in the days of our Fathers, we would 
Math 23. 30.  not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets: And so again, Pila●e said, I am Innocent of the 
Math. 27. 24.  blood of this just person, that is, of his death. Secondly: Herein respect is had to all the Sacrifices of the Law, whose blood was poured out when they were offered up. 
H●b. 9 22.  Almost all things are by the Law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood, there is no remission; so that the blood of Christ is the Anti-type aimed at in the blood of those Sacrifices that were slain for Sinners sins. But  
Secondly: As the death of Christ, on the Cross, was a bitter death, a bloody death, so the death of Christ on the Cross, was a lingering death: It was more for Christ to suffer one hour, than for us to have suffered for ever; but his death was lengthened out, he hung three hours on the Cross, he died many deaths before he could die one; from the sixth hour till the nineth hour (that is, from twelve, till three in the Afternoon) there was darkness over 
Math. 27. 45.  all the Land: About twelve when the Sun is usually brightest, it began now to darken; And this darkness was so great, that it spread over all 
Luk. 23. 44.  the Land of Jewry; yea, some think over all the world; so we translate it in Luke, And there was darkness over all the Earth, to show God's dislike of their horrid cruelty: He would not have the Sun give light to so horrid an act; the Sun as it were, hide her face, that she might not see the Sun of Righteousness so unworthily, so wickedly handled. It was dark: 1. To show the blindness, darkness, & ignorance of the Jews in crucifying the Lord of glory. 2. To show the detestation of the fact. 3. To show the ●vileness of our sins. This darkness was not a natural Eclipse of the Sun; for first it cannot be so total, so general: Nor Secondly, It could not be so long, for the interposed Moon goeth swiftly away. Certainly this was no ordinary Eclipse of the Sun, seeing the Passover was kept at the full Moon, when the Moon stands right opposite to the Sun on the other side of the Heaven, and for this cause cannot hinder the light of 
Exod. 10. 12.  the Sun; but a supernatural work of God coming to pass by Miracle, like as the darkness in Egypt. The Moon being now in the full (it being the midst of the Lunar month, when the Passover was killed) and so of necessity the body of the Moon (which useth to Eclipse the Sun by its interposition, and being between us and the Sun) must be opposite to, and distant from the Sun, the diametrical breadth of the Hemisphere, the Full Moon ever rising 
Suid. in vi●ae. 5. Dion.  at the Suns setting; and therefore this Eclipse could never be a natural Eclipse. Many Gentiles, besides Jews, observed this darkness as a great Miracle. Dionysius the Areopagite (as suidas relates) could say at first sight of it, 
Amos 8. 9  Either the World is ending, or the God of Nature is suffering of this darkness. Amos long before had Prophesied; And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will cause the Sun to go down at Noon, and I will darken the Earth in the clear day. The opinion of Authors, concerning the cause of this darkness, are various; some think that the Sun by Divine power, withdrew and held back its beams; others say, that the obscurity was caused by some thick Clouds which were miraculously produced in the Air, and spread themselves over all the Earth: Others say, that this darkness was by a wonderful interposition of the Moon, which at that time was at full; but by a Miracle interposed itself betwixt the Earth and Sun. Whatsoever was the cause of this darkness, it is certain that it continued for the space of three hours as dark as the darkest Winter 
Math. 27. 46.  Nights.  
About three (which the Jews call the nineth hour) the 
John 19 28 30.  Sun now beginning to receive his light, Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli Lama sabachthani, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And then that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, I thirst; and when he 
Luk. 23. 46.  had received the Vinegar, he said, It is finished; and at last, crying with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit; and having said thus, he gave up the Ghost. Christ's words were ever gracious, but never more gracious than at this time: You cannot find in all the books and writings of men, in all the Annals and Records of time, either such sufferings, or such say as were these last words and wounds; sayings 
John 19 30.  and sufferings of Jesus Christ. And having said thus, he gave up the ghost; or as John relates it, He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost: Christ would not off the Cross till all was done that was here to be done; Christ 
Emisit n●n amisit Ambrose.  bowed not because he was dead, but first he bowed, and then died; that is, he died freely and willingly without constraint; and he died cheerfully and comfortably, without murmuring or repining. O what a wonder of love is this, that Jesus Christ, who is the Author of life, the Fountain of life, the Lord of life, that he should so freely, so readily, so cheerfully lay down his life for us, etc.  
About four in the Afternoon he was pierced with a Spear, and there issued out of his side both blood and water. 
John 19 34.  And one of the Soldiers with a Spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water: Out of the side of Christ, being now dead, there issues water & blood, signifying that he is both our Justification & Sanctification.  
Thus was fulfilled that which was long before foretold: 
Zach. 1●. 10. 1 J●●. 〈◊〉 Zach. 12 1.  They shall by water and by blood: Thus was there a Fountain op●●ed to the house of David, and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem (even to all the Elect) for sin, and for uncleanness. The Soldier's malice lived when Christ was dead. The water and blood forthwith issuing out as soon as 'twas pierced with a Spear, did evidently show that he was truly dead. The Syriack paraphrase, saith he, pierced his rib, that is the fifth rib, where the pericardium lay. It is very likely that the very Pericardium was pierced; now the Pericardium is a film or skin, like unto a Purse, wherein is contained clear water to cool the heat of the heart. The blood, saith one, signifies the perfect expiation of the sins of the Church, and the water, the daily 
Ambrose on Luk. ●●.  washing and purging of it from the remainder of her corruption. Water and blood issued on't of Christ's side, saith another, to teach us that Christ justifieth none by his merit, but such whom he sanctifieth by his Spirit. Christ was pierced with a Spear, and water and blood presently issued out of his side, that his Enemies might not object that he risen again, because he was but half dead on the Cross; and being so taken down, he revived, to testify the contrary truth: John so seriously affirmeth the certainty of his death, he being an eye-witness of the streaming out of Christ's blood as he stood by Christ's Cross. O Gates of Heaven! O Windows of Paradise! O Palace of Refuge! O Tower of strength! O Sanctuary of the just! O flourishing Bed of the Spouse of Solomon! Methinks I see water and blood running out of his side more freshly than these golden streams which ran out of the Garden of Eden, and watered the whole world. But here I may not dwell, etc.  
But to shut up this particular, about five (which the Jews call the eleventh, and the last hour of the day) Christ was taken down and Buried by Joseph and Nichodemus. But  
Thirdly: As the death of Christ on the Cross was a lingering death, so the death of Christ was a painful death; this appears several ways.  
First: His Legs and Hands were violently racked and pulled out to the places fitted for his fastenings, and then pierced through with Nails; his Hands and Feet were nailed; which parts being full of sinews, and therefore very tender; his pains could not but be very acute and sharp.  
Secondly: By this means he wanted the use both of his Hands and Feet, and so he was forced to hang  upon the Cross, as being unable to turn any way for his ease; and therefore he could not but be under very dolorous pains.  
Thirdly: The longer he lived, the more he endured; for by the weight of his body, his wounds were opened and enlarged; his Nerves and Veins were rend and torn asunder, and his blood gushed out more and more abundantly still: Now the envenomed Arrows of God's wrath shot to his heart; this was the direful Catastrophe, and caused that vociferation and outcry upon the Cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Justice of God was now inflamed and heightened to its full 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 8. 32. God spared not his Son; God would not abate one farthing of the debt. But  
Fourthly: He died by piece-meals, he died by little and little, he died not all at once; he that died on the Cross, was long a dying. Christ was kept a great while upon the rack; it was full three hours betwixt his affixion and expiration; and certainly, it would have been longer, if he had not freely and willingly given up the Ghost. I have read that Andrew the Apostle was two whole days on the Cross, before he died; and so long might Christ have been a dying, if God had not supernaturally heightened the degrees of his torment. Doubtless when Christ was on the Cross, he felt the very pains of Hell, though not locally, yet equivalently. But  
Fourthly: As the death of Christ on the Cross was a painful death, so the death of Christ on the Cross was a shameful death. Christ was in medio positus, he hung between two Thiefs, as if he had been the principal Malefactor. 
Math. 27. 38.  Here they placed him, to make the world believe that he was the great ringleader of such men. Christ was crucified in the midst as the chief of Sinners, that we might have place in the midst of Heavenly Angels; the one of these Thiefs went railing to Hell, the 
Zach. 3 7.  other went repenting forth right to Heaven, living long in a little time.  
If you ask me the names of these two Thiefs, who 
Q.  were crucified with Christ, I must answer, That although the Scripture nominates them not, yet some Writers give them these names, Dismas and G●smas; Dismas the happy, and Gesmas the miserable Thief, according to the Poet:  
Gesmas damnatur, Dismas ad astra levatur; That is  

When Gesmas died, to Dives he was sent:  
When Dismas died, to Abraham up he went.   
Well might the Lamp of Heaven withdraw its light, and mask itself with darkness, as blushing to behold the Sun of Righteousness hanging between two Thiefs; He shall be an Apollo to me, that can tell me which was the greater, The blood of the Cross, or the shame of the Cross, Heb. 12. 2. It was a mighty shame that saul's Sons were 
2 Sam. 21. 6.  hanged on a Tree. O what a shameful death was it for Christ to hang on a Tree between two notorious Thiefs But  
Fifthly and lastly: As the death of Christ was a shameful death, so the death of Christ was a cursed death; Cursed is every one that hangeth on a Tree. The death on 
Deut. 21. 23.  the Tree was Accursed above all kinds of death; as the Serpent was Accursed above all Beasts of the field, both for 
Gen. 3. 14.  the first transgression; whereof the Serpent was the instrument, the Tree the occasion. Since the death of any Malefactor might be a Monument of God's Curse for sin, it may be questioned, why this brand is peculiarly set upon this kind of punishment; that he that is hanged, is Accursed of God? To which I Answer, that the reason of this, was, because this was esteemed the most shameful, the most dishonourable and infamous of all kinds of death, and was usually therefore the punishment of those that had by some notorious wickedness provoked God to pour out his wrath upon the whole Land, and so were hanged up to appease his wrath, as we may see in the hanging of those Princes that were guilty of committing 
Numb. 25. 4.  whoredom with the Daughters of Moab; and in the hanging of those Sons of Saul in the days of David, when 
2 Sam. 21. 6.  there was a Famine in the Land, because of saul's perfidious oppressing of the Gibeonites; nor was it without cause that this kind of death was both by the Israelites and other Nations esteemed the most shameful and accursed; because the very manner of the death did intimate, that such men as were thus Executed, were such execrable and accursed wretches, that they did defile the Earth with treading on it, and would pollute the Earth if they should die upon it; and therefore were so trussed up in the Air, as not fit to live amongst men; and that others might look upon them as men made spectacles of God's Indignation and Curse, because of the wickedness they had committed, which was not done in other kinds of death: And hence it was that the Lord God would have his Son, the Lord Christ, to suffer this kind of death; that even hence it might be the more evident, that in his death, he bore the Curse due to our sins, according to that of the Apostle. Christ hath Redeemed us from the Curse of the Law, being made a Curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a Tree. The 
Gal. 3. 13.  Chaldee translateth, For because he sinned before the Lord, he is hanged. The Tree whereon a man was hanged, the Stone wherewith he was stoned, the Sword wherewith he was beheaded, and the Napkin wherewith he was strangled, they were all Buried, that there might be no evil memorial of such a one, to say, This was the Tree, Sword, Stone, Napkin, wherewith such a one was Executed. This kind of death was so execrable, that Constantine made a Law that no Christian should die upon the Cross; he abolished this kind of death out o● his Empire. When this kind of death was in use among the Jews, it was chief inflicted upon Slaves, that either falsely accused, or treacherously conspired their Master's death: But on whomsoever it was inflicted, this death in all Ages, among the Jews, hath been branded with a special kind of ignominy; and so much the Apostle signifies, when he saith, He abased himself to the death, even to the 
Phil. 2. 2.  death of the Cross. I know Moses's Law speaks nothing in particular of Crucifying, yet he doth include the same under the general of hanging on a Tree: and some conceive that Moses in speaking of that Curse, soresaw what manner of death the Lord Jesus should die; and let thus much suffice concerning Christ's sufferings on the Cross, or concerning his corporal sufferings.  
I shall now in the second place speak concerning Christ's spiritual sufferings; his sufferings in his Soul which were exceeding high and great. Now here I shall endeavour to do two things: First, To prove that Christ suffered in his Soul, and so much the rather, because that the Papists say and write, That Christ did not truly and properly, and immediately suffer in his Soul, but only by way of sympathy and compassion with his body to the Mystical body; and that his bare bodily sufferings were sufficient for man's Redemption. 2. That the sufferings of Christ in his Soul were exceeding high and great; for the first that Christ suffered in his Soul, I shall thus demonstrate.  
First: Express Scriptures do evidence this, Isa. ●3. When thou shalt make his Soul an offering for sin, he shall see his Seed, etc. Joh. 12. 27. Now is my Soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father save me from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour, Math. 26. 37. 38. He began to be sorrowful and very heavy. (These were but the beginnings of sorrow) he began, etc. Sorrow is a thing that drinks up our spirits, and he was heavy, as ceiling an heavy load upon him, v. 38. My Soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Christ was as full of sorrow as his heart could hold; every word is Emphatical, My Soul; his 
Psal. 6●. 1. 2.  sorrow pierced his Heavenborn Soul. As the Soul was the first Agent in transgression, so it is here the first Patient in affliction. The sufferings of his body, were but 
Christ's Soul was beleaguered, or compassed round, round with sorrow, as that word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. sounds. 26 Math. 28  the body of his sufferings; the soul of his sufferings, were the sufferings of his Soul, which was nòw beset with sorrows, and heavy as heart could hold. Christ was sorrowsul, his Soul was sorrowful, his Soul was exceeding sorrowsul, his Soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death; Christ's Soul was in such extremity of sorrow, that it made him cry out, Father, if it be possible, let this Cup pass; and this was with strong cry and tears: To cry, and to cry 
Heb. 5. 7.  with a loud voice, argues great extremity of sufferings, Mark. 14. 33. Mark saith, And he began to be amazod, 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  and to be very heavy: or we may more fully express it thus, according to the original. He begun to be gastred with wondersul astonishment, and to be satiated, filled brim full with heaviness; a very sad condition. All the sins of the Elect, like a huge Army, meeting upon Christ, made a dreadful onset on his Soul, Luk. 22. 43, 44. 'Tis said, He was in an Agony. That's a conflict, in which a poor Creature wrestles, with deadly pangs, with all his might, mustering up all his faculties and force to grapple with them, and withstand them. Thus did Christ struggle with the Indignation of the Lord, praying once and again with more intense fervency; O that this Cup may pass away; if it be possible let this Cup pass away, while yet an 
Luk 22 42, 43.  Angel strengthened his outward man from utter sinking in the conslict. Now if this weight that Christ did bare, had been laid on the shoulders of all the Angels in Heaven, it would have sunk them down to the lowest Hell; it would have cracked the Axletree of Heaven and Earth: It made His blood startle out of his body in congealed cloddered heaps: The heat of God's fiery Indignation, made his blood to boil up till it ran over; yea, Divine wrath affrighted it out of its wont Channel. The Creation of 
Ge●. 1.  the world cost him but a word; he spoke and the world was made; but the Redemption of Souls cost him bloody sweats, and Soul-distraction. What conflicts, what struggle with the wrath of God? the powers of darkness; what weights? what burdens? what wrath did he undergo, when his Soul was heavy unto death; beset with terrors, as the word implies, when he drank that bitter cup, that cup of bitterness? that cup mingled with curses, which made him sweat drops of blood? which if mwn or Angels had but siped of, 'twould have made them reel, stagger, and tumble into Hell. The Soul of Christ was overcast with a Cloud of God's displeasure. The Greek Church speaking of the sufferings of Christ, calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, unknown sufferings. Ah Christians! who can speak out this sorrow? The spirit of a man will sustain 
P●ov. 18. 11.  his infirmity, but a wounded spirit, who can bear? Christ's Soul is sorrowful; but give me that word again, his Soul is exceeding sorrowful; but if that word be yet too low, than I must tell you, That his Soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: not only extensively, such as must continue for the space of seventeen or eighteen hours, even until death itself should finish it; but also intensively, such, and so great, as that which is used to be at the very point of death, and such as were able to bring death itself, had not Christ been reserved to a greater and heavier punishment; of this sorrow is that especially spoken, Behold 
Lament. 1. 12.  and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. Many a sad and sorrowful Soul hath, no question, been in the world; but the like sorrow to this was never since the Creation; the very terms, or phrases used by the Evangelists speaks no less. He was sorrowful and heavy saith one, amazed, and very heavy saith another; in an Agony saith a third; in a Soul-trouble saith a fourth. Certainly the bodily torments of the Cross were much inferior to the Agony of his Soul; the pain of the body, is the body of pain: Oh but the very soul of sorrow, is the Souls sorrow; and the very soul of pain, is the Souls pain.  
Secondly: That which Christ assumed, or took of our nature, he assumed to this end, to suffer in it; and by suffering, to save and redeem it. But he took the whole nature of man, both body and soul; ergo, He suffered in both, first the assumption is evident, and needs no proof, that Christ took upon him both our soul and body; the Apostle assures us, where he saith, That in all things it became 
Heb. 2. 17.  him to be like unto us, therefore he had both body and soul, as we have. Secondly: Concerning the proposition, viz. That, what Christ took of our nature, He took it by suffering in it properly and immediately to Redeem us. Now this is evident by that blessed word, where the Apostle saith, Christ took part with them that he might destroy, 
vers. 14, 15.  through death, him that had the power of death, that is the Devil; and deliver them, who through fear of death, were all their life time subject to bondage. Hence I reason thus, that wherein Christ delivered us, he took part with us in; but he delivered us from fear of death: Ergo, he did therein communicate with us. Now mark, This fear was the proper and immediate passion of the Soul, namely, the fear of death, and God's anger. And the Text giveth this sense, Because the fear of this death kept them in bondage, but the sear only of the bodily death, doth not bring us into such bondage, witness that Song of Zachery; That we being delivered from the hands of our Enemies, 
Luke 1. 74.  should serve him without fear; this than is a spiritual fear, from the which Christ did deliver us: Ergo, He did communicate with us in this fear; for the Apostle saith, 
Heb. 2. 18.  In that wherein he suffered, and was tempted, he is able to secure them that are tempted. Certainly that fear which fell on Christ, was a real fear, and it was in his Soul, and did not arise from the mere contemplation of bodily torments only, for the very Martyrs in the encountering with them have feared little. Assuredly there was some great matter that lay upon the very Soul of Christ, which made him so heavy, and sorrowsul, and so afraid, and in such an Agony.  
But if you please, take this second Argument in another form of words, thus; What Christ took of ours, that, He in suffering offered up for us, (for His assuming of our Nature, was for this end, to suffer for us in our Nature,) but he took our Nature in Body and in Soul, and he delivered our souls as well as our bodies; and the sins of our souls did need his Sacrifice, as well as the sins of our bodies; and our souls were Crucified with Christ as well as our bodies. Mens mea in Christo Crucisixa est, saith Ambrose. Surely, if our whole man was lost, than our whole man did need the benefit and help of a whole Saviour; and if Christ had assumed only our flesh, our body, than our souls adjudged, adjudged to punishment, had remained under transgression without hope of pardon. Several say of the Ancients doth further strengthen this Argument, take a taste of some. Si totus homo periit, totus benesi●io salvateris indiguit, etc. If the whole man perished, 
August. ●ont. Feli●i n. c. 13.  the whole man needed a Saviour. Christ therefore took the whole man body and soul; if he had taken only flesh, the soul should remain addict to punishment of the first transgression, without hope of pardon. By the same reason, Christ must also suffer properly in soul, because not by taking our soul, but by satisfying in his soul, our soul is delivered.  
Suscepit animum meam, Suscepit corpus meum. Ambrose. 
Ambrose.   
He took all our passions, or affections, to sanctify them 
Damascene. H●b. 5. 9  all in himself; but Christ was Sanctified and Consecrated by his death, and so doth he consecrate us. For by one offering, he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified: 
Heb. 10. 14.  Ergo, By his offering of our soul, and suffering in our soul, hath he consecrated our soul and affections.  
Suscepit affectum meum, ut emanduret: He took my affection to amend it, etc. Now he hath amended it; in that he consecrated it by his offering (Heb. 10. 14.) I●llud pro nobis suscepit, quod in nobis amplius p●riclitabatur: He hath taken that for us, which was most in danger for us, etc. that is, our soul as he expoundeth it, the incarnate, c. 7. But Christ hath not otherwise delivered us from the danger, but by entering into the danger for us; this danger of the soul, is the fear and feeling of God's wrath.  
Thirdly: Christ bore our sorrows, Isa. 53. 4. Now what sorrows should we bear, but the sorrows due unto us for our sins; and surely these were not corporal only, but spiritual also, and those did Christ bear in his soul. The same Prophet saith, ver. 10. He shall make his soul an offering for sin: Ergo, Christ offered his Soul, as well as his Body. Again, Our Saviour himself saith My Soul is 
Math. 26. 38.  very heavy unto death. Certainly it was not the bodily death which Christ seared, for than he should have been weaker than many Martyrs, yea, than many of the Romans, who made no more of dying, than of dining; therefore Christ's Soul was verily and properly stricken with heaviness, and not with the beholding of bodily torments only, as some dream. But  
Fourthly: That whereby Adam and we ever since do most properly commit sin, by the same hath Christ, the second Adam, made satisfaction properly for our sin; but Adam did, and we all do properly commit sin in our souls, our bodies being but the instruments: Ergo, Christ, by, and in his soul, hath properly made satisfaction. First: The truth of the proposition is confirmed by the Apostle. As by one man's disobedience, we are made Sinners, so by the 
Rom. 5 19  obedience of one, many shall be made Righteous: Christ then satisfied for us by the same wherein Adam disobeyed. N●w Adam's soul was in the transgression as well as his body, and accordingly was Christ's very soul in his sufferings and satisfaction, and Christ obeyed; that is, in his soul; for obedience belongeth to the soul, as one observeth upon those words of the Apostle, Phil. 2. 8. He became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross: Who 
Agatho Epist. ad Constantin. upon Phil. 2. 8.  doth not understand (saith the same Author) that obedience doth belong to the humane will.  
That there is a kind of dying in the soul, when it is pierced with grief, besides the death of the soul, either by sin or damnation is not disagreeing to the Scripture. Sim●on saith to Mary, A sword shall pierce through thy soul: 
Luk. 2 35.  Look as then the body dyeth, being pierced with a sword, so the soul may be said to die or languish, when it is pierced with grief; what else is Crucifying, but dying? Now the soul is said to be Crucified, as is evident by that passage of the Apostle; I am Crucified to the World, when as yet his body was alive. So Ambrose doubts not to say, 
Gal. 6. 14.  Mens mea in Christo Crucifixa est, My soul was Crucified 
Amb●ose, lib. 5. ●● Luc.  in Christ, that is, Christ in His Soul was Crucified, which he calleth our soul, because he did assume our soul and body; or else where he saith, Mea est voluntas, quam suam dixit, 
Ambr●se, lib. 2. de sid. c. 3.  etc. It is my will, which he calleth his; it is my heaviness, which he took with my affections; yet was it properly and personally Christ's Soul and Will, but ours by community of nature.  
Secondly: For the Assumption. 1. Howsoever it be admitted that the body is the instrument of the soul, both in sinning and suffering, yet the conclusion is this, That because sin is committed in the soul principally and properly, therefore the satisfaction must be made in the soul principally and properly: If this conclusion be granted, we have that we would; for the bodily pains affecting the soul, are not the proper passions of the soul, neither is the soul said to suffer properly, when the body suffereth, but by way of compassion and consent. 2. We grant that in the proper and immediate sufferings of the soul, the body also is affected: As when Christ was in his Agony in the Garden, his whole body was therewith stirred and m●●● and that it did sweat drops of blood: But it is one thing when the grief beginneth immediately in the soul, and so affecteth the body, and when the pain is first inflicted upon the body, and so worketh upon the soul, there the soul suffereth properly and principally, of which sufferings we speak here neither properly nor principally, which is not the thing in question. 3. It is not the reasonable soul that is affected with the body, for it is a ground in Philosophy (that the soul suffereth not) but only the sensitive part: But the grief that we speak of, that is satisfactory for sin, must be in the very reasonable soul, where sin took the beginning, and so Ambrose saith upon those words of Christ, 
Ambrose de Incarnate. cap. 7.  My Soul is heavy to death; Ad rationabilis assumptionem animae, etc. naturae humanae refertur affectum: It is referred to the assumption of the reasonable soul, and humane affection.  
Pride, Ambition, Infidelity began in Adam's soul, and had their determination there; in the committing of those sins, the body had no part; indeed with the ear, they heard the suggestion of Satan; but it was no sin, till in their minds they had consented unto it: Wherefore, seeing the first sin committed, was properly and wholly in the soul, for the same the soul must properly and wholly satisfy.  
Because sin took beginning from Adam's soul, the satisfaction also must begin in Christ's Soul, as Ambrose saith, Inciplo in Christo vincere, unde in Adam victus sum. 
Ambrose. lib 4. in Luc.  I begin there to win in Christ, where in Adam I was overcome: Then it followeth, that the sufferings of Christ's soul took beginning there, and were not derived by sympathy from the stripes and pain of the body. We infer then, that therefore Christ's Soul had proper and immediate sufferings, besides those which proceeded from sympathy with his body, and all Christ's sufferings were satisfactory: Ergo, Christ did satisfy for our sins properly and immediately in his soul.  
But if you please, take this fourth Argument in another form of words, thus, The punishment which was pronounced against the first Adam, (our first Surety) and in him against us; that same did Christ, the second Adam, (our next and best Surety) bear for us, (or else it must still lie upon us to suffer it.) But the punishment threatened and denounced against Adam, for transgression, was not only corporal, respecting our bodies, but spiritual also, respecting our souls. There was a spiritual malediction due unto our souls, as well as a corporal, etc.  
Look as God put a Sanction on the Law and Covenant of works made with all of us in Adam, that he and his should be liable to death, both of body and soul (which Covenant being broken by sin, all Sinners became obnoxious to the death both of body and soul) so it was necessary that the Redeemed should be delivered from the death of both, by the Redeemers tasting of death in both kinds, as much as should be sufficient for their Redemption. O Sirs, as sin infected the whole Man, soul and body, and the Curse following on sin, left no part nor power of the man's soul free; so Justice required that the Redeemer, coming in the room of the persons Redeemed, should feel the force of the Curse both in body and soul. But  
Fifthly: He shall see of the travel of his soul, Isa. 53. Here the soul is taken properly, and the travel of Christ's soul is his sufferings; for it follows, And he shall bear their Iniquities. But  
Sixthly: Christ gave himself for his people's sins, Gal. 1. 9 
6. Ephe. 5. 25. 1 Tim. 2. 6.  Who gave himself for our sins, Tit. 2. 14. Who gave himself for us, that he might Redeem us from all Iniquities, etc. but the body only is not himself, ergo; The Apostle saith Phil. 2. 7. Christus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Exinanivit, Christ did empty or evacuate himself; or as Tertullian expounds it, Exhausit, 
Te●t●llian, Con●ra Marcian. lib. 5.  He drew out himself, or was exhaust, which agrees with the Prophesis of Daniel, chap. 9 26. M●ssias shall have nothing, being brought to nothing by his death, without life, strength, esteem, honour, etc. Hence we conclude, that if Christ were exhausted upon the Cross, if nothing was left him; that he suffered in body and soul; that there was no part within or without free from the Cross, but all was emptied and poured out for our Redemption.  
Again: We read That Christ, through the eternal Spirit, 
Heb. 9 14  offered himself to God; Whatsoever was in Christ, did either offer, or was offered; His eternal Spirit only did offer, ergo, His whole humane Nature, both Body and Soul was offered. Thus Origen witnesseth in these words, 
Origen. ●om. 9 in Levit.  Vide quo modo verus pontifex Jesus Christus adsumpt● batillocarnis humanae, etc. See how our true Priest, Jesus Christ, taking the censor of his humane flesh, putting to the fire of the Altar; that is, His magnificent Soul; wherewith he was born in the flesh; and adding Incense, that is, an immaculate Spirit, stood in the midst between the living and the dead. Thus you see that he makes Christ's soul a part in the Sacrifice.  
Seventhly and lastly: Christ's love unto man, in suffering for him, was in the highest degree, and greatest measure that could be; as the Lord saith, What could I have done any more for my Vineyard, that I have not done unto it? But if Christ had given his Body only, and not his Soul for us, he had not done for us all he could, and so his love should have been greatly impaired and diminished; ergo, He gave his Soul also together with his Body, to be the full price of our Redemption; and certainly, the travail and labour of Christ's Soul was most acceptable unto God, Isa. 53. 12. Therefore I will give him a Portion with 
Isa. 35. 12.  the great, because he hath poured out his Soul unto death, etc. and bare the sins of many. Doubtless, the sufferings of Christ in his Soul (together with his Body) doth most fully and amply commend and set forth God's great love to poor Sinners. Before I close up this particular, take a few Testimonies of the Fathers, which do witness with us for the sufferings of Christ, both in Soul and Body.  
Christ hath taken off us, that which he should offer as 
Ambrose. de Incarnate. c. 6.  proper for us, to Redeem us; and whatsoever Christ took off us, he offered; ergo, He offered Body and Soul, for he took both.  
Another upon these words, My Soul is heavy; saith Anima 
Concil. Hispalens. 2. c. 13.  passionibus obnoxia, divinitas libra; His Soul was subject to passions, his Divinity was free, etc. If nothing were free but his Divine Nature, than his Soul was subject to the proper and immediate passions thereof.  
Perspicuum est, sicut corpus flagellatum, ita animam verè 
Hierom in 35. cap. Isa.  doluisse, etc. It is evident, that as his body was whipped, so his Soul was verily and truly grieved; lest some part of Christ's sufferings should be true, some part false; ergo, Christ's Soul as properly and truly suffered, as his Body; the Soul had her proper grief, as the Body had whipping; the whipping then of the body, was not the proper grief of the soul: Whole Christ gave himself, and whole Christ offered himself; ergo, He offered his soul not only to suffer by way of compassion with his body, as it may be 
Fulgen●ius ad Th●a●maud. lib. 3.  answered, but he offered it as a Sacrifice, and suffered all passions whatsoever incident to the soul: The same Author expounds himself further, thus, Because this God took whole man, therefore he shown in truth, in himself the passions of whole man; and having a reasonable soul, what infirmities soever of the soul, without sin, he took and bare. If Christ then did take and bore all the passions of the soul, without sin, than the proper and immediate grief and anguish thereof, and not the compassion only with the body. To these let me add the consent of the reformed Churches; French Confess. Christ did suffer 
Harm p. 59 Sect. 6.  both in body and soul, and was made like unto us in all things, Sin only excepted.  
Thomas granteth, that Christ, Secundum genus, passus est 
3. Par. qu 46. Artic. 5.  omnem passionem humanam, in general, suffered all humane sufferings; as in his soul heaviness, fear, etc.  
Now the Testimonies of the Fathers, and the consent of the reformed Churches, affirming the same, that Christ was Crucified in his soul, and that he gave his soul a price of Redemption for our souls: Who can then doubt of this, but that Christ verily, properly, immediately suffered in his soul, in all the proper passions thereof, as he endured pains and torments in his flesh; and if you please, this may go for an eighth argument to prove that Christ suffered in his soul.  
Secondly: That the sufferings of Christ in his soul, were very high, and great, and wonderful, both as to the punishment of loss, and as to the punishment of sense; all which I shall make evident in these four particulars.  
First: That Jesus Christ did suffer dereliction, of God really; that he was indeed deserted & 
† Forsaken, 1. By denying of protection. 2. By withdrawing of solace. Non solvit unionem, sed subtraxit vision●m. Leo. The Union was not desolved, but the beams, the influence was restrained.  forsaken of God, is most evident, Math. 27. 46. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me: But to prevent mistakes in this high point, seriously consider. 1. That I do not mean that there was nay such desertion of Christ, by God, as did desolve the union of the Natures in the person of Christ. (For Christ in all his sufferings still remained God and Man.) Nor 2. Do I mean an absolute desertion in respect of the presence of God. (For God was still present with Christ in all his sufferings, and the Godhead did support his Humanity in, and under his sufferings) but that which I mean, is this. That as to the sensible and comforting manifestations of God's presence, thus he was for a time left and forsaken of God; God for a time had takenaway all sensible consolation, and f●lt joy from Christ's humane soul, that so divine justice might in his sufferings be the more fully satisfied. In this desertion, Christ is not to be looked upon simply, as he is in his own person the Son of the Father, in whom he is always well pleased, but as he standeth in the room of Sinners, Surety and Cautioner, 
Math. 3. 17. Mark. 1. 11. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. Christ spoke these words, that thereby he might draw the Jews to a serious consideration, and a nim adversion of his death and passion, which he underwent, not for his own, but for our sins. Pet. Gal. lib. 8. c. 18. pag 343.  paying their debt; in which respect it concerned Christ to be dealt with, as one standing in our stead, as one guilty, and paying the debt of being forsaken of God, which we were bound to suffer fully, and for ever, if he had not interposed for us. There is between Christ and God. 1. An eternal Union natural of the person. 2. Of the Godhead and Manhood. 3. Of Grace and Protection: In this last sense, he means forsaken, according to his feeling: Hence he said, Not my Father, my Father, but my God, my God; which words, are not words of complaining, but words expressing his grief and sorrow. Our Lord Christ was forsaken, not only of all Creature comforts, but (that which was worse than all) of his Father's favour to his present apprehension, left forlorn and destitute for a time, that we might be received for ever. Christ was for a time left and forsaken of God, as David (who in this particular was a type of Christ's suffering) cried out, Psal. 22. 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from my help? He was indeed really forsaken of God; God did indeed leave him in respect of his sense and ceiling. So was Christ truly and really forsaken of God, and not in colour or show, as some affirm. (Athanasius speaking of Gods forsaking of Christ, saith, All things were done naturally, and in truth, not in opinion or show.) Though God did still 
R li●qu●t De●s dum n●n p●●●, ●a●h T●●u●●n  continue a God to David, yet in David's apprehension and feeling, he was forsaken of God. Though God was still a God to Christ, yet as to his feeling, he was left of God, to wrestle with God, and to bear the wrath of God, due unto us. Look as Christ was scourged, that we 
Ambrose.  might not be scourged, so Christ was forsaken, that we might not be forsaken. Christ was forsaken for a time, that we might not be forsaken for ever.  
Fevardentius absolutely denies that Christ did truly complain upon the Cross, that he was forsaken of God; 
Fevarden. pag ●73. Con 〈…〉.  and therefore he thus objecteth and reasoneth. If Christ were truly forsaken of God, it would follow that the Hypostatical Union was dissolved, and that Christ was personally separated from God, for otherwise he could not be forsaken.  
To what he objects, we thus reply first. If Christ had been totally and eternally forsaken, the personal union must have been dissolved; but upon this temporal and partial rejection, or dereliction, there followeth not a personal dissolution, or general dereliction: But secondly: As the Body of Christ, being without life, was still Hypostatically united to the Godhead, so was the soul of Christ, though for a time, without feeling of his favour; the dereliction of the one, doth no more dissolve the Hypostatical Union, than the death of the other. If life went from the body, and yet the Deity was not separated in the personal consecration, but only suspended in operation. So the feeling of God's favour, which is the life of the soul, might be intermitted in Christ, and yet the Divine Union not dissolved.  
Thirdly: Augustine doth well show how this may be 
August, lib de 〈◊〉 divin.  when he saith (Passio Christi dulcis fuit, divinitatis somnus,) That the passion of Christ was the sweet sleep of his Divinity; like as then in sleep the soul is not departed, though the operation thereof be deferred; so in Christ's sleep upon the Cross, the Godhead was not separated, though the working power thereof were for a time sequestered. Look as the Elect Members of Christ may be forsaken, though not totally or finally; but ex parte in part, and for a time, and yet their Election remain firm still; the same may be the case of our head, that he was ex parte de relictus; only in part forsaken, and for a time always beloved for his own Innocency, but for us and in our person, as our pledge and Surety, deserted.  
There are two kinds of dereliction, or forsaking; one is for a time, and in part, so the Elect may be, and so Christ was forsaken upon the Cross; another which is total, final, and general; and so neither Christ nor his Members never was, nor never shall be forsaken. Christ in the deepest anguish of his soul is upheld and sustained by his Faith, My God, my God; whereby he showeth his singular confidence and trust in God, notwithstanding the present sense of his wrath.  
But how can Christ be forsaken of God himself, being God; Quest. for the Father, Son, and Holy-Ghost are all three but one and the same God? Yea, How can he be forsaken of God, seeing he is the Son of God? and if the Lord leave not his Children, which hope and trust in him, how can he forsake Christ his only begotten Son, who depended upon him and his mighty power?  
First: By God, here we are to understand God the Father, Answ. 1 the first person of the blessed Trinity; according to the vulgar and common rule, when God is compared with the Son or Holy-Ghost, than the Father is meant by this title God; not that the Father is more God than the Son, for in dignity all the Three Persons are equal, but they are distinguished in order only; and thus the Father is the first Person, the Son the Second, and the Holy-Ghost the Third.  
Secondly: Our Saviour's complaint, that he was forsaken, Answ. 2 must be understood in regard of his humane Nature, and not of his Godhead; although the Godhead and Manhood were never severed from the first time of his Incarnation, but the Godhead of Christ; and so the Godhead of the Father did not show forth his power in his Manhood, but did as it were lie a sleep for a time, that the Manhood might suffer.  
Thirdly: Christ was not indeed utterly forsaken of Answ. 3 God, in regard of his humane Nature, but only as it were forsaken; that is, Although there were some few minutes and moments, in which he received no sensible consolations from the Deity; yet that he was not utterly forsaken, is most clear from this place, where he flees unto the Lord, as unto his God, My God, my God; as also from his Resurrection the third day.  
Fourthly: Divines say, that there are six kinds of dereliction Answ. 4 or forsakings: 1. By dis-union of person; and 2. By loss of grace; and 3. By diminution and weakenings of grace: and 4. By want of assurance of future deliverance and present support; and 5. By denial of Protection; and 6. By withdrawing of all solace and comfort. Now it is foolish and impious to think that Christ was forsaken any of the first four ways; for the unity of his person was never dissolved, his graces were never either taken away, or diminished; neither was it possible that he should want Assurance of future deliverance and present support, that was Eternal God, and Lord of Life; but the two last ways he may rightly be said to have been forsaken, in that his Father denied to protect and keep him out of the hands of his cruel, bloody, and merciless Enemies; no ways restraining them, but suffering them to do the uttermost that their wicked hearts could imagine, and left him to endure the extremity of their fury and malice; and that nothing might be wanting to make his sorrows beyond measure sorrowful, withdrew from him that solace and comfort that he was wont to find in God; and removed far from him all things for a little time, that might any way lessen and assuage the extremity of his pain.  
Secondly: That Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the wrath of God which was due unto us for our sins. The Prophet Isa. 53. 4. saith, That he was plagued and smitten of God; and ver. 5. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. To be plagued and smitten of God, is to feel and suffer the stroke of his wrath: And so to be chastified of God, as to make peace with God, or to appease him, is so to suffer the wrath of God, as to satisfy God, and to remove it. And truly, how Christ should possibly escape the feeling of the wrath of God, incensed against our sins, he standing as a Surety for us, with our sins laid upon him, and for them fully to satisfy the justice of God, is not Christianly, or rationally imaginable.  
And whereas some do object, that Christ was always the beloved of his Father, and therefore could never be the object of God's wrath.  
I answer: By distinguishing of the person of Christ, Sol. whom his Father always loved, and as sustaining our sins, and in our room standing to satisfy the justice of God; and as so, the wrath of God fell upon him, and he bore it, and so satisfied the justice of God, that we thereby are now delivered from wrath through him. So the Apostle, Rom. 5. 9 Much more being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath by him: 1 Thes. 1. 10. And to wait for his Son from Heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus which deliverod us from the wrath to come.  
It is a groundless conceit of some learned heads, who deny the cause of Christ's Agony, to be the drinking of that Cup of wrath that was given to him by his Father; saying, That the sight of it only, and of the peril he saw we were in, was the cause of his Agony; for the Cup was not 
Joh. 18. 11.  only showed unto him, and the great wrath, due to our sins set before him, that he should see it, and tremble at the apprehension of the danger we were in, but it was poured not only on him, but into him; that he for the sins of his Redeemed Ones should suffer it sensibly, and drink it, that the bitterness thereof might affect all the powers of his soul and body: for the Scripture does sufficiently testify, that not only upon the sight and apprehension of this wrath and curse coming on him, the holy humane 
Heb. 5. 7.  Nature did holily abhor it; but also that he submitted to receive it upon the consideration of the divine decree and 
Math. 26. 38, 39, 42, 44. 1 Cor. 6. 20. cap. 7. 23.  agreement made upon the price to be paid by him, and that upon the feeling of this wrath, this Agony in his soul, and bloody sweat of his body was brought on.  
But how could the pourings forth of the Father's wrath, upon Quest. on his innocent and dear Son, consist with his Fatherly love to him, & c?  
Even as the innocency and holiness of Christ could well Answ. consist with his taking upon him the punishment of our sins; for even the wrath of a just man, inflicting capital punishment on a condemned person, (put case it be his own Child) can well consist with Fatherly affection towards his Child suffering punishment. Did you never see a Father weep over such a Son that he has corrected most severely? Did you never see a Judge shed tears for those very persons that he has Condemned? There is no doubt but wrath and love can well consist in God, in whom affections do not war one with another, nor fight with reason, as it often falls among men; for the affections ascribed unto God, are effects rather of his holy will towards us, than properly called affections in him; and these effects of Gods will about us, do always tend to our happiness and blessedness at last, however they are divers one from another in themselves.  
Thirdly: That Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a Hellish manner. I readily grant that Jesus Christ did not locally descend into Hell, to suffer there amongst the damned, neither did he suffer Hellish darkness, nor the flames of Hell, nor the Worm that never dies, nor final despair, nor guilt of Conscience, nor gnashing of teeth, nor impatient indignation, nor eternal separation from God; these things were absolutely inconsistent with the holiness, purity, and dignity of his person, and with the office of a Mediator and Redeemer. But yet I say that our Lord Jesus Christ did suffer in his Soul for our sins such pain, horror, terror, agony, and consternation, as amounted unto cruciatus infernales, and are in Scripture called The sorrows of Hell. The sorrows of Hell did compass me about, (or the 
Psal. 18. 5.  cords of Hell did compass me about, such as wherewith they bind Malefactors when they are led forth to Execution.) Now these sorrows, these cords of Hell, were the things that extorted from him that passionate expostulation, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. 
Math. 27. 46.  Christ's sufferings were unspeakable, and somewhat answerable to the pains of Hell. Hence the Greek Litany, By thine unknown sufferings, good Lord deliver us. Funinus an Italian Martyr, being asked by one, why he was so 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Rom. and Mon. fol. 853.  merry at his death, sigh Christ himself was so sorrowful; Christ, said he, sustained in his soul, all the sorrows and conflicts with Hell and death due to us; by whose sufferings we are delivered from sorrow and the fear of them all. It was a great saying of a very learned man, that setting Iniquity and Eternity of punishment aside (which Christ might not sustain) Christ did more vehemently and sharply feel the wrath of God, then ever any man did or shall, no not any person reprobated and damned excepted; and certainly, the reason annexed, to prove this expression, is very weighty, because all the wrath, that was due for all the sins of the Elect (all whose sins were laid on Christ) 
Isa. 53. 6.  was greater than the wrath which belonged to any one sinner, though damned for his personal sinning: and besides this, if you do seriously consider those sufferings of Christ in his Agony, in the Garden, you may (by them) conjecture what hellish torments Christ did suffer for us. In that Agony of his, he was afraid, and amazed, and fell 
Math. 14. 33. vers. 34.  flat on the ground: He began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death; and his sweat was as it were great 
Luk 22. 44.  drops of blood falling down to the ground: He did sweat clotted blood, to such abundance, that it streamed through his apparel, and did wet the ground; which dreadful Agony of Christ, how it could arise from any other cause than the sense of the wrath of God, parallel to that in Hell I know not.  
Orthodox Divines do generally take Christ's sufferings in his soul, and the detaining his body in the grave (put in as the close and last part of Christ's sufferings) as the true meaning of that expression, He descended into Hell; not only because these pains which Christ suffered both in body and soul, were due to us in full measure, but also, because that which Christ in point of torment and vexation suffered was in some respect of the same kind with the torment of the damned. For the clearing of this, consider, that in the punishment of the damned, there are these three things. 1 The perverse disposition of the mind of the damned in their sufferings. 2. The duration and perpetuity of their punishment. And 3. The punishment itself, tormenting soul and body: Of these three, the first two could have no place in Christ: Not the first, Because 
Heb. 9 14. Heb. 10. 5, 6, 7, 8. Act. 2. 24. 1 Pet. 2. 24. 1 Cor. 6. ult.  he willingly offered himself a Sacrifice for our sins, and upon agreement paid the Ransom fully: Not the second, Because he could no longer be held under sorrows and sufferings, than he had satisfied Divine Justice, and paid the price that he was to lay down. And his infinite excellency and glory made his short sufferings to be of infinite worth, and equivalent to our everlasting sufferings. The third then only remaineth, which was the real and sensible torments of his soul and body, which he did really feel and experience when he was upon the Cross. O Sirs, What need you question Christ's undergoing of Hellish pains, when all the pains, torments, curse, and wrath, which was due to the Elect, did fall on Christ, and lie on Christ, till Divine Justice was fully satisfied. Though Christ did not suffer eternal death for sinners, yet he suffered that which was equivalent, and therefore the justice of God is by his death wholly appeased.  
It is good seriously to ponder upon these Scriptures, Psal. 18. 5. The sorrows of Hell did compass me about, Psal. 88 3. My soul is filled with evil, and my life draweth near to Hell, Psal. 86. 13. Thou hast delivered my Soul from the nethermost Hell. In these places the Prophet speaks in the person of Christ; and the Papists themselves do confess that the Hebrew word Sheol, that is here used, is taken for Hell properly, and not for the Grave; therefore these places do strongly conclude for the hellish sorrows or sufferings of Christ. So Act. 2. 27. Thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell. If Christ's soul be not left or forsaken in Hell, yet it follows, it was in Hell; not that Christ did feel the sorrows of Hell, after death, but that he did feel the very sorrows of Hell in his soul while he lived. Certainly the whole punishment of body and soul which was due unto us, Christ our Redeemer was in general to suffer and satisfy for in his own person; but the torments and terrors of Hell, and the vehement sense of God's wrath, are that punishment which did belong to the soul; ergo, Christ did suffer the torments and terrors of Hell: By the whole punishment, you are to understand the whole kind or substance of the punishment, not all the circumstances; and the very same manner, the whole punishment, then is the whole kind of punishment; that is, in body and soul, which Christ ought to have suffered, though not in the same manner and circumstance. 1. neither for the place of Hell Locally: Nor 2. For the time Eternally: Nor 3. For the manner Sinfully. When we say Christ was to suffer our whole punishment, all such punishments as cannot be suffered without sin, as desperation, final reprobation are manifestly excepted. Christ did bear all our punishment, though not as we should have borne it; that is, 1. Sinfully. 2. Eternally. 3. Hellishly: But he did so bear all our punishment, as to finish all upon the Cross; and in such sort as God's justice 
2 Col 14. 15.  was satisfied, his Person not disgraced, nor his Holiness defiled, and yet man's Salvation fully perfected. We 
H●b. 9 4 cap. 10. 15.  constantly affirm that Christ did suffer the pains of Hell in his Soul, with these three restrictions. 1. That there be neither indignity offered to his Royal Person. 2. Nor injury to his Holy Nature. 3. Nor impossibility to his glorious work: All such pains of Hell then as Christ might have suffered: 1. His Person not dishonoured. 2. His Nature with sin not defiled. 3. His work of our Redemption not hindered, we do steadfastly believe were sustained by our Blessed Saviour. Consider a few things.  
First: Consider the adjuncts of Hell, which are these four. 1. The place which is Infernal. 2. The time which is Perpetual. 3. The darkness which is unspeakable. 4. The Ministers and Torments; the Spirits and Devils which are irreconcilable. Now these adjuncts of Hell Christ is freed from, for the dignity of his person; it was not fit that the Son of God, the Heir of Heaven, should be shut up in Hell, or that he should for ever be tormented, who is never from God's presence sequestered, or that the light of the world should be closed up in darkness, or that he who bindeth the evil Spirits, should be bound by them, etc.  
Secondly: Consider the effects (or rather the defects) of Hell, which are chief these two. First: The deprivation of all virtue, grace, holiness. Secondly: The real possession of all Vice, Impiety, Blasphemy, etc. Now the necessity of the work of Christ doth exempt him from these effects; for if he had been either void of grace, or possessed with vice, he could not have been the Redeemer of poor lost souls; for the want of Virtue he could not have Redeemed others; for the presence of sin he should have been Redeemed himself; and from fretting Indignation, and fearful Desperation, the piety and sanctity of his Nature doth preserve him; who being without sin, could neither by Indignation displease his Father, nor by Desperation destroy himself. So that if you consider either the adjuncts of Hell, or the effects, than I say we do remove all them as far off from the holy soul of Christ, as Heaven is from Hell, or the East from the West, or darkness from light, etc.  
Thirdly: Consider the punishment itself. Now concerning this we say, That our blessed Saviour as in himself, he bore all the sins of the Elect. So he also suffered the whole punishment of body and soul in general, that was due unto us, for the same which we should have endured, if he had not satisfied for it; and so consequently we affirm, that he felt the anguish of soul, and horror of God's wrath, and so in soul entered into the torments of Hell for us, sustained them, and vanquished them: One spaking in honour of Christ's passion, saith, Cum iram Dei 
Calvin, in Math. 2●. 39  sibi propositum videret, When he saw the wrath of God set before him, presenting himself before God's tribunal, loaden with the sins of the whole world, it was necessary for him to fear the deep bottomless pit of death. Again 
Calvin, in Math. 27. 46.  saith the same Author, Cum species Christo objecla est, etc. Such an object being offered to Christ's view, as though God being set against him, he were appointed to destruction; he was with horror affrighted, which was able an hundred times to have swallowed up all mortal Creatures; but he by the wonderful power of his spirit, escaped with Victory. What dishonour was it to our Saviour Christ (saith another) to suffer that which was necessary for 
Fulk. in Act 2. Sect. 11.  our Redemption, namely, that torment of Hell which we had deserved, and which the Justice of God required, that he should endure for our Redemption: Or rather, what is more to the honour of Christ, then that he vouchsafed to descend into Hell for us, and to abide that bitter pain which we had deserved to suffer Eternally; and what may rather be called Hell, than the anguish of soul which he suffered; when he being yet God, complained that he was forsaken of God. O Sirs, this we need not fear to confess, that Christ bearing our sins in himself, upon the Cross, did feel himself, during that combat, as rejected and forsaken of God, and accursed for us, and the flames of his Father's wrath burning within him; so that to the honour of Christ's Passion, we confess that our blessed Redeemer refused no part of our punishment, but endured the very pains of Hell so far, as they tended not, neither to the derogation of his Person, deprivation of his Nature, destruction of his Office, etc.  
Here it may be queryed whether the Lord Jesus Christ underwent the idem, the very selfsame punishment that we should have undergone? or only the tantundem, that which did amount, and was equivalent thereunto? To which, I Answer, That in different respects, both may be affirmed. The punishment which Christ endured, if it be considered in its substance, kind, or nature, so 'twas the same with that the Sinner himself should have undergone; but if it be considered with respect to certain circumstances, adjuncts, or accidents, which attend that punishment, (as inflicted upon the Sinner) so 'twas but equivalent and not the same. The punishment due to the Sinner, was death, the curse of the Law (upon the breach of the first Covenant,) now this Christ underwent, For 
Gal. 3. 13.  he was made a Curse for us. The adjuncts attending this death, were the Eternity of it, Desperation going along with it, etc. These Christ was freed from (the dignity of his Person supplying the former, the sanctity of his Person, securing him against the latter;) therefore in reference unto these (and to some other things already mentioned) it was but the tantundem, not the idem; but suppose there had been nothing of sameness, nothing beyond equivalency in what Christ suffered; yet that was enough, for it was not required that Christ should suffer every kind of Curse, which is the effect of sin, but in the general accursed death. Look as in his fulfilling of the Law for us, it was not necessary that he should perform every holy duty that the Law requireth; for he could not perform that obedience which Magistrates, or Married persons are bound to do: It's enough that there was a fulfilling of it in the general for us. So here it was not necessary that Jesus Christ should undergo in every respect the same punishment which the offender himself was liable unto; but if he shall undergo so much as may satisfy the Laws threaten, and vindicate the Lawgiver in his Truth, Justice, and Righteous government, that was enough. Now that was unquestionably done by Christ.  
But some may object, and say, How could Christ suffer Obj. 1 the pains of the second death, without dis-union of the Godhead from the Manhood, for the Godhead could not die? Or what interest had Christ's Godhead in his humane sufferings, to make them both so short, and so precious, and satisfactory to Divine justice for the sins of so many Sinners; especially when we consider that God cannot suffer?  
I Answer: It followeth not, that because Christ is United Answ. 1 into one Person with God, that therefore he did not suffer the pains of Hell; for by the same reason, he should not have suffered in his body, for the Union of his Person could have preserved him from sufferings in the one, as well as in the other, and neither God, Angels, nor Men compelled him to undertake this difficult and bloody work, but his own free and unspeakable love to Mankind, as himself declares, Joh. 10. 17. Therefore my Father 
Isa 53. 12. Psal. 40. 7, 8. Heb. 10. 9, 10.  loves me, because I lay down my life, ver. 18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. If Christ had been constrained to suffer, than both men and Angels might fear and tremble; but as one saith well, Voluntas 
Bernard  sponte morientis, placuit Deo; The willingness of him that died, pleased God, who offered himself to be the Redeemer of fallen man.  
But secondly: I Answer from 1 Joh. 3. 16. Hereby Answ. 2 perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us. The person dying was God, else his person could have done us no good. The Person suffering must be God as well as man, but the Godhead suffered not: As if you shoot off a Cannon in the bright air, the air suffers, but the light of it suffers not: Actions and passions belong to persons. Nothing less than that person, who is God-Man, could bear the brunt of the day, satisfy Divine justice, pacify Divine wrath, bring in an everlasting Righteousness, and make us happy for ever. But  
Thirdly: I answer thus; Albeit the passion of the humane Nature, could not so far reach the Godhead of Christ, that it should in a physical sense suffer, (which indeed is impossible,) yet these sufferings did so affect the Person, that it may truly be said, that God suffered, and by his blood bought his people to himself; for albeit, the 
Act. 20. 28. 1 Pet. 1. 18, 19, 20. 1 Cor. 6. 20. cap. 7. 23.  proper and formal subject of physical sufferings, be only the humane Nature; yet the principal subject of sufferings, both in a physical and moral sense, is Christ's Person, God and Man; from the dignity whereof, the worth and excellency of all sorts of sufferings, the merit and the satisfactory sufficiency of the price did flow.  
O Sirs, you must seriously consider, that though Christ as God, in his Godhead could not suffer in a physical sense, yet in a moral sense he might suffer, and did suffer: For he being in the form of God, thought it not robbery 
Phil. 2. 6, 7, 8.  to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a Man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. O! who can sum up the contradictions, the rail, the revile, the contempts, the despisings and calumnies that Christ met with from Sinners, yea from the worst of Sinners.  
But how could so low a debasing of the Son of man, or of the humane nature assumed by Christ, consist with the Object. 2 Majesty of the Person of the Son of God.  
We must distinguish those things in Christ, which are Answ. proper to either of the two Natures, from those things which are ascribed to his Person, in respect of either of the Natures, or both the Natures; for infirmity, physical suffering, or mortality, are proper to the humane Nature. The glory of power, and grace, and mercy, and superexcellent Majesty, and such like, are proper to the Deity; but the sufferings of the humane Nature, are so far from diminishing the glory of the divine Nature, that they do manifest the same, and make it appear more clearly and gloriously, for by how much the humane Nature was weakened, depressed, and despised for our sins, for our sakes, by so much the more the love of Christ, God and Man in one person toward man, and his mercy, and power, and grace to man, do shine in the eyes of all that judiciously do look upon him.  
Object. How could Christ endure Hell-fire, without Obj. 3 grievous sins, as blasphemy and despair, etc.  
I Answer: That we may walk safely, and without offence, Answ. these things must be premised. First, That the sorrows and sufferings of Hell be not otherwise attributed to Christ, than as they may stand with the dignity and worthiness of his Person, the holiness of his Nature, and the performance of the office and work of our Redemption. First then for the soul of Christ to suffer in the local place of Hell, to remain in the darkness thereof, and to be tormented with the material flames there, and eternally to be damned, was not for the dignity of his Person, to whom for his excellency and worthiness, both the place, manner, and time of those torments were dispensed with.  
Secondly: Final Rejection and Desperation, Blasphemy, and the worm of Conscience agreeth not with the holiness of his Nature, Who was a Lamb without a spot, and therefore we do not, we dare not ascribe them to him. 
Heb. 9 14. 1 Pet. 1. 19  But  
Thirdly: Destruction of body and soul, which is the second death, could not fall upon Christ; for this were to have destroyed the work of our Redemption, if he had been subject to destruction. But  
Fourthly and lastly: Blasphemy and Despair are no parts of the pains of the damned, but the consequents, and follow the sense of God's wrath in a sinful Creature that is overcome by it. But Christ had no sin of his own, neither was he overcome of wrath, and therefore he always 
Rev. 16. 9 11.  held fast his integrity and innocency. Despair is an unavoidable Companion, attending the pains of the second death, as all Reprobates do experience. Desperation is an utter hopelesness of any good, and a certain expectation and waiting on the worst that can befall; and this is the lot and portion of the damned in Hell. The wretched sinner in Hell, seeing the sentence passed against him, Gods purpose fulfilled, never to be reversed, the gates of Hell made fast upon him, and a great Gulf fixed 
Luk. 16. 26.  betwixt Hell and Heaven, which renders his escape impossible; He now gives up all, and reckons on nothing but uttermost misery. Now, mark this despair is not an essential part of the second death, but only a consequent, or (at the most) an effect occasioned by the sinner's view, of his irremediless woeful condition; but this neither did, nor could possibly befall the Lord Jesus; He was able by the power of his Godhead, both to suffer, and to satisfy, and to overcome, therefore he expected a good issue, and 
Psal. 16. 9, 10. Act. 2. 26, 27, 28, 31.  knew that the end should be happy, and that he should not be ashamed, Isa. 5. 6, 7. etc. Though a very shallow stream would easily drown a little Child, there being no hope of escape for it, unless one or another should step in seasonably to prevent it. Yet a man that is grown up, may groundedly hope to escape out of a far more deep and dangerous place, because by reason of his stature, strength, and skill, he could wade or swim out. Surely, the wrath of the Almighty manifested in Hell, is like the vast Ocean, or some broad, deep River; and therefore when the sinful Sons and Daughters of Adam (which are 
Rom. 5. 6.  without strength) are hurled into the midst of it, they must needs lie down in their confusion, as altogether hopeless of deliverance, or escaping; but this despair could not seize upon Jesus Christ, because (although his Father took 
Isa. 63. 1, 2, 3.  him, & cast him into the Sea of his wrath, so that all the billows of it went over him, yet) being the mighty God, with whom nothing is impossible, he was very able to pass through that Sea of wrath and sorrow which would have drowned all the world, and come safe to shore.  
Object. But when did Christ suffer Hellish Torments; Obj. 4 they are inflicted after death, not usually before it; but Christ's soul went straight after death into Paradise; how else could he say to the penitent Thief, This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. Now to this Objection I shall give these following Answers.  
First: That Christ's soul, after his Passion upon the Cross did not really and locally descend into the place of the damned, may be thus made evident.  
First: All the Evangelists; and so Luke among the rest, 
1. Luk. 1. 3.  intending to make an exact Narrative of the life and death of Christ, hath set down at large his Passion, Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension; and besides, they make rehearsal of very small circumstances; therefore we may safely conclude, that they would never have omitted Christ's local descent into the place of the damned, if there had been any such things; besides the great end, why they penned this History, was, That we might believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and that thus believing, 
J●h. 20. 31.  we might have life everlasting. Now there could not have been a greater matter for the confirmation of our Faith, than this, that Jesus, the Son of Mary, who went down to the place of the damned, returned thence to live in all happiness and blessedness for ever. But  
Secondly: If Christ did go into the place of the damned, than he went either in soul, or in body, or in his Godhead; not in his Godhead, for that could not descend, because it is every where, and his body was in the grave; and as for his soul, it went not to Hell, but immediately after his death, it went to Paradise, that is the third Heaven, a place of joy and happiness; This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise; which words of Christ must be understood 
Luk. 23. 43.  of his Manhood or Soul, and not of his Godhead, for they are an answer to a demand, and therefore unto it they must be suitable. The Thief makes his request, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom; 
vers. 42.  to which, Christ Answers, Verily, I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in Paradise; I shall (saith Christ) this day enter into Paradise, and there shalt thou be with me. Now there is no entrance, but in regard of his Soul or Manhood, for the Godhead, which is at all times in all 
Psal. 139 7 13. Jer 23. 23, 24.  places, cannot be properly said to entertain into a place. But  
Thirdly: When Christ saith, To day shalt thou be with me in Paradise, He doth intimate (as some observe) a resemblance which is between the first and second Adam. The first Adam quickly sinned against God, and was as 
Gen. 3.  quickly cast out of Paradise by God. Christ the second Adam, having made a perfect and complete satisfaction 
Heb 9 26, 28 cap. 10. 14.  to the justice of God, and the Law of God, for man's sin must immediately enter into Paradise. Now to say that Christ, in Soul, descended locally into Hell, is to abolish this Analogy between the first and second Adam. But  
Secondly: 'Tis not impossible that the pains of the second death should be suffered in this life, time, and place, are but circumstances; the main substance of the second death, is the bearing of God's fierce wrath and indignation. Divine favour shining upon a man in Hell, would turn Hell into a Heaven; all sober, seeing, serious Christians will grant, that the true, though not the full joys of Heaven may be felt and experienced in this life, 1 Pet. 1. 8. Whom having not seen ye love, in whom though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, or glorious; either because this their rejoicing was a taste of their future glory, or because it made them glorious in the eyes of men; the original word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, is glorified already; a piece of God's Kingdom, and Heaven's happiness aforehand: Ah, how many precious Saints, both living and dying, have cried out, O the joy! the joy! the inexpressible joy that I find in my Soul, Ephe. 2, 6. He hath made us sit together in Heavenly places, in Christ Jesus. What is this else, but even while we live, by Faith to possess the very joys of Heaven on this side Heaven. Now, look as the true joys of Heaven may be felt on this side Heaven, so the true, though not the full pains of Hell, may be felt on this side Hell; and doubtless, Cain, Judas, Julian, Spira, and others have found it so. That Father hit the mark, who 
Gen. 4. 13.  said, Judicis in ment tua, sedet ibi Deus, ad est accusator conscientia, torture timor; The Judge's Tribunal seat is in 
Augustin. in Psal. 57  thy soul, God sitteth there as Judge, thy Conscience is the Accuser, and fear is the tormentor. Now if there be in the soul a Judge, an Accuser, and a Tormentor, then certainly there is a true taste of the torments of Hell, on this side Hell.  
Thirdly: The place Hell is no part of the payment; the laying down of the price makes the satisfaction; this is all that is spoken and threatened to Adam, Thou shalt die 
Gen. 2. 1●. Peter saith, the Devils are cast down to Hell, and kept in chains of darkness. 2 Pet. 2. 4: And Paul calls the Devil, the Prince that ruleth in the Ayr. Ephe. 2. 2. The Air than is the Devil's Hell; well then, seeing this air is the Devils present Hell, we may safely conclude, that Hell may be in this present world; and therefore it is neither impossible, nor improbable? that the Cross was Christ's Hell.  the death, and this may be suffered here. The wicked go to Hell as their Prison, because they can never pay their debts, otherwise the debt may as well be paid in the Market, as the Goal. Now Christ did discharge all his people's debts in the days of his flesh, when he offered up strong cries and tears, Heb. 5 7. and not after death. Look as a King entering into Prison to lose the Prisoners Chains, and to pay their debts, is said to have been in Prison; so our Lord Jesus Christ, by his souls sufferings, which is the Hell he entered into, hath released us of our pains and chains, and paid our debts, and in this sense he may be said to have entered into Hell, though he never actually entered into the local place of the damned, which is properly called Hell; for in that place there is neither virtue nor goodness, holiness nor happiness, and therefore the holiness of Christ's person would never suffer him to descend into such a place, in the local place of Heaven and Hell. It is not possible for any neither to be at once, nor yet at sundry times successively, for there is no passing from Heaven to Hell, or from Hell to Heaven, Luk. 16. 26. The place of suffering, is but a circumstance in the business; Hell (the place of the damned) is no part of the debt, therefore neither is suffering there locally any part of the payment of it, no more than a Prison is any part of an earthly debt, or of the payment of it. The Surety may satisfy the Creditor in the place appointed for payment, or in the open Court, which being done, the Debtor and Surety both are acquitted, that they need not go to Prison; if either of them go to Prison, it is because they do not, or cannot pay the debt; for all that Justice requires, is to satisfy the debt, to the which, the Prison is merely extrinsical: Even so the Justice of God cannot be satisfied for the transgression of the Law, but by the death of the Sinner; but it doth not require that this should be done in the place of the damned. The wicked go to Prison, because they do not, they cannot make satisfaction; otherwise Christ having fully discharged the debt, needed not go to Prison.  
Object. But the pains and torments that are due to man's Obj. 5 sins, are to be everlasting; and how then can Christ's short sufferings countervail them?  
Answ. That Christ's sufferings in his soul and body Answ. were equivalent to it; although to speak properly, Eternity is not of the essence of death, which is the reward of sin, and threatened by God; but its accidental, because man thus dying, is never able to satisfy God; therefore seeing he cannot pay the last farthing, he is for 
Math. 18 28. 35.  ever kept in Prison. Look as eternal death hath in it eternity & despair necessarily in all those that so die, so Christ could not suffer, but what was wanting in duration was supplied; 1. By the immensity of his sorrows conflicting with the sense of God's wrath, because of our sins imputed to him; so that he suffered more grief, then if the sorrows of all men were put together. Christ's Hell, sorrows on the Cross were meritorious and fully satisfactory 
Isa. 53.  for our everlasting punishment; and therefore in greatness were to exceed all other men's sorrows, as being answerable to God's justice. 2. By the dignity and worth of him that did suffer; Therefore the Scripture calls it the blood of God. The damned must bear the wrath of God to all Eternity, because they can never satisfy the justice of God for sin; therefore they must lie by it world without end: but Christ hath made an infinite satisfaction in a finite time, by undergoing that fierce battle with the wrath of God, and getting the Victory in a few hours, which is equivalent to the Creatures bearing it, and grappling with it everlastingly. This length, or shortness of durance, is but a circumstance not of any necessary consideration in this case. Suppose a man indebted a 100 l. and likely to lie in Prison till he shall pay it, yet utterly unable; if another man comes, and lays down the money on two hours' warning, is not this as well, or better done; that which may be done to as good or better purpose, in a short time, what need is there to draw it out at length? The justice of the Law did not require that either the Sinner, or his Surety should suffer the Eternity of Hell's torments, but only their extremity; it doth abundantly counterpoise the eternity of the punishment, that the person which suffered was the eternal God. Besides, it was impossible that he should be detained under the sorrows of death, Act. 2. 24. And if he had been so detained, Then he had not spoiled principalities and powers, nor triumphed over them, Col. 2. 15. but had been overcome, and so had not attained his end. But  
Secondly: The pains of Hell which Christ suffered, though they were not infinite in time, yet were they of an infinite price and value, for the dignity of the person that suffered them. Christ's temporal enduring of Hellish sorrows, was as effectual and meritorious, as if they had been perpetual; the dignity of Christ's person did bear him out in that which was not meet for him to suffer, nor fit in respect of our Redemption; for if he should have suffered Eternally, our Redemption could never have been accomplished; but for him to suffer in soul, as he did in body, was neither derogatory to his person, nor prejudicial to his work: Infinitely in time Christ was not to suffer, as one well observes, Christ died secundum tempus, 
Ambrose in 5. ad Rom. 6.  in time, or according to time; Tempora in mundo sunt, etc. Times are in the world where the Sun riseth and setteth; unto this time he died; but where there is no time, there he was found, not only living, but conquering. Christ, God-Man, suffered punishment in measure infinite, and therefore there is no ground why he should endure it eternally; and indeed it was impossible that Christ should be 
Act. 2. 24.  holden of Death, because he was both the Lord of life, and the Lords holy One, 1 Cor. 2. 8. Act. 2. 27. But  
Thirdly: If the measure of a man's punishment were infinite, the duration needs not be infinite; sinful man's measure of punishment is finite, and therefore the duration of his punishment must be infinite, because the punishment must be answerable to the infinite evil of sin committed against an infinite God. O Sirs, continual imprisonment in Hell, arises from man's not being able to pay the price; for could he pay the debt in one year, he needs not lie two years in Prison. Now the debt is the first and second death, and because sinful man cannot pay it in any time, he must endure it eternally; but now Christ has laid down ready pay upon the nail, to the full for all his chosen Ones; and therefore it is not required of him that he should suffer for ever neither can it stand with the holiness or justice of God to hold him under the second death, he having paid the debt to the utmost Farthing. Now that he hath fully paid the debt himself, witnesseth Joh. 19 30. saying, when he had received the Vinegar, It is finished; so vers. 28. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were accomplished. Though there are many interpretations given of this place by Augustine, Chrysostom, Jansenu●, and others; yet doubtless, this alone will hold water, viz. That the heavy wrath of the Lord which did pursue Christ, and the second death which filled him with grievous terrors, is now over and past, and man's Redemption finished; he speaketh here of that which presently should be, and in the yielding up his Ghost was accomplished.  
And thus you see that Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a Hellish manner; and you see also that Christ did not locally descend into Hell: Shall we make a few inferences from hence.  
First then: O! how should these sad sufferings of Christ for us, endear Christ to us. O! what precious thoughts should we have of him; O! how should we 
Psal. 136. 17, 18.  prise him; how should we honour him; how should we love him; and how should we be swallowed up in the admiration of him? as his love to us has been matchless, so his sufferings for us has been matchless. I have read of Nero, that he had a Shirt made of a Salamander's skin, so that if he did walk through the fire in it, it would keep him from burning. So Christ is the true Salamander's skin that will keep the soul from everlasting burn; 
Isa. 33. 14.  and therefore well may Christians cry out with that Martyr, None but Christ, none but Christ. Tigranes in Zenophon, 
Lambert.  coming to Redeem his Father and Friends, with his Wife, that were taken Prisoners by Cyrus, was asked among other things, what Ransom he would give for his Wife; he answered, He would Redeem her liberty with his own life; but having prevailed, as they returned together, every one commended Cyrus for a goodly man; and Tygranes would needs know of his Wife, What she thought of him; Truly, said she, I cannot tell, for I did not so much as look on him, or see him; whom then, said he, (wondering) did you look upon? Whom should I look upon, replied she, but him that would have Redeemed my liberty with his own life. So every Believer should esteem nothing 
1 Cor. 6. 20. Act. 20. 28. 1 Pet. 1. 18, 19 Plutarch in vita Tit. Flame  worth a looking on, but that Jesus who hath Redeemed him with his own blood. Plutarch tells us, That when Titus Flaminius had freed the poor Grecians from the bondage with which they had been long ground by their oppressions, and the Herald was to proclaim in their Audience the Articles of peace he had concluded for them; they so pressed upon him (not being half of them able to hear) that he was in great danger to have lost his life in the press; at last reading them a second time, when they came to understand distinctly how that their case stood, they so shooted for joy, crying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Saviour, a Saviour, that they made the very Heavens ring again with their acclamations, and the very Birds fall down astonished. And all that night the poor Grecians with Instruments of Music, and Songs of praise, danced and sang about his Tent, extolling him as a God that had delivered them: But O then what infinite cause have we to exalt and cry up our dear Lord Jesus, who by the Hellish sorrows that he suffered for us, hath freed us from that more dreadful bondage of sin, Satan, and wrath that we lay under. O! prize that Jesus; O! exalt that Christ; O! extol that Saviour, who has saved you from that eternal wrath that all the Angels in Heaven, and all the men on Earth could never have saved you from. The name of Jesus (saith one) hath a thousand 
Chrysostom. Dulce namen Christi  Treasures of joy and comfort in it, and is therefore used by Paul five hundred times as some have observed. The name of a Saviour (saith another) is Honey in the Mouth, and Music in the Ears, and a Jubilee in the Heart. Were 
Bernard.  Christ in your bosom as a flower of delight, for he is a whole Paradise of delight (saith one.) I had rather (saith 
Justin Martyr. L●ther.  another) be in Hell with Christ, than in Heaven without him, for Christ is the Crown of Crowns, the glory of glories, and the Heaven of Heaven. One saith, That he 
Austin.  would willingly go thorough Hell to Christ: Another saith, He 
Bernard.  had rather be in his Chimney corner with Christ, than in Heaven without him. One cried out, I had rather have one Christ than a thousand worlds. Jesus in the China tongue, signifies the rising Sun, and such a rising Sun was he to Julius' Palmer, that when all concluded that he was dead, 
Mal. 4 2.  being turned as black as a coal in the fire, at last he moved his scorched lips, and was heard to say Sweet Jesus. It was an excellent answer of one of the Martyrs, when he was offered riches and honours if he would recant; Do but (said he) offer me somewhat that is better than my Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall see what I will say to you. Now, O! that the Hellish sorrows and sufferings of Christ for us, might raise in all our hearts such a high estimation, and such a deep admiration, as hath been raised in those worthies last mentioned. It was a sweet prayer of him who thus prayed, Lord make thy Son dear, very dear, exceeding dear, and only dear and precious to me. When ever we seriously think of the great and sore sufferings of 
2. All the Hell Socinians grant is Annihilation, by reason it is said, they shall be destroyed, vide. Socinus, Racoucat. Crellius. Bidle, Richardson, etc.  Christ, it will be good to pray as he prayed. But  
Secondly: If Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a Hellish manner, then let me infer, that certainly there is a Hell, a place of torment provided and prepared for all wicked and ungodly persons. Danaeus reckons up no less than nineteen several sorts of Heretics that denied it; and are there not many erroneous and deluded persons that stoutly, and daily assert that there is no Hell but what men feel in their own Consciences: Ah how many are there that rejoice 
Jer. 11. 15. Prov. 2. 14. Isa. 65. 3. 2 Thes. 2. 11. Math. 25. 41. Isa. 30. 33.  to do evil, and delight in their abominations, and take pleasure in unrighteousness: But could men do thus, durst men do thus, did they really believe that Hell was prepared and fitted for them, and that the fiery Lake was but a little before them. Heaven is a place where all is joyful; and Hell is a place where all is doleful; in Heaven there is nothing but happiness; and in Hell there is nothing but heaviness, nothing but endless, easeless, and remediless torments. Did men believe this, how could they go so merrily on in the way to Hell? Cato once said to Caesar, (credo quae deniferis dicuntur falsa esse existimas.) I believe that thou thinkest all that is said of Hell to be false and fabulous. So I may say to many in this day, Surely you think that all that is spoken, and written of Hell, is but a story. Don't you look upon the people of God to be of all men the most miserable, and yourselves of all men the most happy. Yes; O! but how can this be? did you really believe that there was a Heaven for the Righteous, and a Hell for the Wicked. 'Tis an Italian Proverb, (Qui venetias non vidit, non credit, etc. He who hath not seen Venice, will not believe; and he who hath not lived some time there, doth not understand what a City it is; this in a sense is true of Hell: But now for the Q●d sit, that there is a Hell, that there is such a place of misery prepared and appointed for the wicked I shall briefly demonstrate against the high Atheists and Socinians of this day, and therefore thus,  
First: God Created Angels and Men after his own Image. Man must be so much honoured, as to be made like God; and no Creature must be so much honoured as to be made like man. The pattern after which man was made, is sometimes called Image alon● So God Created 
Gen. 1. 27.  man in his own Image, in the Image of God Created he him. Sometimes likeness alone; In the day that God created man, in the holiness of God made he him, sometimes 
Gen. 5. 1.  both Let us make man in our Image, after our likeness; 
Gen. 1. 26.  which makes a prudent Interpreter think, that when they are joined, it is by Hendiadys, and that the 
Andr. Rivet, in Gen. Exer 〈…〉. Nihil est in macrocosm 〈…〉 num praeter microcosmum. ●avo●inus. There is nothing in the vast world of Creatures truly great, except the little world of man  Holy Ghost meaneth an Image most like his own. It is exceeding much for man's honour, that he is an Epitome of the world, an abridgement of other Creatures, partaking with the stones in being, with the Stars in motion, with the Plants in growing, with the Beasts in sense, and with Angels in science. But his being made after God's Image is far more. You know, when great men erect a stately building, they cause their own picture to be hung upon it, that spectators may know who was the chief founder of it. So when God had created the Fabric of this world, the last thing he did, was the setting up his own Picture in it, Creating man after his own Image. When the great Creator went about that noble work, that prime piece of making of man, He doth as it were call a solemn Counsel of the sacred persons in the Trinity; And God said, Let us make Man in our Image, 
Gen 1. 26. Man (saith one) in his Creation, is Angelical; in his Corruption Diabolical; in his Renovation Theological; in his Translation, Majestical; an Angel in Eden, a Devil in the World, a Saint in the Church, a King in Heaven.  etc. Man before his Fall was the best of Creatures, but since his Fall, he is become the worst of Creatures: He that was once the Image of God, the glory of Paradise, the world's Lord, and the Lords darling, is now become an abomination to God, a burden to Heaven, a Plague to the World, and a slave to Satan. When Man first came out of God's Mint, he did shine most gloriously, as being bespangled with Holiness, and clad with the royal Robe of Righteousness; his Understanding was filled with knowledge; his Will with uprightness; his Affections with holiness, etc. But yet being a mutable Creature, and subject to temptations, Satan quickly stripped him of his happiness, and cheated, and cozened him of his Imperial Crown (as we use to do Children) with an Apple. If God had created Angels and men immutable, he had created them Gods, and not Creatures; but being made mutable, we know they did fall from their primitive purity and glory; and we know that out of the whole Host of Angels, he kept some from falling; and when all mankind was fallen, he Redeemed some by his Son. Now mark, as he shows mercy upon some in their Salvation, 
Rom. 7. 21, 22, 23.  so it is meet that he should glorify his justice upon others in their Condemnation: And because there must be distinct places for the exercise of the one, and for the execution of the other, which are in God equally infinite by an irrecoverable decree from the foundation of the world; a glorious habitation was prepared for the one, and a most hideous Dungeon for the other. These shall go into everlasting punishment, and the Righteous into 
Math. 25. 6.  life Eternal; yea, so certain are both these places, that they were of old prepared for that very purpose. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; and so, Depart ye Cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels. Look as God foresaw 
vers. 41.  the different estates and conditions of Men and Angels, so he provided for them distinct and different places. Doubtless Hell was constituted before Angels or or Men fell; Hell was framed before sin was hatched, as Heaven was form and fitted before any of the Inhabitants were produced. But  
Secondly: That there is a Hell, both the Old and New Testament doth clearly and fully testify; take some instances, Psal. 9 17. The wicked shall be turned into Hell, 
Sheol is often put for the Grave, Psal. 16. 10. but not always.  and all the Nations that forget God; in the Hebrew, there are two into's, into, into Hell; that is, The Wicked shall certainly be turned into the nethermost Hell; yea, they shall forcibly be turned into the lowest and darkest place in Hell. God will, as it were, with both hands thrust him 
In tenebras ex tenebris infelicit ex exclusi in felicius, excludendi. August.  into Hell. If Sheol here signify the Grave only, what punishment is here threatened to the Wicked, which the Righteous is not equally liable to. Doubtless Sheol here, is to be taken for that prison or place of torment where Divine justice detayns all those in hold, that have all their days rebelled against him, scorned his Son, despised the means of Grace, and died in open Rebellion against him. The Psalmist, saith my Author, declares the miserable 
Mollerus.  condition of all those who live and die in their sins. Aeternis punientur paenis, They shall be everlastingly punished. And Masculus reads the place thus, Animi impiorum cruciatibus, debitis apud inferos punientur. The souls of the ungodly shall be punished in Hell with deserved torments: Certainly, the very place in which the wicked shall lodge, and be tormented to all Eternity, viz. Hell, the bottomless Pit, a Dungeon of darkness, a Lake of fire and brimstone, a fiery Furnace will extremely aggravate the dolefulness of their condition. O Sirs, were all 
Vide Bellarm. de Eater. Fael●.  the Water in the Sea, Ink, and every pile of Grass, a Pen, and every hair on all the men's heads in the world, the hand of a ready Writer, all would be too short graphically to delincate the nature of this Dungeon, where all lost souls must lodge for ever. Where is the man, who to gain a world, would lodge one night in a Room that's haunted with Devils; and is it nothing to dwell in Hell with them for ever. So Solomon, Prov. 5. 5. saith 
By death and Hell, is in this place meant not only temporal death, and the visible grave, but also eternal death, and hell itself, even the place of the damned. The Dutch Annotations.  of the Harlot, That her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on Hell; here Sheol is translated Hell, and in the judgement of Lavator is well translated to. Foveam vel infernum passus ejus, tenebunt; which (saith he) is spoken not so much of natural death, as of spiritual, and that eternal destruction which followeth thereupon; and he gives this for a reason, why we should understand the place so, Because whoredom being an abominable sin defiling the Members of the Body of Christ, dissolving and making void the Covenant between God and Man, must needs be accompanied with an equivalent judgement; even excluding those that are guilty thereof, without Repentance, 
1 Cor. 6. 9, 10. Gal. 5. 19, 20, 21. Rev. 21. 27. Heb: 13. 4.  the Kingdom of Heaven, into which pure and undefiled place no unclean thing can enter: And mark those words of the Apostle, Whore-mongers and Adulterers God will judge. If men will not judge them, God himself will, and give them a portion of misery answerable to their transgression. Though the Magistrate be negliligent in punishing them, yet God will judge them: Sometimes he judges them in this life, by pouring forth of his wrath upon their bodies, Souls, Consciences, Names and Estates; but if he don't thus judge them in this life, yet he will be sure to judge them in the life to come, which Bishop Latimer well understood, when he presented to Henry the Eighth for a New-years-gift, a New-Testament 
Act. and Mon. 1594.  with a Napkin, having this Posy about it, Whoremongers and Adulterers God will judge; yea, he has already adjudged them to the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death, Rev. 21. 8. ver. Nothing (saith one) hath so much enriched Hell as beautiful fa●es. The Germans have a Proverb, That the pavement of Hell is made of the skulls of shaved Priests, and the glorious 〈◊〉 of Gallants; their meaning is, that these sorts of persons being most given up to fleshly Lusts and pleasures, they shall be sure to have the lowest place in Hell. 
† 'tis a Carachrestical Metaphor, they are sure to bring her thither, as a man hath that in possession on which with much delight he takes fast hold. Rev. 2. 22.  The Harlot's feet go down to death, and her steps take hold on Hell●: Wantonness brings men to Hell: Whoremongers shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, Revel. 21. 8. For Fornication and Uncleanness, the Wrath of God cometh on the Children of disobedience, Col. 3. 5, 6. The Adulterer herself goes thither, & is it not fit that her Companions in sin, should be her Companions in misery? I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit Adultery with her into great tribulation; She hastens with Sails and Oars to Hell, and draws her Lovers with her; all her courses tend towards Hell; Strumpets are the foundations and upholders of Hell, they are the Devils best Customers. O the thousands of men and women that are sent to Hell for Wantonness; Hell would be very thin and empty, were it not for these; other sins are toilsome and troublesome, but Wantonness is pleasant, and sends men and women merrily to Hell. I have read a story, that one ask the Devil, which were the greatest sins? he answered, Covetousness and Lust; the other ask again, whether Perjury and Blasphemy were not greater sins? the Devil replied, that in the Schools of Divinity, they were the greater sins, but for the increase of his Revenues, the 
Beda in Prov. c. 30.  other were the greater. Beda therefore styleth Lust, Filiamdiaboli, the Daughter of the Devil, which bringeth forth many Children to him. O that all Wantoness would take that Counsel of Bernard. Ardour gehennae extinguat 
Bern. Serm. 23. ad soror.  in te ardorem luxuriae, major ardour minorem superet; let the fire of Hell extinguish the fire of Lust in thee; let the greater burning overcome the lesser, ponder upon that, Prov. 9 18. But he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her Guests are in the depths of Hell. To wit, those that 
1 Tim. 5. 6.  are spiritually dead, and that are in the high way to be cut off, either by filthy diseases, or by the rage of the jealous Husband, or by the Sword of the Magistrate, or by some quarrels arising amongst those that are Rivals in the Harlot's love, and are as sure to be damned as if they were in Hell already. A Metaphor from a Dungeon. He knoweth not that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of Hell, Aben Ezra will have the original word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ibi, 
Aben Ezra. in hunc vers.  there to be referred to Hell; & the meaning of the whole verse to be more plainly thus, he knoweth not, that her guests being dead are in the depth of Hell. But the Hebrew word here used and translated, dead, is Rephaim, which word (Rephaim) properly signifies Giants, and to that sense is always rendered by the seventy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The meaning of this place, seems to be no other, but that the strange Woman will bring them who are her Guests to Hell, to keep the Apostate Giant's company. Those mighty men of renown of the old world, whose wickedness 
Gen. 6. 4. 5.  was so great in the Earth, that it repent and grieved God that he had made man, and to take Vengeance on whom he brought the general Deluge upon the Earth, and destroyed both Man and Beast from the face thereof. These Giants are called in Hebrew Nephilim, such as being fallen from God, fell upon men, and by force and violence, made others fall before them, even as the Beasts of the Field do fall before the roaring Lions. These great oppressors were first drowned, and then damned, and sent to that accursed place which was appointed for them: Now to that place and condition, in which they are, the Harlot will bring all her wanton Lovers. Take one Scripture more, Prov. 15. 11. Hell and destruction are before the 
Destruction is put as a● adjunct or Epithet of Hell.  Lord; how much more than the hearts of the Children of men? Some think the latter is exegetical of the former; some by Sheol understand the Grave, & by Abaddon Hell. There is nothing so deep, or secret, that can be hid from the eyes of God; He knows the souls in Hell, and the bodies in the Grave, and much more men's thoughts here in this place, Prov. 15. 11. The Jews take the word Abaddon, which we render destruction, for Gehenna, that is, Elliptically for Beth-Abaddon, the house of destruction. Though we know not where Hell is, nor what is done there; though we know not what is become of those that are destroyed, nor what they suffer, yet God doth; and if the secrets of Hell and Devils are known to him, then much more the secrets of the hearts of the Children of men. The Devil who is the great Executioner of the wrath of God, is expressed by this word; as Hell is called destruction in the abstract, so the Devil is called a destroyer in the concrete. And they had a King over them, which is the Angel of the bottomless pit, (or Hell,) whose name in 
Rev. 9 11.  the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon, both the one and the other; the Hebrew and the Greek signify the same thing, a destroyer. The Devil, who is the Jailor of Hell, is called a destroyer, as Hell itself is called destruction. O Sirs, Hell is destruction; they that are once there are lost, yea, lost for ever. The reason why Hell is called destruction, is because they that are cast to Hell, are undone to all Eternity. 
Rev. 14. 11.  If Hell (said one) were to be endured a thousand years, methinks I could bear it, but for ever, that amazeth me. Bellarmin out of Barocius, tells us of a learned man, 
De arte bene mo●iendi.  who after his death, appeared to his Friend, complaining that he was adjudged to Hell-torments, which (saith he) were they to last but a thousand thousand years, I should think it tolerable, but alas they are eternal. The fire in Hell is like that stone in Arcadia I have read of, which being once kindled, could not be quenched. There is no Estate on Earth so miserable, but a man may be delivered out of it; but out of Hell there is no deliverance. It is not the prayer, no not of a Gregory, though never so great (what ever they fable) that can rescue any that is once become Hell's Prisoner. I might add other Scriptures out of the old Testament, but let these suffice.  
That there is such a place as Hell is, prepared for the torment of the bodies & souls of wicked & impenitent Siners, is most clear & evident in the New Testament, as well as in the Old: Amongst the many that might be produced, take these for a taste, Mat. 5. 22. But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his Brother, without a cause (rashly, vainly, and unreasonably) shall be in danger of the Judgement; & whosoever shall say to his Brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the Council; but whosoever shall say, thou Fool, shall be in danger of Hell-fire. Gr to, or in the Gehenna of fire.  
In this Scripture our Lord Jesus doth allude to the custom of punishing Offenders, used among the Jews; now there were three degrees of punishments that were used among the Jews.  
First: In every Town where there were a hundred and twenty Inhabitants, there was a little Council of three, which judged smaller matters, for which, whipping, or some pecuniary mulct was imposed.  
Secondly; There was a Council consisting of three and twenty; seven of these were Judges, fourteen Assessors, 
Josephus.  who were mostly of the Levites; and to these were added two supernumeraries which made the twenty-three, which the Hebrews generally say, was the number that made up this second Council. Now this Council sat in the Gates of the City, and did judge of civil matters, having also power of life and death.  
Thirdly: There was the great Synedrion, or High-Court of Judicatory, which consisted of seventy and two, six chosen of every Tribe. Now this Council sat in the Court of the Temple, and had all matters of greatest moment brought before them, as Heresy, Idolatry, Apostasy. 
Beza.  Sometimes they convented before them the Highpriest, and sometimes false Prophets, yea, sometimes a whole Tribe, as my Reverend Author thinks. Now look as there is a gradation of sin, so there is a gradation of punishment pointed at in this Scripture; for the opening of which, consider you have here three degrees of secret murder, or of inward heart-murder. And  
1. The first is Rash anger: Now this brings a man in danger of the Judgement. By the judgement, he means not the judgement of the three, who judged of mony-matters; but by judgement, he means the Counsel of the three and twenty men: Now they are called the Judgement, because they judged of Murders, and inflicted death, etc. Now he that shall rashly, vainly, causelessly, unseasonably be angry with his Brother, he shall be liable to the punishments that are to be inflicted by the Judges. Look what punishments they in the Sanhedrim inflicted upon actual and apparent Murderers, the same were they liable to, and did deserve at the hands of God, who were guilty of this secret kind of Murder, viz. Rash Anger. From the different degrees of punishments among the Jews, Christ would show the degrees of punishment in another world, according to the greatness of men's sins; as if he should say, Look as among you Jews, there are different offences, some are judged in your little Counsel of three, and others are judged in your Counsel of three and twenty, and others in your great Sanhedrim, So in the high Court of Heaven, some sins, as Rash Anger, are less punished; and others are more sorely punished, as when your Rash Anger shall break forth into rail, etc. In these words, Whosoever is angry with his Brother without a cause, shall be in danger of Judgement. You may see that Christ gives as much to Rash Anger, as the Jews did to Murder; as if he should have said, You Pharisees exceed all measure and bounds in your anger, and with a malicious heart, you rail upon the most innocent persons, upon me and my Disciples; but I would have you take heed of Rash Anger, for you shall have greater torments in Hell for your Rash anger, than those that Murderers suffer by your Counsel of three and twenty: But these words, he shall be in danger of Judgement, do contain the reward and punishment of unlawful anger; as if our Saviour had said, Rash Anger shall not escape just punishment, but shall be arraigned and summoned before God's Tribunal at the dreadful day of Judgement, when the angry man shall not be able to answer one word of a thousand.  
The second kind of secret Murder is to say to our Brother 
2. Whether the word Raca be Hebrew or some say, as Syriack as others say, or Chaldee, it matters not; for all agree in this, that it is a word that notes scorn and contempt, etc. Lapide. Vide, Weemes on the judicial Law of Moses, and Dr. Field of the Church. Michael Maronita.  Raca, that is say some, O vain man; others say it signifies a brainless Fellow; and the learned Tremellius saith, it signifies one void of judgement, reason, and brains. Some will have this word Raca come of the Greek, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Racoes, Cloth, as though one should call a man a base patch, or piece of cloth, or beggarly: Raca, signifies an idle head, a light brain; for so (Rik) in the Hebrew, (to which the Syriack word Racha agreeth both in sound and sense) signifieth light or vain: Racha is a Syriack word, and signifies say some, these three things: 1. Empty, as empty of wealth, or poor; or as some empty of brains, or wit; or as others, a light head, or cock-brain, wide and empty of wisdom or understanding. 2. It signifies spittle or spit upon, to signify that they esteemed one another no better than the spittle they spat out of their mouths. 3. It signifies contemned, vile, despised, abject, and in this signification, one in his Proem of the Syriack Grammar, thinks it to be taken. The Ethiopian expounds Racha thus, He that shall say to his Brother, be poor by contempt, and of torn Garments, shall be guilty of the Counsel; such a one saith our Saviour, Shall be in danger of the Counsel; that is, contract as great guilt unto himself, and is subject to as severe a judgement in the Court of Heaven, as any capital crime that is censured in the Sanhedrim, or High-Court of the Jews. But  
The third kind of secret Murder, is an open reviling and reproaching of a Brother in these words, But whosoever shall say thou Fool, shall be in danger of Hell-fire. Thou Fool, this is a word of greater disgrace than the former. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies unsavoury, or without relish; a Fool here is by a metaphor, called insipid, Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sote, which we call Sot, shall be in danger of Hell-fire, or to be cast into Gehenna; Gehenna comes from the Hebrew word Gettinnom, that is the Valley of Hinnom, lying near the City of Jerusalem, in which Valley, in former times the Itolatrous 
Josh. 15. 8.  Jews, caused their Children to be burned alive between the glowing arms of the brazen Image of Moloch, (imitating 
vide 2. King. 23 10. Jer. 7. 31. Jer. 32. 35. Jer. 19 4, 5, 6.  the Abominations of the Heathen.) And hence the Scripture often makes use of that word, to signify the place of eternal punishment, where the damned must abide under the wrath of God for ever. There were four kinds of punishments exercised among the Jews. First: Stranglings. 2. The Sword. 3. Stoning. 4. The Fire. Now this last, they always judged the worst, as Beza affirms upon this very place. In these words, Shall be in danger of Hell-fire, Christ alludes to the great Sanhedrim, and the highest degree of punishment that was inflicted by them, namely, to be burned in the Valley of Hinnom, which by a known Metaphor is transferred to Hell itself, and the inexpressible torments thereof: For, as those poor wretches being enclosed in a brazen Idol-heat with fire, were miserably tormented in this Valley of Hinnom. So the wicked being cast into Hell, the Prison of the damned shall be eternally tormented in unquenchable fire. This Valley of Hinnom, by reason of the pollution of it with slaughter, blood, and stencth of Carcases, did become so execrable, that Hell itself did afterwards inherit the same Name, and was called Gehenna of this very place. And that 1. In respect of the hollowness and depth thereof, being a low and deep Valley. 2. This Valley of Hinnom was a place of misery in regard of those many slaughters that were committed in it through their barbarous Idolatry. So Hell is a place of misery, and infelicity, wherein there is nothing but sorrow. 3. Thirdly: By the bitter and lamentable cries of poor Infants in this Valley, is shadowed out the cries and lamentable torments of the damned in Hell. 4. In this Valley of Hinnom was another fire which was kept continually burning for the consuming of dead Carcases, and filth, and the garbage that came out of the City. Now our Saviour, by the fire of Gehenna, in this Mat. 5. 22. hath reference principally to this fire, signifying hereby, the perpetuity and everlastingness of Hellish pains: To this last judgement of the Sanhedrim, viz. Burning: Doth Christ appropriate that kind of Murder, which is by open reviling of a Brother, that he might notify the heinousness of this sin; mark in this Scripture, Judgement, Council, and Hell fire do but signify three degrees of the same punishment, etc.  
See also Matth. 5. 29, 30. And if thy right Eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee, that one of thy Members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell: And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee, that one of thy Members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into Hell-fire. Julian taking these commands literally, mocked at Christian Religion, as foolish, cruel, and vain, because they require men to maim their members. He mocked at Christians, because no man did it; and he mocked at Christ because no man obeyed him; but this Apostate, might have seen from the scope, that these words were not to be taken literally, but figuratively. Some of the Ancients, by the right hand, and the right eye, do understand, Relations, Friends, or any other dear enjoyments, which draws the heart from God. Others of them, by the right eye, and the right hand, do understand such darling sins that are as dear to men, as their right eyes, and right hands. That this Hell here spoken of, is not meant of the Grave, into which the body shall be laid, is most evident, because those Christians, who do pull out their right eyes, and cut off their right hands, (that is, mortify those special sins which are as dear and near to them, as the very members of their bodies) shall be secured, and delivered from this Hell, whereas none shall be exempted from the Grave, though they are the choicest persons on Earth for grace and holiness. Death, like the Duke of Parma's Sword, knows no difference twixt Robes and Rags twixt Prince and Peasant. All flesh is grass: The 
Isa. 40. 6.  flesh of Princes, Nobles, Counsellors, Generals, etc. is grass, as well as the flesh of the meanest Beggar that walks the Streets, The mortal Sith (saith one) is master 
H●rat. l. 1. Oct. 28.  of the Royal Sceptre, it mows down the Lilies of the Crown, as well as the Grass of the Field. Never was there Orator so Eloquent, nor Monarch so Potent, that could either 
Death's Motto is Nulli cedo.  persuade, or withstand the stroke of death when it came. It is one of Solomon's sacred Aphorisms, The Rich and the Poor meet together, sometimes in the same Bed, sometimes 
Prov. 22. 2.  at the same Board, and sometimes in the same Grave. Death is the common Inn of all Mankind; There is no defence against the stroke of death, nor no discharge in that 
H●b 9 27. Eccles. 8. 8.  War. Death is that only King, against whom, there is no rising up. If your Houses be fired, by good help they 
Prov. 30. 31.  may be quenched; if the Sea break out, by art and industry it may be repaired. If Princes Invade by power and policy, they may be repulsed: If Devils from Hell shall tempt by assistance from Heaven, they may be resisted. But Death comes into Royal Palaces, and into the meanest Cottages, and there is not a man to be found that can make resistance against this King of terrors, and terror of Kings: Death's Motto is Nemini parco, I spare none. Thus you see, that by Hell, in Math. 5. 29, 30. You may not, you cannot understand the Grave, and therefore by it, you must understand the place of the damned. But if you please, you may cast your eye upon another Scripture, viz. Math. 10. 28. Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell. The word (rather) is not a comparative, but an adversative. We should not fear man at all, when he stands in competition with God. So Victorian, the Proconsul of Carthage, being solicited to Arrianism by the Ambassadors of King Hunnerick, answered thus, Being assured of God, and my Lord Christ, I tell you, what 
Victor, Uticens. l. 3. Wand●l. perfecat.  you may tell the King, Let him burn me, let him drive me to the Beasts, let him torment me with all kind of torments, I shall never consent to be an Arrian; and though the Tyrant afterwards did torture him with very great tortures, yet he could never work him over to Arianism. The best remedy against the slavish fear of Tyrants, is to set that great God up as the object of our fear, who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell. Mark, He doth not say, to destroy soul and body simply, or absolutely; so that they should be no more (for that many that love their Lusts, and prise the World above a Saviour, would be contented withal, rather than to run the hazard of a fierce, hot persecution,) but to punish them eternally in Hell, where the Worm never dyeth, nor the Fire never goeth out. Now by Hell in this, Math. 10. 28. The Grave cannot be meant, because the soul is not destroyed 
Eccles. 12 7. Phil. 1. 3.  with the body in the Grave, as they both shall be (if the person be wicked) after the Morning of the Resurrection in Hell. From the immortality of the soul, we may infer the Eternity of man's future condition, the soul being immortal, it must be immortally happy, or immortally miserable. It was Luther's complaint of old, We 
Luther. Tim. 4. 33. 4.  more fear the Pope with his Purgatory, than God with his Hell; and we trust more in the Absolution of the Pope from Purgatory, than in the true Absolution of God from Hell; and is it not so with many this day, who bears their heads high in the Land, and who look, and long for nothing more, than to see Room flourishing in the midst of us?  
Take one Scripture more, viz. 1 Pet. 3. 19, 20. By which also he went and Preached unto the Spirits in Prison, 
Spirits, that is, the Souls departed, not Men, but Spirits, to keep an Analogy to the 18th. ver. Christ suffered, being made dead in the flesh, and made alive by the Spirit; in which Spirit he had gone and Preached to them that are now Spirits in Prison, because they disobeyed, when the time was, when the Patience of God once waited in the days of Noah. Broughton in his Epistle to the Nobility of England. August, lib. 1. de civ. dei. cap. 17.  which sometimes were disobedient. When once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. That is, Christ by his Spirit, in the Ministry of Noah, did Preach to the men of the Old World, who are now in Hell: In Noah's time they were on Earth, but in Peter's time they were in Hell. Mark, Christ did not Preach by his Spirit, in his Ministry, or any other way to Spirits, who were in Prison (or in Hell) while he Preached to them. There are no Sermons in Hell, nor any Salvation there. The loving kindness of God is abundantly declared on Earth, but it shall never be declared in Hell. Look as there is nothing felt in Hell but destruction, so there is nothing found in Hell of the offers of Salvation. One offer of Christ in Hell, would turn Hell into a Heaven. One of the Ancients hath reported the opinion of some in his time, who thought, that thou there be destruction in Hell, yet not eternal destruction, but that Sinners should be punished, some a lesser, others, a longer time, and that at last, all shall be freed; And yet (saith he) Origen was more merciful in this point than these men, for he held that the Devil himself should be saved at last. Of this opinion I shall say no more in this place, than this one thing which he there said. These men will be found to err by so much the more foully, and against the right words of God so much the more perversely, by how much they seem to themselves to judge more mercifully; for indeed the justice of God in punishing of Sinners, is as much above 
Isa. 55. 7, 8, 9  the reach of man's thoughts, as his mercies in pardoning them are. O let not such, who have neglected the great 
Heb. 2. 3.  Salvation when they were on Earth, ever expect to have an offer of Salvation made to them when they are in Hell; consult these Scriptures, Math. 25. 30. Math. 13. 41, 42. Rev. 9 2. 〈◊〉 Rev. 14. 19, 20. Rev. 20. 1, 2, 3, 7. I must make haste, and therefore may not stand upon the opening of these Scriptures, having said enough already to prove both out of the Old and New Testament that there is a Hell, a place of torment, provided and prepared for all wicked and ungodly men. But  
The third Argument to prove that there is a Hell, is this. The beams of natural light in some of the Heathens have made such impressions on the heart of natural Conscience, that several of them have had confused notions of a Hell, as well as of a Judgement to come. Though the poor blind Heathens were ignorant of Christ and the Gospel, and the great work of Redemption, etc. yet by the light of Nature, and reasonings from thence, they did attain to the understanding of a Deity, who was both just and good; as also, that the soul was immortal, and that both rewards and punishments were prepared for the souls of men after this life, according as they were found either virtuous or vicious. Profound Bradwardine, and 
Bradw. de causa dei. l. 1. c 1. etc.  several others have produced many proofs concerning their apprehensions of this truth. What made the Heathen Emperor Adrian, when he lay a dying, cry out, O animula vagula blandula, etc. O my little wretched wand'ring soul, whether art thou now hasting, etc. Oh what will become of me? live I cannot, die I dare not, but some discoveries of Hell, of wrath to come. Look as these poor Heathens did feign such a place as the Elysian Fields, where the Virtuous should spend an Eternity in pleasures; so also they did feign a place called Tartarum, or Hell, where the Vicious should be Eternally tormented. Tertullian, and after him, Chrysostom affirmeth, that Poets and Philosophers, and all sorts of men, speaking of a future retribution, have said, that many are punished in Hell. Plato is very plain, that whoever are not expiated, but profane, shall go into Hell to be tormented for their wickednesses, with the greatest, most bitter and terrible punishments for ever in that Prison in Hell. And Jupiter speaking to the other Gods concerning the Grecians and Trojans, saith  

If any shall so hardy be,  
To aid each part in spite of me;  
Him will I tumble down to Hell,  
In that Infernal place to dwell.   
So Horace speaking concerning Joves Thunderbolts, saith,  

Quo bruta tellus & vaga slumina,  
Quo styx, & invisi horrida Taenari scdes, etc.   

With which Earth, Seas, the Stygian Lake,  
And Hell, with all her furies quake.   
And Trismegistus affirms concerning the souls going out of the body defiled, that 'tis tossed too and fro with eternal punishments; nor was Virgil ignorant thereof, when he said  

— Dent ocyus omnes.  
Quas mervere patisic stat sententia poenas.   

— They all shall pack,  
Sentence once past, to their deserved rack.   
The horror of which place, he acknowledgeth, he could not express.  

Non mihi si centum linguae sint, oraque centum.  
Omnia paenarum percurrere nomina possum.   

No heart of man can think, no tongue can tell,  
The direful pains ordained, and felt, in Hell.   
It was the common opinion among the poor Heathen, that the wicked were held in chains by Pluto (so they called 
Alcoran, Mahom. c. 14. p. 160. and c. 20 p. 198.  the Prince of Devils) in chains which cannot be loosed. To conclude, the very Turks speak of the House of Perdition, and affirm, that they who have turned the grace of God into impiety, shall abide eternally in the fire of Hell, and there be eternally tormented. I might have spent much more time upon this head, but that I don't Judge it expedient, considering the persons, for whose sakes and satisfaction I have sent this piece into the world. But  
Fourthly: The secret checks, gripes, stings, and the amazing horrors and terrors of Conscience that do sometimes 
Suae quemque ex agitant fu●iae. Every man is tormented with his own fury, (that is his Conscience) saith the Philosopher. Dan. 5. 5, 6.  astonish, affright, and even distract; Sinful wretches do clearly and abundantly evidence that there is a Hell, that there is a place of Torments prepared and appointed for ungodly Sinners. Doubtless, it was not merely the dissolution of Nature, but the sad consequent that so startled and terrified Belshazzar, when he saw the hand-writing on the wall: Guilty Man, when Conscience is awakened, fears an after-reckoning, when he shall be paid the wages of his crying sins, proportionable to his demerits.  
Wolsius tells you of one John Hufmeister, that fell Sick 
Wolf. lect. Memor. Tom. 2. etc.  in his Inn, as he was Travelling towards Auspurg in Germany, and grew to that horror, that they were fain to bind him in his Bed with Chains, where he cried out, That he was for ever cast off from before the Face of God, and should perish for ever, he having greatly wounded his Conscience by Sin, etc.  
James Abyes, who suffered Martyrdom for Christ's sake, and the Gospels, as he was going along to Execution, he gave all his Money and his  away to one and another, to his Shirt; upon which, one of the Sheriff's Attendants, scoffingly said, That he was a manned man, and a Heretic: But as soon as the good man was Executed, this Wretch was struck Mad, and threw away his , and cried out, That James Abyes was a good man, and gone to Heaven, but he was a wicked man, and was damned; and thus he continued crying out until his death.  
Dionysius was so troubled with fear and horror of Conscience, 
Cicero.  that not daring to trust his best Friends with a Razor, he used to sing his Beard with burning coals.  
Bossus having slain his Father, and being afterwards 
Plut. de sera vindict.  Banqueting with several Nobles, arose from the Table, and beat down a Swallows Nest which was in the Chimney, saying, They Lied, to say that he slew his Father; for his guilty Conscience made him think that the Swallows, when they chattered, proclaimed his Parricide to the world.  
Theodoricus the King, having slain Boetius and Symmachus, 
Sigonius de occid. Imper.  and being afterwards at Dinner, began to change Countenance; his guilty Conscience so blinding his eyes, that he thought the head of a Fish, which stood before him, to have been the head of his Cousin Symmachus, who bitten his lip at him, and threatened him; the horror whereof did so amaze him, that he presently died.  
Nero, that Monster of Nature, having once slain his Mother, had never-more any peace within, but was astonished with Horrors, Fears, Visions, and Clamours which his guilty Conscience set before him, and suggested unto him, Imo latens in praedio, familiares suspectos habuit, 
Xiphil in Nerone, etc.  vocem humanam horruit, ad 〈…〉 latratum, galli cantumi, rami exvento motum terr●batur; loqui non ausus, ne audiretur; He suspected his nearest and dearest Friends and Favourites; he trembled at the barking of a Puppy, and the crowing of a Cock, yea, the wagging of a Leaf, and neither durst speak unto others, nor could endure others to speak to him, (when he was retired into a private House) lest the noise should be heard by some who lay in wait for his life.  
Now, were there not a Hell, were there not a place of torment where God will certainly inflict unspeakable miseries, and intolerable torments upon wicked and ungodly men. Why should their Consciences thus amaze, torture, and torment them? Yea, the very Heathen had so much light in their natural Consciences, as made such a discovery of that place of darkness, that some of them have been terrified with their own inventions concerning it, and distracted with the very sense of those very torments which their own persons have described. As Pygmalion doted on his own picture, so were they amazed with their own Comments. The very flashes of Hell-fire, which Sinners do daily experience in their own Consciences in this world, may be an argument sufficient to satisfy them that there is a Hell, a place of torment provided for them in another world.  
Fifthly: Those matchless, easeless, and endless torments, that God will certainly inflict upon the bodies and souls of all wicked and ungodly men, after the Resurrection, does sufficiently evidence that there is a Hell, that there is a place of torment provided, prepared, and fitted by God, Wherein he will pour forth all the Vials of his Wrath upon wicked and ungodly men, Isa. 30. 33. For Tophet is ordained of old, yea, for the King it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and much wood, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of Brimstone doth kindle it. This place that was so famous for Judgement and Vengeance, is used to express the torments of Hell, the place of the damned. Tophet was a place in the Valley of Hinnom; it was the place where the Angel of the Lord destroyed the Host of Sennacherib, 
Isa. 30. 31, 33.  King of Assyria; and this was the place where the Idolatrous Jews were slain and massacred by the Babylonian Armies, when their City was taken, and their Carcases 
Jer. 7. 31, 32, 33. and chap. 19 4, 5, 6.  left for want of room for Burial, for meat to the Fowls of Heaven, and Beasts of the Field, according to the word of the Lord, by the Prophet Jeremy. And this was the place where the Children of Israel committed that abominable Idolatry in making their Children pass through the fire to Moloch; that is, burned them to the Devil; 
2 King. 23. 10. 2 Chron. 33. 6.  for an eternal destruction whereof, King Josiah polluted it, and made it a place execrable, ordaining it to be the 
2 King 33. 8.  place whither dead Carcases, Garbage, and other unclean things should be cast out: For consuming whereof, to prevent annoyance, a continual fire was there burning. Now this place being so many ways execrable for what had been done therein, especially having been as it were the gate to eternal destruction; by so remarkable judgements and Vengeance of God, there executed for sin, it came to be translated to signify the place of the damned, as the most accursed, execrable, and abominable place of all places. The Spirit of God, in Scripture, by Metaphors of all sorts of things that are dreadful unto sense, sets forth the condition of the Damned, and the torments that he has reserved for them in the life to come. Hell's punishments do infinitely exceed all other punishments; no pain so extreme as that of the damned: Look as there are no joys to the joys of Heaven, so there are no pains 
Psal. 116. 3.  to the pains of Hell. All the Cruelties in the World cannot possibly make up any horror comparable to the horrors of Hell. The Brick-kilms of Egypt, the Furnace of Babel, are but as the glowing sparkle, or as the blaze of a brush-Faggot to this tormenting Tophet that has been prepared of old, to punish the bodies and souls of Sinners with; hanging, zacking, burning, scourging, stoning, sawing a sunder, flaying of the skin, etc. are not to be named in the day wherein the tortures of Hell are spoken of. If all the pains, sorrows, miseries, and calamities that have been inflicted upon all the Sons of men, since Adam fell in Paradise, should meet together, and centre in one man, they would not so much as amount to one of the least of the pains of Hell. Who can sum up the diversity of torments that are in Hell; in Hell there is 1. Darkness; 
Judas 13. Psal. 116. 3. 2 Pet. 2. 4. Judas 6. Psal. 116. 3. Mark 9 44. Rev. 20. 15. Math. 13. 41, 42. Math. 25. 41. Math. 24. 51. cap. 25. 30. Math. 13 42, 53. Who would give (saith Bernard) to my eyes a Fountain of tea●s, that by my weeping here, I may prevent weeping and gnashing of teeth hereafter. Some devout Personages have caused this Scripture to be writ in letters of gold upon their Chimney pieces. B of Betty in France, in his Draught of Eternity.  Hell is a dark Region. 2. In Hell there are Sorrows. 3. In Hell there are Bonds and Chains. 4. In Hell there is pains and pangs. 5. In Hell there is the Worm that never dies. 6. In Hell there is a Lake of fire. 7. In Hell there is a Furnace of Fire. 8. In Hell there is the Devil and his Angels; And O how dreadful must it be, to be shut up for ever with those roaring Lions. 9 In Hell there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Certainly, did men believe the torments of Hell, that weeping for extremity of heat, and that gnashing of teeth that's there for extremity of cold, they would never offer to fetch Profits or Pleasures out of those flames. 10. In Hell there is unquenchable fire, Math. 3. 12. He will burn the Chaff with unquenchable fire; in Hell there is everlasting burn, Isa. 33. 14. The Sinners in Zion are afraid, fearfulness hath surprised the Hypocrites, who among us shall dwell with 
Gen. 4. 17. Amos 6. 7. Job. 21. 12. Dan. 5. 2●. Amos 6. 4.  the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burn? Wicked men, who are now the only jolly Fellows of the time, shall one day go from burning to burning; from burning in Sin, to burning in Hell; from burning in flames of Lusts, to burning in flames of Torment, except there be found true Repentance on their sides, and pardoning grace on Gods. O Sirs! In this devouring fire, in these everlasting burn Cain shall find no Cities to build, nor his Posterity shall have no Instruments of Music to invent there; none shall take up the Timbrel or Harp, or rejoice at the sound of the Organ. There Belshazar cannot drink Wines in bowls, nor eat the Lambs out of the Flock, nor the Calves out of the midst of the Stall: In everlasting burn there will be no merry Company to pass time away, nor no Dice, nor Cards to pass care away; nor no Cellars of Wine, wherein to drown the Sinners grief. By fire in the Scriptures last cited, is meant, as I conceive, all the positive part of the torments of Hell; and because they are not only upon the soul, but also upon the body; as in Heaven there shall be all bodily perfection, so there shall be also in Hell all bodily miseries. Whatsoever may make a man perfectly miserable, shall be in Hell; therefore the wrath of God, and all the positive effects of this wrath is here meant by fire.  
I have read of Pope Clement the Fifth, that when a Nephew of his (whom he had loved sensually and sinfully) died, he sent his Chaplain to a Necromancer to learn 
J●c Reu. Hist. Pontif, Rom. 199.  how it fared with him in the other world; the Conjurer showed him the Chaplain lying in a fiery bed in Hell; which when it was told the Pope, he never joyed more after it; but, within a short time after, died also. Out of this fiery bed, there is no deliverance; when a Sinner is in Hell, shall another Christ be found to die for him, or will the same Christ be Crucified again? Oh no?  
O Sirs, the torments of Hell will be exceeding great and terrible, such as will make the stoutest Sinners to quake and tremble. If the hand-writing upon the Wall, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, made Belshazars' countenance 
Dan. 5 5, 6. 25.  to change, his thoughts to be troubled, and his joints to be loosed, and his knees to be dashed one against another.  
O how terrible will the torments of Hell be to the damned? the torments of Hell will be universal torments, all torments meet together in that place of torment; Hell is the centre of all punishments, of all sorrows, of all pains, of all wrath, and of all vengeance, etc. One of the Ancients saith, that the least punishment in Hell, is more grievous than if a Childbearing woman should continue 
Bernard.  in the most violent pangs and throws a thousand years together, without the least ease or intermission.  
An Ancient Writer mentioned by Discipulus de tempore, 
Tytius', his Vulture, though seeding on his Liver, is but a Flea-biting to th● gnawing Worm that is is Hell. ●xion, his wheel, is a place of rest, if compared with those billows of wrath; and that wheel of Justice which is in Hell, brought over the ungodly. The lash of Danaeus his Daughter's 〈◊〉 but a●port compared to the torture of the damned in Hell.  goeth much further, affirming that if all the men which have been from Adam's time, till this day, and which shall be to the end of the world; and all the piles of grass in the world were turned into so many men, to augment the number; and that puntshment inflicted in Hell upon any one, were to be divided amongst all these, so as to every one might befall an equal part of that punishment; yet that which would be the portion of one man, would be far more grievous than all the cruel deaths and exquisite tortures which have been inflicted upon men ever since the world began. A Heathen Poet, speaking of the multitude of the pains and torments of the wicked in Hell, affirmed, That although he had a hundred mouths, and as many tongues, with a voice as strong as Iron, yet were they not able to express the names of them. But this Poet spoke more like a Prophet than a Poet. The Poets tell you of a place called Tartarum, or Hell, where the impious shall be eternally tormented, This Tartarum the Poets did set forth with many fictions to affright people from vicious practices, such as of the four Lakes of Acheron, Styx, Phlegeton, and Cocytus; over which, Charon, in his Boat, did waste over the departed souls of the three Judges, Aecus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus, who were to call the Souls to an account, and judge them to their state of the three Furies, Tisophone, Megaera, & Allecto, who lashed guilty souls to extort confession from them; of Cerberus the Dog of Hell, with three heads, which would let none come out when once they were in; and of several sorts of punishments inflicted, as iron chains, horrid 
Purchas his Pilgrim. 3d. 〈◊〉. pag. 407. 408.  stripes, gnawing of Vultures, Wheels rolling great stones, and the like. In the Chapel of Ticam, the China Pluto, the pains of Hell were so deciphered, that could not but strike terror into the beholders, some roasted in Iron beds, some fried in scalding Oil, some cut in pieces, or divided in the middle, or torn of Dogs, etc. In another part of the Chapel, were painted the Dungeons of Hell, with horrible Serpents, Flames, Devils, etc.  
In Hell, saith Mahomet, there is the floor of Brimstone, 
Koran, etc.  smoky, pitchy, with stinking flames, deep pits of scalding pitch, and sulphurous flames wherein the damned are punished daily. There the Wicked shall be fed with the Tree Ezecum, which shall burn in their Bellies like fire; there they shall drink fire, and be holden in Chains of seventy Cubits. In the midst of Hell, they say, is a Tree full of fruit, every Apple being like to the head of a Devil, which groweth green in the midst of all those flames called Zoaccum Agacci, or the Tree of bitterness; and the souls that shall eat thereof, thinking to refresh themselves, shall so find them, and by them and their pains in Hell, they shall grow mad, and the Devils shall bind them with chains of fire, and shall drag them up and down in Hell, with much more which I am not free to transcribe. Now, although most of those things which you may find among many Poets. Heathens and Turks, concerning the torments of Hell, are fictions of their own brains; Yet that there is such a place as Hell, and that there are diversity of torments there, the very light of nature doth witness, and hath forced many to confess, etc.  
And as there are diversity of torments in Hell, so the torments of Hell are everlasting. Mark every thing that is conducible to the torments of the damned is eternal. 1. God himself, that damns them is Eternal, Deut. 33. 27. 1 Tim. 1. 17. 2. The fire that torments them is Eternal, Isa. 30. 33. cap. 66. 24. Jud. 7. 3. The Prison and Chains that holds them are Eternal, Judas 6. 7, 13. 2 Pet. 2. 17. 
Melancthon calls it a Hellish ferry.  4. The Worm that gnaws them is Eternal, Mark 9 44. 5. The sentence that shall be passed upon them shall be Eternal; Math. 25. 41. Depart from me ye Cursed, into everlasting fire. You know that fire is the most tormenting 
Of this fire, see more in my London's Lamentation on the late fiery dispensation, part 2 page 105. to page 131.  Element. Oh the most dreadful impression that it makes upon the flesh. Everlasting fire! There is the vengeance and continuance of it, You shall go into fire, into everlasting fire that shall never consume itself, nor consume you. Eternity of Eternity, is the Hell of Hell. The fire in Hell is like that stone in Arcadia, which being once kindled could never be quenched. If all the fires that ever were, or shall be in the world, were contracted into one fire, how terrible would it be? Yet such a fire would be but as a painted fire upon the wall, to the fire of Hell. For to be tormented without end, this is that which goes beyond all the bounds of desperation. Grievous is the torment of the damned, for the bitterness of the punishments, but it 
Dionys. in 18. Apocalyps. fol. 301.  is more grievous for the diversity of the punishments, but most grievous for the eternity of the punishments. If after so many millions of years as there be drops in the Ocean, there might be a deliverance out of Hell, this would yield a little ease, a little comfort to the damned. O but this word Eternity, Eternity, Eternity; this word Everlasting, Everlasting, Everlasting; this word for Ever, for Ever, for Ever, will even break the hearts of the Damned in ten thousand pieces. O that word Never, said a poor despairing Creature on his Deathbed, breaks my heart. The Reprobate shall have punishment without pity; 
Drexel.  misery without mercy, sorrow without succour, crying without compassion, mischief without measure, and torment without end. Plato could say, That whoever are not expiated, but profane, shall go into Hell to be tormented for their wickedness with the greatest, the most bitter and terrible punishments for ever in that Prison of Hell. And Trismegistus could say, that souls going out of the body defiled, were tossed too and fro with eternal punishments: Yea, the very Turks speaking of the House of Perdition, do affirm, That they who have turned God's grace into Wantonness, shall 
A●●wan. Mah●m. c. 14. p. 160. etc. c 20. p. 198, etc.  abide eternally in the fire of Hell, and there be eternally tormented. A certain Religious man going to visit Olympius, who lived Cloistered up in a dark Cell, which he thought uninhabitable, by reason of heat, and swarms of Gnats and Flies; and ask him how he could endure to live in such a place, he answered, All this is but a light matter, that I may escape eternal torments: I can endure the stinging of Gnats, that I might not endure the stinging of Conscience, and the gnawing of that Worm that never dies; this heat thou thinkest grievous, I can easily endure, when I think of the eternal fire of Hell, these sufferings are but short, but the sufferings of Hell are eternal. Certainly, Infernal fire is neither tolerable nor terminable. Impenitent Sinners in 
There is no Christian which doth doth not believe the fire of Hell to be everlasting. Dr. Jackson on the Creed. l. 11. c. 3.  Hell, shall have end without end, death without death, night without day, mourning without mirth, sorrow without solace, and bondage without liberty; the damned shall live as long in Hell, as God Himself shall live in Heaven; their imprisonment in that land of darkness, in that bottomless pit, is not an imprisonment during the King's pleasure, but an imprisonment during the everlasting displeasure of the King of Kings. Suppose, say some, that the whole world were turned to a Mountain of Sand, and that a little Wren should come every thousand year and carry away from that heap one grain of Sand, what an infinite number of years (not to be numbered by all finite beings) would be spent and expired, before this supposed Mountain could be fetched away. Now if a man should lie in everlasting burn so long a time, and then have an end of his Woe; it would administer some ease, refreshment and comfort to him; but when that immortal Bird shall have carried away this (supposed) Mountain, a thousand times over and over, alas, alas, sinful man shall be as far from the end of his anguish and torment as ever he was; he shall be no nearer a coming out of Hell, than he was the very first moment that he entered into Hell. If the fire of Hell were terminable, it might be tolerable; but being endless, it must needs be easeless, 
Bellar de arte mo●iendi. l. 2. c. 3.  and remediless: we may well say of it, as one doth, O kill Life, O immortal death.  
Suppose (say others) that a man were to endure the torments of Hell as many years, and no more, as there be Sands on the Seashore, drops of water in the Sea, Stars in Heaven, Leavs on Trees, Piles of Grass on the ground, Hairs on his head; yea, upon the heads of all the Sons of Adam that ever were, or are, or shall be in the world, from the beginning of it to the end of it, yet he would comfort himself with this poor thought, Well there will come a day when my misery and torment shall certainly have an end. But woe and alas, this word, Never, Never, Never, will fill the hearts of the Damned with the greatest horror and terror, wrath and rage, amazement and astonishment.  
Suppose, say others, that the torments of Hell were to end, after a little Bird should have emptied the Sea, and only carry out her bill full once in a thousand years. Suppose, say others, that the whole world, from the lowest Earth, to the highest Heavens, were filled with grains of Sand, and once in a thousand years an Angel should fetch away one grain, and so continue till the whole heap were spent. Suppose, say others, if one of the Damned in Hell, should weep after this manner, viz. That he should only let fall one tear in a thousand years, and these should be kept together, till such time as they should equal the drops of water in the Sea; how many millions of Ages would pass, before they could make up one River, much more a whole; and when that were done, should he weep again after the same manner, till he had filled a second, a third, and a fourth Sea; if then there should be an end of their miseries, there would be some hope, some comfort, that they would end at last; but that they shall Never, Never, Never end. This is that which sinks them under the most tormenting terrors and horrors.  
You know that the extremity and eternity of Hellish torments, is set forth by the Worm that never dies; and it is observable, that Christ, at the close of his Sermon, makes a threefold repetition of this Worm, Mark 9 44. where their Worm dyeth not, and again, ver. 48. where their Worm dyeth not, and their fire goeth not out. Certainly those punishments are beyond all conception, and expression, which our Lord Jesus doth so often inculcate within so small a pace.  
Now if there be such a diversity, extremity, and eternity of Hellish pains and torments which the great God will certainly inflict upon the bodies and souls of all impenitent persons, after the day of Judgement, than there must certainly be some Hell, some place of torment, wherein the wrath of God shall be executed upon wicked and ungodly men. But  
Sixthly: The greatest part of wicked and ungodly men, escape unpunished in this world; the greatest number of men do spend their days in Pride, ease, pleasures, and delights in Lust and Luxury, in Voluptuousness 
Psal. 73 3. to the 13. ver. Job. 21. 12. Amos 5. 6.  and Wantonness. They take the Timbrel and Harp, and rejoice at the sound of the Organ. They chant to the sound of the Vial, and invent themselves Instruments of Music; They drink Wine in bowls: They lie upon beds of 
vers. 3  Ivory, and stretch themselves upon their Couches, and eat the Lambs out of the Flock, and the Calves out of the midst of the Stall; and therefore there will be a time when these shall be punished in another world.  
God doth not punish all here, that he may make way 
Rom 2. 4, 5. 2 Pet. 3 9 15. verse.  for the displaying of his mercy and goodness, his patience and forbearance. Nor doth he forbear all here, that he may manifest his Justice and Righteousness, lest the World should turn Atheist, and deny his Providence. He spares that he may punish, and he punisheth, that he may spare. God smites some Sinners in the very acting of their sins, as he did Korah, Dathan, and Abi●am 
Num. 16.  and others, not till they have filled up the measure of their sins, as you see in the men of the old World. 
Gen. 6. 5, 6, 7.  But the greatest number of sinners God reserves for the 
Math. 7. 13  great day of his Wrath. There is a sure punishment, though not always a present punishment for every Sinner. 
Eccles 8 12, 13.  Those wicked persons which God suffers to go uncorrected here, He reserves to be punished for ever hereafter. 
2 Thes. 1 7 8, 9, 10.  Sinners, know your Doom, you must either smart for your sins in this world, or in the world to come. That Ancient hit the mark, that said, Many sins are punished in this World that the providence of God might be more 
Augustin. Epist. 54.  apparent; and many, yea, most reserved to be punished in the World to come, that we might know that there is yet Judgement behind.  
Sir James Hambleton having been Murdered by the 
Mr. Knox in his History of Scotland.  Scotish Kings means, he appeared to the King in a Vision, with a naked Sword drawn, and strikes off both his arms, with these words; Take this before thou receivest a final payment for all thy impieties; and within  hours two of the King's Sons died. If the Glutton in that Historical parable being in Hell, only in part, to wit, in 
Luk 16. 22, 23, 24.  soul, yet cried out, That he was horribly tormented in that flame, what think we, shall that torment be when body and soul come to be united for torture? It being just with God, that as they have been like Simcon and Levi, Brethren 
Gen 49. 5.  in Iniquity, and have sinned together desperately, and impenitently, so they should suffer together jointly, eternally. The Hebrew Doctors have a pretty Parable to this purpose. A man planted an Orchard, and going from home, was careful to leave such Watchmen, as both might keep it from Strangers, and not deceive him themselves; therefore he appointed one blind, but strong of his Limbs, and the other seeing, but a Cripple; these two in their Master's absence conspired together, and the Blind took the Lame on his Shoulders, and so gathered the fruit; their Master returning, and finding out this subtlety, punished them both together. So shall it be with those two sinful Yoke-fellows, the soul and the body, in the great day, They have sinned together, and they 
2 Cor. 5. 10, 11.  shall suffer at last together. But now in this world, the greatest number of Transgressor's do commonly escape all sorts of punishments, and therefore we may safely conclude that there is another World wherein the Righteous God will revenge upon the bodies and souls of Sinners the high dishonours that have been done to his Name by them. But  
Seventhly: In all things natural, and supernatural, there is an opposition and contrariety. There is good, and there is evil; there is light and darkness, joy and sorrow. Now as there are two several ways, so there are two distinct ends. Heaven, a place of admirable and inexpressible happiness, whether the good Angel's convoy the souls of the Saints, who have by a holy conversation, 
Luk. 16. 22.  glorified God, and adorned their Profession. And Hell a place of horror and confusion, whither the evil Angels do hurry the souls of wicked incorrigible, and impenitent wretches, when they are once separated from their bodies. The Rich man also died, and was buried; and in 
ver. 22, 23.  Hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments; and these shall go away into everlasting punishment, and the Righteous into life Eternal. In these words we have described the different Estate of the Wicked and the Righteous 
Math. 25. 46.  after Judgement: They shall go away into everlasting punishment, but these into life eternal. After the sentence is past, the Wicked go into everlasting punishment, and the Righteous into life eternal. Everlasting punishment, the end thereof is not known, its duration is undetermind. Hell is a bottomless pit, and therefore shall never be fathomed. It is an unquenchable fire, and therefore the smoke of their torments doth ascend for ever and 
Rev. 14. 11.  ever. Hell is a Prison, from whence is no freedom, because there is no Ransom to be paid; no price will be accepted for one in that Estate. And as there is no end of the punishments of Hell, into which the wicked must enter, so there is no end of the joys of Heaven, into which the Saints must enter. In thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right 
Psal. 16. 11.  hand there are pleasures for evermore. Here is as much said as can be said for quality, there is in Heaven joy and pleasures; for quantity, a fullness, a torrent; for constancy, it is at God's right hand; and for perpetuity it is for evermore. The joys of Heaven are without measure, mixture, or end. Thus you see that there are two distinct ends, two distinct places, to which the wicked and the righteous go. And indeed, if this were not so, then Nero would be as good a man as Paul, and Esau as happy a man as Jacob, and Cain as blessed a man as Abel. Then as Believers say, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of 
1 Cor. 15 19  all men most miserable. (Because none out of Hell ever suffered more, if so much as the Saints have done.) So might the wicked say, If in this life only, we were miserable, 
Job. 21.  we were then of all men most happy. But  
8thly, and lastly: You know that all the Princes of the World, for their greater Grandeur and State, as they have their Royal Palaces for themselves, their Nobles and Attendants, so they have their Goals, Prisons, and dark Dungeons for Rogues and Robbers, for Malefactors and Traitors. And shall not He, who is the King of Kings, 
Rev. 19 16. Rev. 1 5. Dan. 2. 21.  and Lord of Lords; He, who is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth; He, who removeth Kings, and setteth up Kings; shall not He have his Royal Palace, a glorious Heaven, where He and all his Noble Attendants, Angels, and Saints shall live for ever? Shall not the great King have his Royal and Magnificent Court in that upper World, as poor petty Princes have theirs in this lower 
Ephe. 2. 3. John 14. 1, 2, 3, 4. Luk. 12. 32. Neh. 9 6 1 King. 8. 27. Heb 8. 1. Rev. 3. 21.  world? Surely he shall, as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the Margin together. And shall not the same great King have his Hell, his Prison, his Dungeon, to secure and punish impenitent Sinners in? surely yes, and doubtless, the least glimpse of this Hell, of this place of torment, would strike the proudest, and the stoutest Sinners dead with horror. O Sirs! they that have seen the flames, and heard the roar of Aetna, the flushing of Vosuvius, the thundering, and burning flakes evaporating from those Marine Rocks, have not yet seen, no, not so much as the very glimmering of Hell. A painted fire is a better shadow of these, than these can be of Hell-torments, and the miseries of the Damned therein. Now these 8 Arguments are sufficient to demonstrate that there is a Hell, a place of torment, to which the wicked shall be sent at last. Now certainly, Socinians, Atheists, and all others, that are men of corrupt minds, and that believe that there is no Hell, but what they carry about with them in their own Consciences; these are worse than those poor Indians that hold that there are thirteen Hells. According 
Purchase, his Pilgrimage, 5 Vel. p 491.  to the differing demerits of men's sins, yea, they are worse than Devils, for they believe and tremble, Jam. 2. 19 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, This Greek word signifies to Roar as the Sea; from thence (saith Eustatius) it is translated to the hideous clashing of Armour in the battle: The original word seemeth to imply an extreme fear, which causeth not only tremble, but also a roaring & shrieking out: 
Ma●k. 6. 49. Act. 16. 29.  Their hearts ache and quake within them, they quiver and shake as men do when their teeth chatter in their heads in extreme cold weather. The Devils acknowledge four Articles of our Faith, Math. 8. 29. And behold, they cried out, saying, what have we do do with thee, Jesus thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time, 1. They acknowledge God. 2. Christ. 3. The day of Judgement. 4. That they shall be tormented then. They who 
Piscat.  scorn the day of Judgement are worse than Devils; and they who deny the Deity of Christ are worse than Devils. The Devils are as it were, for a time, respited and reprived, in respect of full torment, and they are suffered as free Prisoners to flutter in the Aair, and to course about the Earth till the great day of the Lord, which they 
2 Pet. 3.  tremble to think on; and which they that mock at, or make light of, are worse than Devils. The Devils knew that torments were prepared for them, and a time when these torments should be fully and fatally inflicted on them, and loath they were to suffer before that time. Ah Sirs, shall not men tremble to deny what the Devils are forced to confess? Shall I now make a few short inferences from what has been said, and so conclude this head.  
First then: O labour to set up God as the great object of your fear; this grand Lesson Christ commands us to take out, Fear not them which kill the body, but art not able 
Math. 10. 28.  to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell, yea, I say unto you, fear him. 
Luk. 12 5.  Christ doubles the precept, that it might stick with more life and power upon us. As one fire, so one fear drives out another; both the punishment of loss, and the punishment of sense may be the objects of a filial fear, the fear of a Son, of a Saint, of a Soul that is Espoused and Married 
2 Cor. 11. 2. H●s. 2. 19, 20.  to Christ. The fear of God, and the fear of Sin, will drive out the fear of death, and the fear of Hell. O Sirs, will you not fear that God, that hath the Keys of Hell and Death in his own hand, that can spoke you into Hell at pleasure, that can by a word of command bring you to 
Rev. 1. 18  dwell with a devouring fire, yea, to dwell with everlasting burn.  
Ah Friends, will you fear a burning Fever, and will you not fear a burning in Hell? Will you fear when the House you live in is on fire, and when the Bed you lie on 
Isa. 33. 14.  is on fire, (though it may be quenched) and will you not fear that fire that is unquenchable, when men run through the Streets and cry Fire, Fire, Fire? How do your hearts quake and tremble in you, and will you not fear the fire of Hell, will you not fear everlasting fire. Sir Francis 
Math. 3. 12. Math. 25. 41.  Bacon, in his History of Henry the Seventh, relates, how it was a byword of the Lord Cordes, (who was a profane, Popish, Atheistical French Lord) that he could be content to lie seven years in Hell, so he might win Calais from the English; but had this Popish Lord lain but seven minutes under unsupportable torments, he would quickly have repent of his mad bargain. It was good Counsel that one of the Ancients gave, Descendamus in infernum viventes, ne descendamus morientes, Let us go into Hell while we are alive, by a serious meditation, and holy consideration, that we may not go into it 
Bernard.  when we be dead by real miseries. God can kill, and more than that, He can cast into Hell; here is both temporal and eternal destruction, both Rods and Scorpians. He can kill the body, and then damn both body & soul, and cast them into Hell; and therefore it becomes every one to set up God as the great object of their fear. Yea, I say unto you, fear him; yea, I say unto you fear him. This redoubling of the speech adds a greater enforcement to the admonition: 'Tis like the last stroke of the hammer, that rivets and drives up all to the head. Thus David uses this ingemination. Thou, even Thou art to be 
Psal 76. 7.  feared, and who may stand in thy sight; when thou art Angry, thou canst look them to Death, yea, to Hell. And 'tis worth the observing, that this ingemination, and reinforcement here annexed, is to the affirmitive clause, not to the negative. Our Saviour saith not, Yea, I say unto you, fear not them; but he places the reduplication upon the affirmative precept. I say unto you, fear him. O Sirs, temporal judgements are but the smoke of his Anger, but in Hell there are the flames of his Anger, that fire burns fiercely, and there is no quenching of it. Excuse me (saith the Father) thou breakest bonds and imprisonments, O Emperor, but God's threaten are much more terrible; He threatens Hell-torments and everlasting damnation; and certainly, where there is the greatest danger, there 'tis fit that there should be the greatest dread. But  
Secondly: Then flee from the Wrath to come. 
2. Math. 3. 7. Though destruction by the Romans is not here excluded, yet the principal thing that he means by Wrath to come, i● Hell-fire, Math. 23. 33.  Oh Sirs, that you would seriously and frequently dwell upon these short hints.  
1. Wrath to come is the greatest Wrath, 'tis the greatest Evil that can befall a Soul. Who knows the power of thy Wrath, Psal. 19 11. Wrath to come, is such Wrath as no man can either avoid, or abide, and yet such is most men's stupidity, that they will not believe it till they feel it. As God is a great God, so his Wrath is a great Wrath. I may allude to that which Zebah and 
Nahum. 1. 16. Judg. 8. 21.  Zalmunua said to Gideon, As the man is, so is his strength. So may I say, as the Lord is, so is his Wrath. The wrath of an earthly King, is compared to the roaring of 
Prov. 19 12.  a Lyon. Heb. of a young Lion, which (being in his prime) roars most terribly; he roars with such a force, that he amazes the Creatures whom he hunts so, as that they have no power to fly from him. Now if the Wrath of a King be so terrible, Oh how dreadful must the Wrath of the King of Kings then be. The greater the 
Rev. 17. 14.  evil is, the more cause we have to flee from it, Now, Wrath to come, is the greatest evil, and therefore the more it concerns us to flee from it. But  
Secondly: Wrath to come, is Treasured up Wrath. Sinners are still a Treasuring up Wrath against the day of Wrath; in Treasuring there is, 1. Laying in. 
Rom. 2. 5.  2. Lying hid. 3. Bringing out again as there is occasion.  
Whilst wicked men are following their own Lusts, they think that they are still adding to their own happiness; but alas, they do but add Wrath to Wrath, they do but heap up Judgement upon Judgement, punishment upon punishment. Look as men are daily adding to their Treasure more & more. So impenitent Sinners are daily increasing the Treasures of wrath against their own souls. Now who would not flee from Treasures of Wrath. But  
Thirdly: Wrath to come, is pure Wrath, 'Tis Judgement 
3. Jam. 2. 13.  without Mercy; the Cup of Wrath which God will put into Sinners hands at last, will be a Cup of pure Wrath, all Wrath, nothing but Wrath, Rev. 14. 10. 
This drinking of the Wine of the Wrath of God, without mixture, notes su● mam paerae severitat●m.  The same shall drink of the Wine of the Wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture, into the Cup of his Indignation; and he shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone in the presence of the Holy Angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. Look as there is nothing but the pure glory of God, that can make a man perfectly and fully happy, so there is nothing but the pure Wrath of God that can make a man fully and perfectly miserable. Reprobates shall not only sip of the top of God's Cup, but they shall drink the dregs of His Cup; they shall not have at last one drop of Mercy, nor one crumb of Comfort; they have filled up their Life time with sin, and God will fill up their Eternity with torments. But  
Fourthly and lastly: As Wrath to come is pure wrath, so Wrath to come is everlasting Wrath; Rev. 14. 11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. Would to God (saith one) mwn would every where 
Chrysostom.  think and talk more of Hell, and of that Eternity of Extremity, that they shall never else be able to avoid, or to abide. See the Scriptures in the Margin. The Damned (saith 
2 Thes. 1. 8. Judas 9 6. Math. 25. 46. Isa. 33. 14. etc.  Gregory) shall suffer an end without end, a death without death, a decay without decay; for their death ever liveth, their end ever beginneth, their decay never ceaseth, they are ever healed to be new wounded, and always repaired to be new devoured; they are ever dying, and never dead, eternally broiling, and never burnt up; ever roaring in the pangs of death, and never rid of those pangs; for they shall have punishment without pity, misery without mercy, sorrow without succour, crying without comfort, mischief without measure, and torment without ease, where the Worm dyeth not, and the Fire is never quenched. The Torments of the Damned shall continue as many Worlds, as there be Stars in the Firmament, as there be grains of Sand on the Seashore, and as there be drops of Water found in the Sea; and when these Worlds are ended, the pains and torments of Hell shall not cease, but begin, a fresh; and thus this Wheel shall turn round without end.  
O! the folly and vanity, the madness and baseness of poor wretched Sinners, who expose themselves to everlasting torments for a few fleshly momentary pleasures. O Sirs, who can stand before his Indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness of his Anger▪ His fury is poured 
Nah●m. 1. 6.  out liky sire, and the Rocks are thrown down by him. Now how should these things work poor Sinners to flee from Wrath to come, by fleeing to Christ, Who alone is able to 
1 Thes. 1. 10.  save them from Wrath to come. Themistocles understanding that King Admcius was highly displeased with him, he took up the King's young Son in his Arms, and so treated 
Pl●tarch in vi●a.  with the Father, holding his Darling in his Bosom, and by that means pacified his wrath. Ah Sinners, Sinners, the King of Kings is highly offended with you, and there is no way to appease his Wrath, but by taking up Christ in your Arms, and so present your suits to him But  
Thirdly: If there be a Hell, then don't let fly so fiercely 
●.  against those faithful Ministers, who seriously and conscientiously do all they can to prevent your drooping into Hell; don't call them legal Preachers, who tell you that 
2 Cor. 5 20. 2 Cor. 12. 15. Chrysostom. Hom. 44. in Matth.  there is a Hell, and that there is no torments to Hellish torments; if either you consider their extremity or eternity, be not so hot, nor so angry with those Ambassadors of Christ, who are willing to spend and be spent, that they may keep you from running headlong to Hell. To 
Look as he said that nothing but the eloquence of Tully could sufficiently set forth Tulle●'s eloquence, so none can express these everlasting torments, but he that is from everlasting to everlasting. Millions of years multiplied by millions, make not up one minute to this Eternity; but who consider●●t, who believes it, &c  think of Hell (saith one) preserves a man from falling into it, and saith the same Author. utinam ubi que de Gehenna disseretur. I could wish men would discourse much, and oft of Hell. It was a saying of Gregory Nyss●n, who lived about thirteen hundred years ago. He that does but hear of Hell, is without any further labour or study taken off from sinful pleasures: But what Minister can say so now? Surely men's hearts are grown worse since, for how do most men run headlong to Hell, and take a pleasure to dance hood-wicned into everlasting burn. O had but the desperate Sinners of this day, who swear and curse, drink and drab, and drown themselves in fleshly pleasures; but one sight of this Hell, how would it charm their mouths, apale their spirits, and strike fear and astonishment into their hearts.  
I can't think that the high Transgessors of this day, durst be so highly wicked as they are, did they but either see or foresee what they shall one day certainly feel, except there be sound and serious repentance on their sides, and pardoning grace on God's. Bellarmine was of opinion, that one glimpse of Hell, were enough to make a man, not only turn Christian, and sober, but Monk too; to live after the strictest rule that may be: And yet, he tells us of a certain Advocate of the Court of Rome; who, being at the point of death, stirred up by them that were about him, to repent and call upon God for mercy: he, with a constant countenance, and without sign of any fear, turned his speech to God, and said, 
Bellar. de arte moriendi, l. 2. c. 10  Lord, I have longed much to speak to thee, not for myself, but for my wife and children; for I am hasting to Hell, I am now a going to dwell with Devils; neither is there any thing that I would have thee to do for me: and this he spoke, saith Bellarmine (who was then present, and heard it.) (Animo tam tranquillo ac si de itinere, ad villam loqueretur) With as pacate, serene and tranquil a mind, as if he had been speaking of going to the next town or village: Ah, who can read or write such a relation without horror and terror. But,  
Fourthly, If there be a Hell, then do not fret, do not 
4. Psal. 37. 1, 2. Psal. 73. 21. Prov. 3. 31. Psal. 9 17.  envy the prosperity and flourishing estate and condition of wicked and ungodly men; for God has given it under his hand, that they shall be turned into Hell; The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. 'Twas a wise saying of Marius, to those that envy great men their honour, let them (saith he) envy them their burdens. I have read a story of a Roman, who was by a Court-marshal, condemned to die for breaking his rank to steal a bunch of Grapes; and as he was going to execution, some of the soldiers envied him, that he had Grapes, and they had none: saith he, do you envy me my Grapes, I must pay dear for them. Ah sirs, do not envy wicked men's grapes, do not envy their riches, their honours, their greatness, their offices, their dignities; for they shall one day pay dear for these things; high seats to many are uneasy, and the down fall terrible. How art 
Isa. 14. 12.  thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning: 'tis spoken of the Chaldean Monarch; who, though high, yet had a sudden change befell him. It is not a matter of so great joy to have been high and honourable, as it is of grief, anguish and vexation to be afterwards despicable and contemptible: Come down, and sit in the dust; Babylon 
Isa. 47. 1.  was the Lady of Kingdoms; but, saith God, sit in the dust: Take the millstones, and grind: The Lord of hosts 
●ers. 2. ●sa. 23. 9  hath purposed it to slain (Heb. to pollute) the pride of all glory; and to bring into contempt, all the honourable of the earth: He shall bring down their pride together: Woe to the 
Isa. 25. 11. ●sa 28. 1. vers. 3.  crown of pride: the crown of pride shall be trodden under feet. God will bring down the Crown of pride, to the dust, to ashes, yea, to hell; and therefore, do not envy the Crown of pride. Croesus was so puffed up with his Crown of pride, with his great riches, and worldly glory, that he boasted himself to be the happiest man that lived: But Solon told him, that no man was to be accounted happy before death: Croesus little regarded what Solon had said unto him, until he came by miserable experience, to find the uncertainty of his riches, and all worldly glory, which before he would not believe: For when he was taken by King Cyrus, and condemned to be burned, and saw the fire preparing for him, than he cried out, O Solon, Solon! Cyrus' ask him the cause of the outcry; he answered, that now he remembered what Solon had told him in his prosperity; Nemo ante obitum foelix; that no man was to be accounted happy before death. Who can sum up those Crowns of pride, that in Scripture and History, God has brought down to the dust, yea, to the dunghill. Have not some wished, when they have been breathing out their last, that they had never been Kings, nor Queens, nor Lords, nor Ladies? etc. Where is there one of ten thousand, who is advanced, and thereby any thing bettered! Solus Imperatorum Vespasianus ●n melius mutatus: Few men believe what vexations lie under the pillows of Princes. You look upon my Crown and my Purple Robes, saith Artaxerxes; but did you know how they were lined with thorns, you would not stoop to take them up. Damocles highly extolled Dionysius his condition; Dionysius, to convince him of his mistake, provides a royal feast, invites him to it, commands his servants to attend him; no meat, no mirth, no music is wanting; but withal, caused a sharp sword to be hung over his head by an horse hair: which made Damocles tremble, and to forbear both meat and mirth: Such, even such, saith Dionysius the Sicilian Tyrant, is my life, which thou deemest so pleasant and happy. O sirs! there is a sword of wrath, which hangs over every sinner's head, even when he is surrounded with all the gay and gallant things of this world.  
Outward prosperity is commonly given in wrath, as you may see by comparing the Scriptures in the margin 
Hos. 13. 11. Psal. 73. Psal. 78. 30, 31. Prov. 1. 32. Luk. 12. 16. to the 22. Eccl●s. 5. 12, 13.  together: Prosperity kills and damns more than adversity. The Germans have this proverb, That the pavement of Hell is made of the glorious Crests of Gallants. It had been infinitely better for the great men of this world, that they had never been so great; for their horrid abuse of God's mercy and bounty, will but increase their misery and damnation at last. That Ancient hit it, who said, because they have tasted so liberally of God's kindness, 
Augustine.  and have employed it only against God's glory; their felicity shall be short, but their misery shall be endless: and therefore, to see the wicked prosper and flourish in this 
The whole Turkish Empire is nothing else but a crust, cast by our Father to his dogs; and it is all they are likely to have; let them make them merry with it, said Luther.  world, is matter, rather of pity than envy; 'tis all the heaven they must have. These are as terrible Texts as any in the whole book of God, Mat. 6. 2. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward: Luk. 6. 24. woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation: James 5. 1, 2, 3. Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you: Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten; your gold and silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Gregory being advanced to places of great preferment, professed that there was no Scripture that went so near his heart, and that struck such a trembling into his spirit, as that speech of Abraham to Dives, Luk. 16. 25. Son, remember thou in thy life time, receivedst thy good things: They that have their heaven here, are in danger to miss it hereafter. It is not God's usual way (saith one) to remove a deliciis, ad delicias; from delights, 
J●rom.  to delights: to bestow two Heavens, one here, and another hereafter: and doubtless, hence it was that David made it his solemn prayer, Deliver me from the wicked, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, 
Psal. 17. 14.  and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure. It is a very hard thing to have earth and heaven too: God did not turn man out of one Paradise, that he should here provide himself of another. Many men, with the Prodigal, cry out, give me the portion that belongs to me, give 
Luk. 15. 12.  me riches, and give me honour, and give me preferment, etc. and God gives them their desires, but 'tis with a vengeance; As the Israelites had Quails to choke them, and afterwards a King to vex them▪ and a Table to be a snare 
Psal. 78. 24.— 32.  unto them: when the Israelites had eaten of their dainty dishes, Justice sent in a sad reckoning, which spoilt all. Ah friends, there is no reason why we should envy the prosperity of wicked men: Suppose (saith one) that a man 
Chrysostom.  one night, should have a pleasant dream, that for the time might much delight him; and for the pleasure of such a dream, should be tormented a thousand years together, with exquisite torments: would any man desire to have such a dream upon such conditions. All the contentments of this life are not so much to Eternity, as a dream is to a thousand years: And oh, how little is that man's condition to be envied, who, for these short pleasures of sin, must endure an Eternity of torments! Oh sirs, do wicked men purchase their present pleasures at so dear a rate, as eternal torments! and do we envy their enjoyment of them so short a time? would any envy a man, going to execution, because he saw him in prison, nobly feasted, and nobly attended, and bravely courted? or because he saw him go up the ladder, with a Gold chain about his neck, and a scarlet Gown upon his back? or because he saw him walk to execution, through pleasant fields; or delightsome gardens? or because there went before him, Drums beating; Colours flying, and Trumpets ●ounding? etc. surely no: Oh, no more should we envy the grandeur of the men of the day; for every step they take, is but a step to an eternal execution; the sinner is cursed, and 
Isa. 65. 20. Ma●. 2. 2.  all his blessings are cursed, and who in their wits, would envy a man under a curse! oh, how much more worthy of our pity, than envy, is that man's condition, who hath all his happiness confined to the narrow compass of this life, but his misery extended to the uttermost bounds of an everlasting duration. But,  
Fifthly and lastly, if there be a Hell, then, Christians, spend your days in admiring & in being greatly affected with the transcendent love of Christ, in undergoing hellish punishments in our steads: Oh pray, pray hard, that you may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth & length, 
Eph. 3. 18, 19  and depth and height of that love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, of that love of Christ, that put him upon these corporeal and spiritual sufferings, which were so exceeding great, acute, extreme, universal, and continual, and all to save us from wrath to come: Christ's outward and inward miseries, 
1 Thes. 1. 1●.  sorrows and sufferings, are not to be parralelled; and therefore Christians have the more cause to love themselves in the contemplation of his matchless love. Oh bless Christ, oh kiss Christ, oh embrace Christ, oh welcome Christ, 
Psal. 1●3. 1, 2. Psal. 2 12. Can●. 3 4. Rev. 14. 4, 5. Psal. 63. 8. Gen. 6. 9 Cant. 8. ult.  oh cleave to Christ, oh follow Christ, oh walk with Christ, oh long for Christ▪ who, for your sakes, hath undergone insupportable wrath and most hellish torments, as I have evidenced at large before, and therefore a touch here may suffice. Oh, look up to dear Jesus, and say, oh blessed 
Gal. 3. 13.  Jesus; thou wast accursed, that I might be blessed; thou wast condemned, that I might be justified; thou didst 
Isa. 53. Rom. 8. 30, 34. Psal. 16. 11.  for a time undergo the very torments of Hell, that I might for ever enjoy the pleasures of Heaven; and therefore, I cannot but dearly love thee, and highly esteem thee, and greatly honour thee, and earnestly long after thee; and this is all I shall say by way of Inference. But for a close you will say, ubi sit; where is hell, where is this place of torment, where is that very place that is so frequently called Hell in the Scripture? That there is a Hell, you have sufficiently proved; but pray, where is it, where is it? Now, to this I answer,  
First, That it becomes all sober, serious Christians, to rest satisfied and contented with those Scriptural Arguments, that do undeniably prove that there is a Hell, a place appointed, where the wicked, the damned shall be tormented for ever and ever, though they do not know, nor for the present, cannot understand where this Hell is. But,  
Secondly, I answer, curiosity is one of the most dangerous 
2. Curious enquirers have always lain under the lash of Christ, as you may see by comparing these Scriptures together, Joh. 21. 22. Act. 1. 6, 7. Luk. 13. 22, 24.  Engines, that the Devil uses to undo souls withal. When Satan observes, that men do in good earnest, set themselves to the obtaining of knowledge, than he strives to turn them to vain inquiries, and curious speculations; that so, if they will be knowing, he may keep them busied about unprofitable curiosities. The way to make us mere fools, is to affect to know more than God would have us: Adam's tree of knowledge made him and his posterity fools: Curiosity was the bait, whereby the Devil caught our first 
Gen. 3. 5, 6.  parents, and undid us all: Curiosity is the spiritual Adultery of the soul: Curiosity is spiritual drunkenness; so 
August. Epist. 77.  that, look as the Drunkard, be the cup never so deep, he is not satisfied, unless he see the bottom of i; so the curious searcher into the depths of God, he is unsatisfied till he comes to the bottom of them, and by this means, they come to be mere fools, as the Apostle saith. Adam 
Rom. 1. 22.  had a mind to know as much of God, as God himself; and by this means he came to know nothing. Curiosity is that Green sickness of the soul, whereby it longs for novelties, and loathes sound and wholesome truths: 'tis 
Basil saith divers questions may be made about a very Fly, which no Philosopher is ever able to answer: how much rather about heaven, hell, or the work of Grace.  the Epidemical distemper of this Age: Ah, how many are there, who spend their precious time in nice and curious questions. As, what did Christ dispute of among the Doctors? where did Paradise stand? in what part of the world is Local Hell? what fruit was it that Adam eat, and ruined us all? what became of Moses his body? how many orders and degrees of elect Angels are there? etc. O! that we could learn contentedly to be ignorant, where God would not have us knowing, and let's nor account it any disparagement to acknowledge some depths in God's Counsels, Purposes, Decrees and Judgements, 
Rom. 11. 33.  which our shallow reason cannot fathom. 'Tis sad when men will be wise above what is written, and 
Rom. 12. 3. 1 Cor. 4. 6.  love to pry into God's secrets, and scan the mysteries of Religion by carnal reason: God often plague's such pride and curiosity, by leaving that sort of men to strange and fearful falls. When a curious Inquisitor asked Austin what God did before he created the world, Austin told him he was making Hell for such busy Questionists, for such cuious inquirers into God's secrets: such handsome jerks are the best answers to men 
Deut. 29. 29.  of curious minds. But  
Thirdly, I answer, I concerns us but little, to know whether Hell be in the Air, or in the concave of the 
3. Let us not be inquisitive where Hell is, but rather let our care be to escape it, saith Chrysostem.  earth, or of what longitude, latitude, or profundity it is; Let Hell be where it hath pleased God in his secret counsel to place it, to men unknown, whether in the North, or in the South, under the frozen Zone, or under the burning Zone, or in a pit or a gulf: Our great care should be to avoid it, to escape i, and not to be curiously inquisitive about that place, which the Lord in his infinite wisdom hath not thought fit clearly to reveil, or make known to the sons of men.  

In Hell there's nothing heard, but yells and cries.  
In Hell the Fire never slacks, nor Worm never dies. 
A Pentel●gia, dolour inserm.   
But where is this Hell placed? (my Muse) stop there:  
Lord show me what it is, but never where.   

To worm and fire, to torments there, 
Prudentius the Poet.   
No term he gave, they cannot wear.   
Look as there are many that please themselves with discourses of the degrees of Glory, whilst others make sure their interest in Glory. So many please themselves with discourses of the degrees of the torments of Hell, 
As in Heaven one is more glorious than another, so in Hell one shall be more miserable than another. Augustin.  whilst others make sure their escaping those torments; and look as many take pleasure to be discoursing about the place where Hell is, so some take pleasure to make sure their escaping of that place; and certainly they are the best and wisest of men, who spend most thoughts, and time, and pains how to keep out of it, than to exercise themselves with disputes about it. But  
Fourthly, I answer, That it has been the common opinion of the Fathers, that Hell is in the bowels of the 
Infernum est locus subterraneus. Teriu. lib. 3. de Anim.  earth; yea Christ and the blessed Scriptures, which are the highest authority, do strongly seem to favour this opinion, by speaking of a Descent unto Hell, in opposition unto Heaven; and therefore we may as well doubt whether Heaven be above us, as doubt of Hell being beneath us: Among other Scriptures ponder upon these, Psal 140. 10. Let them be cast into the deep pits, that they rise not up again. Bring them down into the pit of destruction. Prov. 9 18. Her Guests are in the depths of Hell. Prov. 15. 24. The way of life is above to the wise, that he may departed from Hell beneath. Sheol is sometimes taken for a pit, sometimes for the Grave, and sometimes, and that significantly too for Hell, all downwards. One saith, that Sheol generally signifies all 
Mercerus upon Gen. 37.  places under the earth; whence some conclude, that Hell is in the heart of the earth, or under the earth; without doubt it is below, because it is every where opposed to Heaven which is above: it is therefore called Abyssus, a deep pit, a vast gulf; such a pit as by reason of the depth thereof may be said to have no bottom. The Devils entreated Christ, that he would not send them to this place, Luke 8. 31. in Abyssum, which is, saith one, Immensae profunditatis vorago, quasi absque fundo: 
Beza upon Mat.  A Gulf of unmeasurable depth, etc. The Apostle 2 Pet. 2. 4. speaking of the Angels that sinned, saith God cast them down into Hell: So Beza in his Annotations telleth us, the Greeks called that place which was ordained for the prison and torment of the damned: And reason itself doth teach us, that it must needs be opposite and contrary to that place, in which the spirits of just men 
Heb. 12. 23.  made perfect, do reside, which on all hands is granted to be above, and Hell therefore must needs be below, in the centre of the earth, say some, which is from the Superficies three thousand five hundred miles, as some judge. Hesiod saith, Hell is as far under the earth, as Heaven is above it: Some have been of opinion, that the pit spoken of, into which Corah, Dathan and Abiram went 
Num. 16. 3●.  down alive, when the earth clavae asunder, and swallowed them up, was the pit of Hell into which both their souls and bodies were immediately conveyed: As we know little in respect of the height of Heaven, so we know as little in respect of the lowness of Hell. Some of the upper part of the earth is to us yet (terra incognita) an unknown land; but all of the lowest part of Hell is to us an unknown land: Many thousands have traveled thither, but none have returned thence, to make reports, or write Books of their travels. That piece of Geography is very imperfect. Heaven and Hell are the greatest opposites, or remotest extremes: Thou Capernaum, which art exalted unto Heaven, shalt be 
Matth. 11. 23.  brought down to Hell. Heaven and Hell are at furthest natural distance, and are therefoe the everlasting receptacles of those who are at the furthest moral distance, Believers and Unbelievers, Saints and Impenitents: And 'tis observable, that as the heighthe of Heaven, so the depth of Hell is ascribed to wisdom, to show the unsearchableness of it. O the depth (as well as O the 
Rom. 11. 33.  height) of the wisdom of God how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out! Certainly Gods depths, and Satan's depths, and Hell's depths lie far out 
1 Cor. 2. 10. Rev. 2. 24.  of our view; and are hard to be found out; though I ought religiously to reverence the wonderful wisdom of God, and to wonder at his unsearchable judgements; yet I ought not curiously and profanely to search beyond the compass of that which God hath reveiled to us in his word. The Romans had a certain Lake, the depth whereof they knew not; (this Lake they dedicated to Victory) doubtless Hell is such a Lake, the depth whereof no man knows, 'tis such a bottomless pit that no mortal can sound. But  
Fifthly and Lastly, I answer, Some of the Learned are 
5. 2 Pet. 3. 10. 11. 12. 13.  of opinion, that Hell is without this visible world, (which will pass away at the last day) and removed at the greatest distance from the sedes Bea●orum, the place where the righteous shall for ever inhabit. Matth. 8. 12. 
In tenebras ex tenebris, intelicit●r ex●●usi inf●l. ●ius exclu ●endi. Augus●m.  But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. Matth. 22. 13. Then said the King to his servants, bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness. Matth. 25. 30. And cast ye● the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: Into a darkness, beyond a darkness, into a Dungeon beyond and beneath the prison. The darkness of Hell is compared 
2. Pet. 2. 4. Jugle ver●● 6. Acts 12. 10. This prison was without the gate near mount ●al●●ry, and it was the loathso●est and vilest prison of all, for i● it the Thiefs who were carried to Calvary to be executed were kept; and Christ alludeth to this prison in that Matth. 8. 12. and that Matth. 22. 13. and that Matth. 25. 30. Cast him into utter darkness: Which allusion could not be understood, unless there had been a dark prison without the City, where was utter darkness.  to the darkness of those prisons, which were often times out of the City: By outer darkness, the Holy-Ghost Would signify to us that the wicked should be in a state most remote from all heavenly happiness, and blessedness; and that they should be expulsed out of the blessed presence of God, who is mentium Lum●n. It is usual among the Greeks, by a comparative to set forth the superlative degree; by outer darkness we are to understand the greatest darkness that is, as in a place most remote from all light: They shall be cast into outer darkness, that is, they shall be cast into the corporal and palpable darkness of the infernal prison; Immediately after death Sinners Souls shall be cast into the infernal prison, and in the day of judgement, both their souls and their bodies shall be cast into outer darkness: Darkness is no other thing than a privation of light.  
Now Light is twofold, viz. 1. Spiritual, as Wisdom, Grace, Truth, now the privation of this light, is internal darkness and ignorance in the spirit and inward man. 2. There is a sensible and corporal light, whose privation is outer darkness; and this is the darkness spoken of in the three Scriptures last cited: For although there be fire in hell, yet it is a dark, and smoky fire, and not clear, except only so as the damned may see one another, for the greater increase of their misery, as some writ. Now I shall leave the ingenious Reader to conclude as he pleases, concerning the place where Hell is; desiring and hoping that he will make it the greatest business of his life, to escape Hell, and to get to Heaven, etc.  
Thirdly and Lastly, If Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a hellish manner; then let me infer, that certainly the Papists are greatly out, they are greatly mistaken, and do greatly err; who boldly and confidently assert, that Christ's Soul in substance went really and locally into Hell: 
Bellar. de Christ. Anim●. lib. 4. cap. 10. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Te●. 1. Vide Calvin in Institue. lib. 2. cap. 16. Sect. 9  Bellarmine takes a great deal of pains to make good this assertion, but this great Champion of the Romish Church may easily be confuted: First, because that limbus patrum, and Christ's fetching the fathers from the skirts of Hell, (about which he makes so great a noise) is a mere fable, and not bottomed upon any solid grounds of Scripture. Secondly, because upon Christ's dying, and satisfying for our sins, his soul went that very day into Paradise; as Adam sinning, was that very day cast out of 
Luke 23. 43. Gen. 3. 23, 24. John 18. 30. Heb. 9 12. 1 Th●s. 1. 10. Eph. 4. 8. Heb. 2. 14. 15. Coloss. 2. 14. 15. 'Tis a plain allusion to the Roman Triumphs, where the Victor ascended to the Capitol in a Chariot of State, the prisoners following on foot with their hands bound behind them, etc.  Paradise, and his soul could not be in two places at once. Thirdly, because this descent of Christ's Soul into Hell, was altogether needless, and to no end; what need was there of it, or to what end did he descend? not to suffer in Hell, for that was finished on the Cross; not to redeem, or rescue the Fathers out of Hell; for the elect were never there, and Redemption from Hell was wrought by Christ's death, as the Scriptures do clearly evidence; not to triumph there over the Devils, etc. For Christ triumphed over them when he was on the Cross: Christ in the day of his solemn inauguration into his Heavenly Kingdom, triumphed over Sin, Death, Devils, and Hell; when Christ was on the Cross, he made the Devils a public spectacle of scorn and derision, as Tamerlane did Bajazet the great Turk, whom he shut up in an Iron Cage, made like a Grate, in such sort, as tha● 
Turk. Hist. 220.  ●e might on every side be seen, and so carried him up and down all Asia, to be scorned and derided by his own people. By these few hints you may see the vanity and folly of the Papists, who tell you that Christ's soul in substance went really and locally into Hell. I might make other inferences, but let these suffice at this time.  
Fourthly, As Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a hellish manner; so Jesus Christ was really, certainly made a curse for us: Jesus Christ did in his soul and body bear that curse of the Law, which by reason of transgression was due to us: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, 
Gala. 3. 13.  being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. He saith not Christ was cursed, but a curse, which is more; it shows that the curse of all did lie upon him. The death on the tree, was accursed above all kinds of deaths, as the Serpent was 
Gen. 3. 14.  accursed above all the beasts of the field. This Scripture 
Not that all that are hanged should be damned, for the contrary appears in that Luke 23. 43. Neither is hanging in itself, or by the law of nature, or by civil law, more execrable than any other death.  refers to Deut. 21. 33. His body shall not remain all night upon the tree; but thou shalt in any wise hury him that day: for he that is hanged, is accursed of God. The holy and wise God appointed this kind of punishment, as being the most cruel and reproachful, for a type of the punishment, which his Son must suffer to deliver us from the curse. Hanging on a tree was accounted the most shameful, the most dishonourable, the most odious, and infamous, and accursed of all kinds of death, both by the Israelites and other nations, because the very manner of the death, did intimate that such men as were thus executed, were such execrable, base, vile and accursed wretches; that they did defile the earth with treading on it, and would pollute the earth if they should die upon it; and therefore were hanged up in the air, as persons not fit to converse amongst men, or touch the surface of the ground any more. But what should be the reason why the ceremonial Law affixed the curse to this death, rather than any other death: I answer first, because this was reckoned the most shameful and dishonourable of all deaths, and was usually therefore the punishment of those, that had by some notorious wickedness provoked God to pour out his wrath upon the whole land, and so were hanged up to appease his wrath; as you may see in the hanging of those Princes, that were guilty of committing whoredom with the Daughters of Moab: And in the hanging of Saul's seven 
Num. 25. 4.  sons in the days of David, when there was a Famine 
2 Sam. 21. 6. 7. 8, 2.  in the land, because of Saul's perfidious oppressing of the Gibeonites: And in Joshuah's hanging of the five Kings of the Amorites. But secondly and mainly, it was 
Josh. 16. 26.  with respect to the Death Christ was to die: God would have his Son the Lord Jesus to suffer this kind of death, that hence it might be the more evident, that in his death he bore the curse due to our sins, according to that of the Apostle, Gala. 3. 13. Christ was certainly made that curse which he redeemed us from, otherwise the Apostle does not reason either sound or fairly, when he tells us we are redeemed from the curse, because Christ was made a curse for us; he remitteth that curse to us, which he received in himself. That Father hit the 
Bela in 3. ad Galat.  mark, who saith, Christus supplicium nostrum sine reatu suscepit, ut solveret reatum, & finiret supplicium: Christ hath taken our punishment without guilt, to lose the guilt, and end the punishment. We were subject to the curse, because we had transgressed the Law, Christ was not subject because he had fulfilled it: Eam ergo execrationem 
Oecumenius in 3. ad Galat.  suscepit, cui obnoxius non erat, quum suspensus suit in ligno, ut execrationem solveret, quae adversùs nos erat: He therefore took that curse to the which he was not subject, when he hanged upon the tree, to lose the curse which was against us. Such a curse or execration was Christ made for us, as was that from which he redeemed us; and that curse from which he redeemed us, was no other than the curse of the Law, and that curse of the Law included all the punishment, which sinners were to bear, or suffer for transgression of the Law, of which his hanging on the Cross, was a sign and symbol; and this curse was Christ made for us, (that is) he did bear and suffer it to redeem us from it: Christ was verily made a curse for us, and did bear both in his body and soul that curse, which by reason of the transgression of the Law was due to us: And therefore I may well conclude this head with that saying of Hierome. Injuria Domini, nostra 
Hierom. in 3. ad Galat.  Gloria: The Lord's injury is our Glory. The more we ascribe to Christ's suffering, the less remaineth of ours; the more painfully that he suffered, the more fully are we redeemed; the greater his sorrow was, the greater our solace; his dissolution is our consolation, his Cross our Comfort; his annoy, our endless joy; his distress in soul, our release, his calamity our comfort; his misery our mercy, his adversity our felicity, his Hell our Heaven. Christ is not only accursed, but a curse; and this expression is used both for more significancy; and usefulness to note out the truth and realness of the thing; and also to show the order and way he took, for bringing us back unto that blessedness, which we had lost. The Law was our righteousness, in our innocent condition, and so it was our blessedness; but 
James 1. 24.  the first Adam falling away from God by his first transgression, plunged himself into all unrighteousness, and so enwrapped himself in the curse: Now Christ the second Adam, that he may restore the lost man into an estate of blessedness, he becomes that for them, which the Law is unto them; namely a curse: beginning where the Law ends, and so going backward to satisfy the demands 
Rom. 10. 4.  of the Law to the uttermost, he becomes first a curse for them, and then their righteousness, and so their blessedness. Now Christ's becoming a curse for us, stands in this, that whereas we are all accursed by the sentence of the Law, because of sin, he now comes in our room, and stands under the stroke of that curse, which of right belongs to us; So that it lies not now any longer on the backs of poor sinners, but on him for 
Heb. 7. 22.  them, and in their stead, therefore he is called a Surety: The Surety stands in the room of a Debtor, Malefactor, or him that is any way obnoxious to the Law, such is Adam and all his posterity. We are by the doom of the Law, evil do●rs, Transgressor's, and upon that score, we stand indebted to the Justice of God; and lie under the stroke of his wrath: Now the Lord Jesus seeing us in this condition, he steps in, and stands between us and the blow; yea, he takes this wrath and curse off from us unto himself, he stands not only, or merely, after the manner of a Surety among men, in the case of debt; For here the Surety indeed enters bond with the principal, for the payment of the debt; but yet he expects that the debtor should not put him to it, but that he should discharge the debt himself, he only stands as a good security. No, Christ Jesus doth not expect that we should pay the debt ourselves, but he takes it wholly to himself: As a Surety for a Murderer or Traitor, or some other notorious Malefactor, that hath broken prison, and is run away; he lies by it body for body, state for state, and undergoes whatsoever the Malefactor is chargeable withal for satisfying the Law: Even so the Lord Jesus Christ stands Surety for us runagate Malefactors; making himself liable to all that curse, which belongs to us, that he might both answer the Law fully, and bring us back again to God: As the first Adam stood in the room of all mankind fallen; so Christ the second Adam stands in the room of all mankind, which is to be restored; he sustains the person of all those which do spiritually descend from him, and unto whom he bears the relation of a Head: 
Eph. 1. 22. 23.  Christ did actually undergo, and suffer the wrath of God, and the fearful effects thereof, in the punishments threatened in the Law. As he became a debtor, and was so accounted, even so he became payment thereof; he was made a sacrifice for sin, and bare to the ●ull, all that ever Divine Justice did, or could require, even the uttermost extent of the curse of the Law of God, he must thus undergo the curse, because he had taken upon him our sin. The Justice of the most High God reveiled in the Law, looks upon the Lord Jesus as a sinner, because he hath undertaken for us, and seizeth upon him accordingly, pouring down on his head the whole curse, and all those dreadful punishments, which are threatened in it against sin, for the curse followeth sin, as the shadow the body; whether it be sin inherent, or sin imputed; even as the blessing follows righteousness, whether it be righteousness inherent, or righteousness imputed. But  
Fifthly, He that did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a hellish manner, was God-man: Christ participates of both natures, being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God and man, God-man, such a Mediator sinners needed, no Mediator but such a one who hath interest in both parties, could serve their turns, or save their souls; and such a one is the Lord Jesus, he hath an interest in both parties, and he has an interest in both natures; the Godhead and the man hood. The blessed Scriptures are so express and clear in these points, that they must shut their eyes with a witness against the light, that can't see Christ to be God man, to be God and man. I shall first speak something of Christ, as he is God: Now here are fathomless depths, and bottomless 
1 Pet. 1. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The word signifies to look wishly and intently, as the Cherubin's of old looked into the Mercy-Seat. Exod. 25. 18, 19 It signify, prying into a thing over-veiled and hidden from ●ight, to look as we say wishly at it, as if we would look even through it.  bottoms, if I may so speak; here are stupendious and amazing mysteries, astonishing and confounding excellencies, such as the holy Angels themselves desire to pry into. God is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, dwelling in accessible light: 1 Tim. 6. 16. Here are such beauties and perfections that had I (as the Poet speaks) a hundred tongues, a hundred mouths, and a voice of steel, yet I could not sufficiently describe them: Nevertheless give me lief to say something concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, who is one eternal God with the Father, and with the Holy Ghost; I might produce a cloud of witnesses in the case, but it is enough that we have the Authority of the sacred Scriptures, both in the Old and New Testament, confirming of it; and therefore I shall lay down some proofs or demonstrations of the eternal Godhead of Christ, which I shall draw out of the blessed Scripture. This is a point of high concernment, that Christ is God; so high, as whosoever buildeth not upon this, buildeth upon the Sands. This is the rock of our Salvation, The word was God. Concerning 
John 1. 1.  this important point, consider  
First, That the Godhead of Christ is clearly asserted, and manifested both in the Old and New Testament: Take a taste of some of those many Scriptures, which might be cited, Isa. 43. 10. 11, 12. That ye may know 
Compare these Scriptures of the Old Testament with these in the New. Heb. 1. 2, 3. 1 John 1. 7. A●s 4. 12. Eph. 4. 8. R●m. 9 30. Jer. 33. 23. Psal. 6. 68, 18, 19, 20.  and believe, and understand that I am he, I, even I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no Saviour. And Isa. 41. 21. 22, 23, 24, 25. There is no God else besides me: A just God and Saviour, there is none besides me. Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. To me every knee shall bow,— In Jehovah have I righteousness— In Jehovah shall the seed of Israel be justified: Compare this with Rom. 14. 10, 11. And the Socinians may as safely conclude, that there is no other God but Jesus Christ, as they may conclude that there is no God, but God the Father, from the seventeenth of John: But they and we ought to conclude from these Scriptures, that Jesus Christ is not a different God from the Father, but is one and the same God with him; so he is called The mighty God, The everlasting Father. Isa. 9 6. Take a few clear places out of the New Testament; as that in Rom. 9 5. Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all God blessed for ever more. Christ is here himself called God blessed for ever. So Tit. 2. 13. Looking for that hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Who is it that shall appear at the last day in the clouds, but Christ? who is called the great God and our Saviour? God blessed for ever, saith Paul to the Romans, The great God, saith Paul to Titus; 1 John 5. 20. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true: and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Phil. 2. 6. He was in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God: And Coloss. 2. 9 In him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily. John 20. 28. My Lord, and my God. 1 Tim. 3. 16. God manifested in the flesh. To which of 
Heb. 1. 1.  the Saints, or Angels did God say at any time, thou art my Son, The Heir of all things, the illustrious brightness of my Glory, and lively character of my person. Thy Throne o God is for ever and ever, and all the Angels of God shall worship thee: Certainly he who is Gods own, proper, natural, consubstantial, coessential, only begotten Son, he is God: where ever this Sonship is, there's the Deity or the Divine Essence. Now Christ is thus God's son, therefore he is God: What the Father is, as to his nature, that the Son must also be; now the first person the Father of Christ is God; whereupon he too, who is the Son, must be God also. A Son always participates of his Father's essence, there is betwixt them evermore an Identity and oneness of nature; if therefore Christ be God's Son (as is most evident throughout the Scripture he is) than he must needs have that very nature and essence which God the Father hath, insomuch that if the second person be not really a God, the first person is but equivocally a Father. These Scriptures out of the Old and New Testament are so evident, and pregnant to prove the Godhead of Christ, that they need no illustration, yea, they speak so fully for the Divinity of Christ, that all the Arians and Socinians in the world, do but in vain go about to elude them. But  
Secondly, Let us ponder seriously upon these Scriptures: John 3. 13. And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but he that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man, which is in Heaven. v. 31. He that cometh from above, is above all: he that cometh from Heaven is above all. John 8. 23. Ye are from beneath, I am from above. John 16. 28. I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: and again I leave the world, and go to the Father. Now from these blessed Scriptures we may thus argue; He who was in Heaven, before he was on the earth; and who was also in Heaven, whilst he was on the earth, is certainly the eternal God; but all this doth Jesus Christ strongly assert concerning himself, (as is evident in the Scriptures last cited) therefore he is the eternal God blessed for ever. But  
Thirdly, Christ's eternal Deity, Coequality, and Consubstantiality with the Father, may be demonstrated from his Divine Names and Titles: As  
First, Jehovah is one of the incommunicable names of God, which signifies his eternal essence.  
The Jews observe that in God's name Jehovah, the 
Exod. 15. 3. Gen. 2. 4. The Jews call it Nomen Dei inessabile: But this name Jehovah is not unspeakable, in regard of the name, but in regard of the essence of God, set forth by it, as Zanchy noteth. This name was always thrice repeated, when the Priest blessed the people. Num. 6. 24, 25, 26.  Trinity is implied. Je signifies the Present tense, Ho the preterperfect tense, Vah the future. The Jews also observe, that in his name Jehovah, all the Hebrew letters are literae quiescentes, that denote rest, implying that in God, and from God is all our rest: Every gracious soul is like Noah's Dove, he can find no rest nor satisfaction but in God: God alone is the godly man's Ark of rest and safety. Jehovah is the incommunicable name of God, and is never attributed to any but God: Psal. 83. 19 Thou whose name alone is JEHOVAH. Jehovah is a name so full of Divine mysteries, that the Jews hold it unlawful to pronounce it. Jehovah signifies three things.  
1. That God is an eternal independent being of himself.  
2. That he gives being to all creatures. 
Acts 17. 28.   
3. That he doth, and will give being to his promises. God tells Moses, Exod. 6. 3. That he appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of (El 
Gen. 22. 14. Abraham called the name of the place Jehovahlireh, the Lord will see, or provide: Besides the Fathers of old are said not to have known God by his name Jehovah, in comparison of that which their posterity knew afterwards: for to them God made himself more clearly and plenarily known.  Shaddai) God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. The name Jehovah was known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but not mysterium nominis, the mystery of the name: This was reveiled to Moses from God, and from Moses to the people: It is meant of the performances of his great promises made to Abraham. God did promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham's Seed for an inheritance, which promise was not performed to him, but to his seed after him; so that this is the meaning, God appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, El Shaddai, God Almighty, in protecting, delivering and rewarding of them, but by his name Jehovah, he was not known to them; God did perform his promise made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but unto their seed and posterity after them. This name Jehovah is the proper and peculiar name of the one, only true God, a name as far significant of his nature and being, as possibly we are enabled to understand; so that this is taken for granted on all hands, that he whose name is Jehovah, is the only true God, when ever that name is used properly, without a Trope or figure, it is used of God only.  
Now this glorious name Jehovah; that is so full of mysteries, is frequently ascribed to Christ. Isa 6. 1. He is called Jehovah, for there Isaiah is said to see Jehovah sitting upon a Throne, etc. And John 12. 41. This is expressly by the holy Evangelist applied to Christ, of whom he saith, That Isaiah saw his glory, and spoke of him. Exod. 17. 1. The people are said to tempt Jehovah, and the Apostle saith, 1 Cor. 10. 9 Let us not tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of Serpents. It is said of Jehovah, Of old hast thou laid the 
Psal. 102. 25. 26.  foundation of the earth, and the Heavens are the works of thy hands: they shall perish, but thou shalt endure, etc. And the Apostle clearly testifies, Heb. 1. 10. That these words are spoken of Christ. So Jehovah reigned fire and brimstone from Jehovah out of Heaven. Gen. 19 24. That is Jehovah the Son of God, that stayed with Abraham, Gen. 18. reigned fire and brimstone from Jehovah the Father, and Christ is called Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness, and in that Zach. 13. 7. Christ is called the Father's fellow. The Lord Christ is that Jehovah, to whom every knee must bow, as appears by comparing Isa. 45. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. with Romans 14. 9, 10, 11, 12. and Phil. 2. 6, 9, 10, 11. I might further insist upon this argument, and show that the title of Lord so often given to Christ in the New Testament, doth answer to the Title of Jehovah in the Old Testament. And as some learned men conceive, the Apostles did purposely use the Title of Lord, that they might not offend the Jews, with frequent pronouncing of the word Jehovah. Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God: Deut. 6. 13. Deut. 10. 20. is rendered by the Apostle, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God. And so Deut. 6. 5. Thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, is rendered Matth. 22. 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Thus you see that in several precious Scriptures Jesus Christ is called Jehovah, and therefore we may very safely and confidently conclude, that Jesus Christ is very God. God blessed for ever. But  
The second Name or Title which denotes the essence 
2: The Hebrew Ehieh asher Ehieh properly signifies I will be that I will be: The Septuagint renders it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. I am he that is, and in that Rev. 16. 5. God is called, he that is, and that was, and that will be.  of God is Ehieh, I am that I am, or I will be, what I I will be. Exod. 3. 14. It hath the same root with Jehovah, and signifies that God is an eternal, unchangeable being: some make this name to be Gods extraordinary name. Damascene saith this name containeth all things in it, like a vast and infinite Ocean without bounds. This Glorious name of God, I AM THAT I AM, implies these six things. 1. God's incomprehensibleness, as we use to say of any thing we would not have others pry into, it is what it is; so God saith here to Moses, I AM WHAT I AM. 2. It implies God's Immensity, that his being is without any limits; Angels and men have their beings; but then they are bounded and limited within such a compass, but God is an immense being, that cannot be included within any bounds. 3. It implies that God is of himself, and hath not a being dependent upon any other: I am, that is, by and from, and of myself. 4. It implies Gods eternal, and unchangeable being in himself: It implies God's everlastingness; I am before any thing was, and shall for ever be: There never was, nor shall be time wherein God could not say of himself, I am. 5. It implies, That there is no succession of time with God. And 6. It implies that he is a God, 
Every creature is temporary and mutable, no creature can say, Ero qui ero, I will be that I will be.  that gives being to all things. In short, the reason why God nameth himself, I AM THAT I Am, or will be that I will be, is because he is the being of beings; subsisting by himself, as if he should say; I am my being, I am my essence; my existence differeth not from my essence, because I am that I am, and as I am, so will I be to all eternity, the same yesterday, to day and for ever. There is no shadow of chage, no variableness at all in me  
Now this Glorious Name is given to Jesus Christ, Rev. 1. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning 
In this verse you have a clear and pregnant proof of Christ's Deity.  and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. This kind of speaking is taken from the Greek Alphabet, in which Language John wrote this Book: A called Alpha by them, being their first letter: and O which they call Omega the last. The sense is, I was before all creatures, and shall abide for ever, though all creatures should perish, or I am he, from whom all creatures had their beginning, and to whom they are referred, as their uttermost end. Christ in calling of himself Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end; and that absolutely, doth therein assume unto himself absolute Perfection; Power, Dominion, Eternity and Divinity; which is, and which was, and which is to come: Christ assumeth all those Epithets here to himself; by which John ver. 4. described God; and what wonder is it, if Christ who is God doth take to himself, what ever is due to God. The Almighty, this is another Epithet proper to God, which Christ also taketh to himself, showing that he is the true, eternal and omnipotent God, in all things equal, and coessential with the Father, and the Holy Ghost. This being the seventh argument which John makes use of, to prove the Deity of Christ, is three times repeated: He is the first and the last, which is, was, and is to come, and the Almighty; and therefore he is without a peradventure, God eternal; for so Jehovah saith of himself, I the Lord the first and the last, I am he: I am the first, and I am the last, 
Isa. 41. 4. cap 44. 6. Gen. 17. 1.  and besides me there is no God: I am God Almighty. But Christ doth challenge as due to himself, all these Divine Attributes; therefore he is Jehovah that one, eternal and omnipotent God with the Father, and the Holy Ghost; O the Stateliness and Majesty of our Lord Jesus Christ; what an excellent and stately person is he? there being not a property attributed to God, but is agreeable to Christ: Every word in this Rev. 1. 8. Is a proper Attribute of God. He is infinite in Power, sovereign in Dominion, and not bounded as creatures are. And that this is clearly spoken of Christ, is most evident, not 
See Rev. 21. 6. and cap. 22. 13.  only from the scope (John being to set out Christ, from whom he had this Revelation) but also from the eleventh and seventeenth verses following, where he gives him the same Titles over again, or rather if you please, Christ speaking of himself, taketh and repeateth the same Titles: Heb. 13. 8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever: Yesterday, that is the time past, before his coming in the flesh: To day, while in the flesh: And for ever, that is, after. The same aforetime, in time, and after time: Jesus Christ the same, that is, unchangeable in his essence, promises and doctrine; Jesus Christ was always the same, and is still the same, and will abide for ever the same; as being one self same God and one self same Mediator, as well in the Old, as in the New Testament, John 8. 58. Jesus said unto them, verily verily I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. 
Mich. 5. 1.  According to my Divine nature, which is from everlasting, before Abraham was, I am: I who according to my humanity, am not above fifty years old, according to my Divine Nature am eternal, and so before Abraham and all the creatures: I have a being from all eternity, and so before Abraham was born; and therefore as young as you take me me to be in respect of my age here: I may well have seen and known Abraham, though he died above two thousand years since. But  
The third name or Title, which denotes the Essence of God is Elohim, which signifies the persons in the Essence. 'Tis a name of the plural number expressing the Trinity of persons in the unity of Essence: and therefore it is observed by the learned, that the Holy Ghost beginneth the story of the Creation with this plural name of God, joined with a Verb of the singular number; as Elohim Bara, Dii oreavit, the mighty Gods, or all the 
Gen. 1. 1, 2.  three persons in the Godhead created. So Gen. 3. 22. And Jehovah Elohim said, behold the man is become as one of us: 'tis a holy irrision of man's vain affectation of the Deity. God upbraids our first parents for their vain affectation of being like unto him, in that ironical expression, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; meaning that by his sin he was become most unlike him. This name Elohim, by which God expresseth his nature, denotes the power and strength of God; to show us that God is strong and powerful, and that he can do great things for his people, and bring great desolations and destructions upon his and his people's enemies. O Sirs, God is too strong for his strongest enemies, and too powerful for all the powers of Hell. Though Jacob 
Isa. 41. 10, 13, 14.  a worm in his own eyes, and in his enemy's eyes, yet Jacob need never fear; for Elohim, the strong and powerful God will stand by him, and help him.  
Now this name is also attributed unto Christ, 45. Psal. 6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thy throne, O God, Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gods, Thy throne, O Gods, Elohim; it signifies the Trinity of persons in the unity of Essence (as I have before noted) the Prophet directs his speech, not to Solomon, but to Christ, as is most evident by the clear and unquestionable Testimony of the Holy Ghost, Heb. 1. 8. But unto the Son he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Christ is called God not by an excellency only, as the Angels 
Psal. 8. 5. compared with Heb. 2. 6, 7, 8. Psal. 82. 16.  are; nor by office and Title only, as Magistrates are called Gods; nor catachrestically and Ironically as the Heathen Gods are called; nor a diminutive God, inferior to the Father, as Arrius held, but God by nature every way coessential, coeternal, and coequal with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Hold fast all truth, but above all, hold fast this glorious truth, that Jesus Christ is God blessed for ever.  
The Eourth name or Title which denotes the Essence of God, is El Gibbor, The strong and mighty God: God is not only strong in his own Essence, but he is also strong in the defence of his people, and it is he that giveth all 
2 Chron. 16. 9  strength and power to all other creatures: There are no men, no powers, that are a match for the strong God.  
Now this Title is also attributed to Christ, Isa. 9 6. El Gibbor the strong God, the mighty God. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying God, doth also signify strong; he is so strong that he is almighty, he is one to whom nothing is impossible. Christ's name is God, for he is the same Essence with God the Father: this Title, the mighty God, fitteth well to Christ, who hath all the names of the Deity given to him in Scripture: and who, by the strength and power of his Godhead, did satisfy the justice of God, and pacify the wrath of God, and make peace, and purchase pardon and eternal life for all his Elect.  
The Fifth name or Title which denotes the Essence of God is El Shaddai, God omnipotent, or all-sufficient; he wanteth nothing, but is infinitely blessed with the infinite 
Gen. 17. 1.  perfection of his glorious being: by this name God makes himself known to be self-sufficient, all-sufficient, absolutely perfect: certainly that man can want nothing who hath an all-sufficient God for his God; he that loseth his all for God, shall find all in an all-sufficient God. 
Mat. 19 ●9.  Esau had much, but Jacob had all, because he had the 
Gen. 33. 9 11.  God of all: Habet omnia, qui habet habentem omnia: what are Riches, Honours, Pleasures, Profits, Lands, Friends, 
Augustin, This name Shaddai belongeth only to the Godhead, and to no creature no not to the humanity of Christ.  yea millions of worlds to one Shaddai, God Almighty, God All-sufficient. This glorious name Shaddai, was a noble bottom for Abraham to act his faith upon, though in things above nature, or against it, etc. He that is El Shaddai is perfectly able to defend his Servants from all evil, and to bless them with all spiritual and temporal blessings, and to perform all his promises which concern both this life and that which is to come.  
Now this name, this Title Shaddai, is attributed to Christ, as you may clearly see by comparing Gen. 35. 6, 9, 10, 11. and Gen. 32. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. with Hosea, 12. 3, 4, 5. That Angel that appeared to Jacob 
See my Treatise on Closet-Prayer, opening that, Gen. 3●. and that 12. H●s. pag. 48, 49, 50, 51. where you ha●e four Arguments to prove that Jesus Christ is the Angel, the man, that is there spoken of etc.  was Christ, the Angel of the Covenant. Mark, you shall never find either God the Father, or the Holy Ghost called an Angel in Scripture: nor was this a created Angel, for then Jacob would never have made supplication to him: but he was an uncreated Angel, even the Lord of Hosts, the almighty God who spoke with Jacob in Bethel. He that in this divine story is said to be a man, was the Son of God in humane shape, as is most evident by the whole narration. The Angel in the Text is the same Angel that conducted the Israelites in the Wilderness, and fought their battles for them, Exod. 3. 2. Act. 7. 30. 1. Cor. 10. 4, 5, 9 even Jesus Christ who is styled once and again the Almighty, Rev. 1. 8. cap. 4. 8. In this last Scripture is acknowledged Christ's Holiness, Power and Godhead. Ah Christians when will you once learn to set one Almighty Christ against all the mighty ones of the world, that you may bear up bravely and stoutly against their rage and wrath, and go on cheerfully and resolutely in the way of your duty.  
The sixth name or Title is Adonai my Lord. Though this name Adonai be given sometimes analogically to creatures, yet properly it belongs to God above: this name is often used in the old Testament, and in Mal. 1. 6. it is used in the plural number to note the mystery of the holy Trinity; If I be Adonim Lords, where is my fear: some derive the word Adonai from a word in the Hebrew that 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  signifies judicare to judge, because God is the Judge of the world: others derive it from a word which signifies Basis a foundation intimating that God is the upholder of all things as the foundation of a house is the support of the whole building,  
Now this name is given to Christ, Dan. 9 17. 'Cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for Adonai (the Lord Christ) sake. Daniel pleads here no merits of their own, but the merits and mediation of the Messiah, whom God hath made both Lord and Christ. So 
A●●s 2. 36. Luk. 1. 4●. cap. 2. 11, 12. Heb. 1. 13.  Psal. 110. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine Enemies thy footstool. Christ applies these words to himself as you may see in that Mat. 22. 24. Jehovah said, that is, God the Father said, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 La-adoni; unto my Lord, that is, to Christ; sit thou at my right hand, sit thou with me in my Throne, it notes the 
Math. 28. 13. John, 3. 35.  advancement of Christ, as he was both God and man in one person to the supremest place of power and authority, of honour and heavenly glory: God's right hand notes a place of equal power and authority with God, even that 
Ep●●. 1. 21. Heb. 1. 3. Luk. 22. 69.  he should be advanced far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion. Christ's reign over the whole world is sometimes called The right hand of the Majesty, and sometimes the right hand of the power of God; until I make thine enemies thy footstool. This implies, 1. That Jesus Christ hath ever had, and will have enemies, even to the end of the world. 2. Victory a perfect Conquest over them; Conquerors used to make their enemies their footstool. Those proud enemies of Christ, who now set up their Crests, face the heavens, and strut it out against him, even those shall be brought under his feet. 3. It implies ignominy, the lowest subjection, Sapores King of Persia overcoming the Emperor Valerian in battle, used his back for a stirrup when he got upon his horse: and so Tamberlane served Bajazet. 4. The footstool, is a piece of State, and both raiseth and easeth him that sits on the the Throne: so Christ will both raise himself and ease himself by that vengeance that he will take on his enemies, etc.  
Now from th●se divine Names and Titles which are given to Jesus Christ, we may thus argue, He to whom the incommunicable Titles of the most high God are attributed, he is the most high God: but the incommunicable Titles of the most high God are attributed unto Christ, ergo, he is the most high God. But,  
Fourthly, Christ's eternal Deity, Coequality and Consubstantiality with the father may be demonstrated from his divine Properties and Attributes. I shall show you for the opening of this that the glorious Attributes of God are ascribed to the Lord Jesus: I shall begin,  
First, with the Eternity of God, God is an eternal God. 
1. Eternity is taken three ways: 1 Pro●●●●, pre●●rly, so it n●teth to be without beginning and end, so God only is eternal. 2. Improprie, improperly, so it noteth to have a beginning but no ending; so Angels, so the souls of me● are eternal. 3. A●usive, so some things are said to be eternal which have had a beginning, & shall also have an end; they are called eternal in respect of their long continuance and duration: so circumviron, and other Mosaical ceremonies were called eternal or everlasting.  From everlasting to everlasting thou art God, Psal. 90. 2. The eternal God is thy refuge, Deut. 33. 27. He inhabits eternity, Isa. 57 15. He is called the Ancient of days, Dan. 7. 9 And he is said to be everlasting, and to be King of old Psal. 74, 12. this showeth he had no beginning. In respect of his eternity, after time, he is called the everlasting God, Rom. 16. 26. An everlasting King, 1 Tim. 1. 17. That there is no succession, or priority, or posteriority in God; but that he is from everlasting to everlasting the same, we may see, Psal. 102. 26, 27. The heavens shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea all of them shall wax old like a garment, and as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end: There is no succession or variation in God, but he is eternally the same. Eternity is an interminable being and duration before any time, and boyond all time, it is a fixed duration without beginning or ending. The Eternity of God is beyond all possible conception of measure or time; God ever was, ever is and ever shall be. Though the manifestations of himself unto the Creatures are in time, yet his Essence or being never did nor shall be bound up by time: look backward or forward, God from eternity to eternity, is a most self-sufficient, infinite, perfect, blessed being, the first cause of our being, and without any cause of his own being; an eternal infinite fullness, and possession to himself, and of himself: what Gid is, he was from Eternity; and what God is, he will be so to eternity: O this glorious attribute drops mirth and mercy oil and honey.  
Now this attribute of eternity is ascribed to Jesus Christ John, 1. 1. In the beginning was the word, (was) notes some former duration, & therefore we conclude that he was before the beginning, before any creation or creatures, for it is said he was God in the beginning, and his divine nature whereby he works is eternal, Heb. 9 14. He is the first and last, Rev. 1. 17. hence it is that he is called the firstborn of every creature, because he who created all, and upholds all, hath power to command and dispose of all as the first born had power to command the family or kingdom, Colos. 1. 15, 16, 17. compare Isa. 44. 6. with Rev. 22. 13. Joh. 17. 5. (Father glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory I had with thee before the world was:) Such glory had the Lord Christ with his father, viz. in the heavens, and that before the world was; this he had not only in regard of Destinátion, being predestinated to it by God his father (as Grotius would evade it) but in regard of actual possession. (The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way (saith Christ the son of God) Prov. 8. 22. And as his father possessed him, so he 
John, 8. ●8. John 17. 24. Rev. 1. 8. 17. Heb. 1. 10. 11. 12. cap. 7. 3. Isa. 9 6. etc. Christ is without beginning of days or end of time, and without all bounds of precession or succession.  was possessed of the selfsame glory, with his Father before the world was, from Eternity. (His go forth have been from of old, from everlasting, from the days of Eternity, saith the Prophet Micah, speaking of the Messiah, Mic. 5. 2. See the Eternity of Christ farther confirmed by the Scriptures in the margin. But,  
Secondly, As the Attribute of Eternity is ascribed to Christ, so the Attribute of Omniscience is ascribed to 
2. Chrysostom.  Christ; and this speaks out the Godhead of Christ, he knows all things John, 21. 17. Lord thou knowest all things, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, all things present and future; what I now am, and what I shall be, saith one on the words, John, 2. 25. He needed not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. Shall Artificers know the nature and properties of their works, and shall not Christ know the hearts of men, which are the work of his own hands, Rev. 2. 23. And all the churches shall know, that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. Now of all a man's inwards, the heart and the reins are the most inward; Christ is nearer to us than we are to ourselves, the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is here rendered, searcheth, signifies to search with the greatest seriousness, exactness, and diligence that can be, the word is metaphorically taken from such as use to search in Mines 
Mat. 9 24. and cap. 12. 25. Luk. 5. 22. cap. 6. 18. Luk. 11. 17. and cap. 24. 38. etc.  for Silver and Gold. He is also frequently said to know the thoughts of men, and that before they bewrayed themselves by any outward expressions. Now this is confessedly God's peculiar: God which knoweth the hearts, 15. 8. He is the wisdom of the father, 1 Cor. 1. 24. He knows the father, and doth, according to his will, reveal the secrets of his father's bosom, the bosom is the seat of love and secrecy, John, 1. 18. men admit those into their bosoms, with whom they impart all their secrets, the breast is the place of Counsels: that is, Christ revealeth the secret and mysterious Counsels, and the tender & compassionate affections of the father to the world; Being in the bosom implieth communication of secrets, the bosom is a place for them: it is a speech of Tully to a friend that had betrusted him with a secret, crede mihi etc. believe me, saith he, what thou hast committed to me, it is in my bosom still, I am not ungirt to let it slip out. but Scripture addeth this hint too, where it speaketh of the bosom as the place of secrets, Prov. 17. 23. A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom, to pervert the ways of judgement; speaking of a bribe, Prov. 21. 14. A gift in secret pacifieth Anger, and a reward in the bosom expiateth wrath. Here is secret and bosom all one, as gift and reward are one. So Christ lieth in the father's bosom, this intimateth his being conscious to all the father's secrets, But,  
Thirdly; as the Attribute of God's omniscience is ascribed to Christ, so the Attribute of God's omnipresence is ascribed to Christ, Mat. 18. 20. where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, and chap. 28. ult. I am with you always, even to the end of the world, he is not contained in any place, who was before there 
Prov. 8. 22. J●h. 1. 1. 3.  was any place, and did create all places by his own power whilst Christ was on earth in respect of his bodily presence, he was in the bosom of his father; which must be understood 
J●●. 1. 18. 2. ●oh. 3. 13. 2. Psal. 139. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.  of his divine nature and person: he did come down from heaven, and yet remained in heaven: Christ is universally present, he is present at all times and all places, and among all persons he is repletively every where, inclusively no where. Diana's Temple was burnt down when she was busy at Alexander's birth, and could not be at two places together; but Christ is present both in paradise and in the wilderness at the same time, ubi non 
Greg. in Ez●. ●● m. 8. Aug. m di●. c. 29. where two are sitting together, and conferting about the Law, there is Sh●inah (the di●ine Majesty) among them; Gr●ti●● on Mat. 18. 20.  est per gratiam, adest per vindictam, where he is not by his gracious influence, there he is by his vindictive power. Empedocles could say, that God is a circle, whose centre is every where, whose circumference is not where: the poor blind heathens could say that God is the soul of the world: and thus, as the soul is tota in toto, & tota in qualibet parte, so is he, that his ●ye is in every corner, etc. To which purpose they so portrayed their Goddess Minerva, that which way soever one cast his eye she always beheld him. But,  
Fourthly, as the attribute of God's omnipresence is ascribed to Christ, so the Attribute of God's omnipotency is ascribed to Christ; and this speaks out the God head of 
See Col●s. 1. 16, 17. Psal. 102. 26. compared with Heb. 1. 8. 10. Joh. 1. 10.  Christ, All power is given unto me, in heaven and in earth, Mat- 28. 18. John, 5. 19 What things soever the father doth, these also doth the son; Phil. 3. 21. he is called by a metonymy the power of God; 1 Cor. 1. 24. He is the almighty; Rev. 1. 8. He made all things; Joh. 1. 3. He upholds all things; Heb. 1. 3. He shall change our vile body (saith the Apostle) that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself; Phil. 3. ult. Now from what has been said we may thus argue, He to whom the incommunicable properties of the most high God are attributed, he is the most high God; but the incommunicable properties of the most high God, are attributed to Christ; ergo, Christ is the most high God. But;  
Fifthly, Christ's eternal deity, coequality, and consubstantiality with the father, may be demonstrated from his divine works: The same works which are peculiar to God, are ascribed to Christ; such proper and peculiar; such divine and supernatural works as none but God can perform, Christ did perform. As 1. Election, the Elect are called his Elect, Mat. 24. 31. Joh. 13. 18. I know whom I have chosen, Joh. 15. 16. I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: vers. 19 But I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 2. Redemption, 
1 Thes. 1. ult. Gal. 3. 13. Rom. 6. 14. cap. 8. 1. Luk. 1. 68-80.  O Sirs, none but the great God could save us from wrath to come, none but God blessed for ever could deliver us from the curse of the Law, the dominion of sin, the damnatory power of sin, the rule of Satan, and the flames of hell: ah friends, these enemies were too potent, strong, and mighty for any mere creature, yea for all mere creatures to conquer and overcome; none but the most high God could everlastingly secure us against such high enemies. 3. Remission of sins, Mat. 9 6. The son of man hath power to forgive sins: Christ here positively proves that he had power on earth to forgive sins, because miraculously, by a word of his mouth, he causes the Palsey-man to walk, so that he arose and departed to his house immediately; Christ he forgives sin authoritatively, Preachers forgive only declaratively, as Nathan to David, the Lord hath put away thine iniquity. I 
2 Sam. 12. 7. John 20. 23.  have read of a man that could remove mountains, but none but the man Christ Jesus could ever remit sin: All the persons in the Trinity forgive sins, yet not in the same manner; The Father bestows forgiuness, the Son merits forgiuness, and the Holy Ghost seals up forgiuness, and applies forgiuness. 4. The bestowing of eternal life, Joh. 10. 28. My sheep hear my voice, and I give unto them eternal life: Christ is the Prince and principle of life, and 
Colos. 3. 3, 4, 2.  therefore all out of him are dead whilst they live; eternal life is too great a gift for any to give but a God. 5. Creation, Joh. 1. 3. All things were made by him, and vers. 10. The world was made by him, Colos. 1. 16. By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible and invisible. Now the Apostle telleth 
Just. Mart. quoteth two Greek verses out of Py●hagoras to prove there is but one God, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, etc. saith Pythagoras: If any will assume to himself and say, I am God except only one, let him lay such a world as this is to stake, and say this world is mine; then I will believe him not otherwise; Heb. 1. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, not propter quem as Gretius would evade the Text) [For] whom he made the worlds; but pe● quem, by whom; so the Apostle to put it out of all doubt, putteth them together, C●los. 1. 16. All things were crea●ed by him and for him. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  you He that hu●●t all things is God; Christ built all things, ergo, Christ is God. The Argument lieth fair and undeniable. The all things that were created by Christ Paul reduceth to two heads, visible and invisible, but Zanchius addeth a third branch to this distinction, and maketh it more plain by saying, That all things that were made are either visible, or invisible, or mixed: visible as the Stars, and Fouls, and Clouds of Heaven, the Fish in the Sea, and Beasts upon the Earth: Invisible things, as the Angels; they also were made: Then there is a third sort of creatures, which are of a mixed nature, partly visible in regard of their bodies, and partly invisible in regard of their souls, and those are Men; Eph. 2. 9 who created all things by Jesus Christ, Heb. 1. 2. He hath, in these last days spoken to us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things; by whom also he made the worlds. This may seem somewhat difficult because he speaketh of worlds, whereas we acknowledge but one; but this seeming difficulty, you may easily get over, if you please but to consider the persons to whom he writes, which were Hebrews; whose custom it was to stile God, Rabboni, Dominus mundorum; the Lord of the worlds: They were wont to speak of three worlds: The lower world, the higher world, and the middle world: The lower world containeth the Elements; Earth, and Water, and Air, and Fire: The higher world that containeth the Heaven of the blessed: And the middle world that containeth the starry Heaven. They now being acquainted with this language, and the Apostle writing to them, he saith that God by Christ made the worlds, those worlds which they were wont to speak so frequently of. And whereas one scruple might arise from that expression in the Ephesians, God created all things [By] Jesus Christ; and this to the Hebrews, By whom he made the worlds: As if Christ were only an instrument in the Creation, and not the principal efficient: Therefore another place in this chapter will▪ clear it, which speaketh of Christ as the principal Efficient of all things, Heb. 1. compare the 8th. and 10th. verses together; To the son he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; then Christ is God: then, And thou Lord, vers. 10. haste laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thy hands: Namely thine, that is, the Son, which he spoke of before; Christ is the principal Efficient of the Creation; and in this sense it is said by him were all things made, not as by an instrument, but as by the chief Efficient. 6. The preservation and sustentation of all things, Colos. 1. 17. by him all things consist: They would soon fall asunder had not Christ undertaken to uphold the shattered condition thereof, by the word of his power: All creatures that are made are preserved by him in being, life, and motion; Heb. 1. 3. He upholdeth all things by the word of his power. Both in respect of being, excellencies and operations, sin had hurled confusion over the world; which would have fallen about Adam's ears, had not Christ undertaken the shattered condition thereof, to uphold it. He keeps the world together (saith one) as the hoops do the barrel: Christ bears up all things, continuing to the several creatures their being, ordering and governing them, and this he doth by the word of his power; by this word he made the world; [He spoke, and it was done:] And by this word he governeth the world, by his own mighty word, the word of his power: both these are divine actions; and being ascribed unto Christ, evidence him to be no less than God. Now from what has been said, we may thus argue; He to whom those actions are ascribed, which are proper to the most high God, he is the most high God; but such actions or works are ascribed to Christ ergo, he is the most high God. But,  
Sixthly, Christ's eternal Deity may be demonstrated from that divine honour and worship that is due to him, and by Angels and Saints given unto him. The Apostle showeth, Gal. 4. 8. That religious worship ought to be performed to none but to him that is God by nature; and that they are ignorant of the true God, who religiously worship them that are no Gods by nature; and therefore, 
This is a clear & full evidence that Jesus Christ is, and must be more than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, mere m●n, or yet a divine man; as Doctor Lus●ing ●n styles him in Heb. 7. 22. verse.  if Christ were not God by nature, and consubstantial with the father, we ought not to perform religious worship to him. Divine worship is due to the second person of this coessential Trinity, to Jesus Christ our Lord and God. There is but one immediate, formal, proper, adequate and fundamental reason of divine worship or adorability (as the schools speak) and that is the sovereign, supreme, singular, majesty, independent and infinite excellency of the eternal Godhead; for by divine worship we do acknowledge and declare the infinite majesty, truth, wisdom, goodness and glory of our blessed God: we do not esteem any thing worthy of divine honour and worship, which hath but a finite and created glory; because divine honour is proper and peculiar to the only true God, who will not give his glory to any other who is not God. God alone is the adequate object of divine faith, hope, love, and worship, because these graces are all exercised, and this worship performed in acknowledgement of his infinite perfection. and independent excellency; and therefore no such worship can be due to any creature, or thing below God. There is not one kind of divine honour due to the father, and another to the son, nor one degree of honour due to the father, and another to the son; for there can be no degrees imaginable in one and the same excellency, which is single because infinite, and what is infinite doth excel and transcend all degrees and bounds. And if there be no degrees in the ground and adequate reason of divine worship, there can be no reason or ground of a difference of degrees in the worship itself: The father and the son are one; one in power, excellency, nature; 
J●hn 10. 30.  one God, and therefore to be honoured with the same worship: That all men should honour the son even as 
John 5. 23.  they honour the father; every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ who is man, is God also, and therefore equal 
P●il. 2. 6, 11, 12.  to his father; and it can be no robbery, no derogation to the father's honour for us to give equal honour to him and his coequal son, who subsists in the form of God, in the nature of God. Thus you see the divine nature, the infinite excellency of Jesus Christ, is an undeniable ground of this coequal honour, and therefore the worship due to Christ as God, the same God with his father, is the very same worship, both for kind and degree, which is due to the father. But for the further and clearer opening of this, consider,  
First, that all inward worship is due to Christ; as, 1. Believing on him, Faith is a worship which belongs only to God, enjoined in the first Commandment; and against trusting in man is there a curse denounced. But Christ 
Jer. 17. 5. v.  commands us to believe in him; John 14, 1. Ye believe in 
John 1. 12.  God, believe also in me, John 3. 16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life; vers. 36. He that believeth in the son, hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him: John 6. 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. The same respect that Christians give unto God the father, they must also give unto the son, believing on him, which is an honour due only to God; other creatures, men and Angels, may be believed, but not believed on, rested on; this were to make them Gods, this were no less than Idolatry.  
Secondly, loving of Jesus Christ with all the heart, commanded above the love, nay even to the hatred of father, mother, wife, children, yea and our own lives; Luk 14. 26. He who is not disposed (where these loves are incompatible) to hate father, and all other relations for the love of Christ, can be none of his: I ought dearly and tenderly to love father and mother (the Law of God and nature requiring it of me;) but to prefer dear Jesus, 
Phil. 3. 7, 8. Master Brad. Acts and Mon. Fol. 1492.  who is God blessed for ever, before all, and above all; as Paul, and the primitive Christians, and Martyrs have done before me; your house, home and goods, your life, and all that ever you have (saith that Martyr) God hath given you as love tokens, to admonish you of his love, to win your love to him again: Now will he try your love, whether you set more by him, or by his tokens, etc. when Relations or life stand in competition with Christ, and his Gospel, they are to be abandoned, hated, etc. But,  
Secondly, all outward worship is due to Christ; as,  
First, Dedication in Baptism is in his name, Mat. 28. 19 Baptising them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy Ghost; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, into the name, by that right initiating them, and receiving of them into the profession of the service of one God in three persons, and of depending on Christ alone for salvation. Baptising them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is the consecrating of them unto the sincere service of the sacred Trinity.  
Secondly, Divine invocation is given to Jesus Christ; 
2. Ponder● upon these Scriptures, 2 Cor. 12. 8. 9 1 Thes. 1. 1. 2 Th●s. 1. 1, 2. 2 Cor. 1. 2.  Acts 7. 59 Stephen calls upon the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit; 1 Cor. 1. 2. All that in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord; 1 Thes. 3. 11. God himself and our father and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way unto you; Ephe. 1. 2. Grace be to you, and peace from God our father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Saints Character, that they are such as call on the Lord Jesus; Acts 2. 21. Acts 9 14. But,  
Thirdly, Praises are offered to our Lord Jesus Christ; Rev. 5. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou ar● worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. vers. 11. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels 
This is taken out of Daniel, cap. 7. 10. whereby the glory and power of God and Christ is held forth, they being attended with innumerable millions of Angels, which stood before the fiery throne of God, etc.  round about the throne, and the beasts, and the elders; and the number of them was, ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; vers. 12. saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Vers. 13. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever, and ever. here you have a Catholic confession of Christ's divine nature and power: All the creatures, both reasonable and unreasonable, do in some sort set forth the praises of Christ, because in some sort, they serve to illustrate, and set forth his glory. Here you see that Christ is adored with religious worship by all creatures, which doth evidently prove that he is God; since all the creatures worship him with religious worship, we may safely and boldly conclude upon his Deity. Here are three parties that bear a part in this new song: 1. The redeemed of the Lord, and they sing in the last part of the 8. verse, and in the 9 and 10. verses. Then, 2. The Angels follow, verse 11. and 12. in the third place all creatures are brought in joining in this new song, verse 13. That noble company of the Church Triumphant and Church Militant, sounding out the Praises of the Lamb, may sufficiently satisfy us concerning the divinity of the Lamb. But,  
Fourthly, Divine adoration is also given to him, Mat. 
4. Mark 1. 40. Luke 5. 12. So that he touched Christ his feet as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifies, not kneeled, as the word is translated, Mark 1. 40. This Leper came to know Christ was God, 1. by inspiration, 2. by the miracles which Christ did.  8. 2. A Leper worshipped him, Mark saith he kneeled down, and Luke saith he fell upon his face: He shown reverence in his gesture; [Lord, if thou wilt thou canst make me clean.] He acknowledged a divine power in Christ, in that he saith, he could make him clean if he would. This poor Leper lay at Christ's feet, imploring and beseeching him, as a dog at his master's feet, as Zanch de Red. renders the word, which shows that this Leper looked upon Christ as more than a Prophet, or a holy man; and that believing he was God, and so able to heal him if he would, he gave him religious worship, he doth not say to Christ, Lord, if thou wilt pray to God, or to thy father for me, I shall be whole; but Lord, if thou wilt, I shall be whole: He acknowledges the Leprosy curable by Christ, which he and all men knew was incurable by others, which was a plain argument of his faith; for though the Psora or scabbedness may be cured, yet that which is called Lepra Physicians acknowledge incurable; for if a particular Cancer cannot be cured, much less can an universal Cancer; as Avicen observes, Mat. 2. 11. Though the wise men of the East, who saw Herod in all his Royalty and Glory, worshipped not him, yet they fell down before Christ: No doubt, but that by divine instinct they knew the divinity of Christ, hence they worshipped him, not only with civil worship, as one born King of the Jews, but with divine worship; which was, it's like, the outward gesture of reverence, and kneeling, and falling down, for so the Greek words signify. Is it probable that they would worship a young babe, that by reason of his infancy understands nothing, except they did believe some divine thing to be in him? and therefore not the 
Chrysostom.  childhood, but the divinity in the child was worshipped by them: certainly if Christ had been no more than a natural child, they would never have undertaken so long, so tedious, and so perilous a journey to have found him out: principally considering (as some conceive) they themselves were little inferior to the Kings of the Jews. It is uncertain what these wise men (who were Gentiles) knew particularly concerning the mystery of the Messiah: but certainly they knew that he was something more than a man, by the internal Revelation of the spirit of God; who by faith, taught them to believe, that he was a King though in a cottage; and a God, though in a cradle: and therefore as unto a God, they fell down and worshipped him, etc. But,  
Fifthly, when Jesus Christ was declared to the world, God did command even the most glorious Angels to worship him, as his natural any coessential son, who was begotten from the days of Eternity, in the unity of the Godhead; for when he brought in his first-begotten, and only-begotten son into the world, he said, And let all the Angels of God worship him; Heb. 6. The glorious Angels who refuse divine honour to be given to themselves; see thou do it not, saith the Angel to John, wen John fell 
Rev. 19 10. cap. 22. 9  at his feet to worship him; I am thy fellow servant, etc. yet they give, and must give divine honour unto Christ. 
Phil. 2. 9  The Manhood of itself could not be thus adored (because it is a creature) but as it is received into unity of person with the Deity, and hath a partner agency therewith, according to its measure in the work of Redemption and Mediation. All the honour due to Christ according to his divine nature, was due from all eternity; and there is no divine honour due to him from and by reason of his humane nature; or any perfection which doth truly and properly belong to Christ as man. He who was born of Mary is to be adored with divine worship; but not for that reason, because he was born of Mary, but because he is God; the coessential and eternal Son of God. From what has been said, we may thus argue; He to whom Religious worship is truly exhibited, is the most high God. But religious worship is truly exhibited unto Christ Ergo, Christ is the most high God. But,  
Seventhly, Christ's Eternal Deity may be demonstrated 
7. Neve● did any mere creature challenge to himself the honour due to God, but miscarried and were confounded; witness the Angels that God cast out of heaven; 2 Pet. 2. 4. And Adam that he cast out of Paradise; ●●n. 3. 22, 23, 24. And Her●d, whom the Angel smote with a fatal blow; Act. 12. 23. And those several Popes that we rea● of in Ecclesiastical stories: & therefore had Jesus Christ been but a mere creature, divine justice wo●●d have confounded 〈◊〉 for making himself a God.  from Christ's oneness with the Father, and from that claim that Jesus Christ doth lay to all that belongs to the father as God. Now certainly if Jesus Christ were not very God, he would never have laid claim to all that is the father's, as God. The Ancients insist much upon that, Joh. 16. 15. All things that the father hath (as God) are mine: the father hath an eternal Godhead, and that is mine; the Father hath infinite power and wisdom, and that is mine; the father hath infinite majesty and glory, and that is mine, the father hath infinite happiness and blessedness in himself, and that is mine, saith Christ. The words are very emphatical, having in them a double Universality. 1. All things, there is one note of Universality. 2. Whatsoever, there is another note of Universality: we, saith Christ, there is nothing in the father (as God) but is mine, All that the father hath is mine; the father is God, and I am God; the father is life, and I am life; for whatsoever the father hath is mine; John 10. 30. I and my father are one; we are one eternal God, we are one in consent, will, essence, nature, power, dominion, glory, etc. I and my father are one; two persons, but one God; he speaketh this as he is God, one in substance, being and Deity, etc. As God, he saith, I and my father are one; but secundum formam servi, in respect of the form of a servant (his assumed humanity) he saith, John 14. 28. My father is greater than I, John 10. 37. If I do not the works of my father, believe me not: vers. 38. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works, etc. The Argument of itself is plain; No man can of himself, and by his own power, do divine works, unless he be truly God: I do divine works by my own power, yea, I do the works of my father; not only the like and equal, but the same with the father: Therefore I am truly God: neither deserve I to be called a Blasphemer, because I said I was one with the father, 1 John 5. 7. And these three are one, one in nature and essence, one in power and will, and one in the act of producing all such actions, as without themselves any of them is said to perform. Look as three Lamps are lighted in one chamber, albeit the Lamps be divers, yet the lights cannot be severed: so in the Godhead, as there is a distinction of persons, so a simplicity of nature. From the Scriptures last cited we may safely and confidently conclude that Christ hath the same divine nature and Godhead with the father; they both have the same divine and essential Titles and Attributes, and perform the same inward operations in reference to all creatures whatsoever. To make it yet more plain, compare John 17. 10. with John 16. 15. All things that the father hath are mine, John 16. 15. Father all mine are thine, and thine are mine, John 17. 10. That is, whatsoever doth belong to the father as God, doth belong to Christ; for we speak not of personal but Essential Properties: Christ doth lay claim to all that is natural, to all that belongs to the father as God; not to any thing which belongs to him as the father, as the first person of the blessed Trinity. All things that the father hath are mine:] This he speaketh 
John 1. 16. v.  in the person of the Mediator: because of his fullness we all receive grace for grace; and herein showeth the unity of Essence in the holy Trinity, and community of Power, Wisdom, Sanctity, Truth, Eternity, Glory, Majesty: such is the strict union of the persons of the blessed Trinity, that there is among them a perfect communion in all things, for all things that the father hath are mine, And let thus much suffice for the proof of the Godhead of Christ.  
Concerning the Manhood of Christ, let me say, that as he is very God, so he is very man, 1 Tim. 2. 5. The man Christ Jesus; Christ is true man, but not mere man; verus, sed non merus. The word is not to be taken exclusively as denying the Divine Nature, Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, both God and man, sometimes denominated from the one nature, and sometimes from the other, sometimes called God, and sometimes man; yet so as he is truly both, and in that respect fitly said to be a Mediator betwixt God and men, having an interest in, and participating of both natures. This Title, THE SON OF MAN, is given to Christ in the New Testament four score and eight times: The design being not only to express a man according to the Syrian Dialect then used, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Bar Nosho: nor only to express Christ's Humanity, who was truly man, in all things like unto us, sin only excepted, nor only to intimate his humility, by calling himself so often by this humble name; but also to tell us to what a high honour God hath raised our nature in him and to confute their Imaginations who denied him to be very Man, Flesh, Blood, and Bones, as we truly are: and who held, that whatever he was, and whatever he did, and whatever he suffered, was only seeming, and in appearance; and not real and to lead us to that original promise (the first that was made to Mankind) The seed of the woman shall bruise 
Gen. 3. 15.  the serpent's head, that so he might intimate (saith Epiphanius) that himself was the party meant, intended, and foretold of by all the Prophets, who was to come into the world, to all nations in the world. Jews and Gentiles originally a like descended of the woman, who both had a like interest in the woman and her seed, though the 
Rom. 3. 1, 2.  Jews did and might challenge greater propriety in the seed of Abraham than the Gentiles could: but they having been a long time as it were God's Favourites, a selected People, a chosen Nation, did wholly appropriate 
Exod. 19 6. 1 Pet. 2. 9  the Messiah to themselves, and would endure no copartners; nor that any should have any right, title or interest in him but themselves; and therefore they would never talk otherwise than of the Messiah, the King of Israel, the son of David, never naming him once the light of the 
Isa. 42. 6. Isai. 3. 6. Isai 63. 5. Gen. 3. 15. Luk. 3. 23. to the end.  Gentiles, the expectation of the Gentiles, the hope and desire of the eternal hills, the hope of all the ends of the earth, the seed of the woman, the son of man, as descending from Eve, extracted from Adam, and allied unto all Mankind. And it is observable that the Evangelist Luke, at the story of Christ's Baptism when he was to be installed into his Ministry, and had that glorious testimony from Heaven, deriveth his Pedigree up to the first Adam, the better to draw all men's eyes to that first promise concerning the seed of the woman: and to cause them to own him for that seed there promised, and for that effect that is there mentioned of dissolving the works of Satan. And as that Evangelist giveth that hint, when he is now entering this quarrel with Satan, even in the entrance of his Ministry: so doth he very frequently and commonly by this very Phrase, give the same intimation for the same purpose: no sooner had Nathaniel proclaimed him the son of God, John 1. 49. Nathaniel answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the son of God, thou art the king of Israel; but he instantly titles himself THE SON OF MAN, vers. 51. not only to show his humanity (for that Nathaniel was assured of by the words of Philip who calls him Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph, vers. 45.) but also to draw the thoughts of the hearers to the first promise, and to work them to look for a full recovery of all that by the second Adam, which was lost in the first: Though the gates of Heaven were shut against the first Adam by reason of his fall, yet were they open to the second Adam, vers. 51. And he saith unto him, verily, verily, I say unto you, (This double Asseveration, verily, verily, puts the matter beyond all doubt and controversy) hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the son of man: the Jacob's 
He alludes to Jacob's Ladder. Gen 28. 12. v.  Ladder, the Bridge that joineth Heaven and Earth together, as Gregory hath it. This 51. vers. doth greatly illustrate Christ's glory, and farther confirm believers saith, that Christ is Lord of Angels even in his state of humiliation, and hath them ready at his call, as he or his people shall need their service, to move from earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth. This Title THE SON OF MAN shows that the Son of God, was also the son of man, and that he delighted to be so, and therefore doth so often take this Title to himself, THE SON OF MAN.  
Now concerning the Manhood of Christ. the Prophet plainly speaks, Isa. 9 6. Unto us a child is born, and unto us a son was given; Parvulus a child, that noteth his humanity; Filius a son, that noteth his Deity: parvulus a child even man of the substance of his mother, born in the 
Mat. 1. 25.  world; filius a son, even God of the substance of his father, begotten before the world: Parvulus a child, behold 
Prov. 8. 22. to the end. Luk. 2. 7.  his humility, she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped him in swadling-cloaths, and laid him in a manger: Filius a son, behold his dignity, when he bringeth in his first begotten son into the world, he saith, and let all the Angels of God worship him; to prove that he was 
Heb. 1. 6. v.  man, 'tis enough to say, that he was born, he lived, he died. God became man by a wonderful, unspeakable and unconceivable union. Behold God is offended by man's affecting and coveting his wisdom and his glory (for that was the Devil's temptation to our first parents, ye shall 
Gen. 3. 5.  be as Gods) and man is redeemed by God's assuming and taking his frailty, and his infirmity: man would be as God, and so offended him; and therefore God becomes man, and so redeemeth him. Christ, as man, came of 
Acts 17. 31. Isa. 7. 14.  the race of Kings: As man, he shall judge the world, As man, he was wonderfully born of a Virgin; called therefore 
Mat. 1. 23.  by a peculiar name, Shiloh, which signifieth a secundine, or afterbirth, Gen. 49. 19 The word comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, which signifies tranquillum esse, intimating that Christ is he who hath brought us peace and tranquillity, and that he might be our peacemaker, it was necessary that he should be Shiloh, born of the sanctified seed of a woman without the seed of man. The Apostle expounds the name where 
Gal. 4. 4.  he saith of Christ that he was made of a woman, not of a man and woman both, but of a woman alone without a man. Christ as man was foretold of by the Prophets, and by sundry Types, Christ as man was attended upon at his birth by holy Angels, and a peculiar star was created 
Luk. 2. 13, 14. Mat. 2. 1, 2.  for him: Christ as man was our sacrifice and expiation he was our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a counterprice, such as we could never have paid, but must have remained, and even rotten in the prison of hell for ever. Christ as man, was 
Ma●. 1. 18. Act. 1. 9, 10. C●l. 11. 3. 1.  conceived of the holy Ghost: Christ as man is ascended into heaven: Christ as man sits at the right hand of God. Now what do all these things import, but that Jesus Christ is a very precious, and most excellent person, and that even according to his manhood. Christ had the true properties, affections, and actions of man: He was conceived, born, circumcised, he did hunger, thirst, he was clothed, he did eat, drink, sleep, hear, see, touch, speak, sigh, groan, weep, and grow in wisdom and stature, etc. as all the four Evangelists do abundantly testify. But because this is a point of grand importance (especially in these days, wherein there are risen up so many deceivers in the midst of us) it may not be amiss to consider of these following particulars.  
First, of those special Scriptures that speak out the certainty and verity of Christ's body, John 1. 14. And the word was made flesh, 1 Tim. 3. 16. without controversy great is the Mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh, Christ is one and the same, begotten of the father without time, the son of God without mother: and born of the Virgin in time, the son of man without father: the natural and consubstantial son of both; and Oh what a great mystery is this, Heb. 2, 14. 16. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil: For verily he took not on him the nature of angels: but he took on him the seed of Abraham: according to the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, He assumed, caught, laid hold on, as the Angels did on Lot, 
Gen. 19 16. Ma●. 14. 31.  or as Christ did on Peter, or as men use to do upon a thing they are glad they have got, and are loath to let go again: Oh Sirs! this is a main pillar of our comfort that Christ took our flesh, for if he had not taken our flesh, we could never have been saved by him, Rom. 1. 3. Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh: Rom. 9 5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over ●ll God blessed for ever, Amen. This is a greater honour to all mankind, than if the greatest King in the world ●hould marry into some poor family of his Subjects: Christ saith my flesh is meat indeed, and I say his flesh was flesh indeed; as true, real, proper, very flesh as that which any of us carry about with us, Col. 1. 22. In the body of his flesh through death; Heb. 10. 5. wherefore when he cometh into the world he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldst 〈◊〉, but a body hast thou prepared we. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 'Tis a Metaphor taken from Mechanics, who do artificially fit one part of their work to another, and so finish the whole; God fitted his Son's body to be joined with the Deity, and to be an expiatory sacrifice for sin, 1 Pet. 2. 24. Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, etc. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 himself hath a great Emphasis, and therefore that Evangelical Prophet Isaiah mentions it not less than five times in that, Isa. 53. v. 4, 5, 7, 11, 12. Christ had none to help or uphold him under the heavy burden 
Isa. 63. 3. v.  of our sins and his father's wrath. It is most certain, that in the work of man's Redemption Christ had no coadjutor: He who did bear our sins (that is, the punishments that were due to our sins) in his own body on the Tree; he did assume flesh cast into the very mould and form of our bodies, having the same several parts, members, lineaments, the same proportion which they have. Christ's body was no spectrum or phantasm, no putative body (as if it had no being but what was in appearance and from imagination, as the Marcionites, Manichees, and other heretics of old affirmed, and as some men of corrupt minds do assert in our days) but as real, as solid a body, as ever any was: And therefore the Apostle calls it a body of flesh, a body to show the Organization of it, and a 
C●los. 1. 22.  body of flesh to show the reality of it, in opposition to all aerial and imaginary bodies; Christ's body had all the essential properties of a true body; such as are organicalness, extension, local presence, confinement, circumscription, penetrability, visibility, palpability, etc. as all the Evangelists do abundantly witness: take a few instances for all, Luk. 24, 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have: Christ here admits of the testimony of their own senses to assure them, that it was no vision, or spirit, but a true and real body risen from the dead which they now saw: certainly whatever is essential to a true glorified body, that is yet in Christ's body. Those stamps of dishonour that the Jews had set upon Christ by wicked hands, those he retained after his resurrection, partly for the confirmation of his Apostles, and partly to work us to a willingness and resoluteness to suffer for him when we are called to it, 1 John 1. 1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life. He alludes to the Sermons which he and the other Apostles heard from Christ's own mouth, and also to the glorious testimony which the father gave once and again from heaven to Christ; he alludes also to the miracles that were wrought by Christ, and to that sight that they had of his glory in the Mount, 
M●t. 17. A●●s 1.  and to his Resurrection and visible ascension into the highest heaven: he alludes to the familiar conversation which the Apostles had with Christ for about three years, and also to that touching, when after the Resurrection, Christ offered himself to the Apostles that believed not in him to touch him. The truth of these things were confirmed 
Luk. 24.  to them by three senses; hearing, seeing, handling, the latter still surer than the former; and this proves Christ to be true man, as his being from the beginning, sets out his Deity. Christ had also those natural affections, passions, infirmities which are proper to a body, as hunger, Mat. 4. 2. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards an hungerd. All Christ's Actions are for our instruction, not all for our imitation, Matthew expressly makes mention of nights, lest it should be thought to be such a fast as that of the Jews, who fasted in the day, and did eat at the evening, and in the 
Chemnit.  night. He would not extend his fast above the term of Moses and Elias, lest he should have seemed to have appeared only, and not to have been a true man; he was hungry, not because his fasting wrought upon him, but 
Hilar.  because God le●t man to his own nature, It seems Christ felt no hunger till the forty days and forty nights were expired, but was kept by the power of the Deity, as the three children (or rather Champions) from feeling the heat of 
Dan. 3. 27.  the fire: Christ fasted forty days and forty nights, and not longer, lest he might be thought not to have a true humane body, for Moses and Elias had fasted thus long before, but never did any man fast longer. When Christ began to be hungry the tempter came to him, not when he was fasting; the Devil is cunning, and will take all the advantage he can upon us: during the forty days and forty nights, the Devil stood doubtful, and durst not assault the Lord Jesus, partly because of that voice he heard from heaven, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well 
Mat. 3. 17.  pleased, and partly because his forty days and forty nights fast did portend some great thing; but now, seeing Christ to be hungry, he impudently assaults him. Christ was not hungry all the forty days, but after he was hungry to show he was man. Some think that Christ by his hunger did objectively allure Satan to tempt him, that so he might overcome him, as soldiers sometimes feign a running away, that they may the better allure their enemies closely to pursue them, that so they may cut them off, either by an Ambush, or by an orderly facing about: so the Devil tempted Christ as man, not knowing him to be God; or if he did know him to be God, Christ did as it were encourage his cowardly enemy that durst not set upon him as God, showing himself to be man. And as Christ was hungry, so Christ was thirsty, John 4. 7. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, give me to drink; here you see that he that is rich 
2 Cor. S. 9 Psal 104. 27. v.  and Lord of all became poor for us, that he might make us rich; and he that gives to all the creatures their meat in due season, he begs water of a poor Tankard-bearer to refresh himself in his weariness and thirst: John 19 28. Jesus saith I thirst, bleeding breeds thirsting: sleeping, Mat. 8. 24. he was asleep, to show the truth of the humane nature, and the weakness of his Disciples faith, Christ was in a fast and dead sleep (for so much the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifies) his senses were well and fast bound, as if he had no operation of life, and therefore the Disciples are said to raise him, as it were from the dead. The same Greek word is used in many places where mention is made of the Resurrection, as you may see by comparing 
John 2. 19 Mat 27. 52. 1 Cor. 15. 12.  the Scriptures in the margin together. He was asleep, 1. By reason of his labour in preaching and journey he slept; 2. To show forth the truth of his humane nature: some think the Devil stirred up the storm, hoping thereby to drown Christ and his Disciples, as he had destroyed 
Job 1. 18, 19  Job's children in a Tempest before: but though Satan had malice and will enough to do it, yet he had not power; yea, though Christ slept in his humane nature, yet was he awake in his Deity; that the Disciples being in danger might cry unto him more fervently, and be saved more remarkably. And as Jesus slept, so he was also weary; John 4. 6. Now Jacobs well was there; Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour, about noon: in the heat of the day Christ was weary, Christ took on him not only our nature, but the common infirmities thereof, and he is to be as seriously eyed in his humanity, as in the glory of his Godhead; therefore it is recorded, that he was weary with his journey ere half the day was spent; and that through weariness he sat thus on the well; that is, even as the seat offered, or as weary men use to sit, etc. But in a word, he was conceived, retained so long in the Virgin's womb, born, circumcised, lived about thirty years on earth, conversed all that time with men, suffered, died, and was crucified, buried, risen again, ascended, and sat down with his body at the right hand of God, and with it will come again to judge the world. Now what do all these things speak out, but that Christ hath a true body, and who in their wits will assert, that all this could be done in, and upon, and by an imaginary body. But,  
Secondly, The several denominations that are given to Jesus Christ in Scripture do clearly evidence the verity and reality of his humane nature; he is called, 1. The son of the virgin, Isa. 7. 14. 2. Her first born son, Luk. 2. 7. 3. The branch, Zach. 3. 8. and 6. 12. 4. The branch of righteousness, Jer, 33. 15. and 23. 5. 5. A rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots, Isa. 11. 1. 6. The seed of the woman, Gen. 3. 15. 7. The seed of Abraham, Gen. 22. 18. 8. The fruit of David's loins, Psal. 80. 36. and 132. 11. Act. 2. 30. 9 Of the seed of David according to the flesh, Rom. 1. 3. 2 Sam. 7. 2. 10. The Lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev. 5. 5. 11. The seed of Jacob, Gen. 28. 14. 12. The seed of Isaac, Gen. 26. 4. 13. A son born to us, a child given to us, Isa. 9 6. 14. The son of man, Mat. 8. 20. Mat. 16. 13. Rev. 1. 13. Dan. 7. 13. Joh. 3. 13. 15. He's called the man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim. 2. 5. 1 Cor. 15. 21. Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead: God's justice would be satisfied, in the same nature that had sinned. 16. God's son made of a woman, Gal. 4. 4. 17, Man, 1 Tim. 2. 5. The man Christ Jesus. 18. The son of David, Mat. 1. 1. Mar. 12. 35. How say the Scribes, that Christ is the son of David? In that the Scribes and Pharisees knew and acknowledged, according to the Scripture that Christ should be the son of David; that is, should be born, and descend of the stock and posterity of David according to the flesh. Hence we may easily gather the truth of Christ's humane nature, that he was ordained of God to be true man as well as God, in one and the same person; for else he could not be the son of David. Now, that he must be the son of David, even the Scribes and the Pharisees knew and acknowledged, as we see here; and this was a truth which they had learned out of the Scriptures; and not only they, but even the common sort of Jews in our Saviour's time, John 7. 42. some of the common people spoke thus, Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David? and the Messiah was then commonly called the son 
Rom. 1. 3.  of David: so than Christ being of the seed of David after the flesh, he must needs be true man, as well as God; for which cause he was incarnate in the due time appointed of God; that is to say, he being the son of God from everlasting, did in time become man; taking our nature upon him, together with the infirmities of our nature, sin only excepted, John 1. 14. Now thus you see that the 18 denominations that are given to Christ in the blessed Scriptures do abundantly demonstrate the certainty of Christ's humane nature. But,  
Thirdly, Christ took the whole humane nature, he was truly and completely man, consisting of flesh and spirit, body and soul; yea, that he assumed the entire humane nature, with whatever is proper to it; Christ took to himself the whole humane nature, in both the essential parts of man, soul and body, the two essential and constitutive parts of man are soul and body, where these two are, there's the true man; now Christ had both, and therefore he was true man.  
First, Christ had a true humane and reasonable soul, the reasonable soul is the highest and noblest part of man; this is that which principally makes the man, and hath the greatest influence into his being and essence, if therefore Jesus Christ had only a humane body without a humane soul, he had wanted that part which is most essential to man, and so he could not have been looked upon as true and perfect man. O Sirs, Christ redeemed and saved nothing but what he assumed; the redemption and salvation reach no farther than the assumption, our soul then would have been never the better for Christ, had he not taken that as well as our body: Hence said Augustine, 
Aug de civ. Dei. lib. 10. c. 27. p. 586  Therefore he took the whole man without sin, that he might heal the whole; of which man consists, of the plague of sin. And Fulgentius to the same purpose, As 
Fulgent ad Thrasymund. lib. 1. p. 251.  the Devil smote by deceiving the whole man, so God saves by assuming the whole man: If he will save the whole man from sin, he will assume the whole man without sin, saith Nazianzen. The Scriptures do clearly evidence that Christ had a real humane soul, Mat. 26. 38. My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; every word is emphatical; my soul, his sorrows pierced his soul, 
Psal. 22. 16.  and sorrowful round about, even to death, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is, heavy round about: Look as the soul was the first Agent in transgression, so it is here the first Patient in affliction; to death, that is, this sorrow will never be finished or intermitted but by death: My soul is exceeding sorrowful, then Christ had a true humane soul, neither was his Deity to him for a soul, as of old, men of corrupt minds have fancied; for than our bodies only had been redeemed by him, and not our souls, if he had not suffered in soul as well as in body. The sufferings of his body were but the body of his sufferings, the soul of his sufferings were the sufferings of his soul, which was now beset with sorrows, and heavy as heart could hold, John 12. 27. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say, The Greek word signifies a vehement commotion and perturbation, as Herod's mind was troubled when he 
Mat. 2. 3.  heard that a new King was born, or as the Disciples were 
Mat. 14. 26.  troubled when they thought they saw a spirit walking on the sea, and cried out for fear; or as Zachary was troubled 
Luk. 1. 12.  at the sudden sight of the Angel. The rise and cause of Christ's soul-trouble was this, the Godhead hiding itself from the humanitie's sense; and the father letting out, not only an apprehension of his sufferings to come, but a present taste of the horror of his wrath, due to man for sin; he is amazed, overwhelmed, and perplexed with it in his humanity; and no wonder since he had the sins of all the Elect laid upon him by imputation, to suffer for. And so this wrath is not let out against his person, but against their sins which were laid on him. Now though Christ was here troubled or jumbled and puzzled, as the word imports; yet we are not to conceive that there was any sin in this exercise of his, for he was like clean water in a clean vessel, which being never so often stirred and shaken, yet still keeps clean and clear: neither are we to think it strange, that the son of God should be put to such perplexities in this trouble, as not to know what to say; for considering him as man, encompassed with our sinless infirmities; and that this heavy weight of wrath did light upon him on a sudden, it is no wonder that it did confound all his thoughts as man, O Sirs, look that as sin hath infected both the souls and bodies of the Elect, and chief their souls, where it hath its chief seat; so Christ to expiate this sin, did suffer unspeakable sorrows and trouble in his soul as well as torture in his body; for my soul is troubled, saith he. Though some sufferings of the body be very exquisite and painful, and Christ's in particular were such; yet sad trouble of mind is far more grievous than any bodily distress, as Christ also found, who silently bore all his outward troubles, but yet could not but cry out of his inward trouble, Now is my soul troubled, Isa. 53. 10. Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin; when Christ suffered for us our sins were laid upon 
Isa. 53. 7. 1 Pet. 2. 24.  him, vers. 5. 6. as by the Law of sacrificing of old, the sinner was to lay his hands upon the head of the beast 
Levit. 8. 14. 18. 22. v.  confessing his sins, and then the beast was slain, and offered for expiation; thus having the man's sins as it were taken and put upon it, and hereby the sinner is made righteous: The sinner could never be pardoned, nor the guilt of sin removed, but by Christ's making his soul an offering for sin; what did Christ in special recommend to God, when he was breathing out his last gasp but his soul? Luk. 23. 46. When Jesus had cried out with a loud voice he said, father, into thy hands I commend my spirit; and having said thus he gave up the Ghost; that is, to thy safe custody, and blessed tuition I commend my soul, as a special treasure or Jewel most charily and tenderly to be preserved and kept, Luke 2. 52. He increased in wisdom and stature, here's stature for his body, and wisdom for his soul; his growth in that speaks the truth of the former, and his growth in this the truth of the latter: his body properly could not grow in wisdom, nor his soul in stature, therefore he must have both. There are two essential parts which make up one of his natures, his Manhood, viz. soul and body, but both of these two of old have been denied. Martion divests Christ of a body, and Apollinaris of a soul; and the Arrians held that Christ had no soul, but that the Deity was to him instead of a soul, and supplied the office thereof, that what the soul is to us, and doth in our bodies, all that the divine nature was to Christ, and did in his body: and are there not some among us, that make a great noise about a light in them that dash upon the same rock? but the choice Scriptures last cited, may serve sufficiently to confute all such brainsick men. But,  
Secondly, as Christ had a true humane and reasonable soul, so Christ had a perfect, entire, complete body, and every thing which is proper to a body; for instance, 1. he had blood, Heb. 2. 14. He also took part of the same, that is, of flesh and blood, Christ had in him the blood of a man, shedding of blood there must be, for without it 
Heb. 9 22.  there is no remission of sin; the blood of bruit creatures 
Heb. 10. 4, 5, 10. v.  could not wash away the blots of reasonable creatures; wherefore Christ took our nature, that he might have our blood to shed for our sins. There is an Emphasis put upon Christ as man, in the great business of man's salvation, The Man Christ Jesus; the remedy carrying in it a suitable 
1 Tim. 2. 5.  ness to the Malady, the sufferings of a man to expiate the sin of man. 2. He had bones as well as flesh, Luk. 24. 39 A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 3. Christ had in him the bowels of a man, Phil. 2. 8. which bowels he fully expressed when he was on earth, Mat. 12. 18, 19, 20. nay he retaineth those bowels now he is in heaven, in glory he hath a fellow feeling of his people's miseries, Acts 9 4. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me, see Mat. 25. 35. to the end of that chapter; though Christ in his glorified state be freed from that state of frailty, passibility, Mortality, yet he still retains his wont pity. 4. He had in him the familiarity of a man, how familiarly did Christ converse with all sorts of persons in this world, all the Evangelists do sufficiently testify. Man is a sociable and familiar creature; Christ became man 
Heb. 2. 17.  that he might be a merciful High Priest: Not that his becoming man made him more merciful, as though the mercies of a man were more than the mercies of God, but because by this means mercy is conveyed more suitably and familiarly to man. But,  
Fourthly, and lastly, our Lord Jesus Christ took our infirmities upon him; when Christ was in this world he submitted to the common accidents, adjuncts, infirmities, miseries, calamities, which are incident to humane nature. For the opening of this remember there are three sorts of infirmities; 1. There are sinful infirmities, Jam. 5. 7. Psal. 77. 10. the best of men are but men at the best; witness Abraham's unbelief, David's security, Job's cursing, 
Gen. 20. 2. Psal. 30. 6. 7. Job 3. Jen. 4.  Ionas his passion, Thomas his unbelief, Peter's lying, etc. Now these infirmities Jesus Christ took not upon him; for though he was made like unto us in all things, yet without sin, Heb. 4. 15. 2. There are personal infirmities, which from some particular causes befall this or that person; as Leprosy, blindness, dumbness, Palsy, Dropsy, Epilepsy, Stone, Gout, Sickness; Christ was never sick, sickness arises from the unfit or unequal temperature of the humours, or from intemperance of labour, study, etc. but none of these were in Christ, he had no sin, and therefore no sickness; Christ took not the passions or infirmities which were proper to this or that man. 3. There are natural infirmities which belong to all Mankind since the fall; as hunger, thirst, wearisomeness; sorrowfulness, sweeting, bleeding, wounds, death, burial; now these natural infirmities that are common to the whole nature; these Jesus Christ took upon him, as all the Evangelists do abundantly testify: our dear Lord Jesus he lay so many weeks and months in the Virgin's womb, he received nourishment and growth in the ordinary way, he was brought forth and bred up just as common infants are, he had his life sustained by common food as ours is; he was poor, afflicted, reproached, persecuted, tempted, deserted, falsely accused, etc. he lived an afflicted life, and died an accursed death; his whole life from the cradle to the cross was made up of nothing but sorrows and sufferings; and thus you see that Jesus Christ did put himself under those infirmities which properly belong to the common nature of man, though he did not take upon him the particular infirmities of individuums. Now what do all these things speak out, but the certainty and reality of Christ's Manhood.  
Que. But why must Christ partake of both natures, was it absolutely necessary that he should so do; An. Yea, it was absolutely necessary that Christ should partake of both natures; and that both in respect of God, and in respect of us: First in respect of us; and that,  
First, because man had sinned, and therefore man must 
1. 1 Cor. 15. 21.  be punished; by man came death, therefore by man must come the resurrection of the dead; man was the offender, therefore man must be the satisfier; man had been the sinner, and therefore man must be the sufferer: it is but justice to punish sin in that nature, in which it had been committed: by man we fell from God, and by man we must be brought back to God; by the first Adam we were ruined, by the second Adam we must be repaired. The 
Rom. 5. 12.  humane nature was to be redeemed, therefore it was necessary that the humane nature should be assumed: The Law was given to man, and the Law was broken by man, and therefore it was necessary that the Law should be fulfilled by man. But,  
Secondly, that by this means the justice of God might be satisfied in the same nature which had sinned, which was the nature of man: Angels could not satisfy divine justice, because they had no bodies to suffer; the brutish sensible creatures could not satisfy the justice of God, because they had no souls to suffer; the sensible creatures could not satisfy divine justice, because they had no sense to suffer: therefore man having body, soul, and sense must do it; for he had sinned in all, and he could suffer in all.  
Secondly, there are reasons both in respect of God, and in respect of ourselves, why Jesus Christ should be God, and God-man also, and they are these five;  
First, that he might be a meet Mediator between God and man; Christ's office, as Mediator, was to deal with God for man, and to deal for God with man. Now that he might be sit for both these transactions, for both parts of this office, he must partake of both natures. That he might effectually deal with God for man, he must be God, (If a man sin against the Lord who shall entreat for him, saith Eli to his sons, 1 Sam. 2. 25.) And that he might deal for God with man, he must be man: He must be God that he may be fit to transact, treat, and negotiate with God; and he must be man, that he may be fit, to transact, treat, and negotiate with man: when God spoke unto Israel at Mount Sinai at the giving of the Law, the people were not able to abide that voice or presence, and therefore they desired an Internuncius, a man like themselves, who might be as a Mediator to go betwixt God and them, Exod. 20. 18, 19 Now upon his very ground 
Exod. 20. 18.  besides many others that might be mentioned, it was very requisite that Jesus Christ should be both God and man, 
Heb. 12. 18.  that he might be a meet Mediator to deal betwixt God and man. Jesus Christ was the fittest person either in that upper or in this lower world to mediate between God and us. There was none fit to umpeire the business between God and man but he that was God-man: Job hit the nail when he said, Neither is there any days-man betwixt 
Job. 9 33.  us that might lay his hand upon us both: There was a double use of the days-man, and his laying his hand upon them; 1. To keep the dissening parties asunder, lest they should fall out, and strike one another: 2. To keep them together, and compose all differences, that they might not departed from each other; the Application is easy, man is not fit to mediate, because man is the person offending; Angels are not fit to mediate, for they cannot satisfy divine Justice, nor pacify divine wrath, nor procure our pardon, nor make our peace, nor bring in an everlasting righteousness upon us; God the father was not fit for this work, for he was the person offended; and he was as much too high to deal with man, as man was too low to deal with God: The holy Ghost was not fit for this work, for 'tis his work to apply this Mediation, and to clear up the believers interest in this Mediation. So then there is no other person fit for this office, but Jesus Christ, who was a middle person, 'twixt both, that he might deal with both: Christ could never have been fit to be the Mediator in respect of his office, if he had not first been a middle person in respect of his natures; for (saith the Apostle) Gal. 3. 20. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one; A mediator is not a mediator of one, that is of one party, but is always of two differing parties to unite them; not of one, that is, 1. Not of one person, because mediation implies more persons than one it necessarily supposes different parties betwixt whom he doth mediate; Christ (to speak after the manner of men) lays his hand upon God the father, and saith, O blessed father, wilt thou be at peace with these poor sinners? wil● thou pardon them? and wilt thou lift up the light of thy countenance upon them? if thou wilt, than I will undertake to satisfy thy justice, and to pacify thy wrath, and to fulfil thy royal Law, and to make good all the wrong they have done against thee. And then he layeth his hand upon the poor sinner; and saith, sinner, art thou willing to be changed and renewed? art thou willing to come under the bond of the covenant? art thou willing to give up thy heart and life to the guidance and government of the spirit? then be not discouraged, for thou shalt certainly be justified and saved. 2. Not of one nature, the Mediator must necessarily have more natures than one, he must have the divine and humane nature united in his single person, or else he could never suffer what he was to suffer, nor never satisfy what he was to satisfy, nor never bring poor sinners into a state of reconciliation 
2 Cor 5. 19, 20.  with God: and 'tis farther observable, that the Text last cited saith, God is one, (viz.) as he is essentially considered, and therefore as so he cannot be the Mediator; but Christ, as personally considered, he is not of one (that is) not of one nature, for he is God and man too, and therefore he is the only person that is fitted and qualified to be the Mediator: and 'tis observable that when Christ is spoken of as Mediator, his Manhood is brought in (that nature being so necessary to that office,) 1 Tim. 2. 5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus: Jesus Christ was God and man; as man he ought to satisfy, but could not; as God he could satisfy, but ought not: but consider him as God and man, and so he both could satisfy, and aught to satisfy, and accordingly he did satisfy, according to what was prophesied of him, Dan. 9 24. He did make reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in everlasting righteousness: He did not begin to do something, and then faint, and leave his work imperfect, but he finished it, and that to the glory of his father, John 17. 4. I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And 'tis good to observe the singularity and oneness of the person mediating; not many, not a few, not two, but one Mediator between God and man, there was none with him in his difficult work of Mediatorship, but he carried it on alone; though there are many Mediators among men, yet there is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, one only Mediator betwixt 
Isa. 63. 3. I confess the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is given to Moses, in that, Gal. 3. 19 but Moses was but a typical Mediator, and you never find that Moses is called a Mediator in a way of redemption, or satisfaction, or paying a Ransom; for so dear Jesus is the only Mediator: so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, us used in that 1 Tim. 2. 5. Heb. 8. 6, 7. 8. Heb. 9 14, 15. Heb. 12. 22, 23, 24.  God and men: and 'tis as high folly and madness to make more Mediators than one, as 'tis to make more Gods than one (There is one God and one mediator betwixt God and men,) for look as one husband satisfies the wife, as one father satisfies the child, as one Lord satisfies the servant, and on sun satisfies the world, so one Mediator is enough to satisfy all the world, that desire a Mediator, or that have an interest in a Mediator. The true sense and import of this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Mediator, is a middle person, or one that interposes betwixt two parties at variance, to make peace betwixt them. Though 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a Mediator, be rendered variously, sometimes an Umpiere or Arbitrator, sometimes a messenger betwixt two persons, sometimes an interpreter imparting the mind of one to another, sometimes a reconciler or peacemaker; yet this word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, doth most properly signify a Mediator or a midler, because Jesus Christ is both a middle person, and a middle officer betwixt God and man, to reconcile and reunite God and man. This of all others is the most proper and genuine signification of this name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Jesus Christ is the middle, that is, the second person in the Trinity, betwixt the Father and the Holy Ghost: He is the only middle person betwixt God and man, being in one person God-man; and his being a middle person fits and capacitates him to stand in the midst between God and us. And as he is the middle person, so he is the middle officer, intervening, or interposing, or coming between God and man by office, satisfying God's justice to the full for man's sins by his sufferings and death, and maintaining our constant peace in heaven by his meritorious intercession. Hence, as one observes, Jesus Christ is 
Gerhard.  a true Mediator, is still found, in medio, in the middle. He was born, as some think, from Wisd. 18. 14. about the middle of the night, he suffered in the middle of the world, that is, at Jerusalem, seated in the middle of the 
Heb. 11. 12.  earth: he was crucified in the midst, between the two 
John 19 18.  thiefs: he died in the air on the cross, in the midst between heaven and earth: he stood after his Resurrection 
John 20. 19  in the midst of his Disciples: and he has promised, that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he 
Mat. 18. 20.  will be in the midst of them: and he walks in the midst 
Rev. 2. 1.  of the seven golden candle-sticks, that is, the Churches: And he as the heart in the midst of the body; distributes 
Ephe. 4. 15, 16.  spirits and virtue to all the parts of his mystical body. Thus Jesus Christ is the Mediator betwixt God and man; middle in person, and middle in office. And thus you have seen at large what a meet Mediator Jesus Christ is, considered in both his natures, considered as God-man. But,  
Secondly, If Jesus Christ be not God, then there is no spiritual nor eternal good to be expected or enjoyed: If Christ be not God, our preaching is in vain, and your hearing is in vain, and your praying is in vain, and your believing is in vain, and your hope of pardon and forgiuness by Jesus Christ is in vain, for none can forgive sins but a God: 
Mark 2. 7. John 3. 16. John 10. 28. 2 Tim. 4. 8. James 1. 12. 1 Pet. 5. 4. v. Rev. 3. 21. Rev. 2. 11.  Christ hath promised that believers shall never perish, he hath promised them eternal life, and that he will raise them up at the last day, he has promised a Crown of Righteousness, he has promised a Crown of Life, he has promised a Crown of glory, he has promised that conquering Christians shall sit down with him in his throne, as he is set down with his father in his throne: He has promised that they shall not be hurt of the second death. And a thousand other good things Jesus Christ has promised; but if Jesus Christ be not God, how shall these promises be made good? If a man that hath never a foot of Land in England, nor yet worth one groat in all the world, shall make his will, and bequeath to thee such and such houses, and Lands, and Lordships in such a County, or such a County; and shall by Will, give thee so much in Plate, and so much in Jewels, and so much in ready money; whereas he is not, upon any account, worth one penny in all the world; certainly such Legacies will never make a man the richer nor the happier. None of those great and precious promises, which are hinted at above will signify any thing, if Christ be not God; for they can neither refresh us, nor cheer us in this world, nor make us happy in that other world. If Christ be not God how can he purchase our pardon, procure our peace, pacify divine wrath, and satisfy infinite justice: A man may satisfy the justice of man, but who but a God can satisfy the justice of God? will God accept of thousands of 
Micah 6. 7.  Rams. or ten thousands of Rivers of Oil, or the firstborn of thy body for the sin of thy soul? Oh? No, he will not, he cannot; that Scripture is worthy to be written in letters of Gold, Acts 20. 28. Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the holy Ghost hath made you overseers; to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood: This must needs relate to Christ, and Christ is here called God, and Christ's blood is called the blood of God, and without a peradventure Christ could never have gone through with the purchase of the Church, if the blood he shed had not been the blood of God. This blood is called God's own blood, because the son of God, being and remaining true God, assumed humane flesh and blood in unity of person: by this phrase that which appertaineth to the humanity of Christ, is attributed to his Divinity, because of the union of the two natures in one person, and communion of properties. The Church is to Christ a bloody Spouse, an Acheldama or field of blood: for the could not be redeemed with silver and gold, but with 
1 Pet. 1. 18, 19  the blood of God: so it is called by a communication of properties, to set forth the incomparable value and virtue thereof. But,  
Thirdly, if Christ be not God, yea God-man, than we shall never be able to answer all the challenges that either divine Justice or Satan can make upon us; whatsoever the justice of God can exact, that the blood of God can discharge: now the blood of Christ is the blood of God, as I have evidenced in the second Reason: by reason of the hypostatical union, the humane nature being united to the divine, the humane nature did suffer, the Divine did satisfy: Christ's Godhead did give both Majesty and Essicacy to his sufferings; Christ was sacrifice, Priest, and Altar: He was Sacrifice as he was man, Priest as he was God and man, and Altar as he was God. it is the property of the Altar to sanctify the thing offered 
Mat. 23. 19  on it; so the Altar of Christ's divine nature, sanctified the sacrifice of his death, and made it meritorious, Man sinned, and therefore man must satisfy: Therefore the humane nature must be assumed by a surety, for man cannot do it: If an Angel should have assumed humane nature, it would have polluted him: Humane nature was so defiled by sin, that it could not be assumed by any but God: Now Christ being God, the Divine nature purified the Humane nature which he took, and so it was a sufficient sacrifice, The person offered in sacrifice being God as well as man. This is a most noble ground upon which a believer may challenge Satan to say his worst, and to do his worst; let him present God as terrible, yea, as a consuming 
Heb. 12. 29.  fire: let him present me as odious and abominable 
Zecha. 3. 2, 3.  in the sight of God as once he did Joshuah, let him present me before the Lord as vile and mercenary as once he did Job, let him aggravate the height of God's displeasure, 
Job 1. 9, 10, 11.  and the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of my sins; I shall readily grant all, and against all this I will set the infinite satisfaction of dear Jesus: this I know, that though the justice of God cannot be avoided nor bribed, yet it may be satisfied. Here is a proportionable satisfaction, here is God answering God. 'Tis a very noble plea of the Apostle, who is he that condemneth? 
Rom. 8. 34.  it is Christ that died; let Satan urge the justice of God as much as he can, I am sure that the justice of God 
1 John 1. 7, 8, 9  makes me sure of Salvation, and the reason is evident, because his justice obligeth him to accept of an adequate satisfaction of his own appointing: The justice of God maketh me sure of mine own happiness, because if God be just, that satisfaction should be had; when that satisfaction is made, Justice requireth that the person for whom it is made, shall be received into favour. I confess, that unless God had obliged himself by promise, there were no pressing his justice thus far, because Noxa sequitur caput. There was mercy in the promise of sending Christ, 
Gen. 3. 15. Had not Christ stepped in between man's sin & God's wrath, the world had fallen about Adam's ears.  out of mercy to undertake for us, otherwise we cannot say that God was bound in justice to accept of satisfaction, unless he had first in mercy been pleased to appoint the way of a surety. Justice indeed required satisfaction, but it required it of the person that sinneth, Gen. 2. 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die; or dying thou shalt die; or as others read the words, thou shalt surely and shortly, or suddenly die; and without controversy, every man should die the same day he is born, The wages of sin is death; and this wages 
Rom. 6. 23.  should be presently paid, did not Christ, as a boon, beg poor sinners lives for a season, for which cause he is called the Saviour of all men; not of eternal preservation, 
1 Tim. 4. 10.  but of temporal reservation: it was free and noble mercy to all mankind, that dear Jesus was promised and provided, sealed and sent into the world, that some might be eternally saved, and the rest preserved from wrath for 
J●hn 6. 27.  a time. Here cometh in mercy, that a surety shall be accepted, and what he doth is as if the person that offended should have done it himself. Here is mercy and salvation surely bottomed upon both: ah what sweet and transcendent comfort flows from this very consideration, That Christ is God. But,  
Fourthly, the great and glorious majesty of God required it, that Christ should be God: God the father being a God of infinite holiness, purity, justice and righteousness, none but he who was very God, who was essentially one with the father, could or durst interpose 
John 10. 30. cap. 14. 9, 10, 11. etc.  between God and fallen man. The Angels, though they are glorious creatures, yet they are but creatures; and could these satisfy divine justice, and bear infinite wrath, and purchase divine favour, and reconcile us to God, and procure our pardon, and change our hearts, and renew our natures, and adorn our souls with Grace? and yet all these things must be done or we undone, and that for ever. Now if this were a work too high for Angels, than we may safely conclude, that it was a work too hard for fallen man. Man was once the mirror of all understanding, the Hicroglyphick of Wisdom; but now quantum mutatus ab illo? there is a great alteration, for poor sorry man is now sent to school, to learn wisdom and instruction of the beasts, birds, and creeping things; he is sent to the Pismire to learn providence, Prov. 6. 6, To the Stork and to the Swallow to learn to make a right use of time, Jer. 8. 7. To the Ox and the Ass to learn knowledge, Isa. 1. 3. And to the fowls of the Air to learn confidence, Mat. 6. Man that was once a master of knowledge, a wonder of understanding, perfect in the science of all things, is now grown blockish, sottish, and senseless; and therefore altogether unfit and unable to make his peace with God, to reconcile himself to God, etc. But,  
Fifthly, and lastly, that Christ's sufferings and merits might be sufficient, it was absolutely necessary that he should be God. The sin of man was infinite (I mean in finitely punishable) if not infinite in number, yet infinite in nature, every offence being infinite, it being committed against an infinite God. No creature could therefore satisfy for it, but the sufferer must be God, that so his infiniteness might be answerable to the infiniteness of men's offences. There was an absolute necessity of Christ's sufferings, partly because he was pleased to substitute himself in the sinner's stead, and partly because his sufferings only could be satisfactory. Now unless he had been man how could he suffer, and unless he had been God, how could he satisfy offended Justice: Look as he must be more than man, that he may be able to suffer, that his sufferings may be meritorious; so he must be man, that he may be in a capacity to suffer, die, and obey, for these are no work for one who is only God. A God only cannot suffer, a man only cannot merit; God cannot obey, man is bound to obey; wherefore Christ, that he might obey and suffer, he was man; and that he might merit by his obedience and suffering, he was God-man; just such a person did the work of Redemption call for. That Christ's merits might be sufficient he must be God, for sufficient merit for Mankind could not be in the person of any mere man, no not in Christ himself considered only as man; for so all the grace he had he did receive it, and all the good he did he was bound to do it; for, he was made of a woman, and made under the Law (not only 
Gal. 4. 4.  under the Ceremonial Law as he was a Jew, but under the Moral as a man, for it is under that Law under which we were, and from which we are redeemed) therefore 
Gal. 3. 13.  in fulfilling it, he did no more than that which was his duty to do; he could not merit by it, no not for himself, much less for others (considered only as man) therefore he must also be God, that the dignity of his person might add dignity, and virtue, and value to his works: in a word, Deus potuit, sed non debuit; homo debuit, sed non potuit: God could, but he should not; man should, but he could not make satisfaction: therefore he that would do it must be both God and man: Torris erutus ab igne (as the Prophet speaketh) Is not this a firebrand taken out of the fire? you know that in a firebrand taken out of the fire, there is fire and wood inseparably mixed, and in Christ there is God and man wonderfully united. He was God, else neither his sufferings nor his merits could have been sufficient; and if his could not, much less any man's else: for all other men are both conceived and born in Original sin, and also much and often defiled with actual sin, and therefore we ought for ever to abhor all such popish Doctrines, Prayers, and Masses for the dead, which exalt man's merits, man's satisfaction. For, no man can by 
Psal. 49. 7. 8. v.  any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; for the redemption of their soul is precious and it ceaseth for ever. And therefore all the money that hath been given for Masses, Dirges, Trentals, etc. hath been cast away for Jesus Christ, who is God-man, is the only Redeemer, and in the other world money beareth no mastery. Let me make a few inferences from what has been said; and therefore,  
First, is it so that Christ is God-man, that he is God 
1. 1 Pet. 1. 21.  and man, then let this raise our faith, and strengthen our faith, in our Lord Jesus Christ, faith is built on God▪ Now Jesus Christ is very God, and therefore the fittest foundation in the world for us to build our faith upon; God manifest in the flesh is a firm basis for faith and comfort. 
Heb. 7. 25. ad plenum, saith Erasmus ad perfectum say others.  He is able to save to the uttermost, Christ is a thorough Saviour, he saves perfectly, and he saves perpetually; he never carries on Redemption-work by halves: Christ being God as well as man, is able by the power of his Godhead to vanquish Death, Devils, Hell, and all the enemies of our Salvation; and by the power of his Godhead is able to merit pardon of sin, the favour of God, the heavenly inheritance, and all the glory of the other world: for this dignity of his person addeth virtue and 
Acts 20. 28.  efficacy to his death and sufferings, in that he that suffered and died was very God, therefore God is said to have purchased the Church with his own blood; Christ having suffered in our nature which he took upon him, (that is in his humane soul and body) the wrath of God, the curse, and all the punishments which were due to our sins; hath paid the price of our Redemption, pacified divine wrath, and satisfied divine Justice, in the very same nature in which we have sinned and provoked the holy one of Israel, so that now all believers may triumphingly say, There is no condemnation to us that are in 
R●m. 8. 1. v.  Christ Jesus: Christ having in our nature suffered the whole curse and punishment due to our sins, God cannot in justice but accept of his sufferings, as a full and complete satisfaction 
1 John 1. 7, 9  for all our sins; so that now there remaineth no more curse or punishment properly so called, for us to suffer either in our souls or bodies, either in this life or in the life to come, but we are certainly and fully delivered from all; not only from the eternal curse, and all the punishments and torments of Hell, but also from the curse and sting of bodily death, and from all afflictions as they are 
1 Cor. 15. 55, 56.  curses and punishments of sin, that Jesus who is God-man, hath changed the nature of them to us, so that of bitter curses and heavy punishments, they are become fatherly chastisements, the fruits of divine love, and the 
Heb. 12. 5, 6, 7. Rev. 3. 19  promoters of the internal and eternal good of our souls. Oh! how should these things strengthen our faith in dear Jesus, and work us to lean and stay our weary souls wholly and only upon him who is God-man, and who of God 
1 Cor. 1. 30.  is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Among the Evangelists we find, that Christ had a threefold entertainment among the sons of men: some received him into house, not into heart, as Simon 
Luk. 7. 44.  the Pharisee, who gave him no kiss, nor water to his feet; some neither into heart nor house, as the graceless 
Mat. 8. 34.  swinish Gergesites, who had neither civility nor honesty; some both into house and heart, as Lazarus, Mary, Martha, 
John 11. 16.  etc. certainly that Jesus who is God-man deserves the best room in all our souls, and the uppermost seat in all our hearts. But,  
Secondly, If Jesus Christ be God-man, very God and very man, then what high cause have we to observe, admire, wonder, and even stand amazed at the transcendent love of Christ in becoming man: Oh! the firstness, the freeness, the unchangeableness, the greatness, the matchlesness of Christ's love to fallen man, in becoming man: men many times show their love to one another, by hanging up one another's pictures in their families; but, ah, what love did Christ show when he took our nature upon him, Heb. 2. 16. For verily he took not on him the nature of Angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham; 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he assumed, apprehended, caught, laid hold on the seed of Abraham, as the Angel did on Lot, as Christ 
Gen. 19 16.  did on Peter, or as men do upon a thing they are glad 
Mat. 14. 31.  they have got, and are loath to l●t go again. Oh sirs, it is a main ground and pillar of our comfort and confidence, that Jesus Christ took our flesh, for if he had not took our flesh upon him, we could never have been saved by him; Christ took not a part, but the whole nature of man; that is, a true humane soul and body, together with all the essential properties and faculties of both: that in man's nature he might die, and suffer the wrath of God, and whole curse due to our sins, which otherwise 
Heb. 2. 14.  being God only, he could never have done; and that he might satisfy divine justice for sin, in the same nature that had sinned, and indeed it was most meet and fit, that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should partake in the natures of both parties to be reconciled. Oh, what matchless love was this, that made our dear Lord Jesus, to lay by for a time all that glory, that he 
John 17. 5.  had with the father before the world was, and to assume our nature, and to be found in fashion as a man, to see 
Phil. 2. 8.  the great God in the form of a servant, or hanging upon the Cross, how wonderful and astonishing was it to all that believed him to be God-man; God manifested in 
1 Tim. 3. 16. 1 Pet. 1. 11.  our flesh is an amazing mystery, a mystery fit for the speculation of Angels, that the eternal God should become 
1 Tim. 2. 5.  the man Christ Jesus, that a most glorious Creator should 
Dan. 7. 9, 13, 22. Mat. 2. 11.  become a poor creature, that the Ancient of days should become an Infant of days, that the most high should stoop so low as to dwell in a body of flesh, is a glorious mystery, that transcends all humane understanding. It would have seemed a high blasphemy for us to have thought of such a thing, or to have desired such a thing, or to have spoken of such a thing, if God in his everlasting Gospel had not reveiled such a thing to us: Among the Romish Priests, Friars, Jesuits, they count it a great demonstration of love, an high honour that is done to any of their orders, when any Noble man or great Prince (who is weary of the world, and the world weary of him) comes among them, and takes any of their habits upon him, and lives and dies in their habits: Oh, what a demonstration of Christ's love is it! and what a mighty honour hath Jesus Christ put upon mankind, in that he took our nature upon him, in that he lived in our nature, and died in our nature, and risen in our nature, and ascended in our nature, and now sits at his father's right hand in 
Acts 1. 10, 11.  our nature! Though Jacob's love to Rachel, and Jonathan's love to David, and David's love to Absolom, and the primitive Christians love to one another was strong, very strong; yet Christ's love in taking our humane nature upon him does infinitely transcend all their loves. I think 
Bern. sup. cant. ser. 20.  (saith one speaking of Christ) he cannot despise me, who is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh ●! for if he neglect me as a Brother, yet he will love me as a husband, that's my comfort. Oh my Saviour (saith one) didst thou 
Hierom.  die for love of me? a love more dolorous than death, but to me a death more lovely than love itself; I cannot live, love, and be longer from thee: I read in Josephus, that when 
J. s. Bel. Jud. l. 1. c. 8.  Herod Antipater was accused to Julius Caesar as no good friend of his, he made no other Apology, but stripping himself stark naked, shown Caesar his wounds, and said, let me hold my tongue, these wounds will speak for me how I have loved Caesar: ah, my friends, Christ's wounds in our nature speak out the admirable love of Jesus Christ to us: and Oh, how should this love of his draw out our love to Christ, & inflame our love to that Jesus who is God-man blessed for ever. Mr. Welch a Suffolk-minister, weeping at table; being asked the reason, said, it was because he could love Christ no more: ah, what reason have we to weep, and weep again, and again, that we can love that Jesus no more, who hath showed such unparalelled love to us in assuming of the humane nature! Et ipsam animam odio haberem, si non diligeret meum Jesum, I must hate my very soul, if it should not love my Jesus, saith Bernard: ah, what cause have we given to hate ourselves, because we love that dear Jesus no more who is very God and very man. But,  
Thirdly, Is Jesus Christ God-man, is he very God and 
3. consult hese Scriptures, Isa. 61. 1. Dan. 9 24. 1 John 3. 8. Luk. 1. 74. 75. Tit. 2. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 4.  very man? then we may very safely and roundly assert, that the work of Redemption was a very great work, the Redemption of souls is a mighty work, a costly work: to redeem poor souls from sin, from wrath, from the power of Satan, from the curse, from hell, from the condemnation, was a mighty work; wherefore was Christ born, wherefore did he live, sweat, groan, bleed, die, rise, ascend; was it not to bring deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound? was it not to make an end of sin, to finish transgression, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to destroy the works of the Devil, and to abolish death, and to bring life and immortality to light, and to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify us to himself, and to make us a peculiar people zealous of good works? Certainly the work of Redemption was no ordinary or common thing; God-man must engage in it, or poor fallen man is undone for ever. The greater the person is that is engaged in any work, the greater is that work: the great Monarches of the world do not use to engage their sons in poor, low, mean, and petty services, but in such services as are high and honourable, noble and weighty: and will you imagine that ever the great and glorious God 
John 1. 18. 8. Pro. 22.— 33  would have sent his son, his own son, his only begotten son, his bosom son, his son in whom his soul delighted before the foundations of the earth was laid; to redeem poor sinners souls, if this had not been a great work, a high work, and a most glorious work in his eye. The Creation of the world did but cost God a word of his mouth; Let there be light, and there was light; but the Redemption 
Gen. 1. 3.  of souls cost him his dearest son, there is a divine greatness stamped upon the works of providence, but what are the works of Providence to the work of Redemption? what are all providential works to Christ's coming from heaven, to his being incarnate, to his do, sufferings, and dying, and all this to ransom poor souls from the curse, hell, wrath, and eternal death? souls are dear and costly things, and of great price in the sight of God. Amongst the Romans, those their proper goods and estates, which men had gotten in the wars with hazard of their lives, were called Peculium Castrense, of a Field-purchase Oh, how much more may the precious and immortal souls of men be called Christ's Peculium Castrense! his purchase, gotten not only by the jeopardy of his life, but with the loss of his life and blood, Ye know (saith the Apostle) 
1 Pet. 1. 18. 19  that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition; but with the precious blood of the son of God, as of a lamb without a spot. Christ that only went to the price of souls, hath told us that one soul is more worth than 
Mat. 16. 26.  all the world: Christ left his father's bosom, and all the glory of heaven for the good of souls, he assumed the nature of man for the happiness of the soul of man, he trod the Wine-press of his father's wrath for souls, he wept for souls, he sweat for souls, he prayed for souls, he paid for souls, and he bled out his heartblood for the redemption of souls. The soul is the breath of God, the beauty of man, the wonder of Angels, and the envy of Devils: 'tis of an Angelical nature, 'tis a heavenly spark, a celestial plant, and of a divine offspring; 'tis capable of the knowledge of God, of union with God, of communion with 
John 14. 8. Psal. 17. 15.  God, and of an eternal fruition of God; there is nothing that can suit the soul below God, there is nothing that can satisfy the soul without God; the soul is so high and so noble a piece that it scorns all the world; what are all the riches of the East or West- Indies? what are Rocks of Diamonds, or Mountains of Gold? or the price of Cleopatra's draught, to the price that Christ laid down for souls? 'tis only the blood of him that is God-man that is an equivolent price for the Redemption of souls. Silver and Gold hath redeemed many thousands out of Turkish bondage, but all the Silver and Gold in the world could never redeem one poor soul from Hellish bondage, from hellish torments. Souls are a dear commodity, he that bought them found them so; and yet at how cheap a rate do some sinners sell their immortal souls. Callenuceus tells us of a noble man of Naples that was wont profanely to say that he had two-souls in his body, one for God, and another for whosoever would buy it; but if he hath one soul in Hell, I believe he will never find another for Heaven. A person of quality, who is still alive, told me a few years since, that in discourse with one of his servants, 
This pious Gentleman was with me in May, 1673. at my house.  he asked him what he thought would become of his soul if he lived and died in his ignorance and enmity against God, etc. he most profanely and atheistically answered, that when he died, he would hang his soul on a hedge, and say, run God run Devil, and he that can run fastest let him 
Discipul at de t●mp. Ser●. 132.  take my soul. I have read of a most blasphemous wretch, that on a time being with his companions in a common Inn, carousing and making merry, asked them if they thought a man had a soul or no; whereunto, when they replied that the souls of men are immortal, and that some of them after death lived in hell and others in heaven; (For so the writings of the Prophets and Apostles instructed them) he answered, and swore, that he thought it nothing so, but rather that there was no soul in man to survive the body, but that Heaven and Hell were mere fables and inventions of Priests to get gain; and for himself, he was ready to sell his soul to any that would buy it: than one of his companions took up a cup of wine, and said, sell me thy soul for this cup of wine; which he receiving, 
We laugh at little children to see them part with rich Jewels for silly trifles, and yet daily experience tells us, that multitudes are so childish as to part with such rich and precious Jewels as their immortal souls, for a lust, or for base and unworthy trifles; of whom it may be truly said as Augustus Caesar said in another case, they are like a man that fishes with a golden hook, the gain can never recompense the loss that may be sustained.  bade him take his soul, and drank up the wine: Now Satan himself being there in man's shape, bought it again of the other at the same price, and by and by bade him give him his soul, the whole company affirming, it was meet he should have it, since he had bought it, not perceiving the Devil; but presently, he laying hold of this soul-seller, carried him into the Air before them all, to the great astonishment and amazement of the beholders; and from that day to this he was never heard of, but hath now found by experience that men have souls, and that Hell is no Fable. Ah, for what a thing of nought do many thousands sell their souls to Satan every day! how many thousands are there who swear, curse, lie, cheat, deceive, etc. for a little gain every day! I have read that there was a time when the Romans did wear Jewels on their shoes: Oh, that in these days men did not worse! Oh, that they did not trample under feet that matchless Jewel their precious and immortal souls! Oh sirs, there is nothing below heaven so precious and noble as your souls, and therefore do not play the Courtiers with your poor souls: now the Courtier does all things late, he rises late, and dines late, and sups late, and goes to bed late, and reputes late. Christ made himself an offering for sin, that souls might not be undone by sin, the Lord died that slaves might live, the son dies that servants might live, the natural son dies that adopted sons may live, the only begotten son dies that bastards might live, yea, the judge dies that Malefactors may live. Ah friends! as there was never sorrow like Christ's, so there was never love like Christ's love; and of all his love, none to that of soul-love. Christ who is God-man did take upon him thy nature, and bore thy sins, and suffered death, and encountered the Cross, and was made a sacrifice and a curse, and all to bring about thy Redemption; and therefore thou mayst safely conclude, that the work of Redemption is a great work. But,  
Fourthly, is Jesus Christ God-man? is he very God and very man? then let this encourage poor sinners to come to Christ, to close with Christ, to accept of Christ, to match into Christ, and to enter with a marriage union, and communion with Christ. The great work of Gospel Ministers is like that of Eliezer, Abraham's servant, 
Gen. 24.  to seek a match for our master's son: now our way to win you to him, is not only to tell you what he has, but what he is; now he is God-man in one person, he is man that you may not be afraid of him, and he is God 
Heb. 7. 25. Rev. 1. 5. cap. 17. 14. Heb. 1. 3. Psal. 45. 1. Cant. 5. 10. 16.  that he may be able to save you to the uttermost, he is the Prince of the Kings of the Earth, he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, he is the heir of all things, he is fairer than the Children of men, he is the chiefest of ten thousand, he is altogether lovely, there is every thing in Jesus who is God-man to encourage you to come to him: If you look upon his names, if you look upon his natures, if you look upon his offices, if you look upon his dignities, if you look upon his personal excellencies, if you look upon his mighty conquests, if you look upon his Royal attendance; all these things call aloud upon you, to come to Christ, to close with Christ: if you look upon the great things that he has done for sinners, and the hard things that he has suffered for sinners, and the glorious things that he has prepared and laid up for sinners; how can you but readily accept of him, and sweetly embrace him: Though thou hast no loveliness nor comeliness, 
Ezek. 16. 4. 5. Isa. 55. 1, 2.  no beauty nor glory, though thou hast not one penny in thy purse, nor a rag to hang on thy back, yet if thou art but really and hearty willing to be divorced from all thy sinful lovers, and accept of Christ for thy Sovereign Lord; he is willing that the match should be made up 
Hoses. 3. 3. Rev. 22. 17.  between thee and him: Now, shall Christ woo you himself? shall he declare his willingness to take you with nothing? shall he engage himself to protect you, to maintain you, and at last, as a dowry, to bestow heaven upon you? and will you refuse him, will you turn your backs upon him? Oh sirs, what could Christ have done that he has not done to do you good, and to make you happy for ever? Lo, he has laid aside his glorious Robes, and he has put on your Rags, he has clothed himself with your flesh, he came off from his Royal Throne, he humbled himself to the death of the Cross, and has brought Life, Immortality, and Glory to your very doors, and will you yet stand out against him? Oh how shall such escape who neglect so great salvation, who say, this man 
Hel. 2. 3. Luk. 19 14.  shall not rule over us, who tread under foot the son of God Oh what wrath, what great wrath, what pure 
Heb. 10. 28. John. 3. ult.  wrath, what infinite wrath, what everlasting wrath is reserved for such persons! doubtless Turks, Jews, and Pagans will have a cooler and a lighter Hell, than the despisers 
John 5. 40. Mat. 23. 13, 14.  and rejecters of Christ; the great damnation is for those that might have Christ, but would not; and no wonder, for the sin of rejecting Christ is not chargeable upon the Devils. Ah sinners, sinners, that you would labour to understand more, and dwell more upon the preheminent excellencies of Christ; for till the soul can discern a better, a greater excellency in Christ than in any other thing, it will never yield to match with Christ: Oh labour every day more and more to take the height, and depth, and breadth of the excellency of Christ. He is the chiefest and the choicest of all, both in that upper, and in this lower world. The Godhead dwells bodily in him, he is full of grace, he is the heir of glory, the holy one of God, the brightness of his father's Image, the fountain of life, the well of salvation, and the wonder of heaven. Oh, when will you so understand the superlative excellency of Christ, as to fall in love with him, as to cry out with the Martyr, O none but Christ, O none to Christ? It is your wisdom, it is your duty, it is your safety, it is your glory, it is your salvation, it is your all to accept of Christ, to close with Christ, and to bestow yourselves, your souls, your all on Christ; if you embrace him you are made for ever, but if you reject him you perish for ever, Bernard calls Christ Sponsus sanguinum, the Bridegroom of Bloods, because he espoused his Church to himself upon the bed of his Cross, his head begirt with a pillow of Thorns, his body drenched in a bath of his own blood: to turn your backs upon this Bridegroom of Bloods, will certainly cost you the blood of your souls, and therefore look to it. But,  
Fifthly, Is Jesus Christ God-man? is he very God and 
5. Colos. 1. 18. Phil. 2. 6, 7, 8, 9 10. John 5. 23. This Text looks sourly on Jews, Turks, Papists, Socinians, and others.  very man? O then honour him above all, Oh let him have the preeminence, exalt him as high as God the father hath exalted him; 'tis the absolute will of the father that all should honour his son, even as they honour himself: for he having the same nature and essence with the father, the father will have him have the same honour which he himself hath; which whosoever denies to him reflects dishonour upon the father, who will not bear any thing derogatory to the glory of his son: certainly there is due to Christ, as he is God-man, the highest respect, reverence, and veneration which Angels and men can possibly give unto him. Oh, look upon the Lord Jesus as God; and according to that honour that is due to him as God, so must you honour him. The Apostle speaks of some who, when they knew God they did not glorify 
R●m. 1. 21.  him as God; so several pretend to give some glory to Christ, but they do not glorify him as God, Oh sirs, this is that which you must come up to, viz. to honour Christ in such a manner as may be suitable to his natures, and as he is the infinite, blessed, and eternal God; and ah what honour can be high enough for such a person. Christ's honour was very dear to him, who said, Lord, use 
Bernard.  me for thy shield to keep off those wounds of dishonour, which else would fall on thee. Luther in an Epistle to Spalatinus, saith, they call me a Devil, but be it so, so long as Christ is magnified, I am well apayed. The inanimate creatures are so compliant with his pleasure, that they will thwart their own nature to serve his honour: fire will descend (as on Sodom and Gomorrah) and water, 
Gen. 19 Exod. 14. 22.  though a fluid body, stand up like a solid wall (as in the Red Sea) if he do but speak the word. Oh, let not the inanimate creatures one day rise in judgement against us for not giving Christ his due honour; if we honour Christ, we shall have honour, that is, a bargain of Christ's own making; but if we dishonour him, he will put dishonour 
1 Sam. 2. 30.  upon us, as Scripture and History in all Ages do sufficiently evidence: in History we read of an Impostor that gave it out that he was that star which Balaam prophesied 
N●m. 24. 17.  of, which was a Prophecy of Christ; this fellow called himself Ben-chomar, the son of a Star: this man professed himself to be Christ, but he was slain with thunder and lightning from heaven, and then the Jews called him Ben-cosmar, which signifieth the son of a lie. Learned 
Synag. Julaics, cap. 5. & 36.  Buxtorf tells us, that the Jews call Christ Bar-chozabb, the son of a lie, a Bastard; and his Gospel Aven-gelaion, the Volume of lies, or the Volume of iniquity: and hath not God been a revenging this upon them for above this sixteen hundred years. Rabbi Samuel, who long since writ a Tract in form of an Epistle to Rabbi Isaac, Master of the Synagogue of the Jews; wherein he doth excellently discuss the cause of their long Captivity and extreme misery, and after that he had proved it was inflicted for some grievous sin, he showeth that sin to be the same which Amos speaks of. For three transgressions of Israel, and for 
Amos. 2. 6.  four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes: The selling of Joseph he makes the first sin, the worshipping the Calf in Horeb the second sin, the abusing and killing God's Prophets the third sin, and the selling of Jesus Christ the fourth sin: For the first they served four hundred years in Egypt, for the second they wandered forty years in the Wilderness, for the third they were Captives seventy years in Babylon, and for the fourth they are held in pitiful Captivity, even to this very-day. Oh, how severely has God revenged the wrongs and indignities done to Christ the Lord, by this miserable people to this very hour! and yet, Oh, the several ways, wherein this poor people do every day express their malice and hatred against the Lord Jesus! Oh, pray, pray hard, that the veil may be taken away that has been so long before their eyes. Herod imprisons Peter, and killeth 
Act. 12. 1, 2, 3, 4,  James with the sword, this God puts up, but when he comes to usurp the honour due to Christ, he must die 
vers. 23.  for it: Herod might more safely take away the liberty of one, and the life of another, than the glory due to Christ: long before his death, being in chains, he met with a strange Omen; For as he stood bound before the Palace, 
Josephus of the Antiquities of the Jews, lib. 18. pag. 475. 476.  leaning dejectedly upon a tree, among many others that were prisoners with him, an Owl came, and sat down in that Tree to which he leaned; which a Germane seeing, being one of those that stood there bound, he asked who he was that was in the Purple, and leaned there; and understanding who he was, he told him of his enlargement, promotion to honour, and prosperity; and that when he should see that bird again, he should die within five days after. Now when Herod had imprisoned Peter, and slain James with the sword, he went down to Caesarea, and there he made sports and shows in honour of Cesar; and 
Pag. 510. 511.  on the second day being most gorgeously apparelled, and the Sun shining very bright upon his Robe of Silver, his flatterers saluted him for a God, and cried out to him; Be merciful unto us, hitherto have we feared thee as a man, but hence forward we will acknowledge thee to be of a nature more excellent than mortal frailty can attain to: the wretched King reproved not this abominable flattery, but was well pleased with it; and not long after he espied the Owl which the Germane had foretold to be the Omen of his death: And suddenly he was seized with miserable gripe in his belly, which came upon him with vehement extremity; whereupon, turning himself towards his friends; saith, Lo, he whom ye esteem for a God is doomed to die, and destiny shall evidently confute you, in those flattering and false speeches which you lately used concerning me; for I, who have been adored by you as one immortal, am now under the hands of death: and his griefs and torments increasing, his death drew on apace: whereupon he was removed into the Palace, and all the people put on Sackcloth, and lay on the ground, praying for him; which he beholding, could not refrain from tears: and so after five days he gave up the Ghost. Thus you see how dearly they have paid for it, that have not given Christ his due glory; and let these instances of his wrath alarm all your hearts so, that we may make more conscience than ever, of setting the Crown of honour only upon Christ's head, for he only is worthy of all honour, glory and praise, Rev. 14. 10, 11. But,  
Sixthly, Is Jesus Christ God-man? is he very God and very man? then from hence, as in a glass, you may see the true Reasons why the death and sufferings of Christ, though short, very short, yet have a sufficient power and virtue in them to satisfy God's justice, to pacify his wrath, to procure our pardon, and to save our immortal souls, viz. because of the dignity of his person that died and suffered for us; the son of God, yea, God himself: there was an infinite virtue and value in all his sufferings, hence his 
Heb. 9 14. 1 Pet. 1. 19 Acts 20. 28. Gal. 4. 4, 5, 6.  blood is called precious blood, yea the blood of God: did man transgress the Royal Law of God? behold God himself is become a man, to make up that breach, and to 
Rom. 8. 2, 3, 4.  satisfy divine Justice to the uttermost farthing: for the man Christ Jesus to stand before the bar of the Law, and to make full and complete reparation to it, was the highest honour that ever was done to the Law of God: this is infinitely more pleasing and delightful to divine Justice, than if all the curses of the Law had been poured out upon fallen man; and than if the Law had built up its honour upon the destruction of the whole Creation. To see one Sun clouded is much more than to see the Moon and all the Stars in Heaven overcast: Christ considered as God-man was great, very great; and the greater his person was, the greater were his sorrows, his sufferings, his 
Isa. 53.  humiliation, his compassion, his satisfaction to divine Justice; had not Christ been God-man, he could never have been an able surety, he could never have paid our 
Heb. 7. 25.  debts, he could never have satisfied divine Justice, he could never have brought in an everlasting righteousness, 
Dan. 9 24.  he could never have spoiled Principalities and Powers; 
C●l●s. 2. 15.  and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them on the Cross (a plain allusion to the Roman Triumphs; where the Victor ascending up to the Capitol in a Chariot of state, all the prisoners following him on foot with their hands bound behind them, and the Victor commonly threw certain pieces of Coin abroad to be picked up by the common people. So Christ, in the day of his solemn inauguration into his heavenly Kingdom, triumphed over Sin, Death, Devils, and Hell, and gave gifts to men:) and had he not been God-man, he could never have merited for us a glorious Reward. If we consider Christ himself as a mere man (setting aside his Godhead) 
Eph. 4. 8●  he could not merit by his sufferings: for, 1. Christ as he was man only, was a creature; now a mere creature can merit nothing from the Creator. 2. Christ's sufferings, as he was man only, were finite, and therefore could not merit infinite glory: indeed as he was God, his sufferings were meritorious; but consider him purely as man, they were not. This is wisely to be observed against the Papists, who make so great a noise of men's merits; for if Christ's sufferings, as he was mere man, could not merit the least favour from God, then what mortal man is able to merit, at the hand of God, the least of mercies by his greatest sufferings? But,  
Seventhly, Is Jesus Christ God-man? is he very God and very man? then, from hence we may see the greatest pattern of humility and self-denial, that ever was, or will be in this world; that he who was the Lord of glory, that he who was equal with God, that he should 
Phil. 2. 6. John 1. 18.  leave the bosom of his father, which was a bosom of the sweetest loves, and the most ineffable delights, that he should put off all that glory that he had with the father, 
John 17. 5.  before the foundation of the world was laid, that he should so far abase himself as to become man, by taking on him our base, vile nature, that so in this our nature he 
Heb. 2. 10.  might die, suffer, satisfy, and bring many sons to glory: Oh, here, is the greatest humility and abasement that ever was; and oh, that all sincere Christians would endeavour to imitate this matchless example of humility and self denial. Oh, the admirable condescensions of dear Jesus, that he should take our nature, and make us partakers 
2 Pet. 1. 4.  of his divine nature; that he should put on our rags, and put upon us his Royal Robes; that he should 
Rev. 19 7, 8. 2 Cor. 8. 9  make himself poor, that we might be rich; low, that we might be high; accursed, that we might be blessed! 
Gal. 3. 10, 13.  Oh wonderful Love, oh Grace unsearchable! ah Christians, did Christ stoop low? and will your be stout, proud, and high? was he content to be accounted a worm, a wine-bibber, an enemy to Caesar, a friend of Publicans and sinners, a Devil? and must you be all in a flame, when vain men make little account of you? was he willing to be a curse, a reproach for you? and will you shrug, and shrink, and faint, and fret, when you are reproached for his name? did Jesus Christ stoop so low, as 
John 13. 14.  to wash his Disciples feet? and are you so stout and sturdy, that you cannot hear together, nor pray together, nor sit at the table of the Lord together, though you all hope, at last, to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in 
Mat. 8. 11. v.  the Kingdom of Heaven? shall one Heaven hold you at last; and shall not one House, one Bed, one Table, one Church hold you here? Oh, that ever worms should swell with such intolerable pride and stoutness: he who was God-man, was lowly, meek, selfdenying, and of a most condescending spirit; and oh, that all you, who hope for salvation by him, would labour to write after so fair a copy. Bernard calls humility a self-annihilation: The same Author saith that humility is conservatrix virtutum. Thou wilt save the humble, saith Job; in the Hebrew 
Job 22. 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉  it is, him that is of low eyes: an humble Christian hath lower thoughts of himself than others can have of him; Abraham is dust and ashes in his own eyes, Jacob is 
Gen. 18. Gen. 32. 10.  less than the least of all mercies, David, though a great King, yet looks upon himself as a worm; I am a worm, 
Psal. 22. 6.  and no man. The word in the Original, Tolugnath, signifieth a very little worm, which breedeth in Scarlet; a worm that is so little, that a man can hardly see it or perceive it: Oh, how little, how very little was David in his own eyes! and Paul, who was the greatest among the Apostles; yet, in his own eyes, he was less than the 
Eph. 3. 8. See my unsearchabletiches of Christ upon that Text.  least of all Saints. Non sum dignus dici minimus, saith Ignatius, I am not worthy to be called the least: Lord, I am Hell, but thou art Heaven, said blessed Cooper: I am a most hypocritical wretch, not worthy that the earth should bear me, said holy Bradford: Luther, in humility, speaks thus of himself; I have no other name than sinner, sinner is my name, sinner is my surname, this is the name by which I shall be always known; I have sinned, I do sin, I shall sin, in infinitum. Ah, how can proud, stout spirits read these instances, and not blush: certainly the sincere humble Christian is like the Violet, which grows low, hangs the head down, and hides itself with its own leaves; and were it not that the frequent smell of his many virtues discovers him to the world, he would choose to live and die in his self-contenting secrecy. But,  
Eighthly, Is Jesus Christ Godman? is he very God and very man? then hence we may see how to have access to God; namely, by means of Christ's humane nature, which he hath taken upon him, to that very end, that he might in it die and suffer for our sins, and so reconcile 
Rom. 5. 1, 2. Eph. 3. 12.  us to God, and give us access to him, Eph. 2. 18. By him we have access to the father. The word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a leading by the hand, an introduction, an adduction: it is an allusion (saith Estius) to the customs of Princes, 
Eph. 1.  to whom there is no passage, unless we are brought in by one of their Favourites. Though the Persian Kings held it a piece of their silly glory to hold off their best friends, who might not come near them, but upon special licence: yet the great King of Heaven and Earth counts it his glory, to give us free access at all times, in all places, and upon all occasions, by the man Christ Jesus; 1 Tim. 2. 5. There is one mediator between God and us, even the man Christ Jesus. Christ was made true man, that in our nature he might reconcile us to God, and give us access to God, which he could never have done, had he not been very God and very man; without the humane nature of Christ, we could never have had access to God, or fellowship with God; being by nature enemies to God, 
Rom. 5. 10. Eph. 2. 1. 12, 13, 14.  and estranged from God, and dead in trespasses and sins. 'Tis only by the mediation of Christ incarnate, that we come to be reconciled to God, to have access to him, and 
1 John 1. 1, 2, 3.  acceptance with him; in Christ's humane nature God and we meet together, and have fellowship together. It could never stand with the unspotted holiness and justice of God, who is a consuming fire; to honour us with one 
Heb. 12. 29.  cast of his countenance, or one hours' communion with himself, were it not upon the account of the man Christ Jesus; the least serious thought of God out of Christ, will breed nothing in the soul, but horror and amazement; which made Luther say, Nolo Deum absolutum, let me have nothing to do with an absolute God. Believers have free and blessed access to God, but still 'tis upon the credit of the man Christ Jesus; Let us come boldly to the throne 
Heb. 4. 15. 16.  of Grace (saith the Apostle, speaking of Christ) that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need the Apostles phrase is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, a word which signifies liberty of speech, and boldness of face; as when a man with a bold and undaunted spirit, utters his mind before the great ones of the world without blushing, without weakness of heart, without shaking of his voice, without imperfection and faltering in speech, when neither Majesty nor Authority can take off his courage, so as to stop his mouth, and make him afraid to speak; with such heroic and undaunted spirits would the Apostle have us to come to the Throne of Grace, and all upon the credit of Christ our High Priest, who is God-man. But,  
Ninthly, Is Jesus Christ God-man, is he very God and 
9 Ezek. 35. 10, 11, 12, 13. Isa. 37. 23, 24.  very man? then you may be very confident of his sympathising with you in all your afflictions, than this may serve as a foundation to support you under all your troubles, and as a Cordial to comfort you under all your afflictions, in that Christ partaking of the same nature, and having had experience of the infirmities of it, he is the more able and willing to help and secure us; Heb. 2. 17. wherefore 
As the Brazen Serpent was like the fiery serpent, but had no sting.  in all things it behoveth him to be like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people: so, Heb. 4. 15. If one come to visit a man that is sick of a grievous disease, who hath himself been formerly troubled with the same disease, he will sympathise more, and show more compassion than twenty others, who have not felt the like: so here, from Christ's sufferings in his humane nature, we may safely gather, that he will show himself a merciful high Priest to us in our sufferings, and one that will be ready to help and secure us in all our afflictions and miseries, which we suffer in this life, in as much as himself had experience of suffering the like in our nature; for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to secure them that are tempted: and this should be a staff to support us, and a cordial to comfort us in all our sorrows and miseries. It is between Christ and his Church, as it is between two lute strings that are tuned one to another; no sooner is one struck, 
If weperish Christ persheth with us, Lu●her.  but the other trembles; Isa. 63. 9 In all their afflictions he was afflicted: These words may be read interrogatively, thus, was he in all their afflictions afflicted? Christ took to heart the afflictions of his Church, he was himself grieved for them, and with them. The Lord, the better to allure and draw his people to himself, speaks after the manner of men; attributing to himself all the affection, love, and fatherly compassion, that can possibly be in them, to men in misery: Christ did so sympathise with his people in all their afflictions and sufferings, as if he himself had felt the weight, the smart, the pain of them all; he was in all things made like unto his brethren; not only in nature, but also in infirmities, and sufferings, and by all manner of temptations, that thereby he might be able (experimentally) to secure them that are tempted: he 
Zech. 2. 8. Ishon of Ish, It is here called Bath, the daughter of the eye, because it is as dear to a man as his only daughter. Act. 9 4. Mat. 25. 35, 36.  that toucheth them, toucheth not only his eye, but the apple of his eye, which is the tenderest piece of the tenderest part; to express the inexpressible tenderness of Christ's compassion towards them: let persecutors take heed how they meddle with God's eyes, for he will retaliate eye for eye, Exod. 21. 24. he is wise in heart, and mighty in strength, and sinners shall one day pay dear for touching the apple of his eye. Christ counts himself persecuted when his Church is persecuted; Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me: And he looks upon himself as hungry, thirsty, naked, and in prison, when his members are so; so greatly does he sympathise with them: hence the afflictions of Christians are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the remainders of the afflictions of Christ: such as Christ, by his fellow-feeling, suffereth in his members, and as they by correspondency are to fill up, as exercises and trials of their faith and patience, Christ gave many evidences of his sympathy, or fellow-feeling of our infirmities when he was on earth; as he groaned in his spirit, 
John, 11. 33.  and was troubled; when he saw those that wept for Lazarus, 
vers. 35. Luk. 19 41.  he wept also; as he did over Jerusalem also: It is often observed in the Gospel, that Christ was moved with compassion; and that he frequently put forth acts of pity, mercy, and secure to those that were in any distress, either in body or soul. Christ retaineth this sympathy and fellow-feeling with us, now he is in Heaven; and doth so far commiserate our distresses, as may stand with a glorified condition: Jesus Christ grieves for the afflictions of his people; the angel of the Lord answered and 
Zach. 1. 12.  said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem; the Angel here is that Jesus, who is our Advocate 
1 John 2. 1, 2.  with the father, he speaks as one intimately affected with the state and condition of poor Jerusalem: Christ plays the Advocate for his suffering people; and feelingly pleads for them, he being afflicted in all their afflictions, it moved him to observe, that God's enemies were in a better case than his people; and this put him upon that passionate expostulation, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem. Alexander the great applied his Crown to the soldier's forehead that had received a wound for him: and Constantine the great kissed the hollow of Paphnutius eye, that he had lost for Christ: what an honour was it to the soldier and to Paphnutius, that these great men should have fellow-feeling of their sufferings, and sympathise with them in their sorrows? but, oh then, what an honour is it to such poor worms as we are, that Jesus Christ, who is Godman, who is the Prince of the Kings of the earth, that he should have a fellow-feeling 
Rev. 1. 5.  of all our miseries, and sympathise with us in all our troubles! But,  
Tenthly, Is Jesus Christ God-man, is he very God and very man? then, from hence you may see the excellency of Christ above man, above all other men, yea, above Adam in innocency. Christ, as man, was perfect in all graces, Isa. 11. 1, 2. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots; and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. God gave the spirit of wisdom to him not by measure; and 
Joh. 3. 34. Luk. 2. 46, 47.  therefore, at twelve years of age you find him in the Sanedrim, disputing with the Doctors, and ask them questions, 1 John, 16. and of his fullness have all we received grace for grace; Col. 1. 19 for it pleased the father, that in him should all fullness dwell; cap. 2. 3. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The state of innocency was an excellent estate, it was an estate of 
Gen. 1. 27. Eph. 4. 22, 23, 24.  perfect holiness and righteousness, by his holiness he was carried out to know the Lord, to love the Lord, to delight in the Lord, to fear the Lord, and to take him as his chiefest good. A legal holiness consists in an exact, perfect, and complete conformity in heart and life, to the whole revealed will of God; and this was the holiness that Adam had in his innocency, and this holiness was immediately derived from God, and was perfect: Adam's holiness was as co-natural to him, as unholiness is now to us; Adam's holiness was as natural, and as pleasing, and as delightful to him, as any way of unholiness can be natural, pleasing, and delightful to us, The estate of innocency was an estate of perfect wisdom, knowledge and understanding; witness the names that Adam gave to 
Gen. 2. 20.  all the creatures, suitable and apposite to their natures; The estate of innocency was an estate of great honour and dignity: David brings in Adam in his innocent estate with a Crown upon his head, and that Crown was a Crown of glory and honour; thou hast crowned him with glory and 
Psal. 8. 5.  honour, his place was little lower than the Angels, but far above all other creatures, The estate of innocency, it was an estate of great Dominion and Authority, man being made the Sovereign Lord of the whole Creation: 
Psal. 8. 6, 7, 8.  we need not stand to enlarge upon one parcel of his demesns; namely, that which they call Paradise, sigh the 
Gen. 1. 26.  whole both of Sea and Land, and all the creatures in both, were his Possession, his Paradise: certainly man's first estate was a state of perfect and complete happiness; there being nothing within him, but what was desirable; nothing without him, but what was amiable; and nothing about him, but what was serviceable and comfortable: and yet Jesus Christ, who is God-man, is infinitely more glorious and excellent than ever Adam was; for Adam was set in a mutable condition, but Christ is the Rock of Ages, he is steadfast, and abiding for ever; he is yesterday, 
Heb. 13. 8.  and to day, and the same for ever; he is the same afore time, in time, and after time; he is the same, that is, unchangeable in his Essence, Promises, and Doctrine; Christ is the same in respect of virtue, and the faith of believers; even his Manhood, before it was in being, was clothed with perfection of grace, and so continueth for ever. And again, Adam was a mere man, and alone by himself; but in Christ the humane nature was hypostatically united unto the divine; and hence it comes to pass, that Christ, even as man, had a greater measure of knowledge and revelation of Grace, and heavenly gifts, than ever Adam had. The Apostle tells us, that in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, bodily, that is essentially; that is, not by a naked and bare communicating of virtue, as God is said to dwell in his Saints; but by a substantial union of the two natures, divine and humane, the eternal word and the man, consisting of soul and body, whereby they become one, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, one person, one subsistence. Now from this admirable and wonderful union of the two natures in Christ, there flows to the Manhood of Christ a plenitude and fullness of all spiritual Wisdom and Grace, such as was never found in any mere man, no, not in Adam whilst he stood in his integrity and uprightness. But,  
Eleventhly, Is Jesus Christ God man? is he very God and very man? then this truth looks very sowrly and frowningly upon all such as deny the Godhead of Christ; as Arrians, Turks, Jews; how many be there in this City, in this Nation, who stiffly deny the Divinity of Christ, and dispute against it, and write against it, and blaspheme that great truth, without which, I think, a man may safely say, there is no possibility of salvation. In ancient times, near unto the Age of the Apostles, this Doctrine of Christ's Godhead, and Eternal Generation from the father, was greatly opposed by sundry wicked and blasphemous Heretics, as Ebion, Cerinthus, Arrius, &c, who stirred up great troubles, and bloody Persecutions against the Church: for maintaining this great truth of Christ's Godhead, they asserted that Christ had no true flesh; 'twas only the likeness of flesh which he appeared in, and that his body was only a fantastic imaginary body; but had the body of Christ been only such a body; then his conception, nativity, death, resurrection, are all too, but imaginary things; and then, his sufferings and crucifiction are but mere fancies too; and if so, then what would become of us, what would become of our salvation; then our faith would be in vain, and our hope would be in vain, and our hearing, preaching, praying, and receiving, would all be in vain; yea, than all our Religion would vanish into a more fancy also: when a man's conscience is awakened to see his sin and misery. and he shall find guilt to lay like a load upon his soul, and when he shall see that divine justice is to be satisfied, and divine wrath to be pacified, and the curse to be born, and the Law to be fulfilled, and his nature to be renewed, his heart to be changed, and his sins to be pardoned, or ●ls● his soul can never be saved: how can such a person venture his soul, his all, upon one that is but a more crcature? certainly, a mere man is no Rock, no City of refuge, and no sure foundation for a man to build his faith and hope upon, woe to that man, that ever he was born, that has no Jesus, but a Socinian's Jesus to rest upon: oh, 'tis sad trusting to one, who is man, but not God; flesh, but not spirit: as you love the eternal safety of your precious souls, and would be happy for ever; as you would escape Hell, and get to Heaven, lean on none, rest on none, but that Jesus who is God-man, who is very God and very man. Apollinaris held, that Christ took not the whole nature of man, but a humane body only, without a soul, and that the Godhead was instead of a soul to the Manhood. Also Eutyches, who confounded the two natures of Christ, and their properties, etc. Also Apelles and the Manichees, who denied the true humane body; and held him to have an aerial or imaginary body. Though the popular sort deified Alexander the great; yet, having 
Plutarch, in vita.  got a clap with an Arrow, he said, ye style me Jupiter's son, as if immortal; sed hoc vulnus clamat esse hominem; this blood that issues from the wound proves me in the issue, a man: this is, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the blood of man, not of God, and smelling the stench of his own flesh, he asked his flatterers if the God's yielded such a scent: so may it be said of Jesus Christ our Saviour, though Myriad of Angels and Saints acclaim he is a God, ergo, immortal; and a crew of Heretics disclaim him to be man, as the Marcionites averred that he had a fantastical body, and Apelles, who conceived that he had a  substance, yet the streams of blood following the arrow of death, that struck him, makes it good, that he was perfect man; of a reasonable soul and humane flesh subsisting. And as this truth looks sourly upon the above mentioned persons, so it looks sourly upon the Papists; who, by their Doctrine of the real presence of Christ's body in the Sacrament, do overthrow one of the properties of his humane nature, which is to be but in one place present at once. This truth also looks sourly upon the Lutherans or Ubiquitaries, who teach, that Christ's humane nature is in all places by virtue of the personal union, etc. I wonder that of all the old Errors, swept down into this latter Age, as into a sink of time, this of the Socinians and Arrians should be held forth among the rest: O sirs, beware of their Doctrines, eat their meetings, and persons that come to you with the denial of the Divinity of Christ in their mouths: this was John's Doctrine and Practice. Irenaeus saith, that after he was returned from his banishment, and came to Ephesus, he came to bathe himself, and in the bath he found Cerinthus, that said, Christ had no being, till he received it from the Virgin Mary; upon the sight of whom, John skipped out of the Bath, and called his companions from thence; saying, let us go from this place, lest the Bath should fall down upon us, because Cerinthus is in it, that is so great an enemy to God. ye see his Doctrine, see his words too, 2 John, 10, 11. If any come to you, having not this doctrine receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed, is partaker of his evil deeds. What that Doctrine was, if you cast your eye upon the Scripture, you shall find it to be the Doctrine of the Divinity of Christ: show no love where you own nothing but hatred; I hate every 
Psal. 119. 113.  false way, saith David: And, I shall look upon Auxentius as upon a Devil, so long as he is an Arrian, said Hilarius. We must show no countenance, nor give no encouragement to such as deny, either ●ne divinity or humanity of Christ.  
I have been the longer upon the Divinity and humanity of Christ. 1. Because the times we live in require it. 2. That poor weak staggering Christians may be strengthened, established, and settled in the truth, as it is in Jesus. 3. That I may give in my testimony and witness against all those who are poisoned and corrupted with Socinian and Arrian Principles, which destroy the souls of men. 4. That those, in whose hands this book may fall, may be the better furnished to make head against men of corrupt minds; who, by slight of hand, and cunning craftiness, lie in wait to deceive, Eph. 4. 14.  
Sixthly, As he that did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a hellish manner, was God-man; so the punishments that Christ did sustain for us, must be referred only to the substance, and not unto the circumstances of punishment. The punishment which Christ endured, if it be considered in its substance, kind, or nature; so 'twas the same with what the sinner himself should have undergone. Now the punishment due to the sinner was death, the curse of the Law, etc. now this Christ underwent, for he was made a curse for us: 
Gal. 3. 13.  but if you consider the punishment which Christ endured, with respect to certain circumstances, adjuncts, and accidents, as the eternity of it, desperation going along with it, etc. then, I say, it was not the same, but equivalent: 
Whether the work of man's redemption could have been wrought without the sufferings and humiliation of Christ, is not determinable by men; but that it was the most admirable way, which wisdom, justice, and mercy, could require, cannot be denied.  And the reason is, because, though the enduring of the punishments, as to the substance of them, could, and did agree with him as a surety, yet the circumstances of those punishments could not have befallen him, unless he had been a sinner; and therefore, every inordination in suffering was far from Christ, and a perpetual duration of suffering could not befall him; for the first of these had been contrary to the holiness and dignity of his person, and the other had made void the end of his suretyship and Mediatorship; which was so to suffer, as yet to conquer, and to deliver, and therefore, though he did suffer death for us (in the substance of it) yet he neither did nor could suffer death in the circumstances of it, so as for ever to be held by death; for then, in suffering death, he should not have conquered death, nor delivered us from death; neither was it necessary to Christ's substitution, that he should undergo, in every respect, the same punishment which the offender himself was liable unto: but if he underwent so much punishment as did satisfy the Law, and vindicate the Lawgiver, in his holiness, truth, justice, and righteousness, that was enough. Now, that was unquestionably done by Christ, as the Scriptures do abundantly testify. It must be readily granted, that Christ was to suffer the whole punishment due unto sin, so far as it became the dignity of his person, and the necessity of the work; but if he had suffered eternally, the work of Redemption could never have been accomplished; and besides, he should have suffered that which could no ways beseem him. And therefore the Apostle saith, Heb. 2. 10. It became him to be consecrated through sufferings: Christ was only to pass through such sufferings as became him, who was ordained to be the Prince and Captain of our salvation. It became him to be man, and it became him in our humane nature to suffer death, and it became him to sustain for us the substance of those punishments that we should have undergone; and accordingly, he did: what our sins did deserve, and what justice might lay upon us for those sins, all that did Christ certainly suffer or bear: Jesus Christ did so suffer for our sins, as that his sufferings were fully answerable to the demerit of our sins. And I think I may safely say, that God, in justice, could not require any more, or lay on any one more punishment than Jesus Christ did suffer for our sins: and my reason is this, because Christ bore all our sins and all our sorrows, and was obedient unto the death, and made a 
Isa. 53. Gal. 3. 13.  curse for us; and more than this, the Law of God could not require: and if Christ did suffer all that the Law of God required, then certainly he suffeed so much as did satisfy the justice of God: viz. as much punishment as was commensurated with sin. But,  
Seventhly and lastly, the meritorious cause, the main 
7. Isa. 53. 4, 5. There were other subordinate ends of his sufferings; as, 1. To sanctify sufferings to us. 2. To sweeten sufferings to us. 3. To secure us experimentally under all our sufferings, Heb. 2. 17, 18. 4. That he might be prepared to enter into his glory, Luk. 24. 26 5. That he might be a Conqueror over sufferings, which was one piece of his greatest glory, etc.  end, and the special occasion of all the sufferings of Christ, were the sins of his people: Christ was our surety, and he could not satisfy for our sins, nor reconcile us to God without suffering, Isa. 53. 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions; the Hebrew word for wounded, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, hath a double Emphasis; either it may signify that he was pierced through as with a dart, or that he was tormented or pained, as women or other creatures are wont to be that bring forth with pain and torment, at the time of their travail: for the word in the Text last cited, comes regularly from a root that signifies properly to be in pain, as women are when they bring forth. It was our transgressions that gave Christ his deadly wounds, it was our sins that smote him, and bruised him. Look as Zippora said to Moses, Exod. 4. 25. Surely, a bloody husband art thou to me; so may Christ say to his Church, surely a bloody spouse hast thou been to me; Christ's spouse may look upon him, and say, It was I that have been that Judas, that have betrayed thee, it was I that was the soldiers that murdered thee, It was my sins that brought all sorrows and sufferings, all mischiefs and evils upon thee: I have sinned, and thou hast suffered: I have eaten the sour Grapes, and thy teeth were set on edge: I have sinned, and thou hast died: I have wounded thee, and thou hast healed me. It is the wisdom, and oh, that it might be more and more, the work of every believer, to look upon an humble Christ with an humble heart, a broken Christ with a broken heart, a bleeding Christ with a bleeding heart, a wounded Christ with a wounded heart; according to that, Zech. 12. 10. Christ was wounded, bruised, and cut off for sinners sins. When Christ was taken by the soldiers, he said, If ye seek me, let these go their way: Christ was willing, that the hurt which sinners had done to God, and the debt which they owed to him, should be set upon his score, and put upon his account: and the Apostle mentions it as a remarkable thing, That Christ died for the ungodly, Rom. 5. 8. The just for the unjust, 1 Pet. 3. 18. our sins were the meritorious cause of Christ's sufferings; Christ did not suffer for himself, for 
Heb. 4. 15. cap. 7. 26.  he was without sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. The grand design, errand and business about which Christ came into the world, was to save sinners: He had his 
1 Tim. 1. 15. Mat. 1. 21.  name Jesus, because he was to save is people from their sins: he died for our sins; not only for our good, as the final cause; but for our sins, as the procuring cause of his death. He was delivered for our offences, Christ died 
Rom. 4. 25. 1 Cor. 15. 3.  for our sins according to the scriptures: that is, according to what was typified, prophesied, and promised in the blessed Scriptures, Gal. 1. 4. He gave himself for our sins; 1 Pet. 2. 24. Who his own self bore our sins in his own body upon the tree: by whose stripes ye were healed, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. The whole Testament hath not the like two relatives at once in the original, as if I should say, by whose stripes of his, we are healed. Peter (saith Estius) alludes to the stripes that servants receive from their cruel masters: therefore he return to the second person, ye are healed: here you see that the Physician's blood became the sick man's salve, we can hardly believe the power of sword-salve. But here is a mystery, that only the Gospel can assure us of, that the wounding of one should be the cure of another: Oh, what an odious thing is sin to God, that he will pardon none without blood, yea, without the blood of his dearest son! Oh, what a Hell of wickedness 
Heb. 9 22. 1 Pet. 1. 18, 19  must there be in sin, that nothing can expiate it, but the best, the purest, the noblest blood that ever run in veins! Oh, what a transcendent evil must sin be, that nothing can purge it away but death, but the death of the Cross, no death but an accursed death! Oh, what a Leprosy is sin, that it must have blood, yea, the blood of God to take it away!  
Now, thus you have seen, 1. That the sufferings of Christ have been free and voluntary, and not constrained or forced. 2. That they have been very great and heinous. 3. That the punishments which Christ did suffer for our sins, were in their parts, and kinds, and degrees, and proportion, all those punishments which were due unto us by reason of our sins; and which we ourselves should otherwise have suffered. 4. That Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very torments of Hell, though not after a hellish manner. 5. That he that did feel and suffer the torments of hell, though not after a hollish manner, was God-man. 6. That the punishments that Christ did sustain for us, must be referred only to the substance, and not to the circumstances of punishment. 7. That the meritorious cause of all the sufferings of Christ, were the sins of his people. Now, to that great question of giving up your account at last, according to the import of 
Eccles. 11. 9 cap. 12. 14. Mat. 12. 14. cap. 18. 23. Luk. 16. 3. Ram. 14. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 9 27. cap. 13. 17. 1 Pet. 4. 7.  those ten Scriptures in the margin; you may in the fourth place, make this safe, noble, and happy plea; Oh blessed God, Jesus Christ hath suffered all those things that were due unto me for my sin; he hath suffered even to the worst and uttermost; for all that the Law threatened was a curse, and Christ was made a curse for me, Gal. 3. 13. he knew no sin, but was made sin for me; 2 Cor. 5. 21. and what Christ suffered, he suffered as my surety, and in my stead; and therefore, what he suffered for me, is as if I had suffered all that myself; and his sufferings hath appeased thy wrath, and satisfied thy justice, and reconciled thee to myself. For God was in Christ, reconciling the 
2 Cor. 5. 19  world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. And he hath reconciled both (Jews and Gentiles) unto God, in one body, on the Cross; having slain enmity thereby: Jesus Christ took upon him all my sins; they were all of them laid upon him, and he bare or suffered all the wrath and punishment due for them, and he suffered all as my surety, in my stead, and for my good; and thou didst design him for all this, and accepted of its sufficient and effectual on my behalf. Oh, with what comfort, courage, and confidence, may a believer, upon these considerations, hold up his head in the great day of his account.  
Let me now make a few inferences from the consideration of all the great and grievous sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ: and therefore!  
First, Let us stand still, and admire and wonder at the love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners; that Christ should rather die for us, than the Angels; they were creatures of a more noble extract; and, in all probability, might have brought greater revenues of glory to God: yet, that Christ should pass by those golden vessels, and make us vessels of glory, Oh, what amazing and astonishing love is this! 
This is the envy of Devils, and the admiration of Angels and Saints.  The Angels were more honourable and excellent creatures than we; they were celestial spirits, we earthly bodies, dust and ashes; they were immediate attendants upon God, they were, as I may say, of his privy chamber; we servants of his in the lower house of this world, farther remote from his glorious presence; their office was to sing Hallelujahs, Songs of praise to God in the heavenly Paradise, ours to dress the Garden of Eden, which was but an earthly Paradise; they sinned but once, and but in thought (as is commonly thought,) but Adam sinned in thought, by lusting, in deed, by tasting, and in word, by excusing: why did not Christ suffer for their sins, as well as for ours? or if for any, why not for theirs rather than ours? Even so, O Father, for so it pleased thee. We move this question, not as being curious to search thy secret counsels, O Lord, but that we may be the more swallowed 
Mat. 11. 26.  up in the admiration of the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. The Apostle, being in a holy admiration of 
Eph. 3. 18. 19  Christ's love, affirms it to pass knowledge; that God, who is the eternal Being, should love man when he had scarce 
Prov. 8. 30, 31.  a Being, that he should be enamoured with deformity, that he should love us when in our blood, that he should pity us when no eye pitied us, no, not our own: Oh, such was Christ's transcendent love, that man's extreme 
Ezek. 16.  misery could not abate it; the deploredness of man's condition did but heighten the holy flame of Christ's love; 'tis as high as Heaven, who can reach it? 'tis as low as Hell, who can understand it? Heaven (through its glory) could not contain him (man being miserable) nor Hell's torments make him refrain, such was his perfect matchless love to fallen man: that Christ's love should extend to the ungodly, to sinners, to enemies that were in arms of rebellion against him; yea, not only so, but 
Rom. 5. 6, 8, 10.  that he should hug them in his arms lodge them in his bosom, dandle them upon his knees, and lie them to his breasts, that they may suck and be satisfied, is the highest improvement of love. That Christ should come from the 
Isa. 66. 11, 12, 13.  eternal bosom of his father, to a Region of sorrow and 
John 1. 18. Isa. 53. 4. 1 Tim. 3. 16. John 17. 5. Mat. 25.  death; that God should be manifested in the flesh, the Creator made a creature; that he that was clothed with glory, should be wrapped with rags of flesh; that he that filled Heaven, should be cradled in a manger; that the God of Israel should fly into Egypt, that the God of strength, should be weary; that the judge of all flesh should be condemned; that the God of life should be put to death; that he that is one with his father, should cry out 
John 19 41.  of misery, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; that he that had the keys of hell and death, 
Mat. 26. 39 Rev. 1. 18. John 19 41, 42.  should lie imprisoned in the Sepulchre of another, having, in his life time, no where to lay his head; nor after death, to lay his body; and all this for man, for fallen man, for miserable man, for worthless man, is beyond the thoughts of created natures. The sharp, the universal and continual sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, from the cradle to the cross, does above all other things speak out the transcendent love of Jesus Christ to poor sinners: That wrath, that great wrath, that fierce wrath, that pure wrath, that infinite wrath, that matchless wrath of an angry God, that was so terribly impressed upon the Soul of Christ, quickly spent his natural strength, and turned his moisture into the 
Psal. 32. 4.  drought of summer; and yet all this wrath he patiently underwent, that Sinners might be saved, and that he 
Heb. 2. 10.  might bring many sons unto glory. O wonder of love! Love is passive, it enables to suffer: The Curtij laid down their lives for the Romans, because they loved them; so 'twas love that made our dear Lord Jesus lay down his life, to save us from hell and to bring us to heaven. As the Pelican, out of their love to her young ones, when they are bitten with Serpents, feeds them with her own blood, 
Gen. 3. 15.  to recover them again; so when we were bitten by the old Serpent, and our wound incurable, and we in danger of eternal death, than did our dear Lord Jesus, that he might recover us and heal us, feed us with his own 
Jeh. 6. 53. 54, 55, 56. Dilexisti me Demine magis. quàm teipsum, Bern.  blood: O love unspeakable! This made one cry out, Lord thou hast loved me more than thyself; for thou hast laid down thy life for me. It was only the golden link of love that fastened Christ to the Cross, and 
Joh. 10. 17.  that made him die freely for us, and that made him willing to be numbered among transgressors, that we might 
Isa. 53. 12.  be numbered among general assemby and church of the 
Heb. 12. 23.  first born, which are written in heaven. If Jonathan's 
2 Sam. 1. 26.  love to David was wonderful, how wonderful must the 
Heb. 10. 10.  love of Christ be to us, which led him by the hand to make himself an offering for us, which Jonathan never did for David: for though Jonathan loved David's life and safety well, yet he loved his own better; for when his father cast a javelin at him to smite him, he flies 
1 Sam. 10. 33, 34, 35.  for it, and would not abide his father's fury, being very willing to sleep in a whole skin, notwithstanding his wonderful love to David; making good the Philosopher's notion, that Man is a life-lover. Christ's love is like his name, and that is wonderful, yea it is so wonderful, that 
Isa. 9 6.  it is supra omnem creaturam, ultra omnem mensuram, contra omnem naturam, above all creatures, beyond allmeasure, contrary to all nature. 'Tis above all Creatures, for it is above the Angels, and therefore above all others: 'Tis beyond all Measure, for time did not begin it, and time shall never end it; place doth not bound it, sin doth not exceed it, no estate, no age, no sex is denied it, tongues cannot express it, understandings cannot conceive it: and 'tis contrary to all Nature; for what nature can love where it is hated? what nature can forgive, where it is provoked? what nature can offer reconcilement where it receiveth wrong? what nature can heap up kindness upon contempt, favour upon ingratitude, mercy upon sin? and yet Christ's love hath led him to all this; so that well may we spend all our days in admiring and adoring of this wonderful love, and be always ravished with the thoughts of it. But  
Secondly, Then look that ye love the Lord Jesus Christ with a superlative love, with an over-topping love; there are none have suffered so much for you as Christ, there are none that can suffer so much for you as Christ: the least measure of that wrath that Christ hath sustained for you, would have broke the hearts, necks and backs of all created Being's. O my friends! there is no love but a superlative love that is any ways suitable to the transcendent sufferings of dear Jesus: O love him above your lusts, love him above your relations, love him above the world, love him above all your outward contentments and enjoyments; yea love him above your very lives: for thus the Patriarches, Ptophets, Apostles, Saints, Primitive Christians and the Martyrs of old have loved 
Act. 20. 24. cap. 21. 12, 13. 2 Cor. 1. 8, 9, 10. cap. 4. 11. cap. 11. 23. Heb. 11. 36, 37, 38, 39  our Lord Jesus Christ with an over-topping love, Rev 12. 11. They loved not their lives unto the death, that is, they slighted, contemned, yea despised their lives, exposing them to hazard and loss, out of love to the Lamb, who had washed them in his blood. I have read of one Kilian a Dutch Scholmaster, who being asked whether he did not love his wife and Children, answered, Were all the world a lump of gold, and in my hands to dispose of, I would leave it at my enemy's feet to live with them in a prison; but my Soul and my Saviour are dearer to me than all. If my father (saith Jerom) should stand 
Hieron. ad Heliodor. epist. 1.  before me, and my mother hang upon, and my brethren should press about me, I would break through my brethren, throw down my father, and tread underfoot my mother, to cleave to Jesus Christ. Had I ten heads, 
Cere non amaut illi Christum, qui ali quid plusqe, am ●●ristum amant, Aug. de resurr. hay do n●t l●ve Christ, who love any thing more than Christ.  said Henry Voes, they should all off for Christ. If every hair of my head (said John Ardley Martyr) were a man, they should all suffer for the Faith of Christ. Let fire, racks, pulleys (said Ignatius) and all the torments of Hell come upon me, so I may win Christ. Love made Hierom to say, O my Saviour, didst thou die for love of me? a love more dolorous than death; but to 
The more Christ hath suffered for us, the dearer Christ should be ●nto us: the greater and the bitterer Christ's sufferings have been for us, the greater and the sweeter should our love be to him.  me a death more lovely than love itself; I cannot live, love thee, and be longer from thee. George Carpenter being asked whether he did not love his wife and children, which stood weeping before him, answered, My wife and children; my wife and children are dearer to me than all Bavaria, yet for the love of Christ I know them not. That blessed Virgin in Basil, being condemned for Christianity to the fire, and having her estate and life offered her if she would worship Idols, cried out, Let money perish, and life vanish, Christ is better than all. Sufferings for Christ, are the Saints greatest glory; they are those things wherein they have most gloried: Crudelitas vestra, gloria nostra, your cruelty is our glory, saith Tertullian. It is reported of Babylas, that when he was to die for Christ, he desired this favour, that his Chains might be buried with him, as the ensigns of his honour. Thus you see with what a superlative love, with what an over-topping love, former Saints have loved our Lord Jesus; and can you Christians, who are cold and low in your love to Christ, read over these instances, and not blush? Certainly the more Christ hath suffered for us, the more dear Christ should be unto us; the more bitter his sufferings have been for us, the more sweet his love should be to us, and the more eminent should be our love to him: O let a suffering Christ lie nearest your hearts; let him be your Manna, your Tree of Life, your Morningstar: 'tis better to part with all than with this Pearl of price. Christ is that golden pipe through which the golden oil of salvation runs; and oh how should this inflame our love to Christ! Oh that our hearts were more affected with the sufferings of Christ! Who can tread upon these hot coals, and his 
Can. 8. 7, 8.  heart not burn in love to Christ, and cry out with Ignatius, Christ my love is crucified? If a friend should die 
Joh. 10. 17, 18.  for us, how would our hearts be affected with his kindness! and shall the God of Glory lay down his life for us, and shall we not be affected with his goodness? Shall Saul be affected with David's kindness in sparing his life, 
1 Sam. 24. 16.  and shall not we be affected with Christ's kindness, who 
Joh. 1. 18.  to save our life, lost his own? O the infinite love of Christ, that he should leave his Father's bosom, and come down 
Joh. 14. 1, 2, 3, 4.  from heaven, that he might carry you up to heaven; that he that was a Son should take upon him the form of a 
Phil. 2. 5, 6, 7, 8.  servant, that you of slaves should be made Sons, of enemies should be made friends, of heirs of wrath should 
Rom. 8. 17.  be made heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; that to save us from everlasting ruin, Christ should stick at nothing, but be willing to be made flesh, to lie in a manger, to be tempted, deserted, persecuted, and to die upon a Cross! O what flames of love should these things kindle in all our hearts to Christ! Love is compared to fire; in heaping love upon our enemy, we heap coals of 
R●m. 12. 19, 20. Prov. 26. 21.  fire upon his head: now the property of fire is to turn all it meets with into its own nature, fire maketh all things fire, the coal maketh burning coals; and is it not a wonder then, that Christ having heaped abundance of the fiery coals of his love upon our heads, we should yet be but key-cold in our love to him. Ah what sad metal are we made of, that Christ's fiery love cannot inflame our love to Christ! Moses wondered why the Bush 
Exod. 3. 3.  consumed not, when he see it all on fire; but if you please but to look into your own hearts, you shall see a greater wonder; for you shall see that though you walk (like those three Children in the fiery furnace) even in the 
Dan. 3.  midst of Christ's fiery love, flaming round about you; yet there is but little, very little true smell of that sweet fire of love to be felt or found upon you, or in you: Oh when shall the sufferings of a dear and tenderhearted Saviour kindle such a flame of love in all our hearts, as shall still be a breaking forth in our lips and lives, in our words and ways, to the praise and glory of free Grace? 
Cant. 2. 5.  O that the sufferings of a loving Jesus might at last make us all sick of love! O let him for ever lie betwixt our 
Cant. 1. 13.  breasts, who hath left his Father's bosom for a time, that he might be enbosomed by us for ever. But  
Thirdly, Then in the sufferings of Christ, as in a Gospel-glass, you may see the odious nature of Sin, and accordingly learn to hate it, arm against it, turn from it, and subdue it: Sin never appears so odious as when we 
Psal. 119. 104, 113, 128. Rom. 7. 15. cap. 12. 9  behold it in the ●ed Glass of Christ's sufferings. Can we look upon sin, as the occasion of all Christ's sufferings; can we look upon sin, as that which made Christ a curse, and that made him forsaken of his Father, and that made him live such a miserable life, and that brought him to die such a shameful, painful and cruel death, and our hearts not rise against it? Shall our sins be grievous unto Christ, and shall they not be odious unto us? shall he die for our sins, and shall not we die to our sins? did not he therefore suffer for sin, that we might cease from sin? did not he bear our sins in his own body on the tree, 
1 Pet. 4. 1.  that we being dead to sin, should live to righteousness? If 
1 Pet. 2. 24.  one should kill our father, would we hug and embrace him as our father? no, we would be revenged on him: Sin hath killed our Saviour, and shall we not be revenged on it. Can a man look upon that Snake that hath stung his dearly beloved spouse to death, and preserve it alive, warm it at the fire, and hug it in his bosom, and not rather stab it with a thousand wounds? 'Tis sin that hath stung our dear Jesus to death, that has crucified our Lord, clouded his glory, and shed his precious blood, and oh how should this stir up our indignation against it: ah how can a Christian make much of those sins that killed his dear Lord! how can he cherish those sins that betrayed Christ, and apprehended Christ, and bound Christ, and condemned Christ, and scourged Christ, and that violently drew him to the Cross and there murdered him! It was neither Judas, nor Pilate, nor the Jews, nor the Soldiers, that could have done our Lord Jesus the least hurt, had not our sins, like so many Butchers and Hangmen, come in to their assistance. After Julius Caesar was treacherously murdered in the Senate-house, Antonius brought forth his Coat, all bloody, cut and mangled, and laying it open to the view of the people, said, Look, here is your Emperor's coat, and as the bloody conspirators have dealt by it, so have they dealt with Caesar's body; whereupon the people were all in an uproar, and nothing would satisfy them but the death of the murderers, and they run to the houses of the conspirators, and burned them down to the ground: But what was Caesar's coat, and Caesar's body, to the body of our dear Lord Jesus, which was all bloody, rend and torn for our sins? Ah, how should this provoke us to be revenged on our sins! how should we for ever loath and abhor them! how should our fury be whetted against them! how should we labour with all our might to be the death of those sins, that have been the death of so great a Lord, and will, if not prevented, be the death of our Souls to all eternity. To see God thrust the sword of his pure, infinite and incensed wrath, through the very heart of his dearest Son, notwithstanding all his supplications, prayers, 
Heb. 5. 7.  tears and strong cries, is the highest discovery of the Lords hatred and indignation of sin that ever was or will be: 'Tis true God discovered his great hatred against sin, by turning Adam out of Paradise, and by casting the Angels down to hell, by drowning the old world, and by raining hell out of heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and by the various and dreadful judgements that he has been a pouring forth upon the world in all ages: but all this hatred is but the picture of hatred, to that hatred which God manifested against sin in causing the whole curse to meet upon our crucified Lord, as all streams meet in the sea. 'Tis true, God discovers his hatred of sin, by those endless, easless and remediless torments that he inflicts upon Devils and damned spirits; but this is no hatred, to that hatred against sin, which God discovered when he opened all the floodgates of his envenomed wrath upon his Son, his own Son, his only Son, his Son 
Isa. 53. 5, 6. Prov. 8. 30, 31. Matth. 3. ult.  that always pleased him, his Son that never offended him. Should you see a father that had but one son, and he such a son in whom he always delighted, and by whom he had never been provoked; a son that always made it his business, his work, his heaven to promote 
Joh. 8. 49, 50.  the honour and glory of his father, a son who was always 
Joh. 9 4.  most at ease, when most engaged in his father's service; 
Joh. 4. 34.  a son who counted it his meat and drink to do his father's will: now should you see the father of such a son, inflicting the most exquisite pains and punishments, tortures and torments, calamities and miseries upon this his dearest son, you would readily conclude, that certainly the sins, the offences that have put the father upon exercising such amazing, such matchless severity, fury and cruelty, upon his only Son, are infinitely hateful, odious 
Jer. 44. 4. Zech. 8. 17. The Rabbins, to scare their Scholars from sin used to tell them, that sin made God's head ache; but I may say, sin hath made Christ's head ache and his heart ache too.  and and abominable to him. Now if you please but to cast your eye upon the actings of God the Father towards. Jesus Christ, you will find that he hath inflicted more torments and greater torments upon the Son of his dearest love, than all mortals ever have or could inflict upon their only sons, Isai. 53. 6. The Lord hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all, Heb. Hath made the iniquities of us all to meet on him, or to light or fall on him rather; God made all the penalties and sufferings, that were due to us, to fall upon Jesus Christ, as a man is wont to fall with all his might in a hostile manner upon his enemy; God himself inflicted upon dear Jesus, whatsoever was requisite to the satisfying of his Justice, to the obtaining of pardon, and to the saving of all his elect, vers. 10. It pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief: all the devils in hell, nor all the men upon earth, could never have bruised or put to grief our Lord Jesus; if it had not pleased the Lord to bruise him and put him to grief, he had never been bruised or put to grief: O how should this work us to look upon sin with indignation!  
Suppose a man should come to a Table, and there should be a knife laid at his Trencher, and it should be told him, this is the very knife that cut the throat of your child or father; if this person should use this knife as any other knife, would not every one say, Surely this man had but very little love to his father or his child, who can use this bloody knife as any other knife: So when you meet with any temptation to sin, O then say, This is the very knife that cut the throat of Jesus Christ, that pierced his sides, that was the cause of his sufferings, and that made Christ to be a curse, and accordingly let your hearts rise against it: Ah, how well doth it become Christians to look upon sin, as that accursed thing that made Christ a curse, and accordingly to abhor it! Oh with what detestation should a man fling away such a knife! and with the like detestation should every Christian fling away his sins, as Ephraim did his Idols, Get you 
Hosea 14. 8. Isa. 2. 20. cap. 30. 22.  hence, what have I any more to do with you? Sin, thou hast slain my Lord, thou hast been the only cause of the death of my Saviour: Let us say as David, Is not this the 
2 Sam. 23. 17.  blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? so, is not this the sin that poured out Christ's blood? oh how should this enrage our hearts against sin, because it cost 
Heb. 2. 10.  the Captain of our salvation, not the hazard, but the very loss of his life! God shown Moses a tree wherewith he 
Exod. 15. 25.  might make the bitter waters sweet; but lo, here is a tree wherewith ye may make the sweet waters of sin to become bitter: Look upon the tree on which Christ was crucified, remember his Cross, and the pains he suffered thereon, and the seeming sweetness that is in sin will quickly vanish; when you are solicited to sin, cast your eye upon Christ's Cross, remember his astonishing sufferings for sin, and it will soon grow distasteful to your souls: for how can that choose but be hateful to us, if we seriously consider how hurtful it was to Jesus Christ? who can look upon the Cross of Christ, and excuse his sin, as Adam did, saying, The woman which thou gavest me, she 
Gen. 3. 12.  gave me of the tree, and I did eat? who can look upon the Cross of Christ, and colour his sin, as Judas did, saying, Hail 
Matth. 26. 49.  Master? who can look upon the Cross of Christ, and deny his sin, as Gehazi did, saying, Thy servant went no whither? 
2 Kings 5. 25.  who can look upon the Cross of Christ, and defend his sin, as Jonah did, saying, I do well to be angry? O sirs! where is 
Jonah 4. 9  that hatred of sin that use to be in the Saints of old? David could say, I hate vain thoughts, and I hate every false 
Psal. 119, 104, 113, 128. Rom. 7, 15.  way; and Paul could say, what I hate that do I. 'Tis better (saith one) to be in hell with Christ, than to be in heaven with sin: O how odious was sin in the Saint's eye! The primitive Christians chose rather to be cast to Lions without, 
Ad leonem magis qnàm lemonem, saith Tertullian.  than to be left to lusts within, so great was their hatred of sin. I had rather (saith Anselm) go to hell pure from sin, than to heaven polluted with that guilt: I will rather (saith another) leap into a Bonfire, than wilfully to sin against God. Under the Law, if an Ox gored a man that he died, the 
Exod. 21. 28.  Ox was to be killed: Sin hath gored and pierced our dear Lord Jesus, O let it die for it; O avenge yourselves upon it, as Samson did avenge himself upon the Philistines, for 
Judg. 16. 28.  his two eyes. P●lutarch reports of Marcus Cato, that he never declared his opinion in any matter in the Senate, but he would close it with this passage, Methinks still Carthage should be destroyed; so a Christian should never cast his eye upon the Cross of Christ, the sufferings of Christ, nor upon his sins, but his heart should say, Methinks pride should be destroyed, and unbelief should be destroyed, and hypocrisy should be destroyed, and earthly-mindedness should be destroyed, and self-love should be destroyed, and vain glory should be destroyed, etc. The Jews would not have the pieces of silver, which Judas cast down in the Temple, put in the Treasury, because 
Ma●. 27. 5, 6.  they were the price of blood: Oh, lodge not any one sin in the Treasury of your hearts, for they are all the price of blood. But,  
Fourthly, let the sufferings of our Lord Jesus raise in all our hearts, a high estimation of Christ; O let us prise a suffering Christ above all our duties, and above all our 
Mat. 10. 37. Luk. 14. 26.  graces, and above all our privileges, and above all our outward contentments, and above all our spiritual enjoyments! a suffering Christ is a commodity of greater value than all the riches of the Indies, yea, than all the wealth of the whole world; he is better than Rubies (saith 
Prov. 8. 11.  Solomon, and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared to him: he is that Pearl of price, which the wise Merchant purchased with all that ever he had; no 
Mat. 13. 46,  man can buy such Gold too dear. Joseph (a type of the Lord Jesus) than a precious Jewel of the world, was far more precious, had the Ishmaelitish Merchants known so 
Gen. 27. 37.  much, than all the Balms and Myrrhs that they transported: and so is a suffering Christ, as all will grant, that really know him, and that have experienced the sweet of union and communion with him. Christ went through heaven and hell, life and death, sorrow and suffering, misery and cruelty, and all to bring us to glory, and shall we not prise him? When, in a storm, the Nobles of Xerxes were to lighten the ship, to preserve their King's life, they did their obeisance, and leapt into the Sea: but our Lord Jesus Christ, to preserve our lives, 
Col. 1. 18.  our souls, he leaps into a Sea of wrath. Oh, how should this work us to set up Christ above all! what a deal ado has there been in the world, about Alexander the great, and Constantine the great, and Pompey the great, because of their civil power and authority: but what was all their greatness and grandeur, to that greatness and grandeur, that God the father put upon our Lord Jesus Christ, when 
Mat 28. 1●. Heb. 1. 13. Eph. 1. 20.  he gave all power in heaven and in earth unto him, and set him down at his own right hand? Oh sirs! will you value men according to their titles, and will you not highly value our Lord Jesus Christ, who has the most magnificent titles given him? he is called King of Kings, 
Rev. 17. 14. cap. 19 16.  and Lord of Lords. It is observed by learned Drusins, that those Titles were usually gi●●n to the great Kings of Persia, than which, there was none assumed more to themselves, than they did: yet the holy Ghost attributes these great Titles to Christ, to let us know, that as God hath exalted Christ above all earthly powers, so we should magnify him, and exalt him accordingly. Paul, casting his eye upon a suffering Christ, tells us, that he esteems of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 
Phil. 3. 8.  all things, as nothing in comparison of Christ; All things, is the greatest account that can be cas● up; for it includeth all prizes, all sums, it taketh in heaven, it taketh in the vast and huge Globe and Circle of the capacious world, and all excellencies within its bosom: all things, includes all Nations, All Angels, all Gold, all Jewels, all Honours, all delights, and every thing else besides: and yet the Apostle looks upon all these things 
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, quasi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, micae quae canibus: vide à Lapide, vide Bezam; the original word notes the filth that comes out of the entrails of beasts or off all, cast to dogs.  but as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, dung, dog's dung (as some interpret the word) or dogs meat, course and contemptible, in comparison of dear Jesus. Galeacius, that noble Italian Marquis, was of the same mind and metal with Paul; for when he was strongly tempted, and solicited with great sums of money, and preferments, to return to the Romish Church; he gave this heroic answer, Cursed be he that prefers all the wealth of the world, to one days communion with Christ. What if a man had large demains, stately buildings, and ten thousand rivers of Oil; what if all the mountains of the world were Pearl, the mighty Rocks Rubies, and the whole Globe a shining Chrysolite; yet all this were not to be named in the same day, wherein there is mention made of a suffering Christ. Look, as one Ocean hath more waters than all the rivers in the world, and as one Sun hath more light than all the Luminaries in heaven; so one suffering Christ is more all to a poor soul, than if it had the all of the whole world a thousand times over and over. Oh sirs! if you cast but your eye upon a suffering Christ, a crucified Jesus; there you shall find righteousness in him to cover all your sins, and plenty enough in him to supply all your wants, and grace enough in him to subdue all your lusts, and wisdom enough in him to resolve all your doubts, and power enough in him to vanquish all your enemies, and virtue enough in him to heal all your diseases, 
Heb. 7. 25. I have read of a Roman servant, who knowing his master was sought for by officers, to be put to death; he put himself into his master's  that he might be taken for him; and so he was, and was put● to death for him: whereupon his master, in memory of his thankfulness to him, and honour of him, erected a brazen Statue: but what a statue of Gold should we set up in our hearts to the eternal honour & exaltation of that Jesus, who not in our , but in our very nature, hath laid down his life for us!  and fullness enough in him, both to satisfy you and save you, and that to the utmost. All the good things that can be reckoned up here below, have only a finite and limited benignity: some can , but cannot feed; others can nourish, but they cannot heal; others can enrich, bu● they cannot secure; others can adorn, but cannot advance; all do serve, but none do satisfy; they are like a beggar's coat, made up of many pieces; not all enough, either to beautify, defend, or satisfy: but there is enough in a suffering Christ, to fill us and satisfy us to the full; Christ has the greatest worth and wealth in him. Look, as the worth and value of many pieces of Silver, is to be found in one piece of Gold; so all the petty excellencies that are scattered abroad in the creatures, we to be found in a bleeding dying Christ; yea, all the whole volume of perfections, which is spread through heaven and earth, is epitomised in him that suffered on the Cross, nec Christus, nec coelum patitur hyperbolen, a man cannot hyperbolise in speaking of Christ and heaven; but must entreat his hearers, as Tully doth his readers, concerning the worth of L. Crassus; (ut majus quiddam de iis quam quae scripta sunt suspicarentur, 3. De oratore) that they would conceive much more than he was able to express: certainly, it is as easy to compass the heavens with a span, and contain the sea in a nutshell, as to relate fully, a suffering, Christ's excellencies, or heaven's happiness. O sirs! there is in a crucified Jesus, something proportionable to all the straits, wants, necessities, and desires of his poor people. He is bread to nourish them, and a garment to 
John. 6. 5, 6, 37. Rev. 13. 14. Mat. 9 12. Isa 9 6. Heb. 2. 10. Act. 5. 31.  cover and adorn them, a Physician to heal them, a Counsellor to advise them, a Captain to defend them, a Prince to rule, a Prophet to teach, and a Priest to make atonement 
Act. 7. 37, 38. Heb. 2. 17, 18. cap. 4. 15, 16. 2 Cor. 11. 2. Isa. 9 6, 7. John. 20. 17. Isa. 28. 16. Rev. 22. 16. Eph. 1. 22, 23.  for them; an Husband to protect, a Father to provide, a Brother to relieve, a Foundation to support, a Root to quicken, a Head to guide, a Treasure to enrich, a Sun to enlighten, and a Fountain to cleanse. Now what can any Christian desire more, to satisfy him and save him, to make him holy and happy in both Worlds? Shall the Romans and other Nations highly value those that have but ventured to lay down their lives for their Country, and shall not we highly value the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath actually laid down his life for his sheep? I have 
John 10. 11, 15, 17.  read of one, who walking in the fields by himself, of a sudden, fell into loud cries and weeping; and being asked (by one that passed by, and overheard him) the cause of his lamentation; I weep (saith he) to think that the Lord Jesus Christ should do so much for us men; and yet, not one man of a thousand so much as mind him, or think of him. Oh what a bitter Lamentation have we cause to take up, that the Lord Jesus Christ has suffered so many great and grievous things for poor sinners; and that there are so few that sincerely love him, or that highly value him; most men preferring their lusts, or else the Toys and Trifles of this world above him. But,  
Fifthly, let the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ work us all into a gracious willingness to embrace sufferings for his sake; and cheerfully and resolutely to take up his Cross, 
Mat. 16. 24.  and follow him: did Christ suffer, who knew no sin? and shall we think it strange to suffer, who know nothing but sin? shall he lie swelthering under his father's wrath, and shall we cry out of men's anger? was he crowned 
Godfrey of Bullen first King of Jerusalem, refused to be crowned with a Crown of Gold; saying, that it became not a Christian to wear a Crown of Gold, where Christ, for our salvation, had worn a Crown of thorns.  with thorns, and must we be crowned with rosebuds? was his whole life, from the cradle to the cross, made up of nothing but sorrows and sufferings? and must our lives, from the cradle to the grave, be filled up with nothing but pleasures and delights? was he despised, and must we be admired? was he debased, and must we be exalted? was he poor, and must we be rich? was he low, and must we be high? did he drink of a bitter cup, a bloody cup; and will no cups serve our turns, but cups of consolation? Let us not think any thing too much to do for Christ, nor any thing too great to suffer for Christ, nor any thing too dear to part with for such a Christ, such a Saviour, that thought nothing too much to do, or too grievous to suffer, that so he might accomplish the work of our Redemption. He left heaven for us, and shall not 
John 1. 18.  we let go this world for him? he left his father's bosom for us, and shall not we leave the bosoms of our dearest Relations 
Psal. 45. 10, 11. Mat. 10. 37.  for him? he underwent all sorts of sufferings for us, let us as readily encounter with all sorts of sufferings for him: Paul was so inur'd to sufferings for Christ, that 
● Cor. 12. 10. 2 Cor. 11. 23, to verse 28.  he could rejoice in his sufferings, he gloried most in his chains, and he looked upon his scars, buffet, scourge, stoneings for Christ, as his greatest triumphs. And how ambitious were the primitive Christians of Martyrdom in the cause of Christ: and of late, in the times of the Marian Persecution, how many hundreds cheerfully and willingly laid down their lives; mounting, Eliah-like to heaven in fiery chariots. And, oh, how will Christ own and honour such Christians at last, as have 
Rev. 3. 21.  not set on others, but exposed themselves to hazards, losses and sufferings for his sake! as those brave souls, who 
Rev. 12. 11.  loved not their lives unto the death; that is, the despised their lives in comparison of Christ; they exposed their 
Heb. 11, 33, to 39 cap. 10. 34.  bodies to horrible and painful deaths, their temporal estates to the spoil, and their persons to all manner of shame and contempt for the cause of Christ: in the days of that bloody persecutor Dioclesian, the Christians shown 
certatim Plo●iosa in certamina ruebatur, etc. Sulpitius.  as glorious power in the faith of Martyrdom, as in the faith of Miracles, the valour of the patients, and the savageness of the persecutors, striving together; till, both exceeding nature and belief, bred wonder and astonishment in beholders and readers. In all Ages and Generations, they that have been born after the flesh, have persecuted 
Gal. 4. 29.  them that have been born after the spirit; and the seed of the serpent, have been still a multiplying of troubles upon the seed of the woman. Would any man take the Church's picture (saith Luther) then let him paint a poor silly maid, sitting in a wilderness; compassed about with hungry Lions, Wolves, Boars and Bears, and with all manner of other cruel hurtful beasts; and in the midst of a great many furious men, assaulting her every moment and minute: and why should we wonder at this, when we consider, that the whole life of Christ was filled up with all sorts and kinds of sufferings? Oh, where is that brave spirit, that has been upon the saints of old? Blessed Bradford looked upon his sufferings for Christ, as an▪ evidence to him, that he was in the right way: It is better 
If one man did suffer all the sorrows of all the Saints in the world, yet they are not worth one hours' glory in heaven; Chrysostom.  for me to be a Martyr than a Monarch, said Ignatius, when he was to suffer. Happy is that soul, and to be equalled with Angels, who is willing to suffer, if it were possible, as great things for Christ, as Christ hath suffered for it, saith Jerom: sufferings are the ensigns of heavenly nobility, saith Calvin: Modestus, Lieutenant to Julian the Emperor, said to Julian, while they suffer they deride us (saith he) and the torments are more fearful to them that stand by, than to the tormented: Luther reports of Vincentius, that he laughed at those that slew him; saying, that to Christians, tortures and death were but sports, and he gloried when he went upon hot burning coals, as if he trod upon roses: 'twas a notable saying of a French Martyr, when the rope was about his fellow, give me that golden chain, and dub me a Knight of that noble Order: Paul rattled his chain, which he bore for the Gospel; and was as proud of it, as a woman of her ornaments, saith Chrysostom: do your worst, do your worst, said Justin Martyr (to his persecutors) but this I will tell you, that you may put all that you are like to gain by the▪ bargain into your eye, and weep it out again: Basil will tell you, that the most cruel Martyrdom is but a trick to escape death, to pass from life to life (as he speaks) for it can be but a days journey between the Cross and Paradise: Their names that are written in red letters of blood in the Church's Calendar, are written in golden letters in Christ's Register, in the book of life, saith Prudentius: Though the Cross be bitter, yet it is but short; a little storm, as one said of Julian's Persecution, and an eternal calm follows: Methinks, said one, I tread upon Pearls, when he trod upon hot burning coals; and I feel no more pain, than if I lay in a bed of Down, and yet he lay in flames of fire: I am hearty angry (saith Luther) with those that speak of my sufferings; which, if compared to that which Christ suffered for me, are not once to be mentioned in the same day: Paul greatly rejoiced in his sufferings for Christ; and therefore, oftentimes sings it out, I Paul a prisoner (as you may see by 
See Act. 23. 17. Eph. 3. 1. cap. 4. 1. 2 Tim. 1. 8. Philem. 1. 9 ● Cor. 11. 23. Rom. 16. 7. Col. 4. 10. ●●il●m. 23.  the Scriptures in the margin) not I Paul an Apostle, nor I Paul wrapped up in the third heaven; Christ shown his love to him, in wraping him up in the third heaven; and he shows his love to Christ, in suffering for him: During the cruel Persecutions of the heathen Emperors, the Christian Faith was spread through all places of the Empire, because the oftener they were mowed down (saith Tertullian) the more they grew: I am in prison till I am in prison, said one of the Martyrs: I am the unmeetest man for this high office of suffering for Christ, that ever was appointed to it, said blessed Sanders: Austin observed, that though there were many thousand Christians put to death for professing Christ, yet they were never the fewer for being slain: Cyprian, speaking of the Christians and Martyrs in his time, said, occidi poterant, sed vinci 
Lo●d● Id corda computeth 44 several kinds of torment, wherewith the primitive Christians were tried Adu. Sacr. cap. 128.  non poterànt, they may kill them, but they cannot overcome them: The more we are cut down by the sword of persecution, the more we increase, saith Tertullian: Eusebius tells us of one that writ to his friend from a stinking Dungeon, and dates his letter from my delicate Orchard: Burn my foot if you will (said that noble Martyr in Basil) that it may dance everlastingly with the blessed Angels in Heaven: The young child in Josephus; who, when his flesh was pulled in pieces with pincers, by the command of Antiochus, said with a smiling countenance; Tyrant, thou losest time, where are those smarting pains, with which thou threatnest me? make me to shrink and cry out if thou canst: And Bainam, an English Martyr, when the fire was flaming about him, said, you Papists talk of miracles, behold here a miracle, I feel no more pain than if I were in a bed of Down; it is as sweet to me as a bed of roses: Laurence, when his body was roasted upon a burning Gridiron, cried out, this side is roasted enough, turn the other side: Marcus of Arethusa, when his body was cut and mangled, and anointed with honey, and hung up aloft in a basket, to be stung to death by wasps and bees; looked down, saying, I am advanced, despising you that are below: Henry Voes kissed the stake: Hawks clapped his hands in the flames when they were half consumed: John Noys blessed God that ever he was born to see that day: and Bishop Ridley called his execution day his wedding day. Thus you see a cloud of witnesses to raise and inflame your hearts into a free, ready, willing, cheerful, and resolute suffering for that Jesus, who has suffered so much for you. Oh sirs, when we see all sorts and sexes of Christians, divinely to defy and scorn their torments and tormentors, when we see them conquering in the midst of hideous sufferings, when we hear them expressing their greatest joy in the midst of their greatest sufferings; we cannot but conclude that there was something more than ordinary, that did thus raise, cheer and encourage their spirits in their sufferings; 
Heb. 11. 24, 25, 26. cap. 12. 2.  and doubtless this was it, the recompense of reward on the one hand, and the matchless sufferings of Jesus Christ for them on the other hand. The cordial wherewith Peter is said (by Clemens) to comfort his wife when he saw her led to Martyrdom, was this, Remember the Lord; whose disciples if we be, we must not think to speed better than our master.  
It is said of Antiochus, that being to fight with Judas, Captain of the host of the Jews; he shown unto his Elephants, 
1 Machah. cap. 6. v. 3, 4.  the blood of the Grapes and Mulberries, to provoke them the better to fight: so the holy Ghost hath set before us the wounds, the blood, the sufferings, the dying, of our dear Lord Jesus, to encourage us to suffer with all readiness and resoluteness, whatsoever calamities or miseries may attend us for Christ's sake, or the Gospel's sake. Ah, what a shame would it be, if we should ●ot be always ready to suffer any thing for his sake, who hath suffered so much for our sins, as is beyond all conception, all expression. Never was Jacob more gracious and acceptable to his father Isaac, than when he stood before him, clothed in the garments of his rough brother Esau: then, the father smelling the savour of the elder 
Gen. 27. 27.  brother's garments; said, Behold, the smell of my son, is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed. And never are we more gracious and acceptable to our heavenly father, than when we stand before him, clothed in the rough garments of Christ's afflictions and sufferings. Oh Christians, all your sufferings for Christ, they are but in lets to your glorious reigning with Christ. Justin Martyr saith, that when the Romans did immortalize their Emperors, as they called it, they brought one to swear, that he see him go to Heaven out of the fire: but we may see by an eye of faith the blessed souls of Martyrs, fly to heaven like Elias in his fiery chariot, or like the Angel that appeared to Manoah in the flames. By the consent of the Schoolmen, all Martyrs shall appear in the Church triumphant, bearing the signs of their Christian wounds about them, as so many speaking testimonies of their holy courage; that what here they endured in the behalf of their Saviour, may be there an addition to their glory. But,  
Sixthly, hath Jesus Christ suffered such great and grievous things for you? Oh then, in all your fears, doubts and conflicts with enemies, within or without, fly to the sufferings of Christ, as your City of refuge. Did Christ endure a most ignominious death for thee, did he take on him thy sinful person, and bore thy sin, and death, and cross; and was made a sacrifice and curse for thee? Oh then, in all thy inward and outward distresses, shelter 
Psal. 90. 1. Psal. 91. 1, 4, 9  thyself under the wings of a suffering Christ. I have read of Nero, that he had a shirt made of a Salamander's skin, so that if he went through the fire in it, it would keep him from burning: Oh sirs, a suffering Christ is this Salamander's skin, that will keep the Saints from burning in the midst of burning, from suffering in the 
Dan. 3. 24. 29. Isa. 43. 2.  midst of sufferings, from drowning in the midst of drowning. In all the storms, that beat upon your inward or your outward man, eye the sufferings of Christ, l●an upon 
Zach. 13. 10. Cant. 8. 5. 2 Cor. 2. 14. Eph. 6. 14.  the sufferings of Christ, plead the sufferings of Christ, and triumph in the sufferings of Christ. It is storied of a Martyr; that writing to his wife, where she might find him when he was fled from home; oh my dear (said he) 
Surius in vita sancti Elzearii.  if thou desirest to see me, seek me in the side of Christ, in the cloven of the rock, in the hollow of his wounds; for there I have made my nest, there will I dwell, there shalt thou find me, and no where else but there. In every temptation let us look up to a crucified Christ, who is fitted 
Heb. 2. 17, 18. cap. 4. 15, 16.  and qualified to secure tempted souls: oh my soul, when ever thou art assaulted, let the wounds of Christ be thy City of refuge, whither thou mayst fly and live. Let us learn in every tentation which presseth us (whether it be sin, or death, or curse, or any other evil) to translate it from ourselves to Christ; and all the good in Christ, let us learn to translate it from Christ, to ourselves. Look, as the Burgess of a Town or Corporation, sitting in the Parliament house, beareth the persons of that whole Town or place; and what he saith, the whole Town saith; and what is done to him, is done to the whole Town: even so, Christ upon the cross, stood in our 
Isa. 53. 4, 5, 6.  place, and bore our sins; and whatsoever he suffered, we suffered; and when he died, all the faithful died with him, and in him. I have read of a gracious woman; who, being by Satan strongly tempted, replied; Satan, if thou hast any thing to say to me, say it to my surety, who has undertaken all for me, who hath paid all my debts, and satisfied Divine Justice, and set all reckon even between God and my soul. Do your sins terrify you? oh then, look up to a crucified Saviour, who bore your sins in his own body on the Tree. 
1 Pet. 2. 24.  When sin stairs you in the face, oh then, turn your face 
The strongest Antidote against sin, is to look upon sin in the red glass of Christ's blood; Au●tin.  to a dying Jesus, and behold him with a spear in his side, with thorns in his head, with nails in his feet, and a pardon in his hands. Hast thou wounded thy conscience by any great fall or falls? O then, remember that there is nothing in heaven or earth more efficacious to cure the 
Bern. Ser. 61. in cant.  wounds of conscience. than a frequent and serious meditation on the wounds of Christ. Doth death, that rides upon the pale horse, look ghastly and deadly upon thee? 
Rev. 6. 8. Rom. 5. 6, 8.  oh, then remember that Christ died for you; and that, by his death, he hath swallowed up death in victory: Oh, 
1 Cor. 15. 55, 56, 57  remember that a crucified Christ hath stripped death of his sting, and disarmed it of all its destroying power: death may buzz about our ears, but it can never sting our souls. Look, as a crucified Christ hath taken away the guilt of sin, though he hath not taken away sin itself; so he hath taken away the sting of death, though he hath not taken away death itself: He spoke excellently that said, that is not death, but life, which joins the dying man to Christ; 
Ambrose in 1 Tim. 5. 6. Death will blow the bud of Grace into the flower of Glory.  and that is not life, but death, that separates the living man from Christ: Austin longed to die, that he might see that head, that was crowned with thorns: Did Christ die for me (saith one) that I might live with him, I will not therefore, desire to live long from him; all men go willingly to see him whom they love; and shall I be unwilling to die, that I may see him whom my soul loves? Bernard would have us, never to let go out of our minds the thoughts of a crucified Christ; let these, says he, be meat and drink unto you, let them be your sweetness and consolation, your honey, and your desire, your reading, and your meditation, your contemplation, your life, death, and resurrection: certainly, he that shall live up to this counsel, will look upon the King of terrors, as the King of desires. Are you apt to tremble when you eye the curse threatened in the Law? Oh then, look up to a crucified Christ, and remember that he hath redeemed you from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for 
Gal. 3. 13.  you: doth the wrath of God amaze you? Oh, then look up to a crucified Christ, and remember that Christ hath trod the winepress of his father's wrath alone, that he 
Isa. 63. 3. 1 Thes. 1. ult.  might deliver you from wrath to come: Is the face of God clouded, doth he that should comfort you stand afar off? oh, then look up to a crucified Christ, and remember that he was forsaken for a time, that you might not be forsaken for ever: are you sometimes afraid of condemnation? oh, then look upon a crucified Christ, 
Lamen. 1. 16.  who was condemned, that you might be justified: who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? it is 
Rom. 8. 33, 34.  God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died: ah Christians, that you would, at last, under all your temptations, afflictions, fears, doubts, conflicts, and disputes, be persuaded to keep a fixed eye upon crucified Jesus; and remember that all he did, for you, and that all he suffered he suffered, for you; and this will be a strong cordial to keep you from fainting under all 
Turbahor sed non perturbabor quia vuln●rum Christi recordabor, Aug.  your inward and outward distresses, according to that saying of one of the Ancients, I may be troubled, but I shall not be overwhelmed, because I remember the print of the nails, and of the spear, in the hands and side of Jesus Christ. Oh, that Christians would labour under all their soul-troubles to keep a fixed eye upon a bleeding Christ; for there is nothing that will ease them, quiet them, settle them, and satisfy them, like this: Many, may I not say, most Christians are more apt to eye their sins, their sorrows, their prayers, their tears, their resolves, their complaints, than they are to eye a suffering Christ? and from hence springs their greatest woes, wounds, miseries, and dejection of spirit: oh, that a crucified Christ might be for ever in your eye, and always upon your hearts. But,  
Seventhly and Lastly, Hath Jesus Christ suffered such great and grievous things? then this truth looks sadly and sourly upon the Papists: in this red Glass of Christ's blood, you may see how vain and wicked, how ridiculous and superstitious the devices of the Papists are, who for pacifying of God's wrath, and for the allaying of his anger, and for satisfying his justice, and for the obtaining 
Surely that Religion that lo●es to lap blood, and that is propagated and maintained by blood, and that prefers their own inventions and abominations. before the blood and sufferings of Christ; that Religion is not of God: but such is the Romish Religion; Ergo, their Religion is not of God.  of pardon, etc. have appointed Penances and Pilgrimages, and Self-scourging, and Soul-masses, and Purgatory, and several other such like abominations (which the Scripture no where commands, but every where forbids:) which inventions and abominations of theirs tend only to derogate from the dignity and sufficiency of Christ's sufferings, and to reflect dishonour and disgrace upon that full and perfect price that Christ hath paid for our Ransom, and to set up other Saviour's, in the room of our blessed Redeemer: certainly all Popish pardons, penances, pilgrimages, masses, whip, scourge, etc. they unavoidably fall before the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, as Dagon fell before the Ark, Goliath before David, Haman before Mordecai, and as the darkness falls before the morning-light: and as for their Purgatory, they do not know certainly where it is, nor how long it will last, nor what sort of fire is there; neither can they show us how corporeal fire should work upon the Souls in Purgatory, they being spiritual and incorporeal: they cannot tell us whether the pains of Purgatory be at all times alike, neither can they tell us whether the good or evil Angels are the torments of the Souls in Purgatory: and as for the whipping, scalding, freezing of Souls in Purgatory, they are but old wives fables, and the brainsick fancies of some deceitful persons to cheat poor ignorant people of their money, under a blind pretence of praying their souls out of Purgatory. Christ offered himself once for all, but the Romish Priests offer 
Heb. 10. 10.  him up daily in the Mass, an unbloody sacrifice; and so they do what lies in tehm to tread underfoot the blood 
Act. 20. 28. H●b. 10. 29.  of God, the blood of the Covenant: to be short; Popery in effect is nothing else but an underhand close witness-bearing against Christ in all his offices, and against all that he hath done and suffered for the Redemption and Salvation of sinners, as might be made abundantly evident, but that I may not now launch out into that Ocean; I only give this brief touch by the way, that I might raise up in all your hearts a greater detestation of Popery, in this day wherein many are so warm for it, as if it were there only Diana. And let thus much suffice, concerning the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ and the improvement that we should make of them.  
Thus you may clearly see, by what I have said concerning 
A Christians plea from the passive obedience of Christ. God did insist on it, that our surety should pay down the whole debt at once, and accordingly he did. Heb. 10. 10, 12.  the Active and Passive Obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ, that whatsoever we are bound to do or suffer by the Law of God, all that did Christ do and suffer for us, as being our Surety and Mediator. Now the Law of God hath a double challenge or demand upon us; one is of active obedience, in fulfilling what it requires; the other is of passive Obedience, in suffering that punishment which is due to us for the transgression of it, in doing what it forbids: for as we were created by God, we did owe unto him all obedience which he required; and as we sinned against God, we did owe unto him a suffering of all that punishment which he threatened; and we being fallen by transgression, can neither pay the one debt, nor yet the other: of ourselves we can do nothing that the Law requires; neither can we so suffer, as to satisfy God in his Justice wronged by us, or to recover ourselves into life and favour again: And therefore Jesus Christ (who was God-man) did become our Surety, and stood in our stead or room, and he did perform what we should but could not perform, and he did bear our sins and our sorrows, he did suffer and bear for us. what we ourselves should have born and suffered, whereby he did fully satisfy the Justice of God, and made our peace, and purchased pardon and life for us: Christ did fully answer to all the demands of the Law, he did come up to perfect and universal cons●rmity to it; he did whatever the Law enjoins, and he suffered whatever the Law threatens; Christ by his active and passive obedience, hath fulfilled the Law most exactly and completely; 
Gal. 3. 13.  As he was perfectly holy, he did what the Law commanded; and as he was made a curse, he underwent what the Law threatened, and all this he did and suffered in our steads, and as our Surety; what ever Christ did as our Surety, he made it good to the full: so that neither the righteous God, nor yet the righteous Law, could ever tax him with the least defect. And this must be our great Plea, our choice, our sweet, our safe, our comfortable, our acceptable Plea, both in the day of our particular accounts when we die, and in the great day of our account, when a crucified Saviour shall judge the World. Although sin, as an act, be transient, yet in the guilt of it, it lies in the Lord's high Court of Justice, filled upon record against the sinner, and calling aloud for deserved punishment, saying, Man hath sinned and man must suffer for sin: but now Christ hath suffered, that plea is taken off. Lo here, saith the Lord the same Nature that sinned, suffereth; mine own Son,, being made flesh, hath suffered death for sin in the flesh; the thing is done, the Law is satisfied, and so non-suits the action, and casts it out of the Court, as unjust. Thus whereas sin would have condemned us, Christ hath condemned sin; he hath weakened, yea nullified and taken away sin, in the guilt and condemning power of it, by that abundant satisfaction that he hath given to the Justice of God by his active and passive Obedience: so that there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; for 
Rom. 8. 1, 3.  the blood of the Mediator out-cries the clamour of sin: and this must be a Christians joy, and triumph, and plea in the great day of our Lord Jesus. As Christ was made 
2 Cor. 5. 21.  sin for us, so the Lord doth impute the sufferings of Christ to us, that is, he accepts of them on our behalf, and puts them upon our account: As if the Lord should say unto every particular believer, My Son was thy Surety, and stood in thy stead, and suffered, and satisfied, and took away thy sins by his blood, and that for thee: in his blood I find a ransom for thy soul; I do acknowledge myself satisfied for thee, and satisfied towards thee, and thou art delivered and discharged: I forgive thee thy sins, and am reconciled unto thee, and will save thee and glorify thee for my Son's sake; in his blood thou hast Redemption, the forgiveness of thy sins. As when 
Simile.  a Surety satisfies the Creditor for a debt, this is accounted to the Debtor, and reckoned as a discharge to him in particular; I am paid and you are discharged, saith the Creditor: so it is in this case; I am paid, saith God, and you are discharged, and I have no more to say to you but this, Enter into the joy of your Lord, Matth. 25. 21.  
The Fifth Plea that you are to make in order to the 
5. Eccles. 11. 9 cap. 12. 14. Mat. 12. 14. cap. 18 23. Luk. 16. 3. Rom. 14. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 9 27, cap. 13. 17. 1 Pet. 4 5.  Ten Scriptures in the Margin, that respects the account that you are to give up in the great day of the Lord, is drawn from the imputed Righteousness of Christ to us; the Justification of a Sinner in the sight of God upon the account of Christ's Righteousness imputed to him, whereby the guilt of sin is removed, and the person of the Sinner is accepted as righteous with the God of Heaven, is that which I shall open to you distinctly in these following Branches.  
First, That the Grace of Justification in the sight of God is made up of Two parts: 1. There is Forgiveness of the offences committed against the Lord: 2. Acceptation of the person offending, pronouncing him a righteous person, and receiving him into favour again, as if he had never offended: This is most clear and evident in the blessed Scriptures.  
First, there is an Act of absolution and acquittal from the guilt of sin, and freedom from the condemnation deserved by sin; the desert of sin is an inseparable accident 
Rom. 8. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, 'tis a forensick word relating to what is in use amongst men in their Courts of Judicature to condemn. 'Tis the sentence of a Judge decreeing a mulct or penalty to be inflicted upon the guilty Person.  or concomitant of it, that can never be removed: it may be truly said of the sins of a justified person, that they deserve everlasting destruction; but Justification is the freeing of a sinner from the guilt of his iniquity, whereby he was actually bound over to condemnation: as soon as any man doth sin there is a guilt upon him, by which he is bound over to the wrath and curse of God, and this guilt or obligation is inseparable from sin, the sin doth deserve no less than everlasting damnation. Now forgiveness of sin, hath a peculiar respect to the guilt of sin, and removal of that: when the Lord forgives a man, he doth discharge him of that obligation, by which he was bound over to wrath and condemnation; Rom. 8. 1. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. vers. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect? it is God that justifieth: vers. 34. who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died. Beloved, the Lord is a holy and just God; and he reveils his wrath from heaven, against 
Rom. 1. 18. Gel. 3. 10. R●m. 1. 32. Rom. 6. 23.  all unrighteousness; and there is a curse threatened to every transgression of the Law; and when any man sinneth, he is obnoxious unto the curse, and God may inflict the same upon him: but when God forgives sins, he therein doth interpose (as it were) between the sin and the curse; and between the obligation and the condemnation. When the sinner sins, God might say unto him; sinner, by your sinning, you are now fallen into my hands of Justice; and for your sins, I may, according to my righteous Law, condemn and curse you for ever: but such is my free, my rich, my sovereign grace; that for Christ's sake, I will spare you, and pardon you; and that curse 
Jer. 31. 20.  and condemnation which you have deserved, shall never fall upon you. Oh! my bowels, my bowels, are yearning towards you; and therefore I will have mercy, mercy 
J●b 33. 13, 24, 28, 30.  upon you, and will deliver your souls from going down into the pit: when the poor sinner is indicted and arraigned at God's bar, and process is made against him, and he found guilty of the violation of God's holy Law, and accordingly judged guilty by God, and adjudged to 
Job. 33. 24.  everlasting death: then mercy steps in and pleads, I have found a Ransom; the sinner shall not die, but live. When the Law saith, ah sinner, sinner, thus and thus hast thou transgressed, all sorts of duties thou hast omitted, and all sorts of sins hast committed, and all sorts of mercies thou hast abused, and all sorts of means thou hast neglected, and all sorts of offers thou hast slighted: then God steps in, and saith, ah sinner, sinner, what dost thou say? what canst thou say to this heavy charge, is it true or false? with thou grant it or deny it? what defence or plea canst thou make for thyself? Alas, the poor sinner is speechless (Mat. 22. 12. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he was muzzled or haltered up, that is, he held his peace as though he had a bridle or a halter in his mouth; this is the import of the Greek word here used) he hath not one word to say for himself; he can neither deny, nor excuse, or extenuate what is charged upon him: why now, saith God, I must and do pronounce thee to be guilty; and as I am a just and righteous God, I cannot but adjudge thee to die eternally: but such is the riches of my mercy, that I will freely justify thee, through the righteousness of my son; I will forgive thy sins, and discharge thee of that obligation, by which thou wast bound over to wrath, and curse, and condemnation; so that the justified person may triumphingly say, who is he that condemneth; He may read over the most dreadful passages of the Law, without being terrified, or amazed; as knowing that the curse is removed; and that all his sins that brought him under the curse, are pardoned, and are in point of condemnation, as if they had never been. This is to be justified, to have the sin pardoned, and the penalty remitted; Rom. 4. 5, 6, 7, 8. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justisieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, to whom God imputeth righteousness without works; saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered: Blessed is the man, to whom the Lord will not impute sin, It is observable, that what David calleth forgiveness of sin, and not imputing of iniquity, St. Paul styles a being justified. But,  
Secondly, as the first part of Justification consists in the pardon of sin, so the second part of Justification consists in the acceptation of the sinner's person, as perfectly righteous in God's sight; pronouncing him such, and dealing with him as such, and by bringing of him under the shadow of that divine favour, which he had formerly lost by his transgressions, Cant. 4. 7. Thou art all fair, my love and there is no spot in thee; that is, none in my account, 
Deut. 32. 5.  nor no such spots as the wicked are full of: Look as David saw nothing in lame Mephibosheth, but what was lovely, 
2 Sam. 9 3, 4, 13, 14.  because he saw in him the features of his friend Jonathan; so God beholding his people in the face of his son, sees nothing amiss in them: They are all glorious within and without, Psal. 45. 13. Look, as Absolom had no blemish from head to foot; so they are irreprehensible, and 
Jer. 2. 32.  without blemish before the throne of God, Rev. 14. 5. The pardoned sinner, in respect of divine acceptation, is without 
Eph. 5. 26, 27.  spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing: God accepts the pardoned sinner as complete in him, who is the head 
Colos. 2. 10.  of all principality and power: Christ makes us comely, through his beauty; he gives us white raiment, to stand before the Lord: Christ is all in all, in regard of divine acceptance; Eph. 1. 6. He hath made us accepted in the beloved, 
All persons out of Christ, are cursed enemies, objects of God's wrath, and Justice, displeasing, offending, and provoking creatures, and therefore, God cannot, but loathe them and abhor them.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he hath made us favourites; so Chrysostom and Theophilact render it, God hath ingratiated us, he hath made us gracious in the son of his love: through the blood of Christ, we look of a sanguine complexion, ruddy and beautiful in God's eyes; Isa. 62. 4. Thou shalt no more be termed forsaken, but thou shalt be called Hephzibah; for the Lord delighteth in thee. The acceptation of our persons with God, takes in six things: 1. God's honouring of us: 2. His delight in us: 3. His being well pleased with us: 4. His extending love and favour to us: 5. His high estimation of us: 6. His giving us free access to himself. It is the observation of Ambrose; that, though Jacob was not, by birth, the firstborn; yet, hiding himself under his brother's , and having put on his coat, which smelled most fragrantly; he came into 
Gen. 27. 36.  his father's presence, and got away the blessing from his elder brother: so it is very necessary, in order to our acceptation with God, that we lie hid under the precious Robe of Christ our elder brother; that, having the sweet 
2 Cor. 2. 15.  savour of his garments upon us, our sins may be covered with his perfections, and our unrighteousness with the Robes of his righteousness; that so we may offer up our selves unto God, a living and acceptable sacrifice; not 
Rom. 12. 1. Isa. 64. 6. Phil. 3. 9  having our own righteousness, which are but as filthy rags, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.  
Thus you see that Justification, for the nature of it, lies in the gracious pardon of the sinners transgressions, and in the acceptation of his person as righteous in God's sight. But,  
Secondly, In order to the partaking of this grace of the forgiveness of our sins, and the acceptation of our persons, we must be able to produce a perfect righteousness before the Lord, and to present it and tender it unto him; and the reason is evident from the very nature of God, who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, Habak. 1. 13, that is, 
Habak. 1. 13. Heb. And to look on iniquity thou canst not do it.  with patience or pleasure, or without punishing it. There are four things that God cannot do: 1. He cannot lie: 2. He cannot die: 3. He cannot deny himself: 4. He cannot behold iniquity with approbation and delight: Josh. 24. 19 And Joshua said unto the people, ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is an holy God, he is a jealous God, he will not forgive your transgressions, nor your sins: such is the holiness of God's nature, that he cannot behold sin, 
Psal. 5. 4, 5, 6.  that he cannot but punish sin where ever he finds it: God is infinitely, immutably, and inexorably just, as well as he is incomprehensibly gracious. Now, in the justification of a sinner, God doth act as a God of justice, as well as a God of compassion: God is infinite in all his attributes, in his justice as well as in his mercy: these two cannot interfere; as justice cannot entrench upon mercy, so neither may mercy encroach upon justice; the glory of both must be maintained. Now, by the breach of the Law, the justice of God is wronged; so that, although mercy be apt to pardon, yet justice requires satisfaction, and calls for vengeance on sinners. Every transgression 
Heb. 2. 2.  must receive just recompense, and God will not, in any case, absolve the guilty: till this be done, the hands of 
Exod. 34. 7.  mercy are tied, that she cannot act. And seeing satisfaction could not be made to an infinite majesty, but by an equal person, and price; therefore the son of God must become a curse for us, by taking our nature, and pouring out his soul to the death; and by this means justice and mercy are reconciled, and kiss each other, and mercy now being set at liberty, hath her free course, to save poor sinners. God will have his justice satisfied to the full, and therefore Christ must bear all the punishment due to our sins, or else God cannot set us free, for he cannot go against his own just will: observe the force of that phrase, Christ ought to suffer, And thus it behoved Christ to suffer, 
Luk. 24. 26.  and Mat. 26. 54. Thus it must be, why must? but because it was, 1. So decreed by God: 2. Foretold by the Prophets, every particular of Christ's sufferings were foretold by the prophets, even to their very spitting in his face. 3. Prefigured in the daily morning and evening sacrifice; this Lamb of God was sacrificed from the beginning of the world. A necessity then there was of our Saviour's sufferings; not a necessity of coaction, for he died freely 
John. 10. 11, 14, 17, 18.  and voluntarily) but of immutability and infallibility for the former reasons mentioned. An earthly Prince that is just, holds himself bound, to inflict punishment impartially, upon the malefactor, or his surety; it stands upon his honour, he saith it must be so, I cannot do otherwise: this is true much more of God, who is Justice itself, God, who is great in counsel, and excellent in working; had store of means at hand, whereby to set free, and recover lost mankind; yet he was pleased, in his infinite wisdom, to pitch upon this way of satisfaction, as being most agreeable to his holy nature, and most suitable to his high and sovereign ends; viz. Man's salvation and his own glory: and that God doth stand upon full satisfaction; and will not forgive one sin without it, may be thus made evident.  
First, from the nature of sin, which is that abominable 
1. ●e●. 44. 4. God could not ●salv● jure) pass over the sin of man, so as absolutely to let it go unpunished.  thing which God hates. The sinner deserves to die for his sins; Rom. 6. 23. Tho wages of sin is death; every sinner is worthy of death; (They which commit such things are worthy of death, Rom. 1. 32.) Now God is just and righteous (It is a righteous thing with God, to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 2 Thes. 1. 6.) yea, and God did, therefore, set forth Christ, to be a propitiation through faith in bis blood, Rom. 3. 25. To declare his righteousness, that he might be just, vers. 26. Now, if God be a just and righteous God, than sin cannot absolutely escape unpunished; for it is just with God, to punish the sinner, who is worthy of punishment; and certainly, God must deny himself, if he will not be just; 
2 Tim. 2. 13.  but this he can never do: sin is of an infinite guilt, and hath an infinite evil in the nature of it: and therefore, no person in heaven or earth, but that person, our Lord Jesus, who is God-man, and who had an infinite dignity, that could either procure the pardon of it, or make satisfaction for it; no prayers, no cries, no tears, no humblings, no repentings, no resolutions, no reformations, etc. can stop the course of Justice, or procure the guilty sinners pardon; 'tis Christ alone, that can dissolve all obligations to punishment, and break all bonds and chains of guilt, and hand a pardon to us through his own blood, 
Eph. 1. 7.  we are set free by the blood of Christ; By the blood of thy 
Zach. 9 11.  covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit: 'tis by his blood, that we are justified and saved from wrath; Rom. 5. 9 Much more being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath by him. Pray tell me what is it to be justified, but to be pardoned; and what is it to be saved from wrath, but to be delivered from all punishment? 
Eph. 2. 13. Colos. 1. 20.  and both these depend upon the blood of Christ. But,  
The veracity of God requires it: Look, as God cannot but be just, so he cannot but be true; and if he cannot but be true, than he will make good the threaten that are gone out of his mouth, Gen. 2. 17. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die: Heb. in dying, thou 
Under the name of death are comprehended all other calamities, miseries and sorrows.  shalt die: death is a fall, that came in by a fall, and without all p●radventure, every man should die the same day he was born, for the wages of sin is death; and this wages should be presently paid, did not Christ reprieve poor sinner's lives for a season: upon which account, he is said to be the Saviour of all men; not of eternal preservation, but of a temporal reservation: He will by no means clear 
1 Tim. 4. 10.  the guilty: The soul that sinneth, it shall die: Ezek. 18. 
Exod. 34. 7.  20. The wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him: Rom. 2. 6. He will render to every man according to his deeds. Oh sirs, God can never so far yield, as to abrogate his own Law, and quietly to sit down with injury and loss to his own Justice, himself having established a Law, etc. The Law pronounces him cursed, that continues not in all things 
Gal. 3. 10.  that are written therein, to do them. Now, though the threaten of men are frequently vain and frivolous, yet the threaten of the great God, shall certainly take place, and have their accomplishment; though many ten thousand millions of sinners perish, not one tittle of the 
Mat. 5. 18.  dreadful threaten of God shall fail, till all be fulfilled. Josephus saith, that from that very time, that old Eli heard those terrible threaten, that made their ears tingle 
1 Sam. 3. 11, 12, 13, 14.  and hearts tremble that heard them; Eli never ceased weeping: ah, who can look upon the dreadful threaten that are pointed against sinners all over the book of God, and not tremble and weep. God cannot but in justice, punish sinners; neither is it in his choice or freedom, whether he will damn the obstinate impenitent sinner, or no: Look, as God cannot but love holiness wherever he sees it; so he cannot, But loath and punish wickedness wherever he beholds it; neither will it stand with the infinite wisdom of God, to admit of a dispensation, or relaxation of the threaten, without satisfaction: God had passed a peremptory doom, and made a solemn declaration of it in his word, that he that sinneth, shall die the death; and he will not, he cannot break his word: you know he had fore-ordained Jesus Christ; and set him forth to take upon himself this burden, to become a propitiation 
Rom. 3 35. 1 Pet. 1. 20.  for sin through his blood, and made known his mind, concerning it in his written word, plainly, Isa. 
Exigitur, as Junius, and some others read it.  53. 7. If we read the words (it is exacted, or strictly required) meaning the iniquity or punishment of us all, vers. 6. It is required at his hands, he must answer it in our stead, and so he is afflicted, and this affliction reacheth even to the cutting him off, vers. 8. Therefore when Christ puts this work upon an (ought, and must be) he lays the weight of all on the Scriptures (thus it is written) as you may see in the texts lately cited, as if he should say, God hath spoken it, and his truth engageth him to see it done; so God hath threatened to punish sin, and his truth engageth him to see it done. Oh sirs! there is no standing before that God that is a consuming fire, a just judge, a holy God, except I have 
Heb. 12: 9  one to undertake for me, that is mighty to save, and mighty to satisfy divine justice, and mighty to pacify divine 
Isa. 63. 1.  wrath, and mighty to bear the threaten, and mighty to forgive sin: when God forgives sin, he does it in a way of 
Isa. 19 20.  righteousness, 1 John 1. 9 He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; he doth not say he is merciful, but just to forgive us our sins, because they are satisfied for, and God's justice will not let him demand the same debt twice, of the surety and of the debtor too: it will never stand with the unspotted justice and righteousness of God, to require such debts of us; which Christ, 
Rom. 3. 25.  by shedding his most precious blood, hath discharged for us. Mark, the maledictory sentence of death, denounced by the Law against sinners, was inflicted by God upon Christ: this is that which the Prophet Esay positively asserts; where he saith, the chastisement (that is, the punishment called a chastisement, because inflicted by a father, and only for a 
Isa. 53. 5, 7.  time) of ourpeace was upon him; and again, he was oppressed, and he was afflicted: which, according to the genuine sense of the Original, is better rendered, it was exacted; to wit, the punishment of our sin, and he was afflicted, or he answered, to wit, to the demand of the penalty. The curse, to 
Theod. disp. l. 15. c. 5.  which we are subject (saith Theodorus) he assumed upon himself of his own accord; the death that was not due 
Gr. mer. l. 3. c. 13.  to him he underwent, that we might not undergo that death which was due to us: saith Gregory, he made himself 
Arnol. de sep. verb Tr. 1.  a debtor for us, who were debtors; and therefore the Creditor exacts it from him, saith Arnoldus. Now, God's justice being satisfied for our offences, it cannot but remit those offences to us: As the Creditor cannot demand that of the debtor, which the surety hath already paid; so neither can God exact the punishment of us, which Christ hath suffered; and therefore, it is just with God, to forgive us our sins. It will be altogether needless to inquire, whether it had been injustice in God, to forgive without satisfaction: St. Austin's determination is very solid, there 
Aug. de Trinit. l. 13. c. 10.  wanted not to God another possible way (and if it were unjust, it were impossible) but this of satisfaction was most agreeable to divine wisdom; before God did decree this way, it might be free to have used it or not; but in decreeing, this seemed most convenient, and after it became 
When you are forgiven, you are then released, and for ever acquitted from any after reckon with the justice of God; divine Justice hath no more to say or do against you, for remissa culpa, remi●ttur paena; if the fault be forgiven, then also is the punishment forgiven; nay, let me speak with an holy and humble reverence, God cannot in his justice punish, when he hath pardoned.  necessary, so that there can be no remission without it; and however, it might not have been unjust with God, to have forgiven without it: yet we are sure it is most just with him to forgive upon satisfaction. Indeed the debt being paid by Christ, God's very justice (as I may say with reverence) would trouble him, if he should not give in the bond, and give out an acquittance. The believing penitent sinner may, in an humble confidence, sue out his pardon, not only at the throne of grace, but at the bar of justice, in these or the like expressions; Lord, thou hast punished my sins in thy son, wilt thou punish them in me? thou hast accepted that suffering of thy son, as the punishment of my sin, therefore thou canst not, in justice, exact it of me, for this were to punish twice for one offence, which thy justice cannot but abhor. Oh sirs, God doth not pronounce men righteous when they are not; but first he makes them so, and then he pronounces them to be such: so that if a man will be justified, he must be able to produce such a complete righteousness, wherewith he may stand before the justice of God: ah sinners! the Lord is infinitely just, as well as merciful; and if ever your sins be pardoned, it must be by an admirable contemperament, or mixture of mercy and justice together: it was one of the great ends of the Gospel-dispensation, that God might exalt his justice in the justification of a sinner, Rom. 3. 26. To declare, Isay, at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. But  
Thirdly, The only matter of man's righteousness since the fall of Adam, wherein he can appear with comfort before the Justice of God, and consequently whereby alone he can be justified in his sight, is the obedience and suffering of Jesus Christ, the righteousness of the Mediator; there is not any other way imaginable, how the Justice of God may be satisfied, and we may have our sins pardoned in a way of justice, but by the righteousness of the Son of God; and therefore this is his name Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord our Righteousness: this 
Jer. 23. 6.  is his name, that is, this is the Prerogative of the Lord Jesus, a matter that appertaineth to him alone, to be able to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to make reconciliation 
Dan. 9 24.  for iniquity. The costly Cloak (of Alcisthenes) 
'Tis a sign of great favour from the Great Turk, when a rich garment is cast upon any that come into his presence, Knolls Hist. The application is easy.  which Dionysius sold to the Carthaginians, for an hundred talents, was indeed a mean and beggarly rag, to that embroidered Mantle of Christ's Righteousness that he puts upon us, Isai. 61. 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and a bride adorneth herself with her jewels: Christ's Righteousness is that garment of wrought gold, that we all need to cover all our imperfections, 
Psal. 45. 13. Rom. 5. 19 Col. 2. 10. Eph. 5, 27. Rev. 14. 5. Rom. 3. 21, 22, 25, 26.  and to render us perfectly beautiful and glorious in the sight of God: in this Robe of Righteousness we are complete, we are without spot or wrinkle, we are without fault before the throne of God; through the imputation of Christ's righteousness, we are made righteous in the sight of God; God looking upon us, as invested with the righteousness of his Son, accounts us righteous. All believers have a righteousness in Christ as full and complete, as if they had fulfilled the Law, Christ being the end of the Law for righteousness to believers, 
Rom. 8. 3, 4.  invests believers with a righteousness every way as complete, as the personal obedience of the Law would have invested them withal. When men had violated God's holy Law, God in justice resolved that his Law should be satisfied before man should be saved: now this was done by Christ, who was the end of the Law; he fulfilled it actively and passively, and so the injury offered to the Law is recompensed. God had rather that all men should be destroyed, than that his Law should not be satisfied. No man can perfectly be justified in the sight of God without a perfect righteousness, every way commensurable to God's holy Law, which is the Rule of righteousness; Do this and live: neither can any person have any choice, spiritual, lively communion with a righteous God, till he be clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. All Christ's active and passive obedience was either for himself or in our stead and behalf; but it was not for himself, but for us that he suffered and obeyed: whatsoever Christ did or suffered in the whole course of his life, he did it; and suffered it as our Surety, and in our steads: for as God would not dispense with the penalty of the Law without satisfaction, so he would not dispense with the commands of the Law without perfect obedience. Remember once for all, that the Actions and sufferings of Christ make but up one entire and perfect obedience to the whole Law; nor had Christ been a perfect and complete Saviour, if he had not performed what the Law required, as well as suffered the penalty which the Law inflicted. The imputation of Christ's Righteousness to us is a gracious Act of God the Father, according to his good will and pleasure, whereby as a Judge he accounts believers sins unto the Surety, as if he had committed the same; and the righteousness of Christ unto the believer, as if he had performed the same, the same obedience that Christ did in his own person: so that Christ's imputed Righteousness is as effectual to the full, for the acceptance of the believing sinner, as if he had yielded such obedience to the Lord himself: hence his righteousness is called our righteousness, Jer. 23. 6. now without this righteousness there is no standing before the Justice of God. But  
Thirdly, As this great design of Christ's redeeming sinners, by his blood and sufferings, and by his being made a curse for them, doth sound aloud the glory of divine Justice, and the glory of God's Veracity, so it sounds forth the glory of his Wisdom; for hereby he 
Solon, that wise Law— maker, could never find out a law to put all other good laws in execution; but such as are living laws, will make the laws to live: and will not the wise and living God make his laws and threaten to live? surely he will.  maintains the authority of his righteous Law. When a Law is solemnly enacted, with a penalty in case of transgression, all those whom it concerns may conclude for certain, that the Lawgiver will proceed accordingly; and it is a Rule in Policy, That Laws once established and published, should be vigorously preserved: If the Lord should have wholly waved the execution of the Law upon sinners, or their surety, it might have tended greatly to the weakening of its authority, and the diminishing of the reverence of his sovereignty in the hearts of the sons of men: How often does. God use that Oath, As I live, for the fulfilling of his threaten as well as of his 
Jer. 22. 24. Ezek. 5. 9, 10, 11.  promises: the Lord Jehovah is as true, faithful and constant in his threaten as in his promises; what he hath threatened shall undoubtedly come to pass; he will be made known by his Name Jehovah in the full execution of all his threaten: The old World found it so, and Jerusalem found it so; yea the whole Nation of the Jews have found it so to this very day. Look as all the saints 
See Ezek. 5. 13, 15.  in heaven will readily put to their Seals, that God is true and faithful in all his Promises; so all the damned in hell will readily put to their Seals, that God is faithful in all his threaten. Men frequently deride the Laws, and threaten of great men, when they are not put into execution; it is the execution of Laws, that is the very life and soul of good Laws. Should God pardon sin, without exacting the penalty of the Law, how 
Eccles. 8. 11. Mal. 2. 17. Such an emphasis there is in the Hebrew, as Corn. à Lapide observes.  would sinners be hardened and emboldened to say, with those men or rather monsters in Malachi, Where is the God of judgement? i. e. no where; either there is no God, or at least, not a God of that exact, precise and impartial judgement, as some men say, and as others teach: But now when God lets sinners see, that he will not pardon sin, without exacting the penalty of the Law, either of the sinner, or of his Surety; then the sinner cries out, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom 
Rom. 11. 33.  and knowledge of God God stood so much upon the complete satisfaction and accomplishment of his Law, that he was willing that Christ should be a sacrifice, that the Law might be satisfied in its penalty, and that Christ 
Rom. 8. 3, 4, 5.  in his own person should fulfil the righteousness of the Law, that it might be satisfied in its commands: now in this plenary satisfaction made to the Law, the Wisdom of God does gloriously shine. The heart of God was so set upon a full satisfaction to his Law, that, rather than it should not be done, his own Son must come from heaven and put on flesh, and be himself made under the 
Gal. 4. 4, 5.  Law; he must live a holy life, and die a cursed death, and all to satisfy the Law, and to keep up the Authority of it. But  
Fourthly; God doth stand upon full satisfaction, and will not forgive one sin without it, that he might hereby cut off all occasions, which the Devil, his Arch-enemy, might take to calumniate and traduce him: for if God did not stand upon full satisfaction, the Devil might accuse him 1. of Inconstancy and Changeableness, that having threatened death to transgressors, he did quite forget himself, in waving the threatening, and dispensing wholly with his Law, by granting them free remission: Yea, 2. of Partiality and respect of persons, that he should be so easy and forbearing; as to let them pass without any punishment at all; having been formerly so severe and rigid against himself in casting him and his Angels down to hell, and keeping them in everlasting flames and chains of darkness, without the least 
2 Pet. 2. 4. Judas. v. 6.  hope of recovery. Satan might say, Lord, thou mightest have spared me as well as Man: but the Lord can now answer, Man hath made satisfaction, he hath born the Curse, and thereby fully discharged all the demands of the Law; if he had not, I would no more have spared him than thee. Ambrose brings in the Devil boasting against Christ, and challenging Judas as his own; He is not thine, Lord Jesus, he is mine, his thoughts beat for me; he eats with thee, but is fed by me; he takes bread from thee, but money from me; he drinks with thee, but sells thy blood to me: Had God pardoned sin without satisfaction, ah how would Satan have boasted and triumphed over God himself! But  
Fifthly and lastly, God's standing upon full satisfaction, and his not forgiving one sin without it, bears a visible character of his goodness and loving kindness, as well as it sounds out aloud the glory of divine Justice. The great and the holy God whose Name is holy, 
Exod. 15. 1, 11.  might have rigorously exacted the penalty of the Law on the persons of sinners themselves; but he hath so far dispensed with his own Law, as to admit of a Surety, by whom the end of the Law, that is, the manifestation of his Justice and hatred of sin might be fulfilled, and yet a considerable part of Mankind might be preserved from the jaws of the second death, 
Rev. 20. 6.  which otherwise must unavoidably have perished to all eternity. God seems to speak at such a rate as this; I may not, I will not suffer this high affront of Adam 
Rom. 7. 12, 14.  and his posterity against my holy and righteous Law, whereby the honour both of my Justice and Truth is in danger to be trampled underfoot; and yet if I should let out all my wrath upon them, they were never able 
Psal. 78. 38.  to stand under it, but their spirits would fail before me, and the souls that I have made: I will therefore let out 
Isa. 57 16.  all my wrath upon their Surety, and he shall bear it for them, that they may be delivered: and thus the Lord in wrath remembers mercy, Hab. 3. 2. But  
Fourthly, we can receive no benefit by the Righteousness of Christ for Justification in the sight of God, nor can we be pardoned and accepted thereupon, until that righteousness become ours, and be made over unto us: how can we plead this righteousness before God, except 
Isa. 45. 2●, 25.  we have an interest in this righteousness? how can we rejoice and triumph in this righteousness, if this righteousness 
2 Cor. 2. 14. ●al. 6. 14. Rom. 5. 1. ●●b. 4. 15, 16. ●sal. 22. 1 2. Rom. 4. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Rom. 4. 3. If Christ's obedience be imputed to us, it must be so imputed as to be our righteousness before God; no imoutation be●ow this will serve our turns, ●h●ar our heart▪ ●nd save our souls. Rev. 14. 8. Isa. 63. 1. R●v. 3. 18.  be not made ours? how can we have peace with God and boldness at the throne of grace through this righteousness, except we can lay claim to this righteousness? how can we conclude that we are happy and blessed upon the account of this righteousness, except it be made over to us? There is none of us that have such an inherent righteousness in ourselves that we dare plead before the Bar of God: and though God hath provided such a glorious Robe of righteousness for poor sinners, as is the wonder and amazement of Angels, yet what would all this avail the poor sinner, if this righteousness be not made over to him? O sirs! remember this, Christ's Righteousness must be yours, it must be made over to you, or else it will never stand you in stead, Rom. 5. 17. For if by one man's offence, death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in glory by one Jesus Christ: except they receive the Righteousness of Christ, it is nothing to them: Christ's Righteousness is in itself white raiment and beautiful and glorious apparel, but it will never cover our nakedness, except it be put on, and we are clothed with it; it must be made over to us, or we can never be justified by it, 1 Cor. 1. 30. He of God is made to us righteousness; if he be not made to us righteousness, we shall never be righteous: Though man hath lost a righteousness to be justified by, yet there is an absolute necessity of having one; God cannot love nor delight in any thing but righteousness: God is a holy God, a righteous God, and therefore can only love and take pleasure in those that are righteous, both by a righteousness imputed and a righteousness imparted, Isa. 45. 24. Surely shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength, ver. 25. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified and shall glory: Isa. 54. 17. Their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord: Psal. 71. 16. I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. Look as no man can be made rich by another man's riches, except they are made his; so no man can be made righteous by the righteousness of Christ, except his righteousness be made over to him: hence he is called, the Lord our righteousness. Jer. 23. 6. and hence we are said to be the righteousness of God in him, 2 Cor. 5. 21. hence we are said by his obedience to be made righteous, 2 Cor. 5. 21.  
Fifthly and lastly, The way whereby this Righteousness of Cod providing is conveyed and made over to us, that we may receive the benefit thereof, and be justified thereby, it is by way of Imputation; the meaning is this, God doth reckon the righteousness of Christ unto his people, as if it were their own; he doth count unto them Christ's sufferings and satisfaction, and makes them partakers of the virtue thereof, as if themselves had suffered and satisfied: This is the genuine and proper import of the word Imputation; when that which is personally done by one, is accounted and reckoned to another, and laid upon his score, as if he had done it. Thus it is in this very case: we sinned and fell short of 
Rom. 3. 21. Isa. 53. Imputed righteousness seems to be prefigured by the skins wherewith the Lord after the fall clothed our first parents; the bodies of the beasts were for sacrifice, and the skins to put them in mind, that their own righteousness was like the sig-leaves imperfect, and that therefore they must be justified another way.  the glory of God, and became obnoxious to the vindictive Justice of God; and the Lord Jesus Christ by his obedience and death hath given full content and satisfaction to divine Justice on our behalf: now when God doth pardon and accept us hereupon, he doth put it upon our account, he doth reckon or impute it unto us as fully, in respect of the benefit thereof, as if we ourselves had performed it in our own persons: and this is the way wherein the holy Ghost frequently expresseth it, Rom. 4. 6. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works; and ver. 11. That righteousness might be imputed to them also: and therefore it highly concerns us to mind this Scripture-rule, That in order to the satisfaction of the Justice of God, the sins of God's people were imputed and reckoned unto Christ, and in order to our partaking of the benefit of that satisfaction, or deliverance thereby, Christ's righteousness must be imputed and reckoned unto us. The first branch of this Rule you have, Isa. 53. 5, 6. He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, etc. and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all: And for the other branch of the Rule, see Rom. 5. 19 As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous: ver. 17. As by one man's offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ. From the comparison between the first and second Adam, it is evident, that as Adam's transgression of the Law of God, is imputed to all his posterity, and that in respect thereof they are reputed sinners, and accursed, and liable to eternal death; so also Christ's obedience, whereby he fulfilled the Law, is so imputed to the members of his mystical body, that in regard of God, they stand as innocent, justified and accepted to eternal life. Look as Adam was the common root of all Mankind, and so his sin is imputed to all his posterity; so Jesus Christ is the common root of all the faithful, and his obedience is imputed to them all: for it were ridiculous to say, that Adam's sin had more power to condemn, than Christ's righteousness hath to save: and who but fools in folio will say that God doth not impute Christ's righteousness as well as Adam's sin? The Apostle's parallel between the two adam's does clearly evidence, That as the guilt of Adam's disobedience is really imputed to us, insomuch that in his sinning we all sinned; so the obedience of Christ is as really imputed unto us, insomuch that in his obeying, reputatively and legally we obey also. How did Adam's sin become ours? Why, by way of imputation, he transgressed the Covenant, 
Gen. 3 6, 11, 12. As imitation of Adam only made us not sinners, so imitation of Christ only makes us not righteous, but the imputation. Dew●. of Justification.  and did eat the forbidden fruit, and it was justly reckoned unto us: it was personally the sinful act of our first Parent, but it is imputed to all of us who come out of his loins; for we were in him not only naturally, as he was the Root of Mankind, but also legally, as he was the great Representative of Mankind. In the Covenant of works and the transactions thereof, Adam stood in the stead, and acted in the behalf not only of himself but of all his posterity, and therefore his sin is reckoned unto them; even so, saith the Apostle, after the same manner, the obedience and righteousness of Christ is made over to many for Justification. I cannot understand the analogy betwixt the two adam's (wherein the Apostle is so clear and full) unless this imputation, as here stated, be granted. Look as Christ was made sin for us only by imputation, so we are made righteous only by the imputation of his righteousness to us, as the Scripture every where evidences, 2 Cor. 5. 21. 
1 P●t. 2. 21.  He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. How was Christ made sin for us? not sin inherent, for he had no sin in him (he was holy, harmless and undesiled, separate 
Heb. 7. 26.  from sinners, and made higher than the heavens) but by imputation: Christ's righteousness is imputed to us in that way wherein our sin was imputed to him. Now our sin was imputed to Christ, not only in the bitter effects of it, but he took the guilt of them upon himself (as I have in this Treatise already evidenced:) so than his righteousness or active obedience itself must be proportionably imputed to us, and not only in the effects thereof. The Mediatory righteousness of Christ can no way become the believers, but as the first Adam's disobedience became his posterities (who never had the least actual share in his transgression) that is by an act of imputation from God as a Judge, the Lord Jesus having fulfilled the Law as a second Adam, God the Father imputeth it to the believing soul, as if he had done it in his own person. I do not say that God the Father doth account the sinner to have done it; but I say that God the Father doth impute it to the believing sinner, as if he had done it, unto all saving intents and purposes. Hence Christ is called the Lord our righteousness, Jer. 23. 6. (An awakened soul, that is truly sensible of his own baseness and unrighteousness, would not have this golden sentence, The Lord our righteousness, blotted out by a hand of heaven out of the Bible for as many worlds as there are men in the world:) so is that Text to a believer living and dying, a strong cordial, 
In this 1 Cor. 1. 30. the Apostle 1. distinguisheth Righteousness from Sanctisication, imputed Righteousness, from inherent Righteousness: 2. he saith that Christ's Righteousness is made ours of God See Rom. 4. 6. Psal. 71. 16.  viz. 1 Cor. 1. 30. Christ Jesus is made unto us of God wisdom, righteousness, etc. And pray how is Christ made righteousness to the believer? not by infusion, but imputation; not by putting righteousness into him, but by putting a righteousness upon him, even his own righteousness, by the imputing his merits, his satisfaction, his obedience unto them, through which they are accepted as righteous unto eternal life, Rom. 5. 19 Christ's righteousness is his in respect of inhesion, but it is ours in respect of imputation; his righteousness is his personally, but ours meritoriously: we are justified by another's righteousness, and that only, and therefore by imputed righteousness, for another's righteousness can no other way be made ours but only by imputation, Rom. 5. 18. By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification: were it any other than imputed righteousness, it would be as manifold a righteousness as there are persons justified; but it is said to be the righteousness of one that comes upon all men for justification of life. That is a choice word that you have in Rev. 19 8. And to her (that is Christ's Spouse) was granted, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints: the Greek word here is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, righteousnesses or justisications; this, say some, signifieth a double righteousness given to us; 1. The righteousness of Justification, whereby we are justified before God: 2. The righteousness of Sanctification, by which we evidence our Justification to men: but others say, it is an 
So the Hebrew word is used, Isa. 45. 24.  Hebraism rather, by the plural righteousnesses, nothing the most absolute, complete and perfect righteousness which we have in Christ. Now though I would not exclude inherent righteousness, yet I judge that imputed righteousness is the righteousness here meant; and that first, because this clothing is that which is the righteousness of all Saints, by which they stand recti in curia before 
Psal. 76. 7, Psal. 143. 2. J●b 9 15. cap. 22. 2, 3, 4. Jeb 35. 7. The Saints are said, Rev. 7. 15. to he clothed in white Robes, not because they had merited or adorned themselves with goodworks, but because they had washed and made white their Robes in the blood of the Lamb.  God: now there is no standing before God in our inherent righteousness; for though next to Christ, our graces are our best jewels, yet they are but weak and imperfect, they have their specks and spots; they are like the Moon which when it shines brightest, yet has her black spots. 2. Christ's righteousness is the only pure clean, white, spotless righteousness, there is is no speck or spot to be found upon Christ's righteousness: but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, as that evangelical Prophet speaks, Isa. 64. 6. 3. The word here is plural, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, righteousnesses; Christ hath many righteousnesses: first, he hath his essential and personal righteousness, as God; now this essential personal righteousness of Christ cannot be imputed to us. Osiander was of opinion, that men were justified by the essential righteousness of Christ as God, which was a most dangerous opinion, and learnedly and largely confuted by Calvin in his Institutions, and by others since. Secondly, there is the mediatory righteousness of Christ; now this is that righteousness which he wrought for us as Mediator, whereby he did subject himself to the precepts, to the penalties, commands and curses, answering both Gods vindictive and rewarding Justice: there is Christ's Active righteousness, and there is Christ's Passive righteousness, etc. of these I have spoken already in this Treatise, and therefore a hint here is enough. But fourthly, 
How can it stand with reason that the Papists by the Pope's indulgences should be made partakers of the ●ner●●● and good works one of another, and yet be against reason that we by the ordinance of God should be made partakers of ●●e merits and righteousness of Jesus Christ.  there are some expressions in the Text (that is under consideration) that do best agree with the righteousness of Christ; as first that, that she is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; this clearly points at imputed righteousness, which Christ puts upon his Bride as a royal Robe. That which makes Christ's Bride beautiful, yea whiter than the snow, and more glorious than the Sun in his eyes, is not any beauty of her own, nor any inherent righteousness in herself, but the white Robe of Christ's own righteousness that he puts upon her: 2. That expression in the Text, To her it was granted, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, etc. It was granted to her to show that this fine linen was none of her own spinning, it was a free gift of Christ unto her; Saints have no other righteousness to make them comely and lovely in the eyes of God, but the Robe of Christ's righteousness, which is that fine white linen that Christ gives them, and that he puts upon them. Lastly, observe the confirmation and ratification that is given to these words in the 9 vers. writ, these are the true say of God; these are not my say, nor the say of Angels, but they are the say of that God that is truth itself, that cannot die, nor lie, nor deny himself, nor deceive the sons of God; and therefore you may safely rest upon these say of God both in the 8. and 9 verses, as most sure and certain: Surely, the righteousness the believer hath is imputed, it is an accounted or reckoned righteousness to him, it is not that which he hath inherently in himself, but God through Christ doth esteem of him as if he had it, and so deals with him as wholly righteous: 1. It stands with reason that that satisfaction should be imputed to me, which my Surety hath made for my debt: now Christ was our Surety, as the Apostle calls him, Heb. 7. 22. 2. Adam's sin was justly imputed by God to all his posterity, though it was not their own inherently and actually, as the Apostle tells us, Rom. 5. 14. and the sins of all the elect were 
2 Cer. 5. 21. Isa. 53. 6. This must be Lu●her's meaning, when he saith, Christ was the greatest sinner; he was Manasseh. thit Idolater, David that Adulterer, Peter that denier of his master, etc. to wit, by imputation only, he being made sin f●rthem, as the Apostle speaks.  imputed unto Christ, though they were not his own inherently and actually: He made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, saith the Apostle; and upon him was laid the iniquity of us all: All the sins of all the believers in the world, from the first Creation to the last Judgement, were laid on him; how laid on him, but by imputation? Surely there was in Christ no fundamental guilt, no, no, but he was made sin by imputation and law-account; he was our Surety, and so our sins were laid on him in order to punishment: And to prefigure this, all the iniquities of God's people were imputed to their sacrifice, though they were not inherently his own, as we read Levit. 16. 21, 22 Aaron shall put all the iniquities of all the children of Israel, and all their transgressions and all their sins, upon the head of the Goat; and the Goat shall bear upon him, all their iniquities: and why then should it seem strange, that the perfect righteousness of our sacrifice and surety, though it be not our own inherently, should be imputed to us by the Lord, and made ours.  
Frequently and seriously consider, that the word answering this imputing, is in the Hebrew, Chashab, and in 
To impute in the General, is to acknowledge that to be another's, which is not indeed his: and it is used either in a good or bad sense; so that it is no more, than to account or reckon. It is the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and accepted for us, by which we are judged righteous.  the Greek, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉; of which, the sum (as the learned say, comes to this:) That though the words in the general signify to think, to reason, to imagine, etc. yet very frequently they are used to signify, to account, or reckon by way of computation, as Arithmeticians use to do: so that it is, as it were, a judgement passed upon a thing, when all reasons and arguments are cast together. And from this it is applied to signify any kind of accounting or reckoning: and in this sense, imputation is taken here, for God's esteeming and accounting of us righteous: 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifies to reckon or account; 'tis taken by a borrowed speech from Merchants reckon, and accounts; who have their debt-books, wherein they set down how their reckon stand in the particulars they deal in. Now in such debt-books, Merchants use to set down, whatever payments are only made, either by the debtors themselves, or by others in the behalf of them; an example whereof we have in the Epistle to Philemon, vers. 18. where Paul undertakes to Philemon, for Onesimus; if he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee any thing, put that on my account: that is, account Onesimus his debt, to Paul, and Paul's satisfaction or payment to Onesimus which answers the double imputation, in point of justification, 
Psal. 32. 1, 2.  that is, of our sins to Christ, and of Christ's satisfaction to us; both which are employed, 2 Cor. 5. 21. He made him to be sin for us (that is, our sins were imputed to him) that we might be the righteousness of God in him (that is, that his rightcousness might be imputed to us.) The language of Jesus Christ to his father, seems to be this; Oh holy Father, I have freely and willingly taken all the debts, and all the sins of all the believers in the world upon me; I have undertaken to be their paymaster, to satisfy thy justice, to pacify thy wrath, to fulfil thy Law, etc. and therefore, Lo, here I am ready 
Psal. 40. 6, 7, 8. Heb. 10. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9  to do what ever thou commandest, and ready to suffer whatsoever thou pleasest, I am willing to be reckoned a sinner, that they may be reckoned righteous; I am willing to be accounted cursed, that they may be for ever blessed; I am willing to pay all their debts that they may be set at liberty; I am willing to lay down my life, that 
John 10. 11, 15, 17, 18. Rev. 20. 6.  they may escape the second death; I am willing that my soul should be exercised with the most hideous Agonies, that their souls may be possessed of heaven's happinesses. Oh, what wonderful wisdom, grace and love is here manifested! that when we were neither able to satisfy the penalty of the Law, or to bring a conformity to it; that then Christ should interpose, and become both redemption and righteousness for us.  
Now, from the imputed righteousness of Christ, a believer may form up this fifth plea, as to all the ten Scriptures 
E●cles. 11. 9 cap. 12. 14. Mat. 12. 14. cap. 18. 23. Luk. 16. 3. Rom. 14. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 9 27. cap. 13. 17. 1 Pet. 4. 5.  in the margin, that refer to the great day of account. Oh, blessed God, thou hast given me to understand, that the mediatory righteousness of Christ includes, first, the habitual holiness of his person, in the absense of all sin, and in the rich and plentiful presence of all holy and requisite qualities: Secondly, the actual holiness of his life and death by obedience. By his active obedience he perfectly fulfilled the commands of the Law; and by his passive obedience, his voluntary sufferings, he satisfied the penalty and commination of the Law for transgressions: That perfect satisfaction to divine justice, in whatsoever it requires; either in way of punishing for sin, or obedience to the law, made by the Lord Jesus Christ, God and man, the Mediator of the new Covenant, as a common head, representing all those, whom the father hath given to him, and made over unto them that believe in him. This is that righteousness that is imputed to all believers in their Justification, and this imputed righteousness of thy dear son, and my dear saviour, is now my plea, before thy bar of Justice. Imputed righteousness is the same materially with that which the Law requireth; 
The Righteousness which the Law requireth, upon pain of damnation, is a perfect obedience & conformity to the whole Law of God, performed by every son and daughter of Adam in his own person. Now imputed righteousness is the same materially with that which the Law requireth.  it is obedience to the Law of God exactly, and punctually performed to the very utmost jota and tittle thereof, without the least abatement, Christ hath paid the uttermost farthing. He is the fulfilling of the Law for righteousness, and he hath fulfilled the Law in the humane nature, to the intent, that it might be fulfilled in the same nature, to which it was at first given; and all this he hath expressly done in all their names, and on all their behalves, that believe in him; That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in them, Rom. 8. 3, 4. It is as if our dear Lord Jesus had said, oh blessed father, this I suffer, and this I do to the use, and in the stead, and room of all those that have ventured their souls upon me, that they may have a righteousness, which they may truly call their own, and on which they may safely rest, and in which they may for ever glory; Isa. 45. 24, 25. Now, it will never stand with the unspotted holiness, justice and righteousness of God, to reject this righteousness of his son, or that plea that is bottomed upon it. Oh, the matchless happiness of believers, who have so fair, so full, and so noble a plea to make in the great day of our Lord Jesus.  
But some may say, what blessed fruit grows upon this Que. glorious Tree of Paradise; viz. the righteousness of Jesus Christ, that is imputed to all believers? what strong consolations flows from this fountain, the Imputed Righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ? I answer there are these nine choice consolations, that flow in upon all believers, through the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.  
First, let all believers know for their comfort, that in this Imputed Righteousness of Christ, there is enough to satisfy the justice of God to the uttermost farthing, and to take off all his judicial anger and fury. The mediatory righteousness of Christ, is so perfect, so full, so exact so complete, and so fully satisfactory to the Justice of God, as that Divine Justice cries out, I have enough, and I require no more; I have found a ransom, and I am fully pacified towards you. 'Tis certain that Christ was truly 
Ezek. 16. 61, 62, 63. Heb. 10. 10, 11, 12, 14. Isa. 53. 4, 5, 6.  and properly, a sacrifice for sin; and 'tis as certain, that our sins were the meritorious cause of his sufferings, he did put himself into poor sinners stead, he took their guilt upon him, and did undergo that punishment, which they should have undergone; he did die, and shed his blood, 
Rom. 5. 6,— 12.  that he might thereby atone God, and expiate sin: and therefore we may safely and boldly conclude, that Jesus Christ hath satisfied the justice of God to the uttermost; 
Heb. 7. 25.  so that now the believing sinner may rejoice and triumph in the justice, as well as in the mercy of God; for doubtless, the Mediatory righteousness of Christ, was infinitely more satisfactory, and pleasing to God, than all the sins of believers could be displeasing to him; God took more pleasure and delight in the bruising of his son, in 
Isa. 53. 10.  the humiliation of his son, and he smelled a sweeter savour in his sacrifice, than all our sins could possibly offend him or provoke him: when a believer casts his eyes upon his many thousand sinful commissions and omissions, no wonder if he fears and trembles; but then, when he looks upon Christ's satisfaction, he may see himself acquitted, and rejoice; for if there be no charge, no accusation against 
Rom. 8. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37.  the Lord Jesus, there can be none against the believer: Christ's expiatory sacrifice hath fully satisfied divine justice; and upon that very ground, every believer hath cause to triumph in Christ Jesus, and in that righteousness 
2 Cor. 2. 14. Rev. 14. 4, 5.  of his, by which he stands justified before the Throne of God. Christ is a person of infinite transcendent worth and excellency, and it makes highly for his honour to justify believers, in the most ample, and glorious way imaginable, etc. and what way is that, but by working out for, and then investing them with a righteousness adequate to the Law of God; a righteousness, that should be every way commensurate to the miserable estate of fallen man, and to the holy design of the glorious God. 'Tis the high honour of the second Adam, that he hath restored to fallen man a more glorious righteousness, than that he lost in the first Adam: and it would be high blasphemy in the eyes of Angels and men, for any mortal to assert, that the second Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, was less powerful to save, than the first Adam was to destroy. The second Adam is able to save to the uttermost, all such as come to God through him. The second Adam is able to save to all ends and purposes perfectly, 
Heb. 7. 25. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, To the uttermost of time, at all times, and for ever, etc.  saith Beza: perpetually, or for ever, saith Tremel: in aeternum, saith Syrus: in perpetuum, saith the vulg. ad plenum, saith Erasmus: ad perfectum, saith Stapulensis: he is able to save to the uttermost obligation of the Law, preceptive as well as penal; and to bring in perfect righteousness, as well as perfect innocency: he is able to save to the uttermost demand of divine justice, by that perfect satisfaction, that he has given to divine justice; Christ is 
Isa. 63. 1.  mighty to save; and as he is mighty to save, so he loves to save poor sinners, in such a way, wherein he may most magnify his own might; and therefore, he will purchase their pardon with his blood, and make reparation to divine 
1 Pet. 1. 18, 19  justice, for all the wrongs and injuries, which fallen man had done to his Creator, and his Royal Law; and bestow upon him a better righteousness, than that which Adam lost; and bring him into a more safe, high, honourable, and durable estate, than that which Adam fell from, when he was in his created perfection. All the attributes of God, do acquiess in the Imputed Righteousness of Christ, so that a believer may look upon the holiness, 
Psal. 4. 8.  justice, and righteousness of God; and rejoice, and lay himself down in peace. I have read in story, that Pilate being called to Rome, to give an account unto the Emperor, for some misgovernment, and maladministration, he put on the seamless coat of Christ; and all the time that he had that coat upon his back, Caesar's fury was abated: Christ has put his coat, his Robe of righteousness 
Isa. 61. 10.  upon every believer, upon which account, all the Judicial anger, wrath, and fury of God, towards believers ceaseth; Isa. 54. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah, should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn, that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee: vers. 10. For the mountains shall departed, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not departed from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath merey on thee. But,  
Secondly, Know for your comfort, that, this imputed, this mediatory Righteousness of Christ, takes away all your unrighteousness, it cancels every bond, it takes 
Isa. 53. 5, 6, 7. Colos. 2. 12, 13, 14, 15.  away all iniquity, and answers for all your sins. Lord, here are my sins of omission, and here are my sins of commission; but the Righteousness of Christ, hath answered for them all: here are my sins against the Law, and here are my sins against the Gospel, and here are my sins against the offers of grace, the tenders of grace, the strive of grace, the bowels of grace; but the Rightcousness of Christ hath answered for them all. I have read, that, when a Cordial was offered to a godly man that was sick; Oh (said he) the cordial of cordials which I daily take, is, that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all our sins. Oh sirs. it would be high blasphemy, for any to 
1 John 1. 7.  imagine, that there should be more demerit in any sin, yea, in all sin, to condemn a believer, than there is merit in 
Rom. 8. 1, 33, 34, 35.  Christ's righteousness, to absolve him, to justify him. The righteousness of Christ, was shadowed out by the glorious Robes, and apparel of the High Priest: That 
Exod. 30.  attire, in which the High Priest appeared before God, what was it else, but a type of Christ's righteousness? The filthy garments of Joshua (who represented the Church) were not only taken off from him, thereby signifying the removal of our sins; but also a new fair garment 
Zach. 3. 4, 5.  was put upon him, to signify our being clothed with the wedding garment of Christ's righteousness. If any shall say, how is it possible, that a soul that is defiled with the worst of sins, should be whiter than the snow yea, 
Psal. 51. 7.  beautiful and glorious in the cyes of God; the answer is at hand, because, to whomsoever the Lord doth give the pardon of his sins, which is the first part of our justification, to them he doth also impute the righteousness of Christ, which is the second part of our justification before God: thus David describeth (saith the Apostle) the blessedness of 
Rom. 4. 6, 7.  the man to whom the Lord imputeth reghteousness without works; saying, blessed are they, whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered: Now to that man, whose sins the Lord forgives, to him he doth impute righteousness also: Take away the filthy garments from him (saith 
Zach. 3. 4.  the Lord of Joshua) and he said unto him, behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment: and what was that change of raiment? surely, the perfect obedience and righteousness of the Lord Jesus, which God doth impute unto us; in which respect, also, we are said, by justifying faith, to 
Rom. 12. 14. Gal. 3. 27.  put on the Lord Jesus; and to be clothed with him, as with a garment. And no marvel if, being so apparelled, we appear beautiful and glorious in the sight of God. To her (that is, to Christ's Bride) was granted, that she should 
Rev. 19 8.  be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints: This perfect righteousness of Christ, which the Lord imputeth to us, and wherewith (as with a garment) he clothed us, is the only righteousness which the Saints have to stand before God with; and having that Robe of righteousness on, they may stand with great boldness and comfort, before the judgment-seat of God. But,  
Thirdly, Know for your comfort, that this righteousness of Christ, presents us perfectly righteous in the sight of God; He is made to us righteousness. The Robe of innocency, 
1 Cor. 1. 30.  like the veil of the Temple is rend asunder: our righteousness is a ragged righteousness, our righteousnesses 
Isa. 6●. 4.  are as filthy rags. Look, as under rags the naked body is seen, so under the rags of our righteousness, the body of death is seen: Christ is all in all, in regard of righteousness; Christ is the end of the Law, for righteousness to 
Rom. 10. 4.  them that believe.  
That is, through Christ, we are as righteous, as if we 
Finis persiciens nen intersic●ens: Aug.  had satisfied the Law in our own persons. The end of the Law, is to justify and save those which fulfil it; Christ subjected himself thereto, he perfectly fulfilled it for us, and his perfect righteousness is imputed to us; Christ fulfilled the moral Law, not for himself, but for us, therefore Christ doing it for believers, they fulfil the Law in Christ; and so Christ by doing, and they believing in him that doth it, do fulfil the Law: or Christ may be faid to be the end of the Law, because the end of the Law is perfect righteousness, that a man may be justified thereby, which end we cannot attain of ourselves, through the frailty of our flesh, but by Christ we attain it, who hath fulfilled the Law for us. Christ hath perfectly fulfilled the Decalogue for us, and that 3 ways: 1. In his pure conception: 2. In his godly life: 3. in his holy and obedient sufferings and all for us: for whatsoever the Law required that we should be, do or suffer, he hath performed in our behalf. Therefore one wittily saith, that Christ 
Arctius.  is Telos, the end or tribute; and we by his payment, Ateleis, Tribute free; we are discharged by him, before God. Christ, in respect of the integrity and purity of his nature, being conceived without sin; and in respect of his life and 
Mat. 1. 18. Luk. 1. 35. 2 Cor. 5. 21. Cel. 1. 20.  actions, being wholly conformed to the absolute righteousness of the Law; and in respect of the punishment which he suffered, to make satisfaction unto God's justice, for the breach of the Law: in these respects, Christ is the perfection of the Law, and the end of the Law, for righteousness to them that believe. Jacob got the blessing in the garment of his elder brother; so, in the garment of Christ's righteousness, who is our elder brother, we obtain 
Eph. ●. 4.  the blessing, yea, all spiritual blessings in heavenly places; we are made the righteousness of God in him. The 
2 Cor. 5. ult.  Church, saith Marlorat, which puts on Christ, and his righteousness, is more illustrious than the air is by the sun. The infinite wisdom and power of dear Jesus in reconciling the Law and the Gospel, in this great mystery of justification, is greatly to be magnified. In the blessed Scriptures, we find the righteousness of Justification, to take its various denominations: In respect of the material cause, it is called the righteousness of the Law: In respect of the efficient cause, it is called the righteousness of 
Rom. 5. 17. 1 Cor. 1. 30. Rom. 3. 22. Phil. 3. 9 Phil. 3. 9 Rom. 3. 24. Titus. 3. 7.  Christ: in respect of the formal, It is called the righteousness of God, he imputing of it: In respect of the instrumental cause, it is called the righteousness of faith: And in respect of the moving and final cause, we are said to be justified freely by Grace. The Law, as it was a Covenant of works, required exact and perfect obedience, in men's proper persons; this was legal Justification. But in the new Covenant, God is contented to accept this righteousness in the hand of a surety, and this is Evangelical Justification; this righteousness presents us in the sight of God, as all fair; Cant. 4. 7. as complete; Colos. 2. 10. as without spot or wrinkle; Eph. 5. 27. as without fault before the throne of God; Rev. 14. 5. as holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight; Colos. 1. 22. Oh the happiness and blessedness, the safety and glory of those precious souls; who, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, stand perfectly righteous in the sight of God. but,  
Fourthly, know for your comfort, that this imputed righteousness of Christ, will answer to all the fears, doubts and objections of your souls: How shall I look up to God? the answer is, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ: how shall I have any communion with a holy God in this world? the answer is, in the righteousness of Christ: How shall I find acceptance with God? the answer is, in the righteousness of Christ: How shall I die? the answer is, in the righteousness of Christ: How shall I stand before a Judgement seat? the answer is, in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Your sure and only way, under all temptations, fears, conflicts, doubts and disputes, is, by faith, to remember Christ, and the sufferings of Christ, as your Mediator and Surety: and say, Oh Christ, thou art my sin, in being made sin for me; and thou art my curse, being 
● Co●. 5. 21. ●al. 3. 13.  made a curse for me: or rather, I am thy sin, and thou art my rightcousness; I am thy curse, and thou art my blessing; I am thy death, and thou art my life; I am the wrath of God to thee, and thou art the love of God to me; I am thy hell, and thou art my heaven. Oh sirs, if you think of your sins, and of God's wrath; if you think of your guiltiness, and of God's justice; your hearts will faint and fail, they will fear and tremble, and sink into despair; if you do not think of Christ, if you do not stay and rest your souls upon the mediatory righteousness of Christ, The Imputed Righteousness of Christ. The Imputed Righteousness of Christ, answers all cavils and objections (though there were millions of them) that can be made against the good estate of a believer. This is a precious truth more worth than a world, that all our sins are pardoned, not only in a way of truth and mercy, but in a way of justice. Satan and our own consciences will object many things against our souls, if we plead only the mercy and the truth of God; and will be ready to say, oh but where is then the justice of God? can mercy pardon without the consent of his justice? but now, whilst we rest upon the satisfaction of Christ, justice and mercy kiss 
Psal. 85. 10.  each other; yea, justice saith, I am pleased: in a day of temptation, many things will be cast in our dish, about the multitude of our sins, and the greatness of our sins, and the grievousness of our sins, and about the circumstances and aggravations of our sins; but that good word Christ, hath redeemed us from all iniquities, he hath paid 
Titus 2. 14.  the full price that justice could exact or require; and that good word, mercy rejoiceth against judgement, may 
James 2. 13.  support, comfort and bear us up under all. The infinite worth of Christ's obedience, did arise from the dignity of his person, who was God-man; so that all the obedience of Angels and men, if put together, could not amount to the excellency of Christ's satisfaction. The righteousness of Christ, is often called the righteousness of God, because it is a righteousness of God's providing, and a righteousness that God is fully satisfied with; and therefore, no fears, no doubts, no cavils, no objections, no disputes can stand before this blessed and glorious righteousness of Jesus Christ, that is imputed to us. But,  
Fifthly, know for your comfort, that the imputed righteousness of Christ is the best title that you have to show for a Kingdom that shakes not, for riches that corrupt not, 
Heb. 12. 28. 1 Pet. 1 3, 4, 5. 2 Cor. 5. 1, 2, 3, 4,  for an inheritance that fadeth not away, and for an house not made with bands, but one eternal in the heavens. 'Tis the fairest certificate that you have to show for all that happiness and blessedness that you look for in that other world: The righteousness of Christ is your life, your joy, your comfort, your crown, your confidence, your heaven, your all; oh that you were still so wise, as to keep a fixed eye, and an awakened heart upon the mediatory righteousness of Christ; for that's the righteousness, by which you may safely and comfortably live, and by which you may happily and quietly die. It was a very sweet and golden confession, which Bernard made, when he thought 
Guliel. Abbess, in v●ta Bern. lib. 1. cap. 12.  himself to be at the point of death: I confess, said he, I am not worthy, I have no merits of mine own to obtain heaven by: but my Lord had a double right thereunto; an hereditary right as a son, and a meritorious right as a sacrifice; he was contented with the one right himself, the other right he hath given unto me; by the virtue of which gift, I do rightly lay claim unto it, and am not confounded: ah, that believers would dwell much upon this, that they have a righteousness in Christ; that is, as full, perfect and complete, as if they had fulfilled the Law; Christ being the end of the Law for righteousness to believers, invests believers with a righteousness, every way as complete, as the personal obedience of the Law, would 
Rom. 8. 3, 4.  have invested them withal; yea, the righteousness that believers have by Christ is, in some respect, better than that they should have had by Adam: 1. Because of the dignity of Christ's person, he being the son of God, his righteousness is more glorious than Adam's was, his righteousness is called the righteousness of God; and we are made the 
2 Cor. 5. 21.  righteousness of God in him. The first Adam was a mere man, the second Adam is God and man. 2. Because the righteousness is perpetual; Adam was a mutable person, he lost his righteousness (in one day say some) and all that glory which his posterity should have possessed, had he stood fast in innocency: But the righteousness of Christ cannot be lost; his righteousness is like himself, from everlasting to everlasting, 'tis an everlasting righteousness; when once this white raiment is put upon a believer, it 
D●n. 9 24.  can never fall off, it can never be taken off. This splendid glorious righteousness of Jesus Christ's, is as really a 
Rev. 19 8.  believers, as if he had wrought it himself. A believer is no loser, but a gainer by Adam's fall; by the loss of Adam's righteousness, is brought to light, a more glorious and durable righteousness, than ever Adam's was; and upon the account of an interest in this righteousness, a believer may challenge all the glory of that upper world. But,  
Sixthly, know for your comfort, that this imputed righteousness of Christ, is the only true basis, bottom and ground, for a believer to build his happiness upon, his joy and comfort upon, and the true peace and quiet of his conscience upon: what, though Satan, or thy own heart, or the world condemns thee; yet, in this thou mayst rejoice, that God justifies thee: you see what a bold challenge Paul makes, Rom. 8. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect, it is God that justifieth? some read 
R●m. 8. 33. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, signifies in ●●s vecare, o call in o th● I am. It is a Law custom to clear men by Proclaration, if one hath been indicted at the Assizes, and no Bill ●roughtin against him, there is an Oh yes made, if any ha●e any thing to say against the prisoner at the bar, let him come forth, since he stands upon his freedom The application is easy.  it question-wise, thus, shall God that justifieth? no such matter: and if the judge acquit the prisoner at the bar, he cares not, though the Jailor, or his fellow prisoners condemn him; so here, there are no accusers that a believer needs to fear, seeing that it is God himself, who is the supreme Judge, that absolves him as just; God absolves, and therefore it is to no purpose for Satan to accuse us, Rev. 12. 10. nor for the Law of Moses to accuse us, John 5. 45. nor for our own Consciences to accuse us, Rom. 2. 25. nor for the world to accuse us: God is the highest Judge, and his Tribunal-seat is the supreme Judgment-seat; therefore, from thence there is no appealing: As amongst men, persons accused or condemned, may appeal, till they come to the highest Court; but if, in the highest, they are absolved and discharged, than they are free, and safe, and well, so the believer being absolved before God's Tribunal seat, there is no further accusations to be feared, all appeals from thence being void, and of no force: The consideration of which should arm us, and comfort us, and strengthen us against all terrors of conscience, guilt of sin, accusation of the Law, and cruelty of Satan; in as much as these either dare not appear before God, to accuse us, or charge us; or if they do, it is but lost labour. Ambrose gives the sense thus; None can or dare retract the judgement of God; for he confidently provoketh all adversaries, if they dare come forth to accuse; not that there is no cause, but because God hath justified: It is God that justifieth, therefore it is in vain to accuse them; and It is God that justifieth them, if God doth it, none can reverse it, for there are none that are equal with God: Let all the accusations, which shall come in against thee, from one hand or another, be true or false, they shall never hurt thee; for he, from whom there is no appeal, hath fully acquitted thee, and therefore no accusation can endanger thy peace. Ah, what a strong Cordial would this be to all the people of God, if they would but live in the power of this glorious truth, that It is God that judifies them, and that there lies no accusations in the Court of Heaven against them! the great reason why many poor Christians are under so many dejections, despondencies and perplexities is because they drink no more of this water of life. It is God that justifieth: did Christians live more upon this breast, It is God that justifieth, they would be no more 
Gen. 41. 1, 2, 3.  like Pharaoh's lean Kine, but would be fat and flourishing, did they but draw more out of this Well of salvation, It is God that justifieth; how would their spirits revive, and a new life rise up in them, as did in the dead child, by 
2 King. 4. 34, 35, 36, 37.  the Prophet Elisha's applying himself to it. The Imputed Righteousness of Christ, is a real, sure and solid foundation, upon which, a believer may safely build his peace, joy, and everlasting rest; yea, it will help him to glory in 
Rom. 5. 1, 2, 3.  tribulations, and to triumph over all adversities; Isa. 45. 24. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. That which is the greatest terror in the world to unbelievers, is the strongest ground of comfort to believers; that is, the justice and wrath of God against sin. Look how it was when the Angel appeared at the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ; The keepers were affrighted, 
Mat. 28. 4, 5.  and became as dead men: but it was said to the women, Fear not ye, for ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, that was crucified: so it is much more in this case; when God's Justice is powerfully manifested, the sinners of Zion and 
Isa. 33. 14.  the world, are afraid and terrified: but yet poor believers seek for Christ who was crucified, ye need not fear any thing; yea, you may be wonderfully cheered at this and it is your greatest comfort, that you have to deal with this just God, who hath already received satisfaction for your sins. It is observable that the Saints triumph in the justice and judgements of God, that are most terrible to the enemies of God, in that which is the substance of the song of Moses and the Lamb, Rev. 15. 3, 4, 5. so in that Luk. 26. 28. where the day of judgement is described (say some) and that in it, there shall be distress of nations, and men's hearts failing them for fear (viz. of the justice and wrath of God:) Why so? it is for looking after those things that are to come upon the earth; for the powers of the earth shall be shaken, etc. But when these things begin to come to pass; Then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth near. This day is the most dreadful day that ever was in the world to all the ungodly, but the just and faithful, then shall be able to lift up their heads; to see all the world on a light fire about them, and all the Elements in terrible confusion. But how dare a poor creature lift up his head in such a case as this? They shall see the son of man, coming in a cloud, with power and great glory: here is enough to comfort the poor members of Christ, to see Christ, on whom they have believed, and who hath satisfied God's justice for them, and imputed his own righteousness to them: to see him set upon his judgement seat, cannot but be matter of joy and rejoicing to them. Now they shall find the power of that word upon their souls; Isa. 40. 1. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord; speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and say unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received at the Lord's hand, double for her sins: i e. Their conflict with the wrath of God, is at an end, the punishment of their iniquity is accepted, they have received in their head and surety, Christ Jesus, double for their sins: i e. Justice hath passed upon them, in their head, Christ Jesus; and they are sure that the judge of all the earth will do right, and will not punish their sins twice: The exactness of God's justice cannot do this, Job 34. 10. Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness▪ and from the Almighty, that be should commit iniquity: vers. 12. Yea; surely God will not do wickedly; neither will the Almighty pervert judgement. It would be high injustice in a magistrate, to punish the same offence twice: and it would be high blasphemy for any to assert, that ever God should be guilty of such injustice. Whilst Christians set up a righteousness of their own, and build not upon the 
Rom. 10. 3.  righteousness of Christ, how unsettled are they? how miserably are they tossed up and down, sometimes fearing and sometimes hoping, sometimes supposing themselves in a good condition, and anon seeing themselves upon the very brink of hell? but now, all is quiet and serene with that soul that builds upon the righteousness of Christ; for he being justified by faith, hath peace with God: observe 
Rom. 5. 1.  that noble description of Christ, in that, Isa. 32. 2. And a man (that is, the man Christ Jesus) shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land, When a man is clothed with the righteousness of Christ, who is God man, it is neither wind nor tempest, it is neither drought nor weariness, that can disturb the peace of his soul; for Christ and his righteousness will be a hiding place, a cover, and rivers of water, and the shadow of a great rock unto him: for, being at perfect peace with God, he may well say with the Psalmist, 
Isa. 26. 3. Psal. 4. 6, 7, 8.  I will lay me down in peace: The peace and comfort of an awakened sinner, can never stand firm and stable, but upon the Basis of a positive righteousness: When a sensible sinner casts his eye upon his own righteousness, holiness, fastings, prayers, tears, humblings, melt; he can find no place for the sole of his foot to rest firmly upon, by reason of the spots, and blots, and blemishes, that cleaves both to his graces and duties; He knows that his prayers need pardon, and that his tears need washing in the blood of the Lamb, and that his very righteousness needs another's righteousness, to secure him from condemnation. If thou Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand? 
Psal. 130. 3. Psal. 1. 5.  that is, rectus in curia, stand, that is, in judgement: Extremity of justice he deprecateth; he would not be dealt with in rigour and rage: The best man's life, is fuller of sins, than the firmament is of stars, or the furnace of sparks; and therefore who can stand in judgement, and not fall under the weight of thy just wrath, which burneth as low as hell itself, i. e. none can stand: were the faults of the best man alive but written in his forehead, he was never able to stand in judgement: when a man comes to the Law for Justification, it convinceth him of sin; when he pleads his innocence, that he is not so great a sinner as others are, when he pleds his righteousness, his duties, his good meanings, and his good desires; the Law tells him that they are all weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and found 
Dau. 5. 27.  too light; the Law tells him, that the best of his duties will not save him, and that the least of his sins will damn him; the Law tells him, that his own righteousnesses, are as filthy rags, do but defile him; and that his best services do but witness against him; The Law looks for perfect and personal obedience, and because the sinner cannot come up to it, it pronounceth him accursed; and though the 
Gal. 3. 10.  sinner sues hard for mercy, yet the Law will show him none, no though he seeks it carefully with tears: but, 
Heb. 12. 17.  now, when the believing sinner casts his eye upon the righteousness of Christ, he sees that righteousness to be a perfect and exact righteousness, as perfect and exact as that of the Law, yea, it is the very righteousness of the Law, though not performed by him, yet by his surety, the Lord his righteousness; and upon this foundation he stands firm, and rejoices with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. The Saints of old have always placed their happiness, peace, and comfort in their perfect and complete Justification, rather than in their imperfect and incomplete sanctification; as you may see by the Scriptures in the margin, with 
Jer. 23. 6. 1 Pet. 1. 8. Luk. 7. 48, 50. Rom. 4. 6, 8. cap. 5. 1, 3. Isa. 38. 16, 17. cap. 45. 24, 25. Phil. 4. 7.  many others that are scattered up and down in the blessed book of God. That text is worthy to be written in letters of Gold, Isa. 61. 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord (saith the sound believer) my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, (He hath imputed and given unto me the perfect holiness and obedience of my blessed Saviour, and made it mine) he hath covered me (all over, from top to toe) with the robe of righteousness as a bride groom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. Though a Christian's inherent righteousness be weak and imperfect, ●maimed and stained, blotted and blurred, as it is; yet it affords much comfort, peace, joy, and rejoicing, 
1 Chron. 29. 9 J●b. 27. 4, 5, 6. Neh. 13. 14, 22, 31. Isa. 38. 3. Prov. 21. 14. 2 Cor. 1. 12. 1 Pet. 3. 3. 4. cap. 5. 4.  as you may see, by comparing the Scriptures in the Margin together: Job was much taken with his inherent righteousness, Job 29. 14. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgement was as a robe, and a diadem unto me. Look as sober, modest, comely apparel, doth much set forth, and adorn the body in the eyes of men; so doth inherent grace, inherent holiness, inherent righteousness, when it sparkles in the faces, lips, lives, and good works of the Saints, much more beautify and adorn them in the eyes, both of God and man. Now, if this garment of inherent righteousness, that hath so many spots and rents in it, will adorn us, and joy us so much, what a beauty and glory is that, which the Lord our God hath put upon us, in clothing us with the robe of his son's righteousness; for by this means we shall recover more by Christ, than we lost by Adam: the robe of righteousness, which we have gotten by Christ, the second Adam, is far more glorious, than that which we were deprived of, by the first Adam. But,  
Seventhly, Then know for your comfort, that you 
7. Gal. 6. 14.  have the highest reason in the world to rejoice and triumph in Christ Jesus; Phil. 3. 3. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus: we rejoice in the person of Christ, and we rejoice in the righteousness of Christ, 2 Cor. 2. 14. Now, thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ; Deo gratias was ever in Paul ●s mouth, and ever in Austin's mouth, and should be ever in a Christians mouth, when his eye is fixed upon the righteousness of Christ: Every believer is in a more blessed and happy estate, by means of the righteousness of Christ, than Adam was in innocency, and that upon a threefold account; all which are just and noble grounds for every Christian to rejoice and triumph in Christ Jesus: 1. That righteousness which 
Gen. 3. chap. Psal. 8. 5. E●cles. 7. 29.  Adam had, was uncertain, and such, as it was possible for him to lose; yea, he did lose it, and that in a very short time: God gave him power and freedom of will, either to hold it, or lose it; and we know, soon after, upon choice, he proved a Bankrupt: but the righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, is made more firm and sure to us: it is that good part, that noble portion, that shall never be taken from us, as Christ said to Mary. Adam 
Luk. 10. 42.  sinned away his righteousness, but a believer cannot sin away the righteousness of Jesus Christ: It is not possible 
● John 3. 9 R●m. 8. 35, 39  for the Elect of God, so to sin, as to lost Christ, or to strip themselves of that robe of righteousness, which Christ hath put upon them. The gates of ●ell shall never be able 
Mat. 16. 18.  to prevail against that soul, that is interested in Christ, that is clothed with the righteousness of Christ: Now, what higher ground of joy and triumph in Christ Jesus, can there be than this. But Secondly, the righteousness that Adam had was in his own keeping, the spring and root of it was sounded in himself, and that was the cause why he lost it so soon: Adam (like the Prodigal son) had 
Luk. 15. 12. 13.  all his portion, his happiness, his holiness, his blessedness his righteousness, in his own hands, in his own keeping; and so quickly lost stock and block, as some speak it: O but now, that blessed righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, is not in our own keeping, but in our father's keeping. Look, as our persons, graces and inherent righteousness are kept (as in a Garrison) by the power of God 
1 Pet. 1. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, the original is a military word, and signifies safe keeping● kept as with a Guard, or in a Garrison, that is well fenced with walls and works, and so is made impregnable.  unto salvation; so that righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, is kept for us by the mighty power of God, unto salvation; God the father is the Lord Keeper, not only of our inherent righteousness, but also of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ unto us: My sheep shall never perish (saith our Saviour, John 10. 28, 29.) neither shall any pluck them out of my hand; my father that gave them me, is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my father's hands. Though the Saints may meet with many shakes and toss in their various conditions in this world; yet their final perseverance, till they come to full possession of eternal life, is certain: God is so unchangeable in his purposes of love, and so invincible in his power; that neither Satan, nor the world, nor their own flesh, shall ever be able to separate them from a Crown of righteousness, 2. Tim. 4. 7, 8. A Crown of life, Rev. 2. 10. A Crown of glory, 1 Pet. 5, 4.. The power of God is so far above all created opposition, that it will certainly maintain the Saints in a state of Grace. Now, what a bottom and ground for rejoicing and triumphing in Christ Jesus, is here. But Thirdly, Admit, that the righteousness that Adam had in his Creation, had been unchangeable, and that he could never have lost it; yet, it had been but the righteousness of a man, of a mere creature, and what a poor, low righteousness would that have been, to that high and glorious righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, which is the righteousness of such a person as was God as well as man; yea, that righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, is a higher righteousness, and a more excellent, transcendent righteousness, than that of the Angels; though the righteousness of the Angels be perfect and complete in its kind, yet it is but the righteousness of mer● creatures; But the righteousness of the Saints, in which they stand clothed before the throne of God, is the right ousness of that person, which is both God and man. Look as the second Adam was a far more excellent person, than the first Adam was: The first man was of the earth, earthy; 
1 Cor. 15. 47. Look, as Adam conveys his guilt to all his children, so Christ conveys his righteousness to all his: he was caput cum foedere, as well as the first Adam.  (as the Apostle speaks) The second was the Lord from heaven (not for the matter of his body, for he was made of a woman, but for the original and dignity of his person; whereof you may see a lively and lofty description in Heb. 1. 2, 3.) so his righteousness also, must needs be far more excellent, absolute, glorious, and every way all-sufficient to satisfy the infinite justice of God, and the exact perfection of his holy Law, than ever Adam's righteousness, could possibly have done. Remember sirs, that that righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, is called the righteousness of God: He made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, saith the Apostle, in 2 Cor. 5. 21. Now, that righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ, is called the righteousness of God: 1. because it is such a righteousness as God requires: 2. As he approves of, and accepts: 3. As he takes infinite pleasure, and delight, and satisfaction in. The Righteousness the Apostle speaks of in that Scripture last mentioned, is not to be understood of the essential righteousness of Christ, which is infinite, and no ways communicable to the creature, unless we will make a creature a God; but we are to understand it, of that righteousness of Christ, that is imputed to believers, as their sin is imputed to him. Now, what a Well of salvation is here? what three noble grounds, and what matchless bottoms are here, for a Christian's joy and triumph in Christ Jesus? who hath put so glorious a Robe, as his own righteousness upon them. Ah Christians, let not the consolations of 
Job 15. 11.  God, be small in your eyes; why take you no more comfort and delight in Christ Jesus? why rejoice you no more in him? not to rejoice in Christ Jesus is a plain breach of that Gospel command; Rejoice in the Lord always (that is, 
Phil. 4. 4.  rejoice in Christ) and again I say rejoice, saith the Apostle; he doubleth the mandate, to show the necessity and excellency of the duty: so Phil. 3. 1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Now, in some respects, the breach of the commands of the Gospel, are greater than the breach 
See Heb. 2. 2, 3. 8. 6. 10. 28, 29.  of the commands of the Moral Law; for the breach of the commands of the Gospel carrieth in it a contempt and light esteem of Jesus Christ. Men's not rejoicing in Christ Jesus, must flow from some dangerous humour, and base corruption or other, that highly distempers their precious souls. If all created excellencies, if all the privileges of God's people, if all the kingdoms of the earth, and the glory of them, were to be presented at one view, they would all appear as nothing, and emptiness, in comparison of the excellency and fullness that is to be found in Christ Jesus: and therefore, the greater is their sin, who rejoice not in Christ Jesus. Do you ask me where be 
Plutarch in Phocione.  my Jewels? my Jewels are my Husband, and his Triumphs, said Phocion's wife: do you ask me, where be my ornaments? my ornaments are my two sons, brought up in virtue and learning, said the mother of the Gracchis. Do you ask me where be my Treasures? my Treasures are my friends, said Constantius, the father of Constantine: but now, if you ask a child of God (when he is not clouded, tempted, deserted, dejected) where be his Jewels, his Treasures, his Ornaments, his comfort, his joy, his delight; he will answer with that Martyr, none but Christ, none but Christ: Oh! none to Christ, none to Christ; Christ is all in all unto me, Colos. 3. 11. Aeterna erit exultatio, quae bono laetatur aeterno: That joy lasts for ever, whose object remains for ever: such an object is our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore the joy of the saints should still be exercised upon our Lord Jesus Christ; shall the worldling rejoice in his barns, the rich man in his bags, the ambitious man in his honours, the voluptuous man in his pleasures, and the wanton in his dalilah's; and shall not a Christian rejoice in Christ Jesus, and in that robe of righteousness, and in those garments of salvation, with 
Isa. 61. 10.  which Christ hath covered him. The joy of that Christian that keeps a fixed eye upon Christ and his righteousness, cannot be expressed, it cannot be painted, no man can paint the sweetness of the honeycomb, nor the sweetness of a cluster of Canaan, nor the fragrancy of the Rose of Sharon: As the being of things cannot be painted, so the sweetness of things cannot be painted: The joy of the Holy Ghost cannot be painted, nor that joy that arises in a Christian's heart, who keeps up a daily converse with Christ and his righteousness, cannot be painted, it cannot be expressed: who can look upon the glorious body of our Lord Jesus Christ; and seriously consider, that even every vein of that blessed body did bleed to bring him to heaven, and not rejoice in Christ Jesus? who can look upon the glorious righteousness of Christ, imputed to him, and not be filled with an exuberancy of spiritual joy in God his Saviour? There is not the pardon of the least sin, nor the least degree of grace, nor the least drop of mercy, but cost Christ dear, for he must die, and he must be made a sacrifice, and he must be accursed, that pardon may be thine, and grace thine, and mercy thine: and oh how should this draw out thy heart to rejoice and triumph in Christ Jesus. The work of redemption sets both Angels and Saints 
Rev. 5. 11, 12, 13, 14. Rev. 1. 5, 6. cap. 5. 8, 9, 10.  a rejoicing and triumphing in Christ Jesus; and why not we, why not we also, who have received infinite more benefit by the work of Redemption, than ever the Angels have? A beautiful face is at all times pleasing to the eye; but then especially, when there is joy manifested in the countenance. Joy in the face puts a new beauty upon a person, and makes that which before was beautiful, to be exceeding beautiful, it puts a lustre upon beauty; so does holy joy and rejoicing in Christ Jesus, put (as it were) a new beauty and lustre upon Christ. Though the Romans punished one that feasted, and looked out at a 
Plin. 1. c. 7.  window, with a Garland on his head, in the second Punic war: yet, you may be sure, that God will never punish you for rejoicing and triumphing in Christ Jesus, let the times be never so sad or bad, in respect of war, blood or misery. But,  
Eighthly, The Imputed Righteousness of Christ may serve to comfort, support, and bear up the hearts of the people of God, from fainting and sinking under the sense of the weakness and imperfection of their inherent righteousness. The Church of old have lamentingly said, we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness 
Isa 64. 6.  is as filthy rags: when a Christian keeps a serious eye upon the spots, blots, blemishes, infirmities, and follies, that cleaves to his inherent righteousness, fears and tremble arise, to the sadding and sinking of his soul; but when he casts a fixed eye upon the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, than his comforts revive, and his heart bears up; for though he hath 〈◊〉 righteousness of his own, by which his soul may 〈◊〉 accepted before God, yet he hath God's righteousness, which infinitely transcends his own, and such as, in God's account, goes for his, as if he had exactly fulfilled the righteousness which the Law requires; according to that of the Apostle, Rom. 9 30. What shall we say then? the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. Faith wraps itself in the righteousness of Christ, and so justifieth us. The Gentiles sought righteousness, not in themselves, but in Christ; which they apprehending by faith, were by it justified in the sight of God, and the Jews seeking it in themselves, and thinking, by the goodness of their own works, to attain to the righteousness of the Law, miss of it; it being in no man's power, perfectly to fulfil the same, only Christ hath exactly fulfilled it, for all that, by faith, close savingly with him. Oh sirs, none can be justified in the sight of God, by a righteousness of their own making: but whosoever will be justified, must be justified by the righteousness 
R●m. 3. 20, 28. cap. 10. 2. Gal. 2. 16. T●. 3. 5.  of Christ through faith. The Gentiles, by faith attain the righteousness of the Law, therefore the righteousness of the Law, and of faith, are all one; viz. in respect of matter and form, the difference is only in the worker; The Law requires it to be done by ourselves; the Gospel mitigates the rigour of the Law, and offers the righteousness of Christ, who performed the Law, even to a hairs breadth. The right way to righteousness for justification is by Christ, who is the way, the door, the truth, and the life; because we want a righteousness of our own, God hath assigned us the righteousness of Christ, which is infinitely better than our own, yea, better than our very lives, may I not say, yea better than our very souls. The branch Christ Jesus is called Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness, Jer. 23. 6. And this is his name, whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS: Where note, first, to be called by this name, is to be so really, for Christ is never called what he is not: and so he is, to the same purpose, elsewhere 
Mat. 1. 23.  called Immanuel, God with us; that is, he shall be so indeed, God with us; so here he shall be called, the Lord our righteousness; that is, he shall be so indeed. Secondly, observe this is one of his glorious names, that is, one of his Attributes, which he accounts his excellency, and his glory. Now all the attributes of Christ are unchangeable, so that he can as easily change his nature as his name. Now remember, that this imputed righteousness of Christ, procures acceptance for our inherent righteousness: when a sincere Christian casts his eye upon the weaknesses, infirmities and imperfections, that daily attend his best services, he sighs and mourns; but if he looks upward, to the Imputed Righteousness of Jesus Christ, that shall bring forth his infirm, weak and sinful performances, perfect, spotless and sinless, and approved according to the tenor of the Gospel, so that they become spiritual sacrifices, he cannot 
1 Pet. 2. 5.  but rejoice. For as there is an imputation of righteousness to the persons of believers, so there is also, an imputation to their services and actions: As the fact of 
Psal. 106. 31.  Phineas, was imputed to him for righteousness; so the imperfect good works that are done by believers, are accounted righteousness, or (as Calvin speaks) are accounted for righteousness, they being dipped in the blood of Christ: (tincta sanguine Christi) i. e. they are accounted righteous actions; and so sincere Christians shall be judged 
Rev. 11. 18. cap. 20. 12. Mat. 25. 34, 35, 36, 37.  according to their good works, though not saved for them. And 'tis observable in that famous process of the last judgement, that the supreme judge makes mention of the bounty and liberality of the Saints; and so bestows the Crown of life, and the eternal inheritance upon them; so that, though the Lord's faithful ones have eminent cause to be humbled and afflicted, for the many weaknesses that cleaves to their best duties; yet, on the other hand, they have wonderful cause to rejoice and triumph, 
Heb. 13. 20, 21. 1 Cor. 6 11. Mal. 4. 2.  that they are made perfect through Jesus Christ, and that the Lord looks at them (through the righteousness of Christ) as fruits of his own spirit. The Sun of Righteousness hath healing enough in his wings, for all our spiritual Maladies: The Saints prayers, being perfumed with 
Rev. 8. 3, 4.  Christ's odours, are highly accepted in heaven: Upon this bottom of Imputed Righteousness, believers may have exceeding strong consolation, and good hope through grace; that both their persons and services do find singular acceptation with God, as having no spot or blemish at all in them: Surely Righteousness imputed, must be the top of our happiness and blessedness, Rom. 4, 5, 6. But,  
Ninthly and lastly, know for your comfort, that Imputed Righteousness will give you the greatest boldness before God's Judgment-seat. There is an absolute, and indispensible necessity of a perfect Righteousness, wherewith to appear before God: The holiness of God's nature, the righteousness of his Government, the severity of his Law, and the terror of wrath, calls aloud upon the sinner for a complete Righteousness; without which, 
Psal. 1. 5.  there is no standing in judgement. That Righteousness only, is able to justify us before God, which is perfect, and that hath no defect nor blemish in it, such as may abide the trial before his Judgment-seat; such as may fitly satisfy his justice, and make our peace with him; and consequently such, as whereby the Law of God is fulfilled. Therefore it is called the Righteousness of God; such a 
Rom. 10. 3.  Righteousness as he requires, as will stand before him, and satisfy his justice: so the Apostle saith, The righteousness 
Rom. 8. 4.  of the Law must be fulfilled in us. Now there is no other Righteousness under heaven, whereby the Law of God was ever perfectly fulfilled, but by the righteousness of Christ alone; no righteousness below the Righteousness of Christ, was ever able to abide the trial at God's judgment-seat; and fully to satisfy his justice, and pacify his wrath. A gracious soul triumphs more in the Righteousness of Christ Imputed, than he would have done, if he could have stood, in the Righteousness, in which he was created. This is the crowning comfort to a sensible and understanding soul, that he stands righteous before a Judgment-seat, in that full, exact, perfect, complete, matchless, spotless, pearless, and most acceptable Righteousness of Christ imputed to him: The Righteousness 
R●m. 3. 21, 22. cap. 10 3. ●hil. 3. 9  of Christ, is therefore called the Righteousness of God; because it is it, which God hath assigned, and which God doth accept for us in our justification; and for, and in which, he doth acquit, and pronounce us righteous before his seat of Justice. There is an indispensible necessity that lies upon the sinner, to have such a Righteousness to his justification, as may render his appearance safe and comfortable in the day of Judgement. Now, there is no righteousness that can abide that day of fiery trial, but the Righteousness of Christ imputed to us: Paul, that great Apostle, had as fair and as full a Certificate to show 
Phil. 3. 4, 5, 6. Act. 23 6. 2 Cor. 11. 22.  for a legal Justification, as any person under heaven had; but yet he durst not stand by that righteousness, he durst not plead that righteousness, he durst not appear in that righteousness, before the dreadful Judgment-seat: But oh, how earnest, how importunate is he, that he may be found (in that great day of the Lord) in the Mediatory Righteousness 
Phil. 3. 9, 10.  of Christ, and not in his own personal righteousness, which he looked upon as filthy rags, as dross, dung, dog's meat: the great thing that he most strongly insists up on is, that he might be clothed with the Robe of Christ's Righteousness; for then, he knew that the Law could not say, black was his eye, and that the Judge upon the Bench, would pronounce him righteous, and bid him enter into the joy of his Lord, a joy too great to enter into 
Mat. 25. 21, 23, 24  him, and therefore he must enter into that: when the match is made up between Christ and the soul, that soul bears her sovereigns name. The spouse of the first Adam, and her husband, had both one name; God called their 
Gen. 5. 2.  name Adam, in the day that he made them: so the Spouse of the second Adam, in the change of her condition, from 
Christ and Christians are name-sakes. caput & corpus, unus est Christus. Aug. The head is called Christ, and the members are called Christ, ● Cor. 12. 12. Christ is called Solomon, Cant. ●●. cap. 3. 1●. in Hebrew Sh●lom●h of peace, and the Church is called Shulamite, by he● Bridegrooms name; Cant. 6. 13.  a single, to a married estate, with Christ the Lamb; had a change of her name: The head is called, The Lord our righteousness, Jer. 23. 6. and so is the Church, Jer. 33. 16. In those days shall Judah he saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name, wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness: here is a sameness of name. As Christ is called The Lord our righteousness, so his spouse is called, The Lord our righteousness: Oh happy transnomination, Christ's Bride being one with himself; and having his Righteousness imputed to her, is called, The Lord our righteousness: and therefore they may, with the greatest cheerfulness and boldness bear up, in the great day of account, who have the perfect Righteousness of Christ imputed to them; especially if you consider, 1. That this Righteousness is of infinite value and worth: 2. That 
Dan. 9 24.  it is an everlasting righteousness, a righteousness that can never be lost: 3. That it is an unchangeable Righteousness; Though times change, and men change, and friends change, and providences change, and the Moon 
Mal. 4. 2.  change, yet the Sun of Righteousness never changes, 
J●mes 1. 17.  in him is no variableness, neither shad●w of turning: 4. That it is a complete and unspotted Righteousness, an unblameable Righteousness, and unblemished Righteousness; and therefore God can neither in Justice, except or object against it: In this Righteousness the believer lives, in this Righteousness the believer dies, and in this Righteousness believers shall arise, and appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to the deep admiration of all the elect Angels, and to the transcendent terror and horror of all Reprobates, and to the matchless joy and triumph of all on Christ's right hand, who shall then shout and sing, Isa. 61. 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God: for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels. Oh, how 
2 Thes. 1. 10.  will Christ, in this great day, be admired and glorified in all his Saints, when every Saint wrapped up in this fine Linen, in this white Robe of Christ's Righteousness, shall shine more gloriously than ten thousand Suns. In the great day of the Lord: when the Saints shall stand before the Tribunal of God, clothed in the perfect Righteousness of Jesus Christ; they shall then stand, recti in curiâ; they shall then be pronounced righteous, even in the Court of Divine Justice; which sentence will fill their souls with comfort, and the souls of sinners with astonishment: Suppose 
Rev. 20. 12. cap. 12. 10.  we saw the believing sinner, holding up his hand at God's Bar: the books opened, the accuser of the brethren present, the witnesses ready, and the Judge on the Bench, thus bespeaking the sinner at the Bar; Oh sinner, 
R●m 7. 12, 14, 16. G●l. 3. 10.  sinner, thou standest here indicted before me, for many millions of sins of commission, and for many millions of sins of omission, thou hast broken my holy, just and righteous Laws, beyond all humane conception, or expression, and hereof thou art proved guilty: What hast thou now to say for thyself, why thou shouldst not be eternally cast? Upon this, the sinner pleads guilty; but withal, he earnestly desires, that he may have time and liberty to 
Mat. 25. 41.  plead for himself, and to offer his reasons, why that dreadful sentence, Go you cursed, etc. should not be passed upon him: The liberty desired, being granted by the Judge: The sinner pleads, that his surety, Jesus Christ, hath, by his blood and sufferings, given full and complete satisfaction to Divine Justice, and that he hath paid down upon 
Heb. 10. 10, 14.  the nail the whole debt at once, and that it can never stand with the holiness, and unspotted justice of God, to demand satisfaction twice. If the Judge shall farther object, 
Gal. 3. 10.  I but sinner, sinner, The Law requireth an exact and perfect Righteousness in the personal fulfilling of it; now sinner, where is thy exact and perfect righteousness? Upon which the believing sinner, very readily, cheerfully, 
Isa. 45. 24.  humbly and boldly replies, my righteousness is upon the Bench, In the Lord have I Righteousness, Christ my Surety, hath fulfilled the Law on my behalf. The Laws Righteousness consists in two things: 1. In its requiring perfect conformity to its commands: 2. In its demanding satisfaction, or the undergoing of its penalty, upon the violation of it, Now Christ, by his active and passive obedience, hath fulfilled the Law for Righteousness, and this active and passive obedience of Jesus Christ is imputed to me; his obeying the Law to the full, his perfect comforming to its commands, his doing as well as his dying obedience, is by grace made over and reckoned to me in order to my justification and salvation; and this is my plea, by which I will stand before the Judge of all the world: Upon this the sinners plea is accepted as good in Law, and accordingly he is pronounced righteous; and goes away, glorying and rejoicing, triumphing and shouting it out, 
sla. 45. 25.  Righteous, Righteous, Righteous, Righteous; In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory. And thus you see that here are nine springs of strong consolation, that flow into your souls, through the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness unto you. But,  
The sixth Plea that a believer may form up, as to the ten 
Eccl f, 11. 9 cap. 12. 14. Mat 12. 14. cap. 18. 23. Luk. 16. 3. Rom. 14. 10. 2 Cor. 5. 10. Heb. 9 27. c●p. 13. 17. 1 Pet. 4. 5.  Scriptures in the Margin, that refer● to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account, may be drawn from the consideration of Christ, as a common person, a representative head, one that represents another man's person, and acts the part of another, according to the appointment of the Law, the acceptation of the Judge: so that what is done by him, the person is said to do; whose person he doth represent. And so was Adam a common person, and that by an act of God's Sovereignty; appointing him, in making a covenant with him so to be, 
Rom. 5. 15, 16 17, 18, 19 We were all i● Adam, as the whole Country is in a Parliament-man. An although w● chose not, ye● God chose for ●s  and he did represent all Mankind: And hence it comes to pass, that his sin is imputed unto us, and made ours; so in our Law, an Attorney appears in the behalf of his Client; and so Christ is said to be gone to heaven, as our Attorney, to appear in the presence of God for us, Heb. 9 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, To appear as a Lawyer appears for his Client; opens the cause, pleads the cause, and carries it. The word appear, is verbum forense, an expression borrowed from the custom of humane Courts: for in them, when the Plaintiff or Defendant is called, their Attorney appeareth in their behalf: so, 1 John, 2. 1. you know that the Levitical Priest was wont to appear before God, in the people's name: Now, he was but a figure, in Christ is the solid truth, and full effect of the figure: Or as taking Possession, Livery and Seizing by an Attorney, is all one, as if done by the person himself, who is represented, and is valid: so the Lord Jesus, he is a common person, by an act of God's Sovereignty, representing the persons of all the Elect of God, being designed and appointed by God, to be a second Adam: And as the first Adam did represent all in him, so the second Adam does represent all in him also; and therefore, as Judgement came upon all in the first Adam, so Righteousness comes upon all in the second Adam: we all transgressed the Royal Law in Adam, we were all in Adam's Loins; what he was, we were; what he did, we did. Although we did not, in our own persons, either talk with the Serpent, or put forth 
Gen. 3.  our hands to take the fruit; yet we did eat the forbidden fruit as well as he, and so broke the holy Law, and turned aside in him: for he was not a single person, standing for himself alone; but a public person, standing in the room of all mankind: therefore, his sin being not merely the sin of his person, but of the whole nature of man, is justly imputed to us all. If Adam had stood fast in his uprightness, in his primitive purity, glory and excellency, 
Eccles. 7. 29.  we should all have shared in his happiness and blessedness; but he falling, and forfeiting all, we must all share with him in his loss and misery: ponder upon Rom. 5. 12. In whom all have sinned. As the Murrain infects the whole flock, so sin and the curse seizeth upon all the whole world, as well as upon Adam and Eve: and vers. 19 By one man's disobedience, many are made sinners: Many, is here put for All, as All elsewhere is put for Many, 1 Tim. 2. 3. All sinners are tainted with Adam's guilt and filth. Adam was the head, all his posterity the members; if the head plot and practice treason against the state, is not this judged the act of the whole body? He was the tree, we the branches; when the tree falls, all the branches fall with it: when Christ died on the Cross, he did stand in our room, and place, and stead; for he did lay down his life for us as a Ransom: now when one dies for another, in way of Ransom, he does not only die for the benefit and profit of the ransomed; but in the place, and room, and stead of the ransomed: and thus Christ died for us, as himself testifies, The son of man came, to give himself a 
Mark, 10. 45. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.  ransom for many: Christ risen as a common person, representing all his Elect; and Christ was sanctified as a common person representing all his Elect; and Christ was justified as a common person, representing all his Elect. Look, as we we were condemned in Adam, as he was a common person; so we are justified by Christ, as in a common person also: so that every believer may well look upon himself as acquitted, in his justification, from the guilt of his 
Heb. 9 28.  sins, they being laid upon the head of his surety. It is a very great part of a Christian's wisdom, to be often looking upon Christ, as a representative head, as one in whom 
Eph. 2. 6.  he died, in whom he risen, in whom he is sanctified, and in whom he is justified: how would such a daily eyeing of Christ, scatter a Christian's fears, arm him against temptations, support him under afflictions, weaken his sins, strengthen his graces, cheer his soul, and mend his life.  
'Tis very observable, that in the Levitical expiatory Sacrifices; there was the substitution of them, in the place and stead of the offenders themselves; the people's sin, and the punishment due to them thereupon, was laid upon the poor Beasts that died for them. I might multiply Scriptures to evidence this; but I shall only hint at one or two plain pregnant Texts to clear it. Take that, Levit. 17. 11. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh 
ustin Martyr observes the great mercy of God to mankind, in that, ●●co hominis in ●ie●d of man he caused beasts to be sacrificed.  atonement for the soul: Mark here, the blood is to make atonement for the souls of the people of Israel, that is, in the room and stead of their souls, and accordingly it did make atonement for their souls: so that in the blood sacrificed (which was a Type of the Blood of Christ) there was soul for soul, life for life; the soul and life of the sacrifice, for the precious soul and life of the sinner. Now here you see substitution of the one in the room of the other. The transferring of the guilt and punishment of the people's sins, over to their sacrifices in those days, was the reason, 
Levit. 16. 22. cap. 10. 17, etc.  why the sacrifices were said to bear the iniquities of the people: And it is observable, that at the great Expiation, Aaron was to lay both his hands upon the head of the live Goat, and to confess over him all the sins of the children of Israel, etc. By this Ceremony 
Levit. 16. 21.  of imposition of hands, is signified the transferring of their sins upon the Goat; herein to type out 
si. 53. 6.  Christ, upon whom God did lay the iniquity of us all. Certainly the main thing that is held forth by this Rite (viz. Aaron's laying both his hands upon the head of the live Goat) is the translation of the sinner's guilt to the sacrifice, and the substitution of it in his stead: Typically, the very sins of the people were imposed upon the Goat, who herein was a type of Christ 
Maimomdes.  which did himself bear our sins. Yea, the Hebrews themselves hold, that the Escape goat made atonement for all their sins, lighter and greater, presumptuously and ignorantly committed. Certainly the Escape goat was a most lively Type of our blessed Saviour; 1. In that the Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all, as the sins of Israel were laid upon the head of the Goat: 2. As 
Isa. 4. 2. a●. 53. 8.  the Goat was carried away, so Christ was cut off from the land of the living; his life was taken from off the earth: 3. As 
Acts 9 33. Heb. 9 14. 2 Pet. 3. 13  this Goat was not killed, so Christ through the eternal Spirit offered up himself, whereby he was made alive after death: Though Christ Jesus died for our sins,  to his his Humanity, yet death could not detain him nor overcome him, nor keep him prisoner, but by virtue of his impassable Deity, he rises again, and triumphs over 
Hos. 13. 14.  death and the grave, and over principalities and powers. 
Col. 2. 13.  4. As this Goat went into an inhabitable place, so Christ went into heaven; whither I go ye cannot come. Christ 
Joh. 13. 33.  speaks this, not to exclude his Disciples out of heaven, 
Vers. 36.  but only to show, that their entrance was put off for a time. Saints must not expect to go to heaven and rest with Christ, till they have fought the good fight of faith, 
2 Tim. ●. 7, 8. Heb. 12. 1. 1 Cor. 9 24. Act. 13. 30.  finished their course, run their race, and served their generation: Christ's own children, by all their studies, prayers, tears and endeavours, cannot get to heaven, unless, 
Joh. 14. 1, 2, 3.  Christ come and fetches them thither: Christ's own servants cannot get to heaven presently nor of themselves, no more than the Jews could do. Now if you please to cast your eye upon the Lord Jesus, you will find and exact correspondency between the Type and the Antitype, the one fully answering to the other. Did they carry substitution in them? that eminently was in Christ, he indeed substituted himself in the sinner's room, he took our guilt upon him, and put himself in our place, and died in our stead, he died that we might not die; Whatever we should have undergone, that he underwent in his body and soul; he did bear (as our 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) all the punishments and torments that were due to us: Christ's suffering, dying, satisfying in our stead, is the great Article of a Christian's Faith, and the main prop and foundation of the believers hope: It is bottomed as an eternal and unmovable truth, upon the sure Basis of the blessed Word. Substitution, in the case of the old sacrifices, is not so evidently held forth in the Law, but substitution with respect to Christ and his sacrifice, is more evidently set forth in the Gospel. Ponder seriously upon these Texts: Rom. 5. 6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly: vers. 8. But God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Herein God lays naked to us the tenderest bowels of his fatherly 
This shows us the greatness of man's sin and of Christ's love, of Satan's malice and of God's Justice; and it shows us the madness and blindness of the Popish Religion, which tell● us that some ●●● are so light & ●enial, as that the sprinkling of holy water and ashes will p●rge them away.  compassions, as in an Anatomy. There was an absolute necessity of Christ's dying for sinners: for 1. God's Justice had decreed it; 2. His Word had foretold it; 3. The Sacrifices in the Law had prefigured it; 4. The foulness of man's sin had deserved it; 5. The Redemption of man called for it; 6. The glory of God was greatly exalted by it: So 1 Pet. 3. 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. To see Christ the just, suffer in the stead of the unjust, is the wonderment of Angels, and the torment of Devils: 1 Pet. 4. 1. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, etc. that is, in the humane nature, for the expiation and taking away of our sins: 1 Pet. 2. 21. Because Christ also suffered for us; Joh. 10. 11. I lay down my life for the sheep; this good Shepherd lays down life for life, his own dear life for the life of his sheep: Joh. 11. 50. Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not, that is, rather than the whole nation should perish. Caiaphas' took it for granted, that either Christ or their Nation must perish, and, as he foolishly thought, that of two evils he designed the least to be chosen, that is, that Christ should rather perish, than their Nation: but God so guided his tongue, that he unwittingly by the powerful instinct of the Spirit, prophesied of the fruit of Christ's death, for the reconciliation and salvation of the elect of God. Heb. 2. 9 That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or for every creature: who all these be the Context showeth; 1. Sons that must be led unto glory; ver. 10. 2. Christ's Brethren, ver. 11. 3. Such children as are given by God unto Christ, ver. 13. In all which Scriptures, the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used, which most commonly notes substitution, the doing or suffering of something by one in the stead and place of others, and so 'tis all along here to be taken. But there is another preposition, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that proves the thing I am upon undeniably, Matth. 20. 28. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, 
Matth. 20. 28.  but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉.) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a Redemptory price, a valuable rate; for it was the Blood of God wherewith the Church was purchased, 1 Tim. 2. 6. Who gave 
Acts 20. 28.  himself a ransom (〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉) for all: the Greek word signifies a counterprice, such as we could never have paid, but must have remained everlasting prisoners to the wrath and justice of God. O sirs! Christ did not barely deliver poor captive souls, but he delivered them in the way of a ransom; which ransom he paid down upon the nail; when their ransom was ten thousand talents, 
Matth. 18. 24.  and they had not one farthing to lay down, Christ stand up in their room and pays the whole ransom. Every one knows, that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in composition, signifies but two things, ●ither opposition and contrariety, or substitution and ●●●autation: So that the matter will thus issue; 
1 Joh. 2. 18. Rom. 1●. 17. Matth. 5. 38.  That ei●her we must carry it thus, That Christ gave himself a ransom against sinners (than which nothing can be more absurd and false;) or else thus, That he gave himself a ransom in the room and stead of sinners, which is as true as truth itself. Certainly no head can invent, no heart can conceive, nor no tongue can express, more clear, plain, pregnant and apposite words and phrases, for the setting forth of Christ's substitution, than is to be found in that golden Chapter of Isai. 53. In this Chapter, as in a holy Armoury, we may find, had I time to go through it many pointed daggers, and twoedged swords and shields of brass, to arm us against the corrupt notions and opinions of the blinded and deluded Socinians, who fight with all their might against the Doctrine of Christ's substitution. (Ver. 4.) Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows, etc. (ver. 5.) The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed: (ver. 6.) The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all; (or) the Lord hath made the iniquity of us all to meet on him: (ver. 7.) He was oppressed and he was afflicted, etc. or (as the words are rendered by some) It was exacted and he answered: (ver. 8.) For the transgression of my people he was stricken: (ver. 11.) For he shall bear their iniquities: (ver. 12.) And he bore the sin of many. All men of worth and weight conclude, that all this is spoken of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what more clear and evident proofs can there be of Christ's susception of the sinner's guilt, and of his bearing the punishment due for it. The Priests of old you know are said to bear the iniquity of the people, Levit. 10. 17. God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord. The sinner bears his iniquity subjectively, the Priest typically, and the Lord Christ really: Exod. 28. 38. That Aarib may bear the iniquity of the holy things. Herein the high Priest was a Type of Christ; answerable to which, the Prophet Isaiah tells us, that Christ (our high Priest) had 
Heb. 4. 14, 15.  the iniquities of all believers laid upon him, and that he bore them in his own person; so the Apostle, Heb. 9 28. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, etc. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. 'Tis an allusion to the Priests, who carried up the sacrifice (and with it the sins of the people) to the Altar: Christ our Priest did carry up the sins of his people upon the Cross, and there made satisfaction for them (in their room or stead) by the sacrifice of himself; and that Scripture is more worth than the Indies, viz. 1 Pet. 2. 24. Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree— 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, he bore them 
Col. 2 13, 14, 15.  aloft, viz. when he climbed up his Cross, and nailed them thereunto: Christ in the Humane nature when he was upon the Cross, did suffer all the punishments and torments that were due to our sins; he canceled all bonds, annihilated the curse; in which respects he is said to bea● our sins in his own body on the tree. But to prevent prolixity, I shall produce no more Scriptures (though many more might have been produced) to prove Christ a common Person, a representative Head of all his Elect; and that he did really substitute himself in their room, and took upon himself their guilt, and put himself in their place, and did undergo whatever they should have undergone.  
Now from all these Considerations, a Child of God 
Eccles. 11. 9 c 12, 14. Ma●●h. 12. 14. cap. 18. 2●. Luk 16. 3. Ro●. 4. 10. 2 C●r. 5 10. H●b 9 27 cap. 13 17. ●●. 4. 5.  may form up this Sixth Plea, as to the Ten Scriptures in the Margin, that refer to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account. O blessed God, Jesus Christ was a common Person, a representative Head: I am to be considered in him, who is my Surety, and therefore he is bound to pay all my debts: and as he is a common person and stood in my stead; so the satisfaction that is made unto thy Justice by him, is in Law to be accounted mine, as really as if my Attorney should pay a debt for me: And therefore I must rest satisfied that the debt is paid, and in Law shall never be exacted of me; though it was not paid by myself in person, but by another, who did personate me in that act, and did it for me, and in my behalf. Christ was a common Person, personating as a second Adam, the first Adam and all his posterity; offering the same Nature for sin, which fell by sin from the pattern of perfection, God himself. By man came death, and by man came the resurrection from the dead: 
1 ●o. 15 21.  man for man, person for person, nature for nature, and name for name. There are two roots out of which life and death springs. 1. As all that die receive their death's wounds by the disobedience of the first Adam; so all that live receive life from the obedience of the second Adam. 2. As all die who are the sons of the first Adam by natural Generation; so all live, who are the sons of the second Adam through spiritual Regeneration. O holy and blessed God, thou hast set up Jesus Christ as a common person, as the representative Head of all thy Elect, and I am to be considered in that common Head; and all that he has done as my Head, and in my stead and room, is to be reckoned to me, as if I had done it in my own person; and by this Plea I will stand, rejoice and triumph: upon this God accepts of the Plea, as sound and good, and saith to him that pleads it, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord, Matth. 25. 21.  
The seventh Plea that a believer may form up, as to the ten Scriptures formerly cited, that refer to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account, may be drawn from the consideration of Christ's Surety ship: 
Our English Translation hath it, Of a be●ter Testament, but not so fitly, because properly, a Testament neither useth nor needeth to have a Suret●, as a Covenant doth. Beza therefore justly blameth both Erajmus and the Vulgar Translation, for rendering it Testament; for that a Surety is not added in Testaments, And should it be added, how can the same be both a Testator and a Surety? So that this word, Surety, hath reference properly to a Covenant, and not to a Testament.  Christ is called a Surety, Heb. 7. 22. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. The Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Sponsor, Fidejussor, Praes, a Surety, a Pledger, is very significative, being derived, as some think, from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, an hand, as it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, in hands, because the security or pledge is given in hand. A Surety is properly one that willingly promiseth, and undertakes to pay and discharge the debt if the debtor fail, and be not able to make satisfaction himself. Thus Paul willingly and spontaneously, from the love he had to his new Convert Onesimus, promised and undertook to make satisfaction to Philemon, for any wrong that Onesimus had done him, Phil. 18, 19 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put it upon mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it, i. e. account Onesimus his debt to Paul, and Paul's satisfaction or payment to Onesimus; which answers the double imputation in point of Justification, that is, of our sins or debts to Christ,, and of Christ's satisfaction to us. Consider Christ as a Surety, and so he hath fully paid all our debts, and set us perfectly free for ever. A Surety is one that enters into bond, and engages himself for the debt of another; and so Christ is become our Surety; therefore he was bound by our bond, and engageth himself for the debt of another: for our debt he was made under the Law, and so as a sacrifice, he stood in the stead of a sinner, and the sacrifice was to be offered for the man; and so some expound that place, He was made sin for us, 2 Cor. 5. 21. that is, a sin-offering; therefore he doth take our sins upon him as his own, Isa. 53. and so the Lord doth impute them and lay them upon him as his own: ver. 6. He did make to meet upon him the iniquities of us all: the original word here used comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pagang, which word in its native propriety intends a kind of force or violence, impetum fecit, they met with all their violence upon him, and therefore he was made sin for us, that is, as a Surety in our stead; he did bear our sins in his body upon the tree; he was delivered for our transgressions: our Surety hath paid all our debts. The chastisement of our peace 
Isa. 53. ●, 10.  was upon him, and it pleased the Father to bruise him; the original word signifies to break him to pieces as in a mortar: By the great things that our Surety has done for us, and the great things that he hath suffered for us: he hath given most perfect and complete satisfaction both to his Father's Law, and to his Father's Justice; and this pleased the Father. Weigh well that, Col. 2. 14. He 
Some by the hand writing do understand the Covenant of God with Adam. Beza and Calvin do understand it of the Ceremonial Law: But saith Ch●s●tom; It is meant not only of the Ceremonial Law, but also of the Moral Law, as a Covenant of works Occumen●us, Jer●me and others are of the s●re opinion: B●t, s●ith Zan●hy, th● is s●●len● 〈◊〉 the 〈◊〉 wr● were 〈◊〉 un ●●rtie ●●●●inonial ●●n.  blotted out the hand-writing of ordninances that was against us, that was contrary unto us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his Cross: Christ hath crossed out the black lines of our sin with the red lines of his own blood. The Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, i. e. the hand-writing, some do take here for a writing written with God's own hand in Tables of stone, as the Law of the Ten Commandments were, Exod. 34. 1. and this is by them understood of the moral Law, or of the Ten Commandments, which are said to be against us, in respect of their strict requiring of perfect obedience, or in default thereof, by reason of its curse, which Christ as our Surety hath born for us on the Cross, and delivered us from it, Gal. 3. 10, 13. But others by this hand-writing do understand the Law of the Ceremonies of the Old Testament. In the general, it was something that God had against us; to show or convince, or prove, that we had sinned against him, and were his debtors. I suppose that this hand-writing was principally the Moral Law, obliging us unto perfect obedience, and condemning us for the defect of the same, and likewise those Ceremonial Rites, which (as Beza observes) were a kind of public confession of our debts: Now these were against, and contrary unto us, in as much as they did argue us guilty of sin and condemnation which the Moral Law threatened, and sentenced, etc. but saith the Apostle, Christ hath blotted out the hand-writing, and hath taken it out of the way and nailed it to his cross (that is) Jesus Christ hath not only abrogated the Ceremonial Law, but also the damnatory power of the Moral Law (as our Surety) by performing an act of obedience which the Law did require, and by undergoing the punishment which the Law did exact from the trangressors of it: And so Christ doing and suffering, what we were bound to do and to suffer, he did thereby blot out the Handwriting, and canceled it; and therefore we may safely conclude, that the Creditor is fully satisfied, when he gives in h●s Bond to be canceled. There are two ways of cancelling a Bond, laceratione & liturâ; here it is blotted out, and can be read no more than if it had never been; the obligatory power of the Law as a Covenant is taken away. God delivered his people from Pharaoh by force, and from Babylon by savour; but that deliverance that Christ (as our Surety) hands out to us, from sin, from wrath, from hell, from the curse, and from the moral Law as it is a Covenant of works, is obtained justo pretio soluto, by paying a full price; by which one becomes satisfied, and another thereupon delivered: Heb. 9 26. He hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself: to put away sin, is to abolish or make void the guilt or obligation 
●a●. 9 24. si. 38. 17. 〈◊〉. 7. 19  of sin, whereby it binds over unbelievers to condemnation; to put away sin is to abrogate it, it is to bind it up in a bundle, to seal it up in a bag, to cast it behind him, as canceled obligations; it is to blot out the black hand-writing with the red lines of his blood drawn over it: so that sin has no force, no power to accuse or condemn, or shut such poor souls out of heaven, who have that Jesus for their Surety, that made himself a sacrifice to put away sin. Christ as our Surety laid down a satisfactory price, not only for our good, but also in our stead or room: 1 Pet. 3. 18. Christ also hath suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God: What the unjust sinner should have suffered, that the just Christ suffered for him: 1 Cor. 5. 21. He was made sin for us: (that is) an offering, a sacrifice, in our stead, for the expiation of our sins. Christ was made a curse for us, Gal. 3. 13. Now Christ's becoming a curse for us stands in this, That whereas we are all accursed by the sentence of the Law, because of sin; he now comes into our room, and stands under the stroke of that curse, which of right belongs to us: so that it lies not now any longer on the backs of poor sinners, but on him for them, and in their stead; therefore he is called a Surety, Heb. 7. 22. The Surety stands in the room of a debtor, malefactor, or him that is any way obnoxious to the Law: Such is Adam and all his posterity. We are by the doom of the Law evil doers, transgressors, and upon that score we stand indebted to the justice of God, and lie under the stroke of his wrath: Now the Lord Jesus Christ seeing us in this condition, he steps in and stands between us and the blow; yea he takes this wrath and curse off from us unto himself, he stands not only or merely after the manner of a Surety among men in the case of debt; for here the Surety enters bond with the Principal, for the payment of the debt, but yet expects that the debtor should not put him to it, but that he should discharge the debt himself, he only stands as a good security for the debtor; no, Christ Jesus doth not expect that we should pay the debt ourselves, but he takes it wholly upon himself. As a surety for a murderer or traitor. or some other notorious malefactor, that hath broken prison and is run away; he lies by it body for body, state for state, and undergoes whatsoever the malefactor is chargeable withal for satisfying the Law. Even so the Lord Jesus stands Surety for us runagate malefactors, making himself liable to all that curse that belongs to us, that he might both answer the Law fully, and bring us back again to God: As the first Adam stood in the room of all mankind fallen; so Christ, the second Adam, stands in the room of all mankind that are to be restored, he sustains the person of all those which do spiritually descend from him, and unto whom he bears the relation of a Head. When God appointed his dearest Son to be a Surety for us, and charged all our debts upon him, and required an exact satisfaction to his Law and Justice; insomuch that he would not abate the Son of his love one farthing token of the debt; he did demonstrate a greater love to Justice, than if he had damned as many worlds as there are men in the world, O let us never cast an eye upon Christ's Suretyship, but let us stand and wonder, yea let us be swallowed up in a deep admiration of Christ's love and of his Father's impartial justice! Ah what transcendent wisdom also does here: appear in reconciling the riches of Mercy and infinite Justice both in one, by the means of a Surety. If all the Angels in heaven and all the men on earth had been put to answer these Questions: How shall sin be pardoned? how shall the sinner be reconciled and saved? how shall the wrath of God be pacified? how shall the Justice of God be satisfied? how shall the Redemption of Man be brought about, in such a way whereby God may be most eminently glorified? they could never have answered the questions: But God in his infinite Wisdom, hath found out a way to save sinners, not only in a way of Mercy and Grace, but in a way of Justice and Righteousness; and all this by the means of Christ's Suretyship, as hath been already declared.  
Now from the consideration of Christ's Suretyship, a believer may form up this Seventh, safe, comfortable and blessed Plea, as to the ten Scriptures formerly cited, that refer to the great day of account, or to a man's particular account. O blessed Father, remember that thine own Son was my Ransom, his blood was the price; he was my Surety, and undertook to answer for my sins. I know, O blessed God, that thou must be satisfied, but remember 
When a man matries a woman, with her person he takes her debts and satisfaction too; so does Christ, when he takes us to be his he takes our sins also to be hi●.  my Surety has satisfied thee; not for himself, for he was holy and harmless, a Lamb without a spot; but for me: They were my debts he satisfied for; and look over thy Books, and thou shalt sinned that he hath cleared all accounts and reckon between thee and me; the guilt of all my sins have been imputed to my Surety, who did present himself in my stead to make full payment and satisfaction to thy Justice, as Paul said to Philemon, Philem. ver. 18. concerning his servant Onesimus, If he hath wronged thee or oweth thee any thing, put it upon my account. So saith Christ to the penitent and believing soul, If thou hast any guilt, any debt to be answered for unto God, put them all upon my account; if thou hast wronged my Father, I will make satisfaction to the uttermost; for I was made sin for thee, 2 Cor. 5. 21. 
Isa. 53. 12.  I poured out my soul for thy transgressions; it cost me my heart's blood to reconcile thee to my Father, and to 
Acts 20. 28. Gen. 27. 13.  slay all enmity. And as Robeckah said to Jacob in another case, Upon me, my son, be the curse, so faith Christ to the believing soul, why, thy sins did expose thee unto the curse of the Law, but I was made a curse for thee. I did 
Gal. 3. 13.  bear that burden myself upon the Cross, and upon my shoulders were all thy griefs and sorrows born: I was 
Isa. 53. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 10. Eph. 1. 7.  wounded for thy transgressions, and I was bruised for thy iniquities; and therefore we are said to have redemption and remission of sins in his blood. O blessed God thou knowest that a surety-doth not pay the debt only for the debtors good, but as standing in the debtor's stead, and so his payment is reckoned to the debtor. And thus the case stands between Christ and my soul; for as my Surety, he hath paid all my debts, and that very payment that he hath made, in honour and justice thou art obliged to accept of, as made in my stead. Oh dearest Father! that Jesus who is God-man as my Surety, he hath done all that the Law requireth of me, and thereby he hath freed me from wrath to come, and from the curse that 
1 Thes. 1. ult.  was due to me for my sins: This is my plea, O holy God, and by this plea I shall stand. Hereupon God declares, this plea I accept as just and good, and therefore enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.  
Christian Reader, I have gone as far in the opening and clearing up of those Grand Points of the Gospel that have fallen under our consideration as I judge meet at this time. By the Title-page thou mayest safely conclude, that I have promised much more than in this Treatise I have performed; but be but a little patiented, and by divine assistance, I shall make sure and full payment. The Covenant of Grace, and the Covenant of Redemption, with some other Points of high importance, I shall present to thee in the Second Part, which will be the Last Part. In this First Part I don't offer thee that which cost me nothing. I desire that all the interest thou hast in heaven may be so fully and duly improved, that this First Part may be so blest from on high, as that Saints and Sinners may have cause to bless God to all Eternity, for what is brought to hand; and beg hard, that the other Part, which is drawn up and fitted for the Press, may also be crowned with many blessings: Hereby thou't wilt put a high obligation upon the Author, to do all he can, to be yet a little further serviceable to thy soul and others, to thy salvation and others, before he goes hence and shall be seen no more.  
FINIS.   

The Table.  

A 

Of Acceptation. 

THe second part of Justification consists in the acceptation of the sinner's person, as perfectly righteous, in God's sight.— pag. 317, 318, 319    
Of Access. 

Our Access is by Christ.— pag. 276. 277    
Of Adam. 

We recover more by Christ, than we lost by Adam. pag. 353  
The Righteousness of the second Adam, transcends the Righteousness of the first Adam, in three respects. pag. 354, 355, 356    
Of Afflictions. 

Christ sympathises with his people in all their afflictions. pag. 277, 278, 279    
Of Assurance. 

Assurance is hindered eight ways. pag. 29, to 42    
Of the glorious Attributes of God. 

Four glorious Attributes of God, that are ascribed to the Lord Jesus Christ, in the blessed Scriptures. pag. 221, to 225      
B 

Bellarmine. 

BEllarmin's Limbus patrum, is a mere Fable. pag. 203, 204    
Of bearing up the hearts of God's people. 

The Imputed Righteousness of Christ, will best bear up the hearts of the Saints, under the sense of their weakness and imperfections. pag. 358, 359, 360, 361    
Of the Body of Christ. 

Of those special Scriptures that speak out the certainty and verity of Christ's body. pag. 238, to 243  
That Christ had a perfect, entire, complete body, and every thing which is proper to a body. pag. 247, 248.      
C 

Of Christ's Claim. 

CHrist lays claim to all that belongs to the Father as God. pag. 233, 234, 235    
Of Christ's Eternal Deity. 

Christ's Eternal Deity, proved at large by variety of special Arguments. pag. 208, to 235  
Eleven Inferences from the Divinity and Humanity of Christ. pag. 260, to 284    
Of Strong Consolations. 

Nine strong Consolations, that flow from the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness. pag. 339, to 365    
Of Christ's Soul. 

That Christ had a true, humane and reasonable soul. pag. 244, 245, 246, 247    
Of the Curse. 

That Jesus Christ was made a curse for us. pag. 204, 205, 206, 207, 208      
D 

Of Debt. 

CHrist takes our debt wholly upon himself. pag. 377, 378, 379  
Of Christ's Deity. pag. 208, to 235.    
Of the Devil. 

The Devils acknowledge four Articles of our faith. pag 185, 186▪    
Of Christ's dying. 

Upon six grounds there was a necessity of Christ's dying. pag. 370  
Who those are, for whom Christ died. pag. 370, 371      
E 

Encouragement to poor sinners. 

Poor sinners encouraged to come to Christ. pag. 267, 268, 269    
Of the Excellency of Christ. 

Of the Excellency of Christ above man, above all men, yea, above Adam in Innocency. pag. 279, 280, 281      
F 

Of the faithfulness of God. 

OF God's faithfulness. pag. 327, 328    
Of Faith. 

What that faith is, that gives a man an interest in Christ, and in all those blessed benefits, and noble favours that come by Christ, opened at large. pag. 54, to 59  
Chrri●, being God man, should raise and strengthen our faith in our Lord Jesus. pag 260, 261    
Of Fears. 

The Imputed Righteousness of Christ, will answer all a Christians fears. pag. 345, 346, 347, 348    
Of Fulfilling the Moral Law. 

How believers fulfil the moral Law. pag. 343, 344, 345      
G 

The Scape-Goat. 

The Scape-Goat was a most lively Type of Christ. pag 368, 369.    
Of God. 

There are four things that God cannot do. pag. 319.    
Of the Godhead of Christ. 

Of Christ's Godhead. pag. 208, to 235  
A smart reproof to those that deny the Godhead of Christ. pag. 281, 282, 283, 284      
H 

Of the Hatred of Sin. 

The sufferings of Christ should raise up in us, the greatest Hatred of Sin. pag. 296, to 300    
Of the Headship of Christ. 

Christ considered as a common Head. pag. 365, to 373    
Of Hell, and Hellish Torments. 

That Christ's soul, after his passion upon the Cross, did not really and locally descend into the place of the damned, is made evident by several Arguments. pag. 147, 148, 149, 203, 204    
Objections against Christ's suffering of Hellish Torments, answered. 

1 Objection answered. pag. 144, 145  
2 Objection answered. pag. 145, 146  
3 Objection answered. pag. 146, 147  
4 Objection answered. pag. 147, 148, 149, 150, 151  
5 Objection answered. pag. 151, 152, 153,  
That there is a Hell, is proved at large, by Scriptures and Arguments. pag. 155, to 185, etc.  
Hellish Torments are matchless, easless and endless. pag. 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, etc.  
There are ten things in Hell. pag. 176, 177, etc.  
A fivefold Improvement of Hellish Torments. pag. 186  
Of the place where Hell is. pag. 197, to 203    
Of Honouring of Christ 

Christ, as he is God-man, is to be honoured and exalted above all. pag. 269, 270, 271    
Of Humility. 

Christ is the greatest pattern of Humility, that ever was, or will be in this world. pag. 274, 275      
I 

Of the Imputed Righteousness of Christ. 

Of the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness at large. pag. 315, to 339  
Nine choice Consolations, that flow from the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness. pag. 339, to 365    
Of Infirmities. 

That Christ took our Infirmities upon him. pag. 248, 249    
Inferences. 

Eleven Inferences drawn from the Divinity and Humanity of Christ. pag. 260, to 288  
Seven Inferences from the consideration of the great sufferings of Christ. pag. 289, to 315    
Of the General Judgement, and of men's particular Judgment-day. See the Questions. 

Imputed Righteousness gives the greatest boldness before God's Judgment-seat. pag. 361, 362, 363, 364, 365    
Of the Justice of God. 

The Righteousness of Christ satisfies the Justice of God, to the uttermost farthing. pag. 339, 340, 341, 342  
In the Justification of a sinner, God doth act as a God of Justice. pag. 319, 320    
Of Justification. 

Justification in the sight of God, is made up of two parts. pag. 315, 316, 317, 318, 319      
L 

Of the Love of Christ. 

Of the firstness, freeness and greatness of Christ's love, &c pag. 261, 262, 263.  
Admire and wonder at Christ's love. pag. 289, to 292    
Of our Love to Christ. 

We must love Christ with a superlative love. pag. 292, to 295      
M 

Of the Manhood of Christ. 

The Manhood of Christ proved at large. pag. 235, to 249      
N 

Of Christ's two Natures. 

Of his Eternal Deity. pag. 208, to 235  
Of Christ's Manhood. pag. 235, to 249  
Several reasons, why Christ did partake of both natures. pag. 249, to 260  
Eleven Inferences drawn from the Divinity and Humanity of Christ. pag. 260, to 284    
Of the several Names of Christ. 

The several Names, which denote the Essence of God, are attributed to Christ also, in the blessed Scriptures. pag. 208, to 221      
O 

Of the active obedience of Christ. 

Christ did perform that active Obedience unto the Law of God. which we should, but (by reason of sin) could not perform. pag. 89, to 94  
A Plea drawn up from the active Obedience of Christ. pag. 94. 95, 96, 97  
Of the passive obedience of Christ. pag. 97, to 105, etc.  
Of universal obedience; see Universal.    
Of Oneness. 

Of Christ's Oneness with the Father. pag. 233, 234. 235      
P 

Of the Papists. 

The ridiculous, and superstitious devices of the Papists, detected, etc. pag. 311, 312, 313    
Of Pardon of sin. 

That all the sins of believers are pardoned at once, and actually unto them, is proved by ten Arguments. pag. 73 to 76  
All a believer's sins are fully and finally pardoned at the hour of his death. pag. 76, 77  
God looks not upon those as sinners, whose sins are pardoned. pag. 77, 78, 79  
Pardon takes off our obligation to suffer eternal punishment. pag. 79, 80    
Of Peace of Conscience. 

The imputed righteousness of Christ, is the only true basis, bottom and ground, for true peace, and quiet of conscience. pag. 348, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353  
Of the several Pleas that every sincere Christian may form up, as to the ten Scriptures in the Old and New Testament; that refer, either to the General Judgement, or to the particular Judgement, that will pass upon every Christian, immediately after death.  
The first Plea. pag. 72, 73  
The second Plea. pag. 88 89  
The third Plea. pag. 94, 95, 96, 97  
The fourth Plea. pag. 288, 289, 313, 314, 315  
The fifth Plea. pag. 338, 339  
The sixth Plea. pag. 373  
The seventh Plea, pag. 378, 379    
Of prising Christ. 

The Sufferings of Christ should raise up our hearts to a very high prising of Christ. pag. 300, 301, 302, 303      
Q 

Q. What that faith is, that gives a man an interest in Christ, & c? pag. 54. to 59  
Q. Whether, in the General Judgement, or in that Particular Judgement, that will pass upon all the Saints after death; whether their infirmities or enormities, their weaknesses or wickednesses, shall be brought into the Judgement of discussion and discovery, or no? that they shall not, is proved at large. pag. 59, to 73    
R 

Reasons. 

Several weighty Reasons, why Christ did partake of both Natures. pag. 249, to 260    
Of the Work of Redemption. 

That the work of Redemption was a very great work. pag. 263, 264, 265, 266, 267  
Revelations the 19 8. opened and applied. pag. 334, 335, 336    
Of the Righteousness of Christ. 

Of the excellency and glory of Christ's Righteousness. pag. 315, to 339  
Nine strong Consolations, that flow from the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness. pag. 339, to 365    
Of Running to Christ. 

Under all our fears, doubts, conflicts, we should still run to Christ. pag. 308, 309, 310, 311      
S 

Of Satisfaction. 

That God doth stand upon satisfaction, and will not forgive one sin without it; is made evident by five Arguments. pag. 320, to 324    
Of Sincerity. 

When a man's heart is sincere with God. pag. 1, 2, 3    
Of Sin, many weighty things about it. 

Four ways to know when sin is indulged. pag. 3, 4  
Thirteen Arguments to prove that no Godly man does or can indulge himself in any course, or way, or trade of Sin. pag. 4, to 14  
Ten Arguments to show the folly, vanity and falsehood of that opinion that is received, and commonly avowed by Ministers and Christians, viz. That every Godly person hath his beloved sin, his bosom sin. pag. 14, to 24  
First, All wicked men have their beloved sins, their darling sins, etc. pag. 24, 25  
Secondly, The Elect, before their conversion, have had their beloved sins, etc. pag. 25  
Thirdly, after conversion, the hearts of the Elect are most set against those sins, which were once their beloved sins, etc. pag. 25  
Fourthly, After conversion, a sincere Christian endeavours to be most eminent in that particular grace, which is most contrary to that sin, which was once his beloved sin, etc. pag. 25, 26  
Fifthly, Though no Godly man hath any beloved sin, yet every Godly man hath one sin or other, to which they are more prone, than to others. pag. 26, 27, 28, 29  
Eight remedies against keeping up of any special sin, either in heart or life, against the Lord, or against the light and convictian of a man's own conscience. pag. 29, to 42  
Five and twenty Arguments against keeping up of any special sin in heart or life, against the Lord, or against the light of a man's own conscience. pag. 42, to 50    
Of the sufferings of Christ. 

See, pag. 97, to 105  
The true reasons, why the Sufferings of Christ, though short, yet, have a sufficient power and virtue in them, to satisfy God's justice. pag. 272, 273, 274    
Of the Sufferings of Christ in his body. 

The Sufferings of Christ in his body, largely opened. pag. 105, to 121    
Of the Sufferings of Christ in his Soul. 

The Sufferings of Christ in his soul, largely opened. pag. 121, to 131  
The Sufferings of Christ in his soul were very high, and great, and wonderful. pag. 131, to 137  
That Jesus Christ did feel and suffer the very Torments of Hell, though not after an Hellish manner. pag. 137, to 153,  
Christ's Sufferings for us, should mightily endear Jesus Christ to us. pag. 153, 154, 155  
The punishments that Christ did suffer for us, must be referred only to the substance, and not to the circumstances of punishment. pag. 284, 285, 286  
The meritorious cause of Christ's Sufferings, were the sins of his people. pag. 286, 287, 288  
Seven Inferences from the consideration of the great sufferings of Christ pag. 289, to 315    
Of the Suretyship of Christ. 

All the sins of believers, were laid upon Christ, their Surety. pag. 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85  
Q. Whether God were not unjust, to give Jesus Christ to be our Surety? answered. pag. 85, 86, 87, 88  
The Suretyship of Christ considered at large. pag. 374, to 379      
T 

Of Triumphing in Christ Jesus. 

The Imputation of Christ's Righteousness affords us the highest reason to rejoice and triumph in Christ Jesus. pag. 354, 355, 356, 357, 358    
Of a True penitential turning from all sin. 

A True penitential turning from all sin, lies in six particulars. pag. 17, 18, 19  
Five and twenty Arguments to work us to turn from all sin. pag. 42, to 50    
Of Types. 

The Scape-goat was a most lively Type of Christ. pag. 368, 369      
V 

Of Universal Obedience. 

Five and twenty Arguments for Universal Obedience. pag. 42, to 50  
An objection against universal obedience answered. pag. 50, 51  
Universal obedience consists in nine things. pag. 51, to 55    
Of our Unrighteousness. 

Christ's mediatory righteousness takes away all our unrighteousness. pag. 342, 343      
W 

Of Willingness. 

Christ's sufferings should work in us the greatest willingness to suffer for Christ. pag. 303, to 308    
Of the works of God. 

The same Works which are peculiar to God, are ascribed to Christ, in the blessed Scriptures. pag. 225, 226, 227    
Of Worship. 

Divine honour and Worship is due to Christ, and by Angels and Saints, is given unto him. pag. 227, 228, 229  
First, All inward Worship is due to Christ. pag. 229, 230  
Secondly, All outward Worship is due to Christ. pag. 230, to 232  
When Jesus Christ was declared to the world, God did command, even the most glorious Angels to worship him, as his natural and coessential Son pag. 232, 233        

ERRATA.  
PAge 5. line 1. read all. p. 6. l. 22. r. I. p. 22. l. 13. r. our. p. 34. l. 14. heat r. heart. p. 8. l. 4. him r. them. p. 80. l. 31. lai r. laid. p. 89. l. 16. r. so. p. 111. l. 26. r. A 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 112. l. 7. opinion r. opening. p. 112. l. 20. nature r. water. p. 112. l. 28. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 125. l. 19 r. animam. p. 174. m. r. Bernard. p. 181. l. 23. r. to. p. 188. m. r. summam paenae. p. 197. l. 22. love r. lose. p. 202. l. 1. reviled r. revealed. p. 193. l. 36. the r. their. p. 212. l. 18. r. not. p. 133. m. r. Relinquit. m. r. confut. p. 137. l. 7. and r. the. p. 138. m. Rom. r. Act. p. 141. l. 8. Torments r. Tormentors. p. 147. l. 11. Isa. 5. r. Isa. 50. p. 157. m. r. magnum. p. 232. l. 30. any r. and. p. 234. l. 19 r. that. l. 34. not r. nor. p. 238. l. 3. r. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. p. 263. l. 30. given r. even p. 267. l. 21. into r. with, with r. into. p. 283. l. 14. their r. her. blot out my wife and children. p. 296. l. 4. dear r. dearest. p. 311. l. 15. r. he did. p. 321. l. 29. r. Secondly. p. 336. m. hat r. that. p. 354. l. 38. blot cut it. in the fourth leaf of the Epistle Dedicatory, l. 2. the r. this.  
There are sundry other mistakes in pointings, changes and transpositions of letters, misfiguring of pages, etc. besides: Some are omitted, because they do not much disturb the sense, others, because they will not easily escape thy notice: Share the faults between the Author's absence, and the Printers negligence; and then correct before thou readest.