from us if it may stand with Gods good pleasure to whose holy will we must alwaies submit our desires for if it be not his will to deliver us it will be his will to comfort us if we do patiently attend his appointed time This is holy Davids counsel h Ps 27. 14 wait on the Lord saith he be of good courage and he shall strengthen thy heart wait I say on the Lord. And again he saith i Ps 34 8. Blessed is the man that trusteth in him If we thus wait on the Lord he will also wait to do us good for thus the Prophet expresseth the wonderful goodnesse of God to his people k Is 30. 18 And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you What can more strongly move us to wait patiently the Lords time when he will be pleased to send us comfort in our sorrows and deliverance out of them l Psa 50. 15 God hath also commanded us to call upon him in our troubles and he hath promised to deliver us and as he hath commanded the one so he will never fail to perform the other But when the Lord giveth this cup to the wicked m Ier. 25. 25. 28. it is the wine cup of his fury to them for their destruction and though they refuse to take it yet they shall certainly drink it Sometimes the Lord maketh his own people drink very deep of this cup for thus the Prophet bewaileth the sorrows and afflictions of Ierusalem n Isa 51. 17. Awake awake stand up O Jerusalem which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury thou hast drunkâ—n the dregs of the cup of trembling and wruâ—g them out But the Lord their God will take a time to plead their causes when they repent and forsake their sinnes and turn unto him o Is 51. 22 23. Behold saith the Lord I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling even the dregs of the cup of my sury thou shalt no more drink it again but I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee If God be angry with his servants it will be but for a night joy will come in the morning if he doth suffer the wicked to afflict them it will be for a short time and then he will give them a double measure of consolation for their sorrows and at length will pour out his fury in full measure upon their enemies Though it was the will of God that Christ in his humane nature should drink this cup and the very dregs of it which brought him so low in his own apprehension as if God had forsaken him yet his divine nature did so uphold him that he was able to bear it whereby he hath made that cup milde and gentle to us for all that belong unto him must tast of this cup in this life And as Peter saith If judgement first begins at the house of God what shall be the end of them that obey not the Gospel of God and if the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear If God gave this cup of trembling to his own dear Sonne who was full of all good surely then he will not spare us that naturally are dry barren and fruitles Wherefore look narrowly to thy wayes and walk circumspectly before thy God for if thy sins and iniquities breaks upon thee and thou continuest in them without repentance God will put his cup of fury in thy hand and thou must certainly drink it which will make thy heart to quake and tremble when thou doest tast it p â—an 5. 5 6. King Belshazzars countenance was changed and his thoughts troubled him so that the joynts of his loynes were loosed and his knees smote one against another when he did but see the hand-writing that was upon the wall against him how much then wilt thou tremble that must drink the dregs of this cup if thou goest on still in a rebellious way against God without repentance But if thou wilt seek the Lord betimes and meet him by faith in Christ and with a penitent heart he will be found of thee and this cup shall either passe from thee or else it shall be tempered to thy strength that thou maiest drink it with comfort If we look upon our Saviours bloody sweat we shall see the anguish of his soul and with what violence the devil did assault him thus terrible was his Agony because the great Dragon that old serpent the devil did set upon him with all his power and cast his venomous and poysoned darts to wound his very soul if it had been possible and to sting him unto death Though the devil and his wicked instruments were suffered at last to take away his life yet the venome of their malice could not hurt him for as he lived an innocent Lamb without any spot or stain of sinne so he died a sacrifice without blemish holy and acceptable to God and by his death he did vanquish sinne which was the sting of death and by his resurrection he did vanquish the devil who had the power of death and also he subdued all the power of wicked men and perfectly finished the whole work of mans redemption In this Agony Christ found the burden of sinne so heavy upon him and the power of the devil so strong against him that his soul was heavy even to the death What could be wanting to add sorrow to his soul when the great dragon of hell was unchained and let loose upon him yet by the power of his Deity he overcame him though he were forced to a bloody sweat If the beginning of our Saviours Passion was thus bitter and painful to him when he was in his full strength of body how terrible was it afterwards when his body was faint and weak and his spirits almost spent If the devil by his own power did thus afflict his soul how was he afflicted when his soul and body were tortured and tormented by the devil and his cruel instruments in his greatest weakness Wherefore if he did sweat drops of blood for our sakes it is a shame for us to take no pains in his service for the advancement of his Name and to suffer nothing for his glory We can sweat abundantly about our pleasure and profit and about our affaires in this world but we can feel no warmth of holy zeal in our affection toward him neither will we take any pains about the affairs of the Kingdome of heaven We will not suffer our own name or credit to be blemished but we hear the sacred Name of our blessed Redeemer dishonoured and blasphemed we are not moved at it but we can suffer it well enough Also we can professe his Name when there is no opposition against it but if clouds or stormes of affliction and persecution do arise upon us for his sake we are ready quickly to shrink from
if we have a true sight of our own basenesse that we are but as clay in the hand of the Potter or as an earthen pitcher which is easily broken in pieces we cannot but be afraid to draw near so great and glorious a Majesty to contemplate his greatnesse and power the breath of whose Nostrils is able to consume us But if we consider that our sins have laid us open to the rigour of his justice and have justly moved him to pour down upon us the full vialls of his wrath and indignation to our eternall destruction it must needs then strike terrour into our hearts when we come before him in our heavenly Meditations for he is a sin-revenging God l Heb. 12. 29. and a consuming fire he will suffer no sin to go unpunished This doth make our sins the more hainous and the punishment of them the more grievous because they are committed against an Omnipotent and most glorious God from whom we had our first being and from whose goodnesse we do dayly receive all blessings both spirituall and temporall that are needfull for us Wherefore we cannot Meditate with comfort upon God when the guilt of our sins cleaveth to our souls We cannot chearfully lift up our hearts unto him when our consciences do accuse us of sin that we have offended God our Creator and that we lye under the curse of his Law and are in continuall expectation to have the penalty of it inflicted upon us which we know we have justly deserved Thus it is with us until we can apprehend God to be reconciled unto us by the merit of the death of Christ which we must apply to our own hearts by faith When God doth visite us with afflictions and troubles as he hath done to many of his dear servants that we feel the smart of his rod and his hand heavy upon us it will take away the comfort of our Meditations and make us afraid of his judgements as it was with holy Job David and others because sometimes they are very terrible to us Thus saith Job unto God in his afflictions m Iob. 13. 21. Withdraw thine hand far from me and let not thy dread make me afraid Again he saith thus n Iob 6. 4. The terrours of God do set themselves in array against me If God be so dreadfull to his own servants how then can the wicked and sinners appear before him how can they withstand his judgements or bear the fiercenesse of his wrath and fury he cast the disobedient Angels out of heaven without any hope of redemption he cast Adam out of Paradise and laid a severe curse upon the earth for his sake and upon all his posterity for his sin he drowned the whole world and consumed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire he gave his own people into the hands of their enemies for their transgressions and brought grievous judgements upon many particular offenders Wherefore we cannot deny but that the Meditation of these and the like works of Gods justice must needs be dreadful and uncomfortable to us if we look onely upon the justice of God and not also upon his mercy But above all it is most dreadfull to Meditate upon the day of judgement when we must appear before this great and terrible God to give a strict account unto him of whatsoever we have done here in the flesh whether it be good or evill o Ioel. 2. 11. That day is great and terrible who can abide it Then shall all our secret sins be brought to light and laid open to the view of heaven and earth then it wil appear how we have served God what good we have done and what evill we have shunned and then we must answer for every idle word that we have spoken Then shall be great confusion both in heaven and in earth to the astonishment of all Nations for p Luk. 21. 27. they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and glory and with great authority and majesty q 2 Cor. 5. 10. All must then be presented before the judgement seat of Christ r 1 Cor. 4. 5. who will bring to light those things that were hidden in darknesse and will manifest all the thoughts of every mans heart Å¿ Luk. 23. 30. Rev. 6. 16 Then the wicked shall say to the hills fall upon us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb because the great day of wrath is come This terrour will be so unspeakable that it will make every mans heart to tremble for the just men and the Angels themselves are said to fear surely then it must needs be dreadfull to think upon it What a fearfull day will it be to carelesse and loose livers who carry the guilt of sin upon their souls with them unto judgement how will it terrifie them when they see such dreadfull feares and miseries to rush in upon them t Math. 24. 29. Then they shall see the Sun to be darkened and the moon not to give her light then the Stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken Thus saith the Prophet u Isa 13. 13 14. The earth shall remove out of her place in the wrath of the LORD of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger and it shall be as the chased Roe and as the sheep that no man taketh up Then shall they see all sepulchers open and to yield forth their dead bodies of all men high and low rich and poor to stand there naked before the Judge and before his Angels and in the face of all creatures their sins shall be revealed their secret offences shall be laid open and they shall be constrained to give an account of those things whereof they would disdain to have been told in this life Consider now who can Meditate upon the eternall God this great and terrible Judge without much fear and dread if he cannot appear before him with a good conscience and who can think upon that fearfull day of account without much terrour and trouble of spirit if he hath not some good assurance of the pardon of his sins by his true repentance and that he is reconciled to God by faith in Christ Wealth and honours cannot help the Judge will not be partiall neither will he be corrupted an evill conscience will not be silent no intercession of worldly friends can prevail at that day all things wil cry for vengeance upon the wicked and reprobate to yield them cause of fear and terrour but nothing will yield them any hope of comfort Above them shall be their dreadfull Judge who is offended with them for their wickednesse beneath them they shall see hell open and the cruell furnace ready boyling to receive then on their right hand their sins accusing them on the left hand the divels are ready to execute Gods eternall
be not conveyed to our hearts by faith as it iâ— to the ear and to the hand by the Minister also if the holy Ghost doth not give us a spirituall appetite to it that our heartâ— may spiritually feed upon it it will not be the sweet savour of life unto life unto us but rather the savour of death unto death If the devill can bereave us of the benefites that come by the meanes of Grace and make us lose the opportunity of it and can keep us from the true knowledge of God and of his Son Jesus Christ as he did Judas he will then lead us on in a sinful and wicked course of life until he doth bring us to eternal perdition Thus by degrees he brought Judas from infidelitie to hardness of heart after he had taken possession of him until at last he fell into despair and became his own executioner for his damnable treason against his Lord and Master for presentlie after he hanged himself y Act. 1. 8. he burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out Thus did God give him his just reward for his horrible sin and impiety against Christ and yet he was one of his Disciples and had as much means of grace as the rest had and also as many common and external gifts of the Spirit as they had and did see the great works that Christ had done And thus will God shew his justice and judgements upon impenitent and notorious offenders that are so hardned in their sins that no meanes of Grace can bring them to Repentance Now examine thy self thou that dailie seest the wonderful works of God if thou canst look beyond nature and see his power and wise providence in them if thou canst discern the finger of God when great men are brought down and men of low degree are exalted also if thou canst see how God will bring to pass his own designs against all opposition of wicked men and that he can discover the hellish plots and maginations of the Devil and his instruments z Plal. 7. 15. and will make them fall into the same pit which they have digged for others a Esth 1. 10. as he did unto wicked Haman If thou seest these and the like things come to pass thou must believe that it is the work of God for his own glory and the good of his Church Peter did see the great works of Christ he did believe that they were wrought by the power of his divine nature Judas did also see the same works but he could not discern the divinity of Christ in them If thy condition be like unto that of Peter that thou canst see a divine power in the great works that are wrought here upon earth and that God by his wisdom and providence can dispose of all the troublesome chances and changes that happen here either in Church or State to his own glory to the good of his people and to the confusion of his and their enemies then thou doest rightlie understand the waies of God by a spiritual illumination that is in thy heart But if with Judas thou canst no discern Gods divine power in his works on earth to over-rule all adversarie power b Psal 2. 2. though they rage in fury and take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed then thine understanding is blinded and thou liest open to all kind of dangers and distractions of mind Search again into thine own heart thou that livest where the Gospel of Christ is sincerely preached and his holie Sacraments rightlie and duly administered and examine thy self with what affections thou doest come to those holie Ordinances of God what grace is wrought in thee and how thy faith is strengthened by them how much sin is weakned and how thy life is reformed Also examine what spiritual life thou hast what fruits it doth bring forth what care thou hast to nourish it by thy profitable hearing of the Word of God and by thy worthy receiving of the Lords Supper if thou canst give a good account that thou hast spent thy time profitably and hast improved the means of grace to the best advantage then thou art a faithful servant to thy Lord and Master Jesus Christ as Peter was But if this heavenlie food will not please thy palate it cannot nourish and comfort thy soul because thou hast some secret corruptions or some beloved sin that keeps the sweet influence of grace from thy heart and then thou wilt reap as little benefit by the Word of God and by his holie Ordinances as wretched Judas did though he heard Christ himself preach to him Surely God doth still send down this heavenlie Manna blessed be his holie name for it and thou maiest gather it for the nourishment and comfort of thy soul if thou wilt but if thou canst find no spiritual sweetness in it thy taste is not then spiritual but it is dulled with worldly cares or sinful pleasures which must be purged out of thy heart by the blood of Christ before thou canst with Peter take pleasure and delight to hear the words of Christ c John 6. 68 which are the words of eternall life and before thou canst make it the joy of thy heart to meditate on the Statutes of God How canst thou hazard thy life for Christ as Peter did and for the truth of his Gospel if thou art not well instructed and a good proficient in his School And how canst thou live a spirituall life to God if thy heart hath not sucked vertue and power from Christ by faith who is the fountain of this water of life and of this coelestial food to nourish thee up to everlasting life Look now a little upon Peters zeal for his Masters safety he resisted those that came to apprehend him d John 18. 10 11. and smote the high Priests servant but Christ cured the wound and rebuked Peter for it because his zeal was not well grounded for he did endeavour to hinder him in the work which God had appointed him to do concerning mans redemption and therefore Christ said unto him The cup which my father hath given me shall I not drink it This may teach us to drink willingly any cup of affliction that our heavenly Father shall give us for it must needs be good and profitable to us if we receive it from God as from the hand of our Father Also that holy zeal or fervency of spirit in Gods Cause is a duty which he requireth and his servants do practise it yet it must be regulated according to knowledge and to the glory of God for blind zeal will lead us into many errours Davids zeal was rightly regulated e Psal 119. 139. My zeal saith he hath consumed me because thine enemies have forgotten thy words f Num. 25. 11 12. Such was the zeal of Phinehas in the matter of Zimri and Cozby which turned away the wrath of God from the
also defend us from all the delusions of worldly vanities and of our own sinful lusts howsoever the world the flesh or the Devil shall tempt us for it will preserve and keep us from the evil of their temptation Consider now that God who can bring good out of evil and can make all things work together for the good of his servants made Peters fall to be a means of exceeding great good unto him for thereby he did see the weakness of his Faith to keep him from presumption also unsuspâ—cted dangers to keep him from security he did see the malice and subtilty of the Devil to make him more careful and watchful over himself and he was the better able by his own experience to comfort and strengthen his brethren in their slips and falls but above all it made him love Christ his dear Lord with more intâ—re affections and to stick closer unto him for the time to come and to be more couragious in his cause Thus God turned the evil which the Devil intended for Peters hurt and made it conduce to hâ—s great good and thus also will he turn away the evil of our sins and of our temptations and the evil of our sorrows and sufferings and will make them advance his own glory and to be profitable to us if we can bath our sins in our penitentiall teares as Peter did Now we come to consider more fully how the divell went to work to make Peter fall so fearfully surely the instruments which he used were but the high Priests servants the words which they spake to Peter were of no great consequence they were neither threatning nor terrifying which in themselves could not so much afright him neither was it onely the sudden fear of danger or those wicked suggestions of the divel though they did work much upon him to make him doubt of the Deity of Christ now he saw him so contemptibly used of the Priests and Elders that made Peter fall so dangerously for he was in more danger of his life but a little before and yet he was not daunted but the divell knew that Peter was of an hot fiery spirit and violent in his passions which would easily make him say he knew not what and therefore he did chiefly work upon them which would transport him beyond the bounds of his reason and understanding and also beyond the bounds of grace and godlinesse All that went before were but as engines of warre which he fitted and prepated for this great battery By his suggestions he did undermine Peters faith and confidence in Christ to make way that fear might take the greater hold upon him that so he might by degrees bring him to such an hight of passion as should over-power his reason understanding faith and all spiritual grace that was in him and thus he brought him to deny to forswear and to abjure his dear Saviour even with execrations whom he knew to be now about the great work of mans salvation When Jesus was transfigured upon Mount Tabor t Mar. 9. 6. Peter spake he wist not what for sudden fear carried him beside himself Also when Jesus shewed his Disciples what he should suffer at Jerusalem u Mat. 16. 21 22 23. Peter began to rebuke him for it for he was carried beyond the bounds of modesty and sobriety with a preposterous zeal and a secret pride which the divell did stir up in him Thus was the violence of Peters passions the immediate cause of his downfall because they did exceed moderation and were not regulated according the holy will of God Thus also did the devill go to work with us to bring us to perditiou first he will set upon us with his subtile wiles and delusions then he will labour to undermine our faith and trust in God by his evill suggestions and wicked stratagems that we should not wait upon God for his help and succour in our distresses that we should not depend upon his Providence for relief and comfort in our wants and necessitiâ—s and that we should not rest upon him and upon his mercy in Christ for our salvation If all this will not serve his turn to bring us to confusion then he will assault us with feares and doubtings to disquiet the peace of our consciences he will frighten us with troubles and dangers for the profession of the Truth he will make us doubt of the Wisdome of God to direct us in all our affairs that we may trust to our own Wisdome with our God he will make us doubt of his power to deliver us when we are in any straits as he did Peter to make us trust to secondary meanes without God or else to use unlawfull meanes for our safety and he will make us doubt of the mercy and love of God when we feel the smart of his rod or the anguish of our spirits for our sins to make us think that God hath forsaken us that he hath cast us out of his favour and that there is no hope of comfort for us that so he may bring us into despair How was holy Job terrified with these doubts and feares in his afflictions Job 7. 13 25. when his bed did not comfort him his couch did not ease his complaint and when his soul chose strangling and death rather than his life thus it was also x Psal 77. with Asaph and others If all other meanes fail then the divell will work upon our passions and personall infirmities and he will kindle such a fire there as will devour our reason and understanding as will mislead our zeal and the affections of our hearts and will carry us beside our selves and beyond the limits of Piety and goodnesse If he meeteth with such men as will give way to their passions he will easily inflame them with fury and rage beyond all moderation or else heâ— will drive them down into discontent and despair which is very hardly recovered But by the wisedome of the Spirit of God we shall discover and escape his wiles and delusions by the power of grace we shall withstand his wicked suggestions by vertue of a good conscience we shall stand upright in the fear of troubles and dangers y Rom. 1. 1. 20. and the strength of our faith in Christ will carry us on cheerfully through all afflictions crosses and sorrowes and it will confirm our trust and confidence in God so that we shall find this of David to be true z Psal 22. 4 5. They that trust in the Lord shall be delivered out of all their troubles and shall not be confounded a 2 Kin. 1â— 5. Hezekiah was delivered from Senacheribs great Army because he trusted in the Lord. If Peter had trusted in his Lord and Master Christ Jesus whom he knew to be the Son of God he had never fallen so dangerously as he did Faith will also bring us to the true fear of God which will enable us to over-power and
6â— Before I was afflicted saith he I went astray but now have I kept thy word Also he saith g Psal 23. 4 Thy rod and thy staffe they comfort me and then he concludes thus h Psal 94. 12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest O Lord. This exhortation the wise man giveth i Prov. 3. 11 12. My Son despise not the chastening of the Lord neither beweary of his correction for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth even as a Father the son in whom he delighteth k Heb. 12. 11. But no chastening for the present seemeth joyous but grievous neverthelesse afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousnesse unto them which are exercised thereby Wherefore we must not measure the love of God by the outward blessings which we injoy nor his displeasure by the crosses which we suffer Consider now that none could ever claim greater priviledge from afflictions and sorrowes than the Virgin Mary and none was ever more to be honoured upon earth than she for she did bear Christ the only Son of the eternal God in her blessed womb who had the command of all creatures in heaven and in earth and who was the fountain of all true consolation and she injoyed the comfort of his sacred society many years and yet she had her cares she had her sorrowes her whole life was full of afflictions wants and necessities she was put to great extremities when Christ was born soon after she fled into Egypt for the safety of her Sons life she lost him three dayes at Jerusalem and at that time she sought him with a sorrowfull heart But above all behold and see how her soul is now pierced thorough with grief for she must now lose his gracious company for ever she now beholds him upon the Crosse she seeth how his tender body is rent and torn with the thornes and with the whip how his hands and feet are nailed to the Crosse as if he had been a notorious malefactor and she hears the revilings and blasphemies that were uttered against him in a most shameful spiteful manner which was enough to break her sorrowfull heart but especially she did see his very heart blood gush out of his side which was pierced with a spear This was the wofull and lamentable condition of the blessed Virgin at this time but Christ gave her inward comfort and strength of faith answerable to the greatnesse of her sorrowes which did uphold her heart from fainting and her soul from sinking This may be the condition of any of Gods servants they may be oppressed and pressed down with temporall miseries they may drink deep in the bitternesse of them but yet they are freed from the curse that was upon them and there is nothing in them to hurt their souls for that is taken away by these sufferings of Christ which makes the burden of them more easie that they may bear it with a willing minde When our afflictions are thus sanctified we shall find the fruit and benefit that comes thereby to be very sweet and profitable so that we shall have good cause to rejoice under them for as our sorrowes and sufferings do abound so also grace shall superabound l 2 Cor. 1. 5. and as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ Consider yet further that as the holy Virgin was continually exercised under the Crosse and had her share in common calamities so likewise she had her particular cares of want and scarcity for her condition of life was but mean and her livelihood was but small therefore she was now like to be left destitute of all comfort relief and succour But Christ her beloved Son takes care of her he provides as well for the maintainance of her body as for the comfort of her soul and commends her to John his beloved Disciple m John 19. 26 27. Woman saith he to his Mother behold thy Son and to John he said Behold thy Mother And from that hour John took her unto his own home and provided for her during her life Thus was the blessed Virgin trained up in the school of affliction and sorrow to keep her from spirituall pride though she were honoured and blessed above all other women and that her minde should not be drawen away after the pomp and vanitis of the world but still to bear Christ in her heart as sometimes she did bear him in her wombe It was also to free her from all earthly cares that the meditations of her heart might be alwayes heavenly and that the desire of her soul might be to be with Christ This care Christ will have to provide whatsoever is needfull for all those that belong unto him for he best knoweth what is good for us and he will not suffer us to want if we put our trust in him We need not carke and care for the transitory things of this life which are given to the wicked as well as to the godly We need not distrust the wise Providence of God but we may confidently rest upon Christ for he will support and comfort us in our tribulations and will provide for us in our wants and necessities troubles and sorrowes may come upon us losse of Parents Children or Friends will come and casualties may happen in our estate which we would neither foresee nor prevent these and the like will imbitter all the comfort and content that we can finde in this world but if we belong unto Christ we shall never lose him neither can any thing bereave us of the sweet consolation that we shall finde in him This we may believe to be true that our crosses and sufferings in this life may be better for us then to injoy all earthly pleasures and delights Moses refuseth to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter chosing rather to â— Heb. 11. 35 25 26. suffer affliction with the people of God than to injoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward o Heb. 12. 12 Then lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees Let not outward crosses or afflictions too much seaze upon thee but by faith have respect unto the recompence of the reward and raise up thy Meditations to Spirituall things set the affections of thy heart upon Christ and him crucified which will make thy life comfortable here and will bring thee to reign eternally with him hereafter Now we must learn how to draw true consolation to our souls from this eternal Fountain of comfort when outward calamities or anguish of spirit doth overpresse us Our worldly preferments our natural endowments humane learning or common grace cannot reach this Fountain the well is deep and nothing can reach it but true Faith which is the onely bucket to draw this water of comfort from Christ which will refresh
it might run down to every member of his mystical body which was typified by r Psal 133. 2. that pâ—ecious ointment which was poured upon Aarons head and ran down to the skirts of his garments so that we have a spiritual light to discern the things that belong to our peace then Christ hath wrought this life in us by his holy Spirit for in the state of nature we were dead to any thing that is heavenly f 1 Cor. 2. 14 and we could not receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are spiritually discerned Secondly if our soules can feed upon heavenly food and if we can expresse all other actions of a spiritual life as to walk in the paths of holinesse to speak the pure Language of Canaan and to have our conversation in heaven while we live here upon earth we may then be fully perswaded that there is a spirituall life in us for so long as sin reigneth in our mortall bodies and untill there be a new creation wrought in us we are spiritually dead to every good work and we can expresse no actions of a sanctified life Thirdly if our souls are cleansed from the guilt of sin in the blood of Christ and if the filth and stains of our sins are washed away in the Laver of Regeneration by his sanctifying grace and covered under his righteousnesse that they appear not to the dishonour of God or to the hurt of our neighbour and that we delight not in any sin but do study and endeavour to serve and please God with a sincere heart and pure affections it is a sure evidence that Christ hath quickned and raised us up from the death of sin to the life of grace Lastly if our duties and services to God proceed from a clean and a purified heart which is sanctified and perfumed with the graces and merits of Christ then God will smell the perfume of them to accept of our persons and of our holy offerings because the Spirit of Christ is in us Thus we may know to our great comfort if we narrowly look into our condition what spirituall life we have and that we have it onely from Christ and by him Wherefore now if thou desirest to live spiritually by Christ thou must faithfully believe that he hath taken away that spiritual death which by nature was upon thee for thy sins and that he onely can give thee this spirituall life for as he hath vanquished and overcome the power of death both spiritual and temporal so he can give a spiritual life as well as a temporal to whom and when he pleaseth This spiritual life thou must have from him if thou canst make a particular application of him to thy self by faith that he is thy Saviour and thy Redeemer for he hath then breathed into thee the Spirit of grace which hath wrought this spiritual life in thee though at the first thou canst feel no power of it without this application of Christ to thy self thou canst draw no comfort from him and he will profit thee nothing It did much comfort Job in his greatest misery when he did thus apply Christ to himself t Job 19. 25 27. I know saith he that my Redeemer liveth whom I shall see for my self If thou canst bring thy heart to close thus with Christ he will give light to thine eyes food to thy soul balm for thy diseases and comfortable refreshing for thy languishing spirits But if thou art still dead in thy sins and hast no spiritual life in Christ thou canst then feel no comfort by him for what good can light do to a dead man What benefit can he have by the daintiest food What can the best medicine profite him And what sense hath he of the best perfume But if thou doest live in Christ and he in thee thou shalt partake with him in his fulnesse of all spiritual graces u Col. 1. 19 for it pleased the Father that in him should all fullnesse dwell u John 1. 16 And of his fulnesse have all we received and grace for grace Now consider further that Christ is the meritorious cause of this spiritual life x Tit. 2. 14 for he gave himself freely and voluntarily to be an oblation and a sacrifice for us to redeem us from all iniquity and from whatsoever we are lyable unto by reason of sin to wit from the guilt of sin from the dominion of sin from the curse of the Law from the bondage of Satan from the terrours of death and from eternall condemnation Also by the power of his resurrection he hath subdued and overcome death hell and the grave that we might be raised out of the grave of sin to live a spiritual life to God in Christ Christ hath wrought our redemption by his active and passive obedience to the will of God whereby we are justified in his sight for he hath taken our life out of the hand of Gods justice where we had no hope to injoy it and hath put it into the hand of his mercy where we are sure through Christ to have the comfort of it here and the happinesse of it hereafter Though we must passe by the gates of hell before we can injoy the sweet consolation of this spiritual life and though we must bring our selves so low in our humiliation and in mortifying of our sins and corruptions as if we were ready to be thrust down into hell yet God will then give us a spiritual life in Christ to support us he will then raise us up to newnesse of life by the sanctifying grace of his Spirit that our spiritual life may appear and that we may be made fit to injoy Christ for ever in the Kingdom of heaven This is the first main end of the passion of Christ that we may be redeemed by the merit of his blood Secondly Christ is the efficient cause of our spiritual life for as we have our justification by the merit of his blood so we have our sanctification by the same blood and these two cannot be separated but must go together for we have no sure evidence that we are justified in the sight of God but by the sanctification of our lives The Act of our justification is wrought at once as soon as we are ingrafted into Christ by Faith but our sanctification must be a continued Act so long as we live in the flesh for the best of Gods servants have so many spots and stains of sin in them that they have dayly need to pray to be every day purified and cleansed with the blood of Christ and to be dayly renewed with the graces of his Spirit This is the second main end why Christ gave himself to be an oblation for us that he might purifie us to be a peculiar people to himself according to this of Paul y Tit. 2. 14 Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself
The Lord knoweth them that are his The second reason is drawn from the vertue and strength of the Covenant of Grace A Covenant between man and man is an ingagement of great force and the servants of God did alwayes exactly keep it how strong then is that Covenant which God himself hath made with us which his own dear Son hath sealed with his bloud and which God hath made of his own free grace and favour to us poor miserable sinners which Christ hath procured for us h Gâ—â— 9. God made a Covenant with Noah and he hath kept it to this day Also God made diverse Covenants with Abraham and he performed them all i Gen. 21 Abraham made a Covenant with Abimelech and did precisely keep it This new Covenant is for ever and it is so strongly confirmed that we cannot question the performance of it on Gods part whom in his own Esence is immutable and unchangeable and though we cannot perform our conditions to God yet Christ hath performed them for us and will also stablish us in the fear of God that we shall never depart from him Thus saith the Lord by his Prophet k Jer. 33 34. I will put my Law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them even unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I wil forgive their iniquity and will remember their sin no more And again thus saith the Lord l Jer. 32. 40 And I will make an everlasting Covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good but I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me Wherefore seeing we have this Covenant of grace from God and thus confirmed with the seal of Christs bloud we may rest confident that if we are ingrafted into Christ by a true and lively Faith we are then invested into this New Covenant and every condition and Promise therein contained shall be performed to the uttermost which doth give us an holy assurance that we shall never totally and finally fall away from God The third Reason for the stability of the Faithfull is grounded upon the power of God for as Peter saith m 1 Pet. 1. 5. We are kept by the power of God through Faith unto salvation The Lord Jehovah is our keeper the Lord is our defence all power is from him and no created power can take us out of his hand Christ is also our good Shepherd and we are his sheep though we go astray and wander out of the way in the Wildernesse of this world yet Christ will not loose us but will seeâ— us up and bring us again unto his fold n John 10. 28 29. Christ knoweth his sheep and will give unto them eternall life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck thâ—m out of his hand My father saith he which gave them me is greater then all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand Wherefore if there be any confidence to be put in the Almighty power of God if any trust in the care of Christ over his flock or any truth in his promises to his sheep we need not doubt of our perseveâ—ance in grace and in the truth we need not fear the malice the cunning or the power of the Devil that he can overthrow our Faith or destroy the habit of it that is planted in our hearts by the holy Ghost Fourthly the stability of our Faith is firmly grounded upon the faithfulnesse of God according to this of Paul o 1 Thess 5. 23 24. And the very God of peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Faithfull is he that calleth you who also will do it Also thus he saith p 1 Cor. 1. 8 9. God shall also confirm you unto the end that ye may he blamelesse in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ God is faithfull by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus saith Moses to the children of Israel q Deut 7. 9. Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God the faithfull God which keepeth Covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his Commandements to a thousand generations Holy David had great experience of Gods faithfulnesse to him and therefore he saith r Psal 36 5. that the faithfulnesse of God reacheth to the clouds And again he saith Å¿ Psal 119. 90. Thy faithfulnesse is unto all generations thou hast established the earth and it abideth We may therefore rest upon the faithfulnesse of God as well as upon his power for the keeping of his Covenant for the performing of his Promises for his aid and assisting grace in all our temptations t 1 Cor. 10. 13. for God is faithfull who will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able but will with the temptation also make away to escape that we may be able to bear it Also in all our afflictions miseries and calamities that we suffer in a good Cause God will keep and preserve our souls from hurt and therefore thus saith Peter u 1 Pet 4. 19 Let thâ—m that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithfull Creatour Thus saith the Lord unto his People u Hos 2. 19 20. I will betroth thee unto me forever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousnesse and in judgement and in loving kindnesse and in mercies I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulnâ—sse and thou shalt know the Lord. If we are thus betrothed unto God in faithfulnesse in judgement and in righteousnesse then we cannot be quite separated from him and our Faith in Christ which is the instrument of our betrothing cannot be quite lost The fifth reason why the Faithfull cannot finally fall away from God is taken from the love of God x John 13. â— for those whom he loveth God loveth to the end Love is essentiall in God and he can as well deny his own Being as deny his love to those that are united unto Christ by Faith and his love to them endureth for ever y Rom. 8 39 For noâ—hing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thus saith John the beloved Disciple of Christ z 1 John 4. 10 16. Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins Again he saith thus And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us God is love and he
be overthrown it may be shaken with his boistrous and violent temptation but it shall never be cast down because our faith is built upon a sure rock which is Christ Iesus our King and head If sorrows and crosses breaks in upon us which we could not prevent nor avoid we need not fear for we shall see the salvation of Christ either in our strength and patience to bear them meekly or in our deliverance out of them or else he will sanctifie them to our good We need not cark and care for the things of this life but when we have done our best indeavour in an honest and lawful calling we must leave the event and success to God which peculiarly belongeth unto him and then he will have a care of us Å¿ Deut. 8. 3. for man liveth not by bread onely but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord. t Luc. 12. 24 God feedeth the young ravens when they cry unto him then much more will he feed us for it is part of his Kingly office to provide all things that are needful for those that belong unto him Shall not the head provide for the members of the same body and shall not Christ provide for us who have neerer relation to him by faith Now try and examine thy self search into thine own soul to see if Christ hath set up his scepter of righteousness in thy heart to bear rule in thine affections to regulate thy crooked and perverse will and to bring unto his subjection whatsoever resisteth or rebelleth against the Spirit of grace If thou dost find the fruits of sanctifying grace in thee then make a further scrutiny to see unto what measure of grace thou hast attained What corruption hath it mortified in thee what strong holds of sinful lusts hath it beaten down how is the body of sinne dismembred and weakned how strong is thy faith to rest and depend upon Christ in all difficulties and dangers canst thou joyfully bear the scandal of the Cross canst thou meekly bear the loss of thy friends of thy liberty or estate for his sake hast thou faith and patience to suffer afflictions persecution sword or famine for him and canst thou resist unto blood if Christ thy King shall call thee to it then it is an evident sign that his Kingdome of grace is well established in thy heart and hereafter thou shalt have a large inheritance in his Kingdome of glory Pet. 1. 10 Wherefore give all diligence to make thy calling and election sure that thou mayest be invested into his Kingdome of grace here which will bring thee hereafter to eternal blessedness in the Kingdome of heaven Now set thy mind and the meditations of thy heart upon Christ as he is thy King and resolve with an holy resolution to submit thy self to his rule and government to be directed by him in all thy wayes and to expres thy thankfulnes to him for his great care of thee who by his divine providence disposeth all things for thy good If troubles and calamities follow thee like the billowes of the Sea Christ will calm them if they are ready to overwhelm thee then even then will Christ take thee by the hand u Mat. 14. 31 as he did Peter upon the sea and will keep thee from sinking If God looks angerly upon thee for thy sinnes Christ will appease his wrath and make intercession for thee If death looks upon thee with a grim countenance and is ready to bereave thee of thy soul and to expose thy body to the worms yet know with holy Iob x Iob 19. 25 that thy Redeemer liveth also y Luc 6. 22. that he will give his Angels charge to carry thy soul up into Abrahams bosom and at length he will raise up thy body out of the dust and will make it a glorious and incorruptible body fit to live and raign with him for ever Thus and much more will Christ do for all those that have any relation to him by faith or that belong to his spiritual Kingdom for the honour of his great Name and for the eternal good of his Church Of the Passion of Christ. VVHen Christ had finished his Prophetical office in his Ministry and had wrought so many miracles as seemed good to his divine wisdome the time was then come that he must offer up a sacrifice to God for our redemption which was his whole humane nature soul and body for our sins then a Rom. 4. 25. God delivered him up to the power of the devil and into the hands of his enemies for our offences because the guilt of all our siâ—nes was charged upon him For before this very time neither the devil nor his deadly enemies had any power against him this was the time which God had decreed in his secret counsel that Christ should submit himself to their malice and power that the work which God had sent him to do might be finished and when that work was perfectly wrought then God delivered him out of their power by his resurrection and ascension Wherefore we ought to prepare our hearts for holy and devout meditations upon the Passion of Christ which was most bitter to his humane nature because the wrath of God was poured out upon him for our sins and the powers of darkness were let loose against him like so many wolves to worry this immaculate Lamb of God or like so many fierce mastifes against the Lion of the Tribe of Iuda but the innocency of Christ did carry him through his whole Passion and by his own power he overcame the sury of all his enemies though they were permitted to torment and torture him at their pleasure even to the death Christ suffered nothing for himself but it was for all those that were of the election of grace the guilt of whose sins he did take upon himself and to pay their debt to satisfie the penalty of the Law for them by his death and the justice of God by the merit of his blood also it was to cloth them with his own righteousness that they might be justified in the sight of God Therefore let no circumstance of his Passion pass without due consideration b Lam. 1. 12 Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto his sorrow which was done unto him wherewith the Lord hath afflicted him in the day of his fierce anger How was the perfection of beauty stained How was the Sun of righteousnesse clouded How was the bright morning starre darkned How was the Lord of glory contemned blasphemed scorned and spightfully used How was perfect holiness and innocency accused rejected condemned cruelly tormented and most shamefully killed And how was Truth it self despised and troden under foot Can we think upon his Passion without tears and mourning if we belong unto him Can we ruminate upon it and not accuse and condemn our selves who were the cause why he suffered these things and much
more For the guilt of our sinnes brought all this evil upon him our sins brought the eternal Son of God from his glorious palace in heaven to be of the lowest degree and condition among men here upon earth and to be exposed to all the ignominy reproach and cruelty that the devil and wicked men could put upon him otherwise we had been still aliens and strangers unto God we had been still under the curse of the Law and under the dominion and power of sinne and Satan Wherefore we have great cause to admire the riches of his mercy of his goodness and love to us nothing could move him to do this for us but his tender mercy and his free grace for he saw nothing in us to move him to pitty but our misery and wretched condition this was the time of his love then did he cast his skirt over us to hide our shame and then did he undertake this great work of our râ—demption Now let the consideration of what Christ hath suffered for us and of the great benefits which we received thereby bind us in a firm bond of love and thankfulness to him and how to express it by our due respect to all his Commandements The incarnation of Christ without his Passion could profit us nothing the purity of his doctrine could not edifie our hearts if he had not shed his blood to clense us from our sins his prayers to God could not avail us nor procure mercy for us if he had not offered a sacrifice and shed his blood to satisfie the justice of God for all our transgressions also the perfect pattern of his holy life could not bring us to the integrity of conversation if he had not died that sinne might be mortified and killed in us and if he had not also rose again to quicken us up to newness of life It is therefore the Passion of Christ that reconcileth us to God that takes away the guilt of our sinnes that gives us power to mortifie and subdue them that pulleth out the sting of death that bringeth heavenly joy and comfort to our dejected spirits and at length will bring salvation to our souls But an unregenerate man is not sensible of the bitter passion of Christ he can feel no sweetness in it because he hath no spiritual tast he knows not the power of it and he can have no benefit by it so long as he is in that condition because he hath no spiritual relation to Christ He lives in health wealth and pleasure he feels no misery he is not afflicted with crosses troubles and sorrowes like other men his mind is not troubled and his thoughts are not disquieted for his sinnes they come not neer his heart and therefore he regardeth not the afflictions of Ioseph he looks not after the Passion of Christ nor after the salvation of his own soul thereby but he blesseth himself in this his condition though there be no true comfort in it Thus the devil deludes him and leads him on in blindness of understanding in hardness of heart and in gross security to the great danger and hazzard of his soul unless God in much mercy doth annoint his eies with his spiritual eye salve to let him see his own sad condition and to bring him unto Christ by faith Let no man therefore measure his spiritual condition by those outward blessings that he enjoyeth for a poor man may be rich in grace and godliness and a rich man may be empty and void of all piety and goodness God doth commonly give more wealth to the wicked than he doth to his own servants c Eccl. 5 3 and their large portion of earthly blessings may be for their hurt Consider now O vain man who blesseth thy self in thy plenty that thy misery is so much the greater by how much thou art less sensible of thy sinne and the closer thou art joined to the world the farther thou art from Christ and the more thou delightest in earthly pleasures the less comfort canst thou have in the passion of Christ Though thy riches and honours do dayly increase yet thy sinnes will make them bitter to thee for the least of all thy sinnes though conceived but in thought onely and never acted will bring thee under the curse of the Law and will make thee lyable to the eternal wrath of God and it will so pollute and defile thy soul and so poison the whole man that God will abhorre thee for thy filthiness and whatsoever floweth from that corrupted fountain is unclean Thy riches and pleasures will keep thee from mount Calvary where Christ was crucified so long as thou delightest in them more than in the meditation on the Passion of Christ The blessings which thou injoyest are curses unto thee so long as thou art without Christ and him crucified and continuest in thy sinnes without repentance There is a sting in every thing that thou possessest which sting is the evil of sinne and it will wound thy soul to the death if it be not cured by the blood of Christ which he shed in his passion and it must be truly applied to thy heart by faith Do not think that the mercy of God will save thee for if thou hast no interest in Christ crucified and neglectest the means of grace when it is offered the guilt of thy sinnes cleaveth still to thy soul and thou canst lay no claim to the mercies of God but art under the severity of his justice Where is now the civil honest mans comfort that thinks to gain heaven by his outward form of godliness without the blood of Christ What is the condition of the great men and mighty hunters of this world who think they are highly in the favour of God because they abound in all earthly pomp and pleasure if they have no interest in the passion of Christ Surely their condition is no better than that of the Lacdiccans d Rev. 3. 27. who thought themselves rich and increased with goods and had need of nothing and knew not that they were spiritually wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked If any cloud of afflictions and crosses doth but shadow their earthly felicity it takes away all their joy and it is ready to break their hearts for they think that to be their greatest misery because they do not see how poor and naked they are of grace nor the evil of their sins how they are holden in subjection to every carnal and base lust and to every evill concupiscence which will bring all misery whatsoever upon their souls But let my heart still ruminate and meditate upon the Passion of my dear Saviour e 1 Cor. 2. 2 and let it be the desire of my soul to know Iesus Christ and him crucified who is my wisdome righteousness sanctification and redemption For f Heb. 9. 14. it is onely the blood of Christ who through the eternall Spirit offered himself without spot to