Christ doth maintain and plead First I say of all Believers he calls them little children as well as strong men even the cause of little children even when they have sinned without limitation of this sin they shall commit For he doth expresse himself in generall terms it is the cause of those that do sin If any man sin Secondly the cause not only of present Believers but also the cause of all the Elect Believers or unbelievers if they be elected It is true they shall believe in time but yet I say Christ is an Advocate of them while unbelievers if they be elected There is not a sin in the world but as it is damnable in its own nature in the rigour of justice so it doth not allow of any forbearance it is only Christ that makes the forbearance evun untill they are called Then we came to consider how Christ our Advocate is qualified to manage this office with that efficaciousness and successe to the comfort of those whose cause he doth maintain The qualifications of Christ are expressed in three things in the Text. First for the title he is anointed to be an Advocate he hath a lawfull call to the Bar nay he is priviledged there is none to plead but himself Secondly it is Christ anointed that is gifted and made an able Minister in the 42. of Isaiah and the beginning of the Chapter in the 1. v. the Lord tells us how he shall not be dismayed he will hold him up and saith the Text There the Isles shall wait for his Law we must understand it two wayes The Isles shall wait for his Law that is the Isles shall now be directed and guided by him as their Law-giver or we may understand it thus he shall be so good a Lawyer that the Isles shall waite for his Law as much as to say If a man have a cause to be tried he heares of a good Counsell and a Lawyer very expert in the Law such a man waits for such a mans Law he waits for the Law out of his mouth he hopes he will plead his cause so well that it shal go well with him God makes Christ so good a Lawyer that when he comes to plead his Law he shall carry the sentence on his clients 〈◊〉 Secondly he is Jesus 〈◊〉 the Text and in that is imported 〈…〉 equalification of Christ to exercise his â—ffice of Advocateship Jesus as much as a Saviour and it shews the efficacie of his pleâ— he pleads the cause of his clients so strongly that he sayes Thirdly the qualifications of Christ unto his Advocateship sâ—mported in the third title he is Jesus Christ the righteous saith the Text He is Jesus Christ the righteous in a double sense and in both of them is declared the excellent qualifications of Christ to Advocate for us First he is Jesus Christ the righteous that is the raithfull a Conâ—sellor that will deal truly with his client A Counsell that will deal uprightly a Couâ—eâ— that will not fall Secondly this Advocate is Jesus Christ the righteous 〈◊〉 Christ who hath such a righteousnessâ— as â—â—at the whole strength of his plea the force â—f his Argumenâ— that he doth â—â—â—e in his 〈…〉 together in his righteousnesse The 〈◊〉 expression imports what Christ himseâ—â— is this imports what his Argument is I say the only argument that hath the carrying power to leade the cause to state the conclusion for the client the only force of the argument lies in the righteousnesse of Christ this is that 〈…〉 is that 〈…〉 this is that which makes 〈…〉 thing with God to so give and to 〈…〉 I say his righteousnes this is 〈…〉 which the whole 〈…〉 which all our 〈…〉 that keeps us from 〈…〉 nothing else could be 〈…〉 of all things in the world 〈…〉 be more searched into and 〈…〉 then this one truth namâ—ly that it is the righteousnesse of Christ that prevailes in plea with God for a person that dâ—th sin and this righteousnesse of Christ only I shall therefore endeavour for the cleering up of this thing that the strength of Christs 〈…〉 God doth lie in his righteousnesse Here 〈◊〉 I shall endeavour to shew you First evidently onâ— of Scripture that it is this righteousnesse of his and only this righteousnesse of his that prevails with God for the discharge of a member of Christ when he doth sin Secondly we shall consider what this righteousness is that doth so prâ—vail with him First I say the Scripture or rather the Holy Ghost in the word of Grace holds forth this truth frequently unto us that all the strength of the plea with God and consequently all the ground of solid comfort unto us doth wholy depend upon the righteousnes of Christ and nothing else Look into Psal 50.5 6. verses for David even in his time was marvellous cleer in this truth Gather my Saints saith the Lord in that Psalm such as have made a covenant with me by sacrifice and the heavens shall declare his righteousnesse Gather them together that is bring them to judgement such as have made a covenant with me by sacrifice and then when they stand in Judgement The heavens shall declare his righteousnesse The Text doth not say the heavens shall declare my righteousnesse though that also is a truth that the heavens do declare both Gods and Christs righteousnesse Gods in passing sentence of absolution Christs pleading so for this sentence that God in justice cannot but passe the sentence The heavens shall declare his righteousnes saith the Text. Either understand it thus the righteousnesse that shall be pleaded is the righteousness that comes down from heaven of which wee shall speak more hereafter or thus the righteousnesse which Christ shall plead shall be so cleer and evident in the prevalency of it that the Sun in the Firmament the Sun in Heaven hath not a cleerer brightnesse in it then this righteousnesse shall have to cleer up the business Gather my Saints together that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice saith the Text. What sacrifice will you say or what is there in sacrifice that the Lord should be in covenant with his people Look into the 51. Psalme and verse 19. you shall there see what there is in sacrifice that makes a covenant between God and his people Then shalt thou be pleased saith David with the sacrifice of righteousnesse righteousnesse in the sacrifice is that which doth procure a pleasedness in God unto those persons unto whom sacrifice doth belong or for whose use sacrifice doth serve I say righteousnesse in the sacrifice not an inherent righteousnesse in the typicall sacrifice it self For saith the Apostle it is impossible that the blood of Buls and Goats should take away sin But there is a righteousnesse that is declared from Heaven and annexed to the sacrifice the righteousness of Christ this is that which puts an end to the quarrel this is that which makes an agreement between those that are at
is in a little Diamond How do men prize the dust of gold Despise not small things say not 't is a little book a â—ittle starre may light thee to Christ great bodies have most humours grosser volumes commonly are thickned with too much earth If thou ask what is in this I answer as the voyce once spake to Austin Tolle Lege or as Philip to Nathaniel Come and see If I should say all that I know of the Author some that know me would say that I flatter him because of my relation to him in his life though I know there 's little to be gotten by dead mens favour But this I shall bee bold to affirm there 's no Antinomianisme in the Title or Tract and from all vicious licentiousnesse of life and scandalous aspersions cast on his person by lying lips I stand upon mine owne experience and more than twelve yeers knowledge to vindicate him let the father of lies and all his brood come forth and make good their charge against him I fear not to appear in his cause yea if I should not open my mouth in his behalfe whose industry and integrity God and his Saints have so much approved and from whose labours and yoke-fellow I have reaped so much comfort if yet I should be silent I desire to be marked with a black coal Try him now and judge thou wilt find no poison in his hive no Serpent lurks under his leaves Tolle lege come and see whether Jesus of Nazareth be not here not sealed up in a Sepulchre guarded with a rude train to keep his Disciples from him as the High Priests use to do but thou shalt find him in his garden opening his fountaine blowing on his spices leading into his banqueting-house staying with flaggons comforting on every side thou shalt find more in this booke then I will promise only be perswaded to peruse it if thou lovest thy rest read it Here is newes of drye land footing for thy soul the Olive branch doth witnesse it feare not be not dismayed the waters are abated let not thy sloth make thee guilty of thy misery Will not the weather-beaten Marriner employ all his strength and oars to thrust into a quiet harbour Is any thing more desired by the chased Hart then the cooling streams How do men pursued by the enemie rejoyce in the shelter of a strong hold Can any thing be more welcome to a notorious offender justly condemned then a gracious pardon Is not God and his Righteousnesse all this and much more to a poor creature in such conditions Behold an Haven a Brooke a Tower a Pardon a full a free Pardon a Ransome for thy soule the righteousnesse of God breaking through the sides the hands the heart of Christ to make way to thee to revive thy ding drooping bleeding heart Incline thine ear hearken for the time to come hear and thy soul shall live forsake not thine owne mercies to observe lying vanities leane not to the reeds of Egypt when thou hast the rod of Gods strength put into thy hand Shal there be a price in the hand and no heart to it It may be thy feet have not yet stumbled though thou hast walked on the hils of earth the Mountains of the world the high Mountains of the flesh thy way hath beene smooth and easie so is the wilde Asse's till her moneth overtake her thy conscience perhaps hath fancied some shadow of peace by the dull glimmering of an earthly spark but they that walk in the light at last lye downe in sorrow Isaith 50.11 Be not proud therefore but give glory to God before he cause darknesse before he turn your light into the shadow of death make it grosse darknesse that darknesse that might be felt was not the least of the Egyptian plagues What greater torment then the conscience once sensible of being destitute of the light of life The Authors aim is to lead thee into Goshen to guide thy feet into the way of peace follow him walke in the steps of the faith of our Father Abraham that faith oâ— which circumcision was no cause nor evidencâ— to himself for he had it and he knew he had it before he was circumcised by this faith he gave glory to God we give glory to the robe of Gods righteousnesse when we put none of our owne under it to make it sit uneasie nor weare any of our own upon it to obscure the full glory of it thou wilt finde this garment the best fashion and as wel held forth by this as by any man whost intentions were to cover all blemishes all sins to hide all deformity with it yet to shelter no lust nor sin under it I might launch out into his life and call in all his practice to prove it but till more need require I shall referre thee to Mr. R.L. in his preface to the first volume and to the present triall of his doctrine Let a Christian heart moderate a critical eye find fault who can The God that once breathed the rich knowledg of himself through the frail organs of this earthen vessel into the eares of those that heard him now dart a greater glory of his righteousnesse and grace into the eyes of all their understandings that shall read him I know I can adde no worth to this work 't is of divine value it hath the stamp of heaven the Image of God is on it the Author is gone home and yet living with the Lord though some think the Saints dye and like the wicked leave a stink behind them I deny not the mortality of any nor need I hang thiâ— mans hearse with odoriferous Encomiums yet hee that visits his friend though never 〈◊〉 godly in the grave had need take a little Frankincense in his hand if hee be buried amonâ— men all the aire in the world is so contagiously infected with the stinking breath of thâ— living that you cannot come neer the deaâ— without a bundle of myrrhe Malice and madâ—nesse like a Gangrena stands at the tombe antent of every blessed soul crying Noli me taâ—gere Of all men one would have thought 〈◊〉 sweet a man as Christ had needed no spices 〈◊〉 his Sepulchre for hee did no evill and he saâ— no corruption Yet Joseph would not intenâ— his body without sweet odors though Mâ— had bestowed a whole boxe of precious oynment on his feet in his life time but a little before his buriall Let the Saints walke never wisely warily circumspectly let them keeâ— their feet as clean as sweet as they can they hâ—â— need have their winding sheet and coffin pâ—â—fumed I say not with the Parasiticall smoâ— of a perfumed Oration but with a just viâ—â—cation of their innocency as occasion shall â—â—quire But I hope there will be need of no â—â—gagement from me this way in the Authors 〈◊〉 halâ—â— for his two last Sermons in this voluâ— are a cleer vindication of him from those coâ—mon â—spersions laid upon
as it is set up by Satan with a terrible visage as it were to spit fire in the faces of the godly and faithfull seems very threatning and dreadfull But they are to know for certaine it is but a made thing there is no feare from the sins of Believers all the terror and fearfulnesse of sin Christ himselfe hath drunk it and in the drinking of it Christ himselfe our life was crucified and in that regard I say all the terror and gastlinesse and hideousnesse of sin as it is represented by Satan is spent and â—n it self is dead It is true indeed a living roaring Lion is a terrible creature but in a dead Lion there is no more feare then is in a stick or a stone to him that knows he is dead While sin is alive it is fearfull and corrible and deadly but when sin it self is dead then there is no more terror in it then is in a dead Lion Thus I speak concerning sin not as it smiles upon a man with a promiâ—ing countenance before it be committed for so it is most dreadfull and odious to the faithfull as that which crucified their sweetest Lord but as committed and lying upon the conscience of a Believer indeavouring to drive him to deny the love and free Grace of God to him and the all sufficiency of Christ For in this regard it is crucified by Christ and so a Believer need not be affraid of sin Indeed terrible it maâ— seem to be at first but there is no just cause of terriblenesse in it for it can doe no hurt Therefore the Apostle telling us of the Hand-writing of Ordinances that was against us and contrary to us saith that Christ hath nailed them to his Crosse So that the sins of Believers are crucified with Christ they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts thereof We commonly understand this as if our mortification and denying of sin were the crucifying of the flesh but the Apostle speaks otherwise there and you may see he intends that they that are Christ are crucified with him as much as to say Christs dying upon the crosse for Beleevers his death became the death that is the expiation of sin for them that it should be no more terrible unto them nor affright the people of God I have inâ—isted the more upon this because indeed it is the root from whence all other feares spring For from crosses and afflictions which come upon persons of which we shall speake presently they run immediately to their sins and conceive that it is their sins that have put stings into them and makes them so bitter still therefore they are perplexed with fears as long as sin is upon them Certainly some fearfull thing wil come upon them Why they have committed such and such sins these be the cause of their fear But beloved either deny plainly that Christ dyed for your sins and that he hath borne the whole wrath of God that sin hath deserved or sit down by this truth that sin did hurt Christ so much that it cannot hurt the Believer for whom Christ did die Secondly as we should not fear our own sins being Believers and members of Christ so neither ought we to fear the sins of others Object You will say supposing there be no sins of our own to pull downe judgement yet the world is full of iniquity and abundance of sins there are upon the times that bring downe wrath from Heaven Answ Though it be true that Nationall sins bring downe Nationall judgements and wrath yet all the sins of the times cannot do a member of Christ a lot of hurt And therefore as they cannot do him any hurt so he need not be affraid of them I will make it appeare that the sins of the world the crying sins of the times can do a Believer no hurt at all Marke the plea of the Lord often mentioned in Ezekiel against the people that hit him in the teeth as if he were unjust The fathers say they have eaten sowre grapes and the childrens teeth are set on edge He pleads his owne innocency in it and directly answers that the soule that sinneth shall dye As much as to say he that doth commit the fault shall bear the burthen of it thou that art not the committer of the fault thou shalt not bear the burthen of it Therefore the sins of the times that are committed by the wicked they cannot do Gods people any hurt The childrens teeth shall not be set on edge Object I but some will say I have had some hand in these sins I did not reprove these sins or I did not seperate my selfe from them Answ I answer suppose that the members of Christ are in some sort accessary to these sins yet so far as you in your owne persons have been actors or partakers of these transgressions Christ hath borne these transgressions and suffered for them It is not some sins that Christ bears and leaves some sins for Believers to bear and so also leaves some punishment for Believers to suffer for it is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world and that he doth take them all away appeareth 1 John 1.7 The blood of Christ his Sonne cleanseth us from all sins Whether then you consider every elect person as he sinneth by himselfe or as he shareth with others all these sinnes the blood of Christ cleanseth him from and therefore I say the sins of other people they shall not they cannot be imputed to him that is a Believer Object But you will say surely the Lord doth send crosses and afflictions upon his owne people as well as upon the people of the world many times and should we not therefore bee affraid of them Answ Therefore in the third place let mee tell you as there is no occasion nor need nay as people ought not to be affraid for the sins of others so ought not they to be affraid for the chastisements of the Lord upon them Consider but the true nature of feare looke upon things as they are in themselves If there bee occasion of feare in any thing that may come there must be evill in these afflictions or else there need not be feare now there is no evill in them but all are exceeding good and they work for good and that that works for good is not evill every agent produceth effects answerable to its owne nature an evill tree brings forth no good fruit no more doth a good tree bring forth evill fruit so then if there be nothing but good in all the afflictions of the people of God then there is no cause of feare there is an apprehension of evill in a thing if there be feare but there is not a just apprehension of evill in a thing that is good be assured of this there is no feare to be had of afflictions let them be never so tart let them be never so great or many Oh saith
of God to be our God In all the rest of the gifts of God which hee hath so freely bestowed never a gift of Gods Spirit procures any thing of its own our faith hath nothing of its own fasting and prayer have nothing of their owne but as the Lord hath been pleased to make these Ordinances to be passages to convey himself to the sons of men and so they are to bee made use of by the sonnes of men Faith as it apprehendeth the Lord Jesus and other Ordinances as therein true faith is exercised and no â—therwise And indeed beloved this is the load-stone to provoke persons to the use of all Ordinances God hath ranked them together that the Lord hath so much and so often promised through them to convey himselfe You are kept by the power of God through faith saith the Apostle unto salvation As if he should have said The Lord doth convey himself and the manifestation of his owne salvation through our beleeving The Spirit of the Lord passing through the Ministery of the Gospel as the breath of man passeth through a Trumpet the Trumpet is the instrument the breath is the Spirit of the Lord the Trumpet addes nothing to the breath Now know beloved so far as you will attend the Ordinances because God calls out to Ordinances and because you have heard the Lord promise to bestow such things upon you in the Ordinances so far you shall attend the Ordinances according to his pleasure but when you ascend so high that the Ordinance doth get things then you rob the Lord and give more to Ordinances than God hath given now though the Ordinances have no efficiency of their own in that nature I have spoken yet there is good cause for all Gods own people to esteem very highly of Ordinances and to be joyfull of Ordinances and to long much after Ordinances to make much of them For why the Lord hath made his promises to be found of them and to be with them in Ordinances In the day of adversity call thou upon me and I will deliver thee And here by the way know from hence what is the exspectatio of Believers themselves which they ought to have of the Lord for such things when they come to such Ordinances that so when wee attend the Lord in his Ordinances we may find him in them In Ezekiel you shall find there was a constant motion but it was because there was a spirit stirring in the wheels there 's no motion in the heart of man nor ordinances in the world but as the Spirit of the Lord is in them The Lord hath promised to meet with us in these Ordinances or else they would be as dry as any thing in the world Therefore as the poor man lay at the beautifull gate of the Temple not because the gate would relieve him but because it was a place of concourse where honourable men resorted from whom he might have almes So in the Ministery in Fasting and Prayer and all other services there is the gate of the Temple of the Lord there is the place Gâ—d makes usually his concourse and resort there is the place God appoints to give the meeting therefore in expectation from the word of his grace that wee may finde him in Ordinances we do refort to them Now what derogation is there all this while to the Ordinances while wee make them but thus passive The richest treasure in the world may come to a man through the poorest vessell the treasure is never the farther off nor never the worse because the vessell is poor It is no matter of what price the means of conveyance is so that the thing wee desire be conveyed to us by iâ— only wâ— must noâ— give iâ— that which is abovaits due To aâ—câ—ibe the obtaining of these things tâ— Prayer and Ordinances that is to make gods of them if wee think anything shâ— move the Lord but hiâ— bowels in Christ you invert the course of the Gospel The Lord saith I am he that blotteâ— out thy transgressions for my name sake Thaâ— which God dâ—th to mâ—n is done to them foâ— his own sake He will not be so much bound tâ— any creature as to ferch the least motive froâ— the creature to do good to it Look thereforâ— as you would speed waâ—t â—pon the Lord where he saith you shall speed And this shall be encouragement sufficient to wait upon all Ordinances of all sorts where the Lord appoints that he will for his own sake give you a gracious an weâ— and bestow all good things upon you that you stand in need of in Ordinances this is motive sufficient I say to stir you up to attend upon Ordinances and yet not to make gods of them to ascribe that to them which belongs alone to God who doth all ordinarily through Ordinances which is the only way to disappoint you of your hope when you exspect help from them Object But what is all this to fasting will you say Answ This is a day of fasting why do you fast you stand in need of other things If you consider the nature of fasting aright you shall find there is nothing more proper for this day then this thing God to be thy God to keep thee from feare What is the end of fasting but this to get a prop and support from sinking by reason of approaching evills Who knowes whether the Lord will repent and leave a blessing behinde saith Joel when he proclaimed the day of a fast then to finde the Lord with his hands full of blessings is the end of a Fast Now if you will finde the Lord your God you shall finde the utmost that you can in fasting for in him you will finde that which will stay and support you when greatest extremities grow upon you Therefore I have no more to say to you beloved but only to commend this work to the Grace of God and to the power of his Spirit that is able to fasten it upon your spirits for your everlasting comfort SERMON III. 1 John 2. vers 1 2. My little children these things I write unto you that you sin not And if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only but for the sins of the whole world OF all the Prophets Daniel alone had this prerogative to be called The greatly beloved of the Lord you may finde it in the 9th of Daniel And this greatnesse of his indearednesse was expressed in the manifestation of the greatness of the riches of the Gospel unto him in a more singular manner than to others So the Lord doth expresse it by his Angel Thou art greatly beloved of the Lord therefore am I come to tell thee that seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and 〈◊〉 City to finish transgressions and to put an end tâ—â—â—n and to make reconciliation for iniquitty and 〈◊〉 bring in everlasting
simply and abstractively there is an Advocate but he speaks relatively we have an Advocate that is our Advocate c. Thirdly this Advocate is set forth not only in his relation to men as he is their advocate but he is declared also and set forth as he hath relation unto God Hee doth not say simply we have an Advocate but I say the Apostle doth declare the excellency of this office of advocateship in respect of this circumstance With the Father we have an Advocate and that with the Father we have an Advocate he is ours and not only so but he is an Advocate of ours which the Father which notes unto us that the plea of Christ for indemnity from sin is not in any inferiour Court where if there bee a sentence of acquittance procured there may be a charge from an higher Court But the Advocateship of Christ is managed for our good in the highest Court of all with the highest Judge that when hee gets a sentence it is definitive and determinative and there is no other Court that can take upon it the determination of the case or call in question the triall of that which hath been determined there Lastly the provision in respect of the office assigned is excellently illustrated by the circumstance of time when the office is on foot or when the officer doth manage it The Text doth not say we had an Advocate or we shall have one hereafter but he speaks in the Present Tense We have an Advocate that now is to agitate it It is but a cold comfort for a man to say being now a begger he had abundance of wealth neither doth it give him fulnesse of comfort to say that he shall have abundance of wealth hereafter but herein lyes his comfort and happinesse that he can say in truth I am rich I have abundance of all things It is but cold comfort for a man to say I had a friend in Court once but he is dead now If he had been alive now it had been better with me then it is I should have sped well I had then carried the cause on my side hee would have done so and so for me I but here lies a mans comfort that he hath a friend at Court that will doe him a good office at his need The Apostle saith here we have an Advocate As therefore I said of the present being of sin committed so I say of the present being of our Advocate It must not be understood to be a transient but a permanent sentence it was in force in the Apostles time it is as full in force in our time and we may as well and truly say Wee have an Advocate and in after ages the Church of God shall say to the end of the world in their times as truly as we now and the Apostle in his time said We have an Advocate with the Father Secondly consider here the person managing this office of Advocateship who is described unto us by three admirable and notable titles that are proper and full for the comfort and incouragement of those whose Advocate he is He is Jesus Christ the righteous saith the Text this is our Advocate First he is Jesus and that is a word that imports a Saviour as the Angel expounded it Luke 1. And they shall call his name Jesus for hee shall save his people from their sins An admirable encouragement to lift up the heads of dejected and drooping spirits when the Advocate comes to plead this Advocate is their Saviour that is his plea is of such force and prevalency that he saves his client Object But some may say many times in suits of Law men have skilfull Lawyers to plead for them which are able to save them who are not admitted to plead for them because they are not called to the Bar. Answ Yea but this Jesus is Christ too this Advocate doth not rush into this office of his own head without warrant but is called to it For as you shall heare afterwards the word Christ imports anointing to the office Many a good Lawyer indeed may not be admitted to come to the bar of Common pleas although he can plead the cause of his client the best of all he must be authorized and called unto the bar or else he may not speak But the Advocate provided for the indemnity against sin is Christ he is called to it Thirdly it is Jesus Christ the righteus and that imports the strength of the plea hee hath by which he becomes a propitiation for sin it is his righteousnesse that prevails in heaven to get the sentence to go on the side of his client Lastly you may observe here the issue what will become of this Advocateship what effect it will have at the last Many men who have causes in suit are restlesse to know how their cause will goe when they come to triall fain they would know on which side the verdict will be given and it is a great refreshing to persons to know before-hand that the cause will goe on their side Now the Apostle doth here intimate unto us what will become of the cause before it is tried He is such an Advocate with the Father saith hee that hee is become the propitiation for all the sins of Gods people and what that is we shall shew hereafter Beloved this is a large field of excellent variety of sweetnesse and fatnesse we must take the particulars into consideration that wee may discusse them the more orderly and I hope it will be no difficulty to gather some of the flowers in this garden and the Spirit of the Lord assisting there may be sucking yea sucking so that persons may be satisfied that they may suck and bee satisfied at the brests of consolation That wee may the better lay our mouthes to this breast and draw more easily the milke thereof let us briefly consider these particulars First concerning the office here spoken of we are first to consider what it is to be an Advocate and how Christ doth manage this office being in heaven I say first what it is to be an Advocate with the Father and how Christ doth manage it Secondly whose cause it is that Christ doth undertake to be an Advocate for Thirdly how Christ is gifted and qualified for the comfortable managing of this office of Advocateship Fourthly what it is to have Christ to be the propitiation for the sinnes of his people this I conceive contains the sum of the whole drift of the Apostle in these words To begin with the first what the office of Advocateship is and what it is for Christ to be an Advocate and how hee doth now manage it in heaven for his elect First this office to bee an Advocate as it is appropriated unto Christ I doe not finde that it is once more mentioned in all the Scripture besides this place Of an Intercessor and Redeemer and the atonement we reade frequently in Scripture that Christ is
wee should then finde the comfort of this Office of Christ to be a propitiation for us Now if you will know what this reconciliation is which is indeed an interpretation of propitiation observe I pray you beloved how the Apostle doth illustrate it in the 2. chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians and the 13. verse You that were sometimes afar off hath he made nigh by the blood of Christ Reconciliation is making nigh those persons who were sometimes afarre off and that you may the better understand this being afarre off look into the 1. chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians the 21 and 22. verses the Apostle there will tell you in what respect the members of Christ the elect are said to be afarre off You who were sometimes alienated strangers enemies in your minds by wicked works hath he now reconciled So then to be afarre off and of afarre off to be made nigh is as much as to say that persons who were alienated in respect of enmitie in their mindes in regard of wicked works these persons notwithstanding all that enmity in respect of wicked works they are made nigh they are reconciled You know well in respect of the persons of men who are elected persons they are from all eternity in the purpose of God made nigh by the vertue of the blood of Christ that in time should be shed which vertue of that blood is effectuall in the eyes and thoughts of God from all eternity so that although in respect of the nature of wicked works there be a separating and an alienating nature and quality yet in regard of the efficacy of the blood of Christ being in force with God the persons who are elected in the thoughts of God are nigh to him in purpose from eternity So that alienation and estrangement in respect of eternity against God is not to be understood as if elect persons were in very deed and properly at any time decreed to be separated absolutely from God no God had them in his thoughts as the objects of his love from eternity and these thoughts of being nigh were intended to be executed through that blood that was continually in his eye But saith the Apostle you that were alienated in your mindes through wicked works that is you who so far forth as you wrought wicked works had that in you which in its own nature was the cause of alienation and could not admit of your being neer and being in the thoughts of Gods love till there were reconciliation made by Christ hath he made nigh that is whereas these wicked works were those things that did in their own nature actually and for the present make you walk at a distance from God and so in respect of wicked works you were afarre off you are now made nigh by the blood of Christ that is Christ hath taken away sin the cause of that distance between God and you and also hath revealed himself unto you being Believers and in revealing himself to you he hath made known to you the eternall counsel of God concerning your reconciliation and that now you are actually and really in the very bowels of God and also he doth in some measure subdue and destroy the power of Satan in those wicked works so that there is now a neernesse I say there is a more neernesse even in conversation with God after calling and believing then there was before calling and the blood of Christ is that that make persons who were far off nigh again to God And this is the reconciliation namely where as there was a distance before there is now a neernesse and this neernes is by the blood of Christ as by a sacrifice of propitiation That you may the better understand the nature of reconciliation with God you must know that reconciliation properly imports thus much that whereas there is variance â—â—â—angement and a controversie between person and person a person is then said to bee reconciled when the breach is made up and the controversie is ended and the quarrell is done and the persons at variance are become friends again You know as long as there is hitting in the teeth as long as there is secret grudges as long as there is objectings one against another and prosecuting one another in respect of injuries done so long there is not reconciliation When men are reconciled they lay down the bucklers they quarrell no more they fight no more but walk as friends together And if they should walk as friends in outward semblance and yet should bear rancor in their spirits one against another this were but an hypocriticall reconciliation Inâ—cconciliation the very heart it self is made friends with persons reconciled All this imports unto us this much Christ is become to beleevers the atonement one that makes a peace with God he is he that ends the controversie and the quarrell between God and them whereas God was injured and might have prosecuted the Law with violence upon us Christ doth bring to passe that the Lord layes down the buckler to have no more to say against a person but to become friends with him You know that reconciliation is such a thing as is not only a making friends to day but a making friends so that there may be a continuation of this amity You cannot call this reconciliation when men are brought together and their controversies are ended now to day but upon the same controversie they will fall out again to morrow here is not reconciliation for in reconciliation there must be a burying of all that which was the subject matter of the quarrel So Christ being our reconciliation he making our peace with God doth not bring God to be friends with us to day so as to fall out with us to morrow again but to be friends with us for ever Therefore by the way know that every person reconciled unto God by Christ is not only a person becoming a friend of God now but a friend of God for ever And as Christ doth take away the present anger of God against him to day so he takes away all quarrels and controversies for ever So that a person reconciled shall never have God at controversie any more with him Some it may be do conceive Christ doth reconcile God and us in respect of sins that are past but if I sin anew say they God must have new controversies and new quarrels But beloved remember this he did bear all the iniquitie at once upon him and when he made the reconciliation with God he brought in all the trangressions of men from first to last and so ended the quarrel with God in respect of every transgression even for sins future as well as for those that are past He dealt so with God that he did reconcile him to you in respect of them So that Christ must either leave out those sins you think breaks the peace with God in the agreement he made or if he did
For the head will communicate that the soule it selfe cannot contain it selfe in its own bounds The love of Christ constraines me saith Paul hee can doe no otherwise hee that is driven must needs goe Christ he drives and makes himselfe a way into his members hee breakes his own way into them and so sets them on and puts them forwards Then again Christ being the beginning of all our being he is the beginning also of all prerogatives priviledges whatsoever the Church of Christ hath they have no priviledge but as it flows from the grant of Christ As first of all Justification even Justification it selfe comes from Christ It may be that you will object that the Text saith that God justifies the ungodly and how then doth Christ justifie them I say still as I said before That which God doth Christ doth God is still in Christ God doth nothing but Christ doth all things All the Father hath he hath given to the Son The Father judgeth no man but hath committed all judgment to the Son The meaning I take it is this God as hee is simply one divine essence in himself he doth in this simple consideration of himself not manage any thing in this kind but all that ever he manageth he manageth in his Son and this Son as he is become man So that whosoever they are that are justified they are justified by the Sonne and whosoever come to the knowledge of Justification they attaine to the knowledg of Justification also by Christ We have not received the spirit of the world but wee have received the Spirit that is of God that wee may know the things that are freely given us of God Now this Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ So then the knowledge of the things freely given us of God is by the Spirit of Christ Nothing can acquaint the soule and satisfie it of a portion and interest in Christ and being a member of Christ but by the Spirit of God that must resolve the case at last do what you can Every thing is dumb and silent but as the Spirit of God doth speak The Word of God and even the word of grace is a dumb letter but as the Spirit of the Lord doth speak in it or with it and so of all things in the world And therefore beloved know you run into those two great evills the Holy Ghost speakes of in Jeremiah the forsaking the fountaine of living water and the digging to your selves cisterns that can hold no water while you forsake Christ the spring fountain and go to pump and fetch any thing you take from any thing besides him If you run to creatures you make not Christ the beginning You will say you suppose Christ to be the beginning in all and you believe him so to be But I say Is this a good supposition of Christ when he is not thought of shall he be but supposed and shall services be set up to take up all the affections and all the suits and pleadings of your hearts How hath Christ all the priority In the 18. verse of the 1. chapter to the Colossians hee is said to be the head of the body of the Church That hee might have the pre-eminence in all things Why do people then run to other things and magnifie and extoll and exalt other things while Christ shall not have a good word Nay people are affraid to speake out of things that are Christs for fear of giving liberty to people to sin and charge people to take heed of the setting forth of Christ and Grace by him as a dangerous Doctrine So seldome daring to speake of the excellencies of Christ and of the excellent priviledges and benefits that come by and from Christ nor of the freenesse of those things that are conveyed to us in and through Christ And why Oh! this will make men run out into all manner of licentiousnesse and prophanenesse without controll and so Christ shall be suppressed for feare of giving liberty and in the meane while other things shall bee set up above Christ the divine Rhetorick of Repentance and Humiliation the prevalency of teares to wash away sin and our conscionable walking will commend us to GOD at the last day Here must bee a magnifying of mans righteousnesse and when these things come to be examined they are but rhetoricall expressions Beloved God grant that our Rhetorick may advance him that is to bee advanced and keepe all other things in their own places that are to be kept low that nothing may have the preeminence of Christ Christ being the head and the beginning of all things that the people of God may go with their buckets to the wells of salvation and draw waters of life from thence and not runne to muddy puddles The zeale of the Lord I meane of the Lord Christ who hath so magnified the riches of his grace to the Sons of men should eat up your spirits raise up your soules against every thing that doth raise it selfe up to exalt it self above Christ If Christ be not the beginning but somthing else let that have the preeminence but if Christ be the beginning let him have the preeminence as Eliah once said to the Idolatrous Israelites that had fortaken the Lord had set up the works of their own hands instead of him If Baal be God then worship him but if God be God then serve and worship him So I say at this present unto you If you will acknowledge Christ to be the beginning let it appear in the setting of him up above all other things in your hearts and thoughts Make him your sanctuary make him your refuge wait upon him for all things Why are your hearts so cast downe It may be corruptions prevail within you fear not Is not there enough in the fountaine to refresh thee and supply thee with strength against them Doth Satan seek to overcome you by his temptations like a roaring Lion seek to devour you he is able to tread down Satan under your feet Beloved will you starve in a Cooks shop as they say Is there such plenty in Christ will you perish for hunger You wil answer it may be you would close with Christ you would goe to Christ for supply with all your hearts but you dare not you are afraid Christ will reject you if you come to him Beloved come to Christ Christ will not cast you off Is there any thing in the world you would have would you have joy and peace come to him and the God of peace wil ful you with all peace and joy in believing Would you have your iniquities subdued come to him and sin shall not have dominion over you saith the Apostle for Ye are not under the Law but under Grace For it is the grace of God that brings salvation salvation from sin as well as salvation from wrath And this Grace of God saith the Apostle will teach you to deny all ungodlinesse and worldly â—usts There is no greater motive in the world to encourage man to venture upon any thing that Christ puts him upon then this That he hath Christ to inable and to lead him through it In the mean time give me leave to â—ut one caution to you Christ I say being the head and as the head being the beginning the supplier of all things pertaining to life godlinesse if there bee any person that either now or at any other time make these most desperaâ—â— conclusions from any thing that they have heard as that they may continue in sin and that they may go on in iniquity Christ hath dyed for them let them sin as much as they can they cannot out-sin the death of Christ If there be any person that doe charge any such untruth upon any Minister and will collect such blasphemies from the Doctrine of the Gospel oâ— Christ let them know that God will eitheâ— bring them to see the greatnes of their folly 〈◊〉 to be ashamed of it or for ought I know theâ— may have their deserved portion in the loweâ— part of hell I dare be bold to say there is noâ— people under heaven who are so prejudiciall 〈◊〉 the Gospel of Christ as such stumbling blocks are nor unto trembling hearts that would faiâ— close with the free grace of God in Christ aâ— such persons that take liberty to sin that gracâ— may abound causing the Gospel to be evill spoken of and detested causing that scandalouâ— name to be raised upon the Gospel that it is a doctrine of liberty Beloved as hee that hath called you is holy so you that are called 〈◊〉 ye holy in all manner of conversation and 〈◊〉 he that hath called you will make you holy 〈◊〉 he is holy First in a word here is matter of exhortatiâ—â— if Christ be the head and the beginning of â—â—l things look up to the head suck at the head raw from the heâ— let nothing draw you â—om the head 2ly Here is matter of consolation to all the â—embers of Christ as long as the head hath in self the body shall never want Such a head â—hrist is that hath al fulnes in him he can neâ—â—r be drawn dry Christ is not as the springs â—â—b speaks of brooks that fail in summer but â—is spring is of such an excellent nature that he â—akes an everlasting spring in the heart whereâ—to he pours himself so saith he He that drinâ—â—th of the waters that I will give him shall never â—irst again but the waters shall be in him a well â—ith Christ bubling up unto eternall life Know â—ssuredly be consident of it God must cease 〈◊〉 be God before there can be a lack of supply 〈◊〉 what is useful for you Christ is head as he 〈◊〉 head he is God as wel as man God himselfe â—en must be drawn dry before you shal want â—ny thing that is good for you Therfore let Saâ—â—n all the world set themselves against you â—â—u shall never have cause to say all the springs â—e dried up now there is no hope of any more â—pply for certainly the Lord will maintain â—â—ntinue that which he hath undertaken I am â—d and change not therefore ye sons of Jacob are consumed FINIS