beleagered with sorrowes in every part and I would expresse it thus our Saviour Christ knowing Gods counsell and the hour approaching and the thrones of justice prepared and God as an angry Judge sitting thereon with all the bookes brought forth and all the sinnes of all the world there laid open and God the Father as a Judge saith these are the sinnes of those for whom thou hast undertaken to die and if thou answer not for them they must be damned and there he saw the sinnes of Manasses and David and Peter and Paul appeare before the Lord and withall he saw the glorious attributes of God all comming out against him and mercy pleads I have beene despised and patience pleads and saith I haue beene despised and justice pleads and saith I have beene wronged by these men in the time of their ignorance and therefore mercy and patience and goodnesse and holinesse and long suffering and all these that have beene wronged they all come to the Father for justice and say These have beene opposers of thy grace and spirit and they have wronged us if they be saved Christ must be punished and hee seeth the wrath of the Lord making a breach against him and seizing against him and not onely so but even all the Devils and all the Jewes and Gentiles God lets them all in upon our Saviour now see whether hee had good cause to complaine if hee looked up to God there were all his attributes crying for justice against him and death before his face and the Jewes and the Gentiles Herod and Pilate and all conspired against him to bring in sorrow upon our Saviour therefore hee cries Oh my soule it heavie even to the death my soule is beset with sorrowes the Jewes and the sinnes of all the world will have my life thus he began to be astonied and was faine to gather up all his abilities that hee might fortifie himselfe against those evills This is the sufferings of Christ in the garden and yet I speake under it and if I had the tongues of men and of Angels I could not expresse it for these words are never read of any mortall man but that there is weaknesse in the same onely Christ hath exprest thus much that howsoever misery and wrath was able to overcome a poore creature yet hee bore it and that without sinnes Let these two cavils of the Jesuites bee removed before wee goe any further and the explication before spoken of will answer both Object 1 First say they if Christ in his agonie suffered the wrath of God and if this made him to crie out Father if it bee possible let this cup passe from mee if this bee so then say they our Saviour must continue in the agonie from the garden till he came upon the crosse but that hee could not doe for hee checks Iudas and reproves Peter not as a man astonished but as a man in his right wits and hee answered Pilate calmly and hee prayed holily and commended himselfe to God the Father and he was not as a man astonished in all this therefore hee was not now in the agonie Answer To this I answer the objection growes upon a false ground for they conceive that because he was in the agonie therefore it must continue untill his being upon the crosse I say no that 's false for our Saviour entred into the agonie as into a combat and he that enters into a combat hath many bouts in it as there are many stormes and tempests but there are some beames of sun-shine betweene them so here there is some interims It is in this case as it is with a man in a burning fever a man hath many intermissions betweene the fits so although our Saviour bore all the whole wrath of God yet he had intermitting fits of it as in Matthew 26.39 42 44 in the 39. verse he prayed and said Father if it bee possible let this cup passe from mee and he went away againe the second time and prayed saying Father if it bee possible let this cup passe from mee and hee went againe the third time and prayed yet more earnestly saying Father if it be possible let this cup passe from me and as it is in Luke â—2 44 Hee entred into the agonie that is into the fit as we use to say of a sicke man now the fit is upon him he prayed once and came againe so one fit was over he prayed yet againe so two fits were over then he prayed yet more earnestly so the the third fit was over here are three bouts which hee had when hee wrestled with the indignation of the Lord. There were three stormes in this tempest and betweene every little storme he had a pleasant gale of ease and refreshing This is the answer to the first objection Object 2 Secondly if the wrath of God seized upon the soule of our Saviour then the cause being the same the effect must needs be the same therefore he must needs be still in the agonie when he was upon the crosse You must know that the sorrowes and sufferings of our Saviour issued onely from these two causes First from the wrath of God comming upon him for our sinnes Secondly our Saviour did willingly according to the agreement made betweene him and the Father put himselfe under the wrath of the Father he laid his head upon the blocke and upon the anvill under the blow of divine Justice Now it is not the wrath of God alone nor the willingnesse of Christ alone but from the wrath of God comming upon him and his willingnesse in submitting to the wrath of God for Justice saith if these bee saved thou must suffer and Christ saith I am contented I will yet so farre as I see fit and may be for my honour this shewes that he did it willingly Therefore hee was a cause by counsell and a voluntary disposer of his owne worke therefore he might either satisfie justice by bearing the whole wrath of God or else he might take a breathing while as he saw fit so that howsoever you frame the objection yet the answer is cleere for when a man hath taken worke to doe by the great hee may goe to his worke or he may leave his worke provided that he doe performe it according to bargaine or a man may speake if he will or else if he will he may keep silence so Christ undertooke to suffer for us but provided when hee would and as he would Matthew 26.37 He began to wax sorrowfull that is hee did it freely hee entred into the combat of Gods displeasure he undertooke it when he would and as much at once as he would provided that hee did pay and suffer all for the curse doth not require that Christ should suffer all at once but onely that he should satisfie the justice of God againe the humane nature of Christ could not so well beare all the wrath of God at once therefore he tooke it at three
what they say hee knowes that they are not Judges but hee stayes till the Judge comes and he quakes and trembles till he heares what the sentence of the Judge will be Now therefore be as wise for your spirituall estates as you are for your temporall estates Psalme 85.8 I will hearken what the Lord will say disputing there of the miseries and troubles which were like to befall the Church of God and himselfe too he lookes up to Heaven and saith I will hearken what the Lord will say for hee speakes peace to his people looke not what sense and feeling and feare and suspition say for they will speake killing words and will tell you that your condition is naught and damnable what all this vildnesse and basenesse and stubbornesse and yet goe to heaven that cannot be Good brethren hearken not to these for they are not the Judges of the court the sentence must come from God and remember that God will speake peace and comfort unto his people hee will comfort your distressed consciences and therefore let not Satan nor your owne distempered hearts be hearkned unto for though they speake never so much terrour to your consciences yet God will justifie you it is the libertie which the law allowes and every man will take it to himselfe if hee know the law when a man is questioned for his life he will not cast himselfe upon every Jurie but hee will take the benefit of the law and if there comes in one that is an ignorant person or one that is an enemy of his he may justly except against them and put them out and hee will say Good my Lord doe not cast away a poore man for no cause at all I except against these men of the Jurie they are mine enemies they have sought my blood many yeeres and they have informed against me and seeke to take away my life and I can prove it and the rest are ignorant and cannot understand the matter good my Lord let me have a good Jurie this the court of justice allowes and every man will bee sure to take it to himselfe as occasion serves in Acts 28.19 Paul was constrained to appeal into Cesar and therefore hee saith Chap. 2â— 10.11 I stand aâ— Cesars judgement seat where I ought to be judged You see beloved how wise men are for the good and safetie of their bodies oh be much more carefull for the good of your soules and hazard not your soules upon every base Jurie stand not to the triall of temptation feare and suspition but appeale to the great God of Heaven and say Lord it is an unjust Jurie you â—eele not these abilities and you feel not this assurance of Gods love and when corruption beginnes to stirre in the heart then carnall reason saith if a man had grace could he have all these corruptions if I had any grace it would not nor it could not be thus with mee Oh complaine to the Lord that they are an unjust Jurie looke up to the Throne of mercy and have your cause heard there and say Lord these have beene my profest enemies the Devill and this carnall proud froward heart of mine have beene deadly enemies both to thee and to thy grace and to the good of my poore soule and as for feare and suspition they have betrayed my comforts and â—ut the throat of them and many a time have taken away the hope of eternall life from me and as for my weaknesses and infirmities they are too ignorant they cannot passe righteous judgement because they know not what belongs to grace here or happinesse hereafter therefore appeale to the Lord and say you stand at Gods mercy seat let mercy doe what it will with you and mercy will certainly save you and let mercy be for ever honoured and be sure to lie downe at the footstoole of mercy If thou art content to goe to God and depend upon mercy and let it doe what it will with thee then mercy shall certainly save thee if thou wilt come to beleeving thou art sure to bee acquitted let the Devill come in against thee and plead and say Lord wilt thou acquit such a man that hath been a despiser of thy grace and mercy and the world saith to my knowledge he hath closed with mee and hath forsaken thee and then saith conscience I have told him of many sinnes but hee would never reforme them therefore Lord give Justice against him then the Lord makes answer and saith It skils not what he hath beene If hee will come to me and beleeve in me and repent of his sinnes I will freely acquit him of all that he hath done amisse therefore avoid the court Satan take this as an everlasting rule and you shall finde it by experience If a man might have all the favour in the world shewed him and have his owne friends to passe sentence against him and have his best duties and services to plead for him if hee should commit his case to them to be tried by them he would be for ever condemned by them there is so much pride on the one side and deadheartednesse on the other side and so much wandring in your prayers that they would cry to God for wrath and condemnation upon you 1 Cor. 4.4 I know nothing by my selfe yet am I not thereby justified you must appeale to the Father of mercies or else you will never be acquitted by them therefore stand to that judgement of God whose judgement must and shall stand when the sentence of sinne and Satan and carnall reason shall be overthrowne The cause why many poore humbled broken selfe-denying hearts goe drooping and discouraged it is because they have a bad Jurie goes upon them and they dead their owne hearts because they appeale not to that God who is willing to acquit them through the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ Object But some may object and say how shall I know whether God will justifie me or no Answer For answer hereunto looke what the word saith if the word acquit thee it shall stand and if the word condemne thee though all the men in the world acquit thee yet thou shalt be condemned to all that beleeve not in my Gospell shall be confusion saith the Apostle and the words of Christ are He that beleeveth not is condemned already therefore looke what the word saith and cleave to that for ever Vse 3 In the third place from hence we have a ground of terrour to the wicked and it is like a thunder-bolt to breake the hearts of all unbeleevers and it is able to cut the sinewes of all their comforts and to sinke their soules to Hell to thinke that they are unbeleevers I speake not to those that have some doubtings and troubles arising in their hearts but to such as never yet beleeved in Christ howsoever a man may have parts and gifts and be advanced yet that which will be as gall and wormwood to the soule is
Saviour that lives for ever and hee is able to save for ever He hath not onely beene a Saviour in times past but hee is still you may haply live many daies and therefore goe to Christ which liveth for ever to pardon and to intercede for the comfort of the soule The wise man saith Proverbs 28.13 He that confesseth and forsaketh shall finde mercy the originall runs thus confessing and forsaking findeth mercy the best of Gods people have their sinnes their pride and other distempers therefore labour to see thy sinnes and to see thy need of Christ that thou maist finde pardon for them Fourthly thus farre the Saints of God ought to goe in charging their owne soules with their sinnes so farre see them and bee affected with them as to bring thy heart to be truly carried with hatred against them and with resolution to get power and strength against them lay thy burthen upon thy owne soule that thou maist be affected with it and be carried with a hatred to it and a resolution to get more strength and power against it Famous is that example of David herein and this was the cause of his practice it is a conceit of the Familists that if he had once gotten the assurance of Gods love he might have gone away cheared but though the Lord had pardoned his sinne yet he would not pardon sinne in himselfe the Lord shewed mercy to his soule but yet he would not shew any pittie to his sinne but shewed all the hatred and revenge against it that possibly he could As the Apostle said concerning the incestuous Corinth Ye should rather have sorrowed that the sinne might have beene removed had you sorrowed for your sinnes then you would have resisted them And when hee had shewed them their transgressions and convinced them of their sinnes see what fruit it wrought in them in 2 Cor. 7.10 For this thing that yee have had godly sorrow what great care it hath wrought in you yea what clearing of your selves yea what indignation yea what feare what zeale what revenge c The Familists scornfully and sinfully inquire and say why should a beleever goe drooping and mourning under his sinnes and corruptions and have his eyes full of tears and his heart full of griefe seeing Christ hath pardoned all as though a man did become a Mediatour to himselfe their demand is weake and their scorne is hellish and therefore I answer them thus If there be a daily need that every beleever see a necessitie of Christ then there is a daily need to repent and sorrow for sinne for if he must be more sanctified then he must bee more mortified therefore he must daily see his sinnes or else hee will never see a need of Christ nor repent nor bee more sanctified nor mortified Againe if every beleever must expresse his love unto God daily then he must hate every thing that is evill I hope you will confesse that every beleever is bound to love Jesus Christ therefore he must hate sinne and if hee must hate sinne that hee may not commit it then hee must mourne for it when it is committed If a man have any good nature it will worke trouble in his heart to thinke that hee should sinne against so good a God thus farre a Christian ought to goe and must goe in the charging himselfe with his sinne Quest. 2 Now in the second place the question is this how far may not a beleever charge himselfe with his sinne this is that which hath bred all these vaine conceits in the spirits of those Familists I say no more therefore but this they make Christ not a King of Saints but of sinne there is great weight in it and admirable comfort if Christians would but be perswaded to make conscience of the word of God You that are weake not onely be perswaded to listen to the word but also make conscience of what is revealed out of the word now how farre hee may not charge himselfe with his sinne may bee conceived of in these conclusions First a beleever should not in his judgement conceive nor in his heart be perswaded that any sinne nor all his sinnes shall ever be able to fasten the guilt of sinne upon him so as to cause revenging justice to proceed against him to his condemnation if he seriously repent and amend and forsake his old wayes for hee must not in his judgement conceive nor in his heart thinke that ever sinne repented of shall be able to fasten guilt upon him so as to draw out the execution of justice against him It is one thing to be worthie of condemnation and it is another thing to fasten guilt and condemnation upon him as many poore creatures will say I shall be condemned and I shall one day perish by the hands of Saul and these sinnes will bee my everlasting destruction take heed what you doe for if you are beleevers true penitents you sinne highly in so doing and saying walke as humbly as thou wilt and lay thy mouth in the dust and speake not a word more and say it is mercy that thou art not in hell yet know this also that all thy sinnes and all thy pride shall never bee able so to fasten guilt upon thee as to draw out Gods justice against thee sinne hath a power to make us guiltie and to condemne us but it shall never fasten its worke upon thy penitent soule remember that story of Saint Paul Acts 5.28 He went and gathered up sticks with the rest of the company to make a fire for hee tooke no great state upon himselfe being but a poore tent-maker and there came a viper out of the heat and leapt on his hand by and by the Heathens they proclaimed him to be some notorious malefactor some murtherer whom though he had escaped the Sea yet vengeance hath not suffered him to liue but marke what the Text saith Hee shooke off the viper into the fire and had no hurt this viper would have slaine him being a deadly venomous creature but Paul had a promise before that if he touched any poysonfull thing it should not hurt him This is the admirable happinesse of the Saints and servants of God oh that they were perswaded of it All thy pride and envie and malice and covetousnesse all thy sinnes are of a poysonous viperous nature but if thou art a beleever if a true penitent and convert thou hast the promise that the sting of the Serpent sinne shall not hurt thee it is taken off from thee and laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore shake off the guilt of all thy abominations and goe on cheerfully and comfortably to Christ and yet humbly too and praise his Name that hee hath beene pleased to take that guilt of sinne upon him which thou wert never able to beare therefore though all thy pride thy rebellion and other sins should come in against thee as the sinnes of Manasses if thou repentest and forsakest
his body then doe can it bee possible that men should harbour sinne in them if they did but know what it hath done to them can you see it and not haâ—e it Oh behold that sinne which hath caused God the Father to be angry with thy Saviour and doe thou hate it and let thy soule for ever loath thy sinne which hath caused Christ thus to doe to come downe from heaven and to bee tortured by wicked miscreants and to cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me and as sin hath caused God the Father to punish thy Saviour so goe thou and be revenged upon thy sin and say Oh my pride and my stubbornnesse and my loosenesse and uncleannesse and base drunkennesse these were the nailes that pierced his hands aâ—â— his feet they pierced his sacred body and 〈◊〉 the wrath of God the Father upon his soule therefore let mee bee for ever revenged of this proud stubborne and rebellious heart of mine and let mee for ever loath my sinne because it brought all this sorrow upon my Saviour To presse this use a little more I charge you brethren as ever you had any tender love unto Jesus Christ or any regard of your owne comfort goe your wayes and bee for ever cast downe and humbled for those evill waies of yours which have brought our Saviour to such a gulfe of misery and to be angry with those sinnes that have made God the Father angry with the Lord Jesus Christ and take thou revenge upon that proud stubborne heart that brought all this misery upon thy Saviour This is the course of humanitie amongst men if a man knew of any one which had murthered his father or his friend whom he highly regarded and honoured nature shewes us thus much that our hearts would rise against the man and you would not bee able to brooke the sight of him and you cannot endure to see him in your companies and if law and conscience did not forbid it you could be contented to give him his deaths wound and to bee his bane and you would cry out against him Oh he hath murthered my father or my deere friend and though you would not run upon him and kil him yet this every one would doe he would follow the Law to the uttermost and if all the law in the land will do it he will have him hanged and if he might have it put to his choyce what death hee should die hee would chuse him a death as bad as hee could devise and if he might be his Executioner how would he mangle him and say thou wast the death of my father and then hee would give him one blow for this and another blow for that and say thou wretch thou hast taken away the life of my father and I will have thy life Now is a man thus inraged and is the heart of a man carried with such violence unto him that hath murthered his father or his friend and that for the losse of the naturall life Oh then how should your hearts bee transported with infinite indignation not against the man but even against the sinne which is the cause of all this and which is wholly opposite against God and not onely because it hath taken away the life of the body of our Saviour but also made him undergoe the wrath of an everlasting father your sinnes are they that have thus slaine the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of life Therefore follow thou the law against these sins and raise hue and crie after them and bring them to the Sessions and set them before the tribunall of God and crie justice Lord justice against these sins of mine these slew my Saviour Lord slay them they have crucified my Saviour Lord crucifie them let me have life for life body for body and soule for soule these are the sins that have taken away the life from the body of our Saviour and tooke away all comfort from his soule Lord take away their life thus pursue thy sins and never leave them untill thou seest them bleed their last never thinke that thou hast power enough against corruption nor never thinke that thou dost enough against them but give thy corruptions one hacke more and confesse thy sinnes once more and say Lord his pride and this stubbornnesse Lord and this loosenesse of heart Lord these are they that kild my Saviour and I will be revenged of them and herein consider this when your hearts are inclining to any corruption or to any temptation of Satan and when thou findest thy soule drawne aside to any sin and when thou findest some temptings unto corruptions and stirrings of cursed lusts it is good then to have an actuall consideration of what sin hath done to the Lord Jesus Christ and reason thus with thy selfe and say these sins were the death of my Saviour and shall they be my delight these sins did pierce his hands and wounded his soule and shall they give contentment to my soule the Lord forbid did these sinnes plucke teares from his eyes and blood from his heart and shall I make them the delight of my heart the good Lord in mercy forbid it were it so that our hearts were fully and throughly perswaded that all the vanities of our mindes and all the lusts of our hearts and all the distempers of our affections were those that stabd the Lord Jesus Christ and wounded him to the heart it could not be that we should so delight in them and lavish out our soules and affections thereupon nay not onely Christianitie will doe it but nature and reason will even compell a man to doe the contrary could hee but reason thus with himselfe when corruptions tempt him and occasions call him and say thus with himselfe was it not enough and more than enough that the Son of God came downe from Heaven and suffered such grievous pains but shall I againe crucifie the Lord of life and shall I againe pierce those blessed hands of his and pierce that blessed side of his and all goare his sacred body with my uncleane sins and force him to crie out againe by reason of my sinnes which I have committed this is more than brutish and more than savage I beseech you in the bowels of the Lord to consider well of it you know what Christ said when Saul persecuted the poore Saints at Damascus Saul Saul why persecurest thou mee It pierced the Lord Christ when any of his members were pierced Acts 9.4 but now for such as beleeve in Christ and looke for mercy from Christ consider how neerly it will touch him and trouble him not onely to have his members pierced and persecuted but also to have his good Spirit grieved and himselfe to be wounded Imagine you heard the Lord speaking as the Church did in Lamentations 1.12 Is it nothing to you all oh yee that passe by is there any sorrow like unto my sorrow have you no compassion at all upon a Saviour
hell and condemnation every beleeving soule of you Do not think that God will passe by poore little ones no he will not lose one of you but he will in his appointed time helpe and deliver you therfore be not troubled not dismaied but resolve of this and say I shall bee delivered therefore let my soule be for ever cheared what would you have and what doe you feare Is it your sinnes doe you think that they beare you an old grudge and they will bee clamouring up to heaven against you and complaining of you at the throne of grace doe you feare them so you may justly because of that secret sliding off from the truth Oh saist thou my errand is done in heaven before this time and my sins knocke at heaven gates and say Justice Lord I have taken them in their sinnes and therefore as thou art a God of justice execute justice upon a rebellious soule Now therefore remember that Jesus Christ hath suffered he hath taken thy sinnes upon him and hath suffered the punishments of them 1 Iohn 2.1 Little children sinne not at all It were to be wished that a man might be alwayes humble and poore in spirit and doe all good against the evill done to him and it were to be wished that a man could walke exactly before God but it is not possible so long as we have this body of death it will shew it selfe but if we doe sinne we have an Advocate with the Father Iesus Christ the just he is gone to heaven to tell the Father that all is fully answered and he saith Father save all those poore soules whom thou hast given mee I have paid all and answered all for them and therefore Father I will that all that thou hast given mee may be with me where I am that they may behold my glory thus he plead for he doth not plead as we doe but he saith Father I will now if there be any crie against the soule by reason of sinne Christ stops it sinne pleads and Christ pleads and who will prevaile thinke you therefore be not discouraged we have an Advocate with the Father the sinnes of your dreames this last night they have done your errands in heaven before you did awake but let them plead what they can wee have an Advocate with the Father in Heaven and he pleads our cause in heaven and he will prevail in whatsoever he pleads for he will be heard all the pleas of sin shal be fully answered Heb. 12.22 23 24. ye are not come to the mount that might not be touched nor unto burning fire c. But ye are come unto the mount Zion to the citie of the living God and to the Spirits of just and perfect men and to Iesus Christ the Mediatour of the new Testament and to the blood of sprinkling which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel what did the blood of Abel speake see that in Gen. 3.9 10. where is Abel thy brother said the Lord and he answered I cannot tell am I my brothers keeper Oh thou wretch saith the Lord the voyce of thy brothers blood crieth to me from the earth for vengeance against thee thus all our sinnes doe speake but there are some sinnes that crie and say Lord this soule is taken to bee a Christian and a Professer and one that hath some grace but Lord against knowledge and conscience and the directions of the Ministers hee hath sinned thus and this therefore good Lord execute judgement upon him but now here is your comfort you poore Saints I confesse these wretched corruptions of your hearts play the backe friends with you many times but we have the blood of Christ that cries for mercy and pardon and refreshing and forgivenesse sinne pleads and saith Lord doe me justice against such a soule but the blood of Christ saith I am abased and humbled and I have answered all Christ shall be heard and if he plead the cause the day is certainly yours and hee pleads without any fees and his blood speaketh on your behalfe and your sinnes shall never be heard against you but what sticks upon your stomackes Object Oh you have heard that the Lord is a just God hee is so hee is holy and blessed and of pure eyes that cannot endure to behold any polluted or uncleane thing and if God be strict to marke what is done amisse who can abide it Oh then say you you have these sinnes and corruptions and God is pure and you are polluted and you have many secret windings and turnings and devices and you say God knowes all the crevices of my heart and sees all the frame of my soule and if the Lord marke what is done amisse nay hee will marke what is done amisse Who then shall be able to stand How shall I be able to answer it especially considering that Satan saith I have sinned and why should I not be cast out as well as others have beene cast out that have sinned Lord execute justice upon them as they have deserved how shall wee helpe ourselves herein yes admirably for then the blood of Christ comes in and that satisfies all Gal. 5.22.23 The fruits of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse meeknesse temperance faith against such there is no law so it is here there is no law nor no condemnation to beleevers truly penitent for their sins there is no punishment to them nor no wrath to execute judgement upon them because the debt is paid and the Lord is just and cannot and righteous and will not doe it but saith the Devill thou hast sinned and why shalt thou not bee condemned for it but saith justice hold thy tongue Satan for there is no law against them that repent what troubles you now Answer Why the very truth is the thoughts of Hell astonish my heart me thinkes I see a little peep-hole downe into hell and the devils roaring there being reserved in chaines under darknesse untill the judgement of the great day and me thinkes I see the damned flaming and Iudas and all the wicked of the world and they of Sodome and Gomorah there they lie roaring and damnation takes hold upon them and the wrath of God finks them downe to hell Now I have sinned and therefore why should not I be damned and why should not the wrath of God bee executed against mee I answer the death of Christ acquits thee of all and although the wrath of God be of admirable power and force yet you shall bee acquitted by the death of the Lord Jesus Revelations 20. â—â— Blessed and holy is he that hath a part in the first resurrection for on such the second death shall have no power that is wicked men and the ruffians of the world that scorne all commands and despise all the ordinances of God and the lawes of men and neither of them can take place in their hearts they breake all bonds and cast away all commands and the
justified him Now the ground of this comfort lieth in three particulars or it affords a threefold consolation First because God the Father hath all things to doe with the soule of a beleever all the suits that are to bee made against a poore soule they come from God and if hee will cease the suit who can follow it if he will say hee is satisfied and well apaid then who can take any advantage against the soule Looke as it is with the Lord of a manour haply hee hath an ill neighbour lives under him and doth him much damage many wayes and the Noble man at last is resolved to follow the law against him therefore the poore man comes in and desires pardon of all that hee hath done amisse and promiseth never to doe the like and the Gentleman out of his noble disposition acquits him and forgives all now imagine some of the servants come in and raise clamours and complaints against him and all the servants of the family are against him well the poore man makes them this answer I have wronged none of you therefore if your Lord bee contented to acquit me I care not what you say I have not wronged you neither doe I feare you this is that which should chear up our hearts infinitely that God the Father is the Lord of the mannour even the Lord of the whole world and if there be any transgression done against thy neighbour whatsoever hee is the Lord of the manour it were no offence to steale but that he hath forbidden it and it were no offence to be disobedient to Parents but that hee hath said Honour thy father and mother c. The goods of thy neighbour are the Lords and the dammage that is done is against the Lord Now if God the Father doe mercifully acquit you and saith hee will pardon the breach of all his Commandements if God acquit us what need wee feare or care what the Devill sayes against us it may bee the Devill will come in and commence a suit against us and say what you be saved yes that 's a likely matter are you not guiltie of this and that well brethren we have done the Devill no wrong against thee onely have I sinned saith David it was against the commands of my good God and his holy Spirit it was against my Father and my Redeemer and they will pardon my sinne God saith I will forgive all that wrong done to me then let the Devill goe and shake his ears looke as it is with a creditor if he hath gotten the suretie in suit he will acquit the debtor and if the debtor be acquitted all the bailiffes in the world can doe him no hurt and hee saith I am out of your debt and danger so it is here God the Father is the Creditor wee have wronged God most infinitely wee owe unto God all that wee have but yet hee hath blotted out all our iniquities therefore if the Devill follow the suit it matters not The Lord saith I will remember his sinnes no more therefore the Devill can pursue him no further Secondly there can bee no court in the world can alter our justification if a man be righted in a lower court a higher court may call it over againe and overthrow it but this is admirable consolation doth God the Father acquit us in Heaven then let the Devill goe and appeale where he will A man never appeals from a higher court to a lower but from a lower court to a higher now all your sinnes are pardoned and you are acquitted in Heaven therefore goe your way comforted and let the Devill appeale where he will no man can reverse it The mercy of the Lord and his sentence endureth for ever you know it was Saint Pauls plea when hee saw that the Jewes were maliciously bent against him to have his life he said No man may deliver me unto them I appeale unto Cesar he saw hee should have hard dealing there if hee were committed to them therefore he appeals unto Cesar so we we have had our case tried in Heaven wee have Cesars judgement seat to goe unto the first person of the Trinitie is our Father the Creditor hath made it good unto us by the witnesse of the Spirit that our iniquities are pardoned and that he will heare no more of them therefore goe away for ever cheared and comforted Vse 2 Again in the second place we have here a word of direction Is God the Father the Judge of the Court then let me speak a word to all hūble broken hearted sinners when you have many Judges to sit upon you in your owne heart bee sure that you bee not judged by them but repaire unto God the Father and get his sentence upon them and whatsoever hee speakes submit unto it and bee contented to judge your selves and your estates answerable by it This is the great misery of many poore creatures that as many miseries as they have so many Judges they have sometimes their feare sits upon them and then they are damped sometimes their suspition sits upon them and then they are marvellously disquieted and sometimes hope sits upon them and then they are a little comforted Oh brethren and beloved in the Lord bee wise now for your soules and put your case to be tried onely by the Lord and not by every one Wee would count him a mad man that having a case of weight to bee tried should commit it to an enemy that hates him or else to an ignorant man that hath no skill at all in the businesse no wise man will doe it but hee appeales to the Judge of the court and lets him cast the cause just so it is here there are many of you some there are I am sure that have a sight of your sinnes and sometimes you thinke that God will certainly commence the suit against you what so many sinnes within mee and so many corruptions to follow mee and oppresse mee certainly my heart is naught are you so ignorant to commit your cause to bee judged by them your carnall reason is an enemie and your owne hearts are weake and not able to understand therefore go to a higher court and say with your selves I care not what the world saith and what carnall reason saith I passe not speake thou Lord a word of comfort to my soule and if his word bee for you then bee for ever comforted and quieted and looke onely to the judgement of the Lord and to none other it is in his hands onely to passe sentence and to condemne as hee seeth fit in his righteous judgement therefore stand to the sentence of him whose Word must stand and shall stand for ever as mount Zion If a plaintiffe have a case to be tried in the court of justice he cares not what the dispute of the lawyers be One man thinkes thus another thinkes thus another would be passing sentēce and saith thus it must be he cares not
them yet they shall never be able to fasten any guilt upon thee to condemne thee Looke as it was with the three children the fire in its owne nature was able to burne them therefore they that put them in were consumed by the flame but the three children had no hurt the Lord stopped the power of the flames that it burnt onely their bonds but not one haire of their head was sienged nor there was no smell of fire upon them it was not because the fire would not or could not but the Lord stopt the acting of the fire So every sinne is able to fasten guilt upon thee and to condemne thee but upon thy repentance the Lord hinders it in the act and therefore though sinne doth send the wicked and impenitent downe to hell to frie in torments yet it shall never send thee downe nor fasten guilt upon thee Thus it was likewise with Daniel Chap. 6.22 23 24. when he was put into the Lions denne the Princes of the king Darius had a spleene against Daniel because he was a holy man and had gotten some interest in the kings favour and they could get no hold against him but in the matter of his God now hee that loved God better than himselfe He opens his window boldly towards Ierusalem professing Gods truth when hee was called to it therefore they went to the king to have him to be cast into the den of Lions according to the decree now he was cast into it and though the Lions were hungrie yet God shut the mouth of the Lions they had power and were able to hurt him if they had not beene restrained but God had shut up their mouthes that they could not hurt him but when the enemies of Daniel were cast into the denne the Lions did teare them all to peeces before they came at the bottome of the denne they rent them in peeces suddenly what 's the reason of it they had as much power before and were as able and as hungry before but the Lord stopt their mouths that they could not devour Daniel Just so it is with the sinnes of the penitent and the sinnes of the impenitent the sinnes of the one though they are of a killing and a Lion-like nature for the wages of every sinne is death and there is condemnation in it yet the Lord stops the mouth of the Lion hee takes off the guilt and condemning power of sinne that though it hath power in it selfe to condemne yet it cannot doe it but now when it meets with an impenitent unbeleever the malice of the malicious shall kill him and the pride of the ambitious shall one day rend his heart but it is not so with the sins of the penitent beleevers their sinnes have teeth indeed and power to make a man worthy of condemnation but they shall never fasten condemnation upon him this is the meaning of that place Romans 8.3 That which was impossible to the Law to doe in as much as it was weake because of the flesh God sending his onely Sonne in the similitude of sinfull flesh and for sinne condemned sinne in the flesh It is an excellent place and hath much weight in it and howsoever there are many interpretations of the place yet I will follow that interpretation which I now expresse that it was impossible for the Law to acquit a man of sinne because he cannot keepe the Law and therefore he cannot bee justified by it but how comes it to passe then that the Saints of God are delivered The text saith Christ tooke flesh on him and it was sinfull flesh by similitude or imputation not actually by commission the nature of our Saviour had no evill inherent in him nor committed by him but hee was only a sinner by imputation and then he condemned sinne in the flesh what is that it is a law case and Master Calvin hath it excellently he damned sinne as a man will say when he loseth the suit hee fell from his cause and from his plea which he made he lost it utterly so Christ taking upon him our nature by imputation he made sinne lose its claime which it would make to the soule in this case hee that breaketh the Law of God is guiltie and shall be condemned by it but this man hath broken the Law of God and therefore is guiltie of condemnation thereby Now Christ takes off these and saith It is true hee is guiltie of sinne and worthy of condemnation unlesse another be contented to be guilty for him but I have undertaken the guilt for him and have paid the debt for him and therefore this soule is free from sinne thou hast nothing to doe with this soule neither shalt thou condemne him Observe it when all your sinnes shall muster in upon you and come from East to West saying thou art guiltie of pride guiltie of malice c. and shalt be condemned for them make answer and say it is true Lord I am so but Christ hath taken away the guilt and condemnation and I have repented of my sinnes therefore sinne thou hast nothing to doe with this soule of mine Christ hath taken it and redeemed it and therefore I leave it with him This is the first conclusion Vse 2 In the second place wee heare what the Doctrine saith that God the Father charged all our sinnes upon Christ and that they shall never condemne the penitent and faithfull then what will become of the faithlesse and unbeleevers thinke ye This truth is like a thunder-bolt and it is able to shake the hearts of all unbeleevers and to dash them all in peeces Hence it is evident that every obstinate unbeleever is destitute of all hope of succour and pardon of his sinne consider of this all you that are unbeleevers you must pay your owne debts and beare your owne burthens I know your hearts cannot but testifie that the condition of such poore soules is very miserable it is that which sometimes comforts a man that either hee hath good friends that will helpe him or else hee hath means of his owne by which he is able to relieve himselfe but he that hath no reliefe of himselfe nor cannot expect noâ— hope for any this man sinks downe in sorrow because hee knowes there is no way in the world to help him This is thy condition right thou that art an unbeleever what to be cast out of heaven and earth too this is miserable to be for saken of God and man too that no means in heaven nor earth will stand him in steed for his good whilest hee thus continues Consider of this you that make nothing of the sinne of unbeleefe though you have some care of other sinnes whither will you goe for succour in that great day of accounts will you goe to the Saint they dare not will you goe to the Creatures they cannot will you goe to the Lord Jesus Christ he will not succour you If you goe to any of the Saints to see
if they will take the guilt of your sinnes upon them they say we have too many inabilities to procure pardon for any one sinne and never a Saint in the world dares to meddle with the guilt of anothers sinnes and therefore they dare not meddle with them but they say as the wise virgins did to the foolish ones Matth. 25.9 When the foolish virgins said give us of your oyle for our lamps are gone out not so said they lest there bee not enough for you and us too but rather goe unto them that sell and buy for your selves Even so if you goe to the Saints and say I pray you undertake the pardon of my sinnes and rebellions and beare you the guilt of my sinnes because you are holy and righteous no say they we cannot so all the creatures cannot succour you If all the creatures in heaven and earth should conspire together to save you from the burthen of any one sinne they could not doe it nay the creatures become your accusers the bed whereupon thou hast committed so many abominations and the alehouse where thou hast beene drunke and hast blasphemed and the habitation where thou dwellest and all the creatures groane against thee under the burthen of thy abominations as Rom. 8.22 Therefore they wil take no more guilt upon them than what they have already they are too weary of the weight of what they fele already but though the saints dare not and the creatures cannot save you yet there is hope in heaven there is help to be had in Christ well were it with thee if thou hadst any share in that Christ but this is that which will sinke thy heart that there is no hope for thee there what dost thou talke of grace and of mercy when thou hast opposed the Gospell of grace and of mercy and thou continuest in unbeleefe this is the height and depth of the misery of all unbeleevers that there is no hope for them in heaven This was that which the wicked said when they insulted against David in Psalme â— 2 There is no helpe for him in his God what they said of David falsly God saith it truly of thee there is no help for thee in God there is mercy in Christ but that 's thy misery for there is none for thee being an unbeleever Psalme 18.41 David there expresseth the miserie of the wicked Because the Lord leaves them in their troubles they cried but there was none to save them yea even unto the Lord but he answered them not That 's thy estate right though thou callest to heaven and to Christ and to the God of mercy and to the merits of Christ yet they will not helpe thee thou hast many sinnes and thou shalt beare them every one Now thinke what your sinnes have deserved and how you will be able to beare them when all flesh shall appeare before God then the Lord will charge all thy sinnes upon thy soule and thou must beare and if every sinne deserves condemnation then how wilt thou be able to beare all those condemnations that are due to all thy sins which thou canst not number even the dregs of vengeance and the bottome of the cup of the Lords indignation Christ in Iohn 17.9 speaking of the faithfull and how hee praies to the Father for them he saith I pray not for them of the world but for these whom thou hast given mee out of the world When a poore unbeleever shall come to Jesus Christ and shall intreat him to speake a good word for him when hee hath never regarded his person not accepted of his gracious offers of mercy and shall intreat Christ to pray for him no saith Christ I never prayed for the obstinately wicked now if Christ will not speake a good word for thee dost thou thinke that hee will pardon the guilt of thy sinnes upon him nay he only pardons the guilt of the sinnes of the faithfull but as for thee thou must beare thy sinnes and suffer for them for evermore Vse 3 The third use is a word of exhortation and instruction to all the saints and faithfull of God if Christ were content to bee made sin for all the faithfull then what must you be contented to doe for your Saviour was he made sinne for thee then be thou content to be made shame for him be thou willing to beare the shame and disgrace and reproach that comes unto thee for the Name of Christ be content to be accounted the such and off-scouring of the earth bee not evill doers but be contented to bee counted as evill doers 1 Cor. 4.13 Wee are persecuted and yet wee pray we are reviled and yet we blesse we are accounted as the off-scouring of the earth untill this time So doe you bee content to beare any shame that is unjustly laid upon thee for thy Saviour which was accounted a sinner for thee Acts 24.14 S. Paul was resolute in it and said after the way that ye call heresie worship I the Lord God of my Fathers nay hee presseth this upon the hearts of Gods Children Hebrewes 13.12 13. speaking in the 12. verse that Christ tooke our sinnes upon him and went out of the citie and was slaine without the gate he saith in the 13. verse Let us therefore goe out of the Camp to him bearing our reproach be not afraid to be seene in a Christian cause nor to be disgraced for it goe out boldly and resolutely harden your faces and steel your hearts against all such things and let the dogs barke and the winds blow and the waves roare goe you out of the Campe for his honour bearing his reproach comfortably he hath borne sinne for thee beare thou shame for him Vse 4 Fourthly it is a word of comfort and consolation to all the faithfull be thy sinnes never so many and the guilt of them never so great yet learne this skill to cast it all on the Lord Jesus Christ ease thy owne soule of it and hurle thy care on him that careth for thee This is that which I would have all the faithfull wary of not to make their miseries more than they should Now Christ not onely tooke our sinnes by imputation but also the payment of the debt was really discharged by our Saviour he laid downe the payment of the debt and suffered the punishment really though I doe not conceive this to be directly intended yet it may be inferred from the words of the Text in the former point Christ was charged with the sinnes of all the faithfull and now Christ did suffer their pains and underwent the whole punishments which their sinnes required so the point of Doctrine from hence is this Doctrine The Lord Jesus Christ suffered fully whatsoever punishments divine justice required or were deserved by the sinnes of the faithfull I ground this Doctrine out of the Text thus the text saith Christ was made sinne that is he had our sinnes imputed to him and therefore hee must
men did not desire it but this is the meaning they were willing to have suffered the want of the sense and feeling of Gods love and favour for the present though they would have loved and closed with God still yet they would have beene content to want the sense of Gods love that Gods glory might have beene advanced and the salvation of the Jewes furthered so it was here with our Saviour Christ for howsoever according to his humane nature hee did feare the death naturall and the wrath which hee saw comming upon his nature and therefore he said if it be possible let this cup passe from me he might doe it and God by reason required it that a man be sensible of misery yet according to the holinesse of the will of the Father hee did not pray against these but prayed for these and for the beaâ—ing of the punishment for he was sent for this end and it was a part of the Mediatourship this is the meaning of that place Iohn 12.27 What shall I say Father save me from this houre no but therefore came I unto this houre that is the houre of death He came into the world for this end and therefore he submits himselfe Thus much for the opening of the first part of this conclusion that whatsoever wrath should have come forth from the Father upon the faithfull Christ did beare it all Now the second part is this Christ so bears it that his owne sinne never deserved this wrath of God nor hee never sinned in bearing it neither was he overwhelmed in bearing it but he wrestled against it and overcame it it implies two things and it prevents another cavill First the paine of the soule comes either from a cause without or a cause within or from both If a man were to goe to hell it came either from his owne sinne deserving it or from Gods wrath inflicting it or from both now Christ did suffer punishments in his soule but not so farreâ— they came for his owne sinne the cause from within is sinfull and detestable but the cause from without is holy and righteous therefore all that which came from Gods wrath inflicting punishment all that Christ did suffer was so but the wicked have a cause of sinne within them and that Christ having not hee needed not to suffer and because he had no sinne in him he did not suffer all pains of hell hee suffered the displeasure of Gods wrath but yet so much of the punishment as came from sin committed that our Saviour did not suffer Secondly a poore creature bearing Gods anger he hath not onely Gods anger seâ—ing upon him but also it overwhelms him because hee is not able to beare it the plague prevails against him not onely the wrath of God lies upon a sinner in hell but it crusheth him there that he can never goe from it and this Divines call the absolute damnation such a damnation as overturnâ— a sinner in hell and crusheth him there for evermore The reason why a sinnes never comes out of hell is this because his sufferings are not infinitely satisfiable according as his sinnes have beene infinite to provoke God for as Adams sin was infinite and provoking because it was against his Godhead so the sufferings must bee infinite now the sufferings of Christ were of infinite value but Adams sufferings were not of an infinite nature Christ bore the wrath of God and wrestled with it and overcame it and came out from under the 〈◊〉 displeasure of God and why because theâ— were able to satisfie an infinite God who was thus infinitely wronged by the sinne of man therefore the sufferings must be of an infinite satisfying nature as you shall conceive thus a finite sinne of Adam committed against God was infinitely provoking but the sufferings of Christ were infinitely satisfying and so answerable in proportion to what divine justice required this was the meaning of that place iâ— Acts 2.24 Whom God raised up and loosed the sorrowes of death because it was not possible that hee should bee holden downe of death and it is the meaning of that place 1 Cor. â—5 54 Death is swallowed up in victorie Christ endures 〈◊〉 and overcomes it and Iohn 1â— 20 Christ will convince the world of sinne and of righteousnesse why of righteousnesse for I goe unto the Father and why doth hee goe to the Father because hee hath paid the debt to the uttermost hee did satisfie justice to the full for had he not satisfied justice he had beene kept in the graâ—e till this day and wee had beene condemned but now hee hath borne and satisfied all therefore hee must come forth to immortalitie and glory Remember these conclusions and think thus hath my Saviour done all this for me well I will remember it and thinke upon it and I will lay it by mee for ever The fift conclusion followes and that is this The desperation of a damned soule in hell and the eternitie of torments they are no essentials of the second death and therefore they could not nor ought not to be suffered by our Saviour this I say to stop the mouths of all Popish Jesuites and especially of Bellarmine who thinke to east a great scandall upon Calvin and others in this kinde let me open both he parts of it first the damned in hell despaire therefore saith Bellarmine if Christ suffered the pains of the second death he did despaire and did suffer the paines of hell for â—vermore Oh foolish creature who will be so wicked as to say thus Therefore that you may see this cursed opinion consider two particulars in this desperation First the nature of desperation what it is Secondly I will shew that this desperation is no part of the second death First of all for the nature of it what it is desperation as the word carries iâ— is to cast away all hope and expectation of any good this is properly to despaire For if there be any good things with us then we are said to have them in possession and fruition but if good things are absent from us then we are said to expect them and to hope and wait for them and hope saith it may be otherwise this is that which beares up the soules in the most heavie brunt But for hope the heart would breake saith the Proverb and it is true indeed in the greatest miseries that can befall â—â— and when we feele nothing nor finde nothing nor have nothing in sense yeâ— hope saith it may be otherwise and though now I am sinfull and miserable yet I may bee pardoned and though now in the gall of bitternesse yet I may be purged and sanctified and though now I am a damned creature yet I may bee succoured and delivered This is that which sometimes bears up the heart and it is that also which beares up the hearts of the wicked many times here upon the earth when the Lord lets in the horrour of heart and fils
times as when a man cannot well drinke a great potion at one draught he drinkes and breathes and then drinks againe and breathes and then drinkes the third time so Christ was resolved to beare all the wrath of God and because it was too grievous for the humane nature to drinke it all at once therefore hee drinkes and breaths againe and then drinkes the second time and breaths againe and so drinkes the third time and so our Saviour was able to suffer all and not to bee driven to any distemper or weaknesse for all those distempers of affections they arise from these three grounds 1 Either affections prevent judgement 2 Or else it will not yeeld to judgement 3 Or thirdly it disturbs judgement Now our Saviour tooke one draught and then breathed and then tooke another draught and 〈◊〉 had againe and so thinke it at the third time so that none of all the sorrowes of the agonie that he undertooke troubled him because hee undertooke it when he would and yet bore all and so gave full satisfaction Thus you see what our Saviour suffered in the garden in his soule and it was such a kinde of sorrow that he tooke onely Peter and Iames and Iohn with him and no more Now in the next place I come to fasten upon the proofe of the point to wit that this sorrow must needs bee more than can come from the paines of death and I shall make it good by force of argument that this sorrow cannot come barely from the naturall death I shall give you grounds from Scripture and from reason and I reason thus All the sorrowes that came upon our Saviour they came by reason in this cup that is from these sorrowes and miseries that he was to beare both in the agonie in the garden and upon the crosse Now that cup which brought astonishment in upon his soule and fild it full of anguish and drove him to an amaze and not only to weep bitterly but to trickle downe drops of clodded blood that cup must needs bee more than the pains of a naturall death but that cup which caused all this was that which brought them in and made him thus to be astonished and fild his soule with anguish and wrested clodded blood from his body therefore this was more than naturall death the latter part of the argument is undeniable namely that the agonie came from this cup therefore the cup was the cause of his sorrowes and griefes and teares but to thinke that naturall death should drive our Saviour to this astonishment it is unreasonable to thinke it that the Souldier should beare that which the Commander cannot beare and that many a poore Christian that hath but a little grace should beare the paine of a naturall death for a good cause and that comfortably and shall not Christ the Fountain of all grace beare much more it is unreasonable for any man to thinke so therefore there must be more than the paines of a naturall death in the sufferings of our Saviour Hee that gave his Saints grace to beare these paines of the naturall death he hath much more grace in himselfe to beare them and to come forth from under them Vse 1 Is it so that the Lord Jesus Christ was driven to this astonishment and to all this misery then what use will you make of the point shake the â—ee and gather the fruit Let every soule learne from hence what will bee the fruit of sinne and what he may expect from sinne if he doe rightly conceive of it wee use to judge of physicke by the working of it especially if it be some strange kinde of physicke then the working of it will discover the nature of it And as it is with some great personages as the Popes and such like they have their tasters to taste their meat for them for certainly if the meat doe poyson him that tastes it then it will doe him no good that eats iâ— so see what sinne hath done in Christ and the same it will doe in thee what he hath received from it doe thou looke to partake of the same if thou continue in sin He onely tasted of it by way of imputation and he had only the shadowes of sin as I have formerly shewed hee had onely the taste of sin by way of account and charge and imputation therefore if it made him sicke even to death then know thou shalt bee sure to feele the same it will worke upon thee much more that hast sin not by way of imputation but thou hast it by way of commission and thou canst sit at thy base pleasures and loose company and sinfull occasions and drawest on iniquitie as it were with cart-ropes it will bee thy death if the Lord be not mercifull unto thee to save thee and the Lord Christ gracious to pardon thee therefore let us not judge of our sinnes according to our conceits it is that which cozens and deceives thousands of poore creatures therefore let us not value our sinnes according to the sweetnesse that our owne corrupt heart findes in them nor according to the pleasure that wee expect from them they goe downe merrily now but they kill as certainly It is the great weaknesse of poore soules that wee see sinne a great way off through many glasse windowes many mediums and covers there are many profits and pleasures and dalliances that are betweene sinne and us and we see sinne through all these and therefore sin is welcomed and received because it seemes pleasant but now I would have you see sinne in the nature of it and therefore looke upon sinne in the Lord Jesus Christ and there see it in its colours and see what vexation it brought on our Saviour the same it will bring upon thee unlesse the Lord be the more mercifull Is is with sinners as it is with children little children that know not the nature of a Beare or a Lion if they lie sleeping they will bee ready to play with them but if the Beare begin to shake himselfe and the Lion begin to rore it makes not onely children afraid but even the stoutest to flie wee dally with the hole of the Aspe sinne hath devoured thousands at this day and children that wee are we play with sin and with the pride of our owne cursed hearts and our lusts and our ambition and uncleannesse and with the neglect of Gods ordinances and every other corruption The drunkard playes with his drunkennesse and the adulterer with his dalliances and the proud man with his ambitious thoughts and so every wretch with his wicked practices and this ambition is now asleep but if you could see these roring upon you and ready to devoure you then certainly you that now take delight in them would flie from them Proverbs 7.27 It is observable what sinne will doe the adulterous woman meets the poore deluded creature and she inticeth him with her base lusts and he dreams of nothing but Downe
to be forsaken that we might not be forsaken and to bee condemned that wee might bee acquitted Oh all you stubborne hearts that heretofore have made nothing of the blood of Christ and his honour but though the judgements of God and the hammer cannot breake your hearts yet let this mercy breake you and reason with thy owne heart in this manner and say Good Lord is this possible Lord this is too much for reason cannot reach it nor nature cannot doe it to give himselfe and his life and to bee forsaken and despised that a rebbell and a traitor should be received to mercy certainly I shall love him as long as I live yes and doe so too and seeke to that Jesus Christ and honour him and say for ought I know I may obtaine a part in Christ therefore I will never wrong him nor grieve his good Spirit more The Lord say Amen to the good desires of your hearts that you may stand and wonder at this compassion of the Lord that is out of measure great Vse 4 Hath the Lord suffered all these punishment for us then what shall wee doe for the Lord Jesus Christ returne an answer to the Lord what course you will take to answer the kindnesse of the Lord. When David had received many kindnesses from the Lord he lookes up to Heaven and saith I will love thee dearly O Lord my strength Love is the loadstone of love therefore have love inlarged in this dutie be not scantie in your love but bestow your hearts fully and liberally upon the Lord Jesus Christ and let all returne love to the Lord Jesus Christ and love him in all things by all means and at all times and know that the death of Christ requires this and will call for it I doe not love that a man should give the Lord Iesus Christ a little scanty desire and a few lazy wishes but love him with all thy soule and with all thy strength and say I will love thee dearly Oh Lord my strength when thou dost rise in the morning love Iesus Christ and bathe thy heart in it and when thou art in the way or at thy labour love Iesus Christ that strengthens thee when thou feedest upon the sweetnesse of thy meat thinke upon the sweetnesse that is in Christ and thanke the blood of Christ for all that thou hast in all the riches thou seest and in all the honours thou hast and in all thy friends and means and whatsoever thy heart loves or esteems in that see Christ and in that love Christ why what doth that concerne Jesus Christ I answer it will make it appeare that all that thou hast is from the blood of Christ and the blood of Christ is better than all the blessings you doe enjoy and they are all nothing without this for it is the death of the Lord Iesus Christ that ads a seasoning vertue to all the good things thou hast so that these are not good to us neither doe they worke good to us but that they are given to us in and by the Lord Jesus Christ for were they not given us in Christ there is such venome and gall in our sinnes and the wrath of God it selfe which slides thorow all the good things here below that it makes all the morsels gravell in the belly In a word the blood of Christ takes away the venome and indignation of Gods curse which otherwise would bring a plague upon what wee have and what we doe enjoy how many rich and honourable are there if the Lord let but in a veine of vengeance into their consciences all their riches and honours are base and worth nothing what 's that to me if I bee rich and a reprobate honoured and damned and the wrath of God to pursue me therefore without the death of Christ all these things are but curses to us the world is a prison and the creatures are our enemies and every one of our actions are our witnesses to condemne us and all our comforts are but gall and wormwood to us nay were it not for the blood of Christ your prosperity would be your ruine your beds your graves and your comforts your confusion and therefore that they are not so and that thou hast any comfort from these goe blesse God for it and say Lord it is through thy blood that I have received any blessing upon these blessings Lord I might have drunke the cup of thy wrath when I drunke this beere I might have eaten my bane when I eat my meat I blesse thy Name blessed Redeemer for thy love it is thy blood that hath purchased these things for me if you have received from any thing here below any good at all looke up to Christ and blesse his Name for it and say if this meat be so sweet then what is the blood of Christ therefore love Christ by all means let all your words be words of love and all your labour be the labour of love and all your thoughts bee thoughts of love and muse of love and speake of the treasures of mercy and let all your affections be full of love and all your workes be love and lift up his Name and say all ye that see my conversation that I walke so comfortably blesse his Name for it the blood of Jesus Christ hath done all this for me I was a wretched creature but the blood of Christ hath overpowred this rebellious heart of mine honour him and lift him up and say my heart was hard and filthy and my soule was destitute of all good and my sinnes many yet now I have some evidence of the love of God blessed bee his Name for it the blood of Christ hath done this for me muse of him speake for him worke for him and doe all for him in all miseries and troubles sorrowes and vexations temptations without and terrours within love Jesus Christ therein though these befall thee yet the venome and poyson of them is gone and they are sweetned unto thee thy prison is libertie thy contempt is advancement in all the things thou hast love Jesus Christ that hath procured these and now if you will not love Jesus Christ let mee aske you whom will you love nay whom else can you love answer mee will you love your friends that are deare unto you or your Parents that doe provide for you or your wife that is loving and mercifull to you you will love these as there is good cause you should but love Christ more than all these If you will love a friend or a father then much more Christ that is the Author of all and the continuer and preserver of all a friend would be an enemy but that the blood of Christ frames his heart A wife would rather bee a trouble than a helpe but that the blood of Christ orders her therefore I say with Paul 1 Cor. 16.22 If any man love not the Lord Iesus Christ let him bee Anathema Maranatha aske your neighbours if they love not the Lord Jesus Christ Let that soule bee accursed untill the comming of Christ to judgement Curse him all yee Angels in Heaven and all yee Devils in Hell Curse him all yee creatures and let this curse remaine upon him untill the comming of Christ unto judgement and let these curses bee sealed downe upon him for ever and when you are come to the end of all this will bee the plague and the curse of all that you had Christ and mercy rendered to you once and you would not receive it therefore since Christ hath thought nothing too good for us even his life and blood and was content to part with the sense and feeling of the sweetnesse of the love of God the Father thinke nothing too good for Christ but love him in all things and by all means the Lord grant wee may FINIS