be are more able to plead a cause and can doe it better then some Sergeant at Law or some others that are called but yet because he is not called he must hold his tongue Beloved were Christ our Advocate a Novice and not graduated if he were not called to the Bar though he can plead never so excellently with God he could not be heard God will give a call before he heare So Christ is called Yet again when men are called to be Counsellors yet they cannot plead at every Bar. At the Common-pleas none plead but a Sergeant at law though many Counsellors be able Lawyers better gifted then some Sergeants yet this will not suffice he is not called to that Bar in speciall and therefore they must not come till they have the cal as the Sergeants have The Lord doth not bid us to seek his face without a Mediator but he that is the Advocate at the Court of Heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ that is one Man the Man Christ He that hath the best Rethoricke in the world to plead his cause must have him as a Sergeant to plead for him he cannot be admitted into this Court to plead for himself The Ministers of God are in some sort the pleaders of our cause yet they themselves must have this Sergeant to plead for them when they come to this tribunall of God and he alone is admitted to it And it is a great matter to know what kinde of Christ he is that is singled out and then you must know that if all the world offer this service unto you to plead your cause before God it would not avail if this Man Christ were not freely assign'd and called to plead your cause you are gone for ever nothing in the world can be heard but Christ Obj. You will say the servants of God are heard when they pray Answ I say Christ is onely heard when he Prayes you must pray in faith saith James Let him not think that he shall obtaine any thing at the hand of the Lord that wavers he must ask in faith that is he must ask in Christ for faith rests not upon it self but upon Christ It is Christ gets every thing for men it is not they themselves nor their prayers but it is Christ that prevails Now this Advocate Christ he speaks his minde and is admitted to speak his minde to the full But this is not all Christ is gifted and qualified that he may plead effectually There may be some unrighteous Judge in the world that may call men for favour as a father calls his son whether he be gifted and qualified or no that is not regarded This man for some by-respects shall come to the Bar but God is a righteous Judge a Judge that hath no partiality Christ indeed is his Son but Christ his Son is not called meerly for favour but as he calls his Son so he breeds his Son You know beloved that at the Inns of Court the Judges and primest Lawyers are teachers of Students and when they finde them to be proficients then they call them and admit them to the Bar. So Christ is the Student and the Father he doth instruct and tutor him he breeds him up if I may so speak after the manner of men to be fit for the Advocateship and then when he was fit he put him out unto it You shall find anointing as in the word Christ to import gifting of men when they are called out Aaron he was anointed he was gifted to make atonement and so of Saul when Samuel anointed him the Text saith God gave him another he gave him a regall heart and when hee made him a King he gave him the heart of a King he gave him a kingly spirit And this was that which Solomon prayed for when the crown was set upon his head that God would give him a wise and understanding heart to goe in and out before his great people and the Lord answered him and gave him wisdome so that there was none before him nor after him like unto him Even so God did with Christ he was anointed to be our Advocate and as he anointed him he gifted him for it as he saith I have laid help upon one that is mighty Christ is the person that must bring help and therefore his person shall be mighty In Psal 68. vers 18. you shall see there that God did gift Christ when he called him forth Thou art ascended up on high thou hast led captivity captive and received gifts for men Here the office of Christ is to deliver captives and for this purpose must be gifted if he be not qualified unto it he will fail in the execution of it The Apostle recites the same passage but above all that place in Isaiah 42. and the 2 3 4 5. verses doth manifestly cleer this matter Behold my servant saith the Lord mine elect in whom my soule delighteth hee shall not fail neither shall he be discouraged I will hold him with my right hand he shall not be dismayed saith the Text Here you see in the words how many expressions the Lord useth to shew how he qualifieth his Son Christ that so he may be fit to manage his businesse But further in the second place he is not only called Christ but he is Christ Jesus saith the Text and the title doth further illustrate the excellency of Christs qualifications to be an Advocate Here is Christ Jesus Jesus is a name importing the effectuall prevalency of Christ in his plea. I will not stand to cleer the signification of it by the Etymologie of the word but for a more sensible understanding of it the word is taken up and examined by the Holy Ghost himself in Mat 1. verse 21. when the Angel brings the tidings of his birth he gave his name They shall call his name Jesus for hee shall save his people from their sins Jesus is as much as to say a Saviour of people from sin Now see how admirably our Saviour is qualified hee hath not only Rethorick Law at his fingers ends as we say but he hath an admirable prevalency in his Rethorick There is not any cause that Christ yet took in hand that miscarried not any client that ever Christ pleaded for that at any time was cast but he that pleads is still the Saviour of his people This Jesus pleads so that he saves them from their sins It is admirable to consider let the sins produced against a person be never so many never so hainous let the witnesses come in and swear never so punctually and prove never so fully the crimes committed against such a Law yet such is the faculty of this Advocate with the Father that he is Jesus that hee stops the judgement the sentence cannot goe forth This Christ as he is Jesus is first the baile of mens persons till the day of payment You know the nature of bailing persons should go to prison presently
that you sin not in the words before This is urged as an Argument to perswade them namely Wee have an Advocate with the Father We have considered already the force of this Argument to prevaile to this thing required and we have considered something concerning the nature of the Argument it self If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Here we considered what the Advocateship of Christ is namely to plead a sentence for his peoples discharge according to the rules of justice and equity Secondly whose cause it is that Christ doth advocate or plead Thirdly how Christ is qualified and gifted unto this office of Advocateship He is first Christ that is called of God and furnished by the Lord unto it Secondly he is Jesus Christ an effectuall and prevailing Advocate an Advocate that saves every client harmlesse whose cause hee doth plead Jesus is as much as a Saviour of his people from their sins We have considered thirdly further that Christ is qualified with righteousnesse and herein also the strength of the plea of Christ or the Argument of his plea He pleads discharge from sinne by vertue of his own righteousnesse Now because this discharge doth depend upon this righteousnesse of his We have proposed to your consideration what this righteousnesse is that hath such strength of plea as to obtain discharge from sin to the members of Christ after they have committed sin wee have proposed it first negatively secondly affirmatively The righteousnesse that obtains discharge from sin is no righteousnesse of our own nothing we do hath prevalency in the Court of Heaven with God for our dischargâ— It is not our tears our prayers or our fastingâ— that do prevaile with God but the righteousnesse of Christ only by the way a word oâ— two before I go on Let none think that thâ— denying efficacy unto our performances for thâ— procuring of our discharge from sinne doth wholy take away or derogate or eclypse these performances which are the things God himselfe calleth for at our hands I am not ignorant what an aspersion is rather by men collected then what can be justly raised out of what I have delivered as if there should be a slighting and a derogating from the performances that are the businesse of a Christians conversation as if denying efficacy to prevaile for discharge should be the overthrowing of these performances in Gods people You know what is said of fire It is a good servant but a bad master usefull in the harth dangerous iâ— the top of a house I say the like of all performances whatsoever keep them within their due bounds they are for excellent uses and for excellent purposes Let them break out of their bounds and they are dangerous Rivers are usefull but when they overflow their banks they drown all they are good creatures within the banks and water is usefull and necessary for many purposes but nothing more dangerous and destructive when it rieseth too high Exact performances once into the Throne of Christ give performances the peculiar priviledges of Christ and they deny Christ keep them in subordination to Christ they are usefull in their kinde Prâ—yer and fasting and circumspect walking and holinesse of conversation so farre as they are kept within these bounds namely the glorifying of God the manifestation of thankfulnesse and our due obedience to divine Majesty doing good to others and as they are looked upon as the Ordinances of God in the performances of which the Lord will be graciously pleased to meet with his people and in them make good to them things that are freely given by him before in Christ so farre they are exceeding usefull As for instance God calls forth unto prayer he calls forth unto fasting what is the encouragement of men to performe these services not a prevalency that these services themselves have with God but because that he hath promised that when his people call he will answer So for the promise sake we are encouraged in the expectation that the Lord will be as good as his word when we meet with him where he calls us forth to meet with him so far we are encouraged These things will I doe saith the Lord yet for all this I will be inquired of by the house of Israel Observe it well and in it you shall see the usefulnesse in seeking God in any way that the Lord will be sought in First the Lord saith These things will I do the Lord hath bound himself he cannot alter it the word is gone out of his mouth the thing shall come to passe when it is once gone out of his mouth he will make that good for his own sake and I will be sought unto by the house of Israel I will doe it you shall seeke mee and when you seek me I will make it good So when we come to the Ordinances wee look to what God hath promised and upon what God hath ingaged himself to make good to us And when we are upon the Ordinances our eye is or ought to be upon the promises not upon our performances and the Ordinances as if these our qualifications and doing this or that were the procurers of that we desire but the procurer of that is that which moved the Lord to make a promise Secondly as our righteousnesse hath not plea in it to prevaile of it selfe for discharge of sin after commission so neither hath faith it self any prevalency for the discharge of sin I say the plea of saith it self hath no efficacy and strength in it to get discharge from sin Faith improperly is called the righteousnesse of God Look into the 10. of the Romans the Apostle expresseth himselft us The righteousnes of faith speaks on this wise c. Here by the righteousnes of faith there cannot be meant the righteousnesse of the act of believing but the righteousnesse of Christ believed on I came to this assertion that faith hath not such prevalency of plea to discharge from sin I say not a prevalency of plea as to obtain the discharge from sin Nay saith hath not this prevalency so much as to be an instrument to unite a soul unto Christ in its first union I shall desire beloved in this case yet once more to be marked and heeded both attentively and spiritually and ingenuously and candidly The assertion I delivered was this and the reason why I deliver it again I will tell you by and by There is I say not such a thing as an uniting and cementing nor knitting power in faith as that faith doth or should become the instrument to unite a soul in its first union unto Christ For before such believing a soul is united unto Christ and a soul must be united unto Christ before it doth or can believe I said this of elect persons still and so carried it along to the end of the discourse That an elect person is united unto Christ before he can believe on Christ Something I said before for the
one I shall be undone as others are that are plundered here the heart is disturbed and distracted But beloved suppose you lose all that you have even the wife out of your bosomes and your children out of your arms so you be deprived of all yet there is no evill in them and therefore you ought not to be affraid There is nothing but good a them the Apostle in the 12. Hebr. tells us that it is true for the present no affliction seems joyous but grievous yet he takes away all occasions of feare though for the present they seem evill yet afterwards saith he they bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousnesse to those that are exercised therewith What hurt is in them when they bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousnesse In afflictions they are refined as Silver and as Gold What hurt is there to Silver in the fire when nothing is intended but the seperation of the drosse from the Silver When the Lord afflicts his people he sits as a Refiner to take away the drosse The afflictions of Gods people are nothing but the refinings of God to take away the rust What hurt is there in Physick especially in good physick when the body is distempered They that know the benefit of it will they be affraid of it though it make them sicke for a time It is true ignorance and suspition of the operation will make men affraid but the Lord hath made it known to us that all his chastisements are the fruits of his love and this is the end of all to take away their sins It is true men need not feare that the sins they commit shall do them hurt but the Lord makes use of afflictions to purge out sin from the conversation where it is a trouble and burthen both to the faithfull and Brethren though hee doth not revenge himselfe of any before committed Thirdly as wee ought not to be affraid of sin and afflictions in generall so for the present we should take notice that they that have Goâ— for their God must not be affraid of men The enemies of God they that fight against God there needs no feare either of their wrath oâ— of their policy nor of their meances nor oâ— their cruelty There is no cause of feare of anâ— of these It is true there is doubtlesse an implacablenesse of rage and an unchangeable resolution of revenge if possibly they could eveâ— to bring fire from Heaven to devour the servants of the living God But if their rage were more desperate then it is there is no cause at all to feare in as much as God is the God of such a people In the 120. Psalme you shall see that there is no cause to feare though there bee never so much evill approaching This Psalme was made of purpose to set forth this thing that the godly need not feare the fury of the oppressor If the Lord had not been on our side when men rose up against us they had swalloweâ— us up when their fierce wrath was kindled against us but blessed be the Lord saith the Psalmist that hath not given us as a prey to their teeth ouâ— soule escaped as a Bird out of the snare of the Fowler the snare is broken and wee are delivered Here is fierce wrath but yet here is escaping as a Bird out of the snare of a Fowler and how comes this to passe the Lord is their help and hee is on their side If the Lord had not been on their side they had been swallowed up quick and if so be the Lord be on our side what need of fear is there at all of their wrath The Psalmist tells us that surely the wrath of man shall praise thee and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain Psal 76.10 See what little cause there is of fear from the wrath and rage of men there shall nothing but matter of praise come forth to the Lord out of it Wilt thou be afraid of that by which the Lord shall bee praised The Lord is praised by the wrath of men and all the superfluity of wrath all that is over and above more then is for the glory of God the Lord will restraine that The wrath of man shall praise thee and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restraine The wrath that is more then for his praise the Lord will be sure to keep it in and the wrath that is for the glory of God wilt thou be afraid of it Moreover as you ought not to feare the wrath of men so you ought not to fear the policy of the enemies of God Though hell it self combine with them to lay snares to entrap the people of God there is no cause of fear of them â—et there be Achitephels among them whose counsell is as an Oracle of God yet the Lord will turn their counsell into foolishnesse The Lord of such a people he confounds the wisdome of the wise and brings to nought the counsell of the prudent where is the Wiseman where is the Scribe Where is the Disputer of this world He hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise as well as the weak things of the world to confound the strong Now if the Lord choose foolish things to confound the wise or the wise things of the world to confound themselves why oughtess thou to be affraid Thirdly there is no occasion of fear to them that have God for their God of the instruments of cruelty Let them have all the instruments that cruelty it selfe can invent fear theâ— not fear not their swords fear not their guns fear not their engines of war No weapons formed against the Church of Christ shall prosper What need we to be affraid of that which shall not prosper Now the Lord saith plainly that no weapon formed against the Church shall prosper You know indeed that unto a naked breast a sword is terrible but where then is a coat of male to sence off a sword he thaâ— hath on this coat is or need be no more affraid of the thrust of a sword then when theâ— is no sword at all thrust against him especially when he knowes his coat of male is sword proof that a sword cannot pierce it Armoâ—â— of proofe you know will keep out a bullet when a man knowes his armour is of proof indeed he cares not whether he hath a dagger thrust at it or a pistoll shot against it or no he fears not he cares not The armour of believers is pistoll-proof it cannot be shot through Object But you will say many are slaine will you condemne all that are killed by their enemy as not Believers Answ Mistake me not I doe not say they are sword-proof so that the same thing may not befall unto them as unto others but only so that nothing that befalls them can be truly evill unto them and in respect of the soule all that the enemy can do cannot destroy the souls of Believers
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
all these but that Christ is an Advocate we cannot finde where it is mentioned in all the Scripture but in this place and therefore it will be the more difficult to finde out the intention of the Holy Ghost what he means by this office of Advocateship The word Advocate in the originall is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the some word is used by John in the 1 of John and the 26. verse and attributed unto the Holy Ghost and is there translated the Comforter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Text The Comforter will come Now the same word that we have here Advocate is also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And indeed the proper singification of the word is A Comfortable Advocate But the thing it self What is this Advocateship will you say It is a borrowed expression and an allusion opening the prevalency of Christ with the Father for his owne people it is taken from an office among men Advocates in the Common Law you call them Counsellors but in the Civill Law they have this very title of Advocate The office is this namely being well experienced in the nature of the Law and the Rules and Principles of Justice when ever a cause comes to be tried they are to make clear the Principles of Justice and so to plead out Justice on the behalfe of the client for whom they plead I say the office of an Advocate is to plead the cause of a person as it stands in equity and justice and to demand and require a sentence of acquittance and discharge from Justice and equity it selfe Herein an Advocate differs from a Suppliant a Suppliant makes only requests and depends altogether upon favour alone so as if hee should stand to the rigor of Justice he must bee gone and his cause must miscarry I say this is the proper office of a Suppliant or Petitioner but an Advocate hee stands to the justice of a person whose cause hee doth plead and puts the issue of the triall even to Justice it selfe that as the cause can bee cleared to bee a just cause so the Judge would passe a sentence upon the cause just so I say is it with Christ pleading the cause of his own people with the Father in respect of indempnity from sin for his Advocateship is this namely to lay the Law to the Father to plead justice in the discharge of the sinner that doth commit sinne that it is but right and justice to discharge him and it were an unrighteous thing and in justice if he should not I say it is most certainly true that Christ stands here upon justice and he will in righteousnesse have God to discharge his own people from all the sins that they do commit and hee pleads that it is an unrighteous thing to charge them with them or to plague or punish them for them Object But some peradventure will be ready to say this cannot be that Christ as an Advocate should plead for indempnity upon terms of justice for in the strictnesse and the rigor of justice the soule that sinneth must die And the Gospel seems to say it is onely and solely Grace that any person is discharged from sin For in justice there cannot be a claime made of pardon and discharge from sin but all the plea must be meerly bounty and favour Answ This objection seems to have a great deale of strength in it How may these two things stand together that Christ pleading justice God must forgive and yet notwithstanding justice doth sentence a person unto death if he sins For answer to this you must learn to distinguish and I desire you warily to observe this distinction that so you may plainly see a reconciliation of that which seems impossible to be reconciled I say observe this distinction namely first consider the pardon or discharge from sin in regard of any thing laid down in consideration of the sin committed by the person who doth partake of this pardon And secondly consider this pardon or indemnity and discharge from sin in reference unto Christ who gets this discharge Now I say in the former consideration that is in respect of us that do partake of this discharge from sin and in regard of any thing that we can bring in recompence for that sin or satisfie in this regard it is meerly and only Grace that sinners being the members of Christ are discharged When you or I commit sin that God doth discharge us that God doth not lay our sins to us that God doth not give sentence of damnation upon us for such and such sins as we do commit I say it is an act of meer Grace alone Justice cannot 〈◊〉 pleaded in this case But secondly consider the indemnity from sin in respect of Christ who doth get this discharge and doth purchase it of the Father Then Christ is to bee considered two wayes First as Christ is allowed by the Father to stand in the room of such persons whose cause he pleads Or secondly Christ is to be considered as he hath actually made full payment unto the Father his satisfaction being allowed and admitted before thereunto Now I answer considering Christ in his being allowed by the Father to stand in the room of the persons whose cause he pleads so this discharge from sin by Christ it is an act of Grace Christ cannot plead justice that he should be allowed There was not a tye upon the Father that Christ should bee in mans room and that the Father should be unrighteous if hee did not ordain him to bee so it was an act of free Grace in God when men were under the curse and became miserable bankrupts that Christ should make satisfaction for them When one man doth owe another money it is not an unrighteous act in this creditor to refuse a surety he may make the debtor pay the debt himselfe if he will it is matter of grace it is meer courtesie so to doe Even so it is matter of grace that Christ is admitted to come in the roome of man and to stand in the stead of man 〈◊〉 to beare the sins of man For him to be 〈◊〉 to beare the wrath of God for these sins that another hath committed this is an act of grace and in regard of these particulars is the Scripture so frequent in these expressions of the free Grace of God in communicating this discharge and pardon of sin unto sinners But secondly consider Christ allowed of the Father to stand in the room of men as he hath come forth and paid down the utmost farthing that God in justice could demand for or in consideration of these sins that are committed by his people I say when Christ hath deposited or delivered up into the hands of his Father the utmost farthing that hee could charge upon Believers or demand on their behalfe this being received by the Father acknowledgement being made by him upon the receipt of what Christ hath paid this I say considered it is an
sons of men that they might have discharge from sin he doth make it manifest that all he doth aske of the Father he doth ask according unto justice nay Christ makes it to appear that justice is as much satisfied in discharging of Believere from their sins as it is in the damnation of the Reprobates in hell for their sins Justice 〈◊〉 no more right in their damnation then it hath in the others acquittance and discharge In the damnation of the Reprobates in Hell to satisfie justice there is no more but the wrath of God revealed from Heaven and executed upon them Now for those Believers that are the members of Christ and are discharged by Christ from their sins the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven and poured out upon his Son in their behalf who sustained in respect of the proportion of justce equivalently to all the torments the Repriobates in Hell do sustain So that Christ hath as fully satisfied the justice of God for his elect as it is satisfied in the damned in Hell who suffer in their own persons Surely there had been no need of Christs coming into the world if Believers might have been saved and justice violated without satisfaction But now justice had been violated had not a proportionable recompence been made before the sin had been discharged from off the person committing the same Therefore the Psalmist speake admirably when he saith Mâ—rey and Truth hath met together and Righteousnesse and Peace have kissed each other This place is appropriated unto Christ shewing that in managing the work of Redemption of the sons of men as he doth exâ—â— Mâ—â—cy so he doth not diminish Justice and Righteousnesse but carries the businesse so that they both of them have their due and both of them have so their due that they agree one with another nay they do imbrace and kisse each other they come to rejoyce and triumph in the satisfaction of each other And therefore it is but an ignorant imagination in the hearts of some men that God will grow more remisse in respect of the sins of his own people that God is not so much offended with the nature of sin after Christ died as before For God hath all the abhorring detesting thoughts of sin in the nature of it since Christ is dead as he had before he died It is altogether as abominable unto him as before it was Christ did not come to make sin lesse filâ—â—â— to the Lord or to make a person where sin is more lovely or lesse hatefull before God but rather declares and sets forth the wrath of God 〈◊〉 sin in the highest degree Where eveâ— thâ— Lord seeth sin and not Christ upon the persâ—n taking away that sin the Lord cannot but hate both the sin and the sinner All the pleasure the 〈◊〉 takes in the sons of men proceeds from a purity Christ put upon them and the taking away of that sinfulnesse from them which otherwise could not but stir up indignation and wrath in the Lord against the perâ—â—ns where he findes it I say this is the ground upon which Christ pleadâ— justice that so it might appear there is no violation of it but the Lord is as well satisfied as if the person transgressing had lain under the wrath deserved in his own person I could wish I were able to speak to you in so sull and clear language that not one dram of this glorious mysterie of this Gospel of Christ might be hid for the comforting and refreshing of your spirits The thing I drive at being that all the people of Christ might know wherein lies their strong consolation not in themselves as if they did not sin nor in themselves as if they could mâ—ke amends for their sins but in him who hath made perfect amends for them and in whom they are accepted with the Father as if they themselves in their own persons had made this amends who hath presented them so compleat in himself unto the Fathers eye that the Lord is pleased to looke upon them as upon his own innocent Son and to take pleasure in them with the same pleasure that he takes in his Beloved And if ever you mean to have your consciences and your consolations established and well grounded concerning the pardon of your sins you must see that Christ hath onely pleaded and doth plead out your acquittance and discharge and this your indemnity even to the sans◠〈◊〉 of justice it self For if justice be not yet 〈◊〉 if the Lord hath yet a plea against your â—ouis if Christ hath not fully answered it but lefâ—â— us plea with God who shall stand up before him Christ being silent to plead for you Gods jurâ—ce comes in and pleads terribly against you and will exact satisfaction of you therefore you must receive this principle if you will be established in consolation that as there is mercy in respect of us who bring nothing in consideration of our sins so there is righteousnesse and justice in forgiving of sin in respect of Christ our Advocate that doth manage his office and makes it known for this very end that in knowledge thereof we might have the stronger consolation SERMON V. 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 WE have formerly as some of you may remember entered upon these words wherein the Apostle makes the proposall of the Grace of God in Christ the encouragement unto people to forbear sin The first thing we noted therefore from hence was this That the knowledge of an Advocate that becomes a propitiation for sin even for such as do commit sin I say the knowledge of this Grace is so far from opening a gap unto a licentious life that indeed it is the best means and help in the world to keep us from sinning The last day we fell upon the matter of the Argument which the Apostle useth to disswade little children from sin If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous Herein we proposed to be considered First what this Advocateship of Christ is and how Christ doth manage this office of Advocateship Secondly whose cause it is that Christ doth here plead Thirdly how Christ is gifted and qualified for this office of Advocateship Lastly what the issue of this Advocateship of Christ is proposed in the last words of the Text He is the propitiation for our sins Concerning the first what this office of Advocateship is the summe is briefly this The office of an Advocate is to plead out the cause of a man as it is in justice and right so that the Advocateship of Christ consists in pleading forth the discharge of his people even from the principle of right and justice Whereas it is objected and indeed seems a thing unreconcilable namely that
in generall If any man sin as if he had said there must something be done by Believers that goes beyond the being of sin before they can be excluded from having interest in the Advocateship of Christ Here the Apostle speaks expresly there is an Advocateship of Christ for Believers finning without exception I know it is too frequent among many that more grosse sins then ordinary in a Believeâ— do not only waste the conscience but do also interpose between such a person and Christ of which we shall have occasion to speak else-where For present there is a coâ—â—eit that if a Believer sine more then ordinarily presently there is just câ—use for him to suspect Christ will not sufficiently manage his office for him an least Christ hath not sufficiently managed it already so that there is juâ—t cause of feare But let me tell you to the everlasting consolation of Gods people that there is no sin which a Believer can commit which can exclude him from the benifit of this Advocateship or bring him beyond the bounds of this large grant If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father And if it be any man you will say it extends to all men in the world as well as Believers if any man sin Nay there is a restraint in the words and you shall easily see it If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father If any of us that have fellowship with the Father and the Son it is not every one that hath Christ for an Advocate but those that are Believers Those that have right to fellowship with the Father and the Son are only spoken of in this place I speak this to the end that those who 〈…〉 fear of death are subject unto bondage all their lives long â—ay know that Christ is coâ—â—e to deliver them and reveales this truth on purpose to deliver them from the feare of death and bondage by being their Advocate for their sins He is an Advocate he is a propitiation for every sin of his The words run in the generall to the end If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father and he is the propitiation for our sins The Apostle doth not say he is not an Advocate for such and such but for such and such Believers that sin so and so if they commit sin so and so agravated and if their sins rise to such an height there is no propitiation for them But the Apostle speaks in the generall style If any man sin and he is the propitiation for our sins and yet beloved I must be bold to goe a little further in respect of the persons whose cause Christ doth plead and in whose behalf Christ is an Advocate I say it is for all sorts of Believers nay I go further it is for more then present Believers even for some who are not for the present Believers but remaine as yet in a state of unbelief In brief Christ is the Advocate of the cause of euery person in the world for whom he paid the price of redemption whether they be persons already called or persons not yet acquainted with the Grace of God for every Elect person as well unconverted as converted Christ doth equalty in respect of the substance of his plea interpose but when I say he plead as well for the unconverted as for the converted I mean for such unconverted persons as do belong unto the election of Grace and have their portion in the price of his blood Beloved for mine own part I cannot yet conceive any other considerable difference between the plea of Christ for the converted persons and the Elect unconverted but this circumstantiall difference namely that the value of his blood is equally of force to Believers and unbelievers being elected saving that the Belevers have this priviledge that the Lord Christ pleads for the manifestation of this discharge unto this converted person but pleads not for the present manifestation there of unto the unconverted elect person tell such time as he shall be called to the faith and by that faith that thing be made evident which before was hid I say the pardon of sin by the blood of Câ—rist is 〈◊〉 full for the unconverted elect person as fully passed over in grant I mean to that person as to the Believer himself God doth add never a tittle of pardon it self more to him that is a Believer then to that person not yet converted to the faith in regard of the substance of the pardon it self For the cleering of this to you I beseech you note what is the rise or ground-work of the pardon of sin Secondly note when this pardon of sin is compleat with God These two things considered you shal perceive that all the pardon in respect of the substance of it that God passeth over unto men he doth passe it over before their conversion Look I say upon the rise the true rise or originall of the pardon of sin is the gracious grant of God upon the blood of Christ shed This is the onely foundation of pardon I say Gods gracious grant upon the sheding of the blood of Christ there is no pardon appliable to any person in the world but what pardon is to be found in the word of Grace Thou that art a Believer at present thou hast the pardon of thy sins in thy spirit thou art assured of it Where hadst thou this pardon Didst thou not fetch it out of the word of Grace Then as soon as the word of Gods Grace was first published this Grace of the pardon of sin was held forth If thou foundest it not here thou found'st it some where else but tell me where will you have this Grant of God to build upon if you will not have it in the word of Grace You will say the Spirit of God will reveale it unto you It is true indeed but if the Spirit of the Lord doth reveal a grant to you of Grace it is according to his Word The Spirit speaking out of the word oâ— Grace to men speakes no otherwise but according to this word of Grace in men and if that there be a contradiction between the inward voyce and this word of Grace that is enough to give you cause of suspicion yea you may be confident that that voice within you in respect of such contradiction is a false voyce I say that the Lord Christ sends us unto his Word and from the word we take out the pardon of sin we have Now beloved I beseech you consider if all pardon to all the Elect to the end of the world be contained in this word of Grace there is no more pardon then what is written there then it must needs follow that God passed over his act of pardon of sin at that instant when he entred this pardon in the volume of his Book Is there no pardon till thou art converted and called then the pardon of all thy sins are not to be
of faith it self unto Christ and to nothing else in the world and that I may uphold these particular and glorious prerogatives that are proper to Christ that he may not be robbed of any of them To this end I deliver it to you that elect persons have a participation and share in Christ himself even before they do beleive let none conceive that this takes away or diminisheth from the prerogative of believing neither For there are glorious things done by faith unto believers God hath honoured it above all meer creaturs in the world he hath made it the conduit pipe for the conveyance of all that peace and comfort nay of al that strength which believers have all their lives no faith no comfort no faith no peace of conscience no faith no plesure to walk with God through faith Christ conveys himself in speaking peace to the foul in bidding the soul be of good cheer the soul lies in darknes while it lies in unbelief But still that which is proper peculiar to Christ alone is not to be ascribed unto believing I should now proceed having as well as I can taken away the rubs to that which I purpose to follow But the time is past SERMON IX 1 John 2. vers 1 2. If any man sin wee have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins c. WEe have considered already the Office of Christ here spoken of his Advocateship We have considered the cause he manages also the persons whose cause it is that he doth manage The cause he manageth is in behalfe of the sinnes of his people and the persons are not present Believers but all elected persons though yet unbelievers Wee further considered the indowments and qualifications of Christ unto this Office First he is Christ that is called of God unto it and furnished by God for it Secondly he is Jesus he takes no cause in hand but he saves his client Thirdly he is Christ Jesus the Righteous the efficacy of the plea of Christ lyeth in this righteousness of his that being the soule hinge upon which the doore turneth In the large opening of this righteousness unto you I spake first negatively The plea that prevails for the discharge of â—in is not our works no not our faith but it is the righteousness of Christ himself that onlyserves to make up the strength of this plea Secondly affirmatively There is First an active righteousness of Christ For by the obedience of one man many shall be made righteous Rom. 5.19 Secondly the passive righteousness of Christ The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin 1 Joh. 1.7 But it is the divine righteousness or dignity of the divine God-head that adds an efficacy and life and vertue making the active and passive righteousness of Christ a compleat righteousnesse that wee might be compleat in him and we gave a touch to you wherein the efficacy of the plea of this righteousness stands The efficacy of it stands in the satisfaction that righteousness hath made to the justice of God In judgment there are but two wayes to be acquitted either just proof that the person upon triall is not guilty or being guilty the Law is already satisfied The strength of the plea of the righteousnesse of Christ insists not upon the first way heâ— grants the persons whose cause he pleads had for matter of fact done the thing that is charged but the strength of his plea is that the Law on their behalf is satisfied already This latter plea being good hath the like force for acquittance and discharge as the former hath So that the sentence of judgement can no more passe upon the person for whom the Law is satisfied then it can upon persons that never transgressed the Law Now it remains to be considered by way of objection out of the premises how this can be that the justice of God should be satisfied seeing the satisfaction of justice is the bringing of a recompence to answer in proportion for the offence that is committed The ground of the objection is this all that Christ as man brings unto God comes short to make a full recompence I told you before that the divine righteousness is that that makes the righteousnesse compleat and that a meer humane righteousnesse is not able to effect till it be infinite or be made infinite by the divine righteousnesse Now when Christ brings a recompence to the Father for the transgressions of men that that he brings to him by way of recompence should not be that which was his own before Now what ever the divine righteousness is that iâ— Gods own the active and passive obedience of Christs human nature that is brought to him but the divine righteousness is not brought You will say this is just as one man oweth another an hundred pounds and he sueth this man for it now the debtor he cannot raise above ten pounds of this money but the creditor must make it up out of his own purse So then here is the ground of the objection and the truth is this matter contains in it the depth of the mysterie of the Gospel that justice should be satisfied by bringing a recompence for transgression and yet the recompence as it is brought is not so much as will answer the injury that is done of it self It is true there is enough in the divine Righteousnesse to make the satisfaction for the injury done But how is this divine Righteousnesse brought It is most certainly true therefore even where there is satisfaction of justice in this case there is also mercy too For although God be just to forgive sin yet observe the phrase well you shall finde that where the Apostle speaks of justice in this act of forgiveness of sinz he speaks of mercy too You know to forgive a thing is an act of grace and mercy yet even while there is forgivenes there is manifested the act of justice Justice it selfe takes its course even while there is forgivness But this you will say doth not resolve the question Where can there be a satisfaction of justice seeing there is not brought by way of recompence that which might be proportionable to the injury done Answ 1. First of all justice is satisfied in the strictest sense when there is such a plenary and equivalent recompence given that the person injured thereby is in as good estate every way as he was before the injury done When a man is trespassed against and doth sue the man for this trespasse and when the man doth make up and bring in as much recompence as the injury commeth to so that the party trespassed is worth as much as he was before here is a plenary satisfaction of justice Now comes in the objection and sayes that the justice of God cannot be said to be so satisfied because the active and passive obedience of Christ as humane bring not in so much
renounceth as false and slanderous ibid. 2 He returneth to the Text wherein is observed That the Church is the Spouse of Christ and this great grace is set forth in 2. things 1 In the consideration of the great inequality of the persons matched p. 328 2 The manifold priviledges that come by this match or relation as 1 We thereby become the sonnes of God p. 335 2 Wee are thereby made joynt heirs with Christ ibid. 3 We hereby partake with Christ in all his honours ibid. 4 The Spouse of Christ is hereby freed from arrest ibid. SERMON XI VPON Colos 1.18 He is the head of the body the beginning page 337. Wherein is considered 1 Who this is that is the head p. 343 Who is described 1 By his divine nature and Godhead 344 2 By his eternall personality p. 345 3 By his distinct humane nature p. 346 4 By the personall union of his divine humane nature together Ibid. 5 By the mystical union whereby Christ God-man is united with his body the Church p. 346 2 What this office of Headship imports 348 Namely 1 That Christ is the beginning of the being of his Church pag. 349 2 He is the beginning of all the priviledges prerogatives of the Church page 357 GODS COVENANT with his People the ground of their security SERMON I. Isaiah 41. Vers 10. Feare not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will helpe thee yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousnesse IN the former part of this Chapter which we will speake a little of because it will make way to the discovery of the true scope of this Text you shall finde the Lord graciously acquainting his people concerning his minde in sending Christ into the world and what tumults this sending of Christ should raise how the Lord repell'd that out-cry what sucecsse he giveth unto this Christ raised up in spite of all the malignity and force raised against his power and glory And it is worth your observation beloved to consider how the Lord doth manifest this aâ— a Preamble to this very Text. In the first verse of this Chapter the Lord seems to represent unto us the malignity of the world under thâ— name of Ilands and the people and to presenâ— them in such like posture as Demetrius and his fellows stood in in his time in the 19th of the Acts of the Apostles upon Pauls setting up oâ— Christ there was a horrible tumult raised it that particular against the Doctrine of Christ so is seems the Ilands and the people were it such a kinde of posture here therefore the Lord is pleased to call for silence Keepe silenâ—â— before mee yee Ilands such a noyse there was as I may say that God could not be heard and therefore first hee requires silence and then iâ— stead of that confusion that was among them in respect of their madnesse hee desires them to deale somewhat rationally with him hee chargeth the world to put out all the strength it hath Bring forth your strongest reasons Leâ— them come neere and let us reason together in judgement Now that which the Lord speakes is aâ— intending to heare what they could say for themselves in their opposition of Christ for so you see plainly in the second verse there when the Lord had got silence hee pleads the cause of Christ by way of expostulation as if hee had said what madnesse is it in you to set your faces against this setting up of Christ For who hath raised up the righteous man and called him to his feete and given him to rule over Kings Why doe you contend in this manner can you tell who it is that sets him up If yee did but know against whom ye rise up it would appeare to your selves to be a vain contention And therefore in the fourth verse of this Chapter he answers the question himselfe and therein shewes the vanity of their opposing him For saith he the Lord hath done it who is the first and who is the last If you fight with me what will you get by it Be ye sure I will manage the thing it is the worke of mine owne hands and it is I that raise him up even to rule over Kings and therefore you doe but kick against the pricks in your contending with me The Lord proceeds further to shew the certainty of the prevalency of Christ in the latter end of the second verse and in the third verse he goes on to let us see the facâ—â—lity of Christs prevalency and not onely the facillity but also the extent of the prevalency of Christ both how easily and how far he should prevaile This matter is of excellent consideration He shall pursue saith the Text and he shall passe on safely or as it is in the margent he shall passe on in peace as much as to say when Christ takes upon him to set up his owne Kingdome and glory in the world every one that sets his face against him shall flye before him and Christ will be the pursuer and in the pursuit he will so overtake them in the flight that they shall be easily destroyed Therefore Christ shall run quietly and softly he shall not run after them too hastily there shall be such softnesse in the pursuit of Christ that the overcomming of the opposers shall seem to be a time of peace there shall be such little opposition of him In the fifth verse the Lord goes on and tells of the fruit of this conquest and the victory Christ shall have when he comes to reign in his Church the first fruit of it is terror to them that set their faces against the Kingdome of Christ the Ilands were afraid Secondly the Lord shewes what an ill use they made of this feare whereas it should make them stoop to the Scepter of Christ that was too hard for them like malefactors indeed when they saw themselves overmastered they assembled and gathered themselves together they hoped to raise up more forces and then they will try it out once more againe with Christ Besides you may observe what a politike devillish practice they use to bring downe Christ againe when he was raised that which hath been the main and grand plot of Satan even to raise up Idols and set them up by Christ to steale away the hearts of people It was the policy of Balaam counselling Balak to lay stumbling blockes before Israel to intice them unto the Idols of Moab and it was the counsell of Jeroboam to overthrow the Kingdome of Christ to set up Calves in Dan and Bethel that so there may not be a going unto Christ So you have it in the seventh verse The Carpenter incouraged the Goldsmith c. Well the Lord having thus discovered what opposition there would be at the setting up of Christ begins to speake somewhat comfortably unto his owne giving incouragement to his own people the opposition
Abednigo there was a hot fiery furnace prepared for them seven times hotter than ordinary the King proclaimes that what ever he be that will not fall down and worship his Image should presently be cast into this furnace This was enough to startle a person and make him tremble But how is the temper of the three children expressed there We are not say they carefull to answer thee in this matter These threatnings though very fearfull in the eyes of others seemed but a matter of nothing to them they made a tush at it We are not carefull to answer thee in this matter Even so people are then free from feare who when evill is comming care not for it a man when he cares not for any thing that assailes him hee rusheth in upon it and although it seeme to threaten unto him some mischief yet he is confident it cannot hurt him So far forth as youâ— can overlook evills drawing on upon you more or lesse not regarding them in respect of any hurt they can doe you so far forth are you free from feare Object You will say none in the world can have such a temper of spirit when dangers are growing especially great and thick upon them Answ No What say you of these three children I speak of men now they were carelesse Object You will say it may be that was an extraordinary case Answ Nay you shall finde that the very ground of the undauntednesse of their spirits was the same which the Lord proposeth in this Text to put us out of feare We are carelesse to answer thee in this matter Why Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us and he will deliver us The carelesnesse of their spirits was grounded upon a common principle of the whole Church and upon the same the Lord proposeth to all the rest of his people as well as to them they being confident God was their God neither the greatnesse of the King nor the violence of his threatnings could stir them a jot they were all nothing to God who was their God who was able to deliver them and would deliver them Their confidence in this was that which made them break forth into this bold expression We are carelesse to answer thee in this matter But now let us consider what the people of God should not feare Object What to be affraid of nothing doth not the Lord himselfe commend feare to men Nay is not God himselfe called the fear of Isaac and yet would you make us to believe that we should have no fear Answ I answer there is a threefold feare here is a naturall feare a religious feare and here is a turbulent feare A naturall feare is â—othing else but such an affection as is in men â—y nature that they cannot be freed from such feare was in Christ himselfe without sinne There is a religious and godly feare and that is nothing but an awfull reverence whereby people keepe a fit distance between the gloriouâ— Majesty of God and the meannesse of a creature and it is opposed to saucinesse And theâ— there is a turbulent feare and that is a feare 〈◊〉 disquietnesse now all disquieting feare is thaâ— which the Lord endeavours to take off froâ— his people Well but what are the things you will say we should not bee affraid nor dismayed atâ— Perhaps I shall pitch upon things people are much affraid of and will thinke strange theâ— should not be affraid of them First I must tell you the people of Goâ— his owne people they need not be affraid 〈◊〉 their sins And yet let me not be mistaken 〈◊〉 doe not say we must not be affraid to sinne bâ— they need not be affraid of their sins they thâ— have God for their God there is no sin thâ— ever they commit can possibly doe them anâ— hurt Therefore as their sins cannot huâ— them so there is no cause of feare in their sinâ— they have committed Object Some will be ready to say This 〈◊〉 strange All the evils in the world that comâ— they grow up from the sinfulnesse of men If man be affraid of any thing he should bee aâ—fraid of sin from whence all evils do flow Answ I answer beloved it is true sin natâ—rally is a root bringing forth all manner of evill fruit The wages of sinne is death but yet I say what ever sin in its owne nature brings forth yet the sins of Gods peculiar people they that have God for their owne God their sins can doe them no hurt at all and in that regard there is no cause of feare from any of their sins that ever they have committed Beloved I conceive this may seeme somewhat harsh to some spirits touching the truth of it especially to such as misconceive the drift at which I aim which is not to incourage any one unto sin but to ease the consciences of the distressed I desire you to resolve with your selves this one thing so far forth as the Lord reveals it so far you will sit downe contented with the minde of the Lord revealed to you and I beseech you kicke not against the truth There is not one sin not all the sins together of â—ny one believer that can possibly do that belieâ—er any hurt real hurt I mean and therefore he â—ught not to â—e affraid of them How will that â—e made good you will say I will make it apâ—eare out of the seventh to the Romans from â—he midst of the Chapter to the end you see â—ow the Apostle carries it along especially â—bout the 15. and 19. verses where it is true the â—postle expresseth himself in heavy complaints â—gainst such sins as befall believers The good that I would doe that doe I not and the evill thâ— I would not do that doe I insomuch that in tâ— last verse but one the Apostle with much vehâ— mency puts the question thus O wretâ—hed mâ— that I am who shall deliver me from the body of thâ— death Some will be ready presently to saâ— here you see plainly is a fear of sin or ought 〈◊〉 be here is a body of death in men to be affraâ— of But give me leave to tell you that thâ— Apostle in this Chapter as I conceive doâ— personate a scrupulous spirit and doth nâ— speak out his owne present case as it was at thâ— time when he speaks it but speaks in the persâ— of another yet a Believer and my reason 〈◊〉 this Because the Apostle in respect of hâ— owne person what was become of sins wâ— already resolved therefore I conceive he doâ— act the part of a troubled spirit that in respeâ— of the multitude and prevalency of corruption was ready to cry out O wretched man who shâ— deliver mee from the body of this death But maâ—â— how the Apostle answers this question whâ—ther it bee his owne case or anothers foâ— will not stand upon that and you shall plainâ— see the Apostle concludes though there 〈◊〉 such marvellous filthinesse and prevalency 〈◊〉
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
righteousness And among all the Aâ—â—stles and Dâ—â—cipies that conversed with Christ his Dâ—â—ciple John had the priviledge which Daniel had among the Propâ—ets to be called The beloved of the Lord the beloved Disciple And as an argument of that he is admitted 〈◊〉 in the bosome of Christ And of all the Apostles that conversed with Christ you shall finde none of them hit so upon the great Gâ—â—ce of God to the sons of men as this Apostle doth compare the Gospel which he wrote with other Evâ—â—gelists writings you shall finde a vast difference between the manifestation of the free grace of God to them and to this 〈…〉 also writing this Epistle follows the same strain therein in â—he former Chapter he delivers notâ— us two admirable passâ—ges the one is The blâ—ud of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins and the other is He is faithfull and just to fo give us one sins two great manifestions of the â—hsolute freenesse of the Grace of Gâ—d to the sons of men Now this Apostle in the 4. verse of the first Chapter declares one main end for which he doth publish this free grace of God I write these things saith he that your joy may be full implying that there is fulnesse of joy in the Grace here revealed and it is fit that little children that have fellowship with the Father and the Son should have the knowledge of this excellent Grace of God that their joyâ— mâ—y he full Now whereas he speaks of Gods forgiving freely he would not have people mistake as if his revealing of pardon of sin did intimate that people did not sin any more And therefore he anticipates it in the 8. verse If any man say he hath no sin he deceiveth himselfe and there is no truth in him Sâ—n we do but the grace of God stands in this that when wee sin sin is forgiven and it is an act of justice for God to forgive these sins that are committed Beloved I â—â—â—ceive the world clamouâ—s extremely against that in consideration of the fearfull fruits as they conceive of such publishing the Grace of God to men Tell men their sins are forgiven tell them whatsoever sins they do commit being Believers their siâ—s shall do them no hurt This is the way say they to all manner of licentiousnesse this brings Libertinisme into the world this opens the floud gates for flouds of sins to overflow the Church But the Apostle prevents this great objection and he doth not only prevent it but he establishes the direct contrary to the infrence men make from the free Grace of God And this he doth in the words of my Text. And observe it well were it not an Apostle of Christ that spake these words there are many Zelots in the Church would condemnit not only for Heresie but for the greatest absurdity in the world This appears plain for there are two things the Apostle drives at in these two verses First an inforcement of something that he would work upon little children as he calls them that have fellowship with the Father and the Son Secondly the great argument the Apostle useth to prevaile with them to entertain and imbrace that which hee would fasten upon them The thing that the Apostle would fasten upon believers was that they would not sin For which cause he writes these things to them The argument by which he would prevail with them to do this he calls upon them for is a strange one in the opinion of most men Observe the argument If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father c. Put them together and it amounts to this I would have you not to sin Now the only way and the best way to prevail with you not to sin is this I will acquaint you with this truth that if you do commit sin there is an advocate with the Father that shal take order that the sin you commit shal do you no hurt at all Though you do sin he is become the propitiation for your sins therefore feare not though you doe sin of any hurt that can come to you by these sins So that this is the argument by which he would prevail with them and us against the commission of sin Now what an absurd argument seems this to be not only to the world but even to zealous professors also to prevail with men to the forbearance of sin to tell them before hand that if they sin there is an advocate for them and he is the propitiation for their sins That this is an argument for men to forbeare sin is such a Paradox not only to the world but even to professors themselves that for ought I see in matters of Religion at this day there is nothing so vilely calumniated as the publishing of this free grace of God to men in this way as being the high way to break out into all manner of sinfulness whatsoever This say men is that which lets go the reins into the neck of Libertisme this is that which makes men take liberty without controule freely to commit any sin in the world Who ever is of this mind I must tell him before I go on he doth directly crosse the wisdome of God and directly give the lie to the Apostle here that expresseth with much infallibility to the world how little hurt the knowledge of the pardon of sin can do do to persons in Jesus Christ in that he passeth it as an argument to prevail from sin I shall beseech you beloved not to have any regard to any words I shall say of my selfe to you but as I shal speak the full mind of the Holy Ghost And I shall give you one point first in generall which is the main scope of the Apostle here and afterwards handle the severall branches of it particularly First I say take the generall scope of the Apostle here and then as the Scripture will evince the truth so for the truths sake receive that which shall be delivered though for the present it may seem otherwise then ordinary The point that ariseth out of the words is this observe how naturally it â—riseth out of the words For a person who hath fellowship with the Father and the Sonne one of the little children which the Apostle speaks of here for such a person to know before hand before he doth commit sin that there is an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the prâ—pitiation for sin to know this I say iâ— so far from being a spur to provoke him to the commission of sin that it is one of the strongest arguments and the best motives toprevail with such persons to refrain from the commission f sin First see how naturally it lieth in the Text that you may see the Doctrine is no fancâ— not opinion of men but the cleer truth It appears plainly that the Apostles business here is to take men off from sinning that appears in the beginning of the tex
this discharge from sin goes all along under the notion of Grace and free Grace and pardon how can this be if it be meerly an act of justice for God to forgive sins This may easily be reconciled with a distinction discharge from sin in respect of us or what we can bring by way of recompence for the sin committed is meerly free Grace Wee can bring nothing at all Also in respect of Christ as he is allowed to stand in the room of us it is Grace too But thirdly Christ being allowed and admitted and the Lord having taken the full payment he could ask at the hands of Christ and acknowledging satisfaction upon such payment this act of Christ makes it an act of justice and right that God should forgive sins and therefore the Apostle in the first Chapter of this Epistle of John tells us That the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God cleanseth us from all our sins And therefore he concludes that he is faithfull and just to forgive us our sins But I cannot insist upon what I have formerly delivered Now peradventure some though I confesse a little over-curious desire to understand how Christ being now in Heaven doth execute this office of Advocateship or in what sense he is said to plead the cause of his people I call it a curious querie because the Scriptures are very sparing in declaring the manner of Christs managing this office That he is an Advocate is cleer enough how he doth deale with God in the execution of it is more obscure Frequent mention is made indeed of Christs intercession in Heaven be ever liveth to make intercession for us as the Apostle testifieth he doth intercede for the Saints saith the holy Gost yet though this be so frequently mentioned and the comfort of Gods people much laid upon this nâ—â—ely this intercession yet the Scriptures are very sparing what kind of intercession he makes whether he prays to his Father in heaven as he did upon earth or no The like I say oâ— this businesse of Advocateship Some few passages of Scripture there are that will give some â—int at least to have some glimmerings of the very manner of Christs Advocateship and the exâ—cution of it In Heb. 11.4 there is something that wil give us some light Bâ— faith saith the Apostle Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice then Cain whereby he received or obtained witnesse of God that he was righteous by which he being dead et speaketh that is by which sacrifice he being dead yet speaketh The sacrifices you know they were Christ in the Antitype for all the life of sacrifices from which persons obtain testimony of God that they are righteous is Christ himself And it is Christ in sacrifice that speaks even when the sacrifice it selfe is offered I conceive therefore beloved as sacrifices speak in respect of a prevailing power they have with God when he sits in judgement we are to conceive likewise of the Advocateship of Christ which iâ— nothing else but the speaking of Christ is in such a kinde managed after such a manner Christ speaks as sacrifice speaks for indeed Christ as Advocate pleads only as a sacrifice form an In the 12th Chapter of the same Epistle and the 14. verse you have another expression having a little more cleernesse in it We are come saith the Apostle to Mount Sion the City of the living God to an innumerable company of Angels and to Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things then the blood of Abel Here you see whereas the Apostl in the former Chapter imports a voyce or a plea in the mouth of sacrifices in this Chapter and verse he speaks more plainly and puts a voyce or plea to that which is the life of sacrifices namely the blood of sprinkling the blood of Jesus Christ Wee are come unto the blood of sprinking And this blood is that which speaks better things then the blood of Abel You know that there was a strong plea in the blood of Abel which cryed from earth to heaven till it brought vengance upon the head of Cain The blood of Christ hath a stronger plea and hath a stronger cry and is for better purposes So that under favour for in this I shall not contend much so far as I can see the value and working and desert and preciousnesse of the bloodshed of Christ that is the plea that Christ makes as Advocate in heaven that when a Believer doth commit sin the efficacy of this blood-shed is fresh in the pretence of the Lord in the behalfe of that poore wretch that hath thus sinned I say the blood is present and the whole efficacy power and vertue of that blood is fresh in the thoughts of the Lord. And as it is thus effectuall and powerfull it procures the discharge and brings the discharge and acknowledgement of the Lord to his thoughts too if I may so speak whereby he is pacified towards them and pleased with them This is alwayes before him and present with him yea present before him when the sins that a Believer commits are present and the counterplea of the value of the blood of Christ overcomes the naturall plea of the sin it selfe But I will not dwell upon this but rather hasten to a second thing very considerable which is Whose cause it is that Christ doth plead with the Father or for whom the value and vertue of his blood doth plead I remember the Disciples when Christ spake generally concerning his betraving were very inquisitive Is it I saith one Is it I saith another I doubt not but in regard of the prevalency of the plea of the blood of Christ many persons present will fal upon this inquiry Is it I that he means is he my Advocate Am I his client to plead my cause I shall endeavour to make it cleer and to resolve it is the Apostle doth here propose it The plea that Christ puts up for the persons whose câ—use he doth undertake are first all sorts of Believers whatsoever high or low rich or poor â—ay strong or weak Christ I say pleads their cause he is the Advocate of the weakest Believer iâ— the world Nay more he is the Advocate of the weakest Believer when he is the greatest sinner I mean when he falls foulely when he falls it may be through the weaknesse of his faith making him suspect that Christ will be silent in his cause in regard of such failings and sinfulnesse I say he is then as properly the Advocate of such a person a Believer who peradventure falls into some scandalous evill at that very time when this person that is a Believer falls thus Mark but the Apostle If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father he makes no exception neither in respect of persons nor in respect of sins If any man sin he doth not say if any man sin meerly of infirmity and common frailty but
upon the trespasse but bail takes men off till judgement be given or perfect satisfaction be made As wee have sinned so in legality wee ought to lie by it presently but Christ comes before hand even the Advocate and passeth his word for these persons that there shall be currant payment in due time binding himself body for body that there shall be appearance at the day but that is not all when the day is come though most witnesses prove point-blanck the crime objected and the Law pleads the just desert of the punishment provided in that behalf yet this Advocate steps in and payes all the Law can demand I my self have satisfied the Law on their behalf saith he therefore there can be no more asked of them This you know that if a man have borrowed an hundred pounds and he be sued never so violently and witnesses come in and prove the debt never so cleerly yet if a surety comes in and enters bond for him yea and payes the debt for him if he hath been discharged hath an acknowledgement of satisfaction made on the behalf of that person then there is no judgement comes out against that person that borrowed the mony though the thing be proved This is the case with our Advocate he is the Surety of a better Testament and pleading when matter of fact is proved and the Law speakes directly against it and justice pleads for such a penalty to be inflicted yet then is the Saviour produced that makes currant and full payment There could not be expected any stopping of the sentence for the client by pleading for them but there must first be a satisfying of all This is the Saviours office and as a Saviour so he is the satisfier Thirdly this Advocate is Jesus Christ the righteous and this title imports two things to us and they are very considerable and they have either respect unto us or they have respect unto God and both of them shew how admirably Christ is gifted how sufficiently he is qualified For this office of Advocateship as it hath reference unto us he is Christ Jesus the righteous as much as to say the true and faithfull Faithfulness and righteousness are taken for one and the same thing for dealing truly with persons Many a one loseth a goodcause for the unfaithfulnesse of his Counsel they make against their clients for bribes and play on both sides they deal not honestly with men they carry the business in a dilative way they will not dispatch the suit they have all the arguments of delay But this your Advocate and our Advocate is the righteous Advocate the faithfull and true witness he dealeth ingenuously and uprightly this one you may trust and put all things into his hand Many times men put their whole business into their Counsels hands to sink or swim But here is an Advocate that is faithfull here is no danger of sinking you may put all into his hands you need not fear at all he is the righteous and faithful Christ the faithfull Advocate But the principal thing I intended in this righteousness is that wherein the strength of his argument lieth that he doth plead in the behalf of his client that is the Advocate Christ is so righteous that this very righteousness of his shall carry the cause on your side even to a full dicharge even from all sins whatsoever Beloved the whole security of persons from wrath and Hell from sin and death hangs upon this one hinge of his righteousnesse As there is force enough in his righteousnesse so the cause prospers on the clients side if that should fail nothing in the world can uphold the cause It will be therefore of mighty concernment to consider First how cleere the Scripture is that layes all the burthen of the task in pleading upon his righteousnesse and further to consider what kind of righteousnesse of Christ that is that carries such a strength in Christs pleading for his people Both of them need to be cleered especially the latter passage For the first the Scriptures will be cleer of themselves only the latter passage what kinde of righteousnes it is that hath that prevalency is to be made apparent A righteousnesse and his righteousnesse most grant but some mistake there is in the mindes of some people that reach not the height of the Gospel what that righteousness is that hath such a prevalency The present time will not give me leave to handle it fully and I will not doe it by halves and therefore I will leave it to another time SERMON IV. 1 John 2. verse 1 2. If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins c. IN these words you have the Apostles conclusion and his Argument to inforce it his conclusion is that he would not have them to sin his argument is If any man doe sin c. The first thing that we have observed out of these words is this That it is a powerfull argument to prevaile with persons such as John writes unto not to sin to let them know that though they do sin yet they have an Advocate with the Father We are fallen upon the consideration of the Argument it self First in the matter of it Secondly in the forâ—e of it Every Argument hath some firmnesse in it self from whence is produced some good inference That which hath not a power in it self is not able to make good another thing Concerning the matter of this Argument you have First the Apostles Supposition Secondly a Provision against that which this Suppesition might doe or against that which he doth suppose a man might do First I say here is a Supposition You may sin though you be little children The Provision against the evill that sin might doe is in the following words Though we do sin yet we have an Advocate with the Father ' And concerning this matter of the Argument we have these things proposed considerable First what the office is that is here ascribed unto Christ in that he is called Advocate We have an Advocate and how Christ in Heaven doth exercise this office Secondly whose cause it is that Christ doth plead by verâ—â—e of this his office Thirdly how this Advocate is qualified unto this office Lastly the issue and the event of the execution of this office Concerning the first this Advocateship oâ— Christ is a plea founded or grounded upon Justice Christ doth not appeal in his plea to meere mercy but his client shall stand or fall as Justice it self shall pronounce a sentence And concerning the second clause of this first part Christ doth exercise this his office in Heaven rather virtually then vocally He speaks as his blood doth speak We are come to the blood of sprinkling saith the Apostle in the 12th Chapter to the Hebrews that speaks better things then the blood of Abel We came further to consider whose cause it is that
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
righteousness but the righteousness of faith must be considered meerly only as it is Christ alone and not as it is any righteousnesse of faith it self as I may so speak If any strength of faith be brought in as concurrent to that righteousnesse that pleads out the discharge of a sinner over and above what is simply and only Christs own righteousnesse I say that is no righteousnesse to be pleaded nor hath power nor force in plea at all I shall give two or three passages by way of hint It is true the Apostle in the 10. to the Romans tells us The righteousnesse of faith speaks on this wise importing a righteousnesse of faith which indeed before was called the righteousnesse of God himself they submitted not themselves to the righteousnesse of God but beloved I take it the righteousnesse here is called the righteousnesse of faith as faith is the hand that doth close with the righteousnesse of God not as if this righteousnesse were properly faith but meerly objective as we say Faith as it lays hold upon that righteousnesse which is onely Christ the object thereof in 1. Rom. verse 16. the Apostle saith there I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth Mark it well here is the power of God to salvation revealed In what is the power of God to salvation It is in it saith the Apostle that is in the Gospel of which hee was not ashamed so it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth but the power of God to salvation is not in believing but in it that is in the Gospel And what is the Gospel of Christ there Certainly the Gospel of Christ there is not faith but the object of itâ— For it is said to be revealed from faith to faith But if you looke into the 2. or Luke and the 10. verse there you shall see plainly what the Gospel of Christ is An Angel came from Heaven to the Shepherds and speaks thus Behold I bring you glad tidings that is I Evangelizâ— so the word is in the originall â—â—ring you glad ridings of exceeding great joy for unto you is born this any in the City of David a Saviour that is Christ the Lord. The word Gospel in the Romans is the very same word drawn from the same theame with that in the 2. of Luke verse 10. It is as much as to say the Gospel is glad ridings of great joy and what are these glad tidings A Saviour is born unto you So Christ a Saviour born to men is the Gospel and saith the Apostle I am not ashamed of it that is I am not ashamed of Christ borne a Saviour for this reason Christ is the power of God to salvation to every one that believeth In the 1. of Peter and the 1. Chapter the Apostle tells us Wee are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation where it is plainly imported that faith unto salvation is the thorrow fare it is but a meer chanell through which the righteousnesse of Christ doth run not communicating any righteousnesse it self by which a person may stand righteous before God or have discharge by the Lord or from the Lord. This I would fain know beloved in every act or in any act of believing is the act of believing absolutely perfect and compleat in all things without any defect at all or weaknesse Or Is there some imperfection There is some imperfection you must say If then there be imperfection this I would fain known how that thing that hath imperfection that hath unrighteousnesse in it self can constitute a person by it self righteous Can Faith chargeable with unrighteousnesse make a person unrighteous in himself stand righteous before God The Apostle in the 7. to the Hebrews telling us of Christ saith It behoveth us to have such an high Priest harmlesse holy undefiled and separate from sinners if Christ himself had had finfulnesse with his righteousnesse that very righteousnesse of Christ it self would not have served the turn and therefore it behoved him to be holy harmlesse and undefiled and withouâ— offence Beloved Christ himself could not constitute us righteous before the Father if he himself had not been holy and without sin and can it be imagined that faith that hath unrighteousnesse in it self can make us righteous This is the summe of that I shall speake at this time I hope the things that I have spoken will not be offensive to any for I desire freely that this and all that I have or shall deliver unto you may be received as they agree with the light of the Gospel that is to be the rule to measure all truths by and the rest that remainâ— I shall come to the next day SERMON VII 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 WE have observed already First from the connexion of both verses together the latter containing an Argument in it to inforce a charge in the former That the making known of this discharge from sin before sin be committed is so far from opening a gap unto licentiousness that it is one of the best means in the world to restrain men from licentiousnesse Secondly we came to consider the Argument and in the Argument the matter of it and the force of it The Argument that prevails with men not to sin is That if any maâ— sin he hath an Advocate with the Father Wee have considered what this Advocateship is and I shewed â—is a plea grounded upon Justice We have â—â—â—er considered for whose cause it is First it is the cause of Believers and the cause of Believers when they sin and not only the cause of present Believers but of the Elect although not yet Believers which yet in time shall be such We came also to consider how Christ this Advocate is qualified unto this office of Advocateship The qualifications of Christ are intimated in the three titles here attributed unto him First he is Christ that imports 1. A lawfull call to plead 2. A sufficient furnishing him with skill to plead Secondly he is Jesus importing the efficaciousnesse of his plea He pleads so well that he saves his people from their sins he carries the cause Thirdly Christs qualification to his office of Advocateship is imported in that attribute of Righteousnesse Jesus Christ the righteous and that contains in it the strengh of his plea whereby he doth attain to the salvation of those persons whose cause be doth plead Concerning this last attribute we have observed that the righteousnesse of Christ contains in it the strength oâ— Christs plea as Advocate whereby he doth become the propitiation for the sins of his clients I say the strength of his plea lies in this that he
is Jesus Christ the righteous we have therefore proposed to be considered First how cleer the Scripture is in this truth that it is his righteousnesse that carries the cause of a poor Believer when he hath sinned and gets the discharge for his sin after it is committed I say the plea lies in his righteousness I cannot insist upon the Scriptures mentioned they are very plentifull We came further to consider what this righteousnesse of his is that hath such a strength of plea in it the resolution of this I distributed into two heads First Negative Secondly Affirmative First the righteousnesse which carries away the cause and obtains the discharge of a Believers sin is no righteousnesse of our own no not so much as the righteousnesse of faith as it is our act of believing Here we left the last day I will give you a touch of the impossibility that faith should so plead for the discharge from sin in its own name or strength as to carry away the cause on the side of this person sinning It is true the Apostle speaks of the righteousnesse of faith in the 10. to the Romans about the 4. verse A righteousnesse of faith there is indeed but that righteousnesse which is here given and ascribed unto faith is afterwards appropriated to the Word that is unto the Gospel that is the righteousnesse of faith speaks on this wise say not in thine heart who shall ascend up into Heaven that is to bring Christ from thence or who shall descend into the deep But what saith it The Word is nigh thee in thy heart in thy mouth That is in the word in the heart and in the mouth that is the word of Faith and so not the righteousnesse of a mans own act of believing I cannot dwell upon what I have delivered before There are some things briefly to be considered even about our believing as it hath a stroke in the discharge from sin or in the pardon of sin The truth is beloved some hand faith hath in this businesse but it is not any righteousnesse in the act of believing that carries any stroke in it If you will consider it well you shall easily see there is no more righteousnesse in our believing as we do act believing then there is in any other gracious act whatsoever we do there is no more righteousnesse in the act of our beleving then is in our love of God nay more there is as much sinfulnesse in our act of believing as in our acting of other gifts There is no man under Heaven hath attained unto that height of believing or that strength of faith but there is still something wanting some imperfection and sinfulnesse in it And as there is weaknesse and imperfection in believing so it is not possible that this believing should give forth such a righteousnesse as to constitute a person who is unrighteous in himself to be righteous before God That which cannot set it self compleat and righteous before God can never set another righteous before God Faith must be first just it self or else it is not possible it should be imagined it can ever by the righteousnesse of its own act justifie another Beloved what ever the Scriptures speak concerning faith justifying it must of necessity be understood objectively or declaratively one of these two wayes Either faith is said to be our righteousnesse in respect of Christ onely who is believed on and so it is not the righteousnesse of his own act of believing but the righteousnesse of him that is apprehended by that act of believing Or else you must understand it declaratively that is whereas all our righteousnesse and all our discharge from sin flowing only from the righteousness of Christ alone is an hidden thing that which in it self is hid to men doth become evident by believing And as faith doth make the righteousnesse of Christ evident to the Believer so it is said to justifie by its own act declaratively and no otherwise And whereas in the 5. Chapter to the Romans and the 1. verse the Apostle there saith being justified by faith we have peace with God In Rom. 8. vers 33. the Apostle saith It is God that justifieth Now I beseech you compare these Texts together then tell mee whether the act of believing except it hath reference to the object which is Christ of it self doth justifie whether or no these two places caÌ„possibly be reconciled without contradiction It is God that justifieth and it is Faith that justifieth Faith is not God neither is God Faith If therefore it be faith in justification in respect of its own act that justifieth it is not God that justifieth us and if it be God that justifieth then it is not Faith in respect of its own act How will you reconcile it When therefore the holy Ghost speaks of faith justifying it speaks of faith as laying hold upon God for our justification and therefore though faith doth here appeare as that which doth lay hold upon the righteousnesse of God yet faith here cannot be said to be that righteousnesse that doth justifie us Ob. But I know some will be ready to say it is not to be understood as if saith had any innate power of its owne to procure the discharge or pardon from sin but saith is to bee understood as the Instrumentall cause that laies hold upon that justification and so it goes before the justification of a person and it is to be understood no otherwise Answ I shall desire to keep in the plain path for the cleering up of this truth and so far as possible may be I abhor to walk in the clouds in a truth that so highly concerns the comfort and establishing the consciences and spirits of men and therefore I say that faith as it layes hold upon the righteousness of Christ it doth not bring this righteousnesse of Christ to the soul but only doth declare the presence of this righteousnesse in the 〈◊〉 that was there even before faith was I beseech you mark me wel I know beloved I have many very catching ears about me I speak it the rather that there may be the more warines because there are frequent mis-understandings misâ—â—â—ings of the things I deliver especially by those that come to catch I say again there is no pâ—â—son under Heaven reconciled unto God justified by God through â—he righteousnesse of Christ but this person is justified and reconciled unto God before hee doth believe And therefore faith is not the instrument radically to unite Christ and the soul together but rather is the fruit that follows flows from Christ the root being united before hand to the persons that doe believe so that the efficacy and power of believing is to be instrumentall for the declaration of an act that was done before only it was hid For the cleering up of this to you beloved consider that expression in the 12. Chapter to the Hebrews vers 1. Faith saith the Apostle
divine nature gave up it self though only in the second Person God was in Christ as much as to say whole God the divine nature assumed a humane nature and so makes up a Christ And thus God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself You shall see in the Apostles expression elsewhere that the beginning of life in a member of Christ flows from Christ Your life is hid with Christ in God It is such another phrase as the two former It is hid with Christ in God that is it is hid in that God who by being man is become Christ For that is all the difference between God and Christ all the difference I say is between God simply and absolutely considered in himself and God considered as ineffably united to the humane nature God I say thus united becomes Christ and so in such a union is reconciling the world unto himself and takes the Church who is his body The Apostle tells us further Now I live but he presently checks himself yet not I but Christ lives in me Christ is the soul of the body and as the body without a soul is dead so a person without Christ is dead I will not dispute that needlesse dispute of the Philosophers whether the soul be seated in the head principally or in the heart but this I am sure of the life and soul of the Church is in the head of the Church I am the way the truth and the life he is the life of the soul of man as the body without the soul is dead even so if there could be such a thing as the body of the Church without Christ that body were but a dead thing It hath all animal vertue from him alone It hath all life in all respects from him Take life in the first fruits in its sence or motion all spirituall sence all spirituall motion all spirituall actions and activenesse for action receives being and beginning only from Christ Hee is given for a covenant to open the blind eyes All eyes are blind till Christ opens them there is no seeing till the body receive sight and seeing from the head The head causeth us also to sinell as wel as to see the sweet savour of the ointment of Christ that makes the Virgins love him Because of the sweet savour of thy oyntments therefore do the Virgins love thee Now this savour the smell thereof being as the smel of a field that the Lord hath blessed to smel this is the sole work of Christ himselfe So also the spiritual taste to tast how good God is to relish the fatnesse and marrow and sweetnesse of the spirituall wine well refined upon the lees is all by the power of Christ and hath its being from Christ So all our feeling to feel comfort joy unspeakable and glorious all is from Christ Christ opens our eyes he boars the eares he causeth us to smell You will say all this is the worke of the Spirit why doe you say it is the work of Christ Mark what John saith in the 16. chapter the words are these He that is the spirit shal glorifie me For he shall receive of mine and he shall shew it unto you The Spirit himselfe as he dealeth with the members of Christ is the agent of Christ proceeding from Christ communicating that that is Christs to those members So that the Spirit is as it were the conduit-pipe through whom the fulnesse of the fountaine conveyes it selfe and runs forth to every member The Spirit is as the veins and nerves in the naturall body The blood you know hath its fountain from the liver but the veins carry it into every part of the body And as the naturall eye cannot see except the nerves feed it with visive spirits so neither can any eye behold the secrets of the Lord the hidden things of Christ such as he thanks his Father hee reveales unto babes while he hides them from the wise of the world except the Lord Christ do feed the members with his own Spirit It is not the eye that doth discerne and see of it selfe but the spirits that do come from the head cause sight by the eye For there may be an eye and no sight where a want of these spirits are Looke over all the Book of God and you shall finde that there is no action that comes from the Spirit but Christ is the head and spring of it You shall finde the strength and hearts of people faile when hee withdrawes himselfe It is hee that is the strength of them for ever Feare not saith the Text be not dismayed I will uphold thee I will strengthen thee There must needs be miscarriage for want of power except Christ come with his strength and power to uphold Therefore when Paul exhorts those to whom he writes to worke the workes of the Lord hee gives them this counsel Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might and again saith hee Put on the whole armour of God Now it is a vain thing to think of taking up of arms except there be strength to manage them Saul thought David to be a puny when he was to sight with Goliah and had no regard to him although hee might have good armour on hee was too little a man What Saul thought of David is true of all the whole armour of God it is to no purpose except men be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might And therefore when Paul was in a strait hee begged and begged again to have strength given though hee had not an answer to his mind yet God told him My grace is sufficient for thee My strength is made perfect in weaknesse All persons are weak but as they have strength in Christ Yea there is no strength but what is his and is sent by him Let me tell you this and I beseech you consider they that have Christ for their head they have an infinite advantage above the closest hypocrite in the world although he goe never so farre All he doth is but from a weake principle Christ is not the principle of that hee doth but hee that hath Christ for his head hee hath a spring of fulnesse The Holy Ghost tells us He is full of Grace and Truth and in him dwells the fulnesse of the God-head bodily and It pleased the Father that in him all fulnesse should dwell So that you may plainely see that the preaching of Christ as head and setting up of all the glory of Christ is not the preaching of licentious liberty to men Hee that can win a person to be a true member of this head that is Christ hee brings that person into a fat soile hee transplants him from a barren soile from a rocky soil into a rich soile whereby he come to abound in all manner of fruitfulnesse And certainly beloved fruitfulnesse will be more abundant as the soule can apprehend it selfe by true faith to be a part of this head
found in this word of Grace because this word of Grace was written before thy conversion So that either you must deny the pardon that is properly and truly revealed in the word of Grace and must seek out some newer then is revealed or you must acknowledge the pardon that is granted unto men is in regard of the substance of it as I said as soon as he had left it in the volume of his Book So that it is plain that as Believers coming to believe fetch out of this word of Grace their pardon so unconverted persons elected have their Grace equally in this word only the Lord hides the publication of it to them till such time as he is pleased to call them and give them faith to read their portion here as other Believers have read theirs before It s true indeed though the pardon of every unconverted elect person be equally passed over by the Lord yet till the conversion of such persons he gives no more hint of it to such persons than he gives to the Reprobates themselves This is that wil take away the suspected inconveniencies that may follow upon the pardon already granted before conversion For whereas men may think this will make unconverted men presume to know their pardon before conversion I say it is true there is such a pardon for him but he knowes it not nor ever shall he know it till he be brought out of darknesse to the glorious light of the Lord Jesus Christ Otherwise how can it be true that all the sins of Gods people past present and to come are all of them at once pardoned as the godly learned Protestants say I say how can this be true except there be pardon passed before conversion Whence shall a Believer coming to believe fetch all his comfort that all his sins while he was in rebellion were pardoned if there were not a grant of this pardon extant before upon which as upon a â—â—e foundation his believing might stay it self How comes it to passe that persons are not cut off before they are called if their sins are not pardoned which stand between the wrath of God and them Nothing else but the blood of Christ stands between them even between the destroying wrath of God and Gods people that do commit sin even before conversion In a word where will you finde a new act of God since the grants that are registered here in the Book of God Certain I am that the persons pardoned were not converted when this was made And if there be or come after this was first made a new grant either it must be entred a new here or it must be in a new book by it self If therefore all the pardons are as ancient as this record is then all pardons whatsoever are ancienter then the present believing of any person that now liveth Hence we may let persons know that it is but a rash expression to say that such and such a person is in the state of damnation if it be meant he is so before God while he remains in the state of unconversion and the wrath of God abides upon that person though elected till he be called Beloved let me tell you the state of the unconverted elected person is as sure from danger of finall miscarriages as the estate of a Saint in glory Saints in glory stands in glory by the blood of Christ alone the same blood hath purchased the pardon of sin for the unconverted elect person so that the same dicharging of them by the blood of Christ concerns the one as much as it doth another But I say still the unconverted person cannot make any conclusions from all this because he cannot know his portion till he come to believe The third thing I proposed is to know how Christ is qualified and gifted to such a vocation as this is His office is of admirable use to men To be a propitiation for the sins of men and to get the discharge of God manifested to a person for whom he doth plead it is of great consolation So then it must needs be that the Counsel or Advocate that is to plead the cause be wel gifted for that imployment It is too wel known that a righteous cause many a time miscarries in the world through the deceitfulnesse or simplicity of the Counsel When mon come upon life and death it concerns them much to have a skilfull Lawyer to plead for them or else for lack of urging that which is most necessary to be pleaded the men miscarry and perish The Holy Ghost therefore beloved is pleased to import unto us not onely that Christ is an Advocate and whose cause it is that Christ doth plead but also doth communicate unto us the largenesse of the gifts of Christ for the managing of this â—ffice I will not go beyond the Text it selfe to communicate to you the fulnesse of the gifts of Christ to manage this Advocateship of his even to that effect and issue that is heart can desire that is more then thy heart can desire There are three titles appropriated in this place unto Christ all of them very aptly and sweetly manifesting the excellent gifts of Christ as Mediator or as advocate for or on the behalf of poore believers to wit Christ Jesus the righteous We have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous every title shews how he is gifted First the title Christ contains much in it to strengthen our confidence in this our counsell that is to plead our cause Christ is a word that properly signifies anointed and is derived from a word which hath the same signification in it Now anointing if you remember well carries two things along with it The first is the separation or calling of such a person anointed to some speciall office The second thing imported by it is the abilities and gifts of the person for the office he is called unto So that our Advocate being Christ and called Christ here this imports unto us first the lawfull authorizing and calling of Christ unto it by him that doth indeed authorize him Secondly the full and large abilities Christ hath to manage it First I say the title Christ doth import unto us Christs lawfull call to plead You know what the Apostle saith in the Epistle to the Hebrews No man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron Where he further cleers up how Christ was called and lawfully called unto it The Lord hath sworn saith the same Apostle and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec Here is his calling Oâ— what moment is this will you say I answer of great moment Let Christ be never so able to plead except the Lord admit him to plead he must hold his tongue You know in the common Law it self there are Students in the Law and there are Counsellors then Sergeants at Law the Students in the Law it may