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A51159 Sermons preached upon several occasions (most of them) before the magistrates and judges in the Northeast-auditory of S. Giles's Church Edinburgh / by Al. Monro ... Monro, Alexander, d. 1715? 1693 (1693) Wing M2444; ESTC R32106 186,506 532

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the Spirit of Jesus 3. Having these promises saith the Apostle let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of the Flesh and of the Spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God 'T is certain that every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure If we are Candidates for eternal life our Souls must be purified from Vice for the pure in heart only shall see God 4. Let us therefore fear lest the promise being left us of entring into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it The Israelites in the Wilderness came short of the Promises made to them by their sickleness and inconstancy Their goodness was like the early dew as the Prophet speaks and by their cowardice they were afraid of the Children of Anak partly by their unbelief they would not believe Moses nor the faithful Spies And this is easily applicable to our case for there is no way to be saved but to believe the Promises to break through all obstacles to fight the good fight of Faith and to lay hold of eternal life 5. LET us ponder and consider the excellencies of these Promises I shall name but the two Epithets bestow'd upon them in the Text. 1. They are Great 2. They are Precious I say 1. They are Great and that in three regards 1. With regard to their Author the only begotten Son of God whom all the Angels worship and adore He is the brightness of his Fathers glory and the express image of his person and upholds all things by the word of his power This one consideration is enough to overawe the boldest sinner and it is frequently taken notice of to magnifie the Gospel and to recommend to us the Precepts of our Saviour that he was in the form of God and thought it no robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation c. Shall we contemn the Promises made by the Son of God God sent his Son to give the Jews the last and most undenyable proof of his Love and Wisdom Certainly they will reverence my Son Thus reasons the Author to the Hebrews How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him And again He that despised Moses Law died without mercy under two or three Witnesses of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God and hath counted the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and hath done despite unto the Spirit of Grace Against whom does the incorrigible sinner sport himself against the Son of God and the clearest proofs of his love For herein is love not that we loved him but that he loved us and gave his Son to be a propitiation for our sins 2. THE Promises are Great in their intrinsic value I mean not only the Promise of eternal life but all the other Promises that are of a relative and subordinate Nature the Graces of the Spirit the remission of our sins the peace of our Consciences these are things to be valued above Gold and Silver Wisdom is preferred above the choicest Rubies the Gold of Ophir is not to be compar'd unto her Therefore the Graces of the Spirit are compar'd unto the most costly things I counsel thee to buy of me Gold tried in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white rayment that thou mayest be cloathed and the shame of thy nakedness do not appear and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see 3. The Promises are Great in their tendency and design to recover the World sunk into Corruption to overthrow the Worship of Devils to enlighten the World to take down the Kingdom of Darkness and to advance the Image of God upon the Souls of Men were designs becoming the Goodness and Majesty of the Son of God But of this I shall have occasion to speak under the fourth Particular And therefore I consider the second Epithet bestowed upon the Promises They are not only Great but 2. PRECIOUS And that in regard of their 1. Price 2. Certainty 3. Durableness 1. In regard of their Price S. Peter informs us that we are not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from our vain conversation but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without spot or blemish There is no Religion wants its Sacrifice and this is the Mysterious Sacrifice of our Religion the blood that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel that powerful Atonement that so successfully pleads for pity and compassion in the ears of God the Sacrifice under whose intercession we come with boldness to the Throne of Grace the Sacrifice that laid aside all the Mosaick Oblations the Sacrifice that was typified by all the former and was more acceptable unto God than the Cattel upon a thousand bills This is the Sacrifice that the Prophets foretold and the Apostles preach'd and upon which we must lean at the hour of death Nature teacheth us to fly to the strongest refuge when we are reduc'd to the saddest extremities And therefore do we grasp the Merit of his Sacrifice in our last conflicts and agonies for he is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world This is the Sacrifice that bears the weight of all their sins who are penitent So reasons the Divine Author to the Hebrews for if the blood of Bulls and of Goats and ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the Flesh how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your Conscience from dead works to serve the living God THEY that allow him no more than to be a resolute Martyr for the Truth who rob us of the comforts of his Sacrifice and Propitiation take away the great pillar of our hope at the hour of death they would reform us unto a gentile kind of Paganism though there be no error more plainly opposite to the Scriptures than theirs For the Notion of a piacular Sacrifice and the penal substitution of it in the room of the criminal was receiv'd amongst all Nations and the Scripture makes use of the same words that are used by other Authors to express a proper atonement when they speak of the Sacrifice of our blessed Saviour WHEN we consider this it may confirm our hope and withal put us in mind how fearful a thing it is to trample upon the blood of the Son of God for being redeem'd by his blood we are no more our own 2. THE Promises are precious because of their certainty The frame of Nature may sooner be dissolv'd the pillars of the Creation may shake and crumble into their first disorder rather than that his Word should