his Son to whom this eternall life is communicated and that is to all such as to whom the Son is communicated amplified by the contrary He that hath not the Son hath not life Doctrine According to or upon our having or not having of Christ depends our having or not having of life The note is of speciall weight in our Christian experience and therefore let us take so much the more care in opening of it He that findeth me which is all one with hee that hath me he hath life Prov. 8.34 but he that is estranged from me he loveth death ver 36. So that finde Christ and finde life Finde him not but be estranged from him and finde death So Eph. 2.12 In times past ye were without Christ being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel strangers from the Covenant of promise having no hope and without God in the world and Eph. 4.18.19 There he speakes of some that were alienated from the life of God but in ver 20. Ye have not so learned Christ if so be you have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus For further clearing of this point let me shew you first the Reasons upon which it depends and then the uses of it Creatures broken Sisterns without Christ Reason 1. For the first The first reason arises from the insufficiency of all the body of the creature to give us life without Christ Heb. 10.1.4 It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should cleanse the conscience from sinne They are not a valuable recompence to God for the transgressions we have done by our transgressions we had deserved death for which the death of the beasts cannot make recompence Men cannot redeem themselves And besides should we dye for our sinnes our selves our death would not free us from the punishment for we are not able to overcome death but should for ever sinke under it If there had been a Law that could have given us life then wee might have lived by it but there is no such Law as can give us spirituall life David speakes in the name of Christ Psal 22.29 It is the speech of our Saviour or of David in his name No Man can keepe alive his owne soule It is beyond the power of the creature to keep alive his own soule no not so much as naturall life Psal 49.7.9 No man can give a ransome for the soule of his brother no man is able to ransome or redeem his owne life or anothers yea which is much Adam in innocency was taught to looke for the preservation of his inocent nature out of himself for to that end did God give him the tree of life Gen. 2.9 the tree of life grows not in Adam but in the Garden Now he that was to eat of the tree called the tree of life he was taught from thence that the maintenance and continuance of that life which he then lived a life of grace and glory was not to be expected from his owne strength but from something without himselfe The tree of life was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ the second person in Trinity 1 Joh. 3.4 Now if Adam could not keep alive his own soule but by that tree how much lesse Adam falne and corrupted being now become unable to keep that Law which in innocency he might have kept But more clearly see the grounds of this insufficiency in the creature to helpe it selfe The first is taken from the preciousnesse of the price of our redemption The costlinesse of it the matter of our justification is the price of our redemption and without justification no spirituall life at all Now the price of our redemption is our justification the forme of that justification is Gods accepting of it and imputing it to us but the matter of it is the price of our redemption and that is the root of all our spirituall life the price of our redemption given to God is accepted of him and by him given to us Psal 49.8 Precious is the redemption of soules it is farre beyond the power of the creature that which may be fit matter to give to God by way of satisfaction for a soule that is very precious and this was onely the obedience of Christ to the death he by suffering death for us and rising from the dead declared himselfe mightily to be the Son of God and he by his obedience to the death offered to God the price of our redemption He gave himselfe a ransome for many And this shews that it had beene impossible for any under the Sonne of God to have given a sufficient price for our redemption neither man nor Angels could doe it but he in giving a sufficient price for us did thereby mightily declare himselfe to be the Sonne of God he onely by his death is the matter of our justification and his rising is our life the Father himselfe it could not stand with his justice to give a price for our redemption he being the person offended but the Sonne taking upon him our nature that nature which had offended God he by this meanes made atonement betweene the Father and us and in making atonement declared himselfe mightily to be the Sonne of God none but he alone was able to tender to God such a recompence as might be a satisfaction for our sins 2. And as this is ground why there is no sufficiency in the creature to give us the life of our justification so it is also taken from the root of our sanctification and consolation for they spring both from one fountaine and that is the Spirit of Gods grace John 16.7 he is the comforter that is our sanctifier and this springs in us to everlasting life Joh. 4.14 Now he that can give a spirit of sanctification and consolation is onely the Lord Jesus Christ unlesse he goe away and send the Comforter to us he never comes If you would know who it is that can give this water of life you shal read Joh. 4.10 that it is only the Lord Jesus he it is only that goes to the Father and sends his Spirit of grace into our hearts unlesse he go to heaven and send it downe from heaven to us it is not given So that he being the root of the Spirit of consolation of sanctification all this life of consolation sanctification springing from the Spirit as from a fountain and Christ being he that sets open this fountain Zac. 1.13 Therefore it is that there is an insufficiency in the creature to shed abroad such a thing as this into our hearts Act. 2 33. when he was to give a reason of the spirit of Tongues he fetches it fom the resurrection of Christ that he by his ascending into heaven did shed abroad this word which you now see and heare so that by his death he gave to God not onely the price of our redemption but prevailed with the Father to bestow upon him the Spirit to
give where and to whom he will 3 And for a third ground why eternall life cannot bee given by any but by Christ is taken from the invincible difficulty of the passage to eternall life from the hand of death and the grave there is no redemption What man is he that can deliver his soule from the hand of the grave Psal 49. And if the soule be severed from the body no man can quicken his owne soule that is beyond the power and reach of the creature death is the passage to eternall life and this passage is of invincible difficulty for a man to dye and then to translate himselfe from death to life is far beyond the capacity of the creature and therefore saith our Saviour I am the resurrection and the life Joh. 11.25 and hee speakes of it formally and properly as if he should say being risen from the dead my selfe I rise my selfe and therefore raise up others also so that if you looke at the invincible difficulty of it you shall see that it onely is the Lord Jesus that can give eternall life it is a signe of an hypocrite when with Simon Magus we thinke this gift may be bought with money Reas 2 It is taken from the good pleasure of the Father whom it hath pleased that in Christ all fulnesse of life should dwell Col. 1.19 And when he which is our life shall appeare wee shall appeare with him 1 Cor. 1.30 And therefore since God hath concluded and shut up all the springs of life in Christ and out of Christ there is nothing but death the good pleasure of the Father hath determined this point that he having given us this eternall life in his Son there is no deriving life from any fountaine but only from the Son Vse If upon our having or not having of Christ depends our having or not having of life then from hence you see an evident ground of triall of every one of our estates whether we be alive or dead would any man know whether he have or not have life consider then whether you have or not have Christ And from hence you may discerne three grounds of triall to discerne whether we have Christ or no. First consider what it is to have a Christ Secondly what it is to have the Son Thirdly what signes there be of life and hereby wee shall have direction whether we have Christ or no and by this we may informe our selves aright in this particular This point containes in it the pith and marrow of Christianity so far as any comfort of it may redound to us First then let us consider what signes the Holy Ghost hath given us of our having of Christ We are said to have Christ four wayes in Scripture First by the honour or service or worship of him Secondly in some sense wee are said to have Christ by purchase Thirdly by way of Covenant Fourthly by way of free acceptance when God offers him First a man is said to have God or to have Christ that worships him and the very worshipping of him is the having of him so you read Exod. 20.3 Thou shalt have no other gods but me it is the expresse words of the Commandement And by having of God there he meanes thus much Thou shalt worship no other gods but me worship me and thou hast me worship any other and thou hast another god and not me So have the Lord Jesus Christ by worshipping of him and you have him fully Psal 45.10 11. He is the Lord thy God and worship thou him implying that as God hath set over his Son to us to be our Lord so we must receive accept and worship him this is that which Moses and the people of Israel sung He is my God and is become my salvation Exod. 15.2 He is my God and he is my Fathers God and therefore I will exalt him So that to set up and exalt God in our hearts and lives and to worship him is all one this sets up the Lord to worship him is to be our God Now a little better to understand this point that you may conceive what this worship of Christ is you are to conceive that worship is performed to Christ in minde in heart in life both in our obedience that wee performe in our life in suffering and patience which wee yeeld to God in our lives by all this we worship Christ and so have him 1 Part of the worship of Christ viz. in the mind and judgement First in our mindes we then indeed worship Christ when we have him in high estimation The worship and honour that we owe to Christ is to have him in high esteem Cant. 5 10. She the Spouse there may well call him her beloved Christ is my Christ when he is to me the chiefest of ten thousand Psal 89.6 Who among the sonnes of the mighty can be likened to the Lord. And Exod. 15.11 Who is a God like unto thee When the soule of a man doth esteem of Christ above all other things in the world when there is nothing that the soule so prizes as the Lord Jesus Christ then the soul hath him and herin lies the difference between spiritual earthly things you have an high esteem of an earthly thing and yet have it not a man may highly prize a good bargain and yet have it not but no man sets an high price upon Christ but hee that hath him spirituall things we wholly neglect untill we have them and when we have them then there oisn-thing with us comparable to them untill a man have his portion in the word of God it is but a thing of small value to him and so the Spirit of Gods grace and the blood of Christ untill a man have it it is but a light vaine thing to him yea till he have the Lord Jesus himselfe no spirituall thing is of any value with him but so soone as ever the heart begins to prize Jesus Christ as the chiefest of all the blessings that ever God bestowed upon the sonnes of men and if the soule thinke To prize Christ is to worship him that had he but his part in Christ he were the happiest man in the world in thus prizing him he worships him and in worshipping him hee hath him Now you must conceive that all worship stands in advancing another with the debasing of our selves we humble our selves that we may advance another Now if our debasement to them be such as is not compatible to a creature as when we subject our heart and spirits to them this is divine honour Now that soule that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ as the highest in his owne esteem he debases himself to the dust in his spirit before him John 1.27 It is the speech of John Baptist speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ He that commeth after me is preferred before me whose shooe latchet I am not worthy to loose This is a true worshipping of Christ when in
to be the Lords and offer themselves up to him and when God requires it of us we yeeld our selves to him and desire God to be a God to us then he is our God and we are his people by way of Covenant 2 Cor. 8.5 They gave themselves first to the Lord and then unto us by the will of God when we have bestowed our selves upon God he is not wanting to receive us to bee his people Now for further opening of this It was said this Covenant was made with God by way of sacrifice Psal 50.5.7 that was according to the sacrifice which the people of God did solemnly offer before God of which you read Exod. 24.3 to the end of the eighth ver Moses told the people the words of the Lord and the people answered with one voyce and said All the words which the Lord hath said wee will heare it and doe it They promise themselves to be an obedient people to God what ever he commands them that will they hear and that will they do And on the other side Moses tooke the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkled it upon the people and by this meanes they did passe into Covenant with God It implyes thus much when we come to make a Covenant with God we professe our selves as guilty of death and therefore look up to Christ desiring that his death might be imputed to us and we thereupon offer our selves soules and bodies to bee obedient to God to the death onely we require this back againe of God that as we give up our selves a sacrifice to him so that the Lord Jesus Christ might be imputed unto us and the blood of Christ and the life of Christ might be communicated to us his life of righteousnesse and holinesse and of eternal glory all that life that is in Christ might become ours this doth God require of them and this is to make a Covenant with God by way of sacrifice for the Burnt-offering vers 5. was a Type of Christ the Meat-offering was a Type of the peoples giving up themselves to God and this is to make a Covenant by sacrifice we confesse we deserve death but for time to come we desire to give up our selves to do and suffer his will onely we desire that the blood of Christ might be sprinkled upon our souls and that we might live in his sight Now those that have thus made a Covenant with God hee calls them his people and Saints Thus you see what it is and wherein this Covenant stands sometimes some branch of this is expressed in other Covenants God promises to Abraham that he will be a God to him that is he will not only be a good Father to him nor only a good Master or Tutour nor only a good King nor a good Phisitian but what soever is good that is in God and it is but a drop but a sparke of the well-spring of life in him all the goodnesse that is dispersed in the creature flowes from him there is goodnesse in a good Father or Magistrate or Minister or Friend but when God undertakes to bee a God to us he promises to be to us whatsoever is good in the creature a good Father a good Friend a good Phisitian whatever is good for soule and body he will bee all in all to us and that partly in his owne person and partly in so ordering matters Extent of the Covenant on Gods part that all those things wherein his goodnesse is communicated he will so dispose them that we shall see a goodnesse of God in them all we shall see the presence and goodnesse of God in all the blessings we partake in this world he will be whatsoever is needfull for us in every kind and though any meanes should faile yet God will not faile us this do we desire of God God a fountain of goodnes to his when we desire him to be our God God is an heape and fountaine of goodnesse and he undertakes so to be us Now as wee expect this from God that he would be a God to us so we desire also and offer our selves back again to God to be obedient to his will and to waite upon him for all that which he hath promised us to expect it and to waite for it And when we undertake to be obedient to him not that we promise it in our owne names and for our owne parts but in the behalfe of every soule that belongs to us as wee desire a blessing upon all that belongs to us so we offer up our selves to God and our wives and children Extent of the Covenant on our part and servants and kindred and acquaintance and all that are under our reach either by way of subordination or co-ordination so farre as in our power we may reach either by Commandement or counsell we do as much as in us lyes promise to God that we and our housholds wil serve the Lord Josh 24.15 hee and his houshold that is his children and servants and all that are bought with mony they will all serve the Lord this they offer to God as a Father in a family he and his so much as he is able will prevaile with them to keep Gods Commandements and God will be a God to them all a Father and Master a Magistrate and Minister Husband Friend and Phisitian and all and whatsoever is good thus you see how God comes to be ours by way of Covenant For further clearing of this poynt there is a three-fold Covenant Covenant three fold wherein God doth bind himselfe to his people and we back again to him according as there is among the reasonable creatures 1 The first is Between Prince and People so the high Priest made a Covenant between him and between all the people and between the King that they should be the Lords people and such a Covenant there is usually in all well governed Common-wealths unlesse the King comes in by way of Conquest and Tyranny but in well settled Common-wealths there is a Covenant and Oath between Prince and People 2 There is a Covenant between Man and Wife of which it is said Prov. 2.17 Which forsaketh the Guide of her Youth and forgetteth the Covenant of her God These are all called the Covenant of God he is a party in the Covenant ever 3 Another is an Oath or a Covenant of God to passe betweene Friend and Friend such was the Covenant between Jonathan and David 1 Sam. 20.16 Now there is a certain Covenant between God and his people in al these that look what a King requires of his People or the people of a King the very same doth God require of his people and the people of God that offers himself to be a God to his people that is a Governor a Provider for and a protector of his people to fight their Battels for them and to guide and rule them in peace and justice and the people undertake to be
themselves and therefore this is the warmth of this knowledge it both burnes up their owne lusts like chaffe and all the sinfull distempers that we see in the lives and wayes of our Brethren this is one part of the heat of a Christian soule that his knowledge is a warme knowledge Look what he knowes he thinkes he must doe whereas another man knowes many things but he doth them not but a Christian if he know it to be the Will of God he must doe it And that is the reason why Gods servants are many times counted very busie as indeed the fire is ever very busily working no creature in the house so busie as the fire is and so the knowledge of Gods people makes them to be so busie in doing and therein they expresse the life of Christ Secondly 2. Where there is life there is breath where ever is true life there is this warmth a warmth in their breath both in the Naturall and Spirituall body in this Naturall body while we live it is warme and so long as we live we breath more or lesse it is but for a little time if at all breath be intercepted it may be in some suddaine fits but ordinarily if it tarry long it is a signe of death but if there be life there is breathing and that breathing is warme some warme breath comes from him that is alive And truely so shall you finde it in your spirituall life If there be any true life in the heart of a Christian soule there is alwayes some kind of warm breathing there is some measures of warmth in his prayers the prayers of an hypocrite ir alwayes but lip-labour and accordingly lust labor the words vanish away in the aire but there is ever more or lesse some kind of warmth-in the prayers of Gods servants according to what the Apostle speakes Rom. 8.26 even then when we know not what to pray for nor how to pray as we ought then the spirit helpes our infirmities that when we sometimes cannot bring out a word to God the heart is ful sometimes of anguish and discouragement in respect of inward desertions or temptations and outward afflictions but yet though in such a case we be not able to tel what to pray for yet there is ever in a Christian soule something that makes him seeke to God and the very sighs of such a soule come from ome warmeth of spirit within him The scalding sighs and deep groanes of the soule they come from a spirit of life and warmth in Christ Jesus Therefore though it be true there be many cold prayers that Gods servants do put up yet there is some kind of sighs and groans that springs from them which argues some heat and life in them And so is it As they breath thus to God-ward so doe they breath one to another so that if they speake of the things of God they speake not of God and his Word lightly and wantonly or loosely as those that have no affection to them but if they speak of the Word of God of his threatnings promises or of any of his commandements or any of the workes of his providence they speake not of them coldly as those that took no pleasure in them but if they speake of any of the things of God they speake with some reverence and desire after them and settling a confirmation in them they have love to the word and rejoyce in it and stand in awe and in feare of it and they exercise their hearts and wits about it when at any time they speak of the things of God so that there is some kind of warmth in the expression of a Chirstian in some savoury affection whereby he esteemes of the things of God above what is found in an hypocrite Thirdly Spiritual warmth digesteth Gods Ordinances There is a certaine kind of warmth by which the soule doth not only affect the Ordinances of God but by which it doth in some measure digest them there is no living man wanting some such measure of heat as makes him able to digest some kind of dyet though not alwayes strong meate especially if he be in any measure of health and that is no small measure of heate Psal 119.20 the very longing desire it alwayes hath to Gods Judgements was it that even made his soule to breake within him and so to pant after Gods Word and his presence in his Ordinances Psalm 42.1 there was a kind of panting and longing and eager desire after God by which it comes to passe that the soule of a Christian closes with God in his Ordinances and turnes them into nourishment within himselfe and so is more strongly and inwardly bent towards God in the ways of his grace whereas a dead spirit is flat and hath no affection to the word no affection to Gods presence no list to the things of this nature Fourthly things that are warm put them together and they are the more warm 4. Spiritual warmth heateth others but put cold clogs and peeces of wood together and they are never a whit the warmer but if you take but two or three of them things that are well kindled and they will set all a fire that comes nigh them though ready before to goe out for want of supply if you lay two or three warme brands together they will kindle one another And truly so it is among Christians take you a Christian that hath this spirituall warmth in him though almost benumbed for want of good company and good conference and breathing forth of Gods spirit and grace in the soule Yet if he meet with two or three like himselfe they presntly begin to kindle one another And the breath of such Christians is like bellows to blow up sparkes savoury and sweet expressions of their hearts and edifie themselves by their mutuall fellowship one with another Yea and sometimes they grow so warme by this means as that they are fit to admonish one another to exhort and to comfort and if need require to rebuke one another as occasion serves 1 Pet. 4.8 Have fervent love one to another above all things have fervent love among your selves this is a speciall thing love among Christians by which love they so kindle one another to such deep respects to God and the wayes of his grace and so burne one out of another much sinfull folly and frailety which will be in them that are so loose one to another and raiseth them up to that power of godlinesse which sometimes they had grown up unto and now almost lost for want of often joyning together for by so doing they do what they can to put out the fire when Satan means to put out the light and life of Religion out of both Church and Commonwealth hee layes one Christian in one corner and another in another that they shall when they list go to bed and sleep and then a lazy spirit shall come upon them and so they
propounds a third motive in these words taken from the benefit which by beleeving on Christ we shall in some measure be enabled and made capable of bestowing the like blessing upon our brethren and that by our prayers If such a man should see his Brother sin a sinne which is not unto death he shall aske and he shall give him life As an instrument God at his request shall give him life God will make him an instrument of conveying speciall favour to such a man First the words containe three parts First a promise of obtaining life for such of our brethren as we shall see sinne not unto death and shall aske life for him Secondly an acception from this generall promise he would have it understood of some speciall transgression of them that sinne not unto death he would be so understood and would not inlarge this promise so farre as that a faithful man by his prayers shal obtaine pardon of sinne for such as sin unto death but not for that that is the onely caution that he gives least this promise be taken to extend too far Thirdly A prevention of an objection or doubt that might hence arise For might some man say All unrighteousnesse is sinne and every sinne is a sinne to death and the wages of every sinne is death Rom. 6. ult And therefore if the promise extend only thus farre to procure peace and pardon for such as sinne not unto death then either you must grant some veniall sins or else this promise is of none effect for if every sin be mortall and you onely promise pardon of sin to such as is not unto death and no man sins but it is unto death this promise is of none effect Iohn Answers to this Objection vers 17. and saith though all unrighteousnosse be sin yet there is a sin that is not unto death It is true the deserved wages of al unrighteousnes is unto death but there is a sin that is not unto death not that there is any sin which doth not deserve death but not that which doth undoubtedly cut off a man from all hopes of life but notwithstanding that sin he may be converted As sometimes our Saviour said of the sicknesse of Lazarus he is sick but not irrecoverable Iohn 11.4 So that the meaning of the Holy ghost is that there is a finne unto death which doth not onely kil the soule but irrecoverably out of which there is no hope of recovery or salvation and that sin they must forbear to pray for This promise thus opened will afford us three notes First That a faithfull Christian or which is all one a beleever on the name of Christ is not to hide his eyes from observing and discerning the sinnes and slips of their brethren If any man see his brother sinne a sin which is not unto death which he cannot see if he neglect to observe them Secondly A faithfull Christian discerning the sinne of his brother is to pray for him Let him aske when he sees him sin not unto death Thirdly A faithfull man praying unto Christ for the sinne of his brother shall obtaine life at Gods hand for him pardon and peace and grace for him For the first of these Doct. A faithfull beleever is not to hide his eyes from observing the sinnes and failings of his brethren If any man see his brother sinne a sinne he must observe him else he cannot see him Gal. 2.14 When I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel c. he observed them and discerned their course hee turned not his eyes from beholding it but he did take notice of it Heb. 3.12 13. Take heed least there be in any of you an evill heart of unbeleefe in departing from the living God take heed hee doth not speak of himselfe onely though that principally but least there be in any of you an evil heart of unbeleefe that is not only for every man to take heed to himselfe but to his brethren also as appears by the following verse implying that a man should not only take heed to himself but as much as in him lyes take heed to his brethren And if you should aske how should I prevent another man from having an evill heart of unbeleefe he tells you how By exhorting one another daily while it is called to day looke to your selves and also to your brethren and shew your care of them by stirring them up daily And this is that the Apostle speakes of in Hebr. 10.24 Let us consider one another and provoke one another to love and good workes see therefore and observe one another and see where any thing is amisse and stir up one another to every holy performance Reas 1. It is first taken from the love we owe them Secondly from the love we owe our selves First The love we owe to our brethren God requires our love to our brethren yea towards our enemies Oxe or Asse we should not see one of them fall under their burden or goe astray and hide our face from them Deut. 22.24 If you should see the beast of your enemy to sink down you shall not passe by him and let him alone but you shall raise him up from under his burthen Now if God require so much love to our beasts and that to the beasts of our enemy how much more doth God require this love to our brethren that if we see them going out of the way we should call them back againe if we see them to sinke under the burthen of sinne not there to let them lye but though we could finde in our hearts there to let them lye yet we ought not so to satisfie our selves but to looke unto our brethren in such a case and doe the best we can to recover them from going astray And in respect of our selves this benefit we our selves shall have we shall learne a more holy feare of the Lord and have a more just jealousie over our selves we shall keep the better watch over our selves when we see our brethren fall before us Rom. 11.12 Be not high minded but feare to shew you that when we see other men through unbeleefe and corruption fall into any sinne we ought to benefit our selves thereby not to be high minded upon this occasion to blesse our selves and we thanke God it is not with us as it is with other men we are not such and such as these Publicans are wont to be but feare we in such a case the faylings of others should be the feares of Gods people the more they see others fall the more should they suspect their owne aptnesse to faile in the like kinde If such things doe befall the greene tree such as are full of the Oyntment of the Holy one how easily may the dry stubble kindle so that what out of respect to learne the more to watch our selves and out of compassion to our Brethren to restore them what by seasonable admonition Levit.