theme prolong Sith that no obiect to the view or sight Gives such sweet solace to the soules delight And graces power grants its free consent That all my theame of Christ was congruent That pen might stay and I might cease my verse Of Christ in prose the more I might rehearse Christs gratious Message from the Throne of Grace to all the Prisoners of hope ROM 8.1 2. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sinne and death WHen we look upon the Sun Moone and Starres and behold the wisedome mercy and power of the Father towards humane generation it makes us to stand amazed and astonished so when wee looke and behold the wisedome mercy and power of the Father shining forth in Christ the morning Starre the Sonne of everlasting grace and bounty it makes us to wonder and admire at that which shineth forth to us in the morning starre and glorious Sonne of righteousnesse That which shineth to us by in and by the Creature is not comparable to that which shineth toward us in and through the Lord Jesus What is the brightnes of the morning starre to Christ the morning starre or what is the beauty and glory of the sunne to Christ the Sun of glorious righteousnesse or what as the beauty of things terrene earthly to things sublime or heavenly hence the Apostle memorates and records the excellency of the Lord Jesus Christ by the priviledge the Saints received in and by him according to the Text. Now then there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walke not after the flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8 1. Beloved our manner is by way of exposition or contemplation Now then there is no condemnation They have been cast out to the open shame of their faces they were not swadled in the day of their Nativity but troden in their blood and overwhelmed with the deepest miserie they have beene alienated from the throne of grace estranged from the mercy seate and have lived without God in the world they have beene in the blacke swadle bands of the Devill under the claves of the roaring Lyon the Devill and have beene children of wrath as well as others The truth of the premisses is granted notwithstanding there is no condemnation to them sith the being of the Saints in Christ frees them from all the gulfes of horrid miseries whatsoever They have many sinnes many infirmities iniquities and transgressions they are an offending and erring people out of the way as well as others they have beene silenced before the throne of Justice they have sinned and shot their arrowes below the glory of the Father the truth of the premises is granted Notwithstanding there is no Condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus sith the Father of eternall mercy hath given unto them an absolute Nonimputation of offences in the Lord Jesus in whom hee hath reconciled his beloved Saints and peculiar in the act of Justification hee hath given to his Saints a generall acquittance freeing them from sinne iniquity and transgression by the blood of the Lord of life and glory and by the death of him who was the onely beloved of his bosome hence comes in those rare sentences of divine testimonies Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods chosen it is God that justifieth who is it that shall condemne it is Jesus Christ that is dead yea rather that is risen againe who is at the right hand of God making intercession for us Rom. 8.33 34. To them is given the priviledge and dignity of union they are branches to Jesus Christ the blessed and fruitfull Vine of his Church I am the Vine ye are the branches John 15.5 they are members to Jesus Christ their blessed head and reconciler to wit Members of his flesh of his bones Eph. 5.30 they are the choise pretious and dearest spouse of the Lord Jesus Christ My beloved is mine amd I am his he feedeth among the Lillies Cant. 6.3 they are not onely deare to Christ because he hath bought them but they are neere to Christ because they are made one with him The glory that thou gavest me I have given to them that they may be one as we are one John 17.22 What Devill therefore shall accuse the accuser of the Brethren is cast out of the heavenly places And I heard a great voyce out of heaven saying Now is come salvation and strength and the Kingdome of our God and the power of his Christ for the accuser of the brethren is cast downe which accused them before our God day and night what hell shall terrifie sith the Lord Christ hath triumphed over hell death the devill and all Evills O death where is thy sting oh grave where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the law But thankes be to God which giveth us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. shall the law adjudge us noe sith wee have a gratious Mediatour who ever presents us glorious in the sight of his gratious and heavenly Father hence it is spoken by the holy Ghost that Christ entred into heaven to appeare in presence of God for us For Christ is not entred into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into heaven it selfe now to appeare in the presence of God for us Heb. 9.24 shall death amaze or trouble us no for by the death of Christ wee are delivered from the servitude and slaverie of death That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devill and deliver them who through feare of death were all their life time subject to bondage Heb. 2.14 15. What though the venamous Serpent seeke to sting thee yet be not thou dismayed what though the Law morrall would accuse artaigne or condemne thee before the barre of justice yet be not discourâ—ged what though death with the sting thereof would amaze thee yet bee thou not amazed sith there is no Condemnation to thy soule or conscience sith thou art in Christ Jesus and he pleades thy cause at the right hand of the Father saying This my people stands righteous before thee in my righteousnesse holy through my holinesse and pure through my purity and integrity am I not their Lord of pure and divine righteousnesse am I not their prince of glory who hath presented them pure spotlesse and intire in thy sight Am not I the Mediatour of thy everlasting grace mercy who was made not onely unto them wisedome and redemption but also righteousnesse and sanctification was not I arraigned at the barre of Pontious Pilate that they might not be arraigned at the barre of justice accused of my native countrymen that they might bee excused
and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Your Majesties most humble subject and welwisher to your Royall Crowne and dignity As also to your Honorable Lords and Commmons sate in High Court of PARLIAMENT TIMOTHY BATT ⧠An Epistle to the Prisoners of Hope beloved of the Father and bought by the blood of Christ their blessed and deare Redeemer IS the knowledge of the vnsearchable riches of Christ made knowne to the Prisoners of miserie and shall not I direct my speech to them in the rarest Elegancie Are rare things spoken concerning the citie of God are excellent thing spoken concerning the streames that make glad the Citie of our God And are not rare and excellent things spoken concerning the Prisoners of our God J had rather my mind should forget its high conceivement J had rather my affection should loose it sweet contentment then J should forget my sentence concerning their solace and delightment How should J forget them whom our dearest Lord hath not forgotten Why should J not set them before mine eyes whom hee hath presented in his gratious presence For whom was he annoynted if not for his distressed flock For whom was hee wounded if not for wounded conciences and poore distressed catives For whom was his bloody Crosse his bitter Agonie if not for his dearest ones and Prisoners of great calamity Will our Lord leade his captives into captivity No Will he relinquish his gasping and gronings hearts No they are more pretious to him then the rarest gemms they are more beautifull in his eyes then the beautifull diadems and more choise to him then the choysest treasure Who are written betweene his breasts if not they who are charactered upon his heart if not they or who are counted or esteemed above all Terrene or Earthly treasures if not they For they are beloved of the Father from Eternitie they are bought by the Prince of grace and glory they are seale a by the spirit of life and liberty O ye Prisoners of Hope are you not as deare to your dearest Lord in the day of tribulation as in the day of salvation in the day of temptation as in the day of reconciliation in the day of affliction as in the day of Adoption J know you have bin wounded by the darts of Satan bin accused by the accuser of the brethren you have had warre with the flesh and corruption and have been bruised like the bruised reede and broken like the Potters vessell I know that the sunne should bee as darkenesse if that you should not behold the Sonne of righteousnesse that the morning starre should be obscure if the morning starre should not appeare in puritie and the face of ten thousand Angels should appeare as dimnesse if that you should not behold the face of the Angell of the Covenant in gratiousnesse Hence I am assured the word of grace of life of hope â—f peace of salvation of reconciliation â—f justification and of glorification will be as deare to you as the apple of your â—yes as pretious as your owne lives and â—s neare unto you as your owne soules â—herefore as the morning starre is to the travellers in the wildernesse as the orientall sunne to them that sit in darknesse as the rarest jewells to them that have no riches So will this message be to you his bleeding Prisoners Therefore J cease to crave acceptation sith these of you are lovingly accepted ever wishing you grace from your loving Father blessednesse and hope from your blessed Redeemer to whom bee given glory and honour in the Churches for ever and ever Amen T. B. VVHen I in blood involved was cast out to open shame His dearest love did then appeare to everlasting fame Before I saw the Sunne of light the sunne did shine one me Before the morning starre arose all darkenesse I did see But when the Sunne and morning star appeared in the day All darkenesse vanisht from my sight I saw a glorious way Of love of peace of grace of hope of rest and great glory Free from all wrath debate and jarres from malice and envie â—n love the Saints doe praises sing unto his glorious name The glorious riches of his grace in joys they doe declaime While they were chain'd in fetters stroÌ„g under the power of hell His riches bountie did appeare free mercy did excell For he redeemed them from chaines from fetters set them free By dearest love and pretious blood procuring liberty That they might have accesse by faith unto his highest grace And live by faith which is in him in his most holy place Hence are the gemmes of rarest worth appearing in his sight Beholding his most glorious face his everlasting light When clouds of darkenesse did beset their soules incompast round Overwhelm'd were they by hellish fiends they woe and sorrow found Then shin'd he forth in the sweet face of Christ the Prince of peace When he by death did reconcile all enmitie did cease That they might stand compleate in robes more pure then the gold More rich then gemmes and pretious stones a hundred thousand fould When they were naked and unrob'd impurest in his sight In vestments pure cloth'd he did in them he tooke delight Sith he presented them most pure compleat in Christ to be Whilst he gave them to be in Christ their great felicity When they were sons of wrath death shut out of hope most sure He gave to them inheritance amongst the Saints most pure That they might have a lott and hope amongst the Saints most deare All glorying hearts in praises high with Saints that doe in feare When they were fare from Christ the vine of peace and pretious love His gratious face on them did shine his bounty they did prove When they were made one with the vine to be in him for aye In-joying springs of pretious joyes in the eternall day When they were prisoners of his hope involv'd in dust below His throne of freest grace imbrast to hell he did not throw Their bleeding hearts and drooping minds involu'd and wrapt in blood By freest grace and dearest love bought to eternall good That they in love might prayses sing unto his glorious name Rich glorious praises of his grace they might to Saints declaime Shall they surcease exalting praise singing free grace for ever His bounty will they not record to Saints that faileth never Praise glory now perpetually from his abundant store Oh honour that most glorious name both now and evermore WHilst that my Muses upon high object bent High thoughts poss'd but to what intent Let Prisoners view and these sweet lines peruse Peruse in love and faultie lines excuse The piercing power of my intellect My lowest thoughts to highest did erect Memory Retaind thought of a subject rare Queene will consenting somewhat to declare Affection joynd with those in combination High thoughts conceiv'd in my contemplation And conscence paralells affection strong Its rarest plea I must my
flesh and blood he also himselfe tooke part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devill Victorer over the law and over all accusations by his intercession Rom. 8.33 34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect it is God that justifieth who is it that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen againe who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Triumpher over Captives and leading captivitie captive by the power of his assention It was impossible our Lord should be retained by the bonds of death the barts of hell and the power of the Devill not only because it hath beene the determinate counsell of the Father not to leave his soule in grave nor suffer his holy one to see corruption Acts 2.27 Because thou wilt not leave my soule in hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption Because of that pittie he had to his beloved Spouse his dearest members his tender branches Ephes 2.6 And hath raised us up together made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus because of the dignity of himselfe being King of his Church Lord of life Mediatur of the Covenant Acts 2.24 Whom God hath raised up having gloosed the paines of death because it was not possible he should be houlden of it But also because of the mighty and infinite power of the spirit of glory which rais'd up our Lord of life Prince of glory O my soule consider consider what the spirit of life hath done for thy foule Had not our Lord been raised from the dead by the spirit of life sinne would have crusht thy conscience to the lowest gulfe of misery the Devill like a roaring Lion would have devoured thee the law of terrors would have bound thee to the barre of eternal justice to eternitie death would have delivered thee to the second death forevermore and all evills would have ceased upon thy spirit for ever and ever Thē mightest thou have said with the Psalmist The sorrowes of death had compassed thee and the evills of hell had found thee thou foundest woe and sorrow then mightest thou have spoken with Hezekiah That thou wast forsaken as a Shepards Tent that justice would have beene as a Lion to breake all thy bones thou mightest have mourned as a Dove chattered as a Crain to the dayes of eternity Saying That thou should'st behold his gracious face no more behold his gracious countenance no more but remaine in everlasting chaines under darkenesse for evermore Shouldest thou have beene so happie as Jonah no he was but in the bellie of the Whale but thou shouldest have beene in the bellie of hell he was in the depth of the sea but thou shouldest have beē in the depth of the bottomlesse pit the waves of the sea and the bellowes thereof incompassed him but the waves of greatest sorrowes and bellowes of exceeding wrath should have incompassed thee he was heard out of the bellie of the Whale and his prayer came into his holy temple but thy prayer should have beene shut out from his glorious presence and should not have appeared before the throne of grace a Goard was provided for him to hide his head from the heate of the Sunne but no shelter nor shadow had beē provided for thee to hide thy soule frō everlasting burnings Where had beene the glorying of the Saints had our Lord not beene raised from the dead we should have had no cause to glory in the blood and death of his crosse no cause of triumphing in a glorious presentation in a hapy reconciliation in an absolute abolition of the hand writings which were written against us Where had been our redemption from death and the feare thereof from the grave and the sting thereof from out of the hands of the Devill and and the slavery thereof from the law and the execration thereof where had been our royall Robes of Righteousnesse our garments of glorious salvation justificatiō in his glorious presencs if the holy one had seen corruption the branches of the rarest vine should have withered the members to the head of purest gold would have perished and the spouses to our blessed and dearest Bridegroome would have been clothed with shame reproah for ever But blessed thrice blessed be that name is blessed forevermore sith he hath raised the head and the members the branches the vine the bridegroome the spouses together He that left not our Lord in the grave hath not left the Redeemed of the Lord in the pitt of distruction he that suffered not the sonne of the bosome to see corruption will not suffer the sonnes by adoption to be swallowed up by everlasting perdition Therefore you sonnes daughters of men we will not only glory in Christs incarnation in Christs crucifixtion in his grave buriall glorious assention but also in his victorious triumphous Resurrection The risse of the son of righteousnesse is more to us then the sun of morning light that delights the eye sence of sublunaries this the soules of distressed consciences that causeth the hearbs plants trees to rise out of the earth this causeth the branches spouses members of Christ to rise out of the lowest pitt that removeth darknesse bringeth in a light Diurnal this removeth darkenesse bringeth in a light eternall That is the plenitude above and the riches of the earth beneath this is the riches of the Church Militant and the plenitude of the Church Triumphant Therfore will we glory in the spirit of life according to the Text Rom. 8.2 For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sinne and death The spirit of life Sweet and pleasant is the expression of Job Will the wilde Asse roare when he hath grasse or will the Oxe low when he hath fother or will the dead soule mourne for life when it hath the spirit of life Noe it will joy it selfe in the spirit of joy and consolate it selfe in the spirit of consolation triumphing with the Apostle because the spirit of life hath freed it from the law of sinne and death according to the Text. Rom. 8.2 For he law of the spirit of Life◠in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death Secondly It is called the spirit of life sith that the spirit is the cause of union with the Lord Jesus by which the Saints receive both life spiritual and life eternall My prisoners of Hope and Bond men to the throne of mercy know and consider that it is not in your powers to injoy union with me and Jesus Christ whom I have sent the spot of your sin the blott of your transgressions and the impurity of your iniquities hath prevented the exactnesse rigidnesse and perfection of my law most pure hath hindered the eternitie