of our persons natures lives actions adoption hope victory resurrection salvation glory O what a price was that which procured it O what manner of persons ought we to bee for whom it was procured The fifth thing to be spoken of about the Priesthood of Christ I shall dispatch in one word which is the Duty wee owe upon all this First then wee should not receive so great a grace in vaine but by faith lay hold upon it and make use of it Let us feare saith the Apostle lest a promise being left us of entring into his rest any of you should seeme to come short of it for unto us was the Gospell preached as well as unto them but the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it Heb. 4.1 2. God in Christ is but reconcileable unto us One with us in his good will and in his proclamation of peace When two parties are at variance there is no actuall peace without the mutuall consent of both againe till wee by faith give our consent and actually turne unto God and seeke his favor and lay hold on the mercy which is set before us though God be one in that hee sendeth a mediator and maketh tender of reconcilement with us yet this grace of his is to us in vaine because wee continue his enemies still The Sunne is set in the heavens for a publike light yet it benefiteth none but those who open their eyes to admit and make use of its light A court of justice or equity is a publike sanctuary yet it actually relieveth none but those that seek unto it Christ is a publike and universall salvation set up for all comers and appliable to all particulars Ioh. 3.16 Hee is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance 2 Pet. 3.9 Hee tasted death for every man Heb. 2.9 But all this is not beneficiall unto life but onely to those that receive him Onely those that receive him are by these mercies of his made the Sonnes of God Ioh. 1.12 without faith they abide his enemies still God in Christ publisheth himselfe a God of peace and unity towards us Gal. 3.20 And setteth forth Christ as an all-sufficient treasure of mercy to all that in the sense of their owne misery will fly unto him Revel 22.17 But till men beleeve and are thus willing to yeeld their owne consents and to meete his reconciliation towards them with theirs towards him his wrath abideth upon them still for by beleeving onely he will have his sonnes death actually effectuall though it were sufficient before O therefore let us not venture to beare the wrath of God the curse of sinne the weight of the Law upon our owne shoulders when wee have so present a remedie and so willing a friend at hand to ease us Secondly we should labour to feele the vertue of the Priesthood and Sacrifice of Christ working in us purging our consciences from dead workes renewing our nature cleansing us from the power and pollution of sinne for when by the hand of faith and the sweete operation of the Spirit wee are therewithall sprinkled wee shall then make it all our study to hate and to forbeare sinne which squeezed out so pretious bloud and wrung such bitter cries from so mercifull a high Priest to live no longer to our selves that is secundum hominem as men 1 Cor. 3.3 Hos. 6.7 After our owne lusts and wayes but as men that are not their owne but his that bought them to live in his service and to his glory 1 Cor. 6.19 20 2 Cor. 5.14 1 Pet. 4.2 All that wee can doe is too little to answere so great love Love to emptie himselfe to humble himselfe to bee God in the flesh to bee God on a Crosse to take off from us the hatred fury and vengeance of his Father to restore us to our primitive purity condition againe Why should it be esteemed a needlesse thing to bee most rigorously conscionable exactly circumspect in such a service as unto which wee are engaged with so infinite and unsearchable bounty Hee payed our debt to the uttermost farthing drunk every drop of our bitter Cup and saved us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 throughly why should not wee labour to performe his service and to fulfill every one of his most sweete commands to the uttermost too Thirdly wee should learne to walke before him with all reverence and feare as men that have received a Kingdome which cannot bee moved Heb. 12.28 And with frequent consideration of the high Priest of our profession that we may not in presumption of his mercy harden our hearts or depart from God Heb. 3.1.8 But in due remembrance of the end of his Sacrifice which was to purchase to himselfe a peculiar people be zealous of all good workes Tit. 2.14 Fourthly we should learne confidence and boldnesse towards him who is a great a faithfull and a mercifull high Priest this use the Apostle makes of it Seeing we have a great high Priest-let us hold fast our profession-and come with boldnesse unto the throne of grace Heb. 4.14 15 16. And againe Having therefore boldnesse to enter into the holiest by the bloud of Iesus-and having an high Priest over the house of God let us draw neere with a true heart in full assurance of faith c. Heb. 10 19-22 Fifthly wee learne perseverance and stedfastnesse in our profession because he is able to carry u◠through and save us to the uttermost This is that which indeed makes us partakers of Christ. Wee are made partakers of him if wee hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast to the end Heb. 3.14 The considering of him of his perseverance in finishing his owne worke and our faith and his power and ability to save us to the uttermost will keepe us from fainting in our service and the profession we have taken Heb. 12.2 3.10.23 Sixthly we have hereby accesse to present our prayers and all our spirituall Sacrifices upon this Altar sprinkled with the bloud of that great Sacrifice and liberty to come unto God by him who liveth to make intercession for us Heb. 7.25 In him wee have accesse with confidence by faith Eph. 3.12 Therefore the Lord is said to have his eyes open to our Prayers to hearken unto them 1 Kings 8.52 Because hee first looketh upon our Persons in Christ before hee receiveth or admitteth any of our services Lastly wee ought frequently to celebrate the memorie and to commemorate the Benefits of this Sacrifice wherein God hath been so much glorified and wee so wonderfully saved Therefore the Lord hath of purpose instituted a sacred ordinance in his Church in the roome of the Paschall Lambe that as that was a prefiguration of Christs death expected so this should to all ages of the Church bee a resemblance and commemoration of the same exhibited So often as yee eate this Bread and drinke this Cup yee shew forth the
those men who stand at defiance with the power of Christ speaking in his servants The Apostle saith there is no escape left for those who neglect so great salvation Heb. 2.3 And yet this is the constant folly and cry of naturall men We will not have this man to raigne over us Let us breake their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us But First Every man must be subject to some King either Christ or sinne for they two divide the world and their Kingdomes will not consist And the subjects of sinne are all slaves and servants no liberty amongst them Ioh. 8.34 Whereas Christ makes all his subjects Kings like himselfe Revel 1.6 and his is a Kingdome of Righteousnesse peace and joy Rom. 14.17 Secondly If men by being the subjects of sinne could keepe quite out from the judgment and Scepter of Christ it were something but all men must one way or other be subdued unto him either as sonnes or as captives either under his grace or under his wrath As I live saith the Lord every knee shall bow to mee Rom. 14.10 11. Hee must bee either a savor of life or of death either for the rising or the fall of many in Israel either for a sanctuary or for a stumbling block All must either bee saved by him or judged by him There is no refuge nor shelter of escape in any Angle of the World for his Kingdome reacheth to the uttermost corners of the earth and will finde out and fetch in all his enemies Thirdly the matter were not great if a man could hold out in the opposition But can thine heart endure or thine hands bee strong saith the Lord in the day that I shall deale with thee Ezek. 22.14 What will yee doe in the desolation which shall come from farre when you are spoiled what will yee doe where will you leave your glory what will become of the King whom you served before It may bee thy mony is thine idol and thou art held in thraldome under thine owne possessions But what will remaine of a mans silver and gold to carry him through the wrath to come but onely the rust thereof to joyne in judgment against him It may bee thou servest the times and fashions of the world rejoyceth in thy youth in the wayes of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes But thou must not rise out of thy grave in thy best cloaths nor appeare before Christ like Agag gorgeously apparelled Thou must not rise to play but to be judged It may bee thou servest thine owne lust and anothers beautie but what pleasure willt there be in the fire of lust when it shall bee turned into the fire of Hell or what beauty wilt thou finde on the left hand of Christ where the characters of every mans hellish conscience shall bee written in his face Thou servest thine owne vainglorie and affectations but what good will it bee to bee admired by thy fellow prisoners and condemned by thy Judge In one word thou servest any of thine owne evill desires foolish man here they command thee and there they will condemne thee they are here thy Gods and they will bee there thy devils The Second particular in the description of Christs Kingdome is the greatnesse and neernesse of his person unto David My Lord. David calleth him my Lord upon a double reason by a Spirit of Prophesie as foreseeing his incarnation and nativitie out of the tribe of Iuda and stock of Iesse and so hee was Davids Sonne and by a Spirit of Faith as beleeving him to be his redeemer and salvation and so hee was Davids Lord. A virgin shall conceive and beare a Sonne there we see his incarnation and descent from David and shall call his name Immanuel God with us there wee see his Dominion over David As man so he was his Sonne and as Mediator so he was his Lord. As Man so he was subject unto Mary his Mother and as Mediator so hee was the Lord and Savior of his Mother Luk. 2.51 Luk. 1.46 47. As Man hee was made for a little while lower than the Angels that hee might suffer death but as Mediator God and Man in one person so he was made much better than the Angels all the Angels of God were his subjects to worship him and his Ministers to waite upon him Heb. 2.7.9 Heb. 1.4.6.7 So then the pronoune Mine leads us to the Consideration of Christs Consanguinity with David as he was his Sonne and of his Dignity above David as hee was his Lord. From hence wee learne That though Christ was Man yet hee was more than a bare man For jure naturae no Sonne is Lord to his Father Domination doth never ascend There must be something above nature in him to make him his Fathers Soveraigne as our Savior himselfe argueth from these words Matth. 22.42 45. Christ then is a Lord to his people he had Dominion and was the salvation of his owne fore-fathers A Lord. First By right of the Creation For hee is before all things and by him all things consist Col. 1.17 which the Apostle makes the argument of his Soveraignitie To us there is but one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and wee by him 1 Cor. 8.6 Secondly By a right of Sonship and Primogeniture as the chiefe the first borne the Heire of all things Hee is not in the House as Moses was a Servant but a Sonne over his owne House Heb. 3.5 6. That is hee was not a Servant but Lord in the Church as the Apostle else where gives us the same distinction We preach Christ Iesus the Lord and our selves Servants 2 Cor. 4.5 For in the Scripture phrase the first borne notes Principality Excellencie and Dominion I will make him saith God my first borne higher than the Kings of the earth Psal. 89.27 So in Iob The first borne of death is the same with the King of terrors Iob 18.13 14. and so the Apostle saith That the Heire is the Lord of all Gal. 4.1 and therefore from his primogeniture and designation to the inheritance of all things he inferreth his preeminence and honor even above the Angels Col. 1.18 Heb. 1.2.4 Thirdly By the right of his Vnction Office and mediatorship unto which he was designed by his Father He was to have in all things the preeminence For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulnesse dwell Col. 1. 18 19. Where by fulnesse either wee must understand fulnesse of the God head bodily as the Apostle speakes Col. 2.9 Or fulnesse of the Spirit of Grace which S. Iohn speakes of Iob. 1.16 Ioh. 3.34 And in both respects he is a Lord over all in one by the Dignity of his Hypostaticall union in the other by the grace of his heavenly unction and in both as Mediator and head in the Church Therefore the Apostle saith That God hath made him Lord and Christ Act. 2.36 and by the accomplishment of his office
which a created nature joyned to an infinitie and bottomlesse fountaine could receive From hence therefore wee should learne to let the same minde bee in us which was in Christ to humble our selves first that wee may bee exalted in due time to finish our workes of selfe-deniall and service which wee owe to God that so wee may enter into our Masters glory For he himselfe entred not but by a way of bloud Wee learne likewise to have recourse and dependance on him for all supplies of the Spirit for all strength of grace for all influences of life for the measure of every joynt and member He is our treasure our fountaine our head it is his free grace his voluntarie influence which habituateth and fitteth all our faculties which animateth us unto a heavenly being which giveth us both the strength and first act wherby we are qualified to worke and which concurreth with us in actu secundâ— to all those workes which wee set our selves about As an instrument even when it hath an edge cutteth nothing till it be assisted and moved by the hand of the artificer so a Christian when hee hath a will and an habituall fitnesse to worke yet is able to doe nothing without the constant supply assistance and concomitancie of the grace of Christ exciting moving and applying that habituall power unto particular actions He it is that giveth us not onely to will but to doe that goeth through with us and worketh all our works for us by his grace Without him wee can doe nothing all our sufficiencie is from him But it may bee objected if wee can doe nothing without a second grace to what end is a former grace given or what use is there of our exciting that grace and gift of God in us which can doe nothing without a further concourse of Christs Spirit To this I answer first that as light is necessarie and requisite unto seeing and yet there is no seeing without an eye so without the assisting grace of Christs Spirit concurring with us unto every holy Dutie wee can doe nothing and yet that grace doth ever presuppose an implanted seminall and habituall grace fore-disposing the soule unto the said Duties Secondly as in the Course of naturall Effects though God bee a most voluntary Agent yet in the ordinary Concurrence of a first Cause hee worketh ad modum naturae measuring forth his assistance proportionably to the Condition and Preparation of the second Causes so in supernaturall and holy operations albeit not with a like certaine and unaltered constancy though Christ bee a most voluntary head of his Church yet usually he proportioneth his assisting and second grace unto the growth progresse and radication of those Spirituall habits which are in the soule before From whence commeth the difference of holinesse and profitablenesse amongst the Saints that some are more active and unwearied in all holy conversation than others as in the naturall bodie some members are larger and more full of life and motion than others according to the different distribution of Spirits from the heart and influences from the head This then affords matter enough both to humble us and to comfort us To humble us that wee can doe nothing of our selves that wee have nothing in our selves but sinne All the fulnesse of grace is in him and therefore whosoever hath any must have it from him as in the Egyptian famine whosoever had any corn had it from Ioseph to whom the granaries and treasures of Egypt were for that purpose committed And this Lowlinesse of heart and sense of our owne Emptinesse is that which makes us alwayes have recourse to our fountaine and keepe in favor with our head from whom wee must receive fresh supply of strength for doing any good for bearing any evill for resisting any temptation for overcomming any enemie For beginning for continuing and for perfecting any Dutie For though it bee mans heart that doth these things yet it is by a forraigne and impressed strength as it is iron that burnes but not by its owne nature which is cold but by the heate which it hath received from the fire It was not I saith the Apostle but that grace of God which was with mee To comfort us likewise when wee consider that all fulnesse and strength is in him as in an Officer an Adam a treasurer and dispencer of all needfull supplies to his people according to the place they beare in his bodie and to the exigence and measure of their condition in themselves or service in his Church Sure wee are that what measure soever hee gives unto any hee hath still a residue of Spirit nay hee still retaineth his owne fulnesse hath still enough to carry us through any condition and according to the difficulties of the service hee puts us upon hath still wisedome to understand compassion to pitie strength to supply all our needs And that all this hee hath as a mercifull and faithfull depositarie as a Guardian and husband and elder brother to imploy for the good of his Church that he is unto this office appointed by the will of him that sent him to lose nothing of all that which is given him but to keepe and perfect it unto the resurrection at the last day That God hath planted in him a Spirit of faithfulnesse and pittie for the cheerfull discharge of this great Office given him a propriety unto us made us as neere and deare unto him as the members of his sacred body are to one another and therfore whosoever commeth to him with emptines and hunger and faith he will in no wise cast them out it is as possible for him to hew off and to throw away the members of his naturall body to have any of his bones broken as to reject the humble and faithfull desires of those that duly waite upon him Againe from this Exaltation of Christ in his humane nature wee should learne to keepe our vessels in holinesse and in honor as those who expect to bee fashioned at the last like unto him For how can that man truly hope to bee like Christ hereafter that labors to bee as unlike him here as hee can Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot saith the Apostle So may I say shall I take the nature of Christ that nature which he in his person hath so highly glorified and make it in my person the nature of a devill If a Prince should marry a meane woman would he endure to see those of her neerest kindred her brethren and sisters live like scullians or strumpets under his owne eye Now Christ hath taken our nature into a neerer union with himselfe than marriage for man and wife are still two persons but God and man is but one Christ. Death it selfe was not able to dissolve this union for when the soule was separated from the body yet the Deitie was separated from neither it was the Lord that lay
of our progresse in brotherly love is punctually answerable to the growth of our love to Christ. Secondly a true grounded love unto Christ will shew it selfe in the right manner or conditions of it Which are principally these three First it must bee an incorrupt and sincere love Grace bee upon all those that love the Lord Iesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in incorruption or sincerity saith the Apostle Eph. 6.24 that is on those who love not in word or outward profession and stipulation onely but in deed and truth or in the permanent constitution of the inner man which moveth them to love him alwayes and in all things to hate every false way to set the whole heart the studie purpose prayer and all the activity of our Spirits against every corruption in us which standeth at enmity with him and his Kingdome Secondly it must be a principall and superlative love grounded upon the experience of the soule in it selfe that there is ten thousand times more beautie and amiablenesse in him than in all the honours pleasures profits satisfactions which the world can afford that in comparison or competition with him the dearest things of this world the parents of our body the children of our flesh the wife of our bosome the bloud in our veines the heart in our brest must not onely be laid downe and lost as sacrifices but hated as snares when they draw us away from him Thirdly it must bee an unshared and uncommunicable love without any corrivals for Christ as he is unto us all in all so he requireth to have all our affections fixed upon him As the rising of the Sunne drowneth all those innumerable Starres which did shine in the firmament before so must the beauty of this Sunne of righteousnesse blot out or else gather together unto it selfe all those scattered affections of the soule which were before cast away upon meaner objects Lastly true love unto Christ will shew it selfe in the naturall and genuine effects of so strong and spirituall a grace some of the principall I before named unto which we may adde First An universall cheerefull and constant obedience to his holy Commandements If a man saith Christ love me he will keepe my Commandements and my Father will love him and wee will come unto him and make our abode with him Iob. 14.24 There is a twofold love a love which descends and a love which ascends a love of Bounty and beneficence and a love of Dutie and service so then as a father doth then only in truth love his childe when with all care he provideth for his present education and future subsistence so a childe doth then truly love his father when with all reverence and submission of heart he studieth to please and to doe him service And this love if it be free and ingenuous by how much the more not only pure and equall in it selfe but also profitable unto him the commandement is by so much the more carefully will it endevour the observation thereof And therefore since the soule of a Christian knowes that as God himselfe is good and doth good so his Law which is nothing but a ray and glimpse of his owne holinesse is likewise good in it selfe and doth good unto those which walke uprightly it is hereby enflamed to a more sweet and serious obedience thereunto in the keeping whereof there is for the present so much sweetnesse and in the future so great a reward Thy Word saith the Psalmist is very pure therefore thy servant loveth it Secondly A free willing and cheerefull suffering for him and his Gospell Vnto you saith the Apostle it is given in the behalfe of Christ not onely to beleeve on him but also to suffer for his sake Phil. 1.29 We see how far a humane love either of their countrey or of vain-glory hath transported some heathen men to the devoting and casting away their owne lives How much more should a spirituall love of Christ put courage into us to beare all things and to endure all things as the Apostle speakes 1 Cor. 13.7 for him who bare our sinnes and our stripes and our burdens for us which were heavier than all the world could lay on And this was the inducement of that holy martyr Polycarp to die for Christ notwithstanding all the perswasions of the persecutors who by his apostacie would faine have cast the more dishonour upon Christian Religion and as it were by sparing him have the more cunningly persecuted that This eightie six yeares saith he I have served him and he never in all that time hath done me any hurt why should I be so ungratefull as not to trust him in death who in so long a life hath never forsaken me I am perswaded saith the Apostle that neither death nor life nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord Rom. 8.38 39. Nothing able to turne away his love from us and therefore nothing should be able to quench our loue to him Many waters that is by the usuall expression of the holy Scriptures many afflictions persecutions temptations cannot quench love neither can the flouds drowne it Cant. 8.7 Thirdly A zeale and jealous contention for the glory truth worship and wayes of Christ wicked men pretend much love to Christ but they indeed serve onely their owne turnes as Ivie which claspes an Oake very close but only to sucke out sap for its owne leaves and berries but a true love is full of care to advance the glory of Christs kingdome and to promote his truth and worship feares lest Satan and his instruments should by any meanes corrupt his truth or violate his Church as the Apostle to the Galatians professeth the feare which his love wrought in him towards them I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vaine Gal. 4 11-16 So we finde what contention and disputation and strife of spirit the Apostles and others in their ministery used when Christ and his holy Gospell was any way either injured by false brethren or kept out by the idolatry of the places to which they came Act. 15.2 Act. 17.16 Act. 18.25 19.8 Gal. 2.4 5. Iude v. 2. Lastly A longing after his presence a love of his appearing a desire to be with him which is best of all a seeking after him and grieving for him when for any while he departs from the soule a waiting for his salvation a delight in his Communion and in his spirituall refreshments a communing with him in his secret chamber in his houses of wine and in his galleries of love By which lovely expressions the Wise-man hath described the fellowship which the Church desireth to have with Christ and that abiding and supping of Christ with his Church feasting the soule with the manifestations of himselfe and
when the day is come wherein he will bee patient towards them no longer The Prophet giveth three excellent reasons hereof in one verse Esai 33.22 The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Lawgiver the Lord is our King hee will save us Hee is our Judge and therefore certainely when the day of triall is come hee will plead our cause against our adversaries and will condemne them Mich. 7.9 But a Judge cannot doe what pleaseth himselfe but is bound to his rule and proceedeth according to establish'd lawes Therefore he is our Lawgiver likewise and therefore hee may himselfe appoint Lawes according to his owne will but when the Will of the Judge and the Rule of the Law doe both consent in the punishing of offendors yet then still the King hath a liberty of mercy and hee may pardon those whom the Law and the Judge have condemned But Christ who shall judge the enemies of his Church according to the Law which himselfe hath made is himselfe the King and therefore when he revengeth there is none besides nor above him to pardon So at that day there shall bee a full manifestation of the Kingdome of Christ none of his enemies shall moue the wing or open the mouth or peepe against him The second thing formerly proposed in this latter part of the verse was The Author of subduing Christs enemies under his feet I the Lord. Wicked men will never submit themselves to Christs Kingdome but stand out in opposition against him in his Word and wayes When Gods hand is lifted up in the dispensation of his Word and threatnings against sin men will not see Esai 26.11 And therefore he saith My spirit shall not alwayes strive with men to note that men would of themselves alwayes strive with the spirit and never yeeld nor submit to Christ. Though the patience and goodnesse of God should lead them to repentance and forewarne them to flye from the wrath to come yet they after their hardnesse and impenitent heart do hereby treasure up against themselves the more wrath and because judgement is not speedily executed their heart is wholly set in them to doe mischiefe Let favour saith the Prophet be shewed unto a wicked man yet will he not learne righteousnesse in the land of uprightnesse will he deale unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Certainely if a wicked man could bee rescued out of hell it selfe and brought backe into the possibilities of mercie againe yet would he in a second life flie out against God and while he had time take his fill of lusts againe We see Clay will but grow harder by the fire and that metall which melted in the Fornace being taken thence will returne to its wonted solidity When Pharaoh saw that the raine and the haile and the thunders were ceased though in the time of them he was like melted metall and did acknowledge the righteousnesse of God and his owne sinne and make strong promises that Israel should goe yet then he sinned more and hardened his heart he and his servants and would not let the children of Israel goe Doe wee not see men sometimes cast on a bed of sickenesse brought to the very brinke of hell and to the smell of that sulphurie lake when by Gods wonderfull patience they are snatch'd like a brand out of the fire and have recover'd a little strength to provoke the Lord againe when they should now set themselves to make good those hypocriticall resolutions of amendement of life wherewith in their extremity they flattered God and deceived themselves suddenly breake forth into more filthinesse than before as if they meant now to be revenged of God and to fetch backe that time which sickenesse tooke from them by an extremity of sinning as if they had made a Covenant with hell to doe it more service if they might then be spared All the favours and methods which God useth are not enough to bring wicked men home unto him of their owne wils Though I redeemed them saith the Lord yet have they spoken lyes against me they have not cryed unto me with their heart when they howled upon their beds The people turneth not unto him that smiteth them neither doe they seeke the Lord of hosts So many judgements did the Lord send upon Israel in the necke of one another and yet still the burden of the Prophet is Yet have you not returned unto me saith the Lord. Damme up the passage of a river and use all the Art that may be to over-rule it yet you can never carry it backward in its owne channell you may cut it out into other courses and diverticles but no Art can drive it unto a contrary motion and make it retire into its owne fountaine So though wicked men may haply by divers reasons which their lusts will admit be so farre wrought upon as to change their courses yet it is impossible to change themselves or to turne them quite out of their owne way into the way of Christ. There is but a bivium in the world a way of life and a way of death and the Lord in the Ministery of the Word gives us our option I have set before you this day life and death blessing and cursing and hee that beleeveth shall be saved hee that beleeveth not shall be damned To the former he invites beseecheth enticeth us with promises with oathes with engagements with prevention of any just objection which might be made We beseech you saith the Apostle in Christs stead that you be reconciled unto God From the other he deterres us by forewarning us of the wrath to come and of the period which death will put to our lusts with our lives And as Tertullian once spake of the Oath of God so may I of his entreaties and threatnings O blessed men whom the Lord himselfe is pleased to sollicite and entice unto happinesse but O miserable men they who will not beleeve nor accept of Gods owne entreaties And yet thus miserable are we all by nature There is in men so much atheisme infidelity and distrust of Gods Word so close an adherencie of lust unto the soule that it rather chooseth to runne the hazzard and to goe to hell entire than to goe halt and maimed unto heaven yea to make God a liar to blesse themselves in their sinnes when he curseth and to judge of him by themselves as if he tooke no notice of their wayes It is not therefore without just cause that God so often threatneth to remember all the sinnes of wicked men and to doe against them whatsoever he hath spoken Wee see then that men will never submit themselves unto the Scepter of Christ nor prevent the wrath to come by a voluntary subjection It remaines therefore that God take the worke into his owne hands and put them perforce under Christs feete They will not submit to his kingdome of grace and mercy they will not
moment of time upon the abuse or right improvement whereof dependeth the severall issues of their eternall condition though the Lord say expresly Bee not conformed to this world they that walke according to the course of the world walke according to the Prince of the power of the aire The Lord will punish all such as are clothed with strange apparell who take up the fashions of idolaters or other nations or other sexes as that place is differently expounded Nature it selfe teacheth that it is a shame for a man to weare long haire nay Nature it selfe taught that honest Heathen to stand at defiance with the sinnes of his age and not comply with the course of the world upon that slight apologie as if the commonnesse had taken away the illnesse that which committed by one would have been a sin being imitated after a multitude were but a fashion To conclude this particular The Apostle is peremptory Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor effeminate nor covetous nor theeves nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdome of God and the consciences of many men who yet will never yeeld to the conclusion cannot choose but subsume as the Apostle goes on such are some of we nay and such we will be too But now if we should bespeake these men in the word of the Prophet Produce your cause saith the Lord bring forth your strong reasons saith the King of Iacob they should finde at the last their reasons to be like themselves vanity and lighter than nothing that the Word of the Lord will at last prevaile and sweepe away all their refuge of lyes Secondly the power of the Word towards wicked men is seene in Affrighting of them there is a spirit of bondage and a savour of death aswell as a spirit of life and libertie which goeth along with the Word Guilt is an inseparable consequent of sinne and feare of the manifestation of guilt If the heart be once convinced of this it will presently faint and tremble even at the shaking of a leafe at the wagging of a mans owne conscience how much more at the voice of the Lord which shaketh mountaines and maketh the strong foundations of the earth to tremble If I should see a prisoner at the barre passe sentence upon his Judge and the Judge thereupon surpriz'd with trembling and forced to subscribe and acknowledge the doome I could not but stand amaz'd at so inverted a proceeding yet in the Scripture wee finde presidents for it Micatah a prisoner pronouncing death unto Ahab a King Ieremie a prisoner pronouncing captivitie unto Zedekiah a King Paul in his chain preaching of judgment unto Felix in his robes and making his owne Judge to tremble It is not for want of strength in the Word or because there is stoutnesse in the hearts of men to stand out against it that all the wicked of the world do not tremble at it but meerly their ignorance of the power evidence thereof The Devils are stronger and more stubborne creatures than any man can be yet because of their full illumination and that invincible conviction of their consciences from the power of the Word they beleeve and tremble at it Though men were as hard as rocks the Word is a hammer which can breake them though as sharp as thornes and briars the Word is a fire which can devour and torment them though as strong as kingdomes and nations the Word is able to root them up and to pull them downe though as fierce as Dragons and Lions the Word is able to trample upon them and to chaine them up Thirdly the power of the Word is seene towards wicked men in that it doth judge them Sonne of man wilt thou judge wilt thou judge the bloudy Citie saith the Lord yea thou shalt shew them their abominations To note that when wicked men are made to see their filthinesse in the Word they have therby the wrath of God as it were seal'd upon them He that rejecteth mee the Word which I have spoken the same shall judge him at the last day saith our Saviour And if all prophecie saith the Apostle and there come in one that beleeveth not or one unlearned he is convinced of all hee is judged of all and the secrets of his heart are made manifest Nay the Word doth in some sort execute death and judgement upon wicked men Therefore it is said that the Lord would smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips would slay the wicked And againe I have hewed them by the Prophets I have slaine them by the words of my mouth And therefore the Word of the Lord is called fury by the Prophet to note that when wrath fury is powred out upon a land they are the effects of Gods Word If a pestilence devoure a city and a sword come and gleane after it it is the Word only which flayes they are but the instruments which are as it were actuated and applied by the Word of God to their severall services Therefore it is that the Prophet saith that wise men see the voice of God and heare his rod. A rod is properly to be seene and a voice to bee heard but here is a transposition and as it were a communication of properties betweene the Word of God and his punishments to note that towards wicked men there is a judging and tormenting vertue in the Word For judgement saith our Saviour am I come into this world that they which see not might see and that they which see might be made blinde If it be here objected that Christ saith of himselfe The Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives but to save them and that he came not to condemne the world but that the world through him might bee saved I answer that there are two events of Christs comming and by consequence of his Gospell The one principall and by him intended the other accidentall and occasionall growing out of the ill disposition of the subject unto whom he was sent The maine and essentiall businesse of the Gospell is to declare salvation and to set open unto men a doore of escape from the wrath to come but when men wilfully stand out and neglect so great salvation then secondarily doth Christ prove unto those men a stone of offence and the Gospell a savour of death unto death as that potion which was intended for a cure by the Physitian may upon occasion of the indisposednesse of the body and stubborne radication of the disease hasten a mans end sooner than the disease it selfe would have done So that to the wicked the Word of God is a two-edged sword indeed an edge in the Law and an edge in the Gospell they are on every side beset with condemnation if they goe to the Law that cannot save them because they have broken it
men on the earth The Gospell is the Patent and Charter of a Christian all that hee hath to shew for his Salvation the treasure of his wealth and priviledges all that he hath to boast in either for this life or another the armory of a Christian all that he hath to hold up against the temptations and conflicts of his sorest enemies the only toole and instrument of a Christian all that he hath to doe any action of piety charity loyalty or sobriety withall the onely glasse of a Christian wherein he may see his owne face and so learne to deny himselfe and wherein he may see the face of God in Christ and so learne to desire and to follow him So that upon the matter for any man to be ignorant of the Gospell is to unchristian himselfe againe and to degenerate into a heathen Powre out thine indignation upon the heathen that know thee not Ignorance makes a man a very heathen This I say and testifie saith the Apostle that you henceforth walke not as other Gentiles walke in the vanity of their mind for you have not so learned Christ. It is not the title nor the profession which maketh a man a reall Christian and distinguisheth him from other heathen men but the learning of Christ in his Spirit and Gospell For as he who was onely outwardly and in the flesh a Jew might be uncircumcized in his heart so he who is onely in title and name a Christian may be a heathen in his heart and that more fearefully than Sodome and Gomorrah or Tyre and Sydon because he hath put from himselfe the Salvation of the Lord and judged himselfe unworthy of eternall life Lastly if there bee indeed such power in the Gospell wee should labour to beare witnesse unto the testimony which God giveth of his Word in a holy conversation It is a reproach cast upon the ordinances of God when men doe in their lives denie that vertue which God testifieth to be in them Wicked men are said to crucifie Christ againe to put him to shame to make God a liar not that these things can so really bee but because men in their evill lives carry themselves as if indeed they were so And in this sense the Gospell may bee said to bee weake too because the pride of men holds out against the saving power thereof But these men must know that the word returneth not empty unto God but accomplisheth some worke or other either it ripeneth weeds or corne There is thunder and lightning both in the word if the one breake not a heart the other will blast it if it bee not humbled by the word it will certainly bee withered and made fruitlesse Shall the clay boast it selfe against the fire because though it have power to melt wax yet it hath not power to melt clay Is it not one and the same power which hardneth the one and which softneth the other Is not the word a sweete Savor unto God as well in those that perish as in those that are saved Certainly there is as wonderfull a power in adding another death to him who was dead before which upon the matter is to kill a dead man as in multiplying and enlarging life And the Gospell is to those that perish a Savor of death unto death such a word as doth cumulate the damnation of wicked men and treasure up wrath upon wrath If it doe not convert it will certainly harden if it doe not save it will undoubtedly judge and condemne The Lord doth never cast away his Gospell hee that gave charge to gather up the broken meate of loaves and fishes that nothing might bee lost will not suffer any crumme of his spirituall manna to come to nothing Yet wee finde the Lord giveth a charge to his Prophets to preach even there where hee foretold them that their words would not bee heard Thou shalt speake all these wordes unto them but they will not hearken to thee thou shalt also call unto them but they will not answere thee Sonne of Man I send thee to the Children of Israel to a rebellions nation they are impudent Children and stiffe hearted Yet thou shalt speake my words unto them whether they will heare or whether they will forbeare for they are rebellion it selfe They will not hearken unto thee for they will not hearken unto mee For all the house of Israel are impudent and hard hearted Certainly when the Lord taketh paines by his Prophets to call those who will not heare hee doth it not in vaine they shall know at length that a Prophet hath been amongst them Therefore as the Apostle saith that the Gospell is a sweet Savour even in those that perish So wee finde those messages which have contained nothing but curses against an obstinate people have yet been as honie for sweetnesse in the mouth of those that preached them I did eate the roule saith the Prophet and it was in my mouth as honie for sweetnesse and yet there was nothing in it written but lamentations and mourning and woe Ieremie did not desire the woefull day but did heartily say Amen to the false Prophets in their predictions of safety yet in regard of his ready service unto God and of that glory which God would worke out unto himselfe in the punishment of that sinfull people the word of Prophesie which was committed unto him was the joy and rejoicing of his heart so that in all respects the Gospell of Christ is a word of power and therein wee doe and must rejoice Wee observed before that this Rod of strength is both Sceptrum Majestatis and Pedum Pastorale Both the Scepter of Christ as hee is a King and his Pastorall staffe as hee is a Bishop It denoteth the Administration of Christs Kingdome which consisteth in the dispensing of his Gospell as it is a word of Majesty and of care So then here are as I before observed two observations yet remaining to bee noted out of these words Virga Virtutis the Rod of thy strength The first that the Gospell of Christ accompanied with his Spirit is a word of great glory and Majesty For wee must ever make these concomitants wee preach the Gospell saith S. Peter with the Holy Ghost sent downe from heaven 1 Pet. 1.12 And indeed the Spirit is peculiar to the Gospell and not belonging to the Law at all if wee consider it alone by it selfe under the relation of a distinct covenant For though as it proceedeth out of Sion that is as it is an appendix and additament unto the Gospell it tend unto liberty and so cōmeth not without the Spirit yet by it selfe alone it gendreth nothing but bondage And therefore when the Apostle sheweth the excellency of the Gospell above the Law hee calleth one a ministration of death and of the letter the other a ministration of the Spirit and life To shew that properly the Spirit belongeth unto the Gospell of grace
temptation and infirmitie and so may be either in part the sin of another that tempteth us or at least not the sinne of our whole selves but of those remainders of corruption which dwel within us But our love is all our owne Satan can but offer a temptation the heart it selfe must love it and love is strong as death it worketh by the strength of the whole man and therefore ever such as the will is which is the seat of love such is the service too And the reason is First because the will is the first mover and the master-wheele in spirituall workes that which regulateth all the rest and keepeth them right and constant that which holdeth together all the faculties of the soule and bodie in the execution of Gods will In which sense amongst others I understand that of the Apostle That love is the bond of perfection because when love resideth in the heart it will put together every facultie to doe that worke of God perfectly which it goes about And therefore by a like expression it is called The fulfilling of the Law because love aimes still at the highest and at the best in that thing which it loves it is ever an enemie to defects He that loves learning will never stop and say I have enough in this likewise love is as death And he that loves grace will be still Ambitious to abound in the worke of the Lord and to presse forward unto perfection to make up that which is wanting to his faith to be sanctified throughout to bring forth more fruit to walke in all pleasing to be holy and unblameable and unreproveable without spot or wrinkle It is an absurd thing in religion to dote upon mediocrities of grace in eo non potest esse nimium quod esse maximum debet Hee that with all the exactnesse and rigour of his heart can never gather together all grace can surely never have too much In false religions no man so much magnified as he that is strictest that Papist which is most cruel to his flesh most assiduous at his beads most canonicall in his houres most macerated with superstitious penance most frequently prostrated before his idols is of all other most admired for the greatest Saint O why should not an holy strictnesse be as much honoured as a superstitious why should not exactnesse purity and a contending unto perfection be as much pursued in a true as in a false religion Why should not every man strive to be filled with grace since he can never have enough till hee have it all till he is brimme-full Hee that truely loves wealth would be the richest and he that loves honour would be the highest of any other certainly grace is in it selfe more lovely than any of these things Why then should not every man strive to be most unlike the evill world and to be more excellent than his neighbour to be holy as God is holy to be as Christ himselfe was in this world to grow up in unity of faith and in the knowledge of him unto a perfect man Certainely if a man once set his will and his heart upon grace he will never rest in mediocrities he will labour to abound more and more he will never think himselfe to have apprehended but forgetting the things which are behinde hee will reach forth to those things which are before him for all the desires of the heart are strong and will over-rule any other naturall desire The griefe of Davids heart made him forget to eat his bread The desire of Christs heart to convert the Samaritan woman made him carelesse of his owne hunger It is my meate to doe the will of him that sent me and to finish his worke A true heart will goe on to finish the worke which it hath begunne The wicked sâ—eepe not saith Salomon except they have done mischiefe And the enemies of Saint Paul provided to to stop the clamors and demands of an empty stomack with a solemne vow that they would neither eate nor drinke till they had slaine Paul Lust never gives over till it finish sin and therefore the Love of Christ should never give over till it finish Grace Secondly because God is more honoured in the obedience of the will than of the outward man Humane restraints may rule this but nothing but Grace can rule the other for herein we acknowledge God to bee the searcher of hearts the discerner of secret thoughts the Iudge and Lord over our consciences Whatsoever ye doe saith the Apostle doe it heartily as to the Lord and not to men Noting unto us that a man doth never respect the Lord in any service which commeth not willingly and from the inner man Now he worketh in vaine and loseth all that he hath wrought who doth not worke for him who is master of the businesse he goes about and who onely doth reward it Therefore saith the Apostle Doe it heartily as to the Lord knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the Reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ. He onely is the pay-master of such kinde of worke and therefore doe it onely as to him so that he may approve and reward it Before I leave this point touching the willingnesse of Christs people here is a great case and of frequent occurrence to be resolved Whether those who are truely of Christs people may not have feares torments uncomfortablenesse wearinesse unwillingnesse in the wayes of God Saint Iohn in generall states the case There is no feare in love but perfect love casteth out feare Because feare hath torment 1 Ioh. 4.18 so that it seemes where there is torment and wearinesse there is no love for the cleering of this case I shall set downe some few positions First in generall where there is true obedience there is ever a willing and a free spirit in this degree at the least a most deepe desire of the heart and serious endevour of the spirit of a man to walke in all well-pleasing towards God a longing for such fulnesse of Grace and enlargement of soule as may make a man fit to runne the way of Gods Commandements Secondly where there is this will yet there may upon other reasons be such a feare as hath paine and torment in it and that in two respects First there may be a feare of Gods wrath the soule of a righteous man may be surpriz'd with some glimpses and apprehensions of his most heavie displeasure he may conceive himselfe set up as Gods mark to shoot at Iob 7.20 that the poisoned arrowes and terrors of the wrath of God doe sticke fast upon him Iob 6.4 that his transgressions are sealed up and reserv'd against him Iob 14.17 The hot displeasure of the Lord may even vexe his bones and make his soule sore within him Psal. 6.1 2 3. Hee may conceive himselfe forgotten and cast out by God surprized with fearefulnesse trembling and the horrour of death Psal. 13.1 Psal. 55.4 5.
and victorie to encourage him none of which shall be allowed the wicked in hell who shall not onely bee the vessels of his vengeance but which will bee as grievous as that the everlasting objects of his hatred and detestation which made I say even the Sonne of God himselfe notwithstanding all these abatements to pray with strong Cries and bloudy drops and woefull conflicts of soule against the Cup of his Fathers wrath and to shrink and decline that very worke for which onely hee came into the world Thirdly to praise God for that great honour which hee hath conferred upon our nature in the flesh of his Sonne which in him is anointed with more grace and glory and filled with more vast and unmatchable perfections than all the Angels in heaven are together capable of for though for a little while hee was made lower than the Angels for the purpose of his suffering yet hee is now sat downe on the right hand of the Majesty on high Angels and Authorities and Powers being made subject unto him Heb. 2 6-9 1 Pet. 3.22 Heb. 1 4-13 And for the infinite mercy which hee hath shewed to our soules bodies and persons in the sacrifice of his Sonne in our reconciliation and favour with him in the justification of our persons from the guilt of sinne in the sanctification of our nature from the corruption of sinne in the inheritance reserved in heaven for us in the Communion and fellowship wee have with Christ in his merits power Priviledges and heavenly likenesse Now saith the Apostle wee are Sonnes and it doth not yet appeare what wee shall bee but wee know that when hee shall appeare wee shall bee â—ike him for wee shall see him as hee is 1 Ioh. 3.2 From these things which have been spoken of the Personall Qualifications of our High Priest it will bee easie to finde out the third particular inquired into touching the Acts or Offices of Christs Priesthood or rather touching the parts of the same Action for it is all but one Two Acts there are wherein the execution of this office doth consist The first an Act of Oblation of himselfe once for all as an adequate sacrifice and full compensation for the sinnes of the whole world Heb. 9.14.26 Our Debt unto God was Twofold As we were his Creatures so wee owed unto him a Debt of Active Obedience in doing the Duties of the whole Law and as wee are his prisoners so wee owed unto him a Debt of passive obedience in suffering willingly and throughly the Curses of the Law And under this Law Christ was made to redeeme us by his fulfilling all that righteousnesse who were under the precepts and penalties of the Law our selves Therefore the Apostle saith hee was sinne for us that is a Sacrifice for sinne to meete and intercept that wrath which was breaking out upon us 2 Cor. 5.21 Herein was the great mercy of God seen to us that hee would not punish Sinners though he would not spare Sinne. If hee should have resolved to have judged Sinners wee must have perished in our owne persons but being pleased to deale with sinne onely in abstracto and to spare the sinner hee was contented to accept of a Sacrifice which under the Relation and Title of a Sacrifice stood in his sight like the body of sinne alone by it selfe in which respect hee is likewise said to bee made a Curse for us Gal. 3.13 Now that which together with these things giveth the complete and ultimate formality of a Sacrifice unto the death of Christ was his owne willingnesse thereunto in that hee offered himselfe And therefore hee is called the Lambe of God that taketh away the sinnes of the world because hee was dumbe and opened not his mouth but was obedient unto death even the death of the Crosse Phil. 2.8 Christs death in regard of God the Father was a necessary death for hee had before determined that it should bee done Act. 4.28 Thus it is written and thus it behov'd Christ to suffer Luk. 24.46 The Sonne of Man must bee lifted up Ioh. 3.14 And therefore hee is said to bee a Lambe slaine from the beginning of the world in regard of Gods Decree and preordination But this gave it not the formality of a Sacrifice for God the Father was not the Priest and it is the Action of the Priest which giveth the being of a Sacrifice to that which is offered Againe Christs death in regard of men was violent They slew him with wicked hands and killed the Prince of life Act. 2. â—3 3.15 And in this sense it was no Sacrifice neither for they werâ—â—ot Priests but butchers of Christ. Thirdly his death in regard of himselfe was voluntarie I lay down my life no man taketh it from mee but I lay it downe of my selfe I have power to lay it downe and I have power to take it againe Ioh. 10.17 18. And this oblation and willing obedience or rendring himselfe to God is that which gives being to a Sacrifice Hee was delivered by God Act. 2.23 Hee was delivered by Iudas and the Iewes Matth. 27.2 Act. 3.13 and hee was yeelded and given up by himselfe Gal. 2.20 Eph. 5.25 In regard of God it was Iustice and mercy Ioh. 3.16 17. Rom. 3.25 In regard of man it was murther and crueltie Act. 7.52 In regard of Christ it was obedience and humility Phil. 2.8 And that voluntary act of his was that which made it a Sacrifice Hee gave himselfe for us an offering and a Sacrifice to God for a sweete smelling savor Eph. 5.2 His death did not grow out of the condition of his nature neither was it inflicted on him by reason of an excesse of strength in those that executed it for he was the Lord of glory but onely out of mercy towards men out of obedience towards God and out of power in himselfe For omnis Christi infirmitas fuit ex potestate By his power hee assumed those infirmities which the oeconomic and dispensation of his Priesthood on the earth required and by the same power hee laid them aside againe when that service was ended And this I say was that which made it a Sacrifice As martyrdome when men lay down their lives for the profession of the truth and the service of the Church is called a Sacrifice Phil. 2.17 If it bee here objected that Christs death was against his owne will for hee exceedingly feared it Heb. 5.7 and prayed earnestly against it as a thing contrary to his will Matth. 26.39 To this I answer that all this doth not hinder but commend his willingnesse and obedience Consider him in private as a Man of the same naturall affections desires and abhorâ—encies with other men and consider the cup as it was calix amarituâ—â—â—â—s a very bitter cup and so hee most justly feared and declined it as knowing that it would bee a most woefull and a heavy combate which hee was entring upon but consider
fitted it to the manifestation of his glory and mercy to the reconciliation of him and his creature and to the exaltation of his Sonne secondly the Sonne is willing hee chearfully submitted unto it Heb. 10.9 and freely loved us and gave himselfe unto us Gal. 2.20 thirdly the sinner is willing and accepteth and relieth upon it as wee have seene at large before in the third verse so that there can bee no injury done to any party where all are willing and where all are glorified Fourthly that an innocent person may thus in Iustice and equity suffer for a nocent there is required besides these acts of ordination in the supreme of submission in the surety and of consent in the delinquent first an intimate and neere conjunction in him that suffereth with those that should have suffered Severall unions and conjunctions there are as Politike between the members and subjects in a state and thus is a commonwealth universally sinfull a few righteous men may as parts of that sinfull society be justly subject to those temporary evils which the sinnes of the society have contracted and the people may justly suffer for the sinnes of the Princes 2 Sam. 24.17 and hee for theirs 1 Sam. 12.25 secondly Naturall as betweene parents and children so the Lord visited the sinnes of Dathan upon his little ones Numb 16.27.33 thirdly Mysticall as betweene man and wife so the Lord punished the sinnes of Amaziah the priest of Bethel by giving over his wife unto whoredome Amos 7.17 and wee see in many cases the husband is liable to be charged and censured for the exorbitancies of his wife fourthly Stipulatory and by consent as in the case of fidejussores or obsides who are punished for the sinnes of others whom they represent and in whose place they stand as a caution and muniment against injuries which might be feared as we see in the parable of the prisoner committed to the custody of another person 1 King 20 39-42 fifthly Possessory as betweene a man and his goods and so wee finde that a man was to offer no beast for a sinne offering but that which was his owne Levit. 5.6 7. Now in all these respects there was in some manner conjunction betweene us and Christ He conversed amongst men and was a member of that Tribe and society amongst whom he lived and therefore was together with them under that Romane yoke which was then upon the people and in that relation paid tribute unto Caesar hee had the nature and seed of man and so was subject to all humane and naturall infirmities without sinne Hee was mystically married unto his Church and therefore was answerable for the debts and misdemeanours of the Church He entred into covenant and became suretie for man and therefore was liable to mans engagements Lastly hee became the possession in some sort of his Church whence it is that we are said to receive him and to have him 1 Ioh. 5.12 not by way of Dominion for so we are his 1 Cor. 6.19 but by way of communion and propriety and therefore though wee cannot offer him up unto God in sacrifice for our sinnes yet we may in our faith and prayers shew him unto his Father and hold him up as our owne armour and fence against the wrath of God Rom. 13.14 Secondly there is required in the innocent person suffering that he have a free and full dominion over that from which hee parteth in his suffering for another As in suretiship a man hath free dominion over his money and therefore in that respect he may engage himselfe to pay another mans debt but he hath not a free dominion over himselfe or his owne life and therefore he may not part with a member of his owne in commutation for anothers as Zaleucus did for his sonne nor be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to lay downe his owne life for the delivering of another from death except in such cases as the Word of God limiteth and alloweth But Christ was Lord of his owne life and had therefore power to lay it downe and to take it up And this power he had though he were in all points subject to the Law as we are not solely by vertue of the hypostaticall union which did not for the time exempt him from any of the obligations of the Law but by vertue of a particular command constitution and designation to that service of laying downe his life This commandement have I received of my Father Ioh. 10.18 Lastly it is required that this Power be ample enough to breake thorow the sufferings he undertaketh and to re-assume his life and former condition againe I have power to lay it downe and I have power to take it up So then the summe of all is this by the most just wise and mercifull will of God by his owne most obedient and voluntary susception Christ Jesus being one with us in a manifold and most secret union and having full power to lay downe and to take up his life againe by speciall command and allowance of his Father given him did most justly without injury to himselfe or dishonour to or injustice in his Father suffer the punishment of their sinnes with whom he had so neere an union and who could not themselves have suffred them with obedience in their owne persons or with so much glory to Gods justice mercy and wisdome If it be here againe objected that sin in the Scripture is said to be pardoned which seems contrary to this payment and satisfaction To answer this wee must note first that in the rigour of the Law Nâ—xa seqâ—itur caput the delinquent himselfe is in person to suffer the penaltie denounced for the Law is In the day that Thou eatest thou shalt dye and the soule that sinneth it shall die Every man shall beare his owne burthen Gal. 6.5 So that the Law as it stands in its owne rigour doth not admit of any commutation or substitution of one for another Secondly therefore that another person suffering may procure a discharge to the person guilty and be valide to free him the will consent and mercy of him to whom the infliction of the punishment belongeth must concurre and his over-ruling power must dispence though not with the substance of the Lawes demands yet with the manner of execution and with that rigour which bindes wrath peremptorily upon the head onely of him that hath deserved it So then wee see both these things doe sweetly concurre first a precedent satisfaction by paying the debt and yet secondly a true pardon and remission thereof to that partie which should have paid it and out of mercy towards him a dispencing with the rigor of that Law which in strictnesse would not admit any other to pay it for him Thus wee see how Christ hath suffered our punishment Secondly hee did all obedience and fulfilled all actions of righteousnesse for us for such an high Priest became us who is holy harmelesse undefiled
Lords death till hee come 1 Cor. 11.26 For in the ordinances hee is crucified before our eyes Gal. 3.1 Therefore the Apostle more than once inferres from the consideration of this Sacrifice and office of Christ our dutie of not forsaking the assemblies of the Saints and of exhorting and provoking one another Heb. 3.13.10.24 25. Now I proceed to the last thing mentioned in the words concerning the Priest-hood of Christ and that is about the Order of it Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedek Secundum verbum or secundum morem rationem the Apostle readeth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 according to the Order of Melchisedeks Priesthood Of this Melchisedek wee finde mention made but in two places onely of the whole Old Testament and in both very briefly the first in the History of Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings when Melchisedek being the Priest of the most high God brought forth bread and wine and blessed him Gen. 14.18 19 20. and the other in this place And for this cause the things concerning him and his Order are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hard to bee understood Heb. 5.11 It was so then and so it would bee still if S. Paul had not cleered the difficulties and shewed wherin the Type and the Antitype did fully answere which hee hath largely done in Heb. 7. For understanding and cleering the particulars which are herein considerable here are some questions which offer themselves First who Melchisedek was Secondly what is meant by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Order Thirdly why Christ was to bee a Priest after his Order and not after Aarons Fourthly why hee brought forth bread and wine Fifthly what kinde of blessing it was with which hee blessed Abraham Sixthly in what manner he received Tithes Lastly in what sense hee was without Father and without Mother without beginning of dayes or end of life First for Melchisedek who hee was much hath been said by many men and with much confidence Some hereticks of old affirmed that hee was the Holy Ghost Others that hee was an Angell Others that hee was Sem the Sonne of Noah Others that hee was a Canaanite extraordinarily raised up by God to be a Priest of the Gentiles Others that hee was Christ himselfe manifest by a speciall dispensation and priviledge unto Abraham in the flesh who is said to have seen his day and rejoyced Ioh. 8.56 Difference also there is about Salem the place of which hee was King Some take it for Ierusalem as Iosephus and most of the ancients Others for a citie in the halfe tribe of Manasse within the River Iordan where Hierom reports that some â—uines of the palace of Melchisedek were in his dayes conceived to remaine Tedious I might be in insisting on this point who Melchisedek was But when I finde the Holy Ghost purposely concealing his name genealogie beginning ending and descent and that to speciall purpose I cannot but wonder that men should toile themselves in the darke to finde out that of which they have not the least ground of solide conjecture and the inevidence whereof is expressely recorded to make Melchisedek thereby the fitter type of Christs everlasting Priesthood Secondly what is meant by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is as much as the state condition or prescribed Rule of Melchisedek and that was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 After the power of an endlesse life Heb. 7.16 Not by a corporeall unction legall ceremony or the intervening act of a humane ordination but by a heavenly institution and immediate unction of the Spirit of Life by that extraordinary manner whereby hee was to bee both King and Priest unto God as Melchisedek was Thirdly Why was hee not a Priest after the order of Aaron The Apostle giveth us an answere Because the Law made nothing perfect but was weake and unprofitable and therefore was to bee abolished and to give place to another Priesthood Men were not to rest in it but by it to bee led to him who was to abolish it Heb. 7.11 12. as the morning-starre leadeth to the sunne and at the rising thereof vanisheth The ministery and promises of Christ were better than those of the Law and therefore his Priest-hood which was the office of dispencing them was to be more excellent likewise Heb. 8 6. For when the Law and covenant were to bee abolished the Priesthood in which they were established was to die likewise Fourthly Why Melchisedek brought forth bread and wine The Papists that they may have something to build the idolatry of their masse upon make Melchisedek to Sacrifice bread and wine as a Type of the Eucharist I will not fall into so tedious a controversie as no way tending to edification and infinite litigations there have been between the parts already about it In one word Wee grant that the Ancients doe frequently make it a Type of the Eucharist but onely by way of allusion not of literall prediction or strict prefiguration as that out of Egypt have I called my Sonne and in Rama was there a voyce heard which were literally and historically true in another sense are yet by way of allusion applied by the Evangelist unto the History of Christ Matth. 2.15.18 But wee may note first it is not Sacrificavit but Protulit hee brought it forth he did not offer it up Secondly he brought it forth to Abraham as a Prince to entertaine him after his conquest as Iosephus and from him Cajetan understand it not as a Priest to God Thirdly hee if hee did offer he offered bread and wine truely these men onely the lying shapes thereof and not bread and wine it selfe which they say are transubstantiated into another thing Fourthly the Priest-hood of Melchisedek as Type and of Christ as the substance was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Priesthood which could not passe unto any other either as successor or vicar to one or the other and it was onely by divine and immediate unction but the Papists make themselves Priests by humane and ecclesiasticall ordination to offer that which they say Melchisedek offered and by that meanes most insolently make themselves either successors or vicars or sharers and co-partners and workers together with him and his Antitype Christ Iesus in the offices of such a Priesthood as was totally uncommunicable and intransient Heb. 7.24 and so most sacrilâ—giously rob him of that honor which hee hath assumed to himselfe as his peculiar office Fifthly what kinde of blessing it was wherewith Melchisedek blessed Abraham To this I answer that there is a twofold Benediction The one Charitativa oâ—t of love and so any man may blesse another by way of euprecation or well wishing The blessing of the Lord bee upon you we blesse you in the name of the Lord Psal. 129.8 the other Autoritativa as a King a Priest an extraordinary superiour and publike person by a way of office and to the purpose of effecting
and reall conveying the blessing it selfe desired without all contradiction saith the Apostle the lesse is blessed of the greater Hebr. 7.7 and such was this of Melchisedek Benedictio obsignans a seale assurance and effectuall confirmation of the promise before made Gen. 12.2 3. Sixthly in what manner he received Tithes I answer with Calvin that he had Ius decimarum and received them as testifications of homage duty and obedience from Abraham for the Apostle useth it as argument to prove his greatnes above Abraham which could be no argument in the case of pure gift Since gifts quâ—tenus gifts though they prove not a generall inferioritie in him that receives them yet they prove that in that case there is something which may be imputed and which deserves acknowledgement But in this particular all the acknowledgements are from Abraham to Melchisedek Besides nothing was here by Abraham or Melchisedek done after an arbitrary manner but Extraordinario spiritus afflatu ex officio on both sides as learned Cameron hath observed Lastly in what sense hee was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. without father mother or genealogie I answer with Chrysostome that it is not meant literally and strictly but onely the Scripture takes notice of him as an extraordinary man without signifying his line beginning end or race as Tiberius said of Rufus that he was Homo ex se natus that so he might be the fitter to typifie Christs person and excellencie in whom those things were really true which are onely quoad nos spoken of the type of whose beginning end or parentage wee neither have nor can have any knowledge These things thus premised it will bee easie for you to preoccupate those observations which grow betweene the Type and the Antitype which therefore I will but cursorily propose Note first that Christs Priesthood is such as did induce a kingdome with it for Melchisedek was King of Salem and Priest of the most high God This Saint Hierom and from him Ambrose report to have been meant by the order of Melchisedek namely Regale Sacerdotium that Christ was to be a Royall Priest By way of merit purchasing a kingdome of his Father and by way of conquest recovering it to himselfe out of the hands of his enemies this mystery was obscurely intimated in the marriages allowed between the regall and sacerdotall tribes of Iuda and Levi which confusion was in the other Tribes interdicted as I have before observed Note secondly that Christ by offering up himselfe a Sacrifice unto God is become unto his people a King of Righteousnesse or the Lord our righteousnesse in which sense he is called The Prince of life Act. 3.15 that is he hath all power given him as a Prince to quicken and to justifie whom hee will Ioh. 5.20 21. And this comes from his Sacrifice and perfect obedience to us imputed and by us with faith implyed and apprehended for having fulfilled the righteousnesse of the Law and justified himselfe by rising from the dead he became being thus made perfect the Author of righteousnesse and salvation to us Heb. 5.9 We had in us a whole kingdome of sin and therefore requisite there was in him that should justifie us a kingdome of Grace and righteousnesse That as sinne raigned unto death even so might Grace through righteousnesse raigne unto eternall life by Iesus Christ our Lord Rom. 5.21 and therefore wee are said to be justified by the righteousnesse of God Rom. 3.21 22. that is such a righteousnesse as is ours by gift and grace not by nature Rom. 10.3 and such a righteousnesse as God himseâ—fe did performe though in the humane nature in our behalfe Act. 20.28 Phil. 2.6 7 8. And this is the ground of all our comfort the best direction in all our miseries and extremities whither to flie A King is the greatest officer amongst men and his honour and state is for the supply defence and honour of his people He is Custos Tabularum the Father and the Keeper of the Lawes If I want any of that justice and equity of which his sacred Bosome is the publike treasure I may freely beg it of him because he is an Officer to dispence righteousnesse unto his subjects so also is Christ unto his Church I finde my selfe in a miserable condition condemned by the conscience of sinne by the testimony of the Word by the accusations of Satan full of discomforts God is a God of justice and all fire my selfe a creature of sin and all stubble Satan the accuser of the brethren who labours to blow up the wrath of God against me In this case what shall I doe Surely God hath set his King on Sion and he is a King that hath life and righteousnesse to give to mee that hath grace enough to quench all sin and the envenomed darts of Satan in whom there is erected a court of peace and mercy whereunto to appeale from the severity of God from the importunity of the Devill and from the accusations and testimonies of our owne hearts And indeed he had need be a King of righteousnesse that shall justifie men for our justification is in the remission of our sins and to pardon sins and dispence with Lawes is a regall dignitie and God taketh it as his owne high and peculiar prerogative I even I am he who blotteth out thine iniquity for mine owne sake and will not remember thy sinnes Esay 43.25 No man or Angell or created power no merit no obedience no rivers of oyle nor mountaines of cattell no prayers teares or torments can wipe out the staines or remove the guilt of any sinne I onely even I and none else can doe it None but a Divine and Royall Power can subdue sinne Mica 7.18 And this is a ground of a second comfort that being a King of righteousnesse he is rich in it and hath treasures to bestow that as we have a kingdome a treasure and abundance of sin so we have a King that hath alwayes a residue of spirit and grace that hath a most redundant righteousnesse from faith to faith Rom. 1.17 A mans faith can never over-grow the righteousnesse of our King If we had all the faith that ever was in the world put into one man all that could not over-claspe the righteousnesse of Christ or be too bigge for it As if a man had a thousand eyes and they should one after another looke on the Sunne yet still the light would be revealed from eye to eye or as if a man should goe up by ten thousand steps to the top of the highest mountaine yet he could never over-looke all the earth or fix his eye beyond all visible objects but should still have more earth and heaven discovered unto him from step to step so there is an immensitie in the righteousnesse and mercy of God which cannot be exhausted by any sins or overlooked and comprehended by any faith of men As God dotâ—
inchoate as all those penall defects of our nature which neither were sinnes nor grounded upon the inherence of sinnes for hee tooke not our personall but onely our naturall defects And these were either corporeall as hunger thirst wearinesse and the like or spirituall as feare griefe sorrow temptations c. consummate were those which he suffered at last And these likewise were either corporeall as shame mockings buffets trials scourgings condemnation an ignominious and a cursed death Or spirituall and those were principally two First a punishment of Dereliction My God my God why hast thou forsaken mee Matth. 27.46 There was some kinde of separation betweene God and Christ during the time of his sufferings for sinne in that cursed manner For understanding wherof we must note that he had a fourfold Vnion unto God First In his humane Nature which was so fast united in his person to the divine that death it selfe did not separate it either from the person or from the deitie It was the Lord that lay in the grave Secondly In Love and so there was never any separation neither but when hee hanged on the Crosse hee was still the beloved Sonne of his Father in whom hee was well pleased Thirdly In the Communion of his Spirit and Holinesse and in that regard likewise there was no disunion for hee was offered up as a lambe without spot or blemish Lastly In the fruition of the light of his countenance and of his glory and favor and in this respect there was for the time of his sufferings a dereliction subtractione visionis non dissolutione unionis by the withdrawing of his countenance not by the dissolving of his union Hee looked upon Christ as a God armed against the sinnes of the world which were then upon him Secondly There was a punishment of malediction Hee did undergoe the curse of the Law hee did graple with the wrath of God and with the powers of darknesse hee felt the scourges due unto our sinnes in his humane nature which squeezed and wrung from him those strong cries those deepe and woefull complaints that bloudy and bitter sweate which drew compassion from the very rocks And surely it is no derogation to the dignity of Christs person but on the other side a great magnifying of the Iustice of God against sinne of the power of Christ against the Law and of the mercy of them both towards sinners to affirme that the sufferings of Christ what-ever they were in specie in the kinde of them were yet in pondere in their weight and pressure equally grievous with those which we should have suffered for being in all things save sinne like unto us and most of all in his liablenesse to the curse of the Law so farre as it did not necessarily denotate either sinne inherent or weaknesse to breake through in the person suffering why hee should not bee obnoxious to as great extremities of paine I see no reason for no degree of meere anguish and dolor can bee unbefitting the person of him who was to bee knowne by that Title A man of sorrowes And surely farre more indignity it was to him to suffer a violent death of body from the hands of base men than to suffer with patience obedience and victorie farre sorer stripes from the hand of God his Father who was pleased upon him to lay the iniquity of us all For the second thing proposed Why Christ suffered these things The Scripture giveth principally these five reasons First to execute the decrees of his Father Act. 4.27 28. Secondly to fulfill the prophesies prefigurations and predictions of Holy Scriptures Luk. 24.46 Thirdly to magnifie his mercy and free love to sinners and most impotent enemies Rom. 5.8 Fourthly to declare the Righteousnesse and truth of God against sinne who would not bee reconciled with sinners but upon a legall expiation Rom. 3.25 For although wee may not limit the unsearchable wisedome and wayes of God as if hee could no other way have saved man yet wee are bound to adore this meanes as being by him selected out of that infinite treasure of his owne counsell as most convenient to set forth his wonderfull hate of sinne his inexorable Iustice and severity against it his unsearchable riches of love and mercy towards sinners and in all things to make way to the manifestation of his glory Lastly To shew forth his owne power which had strength to stand under all this punishment of sinne and at last to shake it off and to declare himselfe to bee the Sonne of God by the resurrection from the dead Rom. 1.4 For though Christ did exceedingly feare and for that seeme to decline and pray against these his passions yet none of that was out of jealousie or suspicion that hee should not breake through them But hee feared them as being paines unavoidable which hee was most certainly to suffer and as paines very heavie and grievous which hee should not overcome without much bitternesse and very woefull conflict Now for a word of the last Clause Therefore shall hee lift up the Head Wee may hence observe that Christ hath conquered all his sufferings by his owne power As in his passion when hee suffered hee Bowed downe his head before-hand and gave up the ghost with a loud voice to note that his sufferings were voluntary Ioh. 19.30 So in his resurrection hee is said to lift up his head himselfe to note that hee had life in himselfe that hee was the Prince of Life that it was impossible for him to be held under by death as we were by the Law Rom. 7.6 And that his exaltation was voluntary likewise and from his owne power for he was not to have any assistant in the worke of our redemption but to doe all alone Ioh. 2.19.5.26.10.17 Act. 3.15 If it bee objected that Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of his Father and that hee raised him up Rom. 6.4 Act. 13.33 To this I answer that this was not by way of supplement and succor to make up any defect of power in Christ but onely by way of consent to Christs owne power and action that so men might joyntly honour the Sonne and the Father Ioh. 5 19-26 Or by the Glorie of the Father wee may understand that glorious power which the Father gave unto his Sonne in the flesh to have life in himselfe Ioh. 5.26 annexing thereunto a command to exercise the same Power Ioh. 10.18 Or hee is said to bee raised by himselfe and his Father both because that Holy Spirit which immediatly quickned him Rom. 1.4 1 Tim. 3.16 1 Pet. 3.18 was both his and his Fathers It was not any personall thing wherein the Sonne differ'd from the Father which raised Iesus from the dead but that Spirit which was common to them both To conclude then with the consideration of those great benefits and that excellent use which this resurrection of Christ doth serve for unto us First it assureth us of the accomplishment