could well subsist because he was to get vp his head and to wrestle out from vnder all this paine and grief And heerein is offered to vs a great word of comfort that seeing all the troubles that wee sustaine in this life are finite both in weight and time For what is our life but a moment And the Lord who afflicteth vs knoweth our mould and our shape that we are but dust Then although the Lord to thy sense intreate thee hardlie yet he is still to thee a louing Father in regard of that glorious end that he hath appointed for thee whervnto momentanean troubles shall succeed an infinite weight of Ioy and glory As the gravitie of Christ his sufferings is pointed at in the inflictor God himselfe so also in the phrase of speaking whereby his suffring is imported it is not a light nor superficiall going over but a deep sinking and graving so deepe that of him are the wordes of Ieremy to be vnderstood Consider yee that passe by if there be any dolour like vnto my dolour The wordes of Dauid in the 129 Psal. The plowers haue drawne deep furrowes vpon my back And the words of Esay in his 50 Chapter I giue my backe to the smiters and my cheekes to them that plucked off the haire The deepe ingrauing of this Stone look to it this way The thornes making impression in his Head the scourges making deepe furrowes in his backe the nailes piercing his hands and feete the souldiers speare going through his side to his Heart so that water and blood came forth And yet a deeper ingraving then all this the plough of the wrath of God went deeply through his Soule made so deep a furrow that he did sweat Blood for water Now looke to and consider the grauen Stone and therein see great matter of feare there being heere the most fearefull declaration of Gods wâ—…ath against sin that euer was giuen great mater of loue being herein The greatest declaration of loue that could be offered to mankinde Secondly he was so deeply grauen that although his paine and suffering be away and ended yet the print of his suffering is not away but remaineth fresh in the eyes of his Father as meritorious for all them that shal be safe Thirdly hee was so grauen that he might take vs and graue vs vpon his brest vpon the palmes of his hands neuer to be forgetfull of vs but to present vs blamelesse before his Father Let the suffrings therefore and Crosse of IESVS Christ be drawne in our hearts not lightly nor superficially but deeply grauen that we may say with the Apostle We desire to know nothing but Iesus Christ and him crucified The fourth thing mentioned in these verses is the happy fruite and effect that followeth vpon the suffering of IESVS CHRIST it is expressed this way I will sayth the Lord remoue the iniquity of the Land in one day The grauing of Christ although painfull to him for a time yet pleasant and comfortable to his Church for euer For it is by reason of his sufferings that God his Father hath giuen this declaration I wil take away and put forth of my remembrance the iniquity and sinnes of all that repent beleeue in him his stripes were many his grauing deep his sufferings infinite in weight although not in time Therefore though thy sinnes were neuer so many and thy iniquities neuer so great they are all wel payd for Thou being in him needest not to feare death hell nor condemnation In the words expressing this benefite of taking away the peoples sinnes two things are to bee marked The one is of the perfection of the worke All sinne and iniquitie shal be taken away And the other is of the circumstance of time in that day As for the first there is promised heere the perfect taking away of sin and iniquity And how doth this agree with the manifold complaints of the Saints in the Scripture of the abiding of iniquitie and with the experience euen of these who beleeued remission of sinnes and taking away of iniquities in the Blood of Iesus Christ. Doe not the Saints in Scripture complaine of sinne cry out vnder the burden of sinne craving daylie the renovation and purgation of their heart And who hath not reason with Dauid to say If I should reckon my iniquities they are moe in number then the haires of my head And who knoweth the errours of his life Hath there beene and is there manifold sinnes euen in the best children of God how doth God then performe this promise saying that the day of his Sonnes death shal be a day wherein he will take away all the sin and iniquitie of his people for answer to this When God is said in Scripture to take away the sinne and iniquity of his people two things are imported The one is that which hath the proper respect of sinne which accuseth and condemneth vs before God the guiltinesse of it that is taken away And so to take away sinne is to forgiue sin to cover sin not to impute sin In the meane time there remaineth in the corrupt nature of man the mater of sinne the nourishments of sinne sinfull concupiscences wherewith the Elect of God haue a daylie strife not suffring this remnant sin to reigne in their mortal bodies Secondly by the words of this promise is imported that the remission of thy sinnes that great benefite acquired by the death of Christ is full absolute and perfect although the renovation be not as yet perfect His merite taketh away all the guiltinesse of thy sin so that thou art free of condemnation althogh at the first all corruption be not mortified slaine into thee So that both these are the speeches of a renewed man the one of the assurance of faith there is no condemnation to me the other of the complaint of sin the flesh lusteth against the spirit and this holdeth them in a continual exercise striuing to a daylie mortification till in end sin as it is perfectly forgiuen so it may be perfectly slaine and abolished and left as a carcase without motion life or senses The other worde heere is of the circumstance of time God saith he will do this in one day And the day meant of heere is the day of the slaughter and sacrificing of his Sonne It may then bee demanded was there no remission of sinnes till the day of his death Is he not that that Lambe spoken of in the Apocalypse 13. that was slaine from the beginning was not the sinnes of faithfull Patriarches Prophets and Servants of GOD taken away in the vertue of that same Blood althogh the day of the actuall shedding of it was not as yet come For laying open this matter ye must consider about the suffring of Iesus Christ four things 1. The ordaining of it by God the Father as the mean
of mans redemption 2. the typing figuring of it by the ceremonies of the Law Leviticall sacrifices 3. The merite efficacie of it And last that very act it selfe when his body was at Golgotha affixed to the Crosse. Now althogh this act of his suffring was in the last time yet in the decree and ordinance of GOD it was from the beginning In the ceremonies of the Law he was typically slain before their eies the merite and efficacie of his death extended the selfe to all that was safe from the beginning and doth extend to all that shall be safe to the end of the world These words of the promise of taking away sinne and iniquity being narrowly looked into you will finde they containe these necessary points that thou must know and beleeue in this comfortable Article of the remission of sinnes as heere you are led to consider 1. the Author of the benefite I will take them away sayth the Lord. Sin being the offence of God none hath power to forgiue or take away his offence but himselfe And whereas God is the Author of this benefite then hath it these properties First it is sure Secondly perfect Thirdly it is vnchangeable and neuer commeth vnder revocation Thy memory may forget thy sinnes for a while and cast them vp againe thy conscience may loose feeling of them and cast them vp againe But if God take them away they shall neuer meet thee neither to thy shame heere nor condemnation after this A necessary point of tryall for men to examine what way they are made quite of their bypast sinnes For although thou haue drowned them in oblivion and put them away in forgetfulnes yet are they not soundly taken away till GOD take them away that thou be able to say God for Iesus Christ his sake hath forgiuen me them Secondly in these words is pointed out vnto vs the meanes by which remission of sins is obtained and that is cleare by ioyning these words with the former He said before I will graue the Stone I will sinke it deeply I will lay great weight of suffering vpon the back of my Sonne What then shall follow vpon it this same gracious effect I laide this great burden of pain vpon him that I may take off the great burdens of iniquity The meane is then whereby remission of sins is purchased his bloody Passion the grauing of the Stone his painfull sufferings If you aske at Iohn in his first Epistle and first Chapter how men are freed of their sinnes he will answere you The Blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth vs from all our sinnes If you aske at Peter in his first Epistle and first Chapter how and by what meanes we are redeemed he will tell you not with gold nor siluer but with the precious Blood of the Sonne of God And if there were no more but this Sinners are sent to rest vpon Iesus Christ and his Blood because it is the onelie meane of our reliefe which GOD himselfe hath devised and found out I wil saith he graue the Stone and by that meanes take away all thy iniquitie He that wold present to Gods eye any other thing meritorious of the remission of his sinnes but this graven Stone Iesus Christ crucified he must remaine comfortleffe if it were for no other way but this he misknoweth that way of his peace which GOD himself hath devised and appointed Thirdly in these wordes of the promise wee are to consider of the persons to whom belongeth this great benefite of taking away their iniquitie And it is heere said The iniquity of all the Land A generall to be restrained to the Church and people of God the eyes of whose faith as was said of before shal be fastened vpon this Stone Thus saith Esay in his 33 Chapter The people that dwell therein meaning of the Church shall haue their sins forgiuen And in his 62 Chapter They shal be called an holy people the redeemed of the Lord a citie soght out and not forsaken By the Arke of Noah which was a type of the Church It was told vs none would bee safe but they that are within the compasse of the Church And now the builder of the Church saw this and therefore made a good prayer for his son Iaphet God perswade Iaphet to dwell in the Tents of Sem that is make him a member of the Church to whom this promise is made I will take away all thy iniquitie Fourthly to make this comfort that is in the promise of remission of sinnes firme sure he doth not giue to sin the common word of sin but hee giueth it a name more expressing the weight of it and calleth it iniquitie Wherein he would allure vs to apprehend the comfort of the promise this way Let no man by reason of his sinne iniquitie despaire when he considereth these two things First It is I saith the Lord of hostes that am the doer that taketh away iniquity come and reason with me Albeit thy sinnes be many and great is it not easie to mee to take them away I that said to Light and to all the rest of the Creatures let them bee I that can fold vp the heauens as a garment cannot I make thy iniquities passe away Esay was lamenting his impuritie and crying Woe is me But how easie was it to the Lord to send him comfort when an Angell with a slight came to him with a coale taken from the Altar touching his lips telling him that his sin was taken frō him The thief that did hang on the right side of Christ had experience of this who hauing vttered but a few words of remors for his sin his iniquitie was instantly taken away his soul made ready for the Paradise of God 2. As looking to God the Author of this work men should not despair So considering the medicine how pretious it is how can sinners distrust go away comfortlesse here is a stone deeply grauen much blood shed And whereas one drop of that precious blood being the Blood of GOD might haue bin a ransome for all the world behold streames of blood flowing frō him that thou may euer therein as it were bath thy soule And although thy sins were neuer so great yet heere is the medicine so large it goeth beyond and aboue all Last of all you would mark here the phrase of speaking vsed heere I will saith the Lord take away the iniquity of the Land In the former Chapter speaking to Iehoshua he said to him I haue caused thy iniquity to passe from thee God is said to take away our sinnes when for the merite and suffering of his Sonne he accounteth of them as if they had neuer beene committed And to ingraue this consolation in the hearts of penitent and beleeuing sinners divers phrases and sundry forms of speeches are vsed by God in Scripture
Dauid in his 32 Psal. saith not Blessed is the man that is not a sinner no man is blessed that way but blessed is hee whose sins are covered to whom the Lord imputeth not his iniquity I haue put away thy transgressions like a cloude and thy sinnes like a mist Esay 44 Chapter Clouds and mists which appeare for a time are by the brightnesse of the Sunne vtterly dispersed When God looks vpon thee through the bright Son of Righteousnesse IESVS CHRIST all thy sinnes like a mist and cloude goeth away The King Ezechiah saith Esay in his 38 Chapt. That the Lord had casten his sinnes behind his backe That thing a man will not remember nor regardeth not he turneth away his face from This is the gracious doing of our God with his people his amiable face is toward their persons his back is turned vpon their sinnes They shall neuer come in his eye nor be remembred of him The Prophet Micah in his seuenth Chapter saith That the Lord casteth the sinnes of his owne in the bottome of the Sea alluding to Pharaoh his chariots whom he drowned in the red Sea so that they were neuer seene againe aliue to trouble his people So will the Lord drowne in euerlasting oblivion the sinnes of his owne that they shall neuer meet them to effray or disquiet them Heere is then the comfortable fruit of the sufferings of Christ pointed out vnto vs. God himself the engrauer of this Stone hath as it were with his owne finger written vpon his crosse Remission of sins and taking away the iniquitie of all that beleeue in him Adam and his wife put forth their hands and tooke of the fruite of that forbidden tree wherevpon followed nakednes and shame Stretch out thy hand and take of the fruite of this tree Remission of sinnes which groweth vpon the Crosse of Iesus Christ. Righteousnes and life eternall shall follow Remission of sinnes that great and maine benefite earnestly to bee sought for of vs all For since all are borne sinners and liue in sinne if a man obtaine not remission of sinnes it had beene better for him neuer to haue beene borne or being borne it had bin better for him to haue beene a beast nor a man for the death of the beast is the end of all miserie to it But the death of a man dying in his sinnes is the beginning of such miserie and woe as shall neuer haue an end There is no burden nor weight comparable to the burden of sin that hangeth so fast on and presseth down The burden of sicknes of long and heavie sicknes is a heauie burden The burden of shame and ignominie a heavy burden which maketh Dauid so earnestly cry to God in his 119 Psalme to deliuer him from that shame which he feared and his sin had deserued The burden of disdaine and contempt a heavy burden We are counted saith the Apostle the off-scowrings of the World The burden of povertie and want a heavy burden And therefore Iacob vowed that God should be his God if he would giue him food and rayment And Agur the son of Iakeh desired the Lord not to presse him with the burden of povertie lest he should blaspheme him But of all these burdens none of them can compare with the burden of sinne lying vpon a mans conscience vnpardoned And that made the Kingly Prophet laying aside his royaltie earthly pleasures of his Kingdome to cry out Blessed is the man whose sinnes are forgiuen Seeing therfore we haue often at the desire and entisements of the deuil eaten of the bitter fruits of sin which althogh they looke pleasant at the first yet shall proue bitter as gall and wormewood Let vs resort to this tree to IESVS CHRIST crucified and eate of this fruite and liue euen remission of sinnes in his death And that thou may know that thou hast true lie tasted of this fruit and that it is no presumption but the assurance of faith that draweth in this comfort to thy soule of the remission of sinnes Consider first if thou can looke to God the Author of it who for Christs sake hath taken away thy sinnes and forgiuen thy iniquitie Secondly by dailie teares humiliation mourning and weeping for sin labour to increase thine assurance I water my bed with teares saith Dauid Thirdly let euery one that saith he hath gotten from God remission of sinnes of many sinnes and great sinnes change the tenor of his life endeavour to walke more holy lie And then although death when it commeth strip thee naked of all the pleasures that are heere yet thou being made naked and free of sinne thou shalt not bee found in that great day as the wicked are but shal be covered with the white rayment of the righteousnes of IESVS CHRIST THE THIRD SERMON ZECHARIAH 3. Chap. and 10. verse 10 In that day saith the Lord of hostes shall ye call euery man his neighbour vnder the vine and vnder the figtree THe last point contained in these words is in the last verse and that is of the happie estate of the Church and Kingdome of Christ vnder him so gracious and comfortable a Head As remission of sins and taking away iniquitie is a consequent of his suffring and of this deep engrauing of the stone so this peaceable estate is a necessary consequent of remission of sinnes for all that haue remission of sins in the death and suffering of Christ of necessitie they must haue peace with God peace in their owne heart and soule which passeth vnderstanding tranquillity and rest which is the beginning of heauen heere for we who beleeue doe enter presently in our rest The words of the verse if they shal be considered with some respect to the temporall deliuerie of the people from Babylon and their full restitution from the captivity as was both prophecied and performed then they offered this comfort vnto them that albeit the dayes by past haue beene vnto them dayes of woe and miserie dayes of weeping and lamentation wherein they haue beene brought in a strange countrie at the rivers of Babel to shed teares for hearing the enemies deride their Hebrew songs and in the remembrance of Sion that was of before so beautifull and glorious yet when the Lord should returne to shew himself the captain Defender of his Church and should loose their yoke and bonds that day and time of their libertie is to bring with it a great glorious change being broght to their owne home and country where before they were in Babel Lying vnder their owne Vine and Figtree where before they lay at the rivers of Babel each neighbour speaking comfortablie to an other where of before they were forced to heare the rayling and out-cryings of the children of Babel And all these in the appointed time of God did so gratiously come to passe that albeit in the dayes of their
the voice of the world nor of any thing that is in the world that will bring quietnes It is the voice of IESVS CHRIST come from Edom with his red garments dyed in his Blood that quieteth the heart saying peace be vnto thee And no rest to a disquieted soule till she come to take vp this voice and say I know it is the voice of my beloued The great end of Christs comming in the world was to deliuer men from feare and put them to rest Before this peace come to a man where can hee turne him or what way can hee looke but he hath cause of great feare If he looke vp he hath cause of great feare is not God his enemy Is it not a fearefull thing to fall in his hands who is a consuming fire The man that is not in Christ and partaker of this peace how dare he looke to God If he looke below hath he not matter of feare for hell enlargeth it selfe and openeth the mouth wide If he looke behinde him hath he not matter of feare for then is the multitude of his by-past sinnes following him like an armie If he looke before him hath hee not matter of feare for O how fearefull is death to a man that is not reconciled with God If he looke to the creatures either aboue or beneath what hath he but matter of feare for how can they be in friendship with him who is not in friendship with their GOD and Creator But a man comming to Iesus Christ and by a true faith ingraft in him as a branch in the stock He hath peace within that passeth vnderstanding When he looketh to God in Christ he is his Father and so he is at peace with him his Father to whom he may safely trust commit himselfe to whom in his end and at his death he may say Father into thy hands I commit my spirit When he looketh to hell it troubleth not his peace because there is registrat in his soule this sentence infallible There is no condemnation to me that am in Iesus Christ. When he looketh to his sins they may appeare as Pharaohs hoste to follow him but they shal neuer overtake him The Lord hath drowned them in the bottomlesse depth of his mercie When he looketh to death death troubleth not his peace death can no◅sting him death can not take his peace from him But by death shall he come to a more full possession of his peace if he looke to the Angels they are his guard if he looke to the inferiour creatures they are his seruants and in league and covenant with him And so as it is said heere of the subiects of a peaceable worldly Kingdome Euery man shall call his neighbour vnder his Vine and vnder the Fig-tree so that man that is a subiect of the spirituall Kingdome of Iesus Christ he may say I will lay me downe quietly and rest in peace for thou art my Lord and my God thou hast reconciled me to thy Father Since thou art with me I feare not the world the flesh sinne nor the deuill Now for as much as all men are such louers of externall peace that rather or men dwell vnder a King and in a Kingdome where there is daylie found bellicous instruments the trumpet and the drumme the thundering of the canon the pitifull cry of them that are put to the edge of the sword they would choose rather with the losse of their commoditie to goe and dwell where they may haue peace And many vpon this same respect haue changed their residence Let vs learne this point of wisdome for our soule that we may say rather then we liue vnder the noise of the Law and thunder of the threatnings of it the noise of Gods Iudgement the fearefull cry of our conscience we will rather goe and choose to dwell in this Kingdome and bee subiects of this King where there is such peace and rest Happie is hee that is alreadie a subiect of this Kingdome seek to draw to it for there is no true rest peace nor tranquillity but heere The second thing pointed at heere of the subiects of this Kingdome is their safetie and protection and that is figured by lying vnder the shadow of a tree a vine or a fig-tree As the two former are conioyned The Lord forgiueth sinne vpon which followeth ioy and peace of heart so whom the Lord forgiueth and to whom he giueth peace them he taketh as his owne in his protection so that they rest safely vnder the shadow of his wings These the Prophets conioyneth in his 84 Psalme The Lord is a Sunne and shield to his owne by the one signifying that he is comfort and ioy to his owne and by the other signifying that he is their safety protection all they vpon whom hath shined the beames of the louing countenance of God to whom God hath showne his pleasant face they liue vnder his tuition in security against all dangers and assaults The same two as conioyned are comfortably expressed in the words of the 27. Psal. The Lord is my light and my saluation he hath shined vpon me like a bright Sunne Then followeth his security by reason of this divine protection Whō shall I feare when the wicked euen my enemies come against me they stumbled and fell though an hoste should come against me I will not feare though warre should be raised yet in this will I trust He that dwelleth in the secret of the most high hee shall rest vnder the shaddow of the Almightie And to tell how sure this protection is he bringeth in example of one of the most fearefull dangerous euils that can come to man that is the pestilence And to expresse the terror of it he giueth it many names it is called the fearefull pestilence it is called the snare of the Fowler it is called the feare of the night and the arrow that slieth by day And yet there is promised to the man that trusteth in God safetie and protection in the midst of the rage of the plague From this particular he would draw a generall he that resteth in the secret of the most high he who is a member of this Kingdome of Iesus Christ he dwelleth in safetie he lyeth vnder the shadow of his owne tree free from all sort of euill But this appeareth to bee against common sense and experience for they who haue inward peace haue not alwayes outward quietnes And the dearest children of God haue beene and are subiect to great outward mutations and troubles How standeth this doctrine of their protection and safety from outward euils with their day lie experience in the contrair may not a godlie man die by the sword by famine by pestilence Doth a mans Religion and the feare of God put a man in that assurance that he may say I can not feare the sword famine nor pestilence For answer to