reward Esay 45.13 but freely and without money here in the Text. Nor need we here fear another contradiction For the meaning is not that there was no price paid at all but that there was none paid by us we laid out nothing toward this great purchase there went none of our money to it But otherwise that there was a price paid the Scriptures are clear You are bought with a price saith St Paul 1 Cor 6. and he saith it over again Chap 7. He that paid it calleth it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a ransome that is as much as to say a price of redemption and his Apostle somewhat more 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which implieth a just and satisfactory price full as much as the thing can be worth Yet not paid to Satan in whose possession we were for we have found already that he was but an Usurper and his title naught He had but bought of us and we by our sale could convey unto him no more right then we had our selves which was just none at all Our Redeemer therefore would not enter into any capitulation with him or offer to him any Termes of composition But thought good rather in pursuance of his own right to use his power And so he vindicated us from him by main strength With his own right hand and with his holy arm he got himself the victory and us liberty without any price or ransome paid him 34. But then unto Almighty God his father and our Lord under whose heavy Curse we lay and whose just vengeance would not be appeased towards us for our grievous presumption without a condign satisfaction to him I say there was a price paid by our Redeemer and that the greatest that ever was paid for any purchase since the world began Not silver and gold saith S. Peter which being corruptible things are not valuable against our immortall and incorruptible souls But even himself in whom are absconditi thesauri amassed and hidden all the treasures of the wisdom of God and even the whole riches of his grace treasure enough to redeem a whole world of sinners Take it collectively or distributively singula generum or genera singulorum this way or that way or which way you will in Christ there is copiosa redemptio redemption plenty and enough for all if they will but accept it Take all mankinde singly one by one He gave himself for me saith S. Paul in one place Take them altogether in the lump He gave himself a ransom for all in another 35. Now for a man to give himself what is it else but to give his soule for that is himself as we heard before and his life for vita in animâ the life is in the soule and these he gave He gave up his soule when thou shalt make his soule an offering for sin◠Esay 53.10 and he laid down his life the son of man came to give his life a ransom for many Mat. 10. More then this in love he could not give for what greater love then to lay down ones life And less then this in justice he might not give for Death by the Law being the wages of sin there could be no Redemption from death so as to satisfie the Law without the death of the Redeemer 36. Yea and it must be a bloody death too for anima in sanguine the life is in the blood and without shedding of blood there can be no remission no redemption All those bloody sacrifices of buls and goats and lambs in the old Testament all those frequent sprinklings of blood upon the door posts upon the book upon the people upon the tabernacle and upon all the vessels of ministry and all those legal purifications in which blood was used as almost all things are by the Law purged with blood Heb. 9. they were all but so many types and shaddows prefiguring this blood of sprinkling which speaketh so many good things for us pacifieth the fierce anger of God towards us purgeth us from all sins and redeemeth us from hell and damnation I mean the meritorious blood of the Cross the most precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish 1 Pet. 1.18 37. But can there be worth enough may some say in the blood of a Lamb of one single Lamb to be a valuable compensation for the sins of the whole world First this was agnus singularis a lamb of special note not such another in the whole flock All we like sheep have gone astray but so did this lamb never All of us like the encrease of Laban's flock speckled or ring-streaked but this lamb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if Momus himself were set to search he could not yet finde the least spot or blemish A cunninger searcher then he hath pried narrowly into every corner of his life who if there had been any thing amiss would have been sure to have spied it and proclaimed it but could finde nothing The Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me That is something his Innocency But if that be not enough for the Angels also are innocent behold then more He is secondly Agnus Dei the Lamb of God that is the Lamb which God had appointed and set apart for this service by special designation so as either this party must do it or none There is no other name given under heaven no nor in heaven neither nor above by which we can be redeemed Him and him alone hath God the Father sealed and by vertue of that seal authoris'd and enabled to undertake this great work Or if you have not yet enough for it may be said what if it had been the pleasure of God to have sealed one of the Angels Behold then thirdly that which is beyond all exception and leaveth no place for cavil or scruple He is Agnus Deus This lamb is God the son of God very God of very God and so the blood of this Lamb is the very blood of God Act. 20. And it is this dignity of his nature especially and not his innocency only no nor yet his deputation too without this that setteth such a huge value upon his blood that it is an infinite price of infinite merit able to satisfie an infinite justice and to appease an infinite wrath 38. You will now confess I doubt not that this Redemption was not gratis came not for nothing in respect of him it cost him full dear even his dearest lives-blood But then in respect of us it was a most free and gracious redemption It was no charge at all to us we disburs'd not a mite not a doyt towards it Which is the very true reason why it is said in the Text Ye shall be redeemed without mony This work then is meerly an act of grace not a fruit of merit grace abundant grace on his part no merit not the least merit at all
the first Sale was his personal act by which he passed away both himself and all his posterity and so were we venditi antequam editi sold a long while before we were born And that Sale is still of force against us I mean that of Original sin till it be annull'd by baptism in as much as being virtually in his loins when he made that contract we are presumed to have given our virtual consent thereunto But there is another part of the sale which lieth most against us whereto our own actual consent hath passed in confirmation and for the further ratification of our fore-fathers act when for satisfaction of some ungodly lust or other we condescended by committing sin in our own persons to strengthen Satans title to us whatever it was as much as lay in us Like the unthrifty heir of some unthrifty father who when he cometh at age for a little spending money in hand is ready to do any further act that shall be required of him for the confirmation of his fathers act who had long before sold away the lands from him Whatever then we may impute of the former I mean of original guilt to Adam yet we must take the later I mean our actual transgressions wholly and solely to our own selves 23. Nor can we thirdly lay the blame upon Satan or his instruments which is our last and commonest refuge Serpens decepit was Eves plea and she pleaded but truth for the Serpent had indeed beguiled her St Paul hath said it after her twice over Esau after he had sold his birth-right his own self yet accused his brother for supplanting him Aaron for making the calf and Saul for sparing the Cattle both contrary to God's express command yet both lay it upon the people Others have done the like and still do and will do to the worlds end But alas these fig-leaves are too thin to hide our nakedness all these excuses are insufficient to discharge us from being the authors of our own destruction Say Satan be a cunning cheater as he is no less who should have look'd to that had not God endowed us with understanding to discern his most subtile snares and with liberty of will to decline them Say he do tempt us perpetually and by most slie insinuations seek to get within us and to steal away our hearts That is the utmost he can do a tempter he is and that a shrewd one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he hath his own from it yet he is but a tempter he cannot enforce us to any thing without our consent and God hath given us power and God hath given us charge too not to consent Say ungodly men who are his agents cease not by plausible perswasions importunities and all the engagements they can pretend to solicit and entice us to evil Yet if we resolve and hold not to consent they cannot hurt us My son if sinners entice thee consent thou not Prov. 1.10 Say they lay many a cursed example before us as Iacob did pilled rods in the sheep-troughs or cast stones of offence in our way Have we not a rule to walk by by which we ought to guide our selves and not by the examples of men And whereto serve our eyes in our heads but to look to our feet that we may so order our steps as not to dash our foot against a stone 24. Certainly no man can take harm but from himself Let no man then when he is tempted and yieldeth say he is tempted of God for God tempteth no man saith S. Iames that is doth not so much as endeavour to do it Nay I may adde further Let no man when he is tempted say he is tempted of Satan That is let him not think to excuse himself by that For even Satan tempteth no man in that sense and cum effectu Though he endeavour it all he can yet it cannot take effect unless we will S. Iames therefore concludeth positively that every mans temptation if it take effect is merely from his own lust It is then our own act and deed that we are Satan's Vassals Disclaim it we cannot and what so ever misery or mischief ensueth thereupon we ought not to impute to any other then our selves alone He could never have laid any claim to us if we had not consented to the bargain and yielded to sell our selves 25. Of the Sale hitherto I come now to the Redemption the more Evangelical and comfortable part of the Text. And as in the Sale we have seen mans inexcusable baseness and folly in the severall circumstances so we may now behold Gods admirable power and grace in this Redemption His Power that he doth it so effectually The thing shall be done Ye shall be Redeemed His Grace that he doth it so freely without any mony of ours Ye shall be Redeemed without mony 26. First the work to be effectually done It is here spoken in the future Ye shall be Redeemed not only nor perhaps so much because it was a prophesie of a thing then to come which now since Christs coming in the flesh is actually accomplished but also and especially to give us to understand that when God is pleased to Redeem us all the powers on earth and in hell cannot shall not hinder it By the Levitical Law if a man had sold himself for a bondslave his brother or some other neer friend might redeem him or if ever God should make him able he might redeem himself If this had been all our hope we might have waited till our eyes had sunk in their holes and yet the work never the neerer to be done for never would man have been found able either to Redeem his own soule or to make agreement for his brothers It would cost more to redeem their souls then any man had to lay down so that of necessity he must let that alone for ever But when the son of God himself setteth in and is content to be made of God to us Redemption the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand and the work shall go on wondrous happily and successfully 27. His Power his Love and his Right do all assure thereof First his Power Our Redeemer is strong and mighty even the Lord of hosts And he had need be so for he that hath us in possession is strong and mighty Ter fortis amatus in the Parable Luke 11th He buckleth his armour about him and standeth upon his guard with a resolution to maintain what he hath purchased and to hold possession if he can But then when a stronger then he cometh upon him and overcommeth him breaketh into his house bindeth him and having bruised his head taketh away from him his armour wherein he trusted the Law Sin Death and Hell there is no remedy but he must yield per-force what he cannot hold and suffer his house to be ransack'd and his goods and possessions to
yea or no 14. Neither yet only look at the Power thou now hast but consider withall what need thou mayest have of the help of others hereafter The world is full of changes and chances and all things under the sun are subject to rolling Thou who by reason of thy present power art now sought and sued to by others by a thousand casualties more thou canst imagine mayest be brought to crave help from others Now the Rule of Equity is Doe as thou wouldest be done to As thou wouldest expect help from those that are able to succour thee if thy self stoodest in need so be ready now it is in thy power to do it to succour those that stand in need of thy help and expect it from thee Learn by that speech of Iosephs brethren when they were distressed in Egypt Gen. 42. We were verily guilty concerning our brothers in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not heare therefore is this distress come upon us Learn I say from that speech of theirs what a dreadful pang and torture and corrosive it will be to thy conscience hereafter in the day of thy calamity when thou shalt sue to others and finde but cold comfort from them if thy heart can then tell thee that though men be hard yet God is just and that with what measure thou metedst to others before it is now measured back again with advantage perhaps into thine own bosome To prevent which misery learn wisdom of the unjust steward even to make thee friends of thy mammon and of thy power and of all those blessed opportunities and advantages thou enjoyest by doing good with them whilest thou hast time That when the tide shall turn thou mayest also finde friends to help in time of need to stand by thee in the day of adversity and to deliver thy soul from unrighteous Iudges He that would readily finde help it is but meet and right he should readily lend helpe 15. Pass we now from our selves in the third place to those poor oppressed ones to whom as a fit object for our justice and charity to be exercised upon we owe this duty of succour and subvention From whose condition we may finde sundry farther excitements to the performance of this duty if we shall consider the greatness of their distresse the scarcity of their friends and the righteousness of their Cause Whereof the first proceedeth from the Cruelty the second from the Potency the third from the avarice ambition or other iniquity of their oppressours First many times the distresses of poor men under the hand of their oppressours are grievous beyond the imagination of those that never felt them They are expressed in the Text whether by way of Synecdoche one special kinde being put to include all the rest or by an hyperbolical amplification for the fuller expressing of the grievousness thereof by the terms of Death and Slaughter If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn to death and those that are ready to be slain Verily oppressours are covetous and they that are covetous are cruel too For though their aim be the spoil and not the blood yet rather then fail the spoil they will not stick at the blood too Come let us lay wait for blood We shall fill our houses with spoil Prov. 1. And so the oppressour proveth both a thief and a murtherer a thief in the end he aimeth at and a murtherer in the means whereby to obtain it as Ahab took away Naboths life that he might enjoy his vineyard Now surely that man hath very little compassion in his bowels that will not set forward a foot nor reach out a hand nor open a lip to save the precious life of his poor brother when he may so easily do it Were it but an Ox or an Asse or some beast of less value that lay weltred in a ditch common humanity will require we should lend our hand and put to our best strength to draw him out Xenocrates made scruple of hurting the Sparrow that flew into his lap when a Hawk pursued it And ought not we then much more to set our selves with that power we have by all lawful means to deliver our brother from the snare and from the pit of destruction 16. Ey you will say If it were to save a mans life much might be we would then strain our selves a little to speak or to do for him But that is a case seldom happeneth in a setled government such as blessed be God for it we live under The common oppressions of those times are of a lower nature and we are not bound by the Text to set in but in the case of life In petty grievances may we not leave men to the course of the Law and to shift as well as they can for themselves we would be loath to get the displeasure of some great ones we live neer and hold fair correspondency with when we need not and for trifles For answer First although the Text speak expresly only of Death yet by a Synecdoche membri usual in the Scriptures all other violences and injuries are intended As in the Law under the name of murder all malice and revenge and under the name of adultery fornication and all other uncleannesses are forbidden Secondly though oppressions should not be directly intended in the Text yet might they be inferred from it by the rule of proportion and for the reason of equity For where there is the same reason of equity as in the present case although with some difference of proportion or degree there is also the same obligation of duty the said difference of proportion or degree still observed But indeed Thirdly I take it that all oppressions are not only intended but also expressed under the names of death and slaughter Because to take away a mans substance whereby he should maintain his life is interpretative and to common intendment all one as to take away the very life it self Therfore as Abels blood crieth so the labourers wages crieth And the Scriptures so speak of oppressours as of those that grinde the faces of the poor that eat them up by morsels or that to save the labour of chewing swallow them up whole as the greater fishes do the small ones by which means they make the poor of the land to fail as the Prophet speaketh That which maintaineth life is not only according to the phrase of the world in most languages but even in holy Scriptures themselves sometimes so mentioned as if it were the very life it self the substance essence or being of a man And he that should violently take away that from another if the wise son of Sirac were of the inquest would certainly be found guilty of no less then murder Hear his verdict in the case and the reason of it The bread of the needy is their life he that defraudeth him thereof is a