and endeavour for this he prayes sighes groans and in this heavenly industry continueth runnes and is not weary that if by any meanes he might attaine the resurrection from the dead and this in Gods acceptation is a heart as Gods own and holy as he is holy and turned and separated from sinne as he If this be properly Christs work to turne you from your sinne Vse know upon whose shoulders God hath placed your hardest work ye that are the people of God and expect that he will goe thorough with it The hardest worke of a Christian is to turn from his sinne and beares more upon him then any thing 't is true that many things goe ill but this goeth most to my heart that sinne cleaves so fast unto me saith a good soule Why Christ will doe that wherein thy difficulty lies he will subdue thine iniquities and east thy sinne into the depth of the Sea Mica 7.19 he will break every bond and remove every weight which presseth down greater is he that is in you then the greatest corruption that is in you the grace of Christ is sufficient to withstand what intices and to destroy what intices for this cause is Christ manifested to withstand yea to destroy the works of the Divell Christ doth turn us from corruption to destroy it The covenant is that Christ shall set in our heart as a resiner and purifier of Silver and shall purifie thee as they doe those mettles that thou mayst offer an offering in righteousnesse a pleasant offering and this being the covenant every thing shall conduce to this fruit the turning thy heart from thy sinne i. the purging and refining of it instructions corrections I will turn mine hand upon thee and purely purge away thy drosse saith the Lord therefore surely this hard worke will be down Goliah will be slaine and a little thing shall doe it If Christ be long ere he doe a necessary work it is probable that he will doe it very remarkably with some pibble of the brook with some Jaw-bone thrown by will he smite to death at once heaps upon heaps all that hath smote to death the peace and comfort of thy soule so long not by might or by strength doth Christ doe this that thine eye may be much sixed upon but by a still blow within by his Spirit shall be the death of that which hath been the death of thy life hitherto If Christ worke all our workes in us surely this work which is all the turning of the heart from sinne he will not leave undone he will purely purge thy soule renew a right spirit within thee and thy very fall shall conduce unto such a resurrection If this be the work of Christ to turn sinner from their sinnes then when Christ is about this work doe not hinder him he stands at the doore and knocks yea more calls To you O men I call whoso is simple let him turn in hither yea points this is the way walk in it nay and blocks up all other waies sometimes crosses and punishes the man in other courses hedges him up that he cannot finde his way convinces salts the soule with fire makes the mans own heart condemne him all this speakes Christ about his worke to turn thee from thy sinne and indeed if thou sinde these things Christ is at his worke hard O take heed of opposing and contradicting his glorious worke T is ordinary with men when conscience begins to awake and to smite when the Spirit begins to stirre to quench and stisle those things with more excesse of sinning to stop their eares when the call of Christ begins to sound loud in their conscience and so pâ—â—cke and pierce and bring sinne to remembrance why thou that thus doest art in league with sinne and death thou wilt not be turned from thy sinne therefore thou shalt die â—…rein and thou shalt know in death that 〈◊〉 was nigh thee and this will aggravate thy doom that the kingdom of God came so nigh thee I was travelling with thee Christ will say and thou couldst not beare the pangs of the birth I was lancing thy wound and thou couldst not endure it I would have healed thee and then thine iniquity broke out then thou ragedst when I set thy sinnes in order before thee and hadst rather be kild thy self then that I should kill thy sin If this be the work of Christ to turn sinners from their sinnes let not Christ want worke present your conditions unto him and desire him to undertake them Labour not for the meat which perisheth but for that which endures to eve lasting life which the sonne of man shall give unto you for him hath the Father sealed Joh. 6.22 That this is Christs work should be made a ground of faith to us in going to him for he is under the Law of his place faithfull in all things to him that appointed him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Non non ejiciam saith the original and sealed him therefore he saith He that comes to him be will in no wise cast out Joh. 6.37 And hence that of the Apostle This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ came to save sinners the chiefe of sinners Let this point be of all acceptation unto you you that have slaine Christ and your own soules yet think what Christ is made unto you he is made to make you to new make you who have marred your selves and waites thus to be gracious his meat and drinke is to be pulling such brands out of the fire and to quench them before they be quite burnt Christ is able to subdue all things to himself as willing You have done thus thus saith God yet be not desperate I Sam. 12 20. so say I to you great sinners Finally when I say this is the proper worke of Christ to turn people from their sinnes it is not to be understood as if we should not be instrumentall in his hand the effecting of this worke is indeed upon one but the means in and by which he doth this beares upon many shoulders Magistrates Ministers yea every one that is turned is by the law of that very condition as converted to labour to convert others and as advantages are more so to be more instrumentall this way generall calling and particular calling both sometimes engage this way Offices in government have this scope to beare up God and to beat down that and be a terror to that which would deface him God hath a double power by which he doth his great workes in this world one secret and invisible in which he alone is of which see Gen. 1.4 And God saw the Light that it was good and God divided between the light and between the darknesse Since this act of separation light will not have communion with darknesse being parted they constantly keepe apart oppose and continually conflict and expell each other and this is by a secret power
to a more spirituall state going from a naturall to a spirituall body by his resurrection is a mystery it speaks the Law dead which obliged the naturall body of Christ and so his naturall soule as one truely man as we are to doe all the will of God this obligation in his naturall body he answered and then laid it down and by his resurrection takes up another state a Spirituall body laid down his naturall body marries himselfe againe unto another to wit a Spirituall body that body upon which the Law tooke hold being gone the Law is gone to i. one being changed the other is changed Rom. 7.4 Ye are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ that ye should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God But now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held we might serve him in newnesse of spirit The meaning of which words is that we are apt to account that the Law in the strictnesse of it took hold of Christ whilst here in the body and was exactly answered and together with that body dissolved and not any more to take hold of any body personated in that but we as he are married to another a more Spirituall Evangelicall and raised condition of duty consolation Christ being risen and in his naturall body answered and abrogated the rigor of the Law in our person is now our standing obedience with the Lord at his right hand and so we are to look unto him for perfection in order to all that which the Law commands and say to all the demands of the Law that we are dead to them through the body of Christ and married to another To this a greeth Heb. 10.10 By the which will we are sanctisied through the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ once for all Out of love to Christ who did thus out of love to us sow his naturall body and raised it a spirituall in all simplicity as farre forth as we can we should tread in his very steps of that Law which he exactly answered and if possible attaine his resurrection walke in Gods will as Christ did on earth and as Christ doth now in Heaven this is called in Scripture dying unto sinne and living unto righteousnesse and being perfect as our heavenly father The Law is Gospell thus Gospellized and the Gospell is Law thus legallized Finally Christ being risen he is improving his raised state not onely in order to your good in this world but to your glory in the world to come Christ being risen he is gone to prepare a place for you and to make it sit for your raised condition when you shall come unto it And if I goe and prepare a place for you I will come againe and receive you to my selfe that where I am ye may be because I live ye shall live also That Christ is risen and lives again you ought from this to deduct to your selves the highest consolation that you shall rise and live as now he doth Iob doth in this sort and at this height comfort himselfe I know that my Redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and observe what he deducteth from hence and though after my skinne Worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see from my selfe If a man dies shall he live again yes how doth this appeare why Christ that was dead is risen and lives in glory and all his glorious workes live with him and where he lives you and your workes shall live also there shall be a resurrection ascention and glorification of all which should make one willing and waiting to die and change lives this for that thus did Iob upon this ground Thou art a poore creature broken torne and spoiled in thy body in thy soule in thy name in thy state that thou scarce livest but visibly diest daily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 5.1 why know that if thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dissolved were but turned to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quite dissolved that which is so mouldring if it were all quite down there would be a resurrection which would repaire all and make thy life and livelihood a life and livelihood indeed as Christs is now in glory How active Christ was after his resurrection to post away as it were about this great worke to take possession of Heaven for us and to prepare a life and livelihood like his own is very observable read Iohn 20.11 12 13 14 15. the story is concerning Mary who after Christs death sought him mourning with this designe to take him away as appeareth by her words at the fifteenth verse Sir if thou have borne him from hence tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away Upon this Christ discovers himselfe to her in the next verse and withall saith unto her Touch me not for I am not yet ascended to my father but goe to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my father and your father c. 'T is probable for as much as Christ said to Mary as soon as he had made known himselfe to her touch me not that Mary was on upon her designe to take him away to draw him away with her to some better place then where she found him and to pursue her designe upon the living which she meant upon the dead which tender love how vigorously did Christ withstand that he might without all delay improve his resurrection to our highest good to take possession of God and all that glory in which now he lives Touch me not that thou stay me not in the least from seising upon thine and thy brethrens welfare tell them that I am as diligent after death as I was before death to doe and accomplish my fathers will and my brethrens full blessednesse and by how much the more Spirituall and active body I have now then before by so much the more spirituous in my pace about my peoples good and uncapable of all that may in the least hinder I conclude all with the saying of the Apostle to Timothy 2 Tim. 2. v. 7 8. Consider what I say and the Lord give thee understanding in all things remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my Gospell ACT. 3.26 Vnto you first God having raised up his Sonne Jesus sent him to blesse you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities SEnt him to blesse you c. Christ did not take this honour to himselfe to be the messenger of the Covenant but was called precisely called called by name as it is said of Cyrus Call his name Emanuel his name shall be called the Lord our righteousnesse call his name Iesus Called by name outwardly and by nature inwardly sealed Labour not for the meat which
to Christ like Doves to their windowes some and that a considerable number of these people even then when Jesus Christ shall appeare to make this glorious resurrection wil notwithstanding all the glory that Christ shall come with to make his own welcome stand stil in their unbeliefe and rejection of him which then wil bring a dreadfull curse and separation upon them from that glorious Church for no unclean thing shall abide in this cleare and Cristal Church and this curse shall be as Cains curse and separation from that communion and Church wherein he was and whereof such a visible member and by this as Cain shall these wretches then be marked and distinguished manifestly amongst men to their everlasting shame and contempt To strengthen this take another Scripture Revel 21.3 4. c. compared with the eighth chapter speakes of the glorious state of the Iewes which God wil hasten in his time And I Iohn saw the holy City new Ierusalem comming down from God out of Heaven prepared as a Bride adorned for her husband And I heard a great noise out of Heaven saying behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and be will dwell therein and they shall be his people and God himselfe shall be with them and be their God and he that sate upon the Throne said Behold I make all things new c. he that overcommeth shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my sonne but the fearfull and unbelieving and the abominable and murtherers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death Mr. Brightmans judgement upon this place is according to what I have said that even then when the glorious state of the Iewes shall be wil some of them be found in these lusts here mentioned and so be cursed and separated as I have said from fellowship with them Wherefore that expression all Israel shall he saved and so this expression in my Text to turne every one of you notes onely the great abundance which shal then be brought in a great multitude as the word is used and concerning this very matter Revel 19.6 And I heard as it wer the voyce of a great multitude and aâ— the voycâ— of many waters and as the voyce of mighty thunderings saying Hallelujah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lord God omnipoten◠〈◊〉 â—ethâ—leâ— uâ— be glad and rejoyce and give honour to him for the marriage of the Lambe is come and his wife hath made her selfe ready c. If this Text as applied to the time of the Jewes second call til the time of their fullest income and turning to God cannot mean all surely it cannot mean every one as applied to their first call to which I thinke my Text doth properly belong Christ was not sent to turn every one of this people for he saith expressely to them in his ministery that he came not to call the righteous to be a Physitian to those were well but came to call the poor blinde halt maymed some of the meanest outwardly and inwardly poore lost self-condemned creatures which is the meaning of that place Isa 59.20 And the Redeemer shall come to Sion to them which turn from transgression in Jacob saith the Lord. To them which turne from transgression leshabei ad redeuntes saith the originall the redeemer shall come to turne them which are turning There is a generation of sinners which confesse they are what they are dogges divels viler then any in bonds and chaines as the Prophet speakes of some that should come after Christ in chaines Isa 45.14 I am a Publican a harlot a covetous wretch one that hath many devils in one a lost creature if Christ doe not looke upon me why these are redeuntes sinners turning and these is Christ come to turn and save these are sinners others are righteous these are sick and diseased and so would prize a Physitian Lord if thou canst doe any thing help me for I can doe nothing here doth Christ lend a hand and a heart and this is the visible instituted order of his way for the salvation of man Every one is not here taken distributively singula generuns but collectively genera singulorum some of every kinde and of every ranke c. Christ healed every disease saith the Scripture i. diseases of every sort All men are lyars saith the Prophet and every man is an hypocrite saith another Prophet i. all ranks of men high and low not simply and individually for then he that said so had been a liar and an hypocrite to And Aristotle himselfe in his Polit. lib. 2. cap. 2. shews the use of universall termes that they are not sometimes in a strict sence universally to be taken as you may see in the beginning of that Chapter where speaking of the Greeke word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he saith that sometimes it doth mean every one individually and sometimes not The like may be said of this universall terme in the Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so it must be carried here or otherwise this Scripture would contradict others The Scriptures which would be otherwise oppugned are these Matth. 1.21 shall save his people which surely notes some restriction Isa 52.15 So shall he sprinkle many Nations he doth not say all And Isa 53.11 By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many who these many be see Iohn 6.37 All that the father giveth me shall come to me and he that commeth to me I will in no wise cast out Christ is said to save such as come to him for salvation redeuntes as I said erewhile but all doe not come to Christ nor never wil but onely such as the father hath given to Christ As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternall life to as many as thou hast given him Iohn 17.20 Conversion is an actuall life and this Christ is said to give to those onely which the father hath given to him i. to the elect And whereas it is said That as in Adam we all die so in Christ we shall all be made alive and so consequently that Christ is sent to make all alive and to turne every one to God the Apostle answereth himselfe writing to the Galatians shewing that his meaning is not that the efficacy of each to wit the first and second Adam is in the same manner necessarily extensive but saith that the efficacy of the one indeed is necessarily extensive but the efficacy of the other extensive onely of free grace through faith to them to whom Christ shall give this But the Scripture hath concluded all under sinne that the promise by the faith of Jesus might be given to them which believe Gal. 3.22 All by Adam die not that all by Christ should as necessarily be made alive but that the free grace and promise of life may be given to those whom he
shall please to enable to believe so that the efficacy of the one is necessary and the efficacy of the other to wit the death of the second Adam voluntarily and wholy at Gods pleasure and so argueth nothing against the sense and meaning which I give of my Text every one onely to meane some By this other Texts which in the letter sound as this that I have mentioned and as the Text which I am upon doth are to be expounded God is in Christ reconciling the world to himselfe that is some of all sorts Jews and Gentiles who are given to Christ from eternity Christ is to manifest the purpose of God from eternity to these to die for them to call them to justifie them sanctifie them and glorifie them and to none else but put for their stumbling and their fall and of this no reason to be given but Gods wil having such an absolute power over the creature as the potter over the clay nor wil he beare the striving of man in dispute to any further medium then his wil. Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth c. Finally all may be resumed and rendered for the opening of this clause in other words to the same effect To turn every one of you i. who are by the purpose of God to be turned and so the expression not stricty noting the universality of persons to be turned but the strict propriety of Christ in this worke of turning soules to God Christ is to turne every one that is to be turned this Christ which you so despise and so little esteeme not a soule amongst you can be turned and saved from your sinne but by him Thus doe many of the learned read and render these words and thus doth Christ himselfe open that place Isa 54.13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord c. i. all which are taught are taught by him and can by none else come to learne unto life Thus doth Christ explaine this place of the Prophet as appeares by his words Iohn 6.44 45. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day as it is written in the Prophets and they shall be all taught of God i. all that are taught are taught of God and none else can learn this mystery of comming to Christ and believing on him but such as are taught of God So that this clause of my Text being thus opened the poynt you see to be stood upon naturally ariseth to be this Doct. That it is Christs proper work to turn sinners from their sinnes a businesse devolved by joynt consent upon him the Father and the holy Spirit working in and by him and no otherwaies to this great end the conversion and salvation of man The Scriptures which concurre to this truth are many Isa 61.1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meeke he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted to proclaime liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound c. This place confirmes the point and also what I have before said that Christ is not sent to turne all but a generation of sinners which are turning the meeke and broken in heart i. such as are self condemned and lie under the bleeding sence of their own wretched condition prickt at heart with the sting of sinne which may be and yet in no actuall state of grace to be Physician to these sick wounded bleeding and dying ones is Christs proper place and employment To this may be added Acts 5.31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour for to give repentance to Israel and forgivenesse of sinner The like Scripture is 1 Tim. 1.15 This is a faithfull saying and worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chiefe 'T is Christs proper worke you see and his alone to turn and save sinners from their sinnes The type of this read Rom. 9.10 When Rehecca also concerved by one even by our father Isaac But one in the bed to wit Jesus Christ by whom the holy seed is begotten Christ casts that immortall seed into her wombe by which the generation of the new creature is made and none but he he begets brings forth and breeds up hence called the authour and finisher of our faith and faith is called conversion because indeed it is the formality of it Jesus said unto them except you be converted and become as a little child yee shall not enter into the Kingdome of Heaven And then in the following words saith Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me Matth. 18.6 What he cals conversion before Here he cals faith because faith indeed is conversion the soule crediting Christ in what the word saith of him and so resigning it selfe wholly to him to be ruled by him and by his will and not any longer by his own lusts and sinnes and this is the turning of the soule from sinne which my Text here speaks of There are severall things in faith to understand to credit to submit and simply to submit to submit as a childe who doth not contend or dispute but saith in his heart my father bids be doe thus and this is enough and all these Christ workes in the soule and none else Christ enlightens the soule shines into the heart and makes it see what had never been told ef Isa 52.15 Christ meekens and humbles the soule pricks the heart le ts out all those corrupt things which swel and pusse up the spirit against God Christ takes off headinesse rashnesse and bows the heart to hearken consider and then workes to wil perswades Iaphet O that I had a dwelling in the tents of Shem that I could believe on Jesus Christ Who is he Lord that I might believe on him and then workes to doe to trust in him to deny all and follow him and now is the soule turned from its sinnes But this is but in part This state of soule is called a heart after Gods own one in this world as Christ which is not strictly to be taken as if any whilst in this world were so pure and unmixed in affection and action as Christ so separated from sinne in his nature and life in this world as he was but it meaneth what a converted man is in his intention in his endeavour and in Gods acceptation The heart truely turned to God aimes and intends a course and motion in this world exactly like Christ hath respect to all Christs commandements without distinction of Great and little as the Pharisees and hypocrites were wont to make loves all and would with all his heart all his waies were so direct as to keepe all Gods statutes to this height is his aime his desire