the duty that I would perswade you to now behold your King and look that you bow to him Let your souls and all that is within you bow to him Let your understandings bow to him by a right apprehension of him by a right conceiving of him as worthy to be loved and feared Let your wills bow by an utter rejection of your sins and a most ardent desire to receive Christ. Let all your affections come in and bow and not dare to stir more than his commands give you leave In a word let all that is within you bow before him and give place to Jesus Christ. Now down with the world out with your lusts and make ready for Christ. Let all your worldly business bow before him and give place to Jesus Christ away with this foolish deceitful world let all be at the seet of Christ and let all your souls be in subjection to him This will be an acceptable meeting with him if you so meet him A SACRAMENTAL Speech grounded on Isaiah 9. 6. And his name shall be called wonderful Quest. WHy is it that Christ hath given to him this name of wonderful Answ. There are so many wonders that meet together in Christ that t is no wonder at all that he should have this name wonderful Christ was every way wonderful He was wonderful in his Person wonderful in his Passion Wonderful in his Conception being conceived by the power of the holy Ghost wonderful in his Birth being born of a pure virgin wonderful in his Life wonderful in his death and the effects of it wonderful in his Resurrection that a dead person should be raised and that by his own power wonderful in his Ascension In a word he was every way wonderful wonderful in his Humiliation and Exaltation Ah Christians if you would see a wonder look upon Christ and here see a wonder here is a wonder above all that the world can shew There are two sorts of wonders that God hath to shew the wonder of his power and the wonder of his grace First The wonder of his Power What a wonder is it to see such a fabrick as heaven and earth all come out of nothing by the power of God Christians 't is a great evil in us that we do no more wonder at this great power What a wonder is the Sun in its bigness and brightness flying many Millions of miles in a minute of an hour Secondly But all these wonders are nothing to what his wonder of grace is In Christ you may see all these wonders swallowed up Let me shew you a little of this wonder In Christ are to be seen these following wonders 1. God manifest in the slesh 2 God suffering in the slesh 3. Justice and mercy sweetly râ—…conciled 4. The greatest good coming out of the womb of the greatest evil 5. Perfect justice raging against perfect innocence 6 Infinite wisdome at cost upon meâ—…r worthlessness 7. The Son of the blessing made to be a curse 8. The Father of mercy forgetting his bowels to his own Son â—…irst God manifest in the flesh John 1. 14. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory c. O brethren this is a wonder indeed The Apostle tells you that without controversie this is a great Mystery that God should be manifest in the flesh Here we may cry out deservedly with wonder and astonishment God is come down to us in the likeness of man God manifest in the flesh why what is flesh all flesh is grass that is fading withering dying What! the word made flesh shall the immortal put on mortality and incorruption put on corruption O what a wonder is this O behold and wonder see if Christ do not deserve the name of wonderful Holy Abraham was ashamed of his meaness in this respect when he came before God because he was but dust and ashes Behold I have taken upon me to speak to the great God who am but dust and ashes O then how is it to see God clothed with the flesh of man This was the wonder of angels O how did they wonder to see their maker clothed with flesh O come to the cross of Christ to the cratch of Christ and there bow and worship Let not the Humble abasure of Christ hinder you from adoring him in his greatness The wisemen found Christ in poverty meanness yet they knew what glory was vailed under this meannesse and fell down and offered gold frankincense myrrhe c. go ye and doe likewise Secondly God suffering in the flesh well may he have his name wonderful upon this account 't is said that the Philosopher observing the unnatural cclipse of the Sun at the suffering of Christ cryed out either the God of nature is suffering or the world is at an end When Christ was suffering it was God that suffered though he did not suffer in the Godhead but in the Manhood Beloved if you should have seen the judgement that befel Korah Dathan and Abiram would you not have been astonished at such a sight as this was much more if hell should have opened and you have seen the torments of the damned would you not have been astonished and wonder at this but in this that God should suffer is more then if all the men in the world should have suffered to all eternity O how did the angels stand by the Crosse wondering to see him whom they adored and worshipped to be mocked and Crucified Thirdly Justice and mercy sweetly reconciled The Justice and mercy of God seemed to be as it were at a controversie about fallen man Darius you know had made a decree that he that did offer any petition to any God or man except to himself within such a time should be cast into the den of Lions Daniel comes within the danger of this decree and what must be done now either Daniel must be spared and then what would become of the Laws of the Medes and Persians or else Daniel must be devoured and then the King would have been cruel to himself Yet providence did so order it that the Law was executed and Daniel spared So here man had sinned and God said that he should dye and now either man must dye or God must be false of his word Now what shall be done The wisdome of God steps in and finds out a person that should dye and so Gods truth be saved and his mercy magnified But where shall this person be found the Angels could not do it nor man could not do it But God would take the humane nature upon him and that should suffer that God and man might be reconciled Mercy and truth are met together righteousness and peace have kissed each other Mercy and truth are met together how can this be it seems they were at a great distance could not be brought together Truth said that man should dye mercy said that man should be saved Truth said if he dye
not I am a liar and where then is the honor of my truth but mercy pleaded if he dye where is the honor of my Grace and mercy Why now wisdome puts in a surety and that â—…oes for the principal Righteousness and peace have kissed each other How can this be Gods justice and righteousness did require that man should give satisfaction but this is all reconciled in Christ he reconciled God and man together Fourthly The greatest good coming out of the womb of the greatest evil Sin is the mother of all evil You will say can any good come out of such a womb as this It is true it cannot naturally come but God did so order it that it should be the occasion of it Were it not a wonder to see grapes come of thorns and Olives of thistles such a wonder you may see in Christ. You may see out of the sin of man comes great glory to God and good to man First Great glory to God for had not man sinned neither Gods justice nor mercy had been so magnified His justice had not been seen at all in a manner in punishing the offenders but 't is eminently seen in punishing of Christ who dyed for sinners This is a louder demon stration of the Justice of God than if God had turned all heaven and earth into confusion upon the sin of man Again hereby is way made for magnifying Gods mercy The sin of man as God hath ordered it hath given way to God in the demonstration of his mercy in forgiving and his justice in punishing It could not have bin thought that God had been of so gracious a nature able to put up such great affronts as man had given him had not sin given him occasion to magniâ—… his mercy Secondly Again as the sin of man hath given occasion to the advancing of Gods glory so for the promoting of mans good By this man is raised to a higher state of happiness and felicity than ever he should have been Now there is a nearer conjunction between God and man than ever was before the fall or ever should have been had it not been for the sin and fall of man Before it was said that man was made a little lower than the angels but now it may be truely said that he is so much higher than the Angels more nearly joyned to God Had man continued in innocence he had had onely a lengthening out of his temporal life in paradise but now by his sin Christ hath opened the door of heaven to him O then wonder at the power of Christ Fifthly Perfect justice raging against perfect innocence You know that God is perfect in his Righteousness and justice A God of truth and without iniquity just and right is he And yet notwithstanding his perfect Justice was set against his own son in whom there was nothing but perfect innocence He was the Lamb of God a lamb without spot and blemish full of grace and truth No guile was sound in his mouth and yet you know how the wrath of God brake out upon him It brake out upon him to the very uttermost that if he would but put himself into the room of man he must dye for it tho Justice it self said I find no fault in him yet he must dy all could not save him but if he will stand between God offending man and take our sins upon himself though he had none of his own yet justice takes hold of him Let me say as the Apostle behold the goodness severity of God Goodness to thee but severity unto Christ. O what had come upon you if you had been to bear the blow you see how Justice runs upon the Son of God and fals upon him and tears him to the ground and le ts out his blood and would not spare him though he were the only belovedSon of God O consider how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God! You read how when Daniels enemies were cast into the Lions den that they brake all their bones before they came to the bottome of the den O how wouldst thou have been torn had the Justice of God taken hold of thee Sixthly Insinite wisdome at cost upon meer worthlessenesse God expects the blood of his own Son which was of insinite value to redeem worthless man Would you not wonder to see a wise man to be changing Pearls for pebbles yet here it is a greater wonder the wise God redeeming by the death of his own Son sinful man out of the hands of his own justice Why what is man are not all the nations of the world as nothing before him and yet upon this nothing this vanity is Gods insinite wisdome at this cost that he might save us from eternal death Seventhly The Son of the Blessing made to be a curse Gal. 3. 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us Observe it 't is not said he was ACCURSED for us but a CURSE for us Christ hath delivered us from the curse but how by taking the curse upon himself You know the curses of the Law that were denounced against sinners all these curses met together upon one Jesus Christ. How is the book of Gods word full from one end to the other with Curses against sinners what a load then was there upon the back of Christ when all these curses met together upon him what a wonder is it that God should be cursing of his own Son to hear God say all my curses shall meet upon thee cursed shalt thou be in thy body and cursed shalt thou be in thy soul. To hear the great God speaking thus to his own Son go thou Cursed I will engage my Justice and wrath against thee to torment thee and put thee to death O what a sight was this yet thus it was with Jesus Christ. He had as many torments as members and all the torments that he endured had the curse of God in them Eighthly The Father of mercy forgetting his Bowels to his own Son VVe read of a very strange thing that was done by the King of Moab 2 Kings 3. 27. When he saw that the Battel was too sore for him c. he took his own Son that should have reigned in his stead and osfered him for a burnt offering what a strange sight was this yet there is a greater wonder than this to be seen in Christ to see God sacrificing his own Son and offering him up for a burnt-offering to appease his wrath against sinful man O shall not your hearts stand a wondering at this to see he that was a God of mercy to have no mercy for his own son he that had bowels of pity for you to have no pity for his Son O behold and wonder By this time I hope you are convinced that Christ is wonderful A SACRAMENTAL Speech grounded on Eph. 3. 19. And to know the love of Christ which
and yet he loved us and washed us when he was fain to stop his breath as it were and hold his nostrils yet he would come and wash us yea he would make a bath of his own blood Christ commended Mary that she washed his feet with her tears but how is the love of Christ commended in that he hath washed us in his blood Christ hath our names down upon his book Rev. 21. 27. There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that desileth c. But they that are written in the book of life Mark Christ keeps his book for you lest you should be forgotten or there should be any mistake It is a metaphor taken from men that keep their books because they will not let any thing be mistaken or forgotten Yea but books may be mislaid therefore Christ hath your names written on his breast The High preist was to have the names of the twelve Tribes upon his breast So doth Christ he hath you for remembrance sake engraven upon his hands Isaiah 4. 9. 15. Can a woman sorget her sucking child c. She may forget but I have engraven thee upon my hands yea he hath you upon his heart He challengeth all the world for his love to you He tels you that a woman may forget her child but he will not forget you A woman cannot chuse but have a very tender respect for her child for this child saith she have I born many a bitter throw and pain now for you did Christ travail Isaiah 53. 11. And so the Apostle Peter speaking of the Resurrection of Christ Acts 2. he tels us that he being freed from the pains of death it being impossible he should be holden of them The word in the Greek signifies birth-pains Believers they did as it were come forth of the womb of his love There is the very picture of a believer upon the heart of Christ. So that he cannot look upon his hands or his heart but he must be put in mind of us so dear was was his love to us What characters of love be ther that cannot be found in Christ Love covereth a multitude of faults And O how may this be seen in Christ we have may sins and yet Christ passeth by them all Thou art all fair there is no spot in thee Cant. 4. 7. Again Love is strong as death And so it was in Christ his love was stronger than death he under went death it self for us He was not afraid to passe under the pangs of death that he might redeem us Again love fils the heart with love to the person beloved what a dear respect hath Christ for his spouse every thing of theirs is sweet to him Come my Love that art in the clefts of the Rock in the secrets places of the stairs let me see thy Countenance let me hear thy voyce for sweet is thy voyce and thy countenance is comely Cant. 2. 14. The Church says she is black but Christ says she is comely But more particularly I shall shew you some evidences of the greatness of Christ's love His letters are letters of Love His lips they are lips of Love His Tokens are the tokens of Love His Testâ—…ment is the evidence of Love His Blood is a stream of Love 1. His letters are the letters of Love the Gospel is the book sent down from heaven wherein every chapter is a letter of love Thou art ready to faint sometimes Christian and unbelief is ready to prevail here thou mayst read the promises under Christs own hand sent down srom heaven to thee Here thou mayst read how love did care sor thee when thou wast in thy blood he said Live Here thou mayst read what expressions of love there was between Christ and thee when he was wooing of thee here are the letters of his love Here thou mayst read those loving melting passages of his whereby he wooâ—…d thee and prevailed with thee Here he shews though he be absent for a while yet he will come again Here he hath set the time and the day when thou shalt be marryed to him even when the body of Christ is compleat O how canst thou hear these letters of love and not be in love with Christ again Secondly His lips are lips of love the kisses of his mouth are sweeter than wine the words of his mouth are better than life His lips drop as the Honey-comb Never man spake like this man all that heard him bare him witnesse and wondred at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth Well did Mary chuse to sit at the seet of Christ rather than at the feast she found more sweet in the Honey-comb of Christs lips than at the feast Let us but look over the last sermon of Christ and the last prayer of Christ and how may this set us a loving of Christ. Look over his last sermon John 14. 15 and 16. chapters how lovingly doth he dispute down the unbelieving fears of our hearts Let not your heart be troubled And he propounds loving arguments though he be gone he will send us the comforter and he will not be long from us neither and then we shall be in no worse a case or place than he himself And in the mean time his going from us is out of love to us not because he wanted love for us but because he went to prepare a place for us Look into his last prayer and how lovingly doth he carry us in his arms to his Father when he was going out of the world begging his Fathat he would sanctiâ—…ie us and keep us from the evil of the world and that he would at length bring us to enjoy his glory Thirdly His tokens are tokens of love As a woman will be often looking over her tokens because in these she sees the heart of her beloved so if you would be in love with Christ be often looking over the love-tokens of Christ. Thou canst not turn thy eye but thou must see his tokens But there are three or four tokens especially that you should be looking into First He hath sent thee a pardon for thy sins O what a blessed token is this Psa. 32. 1 2. Blessed is the man whose sin is for given c. He is blessed and blessed again over and over blessed he is a thrice happy man that hath got his pardon why this is the token that Christ hath sent thee that art a believer O look after thy pardon and thou shalt find that thy pardon is written in the blood of Christ for it was his blood that made satisfaction He loved thee and therefore washed thee from thy sins in his blood O with what joy and sweetness shouldest thou look over thy pardon Christian it is that which must carry thee through all thy dissiculties Doth the Devil assault thee do but shew thy pardon and this will worst him Doth the Lord frown upon thee shew him thy pardon this will silence him Doth thy
such a change as from being lost to be found A sinner in his Natural state is a lost man in a lost condition but when he is recovered by conversion he is found again The Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost And so in this Luke 15. What was this lost sheep and lost groat and lost Son What was the meaning of all this but the recovering of lost Souls So that its a great change a coming from death to life from being lost to be found If our gospel be hid 't is hid to those that are lost that is for the present they are lost but when they are converted then of lost they are found Use. Is it so blessed and glorious a change that God doth work in the condition of a believer when he bringeth him to himself no less than from being dead to be alive from being lost to be found Then you that are believers rejoyce in and be thankfull for that blessed and happy condition that God hath translated you into Ah brethren how may you look one upon another and consider what God hath done for you 1. How that you were dead and are alive again You were diseased yea dead creatures diseased full of all that may render you miserable all diseases are met together in a poor sinner Now that God hath recovered thy diseased soul yea thy dead soul and brought thee to life again Oh what matter of joy is this How should you wonder at so great a change as this We read that at the Miracles that our Saviour did upon the diseased there was great astonishment among the people they were amazed at this but here are more miraculous cures than those the cure of dead souls is more than the cure of dead bodies O Brethren if all the diseased that Christ had cured should have confer'd together what strange stories would they have told One would have said I was born deaf and he said Ephatha and my ears were opened Another I was born blind and he anointed mine eyes I washed and received my sight Another I was thirty eight years under a disease and by a word of his mouth I was healed Another I was eighteen years in a sad condition and by a touch of his garment I was cured And so of the rest Ah brethren you were not onely diseased but dead and Christ hath recovered you O! what matter of thankfulness is here You that are believers should not look one upon another without wondering What should move you to wonder if not this It will be a strange change when we shall see all the sons of Adam come forth at last out of their graves when we shall see those that were buried in the great deep brought forth by the power of Christ and made all appear together this will be a strange change But the change of dead bodies is not so great as the change of dead souls O how should you praise God that hath raised you from so great a death as this How is it that we are taken up no more with wonderment for this that he hath done for our souls God doth rejoyce over it it is heavens joy when a lost sinner is found And doth God and Angels take notice of it and rejoyce and do you not take notice of it O what ingratitude is this This should excite sinners to â—…eed their return to God for this will rejoyce heaven and earth Shall I leave my wine saith the Vine whereby I make glad the heart of God and man I may say truly the recovery of a sinner makes glad the heart of God and man not onely will Christians and Ministers rejoyce over thee when thou turnest to God but God himself will rejoyce over thee when thou returnest he will call for the fatted Calf c. O the Mirror of unthankfulness that is upon our hearts that we should be no more moved with any work that God hath done upon our souls You that are converted and wrought upon by Sanctification one would think that you should be able to enter upon no other talk than this to tell what God hath done for your Souls My brethren if while we are here together we should see our dead friends that have been dead ten or twenty or thirty years agoe to eat and drink and walk and talk and converse with us how should we be astonished at it And how would they wonder one at another One that dyed at such a time and another that dyed at such a time and here they live again and talk again But now here is a greater wonder than this here are dead souls and they are brought together and live again and talk again O! me thinks you should wonder to see one another restored from so great a death Obj. But you will say how shall I know that I am recovered from death to life Ans. I shall give together the Characters and the priviledges of you that are recovered from death to life that so your evidence and comfort may be promoted together And there are these four that belong to you First He hath raised you from a state of corruption and rottenness to a state of health and holiness You know a state of death is a state of corruption the grave is a place of rottenness and putrifaction You that lye in your old lusts still certainly you have no portion or part in this matter But you that are changed are brought from this state a state of sin is a state of corruption The Scripture every where speaks of sin by the Metaphor that carries in it the highest pitch of filthiness Psal. 14. 3. They are altogether become silthy or stinking And so in Job 15. 16. How much more abominable and silthy is man which drinketh in iniquity like water Man in his natural state is a most silthy creature no comparison is 〈◊〉 to set forth the odiousness of his condition before he is sanctified by grace and the reason is because he drinketh in iniquity like water As the fish doth swim in and take in water naturally so sin is his very element wherein he doth naturally live as it were Thus the Apostle Rom. 3. 13. Their throat is an open Sepulchre And so our Saviour compares the Pharisees to to whited Sepulchres But now you that are believers God hath raised you from a state of Rottenness to a state of health and holiness Grace is the health of the soul Holiness is the soundness of the soul. An upright heart is a sound heart O beloved what a priviledge is this to be translated from a state of corruption to a state of holiness O what cause have you of thankfulness that can find the stamp of God again upon your souls you are highly favoured indeed whom God hath priviledged with this There is all that is desirable in grace and holiness Riches Wealth beauty all How often do we read of the beauty of Holiness And so of its