And because it is mainly from this Foot of account that the Apostle in the Text draws his Inference and calls Gospe-Salvation Great Salvation I shall a little further enlarge upon this particular 1. Jesus Christ hath a great Name given to him yea a Name above every Name that is he is so highly exalted as he is Mediator that he is clothed with Power Glory and Majesty above all Creatures in Heaven and Earth so that all in Heaven above and in Earth beneath must bow down before him and adore and worship him and be in subjection to him For unto us a Child is born a Son is given and the Government shall be upon his Shoulders And his Name shall be called Wonderful c. This his Name is according to his Person he is a wonderful or an admirable Person Wonderful in his Incarnation God man Wonderful in his Birth Wonderful in his Life Wonderful in his Death and in the Effects End and Design of his Death he is not only called Wonderful but also Counsellor Never such a Counsellor for Wisdom and Knowledg for he is the Wisdom of God it self and the only Wise God He is called the Mighty God the Everlasting Father or the Father of Eternity and the Prince of Peace Moreover he is called Immanuel God with us God in our Nature and also called the only begotten Son of God and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the only Potentate he is called the Desire of all Nations Elect Precious And he is made so much better than the Angels as he hath by Inheritance obtained a more excellent Name than they for unto which of the Angels said he at any time Thou art my Son this Day have I begotten thee He is called the one Mediator time would fail me to speak of all his Names And 2. As is his Name such is his Nature He is God's Fellow he is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father he thought it not robbery to be equal with God O what a kind of Salvation must this be that such a Person is sent to work it out One clothed with such a Name with such a Nature with such Glory He is called a Saviour a great One He shall that is God shall send them a Saviour a great One and he shall deliver them He as he is God-Man is ordained Heir of all Things and all Power in Heaven and Earth is given to him nay he is the Upholder the Sustainer or Preserver of the World he is not only the Brightness of the Father's Glory and express Image of his Person but he upholdeth all things by the Word of his Power He is one and the same God with the Father the express Character of the Father's Pérson so that they that see and know him see and know the Father also He supports sustains feeds preserves governs throws down and raises up kills and makes alive whom he will he has the Keys of Hell and Death He is the Wonder of Angels the Consternation and Dread of Devils and the Joy and Delight of the Saints there is not such another Person in Heaven nor Earth perfect God and perfect Man and yet but one Christ one Person certainly here 's some great and wonderful Work to be done when such a Person is substituted ordained and so qualified and sent into the World to work out the actual Accomplishment thereof Nay God himself who delighteth in him put the Prophet to propound this Question concerning him Who is this that cometh from Edom with died Garments from Bozrah this that is glorious in his Apparel travelling in the greatness of his Strength Christ himself as I conceive answers I that speak in Righteousness mighty to save O happy Mortals that God hath sent us such a Saviour he is mighty to save 3. Consider also that none but he could save us procure and work about this Salvation for us There was none in Heaven nor Earth able nor worthy to open the Book and loose the Seals thereof but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah he hath prevailed 4. Jesus Christ is such an Almighty Saviour that he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him He has the Perfection of Power with him he can save to the full let the State of the Soul that comes to God by him be whatsoever it will or can be 1. Though a Man is sunk down to the very Gates of Hell under the pressure and sense of God's Wrath. 2. Though he hath the Guilt of Millions of Sins like Mountains of Lead lying upon him yet Christ can save him 3. Though Satan says there is no Hope and the Heart of the Sinner joins in with him and says there is no Hope no Pardon no Help no Salvation hang thy self drown thy self saith Satan thou art damn'd there is no Mercy for thee yet Christ can then save that poor Soul and many such he hath saved when but a little before all hope of Relief seemed to be gone 4. Though the Devil should raise up all the Force and Powers of Hell and Darkness against a Person to destroy him yet Jesus Christ can save him if he will work upon the Soul by stretching forth his Almighty Power nothing can obstruct or hinder him 5. Christ can save from the Sin from the Guilt the Filth and Power of it and break into pieces all the Bonds Chains and Fetters of the Enemy nay let the Sins of a Person be never so many never so great yet he can save to the uttermost though they are such Sinners as Manasseh and Mary Magdalen were nay such that put to death by wicked Hands the Lord of Life and Glory 't is as easy with him to save great Sinners as the least or less guilty Ones he can save the stout-hearted such who are far from Righteousness 6. He can save from the Curse of the Law and from the Wrath of God he is every ways furnished fitted and enabled to save 7. He is a Mighty Saviour and able to save to the uttermost in that he can save by himself alone by his own Power it is not if we will begin the Work if we will do what we can he can and will save us no but he takes the whole Work of Salvation into his own Hand he is the Author and Finisher of it 't is he alone 7. Moreover Christ is as willing to save poor lost and undone Sinners as he is able he had his Name given to this end i. e. because of his Power willingness and readiness to save Sinners Brethren this doth not only bespeak this to be a great Salvation but also it discovers the greatness of God's Love even the greatest Pity Power and Wisdom that ever was manifested Thirdly The third Person that is concerned in this Salvation is the Holy Ghost The Father chuses the Son
go no further they will never come there and if they totally fall away their State will be worse in the end than it was at the beginning nay far worse than their Condition who never were enlightned at all but remain under the Power of natural Blindness c. 3. You that are Professors may also from what hath been briefly hinted perceive whether you have had a right taste of God and of his good Word or not Whether you have received Christ and do live upon the Bread of Life or not Or whether you have by Faith applied the Word and by Meditation digested it or not 4. Hath the Word changed your Hearts Have you got Power over your Corruptions and Temptations thereby Doth nothing satisfy your Souls short of God and Jesus Christ and it is as well a Likeness to him as an Interest in him Will not the Word and Ordinances quiet you unless you meet with Christ in them 5. This may be for a use of Terror to such who rest satisfied with the common Operations of the Word and Spirit of God they may go far yet fall away nay so fall as it may be impossible for them ever to be renewed by Repentance But 5 thly I shall now come to the fifth and last Thing or Attainment mentioned in our Text concerning these Professors who are in danger of Final Apostacy And of the Powers of the World to come They have not only tasted of the good Word of God but also of the Powers of the World to come Two things I shall propound to do here 1. Shew you what is meant by the World to come 2. Shew what a kind of taste these Persons may be said to have of it 1. Some by the World to come assert is only meant the Gospel-Church-State or Spiritual Kingdom of the Messiah which begun in the Apostles Days Nay I find Reverend Dr. Owen is much of this Perswasion as you may see in his Exposition of the first Chapter to the Hebrews By the World to come saith he the Apostle in this Epistle intends the Days of the Messiah that being the usual Name of it in the Church at that time as the New World which God had promised to create whereof these Powers by Signs Wonders and mighty Works were then wrought by the Holy Ghost according as it was foretold by the Prophets that they should be so Joel 2. Acts 2. These the Persons spoken of are supposed to have tasted either they had been wrought in and by themselves or by others in their sight whereby they had experience of the glorious and powerful working of the Holy Ghost in the Confirmation of the Gospel Yea saith he I do judg that they themselves in their own Persons were partakers of these Powers in the Gift of Tongues and other miraculous Operations which was the highest Aggravation possible of their Apostacy I will not deny this to be intended by the Powers of the World to come But this Exposition seems too much to interfere with the second and third Attainment mentioned of these Persons and if this be granted to be intended hereby yet it must be carried also further I mean to the after-State of Christ's Kingdom for the Kingdom that is now expected and the latter-day-Glory we all allow to be the Kingdom of the Messiah Nor can any doubt of a World yet to come or glorious visible Kingdom of Jesus Christ to be set up in the last Days the Holy Ghost positively affirming That the Kingdoms of this World shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ And that when the seventh Angel soundeth his Trumpet and not till then which brings in the third and last Wo upon the Antichristian State and Kingdom Yet I question not but that the beginning of the Kingdom of the Messiah was in the Apostles Days and did commence from the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ being ushered in and established with the miraculous Gifts and Operations of the Holy Spirit Which wonderful Appearance of God's Power doth no doubt appertain to the Kingdom of Christ as such And at the pouring forth of the latter Rain we may expect as great nay a greater miraculous working-Power than ever accompanied it to this Day because the Glory of the latter House shall exceed the Glory of the former And there seems to me to be the like Parity of Reason for those miraculous Operations in the last Days in order to the spreading the Gospel over all the World and the establishment of Christ's more visible Kingdom as there was at first the Appearance of Christ will be with Power and great Glory 2. Therefore let it be considered and not doubted of but that there is yet a World to come and another kind of World than this World is and a more glorious Kingdom of Christ than at present we behold That the World to come will consist of a new Heaven and a new Earth which we look for as the Apostle Peter observes is evident according to God's Promise this present World yea these Old Heavens and Old Earth shall pass away and be dissolved Nevertheless we according to his Promise look for a New Heaven and New Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness It was not then come but expected to be revealed in the last Days 3. It will be a World between this and the ultimate Glory in the Kingdom of the Father I mean when Christ shall give up his Kingdom to the Father that God may be all in all that is Christ will yield up his Rule and Government as Mediator for his Mediatorial Kingdom shall cease and the Kingdom and Glory of God i. e. Father Son and Holy Ghost shall only be magnified Christ shall then as Mediator no longer sit and rule upon his Throne his Work will be done and the Date of his Commission be expired 4. Let it also be considered that the World to come in the Glory of it shall not be revealed until this present World passes away is burnt up and dissolved and therefore cannot be expected until the Resurrection of the Just For Man lies down and rises not till the Heavens be no more This the Holy Ghost clearly shewed also to John And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed and there was no more Sea And that the World to come shall begin in its greatest Glory at the Resurrection doth appear by our Saviour's own words But they which shall be worthy to obtain that World to come and the Resurrection from the Dead neither marry nor are given in Marriage Neither can they die any more for they are equal unto the Angels and are the Children of the Resurrection It appears the World to come or Kingdom of the Messiah in its greatest Glory and the Resurrection commence together or at one and the same time And this is further confirmed because in one Place it is
Righteousness of Christ and also a Righteousness that may declare them to be righteous before Men namely a holy and blameless Life the one is the Righteousness of Justification the other is the Righteousness of Sanctification Others may have a taste of both these they may behold a Worth in and a Want of Christ's Righteousness but do not hunger after it and so accept it as a poor hunger-starved Person on Gospel-Terms and may attain to some degree of inward as well as outward Sanctification 2. These therefore taste and eat also and that too out of pure Necessity If I saith the Soul feed not upon Christ eat not his Flesh and drink not his Blood I shall perish Give me Christ or I shall die is the Voice of this sort Others take a taste as if they cared not whether they eat or eat not 3. A true Believer doth taste eat and also digest the Word 't is that which they live upon and hereby they come to have Union with Christ by Faith The Soul partakes of the Divine Nature But a common Tasting or a common Faith or a bare Credence of the Truth of the Gospel doth not do this which the Persons in our Text only had 4. The good Word of God is to all true Christians as their necessary Food nay esteemed more or above their necessary Food as Job experienced it therefore to these the Word and God in the Word Christ in the Word is exceeding sweet How sweet is Food to a hungry Person O says the Soul the Lord is good his Word is good his Promises and his Ordinances are exceeding good I can relish the Word of God I esteem it above Gold it is also sweeter than Honey or the Honey-comb I have an appetite to it O how love I thy Law it is my Meditation all the Day This discovers to us the goodness of our Condition when there is nothing that we value or esteem love and delight in above God's Word Thy Words were found and I did eat them and thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my Heart He did not taste only but did eat and greedily digest the Word also 4. The Word of God without the God of the Word will not satisfy these Mens Souls 't is not a bare Ordinance no no but they must have God in and with the Ordinance 't is not the Shell without the Kernel it is not the Cabinet without the Jewel it is not a Lamp without Oil that will satisfy the wise Virgins Prayer and Preaching will not do with these though they pray and hear every Day except they meet with God and Christ in those Duties the Word and Ordinances without Christ are but like dry Bread and lean Meat that have but little Juice or Nourishment in them they must be delighted with Fatness knowing it is such things God has prepared for them Eat ye that which is good and let your Soul delight it self in Fatness they eat it appears to full satisfaction Others labour for that which satisfies not but of all true Believers David saith They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fat things of thy House and thou shalt make them drink of the Rivers of thy Pleasures And in another place saith he My Soul shall be satisfied as with Marrow and Fatness and my Soul shall praise thee with joyful Lips 5. That which true Believers taste and eat is turned into Spiritual Nourishment in the Heart And in order to this 1. There is required a laying up the Word or hiding of it No Nourishment can be had by Food unless it be received into the Stomach where the Cause of Digestion and Communication are fix'd And if the Word be not received into the Heart by fixed Meditation and Delight it may affect and please a Person for a while but it will not nourish the Soul 2. Every Physician will tell you that Food must be mixed and incorporated with the digestive Humour Power and Faculty of the Stomach whereinsoever it consists or it will not nourish Give a Man never so much Food if there be any noxious Humour in the Stomach hindering it from mixing with the Power of Digestion saith a worthy Writer it will no ways profit the Person But the Word preached did not profit them not being mix'd with Faith in them that heard it Meat nourishes not without Concoction so unless the Soul receives and digests the Word through Faith so that the Word and the Heart are united together all is nothing but a bare taste will never do this And 3. Like as Food when it is well digested is turned into Flesh and Blood and Spirits so where a Person feeds on the Word by Faith or eats and digests it it is turned into a Principle of Life and spiritual Strength As some Men who have for want of Food been brought so low and faint that they were ready to die away but by feeding on good Food and digesting it soon perceive a renewing of their Strength Life and Vigour seems to return to them again so by feeding on the Word the Strength of the Soul abides it communicates abiding Strength Faith and Experience and 't is hereby the Soul grows Day by Day and his Love to God is increased and by the Power of it he walks with God in Holiness and Lowliness of Mind and brings forth all the Fruits of the Spirit like as the Ground bringeth forth by the Showers of Heaven Herbs meet for him by whom it is dressed 4. These are delighted and cheared by the Word as in a Banquet of Wine and get great Power over their Corruptions But such a tasting and eating as this and such blessed Effects of the Word on the Soul did the Persons never attain unto who are said in our Text to have tasted the good Word of God c. Evident it is that the Apostle clearly notes concerning the Persons in my Text that whatsoever taste they might have of the Doctrine of the Gospel called the Heavenly Gift or of the good Word of God yet they were fruitless Souls even like the Earth that the Rain falls upon and yet brings forth Briars and Thorns See ver 7 8. APPLICATION 1. Learn from hence the deplorable Condition of all such who satisfy themselves with the meer Notion of Truth and empty Speculations about it without getting so much as such a taste of the goodness of the Word which may be had by those who are not savingly renewed How many thousands are there at this Day that do not desire so much as a taste of heavenly Things their Hearts are so filled and glutted with the things of this World nay with their abominable and filthy Lusts 2. But for the Lord's Sake take heed you rest not satisfied with a bare taste of heavenly Things or with some seeming relish thereof Such indeed may not be far from the Kingdom of Heaven But alas alas if they