Redeemer when the good Angels are so ready to attend him at his beck and command and that in the meanest services and ministries Shall poor worms make bold with his Laws slight his doctrine despise his benefits Heb. 2.2 3. If the word spoken by angels was stedfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation 4. And lastly to make us more reverend in our approaches to him for he sits in the Assembly of the Gods the holy Angels are round about him Psal. 138.1 Before the Gods will I sing praise to thee That is in the presence of the holy Angels 1 Cor. 10.10 Eccl. 5.6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin neither say thou before the angel that it was an Error The Angels in heaven observe our behaviour in Gods worship what vowes we make to God what promises of obedience But above all there is our glorious Redeemer himself Heb. 12.28 29. with what reverence and godly fear should we approach his Holy Presence II. Use. Is to quicken us to Thankfulness for our Redemption that our Creator is our Redeemer None of the Angels did humble himself as Christ did do to do so great a piece of service and yet he is far above them There is a congruity in it that we should be restored by him by whom we were made but he made the Angels as well as men but he did not restore them No they were not so much as in a condition of forbearance and respite he assumed not their nature he created all things but he redeemed mankind His delights were with the sons of men he assumed our nature and for a while was made a little lower then the Angels Heb. 2.9 We cannot sufficiently bless God for the Honour done to our Nature in the person of Christ for it is God incarnate that is made head of Angels Principalities and Powers God in our nature whom all the Angels are called upon to adore and worship The devil sought to dishonour God as if he were envious of mans happiness Gen. 3.8 God doth know that in the day that ye â—at thereof ye shall be aâ— Gods And he fought to depress the nature of man which in innocency stood so near to God now that his humane nature should be set so far above the Evangelical in the person of Christ and be admitted to dwell with God in a personal Union this calleth for our highest love and thankfulness III. Use. Is an encouragement to come to Christ for sanctifying and renewing Grace I have three Arguments 1. The Person to whom we come To whom should we come but to our Creator God infinitely Good Wise and Powerful The creation sheweth him good and whatever is good in the Creatures is wholly derived from his goodness It is but like the odour of the sweet Ointments or the perfume that he leaveth behind him where he hath been Iam. 1.19 He is infinitely wise when he created and setled the World He did not jumble things in a Chaos and confusion but setled them in a most perfect order and proportion Which may be seen not only in the Fabrick of the World but in the disposition of the parts of Mans Body yea or in any Gnat or Fly Now cannot he put our disordered souls in frame again If the Fear of God be true Wisdom to whom should we seek for it but from the Wise God His Infinite Power is seen also in the Creation in raising all things out of nothing And if a Divine Power be necessary to our Conversion to whom should we go but to him who calleth the things that are not as though they were Rom. 4.17 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness 2 Pet. 1.7 2. From the work it self which is a new Creation which carrieth much resemblance with the old Eph. 2.10 For we are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus unto good works 2 Cor. 4.6 For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Iesus Christ. It is such an effect as comes from a Being of Infinite Power Wisdom and Goodness that man may be in a capacity to love please and serve God What was lost in Adam can onely be recovered by Christ. 3. From the relation of the Party that seeketh it Psal. 119.73 Thine hands have made me and fashioned me give me understanding that I may learn thy commandments We go to him as his own Creatures This plea hath great force because of Gods goodness to all his Creatures Not onely the Angels but every worm and fly had their being from Christ there is a great variety of living things in the World but they are all fed from the common fountain therefore we may comfortably come to him for life and quickning Ioh. 1.4 We need not be discouraged by our baseness and vileness for the basest worm had what it hath from him 2. That Christ as Creator beareth such Affection to man as the work of his hands Is it good unto thee that thou shouldst despise the work of thy hands Iob 10.3 Artificers when they have made an excellent work are very chary of it and will not destroy it and break it in pieces Iob 14.15 Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands As Creatures beg relief and help if you cannot plead the covenant of Abraham plead the covenant of Noah 3. God forsakes none of the faln creatures but those that forsake him first 2 Chron. 15.2 The Lord is with you while you be with him and if ye seek him he will be found of you but if ye forsake him he will forsake you 1 Chron. 28.9 If thou seek him he will be found of thee but if thou forsake â—im he will cast thee off for ever 4. Especially will Christ be good to man seeking after him for Grace that we may serve and obey him For he is no Pharaoh to require brick and give no straw Creating Grace layed the debt upon us and his redeeming Grace provideth the power and help that we may discharge it Now when we acknowledge the debt and confess our impotency to pay it and our willingness to return to our duty Will Christ fail us A consciencâ— of our duty is a great matter but a desire of grace to perform it is more Therefore come as creatures earnestly desiring to do their Creators will and to promote his Glory God will not refuse the soul that lyeth so submissively at his feet SERMON IV. COL 1.17 And he is before all things and by him all things consist THE Apostle had asserted the dignity of Christs Person by ascribing the work of Creation to him now the work of Conservation and Providence By the same divine power by which Christ made all things he doth
person when he giveth him glorious qualities and powers or by revealing and manifesting those glorious qualities which he hath or when he doth receive him and treat him agreeably to his Glory The meaning of Christs prayer then must be of one or other of all these senses when he prayeth that the father would glorifie him with that glory that he had with him before the world was if you take it in the first sense he dâ—sireth that God would bestow upon him as Mediator or God Incarnate a Glory sutable to that Glory he had with him from all Eternity If in the second sense he desireth his Glory may be revealed or become conspicucus in his humane nature If in the third that God would receive him honourably and agreeably to that Glory which sense is the chiefest for it containeth the other two The meaning then in short is that he might be received to the full enjoyment of that glory which he had before the World was Christ was from all Eternity the glorious God this Glory of his Godhead by his humiliation was not diminished and lessened but obscured and hidden and therefore prayeth that he may be received by the Father and openly declared to the World to be the Son of God Or that the Glory of his Godhead might shine forth in the person of Christ God-man Well then before any creature was Christ had a divine Glory how had it he The enemies of this Truth say by decree or designation not by possession but that cannot be he that is not hath nothing if he had not a divine being how could he have divine Glory before the World None can say Paul was an Apostle of Christ before the World was because he was appointed or designed to this work yea none can say he had Faith and brotherly love when he was yet an unbeliever and persecutor yet it pleased God to separate him from his Mothers Womb and predestinated him to have these things Again then all true believers may thus pray to God glorifie me with c. for they are thereunto appointed but this is absurd Besides if he had it then how could he want it now The decree is the same it remaineth then that Christ had a being and substance in the Godhead before any of the Creatures were made VSE 1. This serveth for the confutation of those Atheists that say Christ took upon him the appellation of a God to make his Doctrine more authentick and effectual they confess the morals of Christianity are most excellent for the establishment of Piety and Honesty but mens inclination carrying them more powerfully to vice then vertue this doctrine would not be received with any reverence if it came recommended to them by a mere man and therefore Christ assumed the glorious appellation of the Son of God or pretended to be God A blasphemy very derogatory both to the honour of Christ and Christianity and quite contrary to the drift of the Scriptures both of the Old and New Testament The Messiah promised in the Old Testament was to be God all the Prophets agree in that Jesus Christ proved himself to be God both by his Word and Works and the Apostles still assert it Could they that lived in so many several Ages as the Prophets and Apostles did lay their heads together and have intelligence one with another to convey this Imposture to the World Surely if Christ be the Messiah promised in the Old Testament as clearly he is then he is God for that describeth him to be such and if Christ usurped this honour how did God so highly favour him with such exâ—raordinary Graces by iâ—spiring him with the knowledge of the best Religion in the World to authorise him with miracles to raise him from the dead And must this Religion that condemneth all frauds and doing evil that good may come of it be supported by a lye or cannot God govern the World without countenancing such a deceit or is it possible that such Holy persons as our Lord Jesus and his Apostles were could be guilty of such an Imposture Did they do this by command of God No surely for God which is the God of Truth would not command them to teach a lye or to make use of one He hath power enough to cause the Truth to be embraced by some other means and a greater injury cannot be done him then to go about to gratifie him with what he hateth much less would God have commanded a mere man to call himself his Eternal Son and God equal to him which is a blasphemy and sacriledge as well as a lye the greatest of the kind for mortal man to take upon himself to be the eternal God If it were not by his express commandment would he suffer such an attempt to go unpunished would he witness from Heaven this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased would he have raised him from the dead and so ingaged the World to believe in him and adore him Acts 17.31 2. If Christ were before all things let us prefer him above all things This consideration is of great use to draw off our hearts from all created things and to lessen our respects to wordly vanities that they may be more earnestly fixed on what is eternal and glorious He that was before the world was will be when the world shall be no more Christ is from Everlasting to Everlasting Psal. 90.2 to him should we look after him should we seek he is first and last the beginning and ending It is for an Everlasting blessedness for the injoyment of an eternal God that our souls were made He that was from the beginning will be when all things shall have an end it is he that should take up our minds and thoughts How can we have room for so many thoughts about fading glories when we have an Eternal God and Christ to think of What light can we see in a Candle when the Sun shineth in his full strength All things in the World serve onely for a season and then wither and that season is but a short one You glory in your Riches and preeminence now but how long will you do so To day that House and Lands is thine but thou canst not say it will be thine tomorrow but a believer can say my God my Christ is mine to day and will be mine to all eternity Death taketh all from us honours and riches and strength and life but it cannot take God and Christ from us they are ours and everlastingly ours Secondly We come now to the second point his sustaining all things by his Almighty power and by â—im all things consist Doct. II. That as Christ made all things so he doth sustain them in being and working Let me explain this how the creatures are preserved by Christ. 1. This is to be understood not only meritoriously as a moral cause but efficiently as a natural cause of the creatures sustentation for the Apostle
God who is a righteous Judge will not dispense with the offences of wicked men by which he is continually affronted and provoked though in the day of his patience he doth for a while spare yet he is ready to deal with them cominus hand to hand for he is sharpening his sword eminus at a distance for he is bending his bow The Arrow is upon the string and how soon he may let it fly we cannot tell We are never safe till we turn to him and enter into his Peace and so the obligation to punishment be dissolved 2. On our part our senseless forgetfulness will do us no good Carnal men mind not things which relate to God or the happiness of their immortal Souls but they are not happy that feel least troubles but they that have least cause A benummed Conscience cannot challenge this blessedness they put off the thoughts of that which God hath neither forgiven nor covered and so do but skin the wound till it festers and rancle into a dangerous sore our best course is to see we be justified and pardoned 2. The best of us still need it partly because though we be justified and our state be changed yet renewed sins need a new pardon We are still sinning against God either we are omiting good or committing evil what will we do if we be not forgiven renewed sins call for renewed repentance We do not need another Redeemer or another Covenant or another Conversion yet we do need renewed Pardon Partly because our final sentence of pardon is not yet passed nor shall be passed till the last Judgment Act. 3.19 Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins maybe blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. We are now pardoned and justified constitutively by the tenour of the New Covenant and there by description The sincerity of our Faith and Repentance is not presently evident it is possible but difficult to know that we are sincere penitent Believers but at last when our pardon is actually pronounced by our Judges mouth sitting on the Throne then all is clear evident plain and open And partly because daily infirmities call for daily repentance We do not carry our selves with that gravity and watchfulness but that we need to cry for pardon every day SERMON II. COL 1.15 Who is the Image of the invisible God the first born of every creature THE Apostle having mentioned our Redemption doth now fall upon a Description of the Redeemer He is set forth by two things First His Internal Relation to God Secondly By his External relation to the Creature Doct. It is a great part of a Believers work to have a deep sense of the Redeemers excellency imprinted upon his Mind and heart Here I shall shew I. How it is set forth in this verse II. Why this should be much upon our minds and hearts I. How it is set forth in this Scripture 1. That he is the Image of the invisible God 2. The first-born of every Creature For the first Expression there I shall consider 1. What belongs to an Image 2. In what respects Christ is the Image of God 3. How he differeth from other persons 1. What belongeth to an Image and that all this is in Christ. In an Image there are two things impression and representation both are in Christ. There is a divine impression upon him and he doth represent God to us 1. For impression There is 1. Likeness for an Image must be like him whom it representeth An artificial Image of God or such as may be made by us is forbidden upon this account Isa. 40.18 To whom then will ye liken God or what likeness will ye compare unto him what is there among all the Creatures that can be like such an infinite and almighty essense or by what visible shape or figure would they represent or resemble God 2. Deduction and derivation The Image is taken from him whom it is intended to represent it is not some casual similitude between two men that have no reference or dependance one upon another but such as is between a father and his onely begotten Son as it is said of Adam Gen. 5.1 He begat a son in his own Image and so it is verified in Christ because of his Eternal Generation Like him because begotten of him 3. There is not a likeness in a few things but a compleat and exact likeness so Christ as the second person is called Heb. 1.3 The express image of his person There is not onely likeness but equality God cannot make a creature equal to himself nor beget a Son unequal to himself 2. Representation For an Image it serveth to make known and declare that thing whose Image it is If light produce light the light produced doth represent the light glory producing the more perfect and immediate the production is the more perfect is the resemblance a lively expression of the pattern and exemplar And this is the reason why the word invisible is added because God who in his own Nature is invisible and incomprehensible to man revealeth himself so far as is necessary to Salvation to us by Christ Visible things are known by their visible Images with more delight but not with more accuracie The Image is not necessary to know the thing but here it is otherwise we cannot know God but by Christ Ioh. 1.18 No man hath seen God at anytime the onely begotten son which is in the bosom of the father he hath declared him God is invisible and incomprehensible by any but Jesus Christ who being his onely Son and one in essence with the Father he doth perfectly know him and reveal unto mankind all that they know of him Thus you see what belongs to an Image 2. In what respects Christ is the Image of God 1. In respect of his Eternal Generation So Christ is the express Image of his ' Person not substance but subsistence We do not say that Milk is like Milk nor one Egg like another because they are of the same substance so Christ is not said to be of the same substance but of the same subsistence He is indeed of the same substance with him whom he doth resemble but the Image is with respect to the subsistence so he resembleth the father fully and perfectly there is no perfection in the Father but the same is in the Son also he is Eternal Omnipotent Infinite in Wisdom Goodness and Power 2. As God Incarnate or manifested in our flesh so the perfections of the Godhead shine forth in the Man Christ Jesus in his Person Word and Works 1. In his person They that had a discerning eye might see something divine in Christ Iohn 1.14 We beheld his glory as the glory of the onely begotten of the Father There is the as of similitude and the as of congruity as if a mean man taketh state upon him we say he behaveth himself as a King but if
therefore we should often revive the considerations that may represent his worth and excellency Fourthly That we may place all hope of Salvation in him and may make use of him to the ends which he came to accomplish We can hardly consider the work of Redemption but some base thoughts arise in our minds nor entertain this mistery with due respects to the truth and greatness and admirableness of it whithout raising our thoughts to the consideration of the dignity of the person who is to accomplish it Heb. 3.1 Therefore brethren consider the Lord Iesus the great High Priest and Apostle of our profession Fifthly That we may the better understand two things 1. The Humiliation of the Son of God 2. The way how we may recover the lost Image of God 1. The humiliation of the Son of God certainly he that came to Redeem us was the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the express Image of this Person now how did he humble himself was he not still the Image of God in our nature yes but the divine glory and Majesty was hidden under the vail of our flesh little of it did appear and that only to those who narrowly did observe him the brightness of his glory did not conspicuously shine forth was this all no his dignity was lessened there was capitis diminutio the lessening of a mans estate or condition As of a man degraded from the Senatorian Order to the Degree of Knight thence to the Plebian Thus was the Eternal Son of God lessened less then God as Mediator Iohn 14.28 My Father is greater then I. As God incarnate he took an office designed to him by God and obeyed him in all things They were one in essence Iohn 10.30 yet with respect to his Office to save Souls he was lessened nay not only less than God but lesser than the Angels Heb. 2.7 He was made a little lower then the Angels Not born so but made so Man is inferiour to an Angel as a Man in the rank and order of beings the Angels dye not therefore his Incarnation and liableness to death is a great lessening of his dignity so not in respect of Office only but humane nature assumed 2. It sheweth us how the Image of God may be recovered If we be changed into the likeness of Christ for he is the Image of God his merit should not onely be precious to us but his example it is a great advantage not only to have a rule but an example because man is so prone to imitate that an example in our nature maketh it the more operative his execuse is ready at hand we are Flesh and Blood what would you have us do therefore Christ came incarnate to be an example of Holiness he had the interests of Flesh and Blood to mind as well as we and so would shew that a holy Life is possible to those that are renewed by his Grace he obeyed God in our nature therefore in the same nature we may obey please and glorifie God though still in a self-denying manner the foundation of it is layed in the new birth the Spirit that formed Christ out of the substance of the virgin the same Spirit is ready to form Christ in you he maketh new creatures so that there is not onely Christs example but Christs power Use 1. then let the excellency and dignity of Christs Person be more upon your minds and hearts think often of those two notions in the Text that he is the Image of the invisible God that therein you may be like him You cannot be the Image of God so as he was but you must be in your measure the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in him bodily but you must be partakers of the divine nature He shewed himself to be the Son of God by his works when the Jews said he blasphemed when he said he was the Son of God Ioh. 10.27 If I do not the works of my Father believe me not he allowed them to doubt of them if he did not those works which were proper to one sent from God certainly this is the glory of man to be the Image of God there is no greater perfection then to live in the nearest resemblance to his Creator Christ is more excellent because he hath more of the Image of God upon him 2. Consider again that he is Lord of the whole creation and therefore calleâ— the first-born of every creature Well thâ—n we should he subject to him and with greater diligence apply our selves to the obedience of his Holy Laws and use the means appointed by him to obtain the blessedness offered to us There is in us a natural sentiment of the authority of God and we have a dread upon our hearts if we do what he hath forbidden but we have not so deep a sense of the authority of Christ and play fast and loose with Religion as fancy and humour and interest lead us Now from this argument you see we should honour the Son as we honour the Father and be as tender of his Institutions as we are of the Commandements evident by natural light for he is not onely the messenger of God but his express Image and the first-born of every creature Not to believe him and obey him and love him is to sin not only against our duty but our remedy and the Law of our recovery SERMON III. COL 1. 16. For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers all things were created by him and for him THE Apostle had told us in the former Verse that Jesus Christ is the first-born of every Creature The Arrians thence concluded that he himself was created out of nothing in order of time before the World But it is not the first created of any creature but the first-born which noteth a precedency not only in point of Antiquity but Dignity and is as much as to say Lord of every creature For the first-born was the Lord of the rest and the Title may be given either Relatively or comparatively 1. Relatively when the rest are of the same stock or have the relation of Brethren to him that hath the preheminence So it is given to Christ with respect to new Creatures Rom. 8.29 That he might be the first-born among many brethren 2. Comparatively onely When several persons or things be compared though there be no relation between them So David is called the first-born of the Kings of the earth Psal. 89.27 That is superior in Dignity and Honour So here it is taken not relatively for so Christ is primogenitus the first-born that he is also unigenitus the onely begotten none went before or come after him that are so begotten of God What he asserteth in that verse he now proveth by the creation of all things in this 16th verse and the conservation of all things verse 17. We are now
who are so unmeet for our proper end Like the wood of the vine that is good for nothing not so much as to make a pin whereon to hang any thing Ier. 20.15 Good for nothing but to be cast into the fire unless it be fruitful What are we good for if we be not serviceable to the ends for which we were created 2. The design of God was that the whole Creation should be put in subjection to the word Incarnate Not onely this lower world wherein man is concerned but the upper World also Our Râ—â—eemer who hath bought us hath an Interest in all things that may concern us that they may be disposed of to his own glory and our good and advantage All are at the making and at the disposal of our Lord Jesus Christ Therefore it is said Heb. 2.10 For whom are all things and by whom are all things God that frameth all things ordereth all things to their proper end His works are many and some are more excellent and glorious than others and one of the chief of them is the salvation of man by Jesus Christ. Therefore all things are subordinated thereunto to the Glory of the Mediator by whom this is accomplished 1 Cor. 8.6 But to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Iesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him Thirdly Why the Creation of Angels is so particularly and expresly mentioned I Answer for three Reasons 1. To shew the Glory and Majesty of the Redeemer The Angels are said to excel in strength Psal. 103.20 and else-where they are called Mighty Angels This potency they have from their Creator who giveth power and strength to all his Creatures as it pleases him their strength may be conceived by that instance that one Angel in a night slew one hundred and eighty five Thousand in Senacheribs Camp Now these potent Creatures are infinitely inferiour to our Redeemer by whom and 〈◊〉 whom they were made Though they are the most excellent of all the Creatures yet they are his Subjects and Ministers at his beck and command both by the Law of their Creation as Christ is God and also by the fathers donation as he is mediator and God Incarnate 1 Pet. 3.25 He is set down on the right hand of God Angels Authorities and Powers being made subject to him And again Eph. 1.22 He hath set him far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not onely in this world but in that which is to come They have a great name but Christ hath a more excellent name than they Heb. 1.5 for they are all bound to worship him ver 6. and serve him for he employeth them for the defence and comfort of the meanest of his people They are subject not onely to God but to Christ or God incarnate Look as it is the glory of Earthly Kings to command mighty and powerful subjects are not my princes altogether Kings Isa. 10.8 that so many Princes held under him as their Soveraign and served him as their Commander and when God speaks of the Assyrian he calleth him a King of Princes Hos. 8.10 Namely as he had many Kings Subject and Tributary to him so is this the Majesty of our Redeemer that he hath these powerful Creatures the mighty Angels in his Train and retinue These heavenly hosts make up a part of that Army which is commanded by the Captain of our Salvation 2. This is mentioned to obviate the Errors of that Age Both the Iews and the Gentiles had an high opinion of Spirits and Angels as Gods Ministers and Messengers For he doth not alwayes immediately administer the affairs of Mankind Now as they were right in the main as to their service so they added much of curiosity and superstition to the Doctrine of Angels and by their vain speculations infected the minds of many in the Christian Church who were but newly come out from among them insomuch that they fell to the worshipping of Angels as mediators to God As the Apostle intimateth col 2.18 Now because this was to the disparagement of Christ the Apostles did set themselves to check this curiosity of dogmatizing about Angels and the superstition or Idolatry of Angel-worship thence growing apace Now this they did by asserting the dignity of Christs Person and Office As Paul Col. 2. and the Author to the Hebrews chap. 1.2 3. Hath in these last dayes spoken unto us by his son whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds who being the brightness of his glory and the express Image of his person and upholding all thing by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high It is true Christ was sent from Heaven as the Angels are and he came in a despicable way of appearance to promote our Salvation and recovery as they assumed bodies sutable to their Message yet his superiority and preheminence above the Angels is clear and manifest He was not onely equal to them but far above them Heb. 1.3 Seven things are observable in that verse 1. Christ came as the Eternal Son of God He hath spoken unto us by his Son When he cometh to the Angels he saiâ—h they as servants and ministring spirits For a short while he ministred in the form of a servant in the days of his Flesh they continue to be so from the beginning to the end of the World 2. He was heir of all things That is Lord of the whole creation They onely Principalities and Powers 〈◊〉 certain ends to such Persons and Places over which Christ sets them 3. He was the Creator of the World By whom also he made the worlds saith the Apostle they are noble and divine creatures indeed but the work of Christs hands 4. He is the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the express Image of his person that is the essential Image of God They onely have some strictures of the Divine Majesty 5. The upholding all things by the word of his power that is the conserving cause of all that Life and Being that is in the creature The Angels live in a continual dependance upon Christ as their Creator and without his supporting influence would be soon annihilated 6. By himself he purged our sins He was sent into the world for that great and glorious work of Mediation which none of them was worthy to undertake none able to go through withall but himself alone They are sent about the ordinary concernments of the Saints or the particular affairs of the World he is the Author of the whole work of Redemption and Salvation and they but subordinate Assistants in the particular promotion of it 7. He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high They are Spirits near the Throne of God ever in his Presence attending on
Scriptures Isa. 4.2 Christ is prophesied of In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely When he is called the Branch of the Lord his Godhead is signified when he is called the fruit of the earth his Manhood So again Isâ— 7.14 A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and thou shalt call his name Immâ—â—uel That is to say God with us which can agree to none but to hiâ— that is God and Man So that this Mystery of God Incarnate was not hid from the Church of the Old Testament for his very Name did import God with us or God in our Nature reconciling us to himself So Isa. 9.6 To us a child is born to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called The wonderful Counseller the mighty God the everlasting father the prince of peace Who can interpret these speeches and Aâ—â—ributes but of one who is God-Man How could he else be a child and yet the Everlasting Father born of a Virgin and yet the Mighty God So Isa. 11.1 with the 4th Verse A rod out of the Sâ—em of Iesse and a branch out of his roots Therefore Man And verse 4. He shall smiâ—e the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips shall be slay the wicked Therefore God So Isa. 53.8 He shall be taken from prison and judgement therefore Man yet who shall declare his generation therefore God So Ier. 23.5 6. A branch raised unto David from his deaâ— stock therefore Man yet the Lord or Iehovah our righteousness therefore God Shall I urge that speech whereby Jesus did silence divers of the Learned Pharisees Psal. 110.1 The Lord said to my Lord sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool He was born in the mean Estate of humane Flesh and King Davids seed and yet Davids Lord which he could not be if he were not God himself the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Well then he was Davids Son as Man but Davids Lord as he was God And so do many of the Ancient Iewish Rabbins interpret this place So again Micah 5.2 Thou Bethlehem Sphratah Though thou â—e little among the thousands of Iudah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from old from everlasting He is born in Bethlehem yet his goings forth are from everlasting He came out of Bethlehem and therefore Man his goings forth are from everlasting and therefore God So Zech. 12.10 I will pour out the spirit of grace and supplication and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced He is God because he giveth the spirit of grace Man because he is pierced or crucified So Zech. 13.7 Against the man my fellow A man he was but Gods companion his only begotten son and co-essential with himself and so God Secondly Come we now to the New Testament in which this mystery is more plainly and fully demonstrated There often the son of Man is plainly asserted to be also the Son of God Thomas calleth him his Lord his God Ioh. 20.28 We are told that the word was made flesh Ioh. 1.14 That God purchased the Church with his own blood Acts 20.28 which can be understood of no other but Christ by whose blood we are redeemed and who being Incarnate hath blood to shed for us But God as a pure Spirit hath not flesh and blood and bones as we have So Rom. 1.3 4. Iesus Christ was made of the seed of David according to the flesh but declared to be the son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness c. In respect of his Divine subsistence he was begotten not made in regard of his humane Nature made not begotten True Man as David was and True God as the Spirit and Divine Nature is Again Rom. 9.5 Whose are the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever Than which nothing can be said more express as to that nature which is most apt to be questioned for surely he that is God over all cannot be said to be a mere Creature The Jews confessed him to be Man and one of their blood and Paul asserteth him to be God over all They accounted him to be accursed and Paul asserteth him to be blessed for ever They thought him inferiour to the Patriarchs of whom he descended and Paul over all so that no word is used in vain and when he saith according to the flesh he insinuateth another Nature in him to be considered by us The next place is 1 Cor. 2.8 They Crucified the Lord of Glory He was Crucified there his humane nature is acknowledged but in respect of the Divine nature he is called the Lord of Glory as in the 24th Psalm The Lord or King of Glory is Iehovah Sabaoth The Lord of Hosts Go we farther Phil. 2.6 7. Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with Gon but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant and was made in the likeness of men By the form of God is meant not only the divine Majesty and Glory but also the divine essence it self for without it there can be no true divine Majesty and Glory Now this he kept hidden under his humane nature letting onely some small Rayes sometimes to shine forth in his Miracles but that which was most sensible and conspicuous in him was a true humane Nature in a low and contemptible estate Again 1 Tim. 3.16 Great is the Mystery of Godliness God manifested in our Flesh. That is the Eternal Son of God became Man and assumed the humane nature into the unity of his person Once more 1 Pet. 3.18 He was put to death in the flesh but quickned in the spirit That is dyed according to his humane nature but by his divine nature raised from the Dead 't is not meant of his soul quickned signifies not one remaining alive but made alive that power belongeth to God Secondly By Types Those that come to hand are these 1. Melchisedec Gen. 14.18 Melchisedec King of Salem brought forth bread and wine to Abraham Which Type is interpreted by the Apostle Heb. 7.2 3. First being by interpretation King of Righteousness and after that also King of peace Without Father and without Mother having neither beginning of dayes nor end of Life but made like unto the Son of God abideth a priest continually What Melchisedec was is needless to dispute The Apostle considereth him only as he is represented in the story of Moses who maketh no mention of his Father or Mother Birth or Death Certainly he was a very Man but as he standeth in Scripture there is no mention of Father or Mother beginning or end what he was or of whom
arrogate what was proper to his Father Therefore as his disciples would have been tender of giving it to him so he would have refused this honour being so holy if it had not been his due But Christ reproved not but rather approved this Confession of Faith therefore it was right and sound Christ had said to him be not faithless but believing and then Thomas saith My Lord and my God And Iesus saith to him Thomas because thou hast seen me thou hast believed blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed There is no rebuke for ascribing too much to him 6. The conjunction of the Divine and Humane Nature is so necessary to all Christs functions and offices that less would not have been sufficient than to say My Lord my God The Functions and Offices of Christ are three to be a Prophet Priest and King 1. To be a Prophet Matth. 23.10 One is your master even Christ. Now to be our master and teacher 't is necessary that he should have the humane nature and divine conjoyned The humane nature that he might teach men by word of mouth familiarly and sweetly conversing with men and also by his Example for he perfectly teacheth that teacheth both wayes by word and deed And 't is a mighty condescension that God would come down and submit to the same Laws we are to live by His divine nature was also necessary that he might be the best of teachers for who is such a teacher as God and that he might teach us in the best way and that is when God taking the nature of man doth vouchsafe to men his familiar convâ—rse eating and drinking and walking with them offering himâ—â—â—f to be seen and heard by them As he of olâ— taught Abraham Gen. 18. accepting his entertainment nothing more profitable or honourable to men can be thought of In Christs prophetical Office four things are to be considered 1. What he Taught 2. How he Taught 3. By what Arguments he confirmed his Doctrine 4. How he received it from the Father 1. What he Taught Christ preached but chiefly himself He revealed and shewed forth God but by revealing and shewing forth himself Ioh. 14.9 He called men but to himself he commanded men to believe but in himself Ioh. 14.1 He promised eternal Life which he would give but to men believing in himself He offered Salvation to miserable sinners but to be had by himself He wrought a fear of Judgement to come but to be exercised by himself He offered remission of sins but to those that believed in himself He promised the Resurrection of the dead which he by his own Power and Authority would bring to pass Now who could do all this but God A meer man if faithful and holy would have turned off men from himself to God 2 Cor. 4.5 For we preach not our selves but Christ Iesus the Lord and our selves your servants for Iesus sake They designed no honour to themselves but onely to Christ they were loth to transfer any part of this glory to themselves so would Christ if he had not been God Therefore what should his disciples say but my Lord my God 2. How he Taught There is a twofold way of teaching one Humane by the mouth and sound of words striking the Ear the other Divine opening and affecting the Heart Christ used both wayes As the humane nature was necessary to the one so the divine to the other As the Organs of speaking cannot be without the humane nature so the other way of teaching cannot be without a Divine Power When the Disciples came to Christ Lord increase our Faith Luk. 17.5 he did not answer as Iacob did to Rachel when she said Give me children or I dye Am I in the place of God Christ after his Resurrection did not onely open the Scriptures as was said before but Luk. 24.45 He opened their understandings that they might understand the scriptures And he opened the heart of Lydia Acts 16.14 And poured the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost Acts 2. and by the same efficacy teacheth the Church wherever it is scattered 3. If you consider By what Arguments he confirm'd his Doctrine By many and the greatest Miracles not done by the power of another but his own and her required men to believe it Matth. 9.28 Believe ye that I am able to do this Whence had he the power to know the Thoughts of Men to cure all sorts of diseases in a moment to open the Eyes of the blind to raise the dead to dispossess Devils but from that Divine Nature which was in him Was it in his Body and Flesh then it was finite and in some sort Material Was it in his Soul Understanding Will or Phantasie or Sensitive Appetite how could it work on other mens bodies Therefore it was from his Divine Nature My Lord my God 4. How he received this Doctrine from the Father Did God ever speak to him or appear to him Is there any time or manner or speech noted by the Evangelists when God made this Revelation None at all If he were a mere Creature or nothing but a Man surely that should have been done He revealed the most intimate Counsels and Dâ—crees of God as perfectly knowing them but when or how they were revealed to him by his Father is not said which if he had been mere Man would have conduced to the Authority of his Message and Revelation But all this needed not he being a Divine Person of the same essence with his Father Therefore My Lord my God 2. His Priestly Office The Humane Nature was necessary for That for the reasons alledged by the Apoâ—â—le Hâ—b 2.14.17 And also the Divine Nature that there might be a Priest aâ— well as a Sacrifice There had been no Sacrifice iâ— he had not been Man and no Pâ—â—â—â—t if he had not been God to offer up himsâ—lf through the Eternal Spirit Heb. 9.14 The sacrifice must suffer the Priâ—â—t Act and besides he could not â—nter inâ—o the Hâ—â—venly Sanctuary to present himself bâ—forâ— God for us Heb. 9.24 Thâ—n â—he Hâ—â—venly Sanctuary and Tabernacle need 〈◊〉 to be made before he entred For as the Earthly Priest made the Earthly Tabernacle before he ministred in it so the True Priest was to make the Heavenly Tabernacle as the Author to the Hebrews saith in many places But to leave that the Priest was to expiate sins by the offering of a sacrifice instead of the sinner So Christ was to satisfie the Justice of God for sinners by his Mediatory sacrifice Now this he could not do unless he had been God as well as Man The Dignity of his Person did put a value upon his sufferings without this how shall we pacifie Conscience representing to us the evil of sin and the dreadfulness of Gods Wrath And the exact Justice of the Judge of all the World Rom. 3.25 26. especially when these apprehensions are awakened in us by the curse of