indeed this is that which gives all the rest an advantage against them but even this greatest Enemy Christ has conquered for them Hence he is said to have condemned sin in the flesh he for sin condemned sin in the flesh Rom. 8.3 i. e. He by being made a Sacrifice for Sin hath killed and subdued Sin past a sentence of Death and Condemnation upon Sin for ever Hence also our old Man is said to be crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed Rom. 6.6 Hence also he is said to destroy sin to take away sin and the like And how Why as to the Reign and Power as well as the Guilt and Curse of it And this Paul acted by the Spirit of Faith could triumph in even whilst he was in the sharpest conflicts with sin Rom. 7.23 24 25. I thank God through Christ sayes he For what why for victory over and deliverance from that Law of Sin he was now conflicting with 2. He has conquered Self for them Self as well as Sin is our deadly Enemy This indeed is a near close Enemy and most difficult to be slain This is an Enemy that we are too too loth many times to have destroyed and yet an Enemy which makes woful spoyl upon us and our happiness I often think of the Speech of an Holy and Learned Divine Oh sayes he if I could be Master of that House-Idol my Self my own my own Will Wit Credit and case how blessed were I O but we have need sayes he to be redeemed from our selves rather than from the Devil and the World And presently again he cries out O wretched Idol my Self When shall I see the wholly decourted and Christ wholly put in thy room And who that have any acquaintance with themselves do not find cause to cry out in like manner Oh this Self this wretched Self how great an Enemy is it Well but this Christ hath conquered and closing with him thou shalt by degrees find it to die and fall under thee Paul did so I am crucified with Christ sayes he nevertheless I live yet not I Gal. 2.20 He had an I a Self which ruled in him but by Christ 't was crucified and slain for him and he was a conquerer over it 3. He has conquered the World for them Take the World in what notion you will and 't is in one respect or other an Enemy to the Saints the Men of the World the Things of the World the Frowns of the World the Flatteries of the World they all one way or other fight against them and are Enemies to them The World as well as Sin and Self is a mortal Enemy to them But this Enemy also Christ has subdued and conquered for them and he has told them so much for their comfort under the oppositions they meet with from it Job 16.23 Be of good chear I have overcome the World sayes he q. d. the World is your Enemy but 't is a conquered Enemy 't will moless and oppose you but it shall not be able to hurt you for have conquered it for you And as he has conquered it for us so he will enable us closing with him by Faith to conquer it so 1 John 5.4 This is the victory which overcometh the World even our Faith The World shall not alwayes annoy and infest the Saints 4. He has conquered the Devil yea all the Devils in Hell for them The Devil is the Enemy of the Saints and indeed he is a formidable one an Adversary that goes about like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour 1 Pet. 5.8 He is a subtil a potent a malicious a cruel and an indefatigable Enemy But so formidable an Enemy as he is Christ hath conquered him for them hence he is said to have destroyed the Devil he partook of flesh and blood that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil Heb. 2.14 and to have spoiled Principalities and Powers and to have made a shew of them openly on his Cross tryumphing over them Col. 2.15 dragging them at his Charriot-Wheels as was the manner sometimes for Conquerers to deal by their vanquished Enemies The sum is that he hath made a compleat and glorious conquest over all the Devils in Hell for Believers He has conquered them even to triumph Christ has conquered the Devil for his Spouses as to his ruling reigning and commanding power and he will and does conquer him at last yea speedily as to his tempting vexing and seducing power The God of Peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly Rom. 16.20 Shortly Soul the Devil shall vex thee no more molest thee no more infest and annoy thee by his temptations no more 5. He has conquered Death for them Death is an Enemy and 't is the last Enemy that is to be destroyed so the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 15.26 and in it self considered a terrible Enemy 't is 't is the King of terrors Job 18.14 But this Enemy hath Christ conquered for all his He has taken away all its killing power its sting and curse in so much that they may holily triumph over it and rejoyce in its approach the Apostle did so 1 Cor. 15.55 56 57. Death sayes he is swallowed up in victory O Death where is thy Sting O Grave where is thy Victory The sting of Death is Sin the strength of Sin is the Law but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ O what a triumph does he here act over Death through the conquest Christ has gotten over it for him Truly this Enemy is so far conquered by him for them that 't is become indeed a friend to them and they can when in a right spirit embrace it as such and long for it as such Christ by Death has unstung Death and in a sort undeatht it Thus Christ has conquered all his Peoples Enemies and they being made one with him in a Marriage-Covenant all his Victories are theirs and his Conquests theirs and they are conquerers over all in him and oh how sweet how incouraging is this and how should it win Souls to a close with him poor Soul thou seest thy self environed with Enemies thou art hard beset on all hands legions of Lusts and Devils attended with Self Death and the World oppose themselves against thee and thou art often crying out as David in another case 2 Sam. 3.19 I am weak and these men the Sons of Zerviah are too strong for me yea thou art ready to say of them as he sometimes in his unbelief did of Saul 1 Sam. 27.1 I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul Alas I am a weak nothing-Creature and am unable to grapple with the least of all mine Enemies and how then shall I stand up against them all surely I shall perish by them at last Well Soul but know for thy encouragement that all thine Enemies are conquered by Christ and though
as one who has not onely an infinite fulness and sufficiency in him to redeem and save but also an infinite sutableness and amiableness in him to indear and delight the Soul and accordingly the Soul accepts and imbraces him he cleaves to him and fastens upon him resolving to have none but him alone his language of him now is There is none like Christ no head like this Head no husband like this Husband no saviour like this Saviour for my Soul This is the Head the Husband the Saviour that I need and that indeed my Soul defires No love like his Love no beauty like his Beauty no blood like his Blood no righteousness like his Righteousness no fulness like his Fulness He therefore and he alone shall be my Head my Husband my Saviour and my All for ever Sweet Jesus sayes he dost thou tender thy self for an Head and Husband to me and art thou willing to be imbraced by me Lo then I do with my whole Soul accept of thee and that for all times and in all conditions with all thine Holiness as well as thy Love with all thine Inconveniences as well as thy Priviledges to suffer for thee as well as to reign with thee and this the Soul does upon the deepest counsel and most mature deliberation and accordingly he abides by his choice for ever II. An Act of Trust or Dependance As in the Work of Faith the Soul is by the Spirit of God made to chuse Christ so also to trust and depend upon him for all Grace Righteousness and Salvation Now it bottoms upon Christ anchors upon Christ rests and relies upon Christ for all Life and Peace for all Grace on Earth and Glory in Heaven He layes the whole weight and stress of his Salvation upon him He commits all to him ventures all upon him expects all from him This the Scripture calls sometimes a trusting in Christ Ephes 1.13 sometimes a leaning upon Christ Cant. 8.5 sometimes a hoping in Christ 1 Cor. 15.19 And in this respect Christ is called our Hope 1 Tim. 1.1 our Hope that is the Object of our Hope and Trust as to Life and Salvation The Soul has no hope in himself no hope in the Creature no hope in the Law or first Covenant no hope in any thing in Heaven or Earth on this side Christ He looks here and there to this and that but he can find no solid ground of hope no bottom to build or rest upon for Life and Salvation but then he turns his eye upon Christ and there he sees abundant ground of hope he beholds him upon the Cross and there 's hope he beholds him upon the Throne and there 's hope he looks upon him dying and there 's hope he looks upon him rising ascending sitting at the Father's right Hand making intercession for us and there 's hope He looks upon the infinite vertue of his Blood the infinite efficacy of his Spirit the infinite fulness of his Grace the infinite dimensions of his Love the infinite freeness and faithfulness of his Promise and in these he sees infinite ground of hope and trust and accordingly he rolls and ventures all upon him Here I 'le build sayes he here I 'le bottom here I 'le rest here I 'le hang and depend here I 'le live yea and if die I must here I 'le die His language to Christ now is like that of the Psalmist to God in another case Psalm 39.7 Now Lord what wait I for my hope is in thee This is to cast anchor within the Vail Heb. 9.6 And indeed 't is with poor Souls many times as with persons at Sea the Storm arises the Waves lift up themselves which beating upon them they are ready to sink every moment and their very Soul is melted because of heaviness but anon they sound bottom cast anchor and are at rest So poor Souls are under storms of sin guilt and wrath perishing in their own apprehension every moment but anon they drop an anchor of hope upon Christ and do rest upon him or 't is with them in this case as 't was with the Dove when she was first sent out of the Ark she found no resting place abroad for the sole of her foot but at length returned to the Ark and there found rest Gen. 8.8 9. So the poor guilty Soul finds no rest any where else but in Christ His language in this Act of Faith is such as this I am a poor lost sinful distressed Creature and there is but one door I can expect relief from and that is Christ and at this door I 'le lie and wait I know he is able to help me for he can save to the uttermost and surely he hath bowels great bowels towards poor sinners he is a merciful High-Priest He sayes concerning him as they sometimes did concerning the King of Israel Behold we have heard that the King of Israel is a merciful King peradventure he will save us yea he has bid me look to him and be saved and he invites all that are weary and heavy-laden to come to him and promises them rest Why then should I not rest and rely upon him 'T is true I am a mighty sinner but he is a more mighty Saviour Have I sinned to the utmost He has satisfied to the utmost What shall I say True I am Death but Christ is Life I am Darkness but Christ is Light I am Sin but Christ is Holiness I am Guilt but Christ is Righteousness I am Emptiness and Nothingness but Christ is Fulness and Sufficiency I have broken the Law but Christ has fulfilled the Law and his Life is infinitely able to swallow up my Death his Light my Darkness his Holiness my Sin his Righteousness my Guilt his Fulness my Emptiness on him therefore I 'le lean and live and hope 'T is true I am utterly unworthy of any Life any Grace any Favour but Christ does all for sinners freely he loves freely he pardons freely he saves freely how vile therefore and unworthy soever I am yet I will rest and depend upon him Who knows but he may cast an eye of love upon me This is that Act of Faith which is held forth Isa 45.24 Surely shall one say in the Lord have I righteousness and strength I have neither strength nor righteousness of my own but I have all righteousness and strength in Christ all righteousness for Pardon and Justification and all strength for Holiness and Sanctification this is that the Apostle calls a rejoycing in Christ Jesus having no confidence in the flesh Phil. 3.3 To draw towards a conclusion of this Head Which way soever the Soul looks on this side Christ he meets with nothing but discouragement If he looks to himself there he sees nothing but sin and guilt blackness and deformity in his heart he sees a Fountain of sin an Abysse of sin a very Hell of sin and wickedness in his life he finds innumerable evils sins of a crimson-die
begin to bleed and relent over it 2. Labour to be deeply sensible of your exceeding great misery by reason of this estrangment As we are all naturally with out Christ so our misery herein is exceeding great So much the Apostle holds forth in the place before quoted Ephe. 2.12 Where he speakes of our being without Christ as our misery yea as the spring and Foundation of all our misery and therefore that is first mentioned the Ephesians were and we are as he there tells us without the Covenant without hope and without God in the World misery enough for any Soul to lye under and the inlet and Foundation of all is their and our being without Christ As to have Christ says a learned Interpreter upon this place is the Foundation of all good so to be without Christ is the beginning and foundation of all evil an inlet into all woe and misery and what leaves us in a most deplored state for ever Take a taste and but a taste of this your misery and then work the sense of it upon your own Souls 1. Being without Christ you are destitute of all good you are without Life without Grace without Peace without Pardon without Comfort without Righteousness without Heaven without Salvation without Hope and without God as you have it in the same place Eph. 2.2 without the Favour of God without the Presence of God without the Life of God without the Image of God without the Spirit of God and being thus without God you are without all true good and true happiness According to the old and true Maxim â—ine Summo bono nihil honum Without the chief good there is nothing good 2. Being without Christ you are in Bondage to sin and Satan which is the worst Bondage in the World Naturally all are the Slaves and Vassalls of these cruell Lords Hence we are said to fulfill the Devils lusts Je. 8 44. and as the lusts of the Devil so the wills and lusts of the slesh Epe 2.2 to be the servants of sin to serve divers lusts and pleasures and the like And as naturally all are thus in Bondage to sin and the Devil so there is no redemption from this Bondage but by Christ and that in a way of Union with him If the Son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed saith he himself to the Jews Je. 8.36 They were Glorying in their privilidge that they were Obrahams seed and never were in Bondage to any man True sayes Christ but ye are in a worse Bondage then a Bondage to man in Bondage to sin in Bondage to your lusts For he that committeth sin is the servant of sin and this Bondage none but the Son can free you from and therefore untill freed by him you remain under it O how sore a Bondage is this To be under the command of sin to be at the beck of every base unclean lust and to be carried Captive by the Devil at his will This is such a Bondage as that the Bondage of Israel under their task-makers in Egypt and the bondage of Turkish slaves who are kept at the Oar and Galley is freedom to it as to serve Christ is the greatest liberty so to serve sin is the cruellest Bondage 3. Being without Christ and Union with Christ you are rejected of God Know ye not sayes the Apostle that except Christ be in you ye are Reprohates 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not As if he should say 't is a most clear manifest and evident truth that unless you have Union with Christ you are Reprobates i. e. you are unapproved of God you are out of his Favour both your persons and services are rejected by him To the same purpose is that Gal. 4.22 Where we read of 2 Mothers and 2 Sons The two Mothers were types of the 2 Covenants the Covenant of works and the Covenant of Grace as appears by v. 24. The 2 Sons are types of 2 sorts of persons living in the Church one born after the flesh the other by promise one belonging to the first the other to the second Covenant Well what 's the condition of these Why the one is in a state of rejection and the other of acceptation They that belong to the second Covenant are owned and embraced in the arms of Love the other are cast out as you may see in the sequel of the Chap Besides all our acceptation with God is in Christ and through Christ Eph. 1.6 Out of him therefore we are in a state of rejection O how sad does this speak your condition to be for men yea for good men to reject and disown us is what may be born especially when God ownes and smiles But for God to disown and reject us this is terrible indeed though all the World should own us and smile upon us How terrible is that word Reprobate silver shall men call them for the Lord hath rejected them Jer. 6.30 If God ownes and smiles 't is no matter who frowns but if he frowns and rejects who can own or smile to the relief of the Soul 4. Being without Christ you are under the Law and so under the curse and how sad is this as there are but 2 Covenants the old and the new and but 2 heads of those Covenants the first or the second Adam so all men do belong to and are found in the one or the other of these Whilst therefore you are strangers to Christ you are under the Law and being under the Law you are under the curse For sayes the Apostle As many as are under the Law are under the curse For it is Written cursed is every one that continueth not in all things that are Written in the Book of the Law to do them Gal. 3 10. The Law has no pitty no sparing for offenders But for every breach thereof lays the Soul under the curse Now we have all broken the Law we all broke it in Adam being in him as in an head and we have all broken it 10. Thousand times over in our own persons and by both are fallen under the curse thereof And Soul dost thou know what the curse of the Law means It carries in it Death and condemnation for ever Being under the Law we are cursed in our persons and cursed in our comforts The wrath of God lies upon our souls and the curse of God is in all our enjoyments our very Blessings are accur'st to us Mal. 2.2 We read in Scripture of the people of God's curse and thou art one of them Soul who ever thou art that art out of Christ O how woeful how deplorable a condition is this 5. Being without Christ and estranged from Christ you lie under the guilt of innumerable sins which you alone must bear for ever 't is in and by Christ alone that Souls are Discharg'd from the guilt of sin And who are they whom he discharges from guilt but such as are found in him are under a Marriage-Covenant
them that if they will have any thing of their own to bear share with Christ in the matter of their Salvation they are Debtors to do the whole Law If they will have their obedience to the Law to have any share in their acceptation with God then they must keep the whole Law for else all were nothing 'T is a great Speech of a Learned Interpreter upon these words Qui debitor est totius legis faciendae mortem nunquam effugiet quia semper manebit sub reatu Nemo enim unquam reperietur qui legi satisfaciat talis igitur obligatio certa est damnatio hominis Id. Whoever sayes he is a Debtor to do the whole Law can never escape death because he will alwayes remain under guilt for no one will ever be found who will be able to fulfil or satisfie the Law such an Obligation therefore is the certain damnation of the man that lies under it Thus you see there must be nothing else of our own joyned with Christ in the matter of our Righteousness and Justification with God but our Faith must cleave singly and nakedly to Christ alone The truth is Christ's Righteousness alone is sufficient to save and justifie the worst of sinners 't is the Righteousness of God 2 Cor. 5.21 and the Righteousness of the Law Rom. 8.3 A Righteousness every way adequate and commensurate to the strictest demands of Law and Justice a Righteousness as long as broad as deep as high as the sin and guilt of the most Scarlet Crimson Sinners can be and why should any think of joyning any thing therewith Truly so to do is to reflect great dishonour upon it and upon the Wisdom and Grace of God in ordaining it for our Justification and Salvation And as we must joyn nothing with Christ in the matter of Righteousness and Justification so neither must we joyn any thing with him in the matter of our Sanctification and Holiness We should look for no Grace no Holiness but what comes from him and is wrought in us by him Nor indeed will God own any thing for Grace and Holiness in us at last that does not come from him In all respects therefore let the language of your Souls be O none but Christ none but Christ 4. Be sure that you chuse Christ and embrace him as your Rest and Happiness and not only as one that is to bring you unto Rest and Happiness Christ my Beloved is not only the way and means to bring men unto Happiness but he also is himself their Happiness and as such he is tendered to us and should be chosen and embraced by us I am the Way the Truth and the Life sayes he John 14.16 that is as one glosses upon it I am the Beginning the Progress and Perfection of a Christians Happiness Sure I am as Christ considered as the Way is the Means and what leads us unto Happiness so Christ considered as the Life is himself our Happiness our supream Happiness and indeed we come to Christ as the Life by Christ as the Way Sweet is that saying which I have read in one of the Ancients on this place We thy People sayes he Nos populus tuus sequamur te per te ad te quia tu es via veritas vita via in exemplo veritas in promisso vita in praeâ—nio Bern. speaking to Christ do come by thee to thee because thou art the Way the Truth and the Life the Way in thy Example the Truth in the Promise the Life in the Reward I am the Way the Truth and the Life i. e. Ego sum via rectissima veritas suprema vita vera vita beata vita increata Tho à Kemp. lib. 3. de imitat Christi as another expounds it I am the onely right Way the supream Truth the true Life the blessed Life the increated Life And sutable hereunto is Calvin's observation upon these words Summa hujus sententiae est quisquis potitur Christo nihil illi deesse idioque ultra ultimam perfectionem eniti quisquis eo uno contentus non est Et siquis a Christo deflectas nihil poterit quam errare siquis in eo â—on acquiescat nihil quam vento vanitate alibi pascetur Siquis ultra eum rendat mortem vita loco inveniet Calv. in loc The sum sayes he of this Sentence is this He whoever he be that obtains and possesses Christ can want nothing whoever therefore is not content with him alone aspires after something beyond the ultimate and highest perfection And then he concludes thus If any one turns aside from Christ he can do nothing but err if any one does not rest in him he else-where feeds upon nothing but wind and vanity If any one makes out after any thing beyond him he will find Death instead of Life O there are infinite Beauties Delights and Perfections in Christ whereby he is able to fill and satisfie us and make us happy And for my own part as I desire never to be happy if Christ be not able to bring me to happiness so I desire no better or greater happiness than what Christ is or can be to me O there 's all in him all to fill all to comfort all to delight and ravish all to solace and satisfie the largest faculties of eternal Souls May I have but Christ sayes Rutherford I shall think my self as well Heaven'd as any whatever Truly he and he alone is centrum quietativum as the Schools speak the quieting resting center of the Soul And so the Psalmist tells us Psal 116.7 Indeed he in his presence and our enjoyment of him is Heaven and Happiness 'T is the highest happiness which Christ promises his People here Joh. 14.21 and 't is the highest happiness which his People reckon upon or hope for hereafter Phil. 1.23 Answerable whereunto is the Observation of one upon those words of Christ to the Thief upon the Cross Luke 23.43 Mecum eris in Paradiso mecum inquit mira benignitas non dicit simpliciter eris in Paradiso vel cum Angelis erâ—s sed mecumeris satiaberis eo quem desiderias Bern. de Pass Dom. This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise With me sayes he O wonderful goodness he does not say simply thou shalt be in Paradise or thou shalt be with Angels but thou shalt be with Me thou shalt be satisfied with him whom thou desirest Thus Christ is the Rest and supream Happiness of Souls and accordingly our Faith should chuse and embrace him I will not say there is not true Faith where the Soul does not come up to such a choice of Christ as this is But this I 'le say That though Faith at first may not thus chuse Christ yet afterwards as it grows up more towards perfection it does come to chuse Christ under this notion And the more distinct it is in chusing Christ as the supream Rest and Happiness of the Soul the