and miserable to die in sin in a state of sin in the guilt of sin under the reign and power of sin in the arms and embraces of sin Sin being the transgression of a righteous Law the violation of infinite Holiness and Justice and rebellion against Divine Majesty and Authority it always hath demerit and guilt consequent upon it which obligeth and bindeth the sinner to undergoe that punishment which is naturally due to it Which punishment is Death Rom 1. 32. they which Commit such things are worthy of death Thus sin becomes the weapon or sting of Death by which it hath power to destroy Death cometh upon the Sinner as a bailiff or Sergeant from the Judge with warrant to apprehend and bring the Sinner to give account or as an executioner to take vengeance to pay the Sinner the just wages of his sin for the reparation of a broken Law for the satisfaction of offended Justice for the Declaration of Divine hatred and displeasure against sin and for the manifestation of Gods Glorious power and wrath against the guilty And what a terror must Death needs be when it appears in this shape and armed with this sting Know O presumptuous and secure Sinner Though wickedness be now sweet in thy mouth and thou hidest it under thy tongue Though thou swallowest down deliciously thy forbidden morsells of sensual pleasure and worldly gain yet this meat will soon be turned in thy bowels and become the gall of asps within thee At last at death it will bite as a serpent and sting like an adder What horrour will fill thy soul when approaching Death shall awaken thy sleepy Conscience as oft times it doth and thy awakened Conscience shall charge thee with thy inexcusable transgression of a Righteous Law thy gross neglect of Commanded duty thy industerious provision to satisfie the flesh thy ready compliance with the call of temptations thy irreparable loss of precious time Thy hypocritical dealing with God in Covenant the Stopping of thine eares at the voice of Conscience the shutting of thine eyes against the light of Scripture the hardening of thy heart against the motions of the Spirit thy unbelieving refusals of an offered Saviour thy unprofitable misimprovement of means of Grace thy unthankful abuse of the mercies of God and obstinate incorrigibleness under his Judgments with many other instances of multiplyed and aggravated sins through a long life Whence will arise dismal apprehensions of the wrath of an offended God a certain fearful expectation of Judgment to come and a pre-occupation of eternal torments and everlasting burnings This is that sting of Death the weapon wherewith it is armed against thee wherein Consists its power and by which it is so terrible 2. Add to this the strength which this sting hath from the Law For saith the Apostle The strength of sin is the Law and that two ways 1 st As the Law discovers and convinceth of sin Rom. 5. 13. Sin is not imputed where there is no Law Men are not prone to charge themselves with sin where there is no Law therefore Gal. 3. 19. the Law was added because of transgressions that is to make transgressions appear Hence we read Rom. 3. 20. By the Law is the knowledge of sin and Rom. 7. 9 13. I was alive without the Law once in my own opinion but when the Commandment came Sin revived and I died I was convinced I was in a state of Sin and death and v. 13. Sin by the Commandement becomes exceeding sinful Thus sin as the sting of Death is strengthned by the Law while men thereby are more cleerly and fully convinced of it and the greater the conviction is the sharper is the sting 2 ly As the Law Curseth and condemneth the sinner Gal. 3. 10. Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the Law to do them hence as before Rom. 7. 9. When the Commandment Came. I died and 2 Cor. 3. 7. The Law is called the Ministration of death The Law binds the sinner over to the Judgment of the great day It holds him fast under his guilt without hope of pardon passeth sentence of Condemnation upon him and begins the execution by wounding the Spirit terrifying the Soul with pre-apprehensions and foretasts of the wrath to come The sum of the terror of Death is this Approaching death awakeneth the secure Conscience Awakened Conscience charged with the guilt of sin This sin is strengthened with a Convincing cursing Law The dying wretch seeth his day of sensual delights and pleasures his day of worldly gains and purchases his day of Carnal fellowship with men and especially his day of Grace and mercy with God passing away finds his Spirit fainting his heart and flesh failing anguish and pangs taking hold of him and his soul forthwith to be Required Apprehended Arrested Summoned and haled out of his body from all freinds means helps and hopes to appear naked before God the Judge of all men to give an account of a sinful life and to receive a righteous doom viz. Depart from me ye Cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels and then to go away into everlasting punishment At this what heart of man can contain and possess himself without fear Who but must be appalled confounded amazed terrified Knowing the terror saith St. Paul 2 Cor. 5. 1. Speaking of this appearance and account Felix trembled saith St. Luke Act. 24. 25. When he heard of Judgment to come It is a fearful looking for of Judgment and fierie indignation saith the Author to the Hebrews chap. 10. 27. and a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God ver 31. Thus have we represented the Enemy Death in its power and pomp as it reigneth over the fallen Sons and Daughters of Adam which appears so terrible that woe be to those that fall under the power of it 2. We will now shew you this Enemy fallen and overcome before Believers Believers are Victorious over Death Object But saith Natural Carnal reason Is not this a great Paradox who will believe it One Enoch indeed was translated that he should not see Death and Elijah went up to Heaven in a fiery Chariot But else the Patriarchs and Prophets and Apostles and all the Saints in their Successive generations have yielded up to Death And doth not every day bear witness Are we not all here this day lamenting a very holy and Eminent Saint and Servant of Jesus Christ fallen by the stroke of Death Where then is the Victory And How is Death overcome Answ Notwithstanding all this yet Verily Death is overcome Not ut ne sit but ut ne obsit Not that it should not be but that it should not be hurtful to believers and this Victory consists in four things 1. Death is disarmed to believers that it cannot sting them When death cometh it finds no sin in them unpardoned no guilt remaining as an obligation
from the dead seemed no other than babling to the Learned Philosophers at Athens Act. 17. 18. And was thought incredible by Festus and Agrippa and the Captains and Principal men of Caesarea Act. 26. 8. Yea the Resurrection seemed as an idle Tale at first to the very Apostles Luk. 24. 11. and they believed it not So great is the Glory of this victory over Death that even Angels come down from Heaven to make report of it and to Celebrate the Triumph Mar. 16. Luk. 24. Tell no more then of the mighty Acts of Nimrod or Chedorlaomer of Sennacherib or Nebuchadnezzar of Cyrus or Alexander or of all the Caesars or the rest of those great Names that have filled the world with their Fame who have subdued Kingdoms and led Nations Captive and made many glorious Triumphs Yea let no mention be made of the Victories of Joshua or Baruk or Gideon or Jephtha or Samson or Saul or Jonathan or David or of all his worthies who have Victoriously fought the Battles of the Lord against the Arms of flesh and whose Sword returned not empty from the blood of the slain Behold the greater Glory of this Victory in the Text which darkneth the lustre of all their Triumphs Their Acts were mira but this miraculum Their Victories were wonders but this a Miracle The Gates of Hell the power of Darkness the King of Terrors before whom all these Triumphing Victors at last fell fallen at the feet of the Saints Quest But if Believers be thus victorious and their Victory be so great and Glorious which you tell us as indeed it is How do they obtain it Where lieth the great strength of these Samsons Are they not all Clay of the same lump with other men Are they not the Sons of men Do we not know their generation Their Parents Brethren and Sisters are they not with us Whence then have these men these mighty Works Answ Truly they are so They are of the same Nature with other men promise no more than other nay less as to sense and reason for they are not many wise after the flesh not many mighty not many noble 1 Cor. 1. 26. and therefore we may well ask the question How they overcome The remaining Text will resolve this They get not the Victory by their own Sword neither do their own Arm save them But 3. The Victory is given them by God through our Lord Jesus Christ We will express this in three particulars 1. Jesus Christ disarmeth Death by his satisfaction 2. He destroyeth Death by his Resurrection 3. This Victory becomes the Believers by participation and communion with him 1. Jesus Christ disarms Death by his Satisfaction The sting of Death is sin saith the context and the strength of sin is the Law Sin being the Transgression of a Righteous Law hath in it a fundamentall demerit and natural obligation to punishment which is moreover Confirmed by the Laws threatning Thou shalt die the Death This is the sting of Death wherewith it is armed from the poyson power and pain whereof none can be delivered unless the obligation be voided by making satisfaction This being impossible to meer man Jesus Christ undertook it To which purpose our sins were translated on him by imputation Isa 53. 6. All we like Sheep have gone astray we have turned every on to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all He was made a Priest that he might offer Sacrifice to expiate this guilt and to Satisfie the Law Heb. 5. 4 5 6. And no man taketh this honour unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high Priest but he that said unto him Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee and again Thou art a Priest for ever c. The Sacrifice to be offered up by this Priest for this purpose must be an humane Soul and body for the Subjection of mans Soul and body to the curse of the Law was the punishment which the Law exacted for mans sin and wherewith only it would be satisfied This Soul and body did Christ assume Joâ— 1. 14. The word was made flesh Hebs 10. 5. When he cometh into the World he saieth Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not but a body hast thou prepared me For the Sanctification of this Sacrifice to be offered up to God there must be an Altar Math. 23. 19. The Altar Sanctifieth the gift which Altar was his divine nature Heb. 9. 14. Througth the eternal Spirit he offered himself And Joh. 17. 19. I sanctifie my self I as God sanctifie my self as man And being thus instructed he actually offered up himself to God Eph. 5. 2. Christ hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God He humbled himself and became obedient unto Death even the Death of the cross Phil. 2. 8. and so was made a Curse for us as it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree Gal. 3. 13. By this did Christ satisfie the Law expiate guilt cancelled the hand writing the obligation to punishment appeased the wrath of God and obtained remission of sins Eph. 1. 7. Thus did he finish transgression make an end of sins thus he made reconciliation for iniquity brought in Everlasting Righteousness Thus he disarmed death by making satisfaction 2. He destroyeth Death by his resurrection By his satisfaction he took away the power and efficacy of Death but by his resurrection he destroyed the very Being of death actually as to himself virtually as to believers Rom. 6. 9. Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more Death hath no more dominion over him and v. 10. For in that he died he died unto sin once Ad delendum peccatum ut semel in nihilum redigat peccatum in nobis saith Beza he died once for all utterly to blot out sin in us but in that he liveth he liveth unto God Apud Deum or secundum Deum vita caelesti et immortali a life worthy of God an heavenly and immortal life We read Joh. 11. 44. concerning Lazarus that he that was dead came forth There the power of Death was suspended at present that it could not hold him but the Being of Death remained for he rose to die again and therefore he came forth bound hand and foot with Grave-Clothes and his face was bound about with a Napkin But when Christ rose both the Power and the Being of Death ceased as to him and therefore he left his Grave-Clothes behind him and carryed nothing belonging to Death with him Joh. 20. 6. 7. The rising body of Christ was not only not dead but not mortal His body rose a glorious body a spiritual body an heavenly body Not only Death but mortality is swallowed up by the resurrection of Christ And as by the resurrection of Christ the Being of Death was destroyed actually as to himself so vertually to believers for
even as to them he hath abolished Death and brought life and immortality to light 2 Tim. 1. 10. Saith Christ Rev. 1. 18. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keyes of Hell and Death The keyes are the Ensign of power Christ by his resurrection hath obtained authority over Death to quicken whom he pleaseth to shut and open the grave And his promise is to exercise this power for his people Joh. 6. 44. I will raise him up at the last day Hos 13. 14. I will ransome them from the power of the grave I will redeem them from death Notwithstanding all the improbabilities yea impossibilities in Nature yet he saith to them as to Cyrus Isa 54. 2. I will go before thee and break in pieces the Gates of Brass and cut in sunder the barrs of Iron On which account St. Peter begins his Epistle v. 3. with thanksgiving Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope i. e. hope of eternal life as v. 4. by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the Dead It is observable what the Apostle saith here he hath begotten us by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ The Resurrection of Jesus Christ hath a secret generating influence upon the Resurrection of the Saints who are therefore called by our Saviour Luke 20. 36. The Children of the Resurrection which leadeth to 3. This Victory becomes the believers by participation and Communion with Him They communicate with him in the value of his satisfaction and they communicate with him in the vertue of his Resurrection 1. They communicate with him in the value of his Satisfaction whereby the sting of Death is taken out as to them to wit the guilt of sin done away By the Covenant of Redemption between the Father and Christ it was eternally agreed that Christ should be their Surrogate Substitute and Surety to undertake for them in their nature Joh. 10. 18. No man taketh my life from me but I lay it down of my self there is Christs Consent This Commandment have I received of my Father there 's the Fathers Consent So Hebr. 10. 7. Then said I Lo I come to do thy will O God Accordingly he became man and our surety and thereby one with us in the Sense of the Law as the principal debtor and Surety are looked upon as one person in Law Thus our debt became his debt he was bound for us and saith to his Father on our behalf as Judah to Joseph on the behalf of Benjamin Gen. 44. 32. 33. Thy Servant became Surety for the lad unto my Father Now therefore I pray thee let thy Servant abide in stead of the lad a bondman to my Lord And the punishment due to us became his Isa 53. 4 5. Surely he hath born our greifs and carried our Sorrows He was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities c. And thus by vertue of the same Suretyship when he had undergone the punishment and Satisfied the Law and taken his discharge which was testified by his Resurrection His Satisfaction becomes our Satisfaction and his discharge our discharge Jer. 23. 6. He is the Lord our Righteousness Gal. 3. 13. Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us Rom. 8. 33 34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect Who is he that Condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again No Law doth demand both of the principal and the Surety too They are bound to pay disjunctively one or the other Therefore when Christ was apprehended he said to the Officers that took him Joh. 18. 8. If ye seek me let these my disciples go their way 2. They communicate with him in the vertue of his Resurrection Christ rose from the dead not only as a surety discharged from prison when he had paid the debt and thereby cancelling the obligation of the principal but also as a vital head to quicken and raise all his body the Church For the same Spirit of life which is in Christ and quickened his dead body is also in the church and in every particular member thereof and will certainly quicken their dead bodies Rom. 8. 11. If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by or because of his Spirit that dwelleth in you He saith not your dead bodies but your mortal bodies to denote this quickening to be not only from death to life but from mortality to immortality as was the resurrection of Christ He that eateth me saith Christ Joh. 6. 5 7. that is by faith there is union with Christ even he shall live by me there is communion with Christ as necessarily consequent And what that life is he expresseth four times in that chap. ver 39 40 44 54. I will raise him up at the last day Hence Christ is said to be our life Col. 3. 4. and we are said to be quickened with Christ Col. 2. 13. and risen with Christ Eph. 2. 6. It is from the vertue of Christs Resurrection that Job argueth to his own Job 19. 25 26. I know that my Redeemer liveth c. And though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God And this is the argument which the Apostles so industriously improves throughout this Chapter assuring the Resurrection of believers by the Resurrection of Christ Christ rose as the first-fruits of them that sleep which sanctifieth and assureth the whole harvest ver 20. If the first Adam dying derived Death to all his natural seed much more shall the second Adam rising communicate life to all his Spiritual seed ver 22. yea such intimate and necessary connexion is there between the Resurrection of Christ and the Resurrection of believers that the Apostle argueth both forward and backward from the one to the other ver 12 13 16. The Saints then shall one day feel the quickening influences of their vital head upon their dead bodies and experimentally know the power of his Resurrection Recovering them from the power of the grave to rise and live with him for ever Which is so certain that the Apostle speakes of it as already done Eph. 2 6. He hath raised us up Applicat 1. How sad and woful is the Case of unbelievers who have no share in this Glorious and Blessed Victory no interest in the satisfaction and Resurrection of this Prince of life but are left to shift for themselves alone all forlornly exposed to the invincible Assaults of the King of Terrors Do they not tremble at a distance at the fore-thoughts of that dark and dismal hour when this spoiling destroying abhorred and dreadful Enemy shall surprize them and peremptorily require their precious life beyond all denial