so taking all together as one presents it unto God the Father for our acceptance And this he does now as our High-Priest for if we look into this book of the Hebrews we shall find That the Apostle speaking of the High Priest relating unto Jesus Christ saies in the 5. Chapter and the 1. verse That it was his work to offer Gifts That he may offer both Gifts and sacrifices And so in the 8. Chapter and the 3. vers Every High-Prist is ordained to offer Gifts and Sacrifices Thus we have another great work of our great High-Priest which is To offer up all our Prayers our Duties our Gifts unto God the Father which if ye will we may call another part of Christs Intercession but I handle it distinct Now that I may open cleer this great Gospel-Mystery I shall endeavour to discover First What Jesus Christ our High-Prist doth when be does offer up our Gifts unto God the Father Secondly What abundance of favour and acceptance this our great High-Priest himself hath in Heaven Thirdly That he doth improve all that his own acceptance for our acceptance planting all our Duties upon his own acceptance upon that acceptance that he hath with the Father Fourthly What abundance of acceptance therefore we have in all our Duties by him Fiftly How this doth conduce to our Grace and to our Comfort First Quest 1 What doth our Lord and Saviour Christ our great High-Priest when he offers up our Gifts unto God the Father First Answ 1 He doth take our persons and carries them in unto God the Father in a most unperceivable way to us He knows that if our Person be not first accepted our Duty cannot be accepted Love me and love my Duty love me love my Service hate me and hate my Service In the Covenant of Works God did first accept of the work and then of the Person the Person for the work But in the Covenant of Grace God doth first accept of the Person and then the Work Now therefore that our Work and our Duty may be accepted with God the Father The Lord Christ our High-Priest doth first take our Person and our Name and carries them into the presence of God the Father This was plainly shadowed out unto us by that of the High-Prest Who went into the Holy of Holiest with the Names of all the Tribes upon his breast Which the Apostle speaks out plainly Eph. 3.12 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In whom we have accesse with boldness The word Accesse as some observe is Manuduction Hand-leading In whom we have an Hand-leading or by whom we are led by the Hand unto God the Father As a child having run away from his Father is taken by the hand of a friend or of his Elder brother and brought again into the presence of his father So all we having run away from God are taken and led again into the presence of the Father by the hand of Jesus Christ He is that ladder that Jacob saw upon whom we do ascend into the bosome of God and go into Heaven Our High-Priest Jesus Christ doth first take our Persons and lead us into the presence of God the Father That is the first Secondly As he doth take our Persons and lead and carry us into the presence of God the Father So when we do perform any Duty he doth observe what evil or failing there is in that Duty and draws it out takes it away before he presents the Duty-unto God the Father A Child that would present his father with a Nose-gay or Posie goes into the garden and he gathers flowers and weeds together but coming to his mother she takes them and picks out the weeds and binds up the flowers by themselves and so it is presented to the father Thus it is with us We go to Duty and we gather weeds flowers together But the Lord Jesus Christ he comes and picks out the weeds and then he presents nothing but flowers unto God the Father And this we have plainly set forth unto us by that of the High-Priest taking away the iniquities of the Holy things of Gods people in the 28. Chapter of Exodus Thou shalt make a plat-form of pure gold at the 36. verse and grave upon it like the ingravings of a signet HOLINES UNTO THE LORD And thou shalt put it on a blue lace that it may be upon the Mytre upon the forefront of the Mytre it shall be Then at the 38. verse And it shall be on Aarons forehead that is the High-Priest that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the Children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy guifts and it shall be alwaies upon his forehead that they may be accepted before the Lord. Thus taking away the iniquity of their holy things So it is said concerning our Saviour Christ in the 3. Chapter of Malachy the 2 3 4. verses Who may abide the day of his coming plainly understood of Christ as appears by the first vers Then at the 3. He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and he shall purifie the Sons of Levi and purge them as gold and selver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness Then shall the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the dayes of old Then shall their offerings be pleasant When when he hath purg'd their sacrifices and their offerings This in the daies of his flesh and now much more This is the Second thing that the Lord Christ our great High-Priest doth in offering up our Gifts unto God the Father He takes out the weeds Thirdly As he takes away the iniquity of our holy things So he observes what good there is in any of our Duties or Performances and with that he mingles his own Prayers and Intercessions his own Intense and presents all as one work mingled together unto God the Father This we have so fully in the 8. Chapter of the Revelation that I need name no other place Another Angel at the 3. verse stood at the Altar having a golden Censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which was before the Throne And the smoke at the 4. verse of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand This must needs be understood of Christ for no Angel does intercede but Christ who is called The Angel of the Covenant 'T is said here He stood at the Altar having a golden Censer Which none of the High-Priests had and there was given unto him much incense and this he offered with the prayers of all the Saints and the smoake of the incense came with the prayers of the Saints and ascended up before the Lord. He alludes unto the way and custome of the Jewes and the High-Priest shewing that the Lord Jesus Christ doth
holy he is the more a man sees his sins pardoned the more is he engaged to Christ ibid 5 The more a man denies his own reghteousness the more holy is he with Gospel-holiness Page 21 SERMON II. Heb. 2.17 18. The second work of a high priest is to pray and intercede for the people Page 25 Proved Page 26 Cleered by opening 1 Wherein it consisteth 1 In owning our cause and souls to God his father Page 27 2 Carries the merit of his blood into the presence of God the Father Page 28 3 Answers the accusations that are brought in against us ibid 4 Cals for pardon of our sins at the hands of God Page 30 2 How powerful it is with God the father 1 The great interest he hath with his father Page 31 2 The inclination God the Father hath to the things Christ intercedeth for Page 32 3 upon what terms Christ was taken and admitted into heaven Page 34 3 He now intercedeth for us in heaven as our High-priest 1 He hath gone through more temptations than any High-priest ever did Page 35 2 He is filled with more compassions Page 36 3 He is more faithful in his office Page 37 4 He liveth for ever to intercede Page 38 5 He intercedeth at all times ibid 6 For all sins the sin against the holy-Ghost excepted 4 This conducech to our comfort and holiness To our comfort proved Page 39 Object I am afraid the Lord Christ doth not intercede for me Answ 1. It is no presumption to bear our selves upon the intercession of Jesus Christ Page 41 2 Who those are that Christ doth intercede for Page 42 3 How infinitely willing he is to intercede for us 1 He hath received his anointing for it Page 44 2 It is the work of his relation Page 45 3 It is the work of his office Page 46 To our holiness 1 The more we are engaged to come to Christ Page 48 2 The more we are engaged to appear on earth for him Page 49 3 The more we are engaged to lay out our selves for him Page 50 SERMON III Heb. 2.17 18. The third work of the High Priest to offer up the gifts of the people to God to present their duties to him Page 52 Proved Page 53 Cleered by particulars 1 What Christ doth when he offers up our gifts to God the Father Page 54 1 He takes our persons and carries them to God the Father in an unperceivable way to us ibid 2 He takes out the iniquity of our duties before he presents our duties to his father Page 55 3 He mingles his own intercession with what is good in our duties and so presents them as one work to his father Page 56 2 What acceptance this hath with God the Father Page 57 1 It was an agreement made between them before the world was ibid 2 He was made the great Lord treasurer of all grace Page 58 3 The father promiseth him his desire ibid 4 He hath put the keys of heaven and hell into his hands ibid 3 He doth Improve his acceptance for our acceptance Page 59 4 What abundance of acceptance we have in all our duties by him Page 60 Objections answered Page 62 5 How this makes for our comfort and holiness Page 64 For our comfort 1 Our duties are not lost Christ takes notice of them Page 65 2 We have liberty to go to the mercy seat and there meet with God ibid 3 We know how it shall go with us at the great day of judgment ibid 4 Being poor beggers we are releeved of God Page 66 Object How shall I know the Lord accepts my duty Answ 1 If thou find thy heart warm in duty or after duty thy duty is accepted Page 67 2 Can you pray and intercede for other godly men Page 68 3 If grace be larger under the Gospel than under the Law ibid For our holiness 1 To the ungodly 1 It keeps men from opposition to the wayes of God Page 69 2 It is a mighty encouragement to ungodly men to come to Christ Page 70 2 To the godly 1 Here 's an infinite reason why we should be much in duty ibid 2 Infinite reason why we should receive every truth that comes from Christ Page 71 3 It will make you more obedient in an evangelical way Page 72 4 The more a man rejoyceth in spirituall obedience the more humble he is Page 74 SERMON IIII Heb. 2.17 18. The fourth work of the High priest is to blesse the people Page 76 Proved ibid Opened 1 Wherein the blessing of Christ and of the Gospel consists Page 77 1 In the spiritual enjoyment of God in Christ Page 79 2 In the holy Ghost dwelling in our hearts ibid 2 What Christ doth when he doth blesse 1 He wisheth choyce blessings to them Page 80 2 He doth authoritively pronounce him blessed Page 81 3 He absolves them from all their sins ibid 4 He confers and bestows the blessing upon them ibid 5 He gives increase Page 82 3 That this belongs especially to Christ proved Page 83 4 That Jesus Christ is willing to blesse poor sinners Page 85 5 He doth this fully ibid Object We do not see it Answ 1. 'T is a hard thing to discern the blessing of Christ sometimes ibid 2 He doth not blesse as the world blesseth Page 84 3 Not as professors blesse Page 85 4 Not alwaies as godly men blesse ibid But 1. He blesseth such as are weak in gifts and grace Page 86 2 Such as he hath made use of in the work of God ibid 3 Such as are willing to leave all relations to follow him Page 87 4 He blesseth when the world curseth ibid 5 Such as graciously enjoy evangelical ordinances Page 88 6 All this conduceth to our comfort and holiness To our comfort Page 88 Object If I were assured God had blessed me I could have comfort Answ 1 It is a sign a man is blessed when others are blessed by him Page 90 2 When he is drawn the neerer to God by outward things Page 91 3 When he encreaseth and multiplieth ibid To our holinesse 1 it encourageth to come to the truth Page 92 2 To go on in it against all opposition Page 94 3 To go on though we have but weak parts ibid 4 To be contented with our condition Page 95 5 Continually to bless the Lord ibid Hebrews 2.18 SERMON I Text opened Page 98 Doct. God suffers his deerest children to suffer by the hand of temptation Page 101 Opened 1 There is an afflictive disposition in every temptation Page 101 2 God suffers his own children thus to suffer 1 The best many times suffer most Page 103 2 At that very time when they have most of God ibid 3 Satan many times seems to have the better of them Page 104 4 This continues a long time ibid Why God doth so 1 That they may be the more enlightened Page 104 2 That they may be cleansed ibid 3 That they may be
Debter when he comes and looks upon the book he is able to reade all the particulars Item for such a thing and Item for such a thing and Item for such a thing but the man being not aquainted with the nature of crossing the book he is able to reade all th particulars and he charges it still upon himselfe because he does not understand the nature of this crossing the book and he is as much troubled how he shall pay the debt as if it were not paid at all So now 't is here The Lord Jesus Christ he hath come and cross't our book with his own blood the sins are to be read in your own consciences but we being not acquainted with the nature of Christs satisfaction and the crossing of the book we charge our selves as if no sin at all were satisfied for us Yet when the Lord Jesus Christ was made an offering for sin upon the Cross then he did give full satisfaction unto God the Father And that 's the Third Fourthly This now he hath done as our great High-Priest and in a more transcendant and eminent way than ever any high-Priest did before For though the High-Priest did come and make an atonement for a poor sinner yet he himself was never made a sacrifice the Priest offered up a sacrifice but himself never was made a sacrifice But our great High-Priest does not only offer up a sacrifice but Himself is made a sacrifice Yea that sacrifice that was then in the times of the old-Testament it could not purge the conscience not only because as the Apostle speaks it was the blood of bulls and goats but because the sacrifice was performed successively as thus A man sinned then he brought a sacrifice sins again and then he brings another sicrifice and once every yeare the High-Priest goes into the holy of holiest to make an atonement But in the mean while a poor soul might think thus What if I die before the year come about what will become of me the High-Priest he goes once a year into the Holy of Holyest and sprinkles the mercy-seat but what will become of me if I die before that time But now our great High-Priest he does not only offer up a sacrifice and Himself the sacrifice but he offers up a sacrifice once for all So saies the Apostle So that now when a Christian hath sinned he is not to think of a sacrifice that is yet to come a year hence but he is to look unto that which is done already a sacrifice once offered and once for all So that he needs not be in suspence now as the Jewes were his Conscience it may be fully purged from sin Again Take the High-Priest in the times of the old-Testament and though he did make an atonement for the sins of the people yet sometimes also he did make the people to sin It is said of Aaron the great High-Priest concerning the golden-Calf that he did make the people naked But the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he makes an attonement for sin and never does make them sin He is so far from making the people naked that he covers them with his righteousness that their nakedness may not appear Here 's a glorious High-Priest Yea This High-Priest of ours He does not only make an atonement for sin committed and paies the debt but he does also become our Surety unto God the Father He does not only pay the debt that is past but he becomes a Surety for time to come None of all those High-Priests that ever did so not Aaron not any High-Priest that ever gave his bond unto God the Father that any sinner should never sin no more But our Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest he becomes our Surety and what Surety not an ordinary surety for amongst us the Surety joyns and does become bound with the Debter but still it runs in the name of the Debter and the Debter he gives the bond for to pay the debt But now here our Surety he gives the bond and we that are the Debters we do not give the bond for to pay the debt there is no godly man or beleever that ever gave a bond unto God the Father that he will pay the debt but our Surety comes and the bond goes in the name of the Surety and the Debters name is out Oh! what a glorious and blessed High-Priest is here here is a High-Priest beyond all the High-Priests that ever did go before And that 's the Fourth thing Fifthly How does all this conduce to our Comfort or Holiness First How does all this make to our Comfort Quest first Answ 1 Is it not a comfortable thing in the eares of a poor sinner that there is a Magazine and a Storehouse of Mercy set up that the Lord hath erected an office of Love and of meer compassion for poor sinners Is it not a comfortable thing that God the father is satisfied and so your sins pardoned Mark 2.5 Son saies Christ unto the palsie man be of good comfort thy sins are forgiven thee He does not say Be of good comfort thy disease is healed No whether thy disease be healed or whether it be not healed this is comfort Son thy sins are forgiven thee If the Lord Jesus Christ hath satisfied for my sins may a beleever say then whatsoever affliction I do meet withal it does not come upon me as a punishment properly it does not come upon me as an arrest for to pay my debt When a Reprobate is smitten and afflicted all his miseries they are arrests for to pay his debt Hath the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied Divine Justice and God the father for me then surely these afflictions they do not come for me to make satisfaction Again If the Lord Jesus Christ hath satisfied for my sins may a beleever say then I shall never be Damned I shall never fall from grace I have had many fears that I should fall from grace and so go to Hell and perish at last But if the Lord Jesus Christ hath satisfied Divine Justice for my sin then God the father will never punish my sin again for it was punish't in Jesus Christ therefore I cannot fall from grace therefore I can never be Damned And if the Lord Jesus Christ hath satisfied Divine Justice as our great High Priest Then I may come with boldness unto the Throne of grace A debtor so long as his debt is unpaid he dares not come by the prison door by the Compter door he is afraid of every Sergeant he is afraid of his friends that they should be Sergeants but when his debt is paid then he dares go up and down with boldness And so the poor soul when he knows that his debt is paid and Christ hath satisfied then he may go with boldness unto the Throne of grace But you will say Quest I cannot have the comfort of this because I cannot say that Christ hath satisfied for me How shall I know
that Jesus Christ is my High-Priest so as to have satisfied for me Ah if I did but know that the Lord jesus Christ were my High-Priest in this particular so as to have satisfied for me then should I have comfort indeed how shall I discover that I am afraid he hath not satisfied for me And why not for thee man or woman why not for thee Ans 1 I shall tell you what I have heard concerning a young man that lay upon his death bed and went to Heaven While he was lying upon his death bed he comforted himself in this That the Lord Christ died for sinners Oh! blessed be the Lord saies he Jesus Christ hath died for me Satan came in with this temptation to him I but young man why for thee Christ died for sinners but why for thee how canst thou make that appear that Christ died for thee Nay Satan saies he and why not for me Ah the Lord Jesus he died for sinners and therefore Satan why not for me So he held his comfort and went up to Heaven triumphing So say I to thee poor drooping soul that labours under Temptation Why not for thee why not for thee and say so unto Satan Why not for me Again Christs satisfaction it lies open for all sorts of sinners to come unto it As the promise Ans 2 it runs indefinitely and if a man come to the promise and apply it his very applying the promise does make it His. You say Oh! that I did but know that the promise belongs to me I say thy very resting upon the promise makes it to belong to thee So the satisfaction of Jesus Christ this piece of Christs Priestly Office it lies open for all sorts of sinners for to come unto it and your very resting upon it and applying it to your own souls it makes it to belong unto you Furthermore If Jesus Christ be willing that you should think that he hath satisfied for you Ans 3 then it is no presumption for you to think so Now saies he at the Lords Supper Take my blood that is shed for thee I apply it to thee Behold thy King cometh unto thee When he rode upon an Asses colt it was not said Behold thy Lord cometh but behold thy King cometh to thee he would have every one so to think More especially Ans 4 If that a poor Christian now might not to unto Jesus Christ as unto his High-Priest and say that he is an High-Priest to me then are we Christians in a great deal worser condition than the Jews were for when a Jew had sinned he might carry his sacrifice to the Priest and he might say That this Priest here belongs to me And there was never a Jew amongst all the people of the Jewes but when the High-Priest sprinkled the Mercy-Seat but he might say This he hath done for me Now we are not in a worse condition than the Jews were this High-Priest is beyond all the High-Priests that ever was before him and therefore there is never a poor Christian but he may go to the Lord Christ and say Oh! my High-Priest and this my High-Priest hath satisfied for me Oh! what comfort is here to poor drooping souls Lift up your heads O all ye Saints and Children of God me thinks here is that indeed that might bring you off your own sands When there is no water in the river but his own the tyde comes not in no sea-water only the water of the river the native water as I may so speak then your bottoms your ships they stand upon the sands but when the tyde comes in then they are raised and come off the sands then And so long as thou hast nothing in thy own channel but thine own righteousness thou stickest upon the sands in the deep mire But now when the tyde of the Lords satisfaction comes in there is a full-sea of mercy and satisfaction able to swim the heaviest vessel made by Jesus Christ Ah me thinks this should lift up a poor soul and fetch him off from his sands Be of good Comfort them Thus it 's evident how this truth does much conduce to our Comfort But you will say Quest Does it not much conduce to our Grace or Holiness too Or if it do I pray how Yes Answ 1 This truth does conduce much to our Holiness too You shall observe that the new Covenant of grace it is laid and founded upo the satisfaction of jesus Christ upopn the Crosse upon that oblation Three times the Apostle Paul makes mention of the new Covenant of grace in the book of the Hebrews the 8 9 and 10. Chapters and in all these places he laies the Covenant of grace and founds it upon the satisfaction of Jesus Christ But especially in the 9. Chapter the 13 14 and 15. verses The 14. How much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God Then at the 15. And for this cause he is the Mediator of the new Testament For this cause plainly laying the new Covenant of grace upon the satisfaction of Jesus Christ upon this part of his Priestly Office So then thou maiest now go unto God the Father and say Lord thou hast made a Covenant of grace with poor man and this Covenant of grace is founded upon the Priestly Office and satisfaction of Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus Christ he hath satisfied for me and the new Covenant promises that we shall be all taught of God Lord I amignorant Oh! therefore now by the satisfaction of Christ let me be taught of thee that I may be made wise unto salvation And so again Lord thou hast made a Covenant of grace with poor man this is laid upon the satisfaction of Jesus Christ The Covenant of grace saies I will write my Law in your inward parts Now O Lord seeing Jesus Christ hath founded this Covenant in his blood and I am one of those that he hath made satisfaction for Oh! write thy Law in my inward parts that I may do all thy wills But again Answ 2 in the Second place that we may see how this do conduce to our Holiness Strengthen faith and we strengthen all if faith be weakened all grace is weakened Strengthen your faith and you strengthen all your Holiness and all your Graces The way to strengthen a bough or a branch of the tree is not to carry dung up into the tree but to lay it to the root Strengthen the root and ye strengthen all the branches Faith is the Root-grace now the knowledge and the thorow degesting of this truth That the Lord Jesus Christ is our great High-Priest in this point of satisfaction it does wonderfull strengthen our faith For the more I know that God is willing and and Christ willing to shew mercy unto me the more my faith is strengthened I know this That every man is willing
brought against us But he does also call for Absolution and for Pardon of poor sinners at the hand of God the Father in a way of justice and equity And therefore he is called 1 John 2.1 our Advocate If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous The work of an Advocate differs from the work of a Petitioner an Advocate does not Petition the Judge but an Advocate he tels the Judge what is Law what is right what ought to be done So the Lord Jesus Christ being in Heaven and making Intercession is there as our Advocate Lord saies he this man he hath sinned indeed but I have satisfyed for his sins I have paid for them to the full I have satisfied thy wrath to the ful now therefore in a way of Equity and in a way of Justice I do here call for this mans pardon Thus Christ intercedes And thus we see briefly wherein the Intercession of Christ consisteth and what he does when we say That he Intercedes for us in Heaven Well But suppose he does Intercede Quest Can he prevaile in his Intercession hath he any potency power or prevalency with God the Father in his Intercession Yes very much Answ and therefore we find in that same 3. of Zach. That Joshua goes away with a faire Myter upon his head ver 5. And I said let them set a faire Myter or a Crown upon his head so they set a faire Myter or a Crown upon his head and clothed him with garments and the Angel of the Lord stood by Satan at the beginning stood at his right hand to accuse him but this Accuser of the brethren goes away with a double rebuke and Joshua goes away with a Crown through the Intercession of Jesus Christ he goes away with a Crown upon his head All which will appear to you if we consider Three things First What great interest our Lord and Saviour Christ hath in the bosome of God the Father Paul prevailed with Philemon for Onesimus through the great interest that Paul had in the bosome of Philemon Our Lord and Saviour Christ he hath lien in the bosome of God the Father from all eternity he is his Son his natural Son his beloved Son his Son that did never offend him and therefore surely when he comes and intercedes for a man he is most like to speed to prevaile We know that David going out against Nabal and his house Abigail comes forth meets with David and intercedes for Nabal and Abigail did so powerfully intercede even for Nabal that she turned Davids heart quite round about David swore he would not leave one of the house and after Abigail had interceded a little for Nabal in the 1 of Sam. 25.32 verse David said unto Abigail Blessed be the Lord God of Israel which sent thee this day to meet me and blessed be thy advice and blessed be thou which hast kept we this day from coming to shod blood Pray what did Abigail say that shee turned David thus about that her intercession was thus powerful Saies Abigail as for Nabal he is according to his name And it shall come to pass at the 30. verse when the Lord shall have done to my Lord according to all the good that he hath spoken concerning thee and shall have appointed thee ruler over Israel that this shall be no griefe unto thee nor offence of heart to my Lord either that thou hast shed blood causelesse or that my Lord hath avenged himselfe This shal be no griefe at all unto thine heart saies she and other words that she used by which she prevailed here with David But Abigail was a stranger to David and Abigail she prayes and intercedes for Nabal a wicked vile foolish man Shall Abigail a woman a stranger prevail thus with David for a Nabal and shall not the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father not a stranger nor a stranger to his bosome but beloved from everlasting shall not be prevaile much more when he comes and pleads the cause of the Elect and of the Children of God in the presence of God the Father whom the Father loves also Great is the Rhetorick of a Child if a Child do but cry Father especially if the child be a wise child he may prevail much with a tender hearted father The Lord Jesus Christ he is the Son of the Father and he is the Wisdom of the Father too and God the Father is a tender hearted father Oh! surely therefore Powerful are the Intercessions of Jesus Christ with God the Father Secondly The prevalency of Christs Intercessions with the Father will appear if we consider The inclination and disposition that God the Father hath unto the same things that Christ prayeth and intercedeth for If a child should come and intreat his father in a matter that the father hath no mind to or that the father is set against possibly he might not prevail But if a beloved child shall come and pray the father in a business that the father likes as well as the child surely then the child is very like to speed Thus it is The Lord Jesus Christ comes and he intercedes for us and the Father hath as great an inclination and disposition unto the work that Christ intercedes for as Christ himself hath And therefore saies Christ Loe I come to do thy will I come not to do mine own will but the will of him that sent me That which Christ did that he had a mind to it was rather the will of the Father than Christs will the Father is as strongly inclined and disposed to what Christ did and wils as Christ himself Those that thou hast given me saies he I have lost none they are thine own Lord and therefore I pray for them We have a notable expression to this end in the 10. Chapter of John and the 17. verse Therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my life that I may take it again I lay down my life Here 's his suffering and his satisfaction That I may take it again Go up to Heaven and take it again and intercede Therefore doth my father love me Oh! what a round of love is here God the father out of love sends Christ into the world to die for man God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son Wel Jesus Christ out of love to us he dies for us Who hath loved us and given himself for us The Father loves the world in giving Christ The Son loves the world in dying for us and the Father he loves Christ again for loving us Christ loves us and the Father loves Christ again for loving of us a mighty high expression That the Father should love Christ for loving us So then look wherein the love of Christ is seen unto poor sinners the Fathers inclination and disposition is untot hat as much as Christs So that when he comes unto God the Father
and does intercede he must needs prevail because the Father loves him for his interceding the Father likes the matter as well as he loves you the better for it Thirdly This will appear also if we consider upon what termes our Lord and Saviour Christ our great High-Priest was taken and admitted into Heaven the Holy of Holiest so it is called He was Honourably received into Heaven and he ws received thither for to do the work of the High-Priest He was Honourably received when he came to Heaven Sit thou down at my right hand saies God the Father to him a note of Honour When Solomon would expresse his Honour to his mother he set her down at his right hand Thus God the Father would expresse the Honourable welcome that Christ had when he came to Heaven Sit thou down on my right hand saies he Now ye shall observe that when soever this is made mention of The sitting down at the right hand of God the Father it is made mention of not with the Kingly Office of Christ but with the Priestly Office of Christ as if that he were set down there to do the work of the Priestly Office One would think I say that this should be exprest with the Kingly Office of Christ but you shall find it running along in the Scripture still with the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Look into the 8. Chapter of the Hebrews the 1. verse Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum We have such an High-Priest who is set on the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens It 's named with the Priestly Office And so again in the 10. Chapter of the Hebrews at the 11. and 12. verses Every High-Priest standeth dayly ministring and offering often times the same sacrifices which can never take away sin But this man speaking of Christ after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sate down on the right hand of God It is carried a long with the mention of the Priestly Office of Christ as if he were sate down on the right hand of God the Father in Heaven on purpose to do the work of the Priestly Office When Jesus Christ came into Heaven into the Holy of Holiest he came thither as our great High-Priest and he said unto God the Father Lord I am not now come in mine own name for my own sake only but I come as the great High-Priest having on this Brest-plate the name of all the Elect and I come to intercede for poor sinners I come as High-Priest Saies God the Father to him Welcome upon those termes welcome upon those termes not wich standing thou doest come in their names come and sit down at my right hand saies God the Father to him Thus Father is ingaged for he received him upon those termes into Heaven as our great High-Priest the Father therefore is engaged to hear his Intercession and so the intercession of Jesus-Christ must have a great deal of power and prevalency with God the Father in Heaven This is the Second thing But Thirdly Does the Lord Jesus Christ intercede for us in Heaven as our great High-Priest Yes and he does do this in a more transcendent and eminent way and manner than ever any High-Priest did before Him For First He hath gone through more Temptations than ever any High-Priest did He was tempted saies the text that he might succour those that are temped as an High-Priest If he was Tempted that he might succour those that are Tempted succour them as an High-Priest then the more he was Tempted the more experimentally able he is for to succour those that are Tempted Never any High-Priest that was Tempted like unto Christ He was saies the Apostle in all things tempted like unto us sin only excepted Poor soul name any temptation that thy heart is scared at the thoughts of and you will find that the Lord Jesus Christ he was tempted with that temptation You will say I am often times tempted to doubt Whether I be the Child of God or no and that very often So was Christ too you know the place in the 4. of Matthew If thou be the Son of God and if thou be the Son of God twice that the Devil would set an If upon Christs Son-ship Oh! but I am tempted often times to use indirect means to get out of trouble So was Christ too Command that these stones be made bread saies the Devil to him Oh! but sometimes I have been tempted even to lay violent hands upon my self So did the Devil tempt Christ too Cast thy self down off the pinacle of the Temple that was a temptation Oh! but I am tempted unto such evil things that truely I am afraid to speak of such Blasphemies such horrid and wretched Blasphemies as I think never came upon the heart of any child of God so that I am afraid to think of them and ashamed to mention them And was not Christ so was not he tempted so Saies the Devil to him All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me Oh! horrid Blasphemy Blush blush O Sun that the Lord Jesus the God of glory should fall down to the Devil and worship the Devil what wretched blasphemy was here that he should speak this and yet the Lord Jesus Christ he was tempted to it What shall I say He was in all things tempted like unto us sin only excepted Now there was never any High-Priest that was so tempted and he was therefore tempted that he might succour those that are tempted He is more able as our High-Priest to intercede to put in for you and to succour you than ever any High-Priest was before him Again As he hath gone through more Temptations than ever any High-Priest did So also he is filled with more Compassions It behoved the High-Priest to be Merciful it is an office of love and Mercy Now our Lord and Saviour Christ saies the Apostle is such an High-Priest as cannot but be touched with your infirmities the High-Priest that did go before him sometimes was not touched with their infirmities Hannah came and prayed and Eli's heart was not touched with her infirmity at the first But our High-Priest cannot but be touched he does sympathize with us under all our infirmities He is afflicted in all our afflictions It was the work of the High-Priest to sympathize with the people and yet notwithstanding there was a law that the High-Priest might not mourn for his kindred in that he might not as others sympathize or mourn But now our Lord Jesus he does fully sympathize with us and therefore goes beyond all the High-Priests that ever was before him Further He is more faithful in his office and place than ever any High-Priest was Aaron was an High-Priest butunfaithful in the matter of the golden calfe But our Lord and Saviour Christ he is more faithful than Moses was In this 3. Heb. 1.2 verses and so on Wherefore
have been and I am a great transgressor but I come unto God by Christ I am one of the coming-transgressors I have been a transgressor but I am a coming-transgressor I come unto God by Christ Stand you by also this Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ it belongs unto you And let me tell thee for thy comfort poor soul whatsoever thou hast been that comest unto the Lord by Christ the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he is gone to Heaven to intercede for thy soul But you will say Obj. There is one thing that makes me afraid he will not intercede for me I have been so great a transgressor for I have been a transgressor against Jesus Christ this High-Priest Oh! I have sinned against this great High-Priest Jesus Christ and therefore I am afraid he will not intercede for me For answer to this I shall only desire you to turn to the 16. Chapter of Numbers the 41. verse and consider it duely Answ we reade there that all the Congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron Aaron was the High-Priest And saies the text all the Congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron saying Ye have killed the people of the Lord. They had murmured against Moses and Aaron Then at the 46. verse Moses said unto Aaron Take a Censer put fire therein from off the Altar put on incense go quickly unto the Congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun And see what Aaron did And Aaron took as Moses commanded and ran into the midst of the Congregation and behold the plague was begun among the people and he put on incense and made an atonement for the people And he stood between the dead and the living and the plague was stayed They had sinned against Aaron the High-Priest and yet Aaron but the Typical High-Priest he was but a Type of Christ he ran in although they had sinned against him and he stood betwen the dead and the living and made an atonement for them Oh! if there was so much bowels and compassions in the Type in Aaron when they had sinned against him as to go and intercede for them How much more is there in our Lord Jesus Christ who is the Typified High-Priest to poor souls to intercede for them But now this may be more fully made out to us if we do but take in the Third thing and that is The Lord Jesus Christ he is infinitely willing to intercede for us We have seen who those are unto whom the Intercession of Christ belongs namely Such as have had any fellowship with God the Father or with Christ Such as do beleeve or shall hereafter beleeve And all those poor transgressors that come unto God the Father by Christ Now observe how infinitely willing the Lord Jesus Christ is to intercede for us that are thus That will appear thus First He must needs be willing to do that which he hath received his anointing for It is said of Aaron that he was anointed and that ointment ran down upon his beard and unto the skirts of all his garment not a piece of Aarons garment but was perfumed with the ointment that Aaron was anointed with Surely there is not a skirt of the garment of Jesus Christ but the anointment wherewithal He our High-Priest was anointed does run down upon him He is the Messiah the anointment So he is called in the 10. of Isaiah The anointment He was anointed with the oyle of gladness above all his fellows above all the High-Priests that ever were before him And he was anointed for this very end That he might do the work of the High-Priest which is to Intercede for the sins of the people And therefore in that place in John 1 John 2.1 If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ Christ signifies Anointed If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father But who is that He is Jesus that signifies your Saviour and so he is willing to intercede I but it may be he is not able to do it it may be he hath not received the anointing to do it Yes He is called Christ If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ or if you will Saviour Anointing So that he is anointed for this end and purpose to be your Advocate Now if a man do receive money for to lay out for the benefit of others poor Orphans or the like if a man be faithful certainly he will lay out the money for them according to the intention of him that did trust him with the money The Lord Jesus Christ he hath received the Anointing he is anointed as our great High-Priest to do the work of the Priestly Office and this is one work to Intercede and therefore he must needs be very willing to do it Again The more any thing is the work of a mans Relation wherewithal he is clothed the more if he be faithful is he willing to do the work And I pray mind it a little When men are exalted and come to Greatnesse or Honor then they give down the comforts of their Relation unto those that depend upon them If a father come to any great preferment the comfort of the Relation of a father then fals down upon the children runs down then upon the fruit of his loynes And so if one friend do come unto preferment the comfort of the Relation or friendship fals down Now the Lord Jesus Christ he is our High-Priest and he is now exalted he is gone to Heaven and therefore all the comforts of all the Relations that he stands in towards us do now fall upon us And therefore he is willing he is very willing because this is the work of his Relation And further It is the work of his Office What a man does by office that he does willingly what a man does by office he does industriously he does not do it by the bye what a man does by office he does it readily according unto a mans place or office so will his interpretation be Suppose now a Child that hath very good parts come before three men of three several professions A Lawyer a Minister and a Merchant The Child having very good parts the Merchant saies He will make a very good Merchant the Lawyer saies He will make a very good Lawyer and the Minister saies He wil make a very good Scholar according to their three Relations or Places or Office or work their interpretation is So now if three men of three several Trades whose work lies about wood come and behold a fine green-tree One man saies It is good for this And another saies It is good for that and the third saies It is good for another use according to his Place and Calling will his interpretation be So now when a poor soul comes before God Moses the Law looks upon him And the
you consider what a mighty ingagement is here to stand to and appear for the Lord Christ and to own his Cause in these backsliding times because he is now in Heaven appearing for you and making intercession for you Thirdly The more I confider or apprehend That the Lord Jesus Christ does lay out himself for me the more am I ingaged to lay out my selfe for him The Scripture saies He ever liveth to make intercession for you He laies out his whole Eternity for you Me thinks we have here before us the greatest argument in the world for to make us to walke closely with God in Christ For shall the Lord Jesus Christ spend of his Eternity for me and shall not I spend of my whole time for him He Ever liveth he Ever liveth to make intercession Before the world was made his delight was in the habitable parts of the earth among the children of men He laid out himself in delighting upon you before the world was made Well in due time he comes down into the world and here while he was upon the earth he laid out himself fully for you Then he Dies and goes up to Heaven and saies he I go to prepare a place for you He was at work for you before the world began Then he comes down upon the earth and here he spends all his time for you And now that he is gone to Heaven the text saith He ever liveth to make intercession for you he spends off all his eternity for you Oh! does not the Lord Jesus grutch me Eternity to spend off his Eternity for my soul and shall I grutch the Lord Jesus Christ a little time to spend a little time for him Surely people don't think what Christ is doing in Heaven for them you that are Saints especially if you did you could not be padling in the world so much Shall the Lord Jesus Christ be appearing in Heaven for me and shall I be digging in the world Shall he be making mention of my name unto God the Father and interceding for me and shall I be sinning against him shall I be contending with his children shall I now be joyning with his Enemies shall I be opposing his waies Oh! if people would but think what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing in heaven for them they could not rebel so in the world against him as they do Wherefore that you may be kept from your sins kept frō the world think of these things The Apostle saies These things have I written unto ye that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous And so say I to you I have been here delivering to you this Doctrine concerning the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ and these things have I preach't unto you that you sin not And therefore that you may be kept from sin and your hearts made more Holy think of the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ he is gone into Heaven to make intercession for you And thus have I discovered the Second Particular of the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ A Third follows SERMON III. HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that be might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest Preached at Stepney May. 9. 1647. in things pertaining to godliness to make reconciliation for the sins of the people For in that He himselfe hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted WE have found already That the work of the High-Priest was and is To Satisfie and to Intercede for the sins of the people Now if we inquire further we shall find also That the work of the High-Priest was and now is To offer up the gifts of the people unto God To present our Prayers Praises Duties Services and all spiritual Performances unto God the Father and to procure acceptance of him This was done thus In the times of Moses in the Tabernacle there were two Parts or Courts as we reade in the 9. Chapter of the Hebrews In the one which was called The Holy of Holiest there was the Arke the Mercy-Seat the Cherubims of glory and the golden Censer In the other there was the Brasen-Altar upon which they offered sacrifices there was the table of Shewbread the golden Candlestick and the golden Altar upon which incense was This is expresly laid down in the 2 3 and 4. verses of that 9. of Hebrews For there was a tabernacle made the first wherein was the candlestick and the table and the shew-bread which is called the sanctuary And after the Second vail the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold wherein was the golden pot that had manna and Aarons rod that budded and the tables of the covenant And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the Mercy-Seat And as every day morning and evening there was a lamb offered a sacrifice for the sins of the people upon the Brasen-Alter So every day morning and evening there was incense also upon the golden-Altar which was performed while the people were without at prayer mingling that incense with their prayers As it is in the 1. Chap. of Luke the 8 9 and 10. verses It came to passe that while he that is Zacharias executed the Priests Office before God in the order of his course according to the cusiome of the Priests office his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord and the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense So that the incense was at a time when they were sweetly mingling their prayers and the incense together But now although that there was a sacrifice every day yet once in the yeer th◠High-Priest came and he took the blood of the Sacrifice and carried it into the Holy of Holiest and sprinkled the Mercy-Seat therewith And although there was incense too from the Golden Altar every day yet once in the yeer the High-Priest came and he took the golden Censer and putting incense into it from off the golden Altar went into the Holy of Holiest and caused a cloud of perfume to arise upon the Mercy-Seat All which was a great Type of Jesus Christ our High-Priest who though he offered up himself a sacrifice once for sin without yet when he died and ascended he carried the vertue of that his blood into the Holy of Holiest into Heaven and sprinkled the Mercy-Seat therewith Although he began to make Intercession while he lived as we reade in the 17. of John yet when he ascended up into Heaven the Holy of Holiest then he did take his golden Censer and carried his Intercession into Heaven causing a cloud of sweet perfumes to arise upon the Mercy-Seat which stil he does whilst we are praying here without he mingling all our Duties with his Intercessions and
for ever keep me from opposition to the good wayes of God I have said sometimes may a wicked man say concerning godly mens duties That it was their Hypocrisie And I have said concerning such and such Professors This is your Pride and this is your Singularity and I have opposed with all bitterness and earnestness the prayings and wrestlings of some of Gods people But is this true That the Lord Jesus Christ takes every Prayer of the meanest of Gods Children and carries it into the bosom of God the Father and shall I spit upon that that Christ owns shall I dare to oppose that that the Lord Jesus Christ presents unto his Father The Lord in mercy pardon me I have sinned and done foolishly and for ought I know I may have spoken evill of that Duty that Christ hath carried into the presence of God the Father Oh! through the Lords grace then for ever will I leave to make any opposition against any of the good waies of God again and I will never speake one word against the persons meetings or supplications of the godly again Again In case a man be Ungodly a wicked man Here is mighty incouragement for to come unto Jesus Christ I and to come presently For is Jesus Christ the ladder that Jacob saw by whom we go up to Heaven doth he take all our Duties and Prayers and present them to God the Father for acceptance Then till I do come to Christ all is nothing all is lost if I be a Drunkard and will not come to Christ Prayer is all lost if I be a Swearer and will not come to Christ an Unclean wretch and will not come to Christ all my Prayers and all my Duties are lost Oh! the Lord pity me may many a poor soul say I have lost too many Prayers already through the Lords grace now I will lose no more Oh! I come to Christ Lord I come I come This is a mighty incouragement to make every man now for to come unto Jesus Christ because the Lord Jesus our High-Priest takes every Duty and carries it into the bosom of God the Father for acceptance Thus for Ungodly Secondly In case a man be Godly this truth doth conduce to our further Holiness and growth in grace If I be Codly Then here I see infinite reason why I should be much in Duty not only pray but be much in prayer Why for the Lord Christ taketh all and carries all into the bosom of the Father mingles his own odours intercessions with it although it be but a sigh and a groane The Apostle upon this account makes this use of it having spoken of Christ our High-Priest Therefore saith he let us come with boldness vnto the Throne of grace Heb. 4.16 The word signifies to speak all ones mind let us come speaking all Having such an High-Priest indeed as will carry all into the presence of God the Father for acceptance every sigh and every groan then who would not be much in prayer speak all to Christ be free with Christ come with boldness There 's many a poor soul that is much discouraged and he dares not go to prayer many times afraid to go to the Throne of grace The reason is because he looks upon his Prayer or Duty as it lies upon his own heart or as it comes from himself Whereas my beloved 't is with your Prayers and Duties as it is with fire Your kitchin fire is troubled with abundance of smoake and there is filth about it fire upon the hearth hath much smoake but fire above in the Element of fire there 's no smoke So your Prayer when it lies upon your own hearth as I may say there 's a great deal of smoke but when it gets once into the hands of Jesus Christ there 's it's Element and it is freed from all it's smoke Or as it is with a mans Body so long as he lives here upon the earth he is feeble and weak and many times sickly assoon as he is come into Heaven all his weakness is taken away and his body being in Heaven 't is presently glorified and strength put upon it and all his diseases are gone So 't is with our Prayers So long as they are here below in our own bosoms they are full of weakness but assoon as our Prayer is out of our mouth 't is in the hand of Christ 't is in Heaven 't is glorified the weakness is now done away Oh! 't is a glorified Prayer when once 't is gone from you 't is in the hand of Christ And therefore this is a mighty incouragement unto all those that are godly to be not only in Prayer but to be much in Prayer come with boldness unto the Throne of grace Again If ye be Godly yea if ye be Ungodly Here I see infinite reason why I should receive every Truth that comes from Christ though accompanied with many failings in him that speaks it The Lord Jesus Christ he accepts of every prayer and duty that comes from me though it have many weaknesses yea he takes my Prayer and carries it into the presence of God the Father for acceptance my poor Prayer labouring with many weaknesses Then when a Truth comes from Christ shall not I accept of it what though the Minister or Preacher that speaks it labour with this or that weakness There is Pride or there is some miscarriage in the delivery or the like Shall the Lord Christ take my Prayer labouring under infirmity and accept thereof and carry it into the presence of God the Father for acceptance notwithstanding all the failings of my Duty and shall not I accept of Truth that comes from Christ notwithstanding all the failings of the poor messenger that brings it Further The more Evangelical you are in your Obedience the more Holy ye are in your lives This truth that is now before ye well studied and considered will make you more Obedient in an Evangelical way And ye shall find therefore that the Lord himself from Heaven does make this use of it pray consult with the 17. of Matthew and the 5. verse This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him Those words follow Hear him Hearing notes Faith and Obedience not a bare Hearing with the ear Compare this and the same speech together which ye have in the 3. of Matthew and the 17. verse Loe a voyce from Heaven saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Heare ye him is not there in the 3. of Matthew but here in the 17. of Matthew these words are added Heare ye him What should the reason be that Hear ye him should be added here in the 17. of Matthew and not in the 3. of Mat. thew Give me leave to give you some reason for it so far as may make to our present purpose Not to say any thing of that which Moses said In his daies a Prophet will the Lord your God raise up
there of the Disciples That they should wait for the promise of the Father Christ commaded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father What is that We know what it was and is that which befel afterward it was the giving out of the holy Ghost the holy Ghost fell upon them this is called THE promise of the Father That as in the times of the Old Testament the promise was the giving of the Son and coming of the Second Person So after Christ came the great promise was the coming of the Third Person and the giving of the holy Ghost When I am gone saith Christ I 'le send ye another Comforter He that beleeveth out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water This he spake concerning the Spirit which was not yet given in those extraordinary emanations of gists and graces because he was not yet glorisied So then the great Blessing that was to be given unto the children of men the great Gospel-blessing was the giving out of the holy Ghost this is a Gospel-blessing indeed Well Ques But what doth Christ do when he doth Bless It 's observable Answ 1 that when any Superiour did Blesse a father did blesse his child or the like he did observe what was the choice mercy and good in those times and he did wish that unto his child or unto his inferiour And so in Isaac and Jacobs time the choice good it was The dew of Heaven and when they did blesse their children they wish't unto them the dew of Heaven So now when our Iord Jesus our great High-Priest doth blesse any man observing that the choice mercy of the Gospel is the injoyment of God in Christ the favour and love of God and the giving out of the holy Ghost into a mans heart he doth wis all this good unto him and he saies unto God the Father Lord let this poor soul have thy favour Oh! cause thy face to shine upon this poor soul and give out the holy Ghost unto it that it may walk after the spirit In the Second place It 's observable That when the Priests did Blesse the people they did not barely wish good unto them but they did Authoratatively pronounce them blessed Numb 6.27 They shall put my name upon them saith the Lord when they bless So when the Lord Christ our great High-Priest doth Blesse a man he does not barely wish him good The Lord cause his face for to shine upon that soul in a way of wishing but the Lord Christ being a High-Priest when he blesseth he doth authoratatively pronounce such a soul to be Blessed Thirdly When the Priest Blessed he did not only pronounce the people Blessed but in the Blessing of the Priest there was a kind of Binding-power it had the power force and efficacy of an Absolution And therefore as Christ saies unto his Disciples Go and whosoever sins ye remit they shall be remitted I 'le stand by you in it So saith the Lord in that same place the 6. of Numbers On this wise shall ye bless the children of Israel saying unto them The Lord blesse thee and keep thee and at the 27. verse They shall put my Name upon the children of Israel and I will blessethem I 'le stand by them in this So when the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest doth Blesse he doth not only pronounce a man to be Blessed but he doth Absolve him from all his sins saith he by authority that is given to me from my father the Keyes that are put into my hand I do Bind this blessing upon this poor soul Further The Priest when he blessed indeed he could wish well and he could pronounce a man blessed and he might Absolve but he could go no further he could not confer the Blessing he could not bestow the Blessing But our Lord Christ being an High-Priest beyond all the High-Priests that ever were before him in this respect too where he doth Blesse he bestoweth the Blessing being God and man he bestoweth the Blessing In the Fifth place This our great High-Priest being God and Man look how God Blesseth so doth he Blesse In the Scripture ye shall find That when God the Father Blessed he said unto those things that he blest Increase and Multiply still when he blest Increase and Multiply So the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Preist when he comes to blesse he doth not barely wish good unto a poor soul or pronounce him blessed or beslow a good thing upon him but saith he O soul Multiply in this good the Lord increase thy Graces and thy Gifts and thy Comforts poor soul Increase and Multiply herein This the Lord Christ our great High-Priest doth Thus it 's cleer what the Blssing of the Gospel is wherein it consists and what our High-Priest doth when he doth blesse the people But Secondly Quest 2 Does this Blessing properly or specially belong unto Jesus Christ Yes Answ For he was made a curse for sin he and none else made a curse for sin and therefore it belongs unto him above all the world for to blesse For look what evil Jesus Christ endured the contrary good he merited for the children of men a power to bestow that good Now he above all was cursed hung upon the Crosse and died a cursed death he was made a curse therefore it belongs unto him above all for to give the blessing for to blesse poor sinners Primum in quolibet genere c. The first in every kind is the cause of the rest The Sun is the cause of all the light we have here below and 't is the first light body And the Lord Jesus Christ he is the first blessing Therefore hath they God blest thee for ever There are Three that we reade of in Scripture especially that did blesse The Father the King and the Priest The Father did blesse his Children the King blest his Subjects and the Priest blest the People Now the Lord Jesus Christ He is our Father The Everlasting Father He is our King I will set my King upon my holy hill And he is our great High-Priest and therefore all these relations meeting in him it belongs unto him above all for to blesse the people But is the Lord Jesus Christ Willing for to Blesse poor sinners Quest 3 and inclin'd unto it Yes Answ He is very Willing this blessing of the people it is a work whereunto he is much inclin'd and wherein he is most delighted Ye shall observe therefore what abundance of blessings Christ scattered among the people when he was here upon the earth Ye don't reade that ever he cursed any man formally cursed him Once indeed he pronounced a Curse but it fell upon a barren fig-tree not upon a man But take your Bibles and turne over from leaf to leaf and see how frequent he was in blessing and consider whether you do reade in al the Bible of any Preacher or Prophet
sold his Birth-right for a mess of pottage the Lord look't upon him as a Prophane man and he stands upon record in Scripture for a Prophane man unto this day because he sold his Birth-right And saies the text Though he sought the Blessing it was a blessing with tears he never recovered it The Lord Jesus Christ he is now among us and offering to bless us and if I will rather keep my sins than come unto Jesus Christ the Lord will look upon me as a Prophane man and I may go and seek the blessing with tears and never recover it again Oh! here 's that me thinks that should make every wicked man if there be ever a Drunkard Swearer or Unclean wanton that reades this book mind what is said for your Everlasting peace I say here 's that me thinks that should make every wicked man to look upon the Godly as David did upon the sparrows and upon the swallows Saies David These birds full nigh thine Altar may have place to sit and sing as ye have it in your singing Psalms These birds can come and make their nests but as for me I am kept at a distance He was provoked by the sparrows and swallows making their nests neer the Altar So may a wicked man say There 's a godly man indeed he may go to Jesus Christ he may go to Prayer and he may offer up his Gift to God the Father by the hands of Christ he can come neer to God by Christ But as for me I am yet without Christ I am not yet gone to Jesus Christ I am such a cursed Swearer I am such a prophane Drunkard I am such a vile wretched Wanton such a Notorious Scandelous sinner Oh! these people are blessed but I am Cursed but now through the Lords grace I will go unto the Lord Christ that I may be blessed Yea My beloved here is me thinks a strong Invitation unto all those that are young people for to come unto Jesus Christ even those that are very young Hear the word of the Lord ye Children The Lord Jesus Christ received Children into his armes and he blest them You that are nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen or fifteen years old you can be solicitous for your fathers blessing and have gone down upon your knees often unto your father and you have said Pray father pray to God to bless me Oh! will ye go to your outward father for his blessing and will ye not go unto Jesus Christ He is an Everlasting Father this your earthly father will be dead erelong He is an Everlasting father children and he is able to bless ye and willing to bless ye Have ye gone down upon your knees to your outward father Oh! children down down upon your knees before the Lord Jesus Chrit and go to him for his blssing Some of you it may be never went yet to Christ for his blessing ye have lived so many yeers ten eleven or twelve yeers and never went to Christ as a High-Priest for his blessing all this while Oh! what a mighty incouragement is here unto all men to come to Christ that they may be blessed by him But yet further As there is an incouragement for to come unto Christ So this argument does also incourage us to go on in the good waies of Christ notwithstanding all opposition that we meet withall I say it does speak incouragement to go on in the face of all opposition For when Abraham had been at battel then came Melchisedec the High-Priest to bless him And when a poor soul goes out to battel for Christ then comes our great Melchisedec our High-Priest and blesses that soul The time of opposition it is the time of Christs blessing Therefore why should I be dilcouraged or beaten out of the way of Christ by reason of any opposition though it be never so great Times of opposition are Christs blessing-time Again This argument does not only speak incouragement against all oppsition But it does also incourage us to go on in the good waies of God when we are called unto it though we have but little strength and weak parts Though there be but little oyle in the Cruse though there be but little meal in the barrel if Christ call to the work he will bless a man in it and when Christ blesses he does multiply and increase a mans parts in the using of them As when he commanded them to sit down and eat he did multiply and increase the bread in their eating So now does Christ call me to any work or service well then though I am weak though I have not oyle enough though I have not meal enough though I have not strenght enough yet the Lord Christ will bless and when he blesses he does increase and multiply and therefore why should I not go on upon his work if he do call mee thereunto though I have never so little strength And yet further If all this be true Why should not a man be contented with his condition though it be never so mean Beloved in the Lord is there not enough in Christs blessing Truly He is too covetous whom the blessing of Christ will not satisfie Well what ever my condition be yet I may be blessed by Jesus Christ and hath the Lord blest me then will I be contented with my Condition though it be never so mean I have All as Jacob oncesaid I have All. Yea in the Fift and last place Here is that which if wel studied and considered will provoke us all for to bless the Lord and continually to blesse the Lord What is the life of a Christian here but a continuall blessing of God 't is Heaven begun and in Heaven they do nothing else but blesse and praise the Lord and I say our life here is Heaven begun and therefore a Christian should be alwaies blessing and praising the Lord. Well But what will make a man to be alwaies Blessing Quest and Praising of God in Christ The knowledge that a man is blessed by Christ Answ wil make a man blesse God for Christ And therefore consider how the Apostle reasons in the 1. of the Ephesians the 3. vers Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Why Who hath blessed VS When once a man can come to this for to say That the Lord Christ hath blest him then he will break forth into blessing and praising of the Lord Oh! Blessed be the Lord Blesse the Lord O my soul blesse the Lord all that is within me For the Lord hath blessed me with spiritual blessings Do you therefore desire to be alwaies in this work of blessing the Lord think much of this To conclude al give me leave to cal upon you to remember what ye have read Ye have read That it is the work of our great High-Priest To Satisfie for the sins of the people To answer unto all Accusations that are brought against them To offer up all
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies such a Succouring as brings in help unto those that cry out to come in and run in with help upon ones crying out In the 12. of the Revelation it is said Woe to the inhabitants of the earth for the Devil is come down with great wrath for he knows that his time is short There is a Woe in it where the Devil comes down with great wrath Now he looks upon all the Saints as having their time but short and he comes down upon them in great wrath with his temptations and there is a Woe in it although the temptation takes not And for ought I know upon this account the new-Testament may so promiscuously use the word Temptation both for Affliction and Satans Suggestions even because seldom any Affliction comes but it does bring Temptation with it never any Temptation but brings Affliction alwaies something of a Suffering in every Temptation even at that very time when it does least prevail This is the First thing Secondly Doth God suffer his own children thus to Suffer Quest 2 Yes And many times the best most tempted Answ the best men meet with the worst temptations those that are most eminently Godly are most fouly assaulted David Job Peter Paul and Christ himself was Yea God doth not only suffer Satan to come and present evil objects before his servants but suffers him to go so far as to solicite to press to follow on his temptation And therefore it is said concerning David That Satan stood up and provoked him to Number the people He did not only present an evil object to him but he followed his temptation he solicited he stood up and provoked David to Number the people Yea God doth not only suffer this but at that very time when the Saints have had most of God then they have suffered by the hand of temptation when Paul had been taken up into the third Heaven then a messenger Satan was sent to buffet him And when Jesus Christ had heard the voice This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Then saies the text in the 4. of Matthew 1. was he led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil And so with the Saints now when they have been as it were in the third Heaven with God when they have had most of him when they have heard the Lord saying This is my beloved child after special manifestations of his love then most tempted Oh! who would be secure after manifestations of Gods love Further God doth not only suffer it thus far but sometimes he suffers his children to be so far tempted as they seem to have the worser Satan the better Satan taking the wall of them the upper hand In the 3. of Zachary it is said concerning Joshua That Satan stood at his right hand Satan took the wall of him took the upper hand of him Lastly God suffers this to be and to continue a long time with some of his children Paul saith he had prayed thrice that is often and all the answer he could get was this My grace is sufficient for thee Paul I don't say I will deliver thee but thou shalt have grace enough to uphold thee My grace shall be sufficient Thus God suffers his own dear children to Suffer under the hand of temptation And would you know the Reason Reas 1 Good Authors say That God suffers his own dear children to be tempted that they may be more inlightened Temptation inlightens the tempted there by they are more experienced and so more inlightened God is pleased to answer them by this secret of thunder God suffers his children thus to be tempted Reas 2 That they may be cleansed This is Gods usual way he does wash us from our own filth by the dung and excrement of these unclean spirits and scowres of the rust from his chosen vessels by the messengers of Satan these are Gods scullions to make his golden pots of the Sanctuary the brighter God suffers his own children to be tempted Reas 3 That they may be conserved or kept He preserves them from one sin by being tempted to another And Paul saies That he received that messenger of Satan twice that he might not be exalted Reas 4 God suffers his children to be tempted That their graces may be increased As the fire is blown up by the wind of the bellows and the strength of an Argument draws out the strength of the Answerer So does these temptations draw out the strength of the tempted God suffers his Children to be tempted Reas 5 That they may be discovered to themselves and others what their sins graces are You don't know what the liquor is till the vessel be bored then you know it And the word that is used here for Temptation Originally signifies to bore as a vessel is bored 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The love of a woman is never more known than when her husband is from home and she is solicited to folly then her love is tryed to her husband God suffers his children to be tempted Reas 6 That occasionally they may be made more fit to receive the fulness of Christ as a Saviour A man not tempted may receive the fulness of Christ as the head but unlesse a man be tempted not fit to receive the fulness of Christ as a Saviour Hereby they are made like unto Jesus Christ Reas 7 Christ was made like to us that he might be tempted and we are tempted that we may be made like to him He was made like to us that he might be tempted and so become our High-Priest and we are tempted that we may be made like to him and receive of the mercy of that office He was made like to us and tempted that he might have communion with us in the evil of our temptation and we are made like to him and tempted as he was that we might have communion with him in the benefit of his temptations For these and other reasons God suffers his children to be tempted But my design is not to fall upon the argument of Temptation at large only to speak of the Suffering part of it For in that he suffered being once tempted he is able to succour those that are temped And upon the same reason or account that God suffered the children of Israel to be Vexed and to suffer by the hands of the Egyptians he doth suffer his own dear children to be stung and vexed by these temptations Give me leave a little in that God suffered the Isralites to be vexed to suffer much by the hands of the Egyptians That so be might make his glorious power the more to appear for them and in them For when men saw that the Isralites increased and prospered the more they were oppressed and the more that the Egyptians laboured to cut them off then who would not say Oh! what power and what mercy is here So now when as men shall
them that are tempted in that he himself suffered being tempted Was he not as God able to succour them that are tempted Why then is it said In that he suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted There is an ability of Sufficiency and an ability of Idoniety As God indeed he is able to succour those that are tempted but by being tempted in the flesh he is able that is apt and idonious to succour those that are tempted There is an Absolute ability and a Respective ability as he is High-Priest As God indeed he was able to succour them that are tempted though he had not been tempted but he speaks of Christ here as our High-Priest and so by being tempted he is able to succor them in that way There is as I may so speak a Scientifical ability or an Experimental ability As he was God he was able in the first sense to succour 't is true but by being tempted he is able Experimentally to succour them that are tempted It is an ability of Disposition and Compassion that here he speaks of And therefore in the fift Chapter speaking of the same thing he saith concerning the High-Priest That he can have Compassion on the ignorant and those that are out of the way So then Christ by being tempted is able to sucour those that are tempted with an ability of Idoniety an Experimental ability with an ability of Compassion and Disposition and gracious Inclination And so the Observation that lies before us is this The Lord Jesus Christ Doct. is a succouring Christ to tempted souls In the former Doctrine ye heard That God suffers his own servants and dearest children to be sorely tempted Now this Doctrine holds forth the remedy Jesus Christ is a succouring Christ to tempted souls As our hearts are full of Sin So his heart is ful of Succour he is a succouring Christ His Names and Titles speak him so His Nature speaks him so His Officies His Doctrine His Life and Conversation His Death and Sufferings call him a Succouring Christ I shall not run thorow all these particulars But because men are known by their Names I will fix there a little and we shall see how all the Names and Titles of Christ call him a Succouring Christ If we search the Scripture we may observe That the Names of Satan of the Devil carry malice with them and evil against them And the Names of Jesus Christ are contrary thereunto as holding forth a Succour against all that evil that is in him who is The Evil One. Is the Devil called Satan that is an Adversary Jesus Christ is called our Friend Is Satan called Diabolus the Accuser or the Accuser of the brethren Jesus Christ is called our Advocate Is Satan called a Destroyer Jesus Christ is called our Saviour Is Satan called a Lyon that goes up and down seeking whom he may devour Jesus Christ is called a Lyon of the Tribe of Judah Is Satan called a Serpent and Old Serpent Jesus Christ is called the Brasen-Serpent Still Names of reliefe and succour answerable unto those Names of Satan We shall observe that there is no Evil in Sin but there is somewhat in the Name of Jesus Christ that speaks the contrary contrary succour Is sinne called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or a transgression of the Law Jesus Christ is called our Righteousness The Lord our Righteousness Is Sin called Folly Jesus Christ is called Wisdom The Wisdom of the Father Is sin called an Infirmity or Weakness He is called the Rock and the Rock of ages and the Arme of the Lord. Is sin called Darkness He is called Light Is sin called Pollution or Vncleanness His blood is the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness to wash in Is sin called Death He is called Life Is there Ignorance in sin He is called our Prophet in opposition to that Is there Disorder in sin In opposition to that he is called our King to order Is there Guilt in sin In opposition to that he is called our Priest he is called our Propitiation in that place of John But in the 3. of the Romans and the 25. verse He is called our Propitiatory Whom God hath set forth to be a Propitiation so you reade it but rather a propitiatory 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Same Greek word that the Septuagint used for the Jewes Propitiatory And in that he is our Propitiation or Propitiatory this speaks him a succouring Christ Famous was the succour and reliefe that the Jewes had from their Cities of refuge and as if the holy Ghost intended the confirmation of this Truth that is now before us those Hebrew Names that were given to the Cities of refuge are given to Christ Is any of the Cities of refuge called Kedesh signifying Holy He is called Holy Holy Holy Was another City called Shechem signifying Shoulder Vpon his Shoulder is the government and the lost sheep brought home upon his Shoulder Is another City called Hebron from Society or Fellowship By him we have fellowship with the Father Is another called Golan signifying one Revealed or Manifested 'T is said of him He was Manifested in the flesh Is another City called Ramoth Things Exalted Him hath God Exalted and by him are all Exalted In the phrase of the new-Testament he is called our Father and our Brother and our Friend and our Shepheard a Hen a Lamb a Door there 's none of all his Names but speak him full of sweetness and loving disposition and succour unto poor souls But that I may the better clear up this Truth I shall deliver my self these Four waies First That Jesus Christ is able to succour tempted souls Secondly That he is willing to do it Thirdly That he is faithful in doing of it Fourthly How he doth it in the day and time of their temptation and so come to the Application First He is able to do it He is able to succour them that are tempted He is able saith our Apostle in that 17. of the Hebrews to save those that come unto God by him he is able to save them to the uttermost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As Satan tempts to the uttermost he is able to save to the uttermost And as they sin to the uttermost he is able to save to the uttermost A man is said to be able to do all that which he hath a commission and power from God to do The Lord Jesus Christ in the 3. of the Romans and the 25. was set forth to be a propitiation Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation He hath laid help upon one that is Mighty and that is Christ Design'd and called he is to the office of the High-Priest The proper work of the High-Priests office was to condole with relieve and succour the people against their sins And the more Eminent any High-Priest was the more in this work In the 17. of the Hebrews we find all along how abundantly he
up an Affliction between them that so these two wicked lovers may be kept asunder Thus Under temptation After temptation he succours By filling the heart with joy unspeakable and full of glory By sending the Angels to Minister As when the Devil left Christ had tempted him and left him then came the Angels and Ministred to him Every way Before temptation and In temptation and After temptation the Lord Jesus Christ is asuccouring Christ to tempted souls he is a succouring Christ Beloved he was aman of sorrows that he might be a God of succours his heart it is full of succours I come to the Application Whist I stand upon this Truth Applyca 1. me thinks I hear a solemn and gracious Invitation to all poor tempted souls to come unto Jesus Christ to come for succor There 's none of you all but labour under some temptation or other Ye have read that the Lord Christ is a succouring Christ shall I need to invite you to come unto him Ye have read how able he is and willing he is to succour His heart is bent to succour you his armes are open his bosom is open his heart is open to poor tempted souls that they may receive succour from him Oh! therefore you that are tempted Come unto Jesus Christ that you may be succoured by him Come unto Christ Come unto Christ alone You will say Quest But does he succour all that are tempted why then are any damned Some men will not come unto him Answ Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life Some come unto him but make an halfe Christ of him They won't come under great temptations then they are afraid and then they despair They won't come under small temptations then they despise But for middleing temptations those they will come to Christ for succour in and thus they make a halfe Christ of him Some come to him as to a Moses make a conditional Christ of him they must have their own Preparations and Humiliations before they come unto him or else they will not come unto him But beloved ye know what our Apostle saies in the 7. of the Hebrews He is able to save unto the uttermost those that come to God by him Those that come to God by Him if you do come unto Him he will succour But my temptation is an Old temptation Object an Ancient temptation I have gone under fears and temptations for many yeers together I may say almost my whole life and will Jesus Christ succour such a one as I am Pray what think you of the verse that goes before the text Answ reade it and consider it the 14. and the 15. verses He himself took part of the same that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the Devil And at the 15. verse Deliver them from Satan that were all their life time subject to bondage That he might deliver them from Satan that were all their life time subject to bondage in fear of death and all their life time subject to bondage Art thou therefore a man or woman that hath gone up and down all thy daies in fear of death and fear of hell and been in bondage all thy life time See he came to deliver such souls such tempted souls as these are Christ came to deliver Oh! But my temptation is not a bare temptation Object there 's much affliction that is mixt withal and will he deliver those Yea you know how it was with Jacob Answ Jacob used indirect means to get the blessing Esau's heart rose against him Jacob flies for it when he was in the field in the night then Christ appears to him A ladder whose top was in Heaven the Deity the bottom on Earth the Humanity and Angels ascending and descending All the while he was in his fathers house he never had this Vision of Christ but now when he lay in the open field Christ appears for his succour by his Angels thus Oh! but my temptation is not such Object but my temptation is mixt with much Corruption I have a Proud heart an Vnclean heart a froward heart Will the Lord Jesus Christ lay such a wretched heart as mine is in his bosom Oh! will he succour such a soul as I am For answer to this Answ I pray consider these Three things with me The Lord Jesus Christ is a succouring Christ ye have read And First He will succour tempted sinners most when they are most tempted When the Child is sick and when the Child is most sick then the Mother comes forth and succours it then love sits upon the bed-side then love laies the Child in her bosom And saies he in the 66. chapter of Esay and the 13. verse As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you Again He will not only succour thus but he will succour you that are tempted when you cannot succour your selves when your own thoughts cannot succour you when your own thoughts dare not succour you or when your own thoughts trample-upon your Evidences and when your own thoughts shall make a Mutiny in your hearts and set al on fire In the multitude of my thoughts thy word comforts my soul The Lord knows how to deliver in the time of temptation though you do not know and when you do not know it then he knows and then he will deliver when you know not Reade again the same place the 13. verse of the 66. of Esay As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you Who are those saies he at the 5. verse Hear the word of the Lord ye that tremble his word and you that are cast out by your brethren As one whom his mother Comforteth so will I comfort you you that lie and tremble before the promise and dare not draw neer unto it As a mother comforteth so will I comfort you Thirdly He will not only succour thus but he will succour poor tempted souls with a Notwithstanding Notwithstanding all their failings Notwithstanding all their infirmities Joseph a Type of Christ his brethren sold him away he indured much misery Afterward his brethren came to want and they go down to Egypt to him and when they came there Joseph succours them Notwithstanding all their former unkindnesse I am your brother Joseph I am Joseph your brother 't is true you sold me and thus and thus you dealt by me but you are come for succour and I will succour you with a Notwithstanding So saies the Lord Jesus Christ Poor tempted soul I know how thou hast dealt by me how thou hast sold me how thou hast neglected me how thou hast crucified me but I will succour thee with a Notwithstanding Notwithstanding all thy guilt and all thy fear I will succour thee with a Notwithstanding Three great succours that the Jewes had in the wilderness Succour from the Rock that gave out water Succour against their Thirst Succour from the Mannah that came down
so will I comfort you and then it follows They shall rejoyce your hearts shall rejoyce But take heed your spirituall joy after Victory don't degenerate into carnal joy and you be drunk therewith 'T is reported of the English that once going into Spain and taking in a Town there after they had taken it in there being much wine in the Town the souldiers fell a drinking of themselves drunk and the Country came down upon them and beat them out and recovered the Town again So 't is with many They have a Victory over temptation and they begin to rejoyce spiritually but their spiritual joy degenerates into carnal joy and they are drunk with their joy and so lose their Victory Beloved Joy not in your Joy but in the God of your Joy after Victory And if you have the better after temptation if you have the better be sure of this That you improve your Victory to more assurance If the Devil get the better of you he 'le be sure to improve his Victory to your despair I say if he get the better of you he will be sure to improve his Victory to your despair Therefore if you get the better of him be sure that you improve your Victory to more assurance of Gods love in Christ Yea my beloved for ought I know there is no temptation that a child of God meets withal but he may improve it to more assurance As thus Surely If I were the Devils own he would never trouble me thus When the strong man keeps the house all is at peace and all is at quiet Now ever since from the very first day that I have set my face towards heaven and Christ Oh! how have I been troubled and tempted and perplexed and vexed in my spirit Surely therefore I am none of the Devils Now if I had been his own I should have been more quiet under him but because I am thus troubled I hope in the Lord I am none of the Devils I am the child of God Thus a man may improve And Oh! what a good thing were it if we did make improvement of our temptations what gracious improvement might we make of all our temptations and what a blessed issue might we have in our temptations if we did go unto Christ for succour I beseech you therefore in the Lord when as any temptation arises go unto Jesus Christ he is a succouring Christ He hath National succours and he hath Family succours and he hath Personal succours You have National temptations and you have Family temptations and you have Personal temptations Soul-temptations temptations when you are alone Therefore go unto Christ for succour To conclude I beseech you beloved in the Lord go to Christ and try him put him to it The greater your temptation is the more fit work for Christ to cure do not despair do not sit down go to Jesus Christ you shal find him better than I have spoken you shall not find him worse he will go beyond my words he will not fall short of my words As the Devill goes about like a roaring lyon seeking whom he may devour So Jesus Christ in the Gospel goes up and down with his succour seeking whom he may succour Go to him for succour and the God of peace even Jesus Christ himself tread down Satan under our feet shortly SERMON III. Of TEMPTATION LUKE 22.31 32. And the Lord said Simon Simon behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not AFTER our greatest injoyments of God usually follow the greatest temptations of Satan And therefore our Saviour speaks these words unto his Disciples In the 19. verse of this Chapter we find them at the Lords Supper with Christ himself This is my body which is given for you This do in remembrance of me Having received the Supper with Christ himself and having had sweet Communion with him there our Saviour gives them out a most gracious and blessed promise at the 28 29 30. verses Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations and I appoint to you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Having said thus unto them He comes in the very next words to acquaint them with a great temptation that was coming down upon them all and therefore these words are knit together with the former by the word And And the Lord said Simon Simon behold Satan hath desired Though you have had this Communion with me and though I have made you this gracious and blessed promise know that there is a great storm of temptation coming down upon you Here are two things The Danger of the temptation and the Remedy against it The Danger in the 31. and the Remedy in the 32. verse In the 31. verse we have considerable The Tempter called Satan which signifies an Adversary The Tempted and those are not Simon only but all the Disciples Satan hath desiredyou 't is in the Plural number he directs his speech unto Simon but the temptation spreads larger upon all the Disciples That he may sift you The Manner of the temptation in Two expressions Satan hath Desired you according to the Original word Satan hath challenged you into the field 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as one man does another And hath desired you that he may sift you as wheat and leave you nothing but chaffe Plainly then here this Observation The Lord Jesus Christ does give leave sometimes unto Satan Doct. to tempt and winnow his own and best Disciples Christs own and best Disciples are exposed to Satans temptings and winnowings not Peter only but James and John and all the beloved Disciples of Jesus Christ were exposed here unto Satans winnowings He hath desired You in the Plural number not thee Peter only but you all my Disciples that he may sift you as wheat For the clearing and making out of this Truth I shall labour to discover First What great power Satan hath to tempt molest and annoy the children of men Secondly That he puts forth this power especially upon the Saints Christs own-and bestDisciples Thirdly How he comes by this power and why God the Father gives him this leave And so to the Applycation First Quest 1 If ye aske me What power Satan hath to infest molest and thus to tempt the children of men I answer Answ 1 First ye know that Satan is an Angel still and being an Angel he is a Superiour creature to man and therefore according to the rank of Creation he hath a great deal of power over man Man hath a great power over the Beasts for man is a Superiour The Beasts have a great deal of power over the Herbs and the grasse for the Beast is the Superiour The Angels by Creation are Superiour to man Satan though fallen is an
Saviour Christ say to Peter The gates of Hell shall not prevail against thee and yet now Satan tempts if Satan know this why should he follow Gods children yea the best of his children so sorely with sad temptations Satan is the envious man we reade of in Scripture Answ 1 and when he hears the Lord owning and honouring of his children then does his envy work and rise and when he hears any of Gods children triumphing by faith and making boast of the love of God then does his malice kindle into a flame shall such a one go to Heaven and shall I be damn'd saies he shall such a one be received and shall I be cast away for ever These are the boylings of this envious mans heart against the children of the most high But there is this great reason for it Answ 2 Satan knows that if he can but make Gods people and the best of his children fall though they should not be damn'd but pardoned that their fall shall be stumbling blocks unto others that may be damn'd And therefore I pray mark how it is carried concerning Dauid it is said in the 1 Chron. 21. chapter and the 1. verse That Satan stood up against Israel to provoke David to number Israel It is not said thus And Satan stood up against David and provoked David to number Israel no but thus And Satan sood up against Israel and provoked David to number the people he stood up against Israel why because he know that if he did make David thus to number the people it would be a stumbling for all Israel and all Israel should fare the worse by it When Satan stands up and tempts the master of a family unto sin he does not barely stand up against him but in tempting him he stands up against all the family When Satan tempts a religious holy man a beloved Disciple of Christ in a Town Satan stands up against all the Town in tempting that one man He stood up against Israel and tempted David to number the people and so when he tempts those that are the most beloved Disciples of Christ he stands up against others and therefore though Satan knows that their sins shall be pardoned yet he does follow them with sad and sore temptations Answ 3 Thirdly Satan loves to divide between friends he is the great make-bait of the world he loves to divide He may know that there is so much goodness between man and wife that he shal never part them and yet he will labour to sow discord between them that they may live uncomfortably And so though he knows he shall never part Christ and a poor beleever yet he will labour to throw jealousies into the heart of a beleever concerning the love of Christ He knew well enough what was said concerning our Saviour Christ What was said by the Angels at the birth of Christ what was said by the Angel to Mary what was said by Elizabeth he heard what was said from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and yet presently he comes to Christ with an If If thou be the Son of God laboring to throw a jealousy into the heart of Christ and to doubt of his Son-ship even with God the Father So I say although Satan should know that the Lord will pardon such of such a man yet he loves to make a division between God and the soul and to cast in jealusies between Christ and a beleever As for others saies he they are my own already I shal not need to break into that house there is nothing but chaffe lies there but here 's a godly man and here 's treasure and therefore he does especially lay his battery against the Satines and those that are the most beloved Disciples of Jesus Christ But you will say unto me Quest 3 How does Satan come by this tempting power this infesting and molesting power Great is the power as we have read already that he hath as he is a Superiour creature Ausw but Satan hath yet another power and that is the power of Conquest for in Adams fall Satan conquered the whol world all man-kind they were the Devils conquest upon the fall When a man is Converted and trun'd to God then he comes out of the kingdom of Satan But I say upon the fall the Devil made a conquest upon all man-kind and so by conquest he hath a great power Satan hath heave from God the Father to tempt I don't say that he hath a special leave for every temptation not a special commission or permission or leave for every temptation but there is no great or extraordinary temptation that does fall upon the children of God but Satan hath a special leave from God the Father for it There was a special temptation upon the Country in his running their herd of swine into the Sea and he had leave for that before he did it There was a special temptation upon Ahab in the lying spirit of the Prophets and he had a special leave and permission from God for that There was a special temptation upon Job and he had a leave for that Here was a special temptation coming down upon the Disciples and he had leave for that Simon Simon Satan hath desired you He was fain to ask leave and he had leave for that There is no extraordinary or great temptation befals any of the children of God but Satan is fain to ask leave for it he hath a leave for it before he can come and tmept the soul But you will sa then unto me Quest 4 Why does God the Father give Satan leave thus to tempt his own Children and Christs own Disciples First take it thus Lood whatsoever is the end Answ 1 and the issue of any evil which befals the children of God that was the design of God the Father in suffering that evil to come upon them Now the end and issue of the Saints temptation is alwaies good unto them and therefore God suffers the temptations of his people because he hath a design of mercy and love upon them in these temptations What was the end and issue of Satans tempting of Adam and Eve They fell and then the righteousness of Christ and eternal life thereby was brought in this was the end and the issue of it Now God the Father had this design upon Satans temptation all the while Satan was tempting of Adam and the Lord would never have suffered our heel to have been bruised by Satans temptation but that he did intend to break the head of Satan It was a great temptation that of David when as Satan stood up and provoked him to number the people pray what was the end and issue of that temptation I shall only name the Scriptures The 1 Chron. the 21. chapter and the 22. chapter and the beginning of it and the 2 Chron. the 3. chapter and 1. verse compared together you shall find this First Satan tempts David he
numbers the people the people being numbered a plague breaks forth the plague prevailing David goes and offers up a sacrifice at the threshing flowre of Ornan and there God told him the temple should be built David had a long time desired to know where the Temple should be built he saies he would give no rest unto himself no sleep unto his eye-lids until he had found out a place for God you shall find that David had this place discovered as the issue of this temptation this was the issue of it the Devil had as good have let David alone he had as good have been quiet for David now had the end the issue attain'd unto that that he never did attain unto before So I say it is with the people of God the Lord never suffers his own children to fall into any sin but he does intend to wean them from that sin that they do fall into even by the falling into it the Lord never suffers any of his own children to be tempted but he intends to break the back of that temptation even by their being tempted This is the design of God the father Oh! what a glorious design of love and mercy is here upon all the temptations of Gods people But God hath yet greater Answ 2 and higher designs The Manifestation of his own Power of his own Wisdom of his own Faithfulness of his own Love and Free grace The manifestation of his Power When Paul was tempted and buffeted by Satan the Lord said unto him That his sirength should be perfected in weakness in Pauls weakness Gods strength should be perfected The manifestation of his Wisdom The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation saies the Apostle The manifestation of his Faithfulness In the 1 Cor. 10.13 The Lord is faithful and will not suffer ye to be tempted above what ye are able to bear The manifestation of his Free-love and grace And therefore when Paul was tempted and bufferted by Satan and prayed against his temptation the Lord answered thus My grace is sufficient for thee But in regard of the Saints themselves How should they give a Probate or Testimony of their uprightness and sincerity their firm and fast cleaving to God if they were never tempted reade for this purpose the 13. of Deuteronomy and the 2. and 3. verses Before Job was tempted Satan thought that Job had served God for a boone for something Hast thou not seen my servant Job saies God I saies Satan but does Job serve God for naught Job's an Hypocrite all things go well with him Job's in a fair and blessed outward condition and Job was never tempted does Job serve God for naught but now touch him and let me tempt him a little and see if he don't blaspheme God then thus Satan then And just thus is the language of the Devil now Does such a man or woman serve God for naught he is but an Hypocrite all things go well with him he was never yet tempted but O Lord let this man or woman come under my hand and let me tempt him a little and see if he don't blaspheme Well Satan saies God Job is in thine hand only spare his lefe And Satan did tempt him and touch him and in stead of blaspheming behold blessing The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away blessed be his Name Here now Job gave a Testimony that he did not serve God for something that his heart was sincere and upright And so when men can hold out notwithstanding all their temptations they give a Testimony of their uprightness and sincerity and that their souls do cleave unto God in truth For these and many other reasons the Lord doth suffer his own best and dearest Children to be tempted by Satan I come to Application If God doth suffer his own people and dearest children Applica to be exposed to Satans temptings and winnowings Why sould any man then doubt of his Child-ship doubt of his own everlasting condition and say That he is none of the child of God because he is tempted Beloved I have seen a sore evil under the sun a vanity even among the Saints and people of God Some doubting of the soundness of their condition and the love of God because they are not tempted others doubt betause they are tempted One saies Oh! I am afraid I am none of the child of God for I was never tempted the children of God they meet with temptations but I was never yet buffetted and therefore I am none of Gods child Another on the contrary I labour under these and these temptations and therefore I fear that I am none of Gods child yea sometimes the same person thus First he does not observe his own heart and saies he I fear I am none of Gods child for I never was tempted Afterward when he meets with temptation then he doubts againe that he is not Gods Child because he is tempted Oh! what Childish dealing is this with God your Father But my beloved in the Lord If this be true That the Lord doth suffer his own and best children to be exposed to Satans winnowings and temptings then why shouldst thou conclude that thou art not the child of God because thou art tempted Oh! but I don't conclude will some say that I am not the child of God I don't conclude that the Lord does not love me because I am tempted but because I meet with such and such temptations Tell me did not David Job Paul and Peter meet with such and such and so great temptations Yea did not Christ himself meet with it Oh! but my temptations are such as would make ones haire stand upright on ones head to thinke of them sometimes tempted even to lay violent hands upon my self What think ye of Christ when Satan spake unto him and tempted him to throw himself down off the pinacle of the Temple Oh! but I am tempted with such temptations that I am ashamed to name and my heart akes and trembles when I do reflect on them even with blasphemous thoughts What think ye of Christ was not he tempted to blasphemy Saies the Devil to him All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me what greater blasphemy than to worship the Devil to make a God of the Devil himself what greater blasphemy Oh! but I fear and doubt my condition and the love of God towards me because my temptations are not as the temptations of Gods children but my temptations are such as cannot stand with grace there is a spot that is not the spot of Gods people and are there not temptations that are not the temptations of Gods people have not wicked men their peculiar temptations such as does not fall upon the children of God I am afraid that my temptations are of that rank and of that sort and therefore I fear and doubt my condition Mark I pray This same word Temptation may be considered two waies
more then flesh and blood with you And therefore have you overcome temptation go away and be very thankful and say Oh! though flesh and blood be against me yet I have more than flesh and blood with me praise the Lord much And if you have been overcome with temptation yet be not discouraged for ye hear the Doctrine God doth suffer his own dear children to be tempted to be buffeted to be exposed to Satans temptings and to Satans winnowings But though ye be tempted and it be a temptation of Satan yet ye hear withall That 't is the property and disposition of Gods own people to grieve and mourn under their temptation as if it were all their own and nothing of Satans Wherefore now my beloved having heard these things think on them and the Lord blesse them to you every day more and more SERMON IV. Of TEMPTATION LUKE 22.31 32. And the Lord said Simon Simon behold Preached at Stepney Oct. 17 1647. Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not YE find that these words hold forth the relation of a great storme of temptation coming down upon Christ's Disciples The Danger of it And the Remedy against it Of the Danger somewhat ye heard from the 31. verse And now I am to speak unto the 32. verse But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not Here is somewhat Implied and somwhat Exprest Implied Satans Design and his great Design upon their faith Exprest Christs love and care his special love and care over them and towards them in this temptation As if he should say thus Simon Simon Satan hath desired to tempt you not only thee but all my Disciples the temptation is great and in this temptation his great design is upon your faith but I have spoken unto my Father and your Father that your faith may not fail So that hence you may observe thus much That in the time of temptation Doct. Satans great Design is upon the faith of the Saints to make their faith fail He doth not say But I have prayed for thee that thy Prayer faile not or that thy Patience fail not or that thy Love fail not but I have prayed that thy Faith fail not So that Satans great design in all his temptations is upon the faith of the Saints that he may make their faith to faile them For the further clearing and opening of these words and of this Truth I shall labour to shew you First What it is for to fail in our faith and how far the Saints may fail in their faith in time of temptation Secondly What an evilthing it is for the Saints to faile in their faith in time of temptation Thirdly That Satans great design in all his temptations is upon our faith Fourthly How Satan labours to weaken our faith in the time of temptation what strokes he gives unto our faith and how we shall be able to bare off those blows in the time of temptation that so our faith fail not If ye aske me Quest 1 What it is for to fail in faith here The word in the Original signifies Answ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Eclipse as the Eclipse of the Sun or of the Moon and the words may be so translated But I have prayed for thee that thy faith be not Eclipsed But according to the ordinary acception of that word Eclipse Peters faith did fail for it was much Eclipsed The word signifies also a total defect such as Judas made who of a Disciple became an Enemy a Traitour and in stead of beleeving fell to despair and so Peters faith did not faile A mans faith is said to faile Either when it fals short of what it hath been or what it should be and in both these respects Peters faith did fail It fell short of what it had been it fell short of what it should be But there is a Two fold failing in faith One in regard of the Acting and Exercise of faith and another in regard of the grace of faith it self In regard of the Acting Working and Exercise of faith Peters faith did fail but in regard of the grace it self so it failed not The Lutherans they say and contend much for it That a regenerate mans faith may fail totally and finally in time of temptation and so they say that Peters faith failed here when he denied his Lord and Master because it is said in the next words When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren As if his faith had failed so far as he should need a new conversion But that word translated When thou art converted as divers of the learned do well observe may be translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again thus I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not and do thou strengthen thy brethren again do thou return to that work again And so you have the same word used in the Septuagint translated in the 58. Psalm at the 6. verse Wilt thou not revive us again The word in the Hebrew is thus Wilt thou not convert or turn unto us and revive us which we translate Wilt thou not revive us again And so the words here may be translated being an Hebraisme But do thou strengthen thy brethren again But suppose that the words stand according to their present translation it does not argue that Peter did fail totally in this temptation for the whole life of a Christian here is a continual converting and turning to God We repent and repent again turn and we turn again Every day we turn unto God yet more and more every day brings forth another conversion yet not so as if the former conversion were made void And if the faith of a beleever would fail totally in the time of a temptation what should be the meaning of those words in the 1. of Joh. 5. Chapter and the 18. verse We know that whosoever is born of God sins not but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not The wicked one that is Satan he toucheth him not But now if Satan could tempt a godly man and prevail so far in his temptation as to make his faith fail totally then he would touch him to the purpose but saies the text he keeps himself and the wicked one toucheth him not and therefore his faith cannot fail totally a regenerate mans faith cannot fail totally And ye know what is said in that 7. of Matthew at the 24. and 25. verses Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him unto a wise man which hath built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the flouds came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not because it was founded upon a rock Now every Beleever is founded upon a rock Christ and therefore though the rain descend and the flouds come and the winds blow and
temptations be never so great he cannot fail totally because he is built upon a rock In the 13. of Matthew ye know it is made the property of the false ground that in the time of temptation it fell away Now if the good ground a regenerate man should fall away in the time of temptation what difference were there between the false ground the good ground Plainly therefore the Scripture holds forth this truth unto us That a regenerate man a Beleever though his faith may fail much yet it does not fail totally in time of temptation And thus Peters faith failed and thus it failed not In regard of the Exercise and Acting of his faith it did fail but in regard of the grace it self faith it self so it failed not and so it is and may be with others of the Saints also Secondly Quest 2 If the faith of a beleever do only fail in regard of the Acting Exercise and Working thereof What great inconvenience is there or evil in the failing of his faith Much my beloved very much Answ For though that faith fail only in regard of the Acting Exercise and working he does lose an opportunity of glorifying God 'T is said of Abraham That he beleeved and gave glory to God Faith gives glory to God it glorifies his Power his Mercy his Faithfulness and his Wisdom not faith in the Habit but faith in the Exercise of it glorifies God and so much as a mans faith doth fail in the Acting Working and Exercise of it so much he loseth an opportunity of glorifying God Moreover He loses his own Comfort Faith is a Comforting grace Being justified by faith we have peace with God And in the 15. to the Romans and the 13. verse ye find That Joy and Peace grows upon faith Now the God of hope fill ye with all Joy and Peace in beleeving So much as a man does beleeve so much Joy and Peace if a man fail in the Exercise of his faith he does lose his Comfort Yea hereby also he does lose his present prize A Christan hath a prize in this life he hath a two-fold crown A crown of glory in the world to come and a present crown And therefore saies the Lord unto the Church of Philadelphia Hold fast that which thou hast lest another take thy crown Now if a man do fail in the Exercise of his faith he does lose much of his present prize Ye know how it was with Moses and Aron ye reade of it in the 20. chapter of Numbers and the 12. verse And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron Because ye beleeve me not to sanctifie me in the eyes of the children of Israel therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have promised them They were shut out of the land of Canaan for not beleeving But Moses Araon did not lose the grace of faith it was only failing in the Exercise of faith their failing was not in the grace it self but only they failed in the Exercise of their faith and they were shut out of Canaan for it And Moses besought the Lord earnestly in prayer that he would reverse this threatning and it might not be he was shut out of Canaan meerly for failing in the Exercise of his faith Oh! what an evil thing is it then for a Christian to fail in his faith though it be no more than in the Exercise of his faith Further In this failing of ones faith though but in the Exercise of it A Christian does lose much of the benefit and sweetness of the mercy promised Look as it is with a wicked man in regard of the judgment threatned So with a godly man in regard of the mercy promised Now take a wicked man and let the threatning of God be fulfilled before him upon others upon himself he profits not by Gods judgments Why because that he don't exercise faith concerning the threatning and so when the judgment comes he profits not by Gods dealing by Gods judgments he loses the benefit of Gods dispensations that way So I say with a godly man let the promise be fulfilled and possibly he does not find the sweetness or the benefit of the mercy promised when the promise is fulfilled Why because he don't exercise faith in the promise it self When as the Lord gave Manna Moses had the seetness of it why because he exercised faith about it But the children of Israel they make a tush of it a light matter of it why because they look't upon it in a way of sence did not take it in a way of beleeving and so they lost the benefit and sweetness of the mercy promised Beloved it is no small matter this for to lose the benefit and sweetnesse of the mercy promised that a Christian loses by failing in his faith in regard of the Exercise of it and therefore certainly it is a very evil thing though their faith fail not in regard of the grace it self yet if it fail in regard of the work and the exercise of it it is a very evil thing and much inconvenience comes unto the Saints thereby Thirdly Quest 3 Whereby may it appear that Satans great design is upon our faith in the time of temptation He does tempt most unto that sin which is the greatesi and the sin against the Gospel is the greatest sin Answ Satans great design is to hinder the work of Christ the kingdom of Christ in the hearts of the Saint to counter-work the Spirit of God Satan does tempt that he may tempt and the greatest temptation usually comes in the reare comes at the last Satan does tempt a man to break the Law but he hath a further reach in that for he tempts a man to break the Law that so he may tempt him afterwards to sin against the Gospel he lies in ambush in one temptation for to draw to another When Satan tempted our first parents Adam and Eve he tempted like a serpent in form of a serpent and so now too he comes and he winds about us in his temptation but his sting is in the taile and at the latter end And thus ye see it was in the temptation of our Saviour Christ his great design was upon Christs faith in the 4. of mathhew ye know he hath Three temptations there and saies he in the two first temptations If thou be the Son of God and If thou be the Son of God And in the Last temptation All this will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me He tempted him to Blasphemy and Atheisme and what greater unbeleef So 't is with the Saints also Satan he comes and tempts them to sowrenesse frowardnesse and passion in their families but he hath a further reach upon that distemper for saies he I will tempt this man or woman to passion and frowardness and when he hath been froward and passionate then I will tempt him to be doubting whether he be the child
is able to help me and so I relye upon God and therefore Satan I am now justified and stand righteous through Jesus Christ in the sight of God Secondly As he does labour to weaken the faith of Assurance By telling the Saints that they have no faith So also by telling them That they have no Obedience that they don't profit under the means that they are not fruitfull where ever there is true faith there will be Obedienee and men will profit under the means and be fruitful but you are Unfruitful and you are barren and where 's your Obedience here 's no Obedience therefore no faith So no Assurance your Assurance is wrong Well But how may we ward Quest and keep off this blow in the time of temptation that our faith of Assurance may not faile Truly this blow is not to be warded off Answ if this be true That ye never were Obedient never Fruitful never profited by the means of grace this blow fals dead upon the soul this blow is not to be warded off this is no temptation But now if ye have ever been fruitful if ye have ever been obedient if ye have ever profited by the means of grace though for the present ye may seem dead yet remember what Job saies There is hope of a tree though it be cut down that by the scent of waters it will florish again And so there is hope of thy soul that by the scent of the Gospel-waters thou maiest flourish again But though there be no obedience in your own eye though ye don't profit under the means in your own eye yet your obedience may be in the eye of others and in time of temptation another mans eye is a better judge than your own But suppose there seem to be no obedience neither in your own nor anothers eye yet the root of the matter may be in you Ye know how it is with the fish that are in the water in a windy and a stormy day ye put many fish into a pond and in a faire sun shiney day ye see them playing upon the water upon the uppermost part of the water but in a rainy and stormy day ye see none of them there but yet you say they are all there they are in the water they are at the bottome though you see them not And so it may be in this stormy time of temptation your obedience and profiting is not seen but it may be there as heretofore Satan does never more presse a child of God to try himself by signs of grace drawn from his own conversation than in the time of temptation There is indeed a good use of signs drawn from our own conversation but this is agreed upon by all That there 's no use of them in the time of temptation And therefore saies Luther In the time of temptation I am as if there were no Law nor no works but only the righteousness of Christ in the world and so I do rest up-him Does Satan come forth therefore with this temptation That you have no obedience that you don't profit that you are Unfruitful Answer it thus True Satan I confesse I am very Unprofitable and therefore I will learn to profit more I confesse I am very unfruitful and therefore I will labour to be more fruitful But Satan I will not now at this time determine about my Condition for it may be a time of temptation hereafter at another time I will come and determine about my Condition and I will look after signes but now at this time it may be a time of temptation and therefore I will forbear to winde and draw up a conclusion but leane my self upon God and rest upon God at this time Thirdly Sometimes Satan does labour to weaken the Assurance of Gods people the faith of Assurance to make that to fail By telling of them that they have no faith at all because they have no particular faith no particular promise for saies Satan thus faith and Wavering faith and Doubting do not agree He that beleeveth doubteth not but now you pray and doubt you beleeve and waver ye have no particular word for what you beleeve therefore ye have no particular faith so no faith at all and therefore your Assurance is naught Quest How should we ward off this blow Answ In this case now let a poor beleever say Two or Three things unto his own soul First Tell thy soul this Though it pleases God sometimes to give out a particular word unto his people a particular promise in the time of Affliction or Desertion especially or temptation yet the Lord does not therefore giveout a particular promise that a man may measure his condition thereby there 's a mistake but the Lord does therefore give out a particular word or promise to uphold the soul in the condition not to measure out his condition by it but to uphold him and therefore though I have not a particular word or promise I will not conclude against my faith for this Again Tell thine own soul That though it pleases the Lord to give out a particular word or promise sometimes yet alwaies he does not Hezekiah had a particular word for his recovery but the three children had not a particular word that they should be delivered out of the fiery furnace yet they beleeved and whether God deliver or does not deliver say they we will not bow our selves to this Idolatry So that though God is pleased sometimes to give out a particular word or promise yet alwaies he does not and therefore my faith may be right Satan though I have not a particular word now for this businesse Again Tell thy soul this That though God is pleased thus to indulge and sometimes to give out a particular promise unto his people and they have a particular faith concerning this or that businesse yet there is alwaies a Waiting-faith that we reade of in Scripture There is a faith of Recumbency whereby a soul leans upon God and commits his cause unto God And there is a Waiting faith Now therefore Satan though I have not a particular word and a particular faith for this business yet notwithstanding I have a Waiting faith I can waite upon the Lord my God and I can rest upon Jesus Christ and therefore Satan I do yet beleeve and my faith is right Tell your own soul thus so shall you be able to stand to your faith and shall not fall off in the time of your temptation Thirdly For the faith of Acknowledgement Sometimes Satan does labour to weaken the faith of the Saints Acknowledgement He does labour either that they should deny the Truth or not own it either that they should deny Christ or that they should not own him So he laboured to make Peters faith to fail by denying Christ And therefore he comes unto a poor soul and saies If you will go on in this way it shall cost you a prison can you lie and rot and die in
ye aske me Wherein the love and care of Christ is expressed unto his people under their temptations I answer Answ 1 First In the ordering of their temptations For there is no temptation befalls any of His but he measures out the temptation according to their abilities As a wise Phifitian does not give the same Physick unto every person but considers every ones ability that which he gives to one is too strong for another he considers first the ability of his patient and prescribes accordingly Now though our Saviour Christ don't direct Satan for to tempt yet he does order him in tempting and Satan cannot put the least dram into any temptation but as it is measured out by the hand of Christ And this is that which the Apostle speaks plainly in the 1. Cor. 10. Chapter and the 13. verse But God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able c. that ye may be able to bear it Psal 139 The Psalmist David saies Search me O Lord and prove me That is saies Gregory First O Lord look upon my strength and then if I must be tempted suffer me to be tempted according to mine ability Christ does measure out all the temptations of his people according to their abilities Secondly As he does measure out their temptations according to their abilities So he does also mortifie their temptations and weaken them as they come through his hand Mortifie them before they do come at his Disciples and people before they do come at you And upon this account partly it is said That we are more than conquerers through Christ that giveth victory Because our enemy is overcome before he strikes and his blow is broken as he strikes And therefore saies the Apostle concerning our Saviour That he hath spoil'd principalities and powers and made a shew of them openly upon the crosse All your temptations the power and strength of them were spoil'd upon the crosse There 's no temptation befals any of Gods people but it is mortified and weakned before it does come it them the sting teeth and the poison being taken out Thirdly He does not only thus mortifie and weaken a temptation before it does come at us But he does cause Satan so to lay his temptations as that he may be discerned and so overcome Satan tempted Adam and Eve but he tempted in a serpent and so Adam might easily have discerned the hand of Satan in it for Adam knew all the creatures he gave them their Names he knew their Natures and he knew well enough the serpent could not speak to him he might easily have known that the hand of Satan was in the business And so now though God does suffer Satan to tempt his people yet he does cause Satan so to lay his temptations as that the black feet of the tempter may be discovered and when a temptation is discovered 't is half overcome Fourthly He doth not only thus But the Lord Jesus Christ hath the Timeing of all our temptationps Time is a great matter in the point of temptation Should a temptation come at such or such a time possibly Gods child might be overwhelmed I praise the Lord saies one I did resist such a temptation but had it fallen out at such a time I should never have been able to have stood under it Satan observes his tempting times he knowes that great advantage may be made unto him by his time And therefore when Christ was an hungry he tempted him to turn stones into bread observed his time And as Satan does observe his time to tempt So our Lord and Saviour Christ does set him his time the time of his temptations are in the hand of Christ And therefore if ye look into the 20. chapter of the Revelation the 1. 2. and 3. verses ye shall find to this purpose thus I saw an Angel come down from Heaven having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand And he laid hold on the dragon the old serpent which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed a little season Mark The Lord Jesus Christ hath not only the tempter in a chain that he can go no further than he gives him leave to go but his hand also is in the hand of Christ and Christ hath an eye to the Time of his temptation a special eye upon the time of our temptation and this argues much of his care and love Fiftly He hath not only the Timeing of our temptations But he does also Sanctifie our temptations and does make them blessed means of our Sanctification And therefore saies Paul I received the messenger Satan for to buffet me that I might not be exalted Twice he hath that That he might not be exalted out of measure But for this I need go no further than the instance of Peter before Peter was tempted what abundance of carnal confidence was there in Peter Lord saies he though all men for sake thee yet will not I. But now I pray look upon him after his temptation and you shall see how this carnall confidence was laid down for our Saviour saies unto him Peter lovest thou me more than these Lord saies he thou knowest I love thee but not a word of the comparative More than these he had left comparing now having been under temptation and having fallen his carnal confidence was gone and he don't say now Lord though all men forsake thee yet will not I the comparison is left out now he answers to the other part but not a word to that So that I say If the Lord Jesus Christ do measure out all our temptation for us And mortifie them before they come at us And does cause Satan to lay them as we may most easily discover them And if the Lord Christ does Time our temptations for us And sanctifie them unto us Then certainly there is much of Oh rists love and mercy at work for his people under their temptations Secondly If you ask me yet further Quest 2 Wherein is the love of Christ exprest or drawn out unto his people under their temptations I answer It is seen and exprest in this In teaching of them Answ in and by their temptations Tempting times are teaching times unto Gods people the school of temptation is a great school Luther said that the temptations of Satan were the imbracings of Christ meaning that then Christ did imbrace his people most and discover most of his love unto them Three things he said there were that made a Preacher Meditation Prayer and Temptation And indeed when or where does God or Christ reveal himselfe more fully unto his people than in the times of their temptations 'T is said that at
was a pattern and plat-form of his dealing with all his people to the end of the world Now ye shall observe that Christs love was never more let out towards his Disciples than from this time after he had said these words Satan hath desired to sift you as wheat After this time they were all offended because of Christ and they all forsook him Peter denied him some doubted whether he were the Messiah or no and another would not beleeve his Resurrection as sheep they were all scattered and shattered great was their temptations yet from this time do but observe the love of Christ towards them after this speech then Christ preaches a most excellent and sweet Sermon to them in the 14 15 and 16. chapters of John Then he takes water and a towel and washes and wipes his Disciples feet Then he appoints the Lords Supper Then he spends a whol chapter the 17. of John in prayer for them makes a most excellent and sweet prayer for them Then he cals them his friends Ye are no longer my servants but my friends Yea his Children Yea his Little children Never was his love more drawn out or exprest towards them than after this time And I say this was a pattern and a plat-form of his dealing with all his people unto the end of the world And therefore though Christ do suffer his own people to be tempted yet his love and mercy is never more at work than when they are most assaulted by Satan Thirdly You will say Quest 3 What is there in the heart of Jesus Christ that does incline him to this indulgence toward his people that his love and mercy is then most at work when they are most assaulted by Satan My beloved Answ There is the quintescence of all the excellency of loving relations in Jesus Christ A Father a Mother a Brother a Friend He is the everlasting Father And his soul was in travel saies the Prophet He is not ashamed to all you his brethren And he is a Friend I call you my friends Now though parents be tender of their children at all times yet especially when they are sick then there 's a chair of love stands by the childs bed-side And so though Christ be alwaies tender of his people yet then especially when their souls are sick and labour under temptation There is the greatest pity in Christ that can be the most pitiful disposition in Christ which is alwaies laid out where he sees a fit object for it pray what is the object of pity The object of pity is One whom ye love in misery If ye see a man in misery yet if ye don't love him ye don't pity him if ye see a man whom ye love yet if ye don't see him in misery ye don't pity him ye love him but ye don't pity him but a person whom ye love in misery is the object of pity Now all the Saints and people of God are the beloved of Christ and when they are in temptation that is their greatest misery and therefore when they are most tempted then is the love and mercy of Christ drawn out unto them especially Besides The Lord Jesus Christ hath a great Interest and share in every beleever a share going in every beleever As the member hath an interest and a share in the head so the head hath also in every member Thine they were saies Christ and thou gavest them me Christ hath a special and great interest in all his people and he will not lose his interest The truth is when Satan does assault a beleever he does rather strike at Christ than at a beleever And therefore saies Gregory well The Devil in tempting Job did not so much strike at Job as at God for the Lord had said That Job was an upright man and now the Devil would go about to make Job an Hypocrite so that the Devill would fain have made God a lyar and he did not so much strike at Job as at Gods testimony of Job he did strike at God And so now in all the temptations of the Saints he strikes at Christ and they bear those temptations because of Christ Let a man go on in a wicked and ungodly way Satan won't vex him with temptations but let a man once become godly and be in Christ and then how many temptations will Satan vex him with Now saies Christ shall this poor soul endure all this for me and shall not I help shall not I assist shall not I deliver If a man break his Arme or his Leg before ye you will pity him but if he break his Arme or his leg in your work or service in a work that you set him about you count your self ingaged then to help him 'T is the work of Christ that the Saints are about and Christ sets them on work and when Satan comes to tempt 't is to disturbe them in the work that Christ sets them about Now therefore saies Christ shall they endure all this because of me and because of my work and shall not I assist and defend them and help them Surely I will Oh! my beloved if ye did but know what an Interest Jesus Christ hath in every beleever you would easily see the reason of this so great tenderness in him that his love and mercy is never more at work than when they are most assaulted by Satan For Application Applic. What abundance of Comfort is here unto all those that are the true Disciples of Jesus Christ you are not alone in your temptations Christ is with you and he is in Heaven too interceding and praying for you he hath sent his Spirit into your hearts to make intercession for you there and he himself is in Heaven making intercession and praying for you there when you are in temptation Christ is at prayer for you Yea he does not only pray for you but his love and his mercy is most of al at work then when you are most assaulted Oh! what Comfort is this But will some say I fear this comfort belongs not to me Object because I am none of these that are Christs true Diseiples Christ prayed for Peter because be was his Disciple and he prayed for therest because they were his Disciples but as for me though in profession I may be a Disciple yet really I fear I am no true Disciple of Jesus Christ and therefore I fear that he does not pray and intercede for me in the time of my temptation Two things for answer to this Answ First I pray consider that place in the 16. chapter of Matthew and the 24. verse Then said Jesus unto his Disciples If any man will come after me or if any man will be my Disciple so some books hath it let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Mark Here are Three properties of a true Disciple To open the words a little unto ye that I may settle this comfort the more fully upon your
is never more at work for thee than when thou art most tempted and assaulted by Satan What a mighty incouragement is here to al that hear the word of the Lord to get into Jesus Christ But if I be godly and al this be true Why should I question the love of God towards me in the time of my temptation Beloved ye know it in your Experience ye are never more apt for to question the love of Christ than in temptation and yet Christs love is never more at work for you than in temptation Oh! what an unworthy answering of Christs love is here Again If I be Godly Why should I not be contented and quiet under all my temptations though they be never so great Christ prayeth for me Christs love is most at work now I am most assaulted his bowels then yern towards me Yea If I be Godly Why should I not with Paul Triumph over all temptations and make my boast of Christ and say as he did Now know I that nothing shall separate me from the love of God in Christ not Principalities nor Powers nor Devils nor Temptations for when I am most tempted Christ is most at work in love for me Yea beloved in the Lord why should we not all warm our hearts with this love of Jesus Christ it's a mercy that the Lord Christ will cast but an eye or a look upon a poor soul under temptation that is a mercy I but I tell ye more than so Christ does not only cast an eye and a look upon a poor tempted soul but his love and mercy is never more at work than when you are most assaulted and tempted by Satan Ah what grace and heart-warming love is here If I be Godly again upon this account why should I give over so soon and lay down my weapon in time of temptation If a City be beleaguer'd besieged and know that help will come they will not give over And though I am thus besieged and thus tempted help will certainly come for Christ hath prayed why should I give over then in time of temptation And if these things be so if there be so much love in the heart of Christ towards poor tempted souls then beloved should we not all run to Christ in the time and hour of our temptation run unto him by prayer It may be there are some that will say Quest If Christ pray for us in time of temptation what need we pray But I pray look into this chapter Answ and you will find our Saviour carries it otherwise In the text saies he But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fall not At the 46. verse Why sleep ye saies he rise and pray lest ye enter into temptation So that though he had said That he prayed for them yet he cals upon them also to pray It 's good praying my beloved when mercy is coming and mercy is then coming when Christ is praying and when you are most tempted then Christ is at prayer But to end all What ever your temptations therefore be you that are the servants of God still think ye hear Christ saying to ye Man Woman be of good comfort I have prayed for you though thy temptations be very great I have prayed for thee thought thou canst not pray for thy self as thou wouldst I have prayed for thee when flesh fails and eyes fail and heart fails and all fails yet remember this Christ prayeth for you in the time of your temptation Christ prayeth for you think that ye hear Christ speaking to ye in the time of your temptation for certainly he does it as well to his Disciples now as he did to his Disciples then he does speak and say Be of good comfort man or woman though thy temptations be great yet I have prayed for thee and thy faith shall not fail FINIS THANKFVLNES Required in every CONDITION 1 THESSALONIANS 5.18 In every thing give thanks Preached at Margrets New-fish street March 23. 1645 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you WHAT is written to the Thessalonians is written for our instruction What they are commanded as Christians we are commanded as Christians In the latter part of this Chapter several Exhortations were given to them among the rest this is one In which ye have The Exhortation it self In every thing give thanks And the Reason in forcing that Exhortation for this is the wil of God in Christ Tesus conerning you In every thing give thanks In Prosperity and in Adversity whether things go well or whether they go ill In every thing give thanks He had said before verse 16 17. Rejoyce evermore Pray continually Unto those Exhortations he adds no such Reason as here Because it may seem strange that a man should give thanks in every thing he adds also for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you So that plainly here lies this Observation or Truth upon the words It is the will of God Doct. even our father that we should be thankfull to him in every thing When we are Full it will be granted that then we are to give thanks to God Deuteronomy the 8. and the 10. But ye are not only to give thanks when ye are Full but when ye are Empty not only when ye are strong but when ye are weak not only when you are delivered from the hands of your Enemy but when you are delivered into the hands of your Enemy Job 1.21 Therefore Job saies The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away blessed be his Name Job was plundered by the Enemy and yet he does blesse the Lord Job was emptied of a full Estate and yet he does blesse the Lord Job had lost his dear Children and yet he does blesse the Lord Job in a great measure given up into the hands of Satan and yet he blesses the Lord for which he is commended So then It is our duty and the will of God our Father that we should not only be thankful but we should be thankful in every thing For Reas 1 there is alwaies excellency enough in God and Christ to entertain your Thankfulnesse to draw out your Thankfulnesse and Praises Indeed there is a formal or notional difference between Praising God and giving thanks to God Praises respect the excellencies of God himself Thankfulness respect the benefits we receive from God I praise God when I honour him for the Excellency that is in him I am thankful to God when I blesse him for those benefits I receive from him But now in Scripture these are put one for the other ordinarily and whatsoever our condition be whether high or low rich or poor full or empty there is enough Excellency in Christ for to draw out our Praises and therefore in every thing we are to be Thankful There is no condition so sad Reas 2 but somewhat is good that is mingled with it No darknesse so dark but-some light withal No misery so miserable
but some mercy withal Heaven is all Mercy and Hell is all Misery but this life is made up of both 't is a twi-light Some good in every condition and therefore in Every thing we are to give Thanks unto God 'T is the duty of a Christian to be like unto Jesus Christ Reas 3 he was thankful in Every thing When he had not whereon to lay his head Father I thank thee Matth. 11.25 When he was to go to his agony and sweat drops of blood they sung an Hymne saies the text a Psalm of Praise So when a Christian is to go to his agony what ever agony he meets withal there is rise enough yet for his Thankfulnesse In Every thing be thankful As the Apostle hath it in the 5. to the Ephesians and the 20. Giving thanks alwaies for all things unto God even the father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ You will say Suppose that a Christian meet with some long Quest heavy and sharp Affliction is he to be Thankful then to be Thankful in that condition Yes Look I pray into the 24. of Esay Answ and the 15. verse Wherefore saies he glorifie ye the Lord in the fires even the Name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles of the Sea Glorifie ye the Lord in the fires so ye reade it Some rather translate it thus Glorifie ye the Lord in Doctrines Vrim the same word that we translate Vrim for the Urim and Thummim But I would rather translate it Valleyes so Calvin for Doctrines does not sute with that which follows Glorifie ye the Lord in the Valleyes even the Name of the Lord God of Israel in the Isles of the Sea A Valley is a low place and dark now saies he though ye be in a dark condition removed from light Glorifie the Lord in the Valleyes glorifie the Lord there And good reason why the Saints should do so as ye will see if you look into the 1. of Zachary and the 8. verse I saw by night and behold a man riding upon a red horse and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom and behind him were there red horses speckled and white This man upon a red horse plainly must be meant Christ who is here attended with red horses speckled and white to send forth and dispatch into the several parts of the world upon his design These other red horses they are behind him waiting upon him Now where is Christ He is among the myrtle-trees And where are the Myrtle-trees They are in the bottom The Saints and people of God for their fruitfulnesse they are called Myrtle-trees and sometimes their condition is as a Valley they are in the bottom but yet they are Myrtle-trees in the bottom and Jesus Christ is among these Myrtle-trees though they be in a bottom though they be in a Valley and therefore no wonder that we should praise and glorifie God in this condition Beloved what we may rejoyce in that we may praise God for Jam. 1.9 10. Rom. 5.3 Now saies the Apostle Let the brother of low-degree rejoyce in that he is exalted and let the brother of high degree rejoyce in that he is made low Rejoyce in Tribulation A man is to rejoyce more for the opportunity of exercising grace than in all prosperity there are some graces that cannot be exercised but in Tribulation cannot be exercised in Heaven Patience and the like Now then when Tribulation comes a Christian should thus look upon it I have hereby an opportunity of exercising that grace that I had not before and then he will blesse God and then he will be thankful in that condition when God takes away one mercy he gives another if he take away Moses he will give a Joshua if he take away Ely he will give a Samuel if he will take away Christs personal presence he wil send the holy Ghost And the truth is he does not so much take away as borrow a mercy and he payes it again with usery and advantage Onesimus goes away like a thief from Philemon but he returns again with profit to him and others As for these outward things they will prove but debts at the great day of Judgment riches now and gifts now but debts then and the lesse ye have of these outward things the lesse ye have to reckon for them In a bad day men they say Oh! that I had less my reckoning would be lesse the lesse ye have the lesse your reckoning will be The comfort of a mans life consists not in Muchness but fitness to his heart If a man have a great Farm and a small stock it is the only way to break him it 's better to have a Farm fit for ones stock than a great Farm The Lord he sees what our stock of grace is and accordingly he provides a Farm for every one of his Children and sometimes it is lessened but the reason is because the stock of grace is no bigger they have no more grace to stock it withal Our Gifts and our Parts and our Prosperity they are so strong sometimes that God is fain to mingle water therewithal that we may not be drunk I appeal to you are not the Saints gainers by all their losses are not they strengthened by all their weaknesse are not they bettered by all their crosses Surely then in all things they are to be thankful though their affliction be exceeding long sharp and grievous yet they are to be thankful in that condition But suppose now Quest that it be Persecution that a man is to be exercised with and that is bitter is a Christian to be Thankful then even in that condition Yes ye know what the Apostle saies To you it is given Answ Phil. 1.29 Phil. 1.22 John 18.37 not only to beleeve but to suffer Gods gift is worth our thanks And saies the Apostle All shall turn to the furtherance of the Gospel Is it not a great matter and worth our praise thankfulnesse that we should be trusted by God to bear witnesse to his Truth For this came I into the world saies Christ that I might bear witness to the Truth It was his design thereby ye are like to him and so honour him When were the Churches and people of God more pure than under Persecution and is it not a great mercy to be kept pure The more you suffer for any Truth the more that Truth shall be spread by you you die but the Truth lives your Estate dies and your Name dies and your Liberty dies but your dying Estate gives a living testimony unto the Truth When I am lift up saies Christ Joh. 12.23 meaning upon the Crosse I will draw all men after me And so shall you do when you are lift up upon the Crosse for any Truth ye shall draw all men after that Truth that ye are lift up for When have ye more communion with Jesus Christ than when ye suffer most for his
whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy See who are to say so Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so whom he hath Redeemed from the hand of the enemy Beloved ye know that not long since we were in Captivity I mean a Spriitual Captivity we sate down by the waters side and said How shall we do to sing a Christian song The Lord hath Redeemed us he hath Redeemed us out of the hand of our Enemies And if the Lord hath not Redeem'd you out of the hand of your Enemy don't say so but if he have Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so Pesides Is it not worth our Thankfulness that we have had so many daies of Thanksgiving together A day of Fasting and Prayer is a sweet day a Thanksgiving-day sweeter if I may make compate For in a day of Fasting and Prayer we deal with the anger and wrath and displeasure of God In a day of Thanksgiving with the love of God and the mercy of God In a day of Fasting and Prayer we exercise Grief But in a day of Thanksgiving we exercise Joy and love In a day of Fasting and Prayer your eye is upon your sins In a day of Thanksgiving upon your graces to be Thankful for them As the fish swims upon the top of the water when the Sun shines which in a storm lay at the bottom and wood and sticks tumbled up and down and those were seen So in a day of Thanksgiving there ye see and take notice of your own graces to be thankful for them In a day of Fasting and Prayer sometimes ye are so humbled for sin committed as the sence of your Justification is quite shattered But in the day of Thanksgiving your assurance for heaven is sealed they are sweet daies And beloved you have had many of them of late and surely this is worth our Praise But give me leave a little to Enumerate for Enumeration is one kind of Argument Hath not the Lord from heaven owned his own Cause in the hands of his servants our brethren in the field Hath not the Lord heard your Prayers Hath not the Lord opened many Mines of precious Truths that ye never knew before Hath not the Lord delivered you from the hand of a savadge Enemy Those that lay among the pots brought forth with doves-wings Victory after Victory one treading upon the heel of another overtaking another Does he not daily load you with his benefits I cannot say as David in the 9. Psalm and the 1. verse I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart I will shew forth all thy marveilous works The former part I will praise thee O Lord with my whole heart you will say But the latter part I will shew forth all thy marveilous works Who can say they are beyond us And now Beloved if it be our duty to Praise God to be Thankful to him in every condition when we are low shall we not be thankful to him now that the Lord hath raised us and fill'd us thus You will say Object There 's one thing that hinders us in the work of Praise and Thanksgiving in these times A Reformation is now begun and things do not succeed according to our desires in the matter of Reformation should we can we be Thankful now Yes If the Lord give me a Child Answ should not I be Thankfull for it because it is not borne a man When the Jews built the Temple did not they shout and praise God that the Foundation was laid When the Israelites had overcome their enemies in Samuels time though the Enemies were round about them they set up a stone and called it Eben-ezer 1 Sam. 7.12 Hitherto the Lord hath helped us Beloved in our Thanksgiving we are to be like unto Jesus Christ He did not only praise God when he had the mercy but before he had it in the entrance upon it When he raises up Lazarus from the dead John 11.41 42. Father saies he I Thank thee that thou hearest me alwaies and then he commands Lazarus to come out But first he gives Thanks to God In the Scripture the holy-Ghost hath commmanded us Prov. 3.9 To honour the Lord with our substance and with the first fruits of all our increase Either ye have the first-fruits of Reformation or not If not what mean all those precious Ears and fruits which ye have been gathering in these latter times And if ye have the first fruits though ye have not reap't the harvest yet then honour the Lord with your substance and with your first-fruits So shall your barnes be fill'd with plenty and your presses with the new wine of the Gospel God does give one mercy as a seal unto another a First as a seal to the Second the Second as a seal to the Third the lesser as a pledge of the greater God does give a lesser mercy to try us whether we will be Thankful that he may give a greater Beloved these are trying times God tries us whether we will be Thankful for what we have A Reformation is now on foot what though things don't succeed according to your desire shall we not be Thankful for what we have because we want something of what we would have when then shall we be Thankful I but Quest 't is not only want of Reformation but many Errours that are risen up among us in these times and should we be Thankful now in this condition Yes Answ Shall I not be Thankful for some grace because it is mingled with much Corruption Shall I not be Thankful for my field of Corn because divers weeds are mingled therewith Shall I cast away the kernel because it is compast about with a shell Luther in the beginning of the Reformation met with many Errours and he comforted himself with this When the Corn is grown the weeds will die alone Meaning this When Reformation is come to greater strength Errours would die alone 'T is said of our Lord and Saviour Christ Isa 53.12 He was numbered among transgressors Should not I love Christ or own Christ or be Thankful for Christ because he was numbered among transgressors The Errours of the time you say are the transgressors of the time Shall I not love the Truth and own the Truth and be thankful for the Truth because it is numbered among the transgressors the transgressors of the time Blessed is that man that can see a beauty in Truth when it hath a scratch't face And indeed every Truth hath a beauty the Lord hath given you out many Truths in these times that ye were ignorant of before Beloved I do not say that ye should be thankful for any Errour we ought to be grieved for any Errour But shall we be so mindful against Errour crying out against Errour Errour as not to be thankful for any Truth we have If the whole world were spread with Errour that one Truth living Jesus Christ died for sinners there were