look into the first Chapter and you shall see that those several Titles wherewith he cloaths Himself when he speaks unto the Churches severally are all summed up together at the 16. verse And he had in his right hand seven stars There 's his Title unto the Church of Ephesus And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword There 's his Title unto the Church of Pergamus And at the 18. verse I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for ever more There 's another Title that he useth when he speaketh unto the Church of Smyrna But in the 13. vers is opened the fountain of all these streams In the midst of the seven candlesticks I saw me like unto the Son of man cloathed with a garment down to the foot and girt about the paps with a golden girdle This was then the robe and attyre of the High Priest Whose garment came down unto his feet and he was girt about with a golden girdle So that all these other Attributes and Titles of Christ they have their rise here here is the spring-head of all those consolations even the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Usually Those Excellencies and Attributes of Christ are most beneficial unto the Saints that are most opposed by the world What Title Attribute or Excellency of Christ is there that is more invaded by the world than the Priestly office of Jesus Christ What is the whole body of Anti-christianisme but an invasion upon this Priestly Office of Christ What is the Popish Masse that unbloody sacrifice but a derogation from the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ once upon the Crosse and so a derogation from his Priestly Office What are all those Popish Penances and satisfactions injoyn'd but a derogation unto the satisfaction of Jesus Christ and so unto the Priestly Office of Christ What is all their praying to Saints and Angels but a derogation unto the Intercession of Jesus Christ and so unto the Priestly Office of Christ What does the Pope call himself He cals himself the High Priest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the very Title that our Lord and Saviour takes unto himself So that the whole body of Anti-christianisme is a great invasion upon the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Now that which is usually opposed most by the men of the world that Excellency and that Attribute of Christ is of all other the most comfortable and beneficial unto Gods people The truth is This Priestly Office of Jesus Christ is an Office of meer love and tender compassion erected and set up on purpose for the reliefe of poor distressed sinners and there is no mixture of terrour with it there is a mixture of terrour with the other Offices of Christ The Lord Christ he is King and he hath a Kingly Office and by his Kingly Office he rules over the Churches and rules over all the world But all do not obtain mercy that he rules over As for those mine Enemies that will not submit will not have mee to Reign over them bring them and slay them before mee The Prophetical office of Jesus-Christ it extendeth unto many that shall never be saved Light shines in darkness and darknesse comprehendeth it not He came unto his own and his own received him not But now where over the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ is let forth upon an soul that soul shall certainly be saved for ever What was the great relief amongst the Jewes against their sins The Jewes you shall observe they had many reliefs when they were in the wilderness and were stung with the fiery serpents then they had a brasen-serpent for to look upon as a reliefe against that distresse When they wanted water they had the water out of the Rock as a reliefe against that distresse When they wanted Bread they had Manna from Heaven as a reliefe against that distress But when they sinned whither did they go Then they took a sacrifice and went unto the Priest and he was to offer for them So that the Priestly Office then was the only relief they had against sin And so now the Priestly Office of the Lord Jesus Christ it is that great succour and relief which Christians have against all Temptations under Heaven You will say unto me Quest But generall things affect not let us see it in some Particulars wherein this Priestly Office of Christ is the great Magazin and Storehouse of all our grace and comfort For Answer Ans hereunto I will begin this exercise with one Particular of the Priestly Office of Christ in shewing what a relief and succour it is unto a Christian against all Temptations and what a bottome of comfort and special means of Grace and Holiness The text saies That the work of the High Priest is To make reconciliation for the sins of the people In the times of the old Testament the High Priest made an Atonement for the people in case any man had finned he brought a sacrifice and his sins were laid upon the head of the sacrifice Once every yeer the High Priest did enter into the holy of holiest and with the blood of the Sacrifice did sprinkle the Mercy-Seat and laid the sins of the people upon the head of the scape-goat and so made an atonement for the people All which will cleerly appear in that 16. of Liviticus at the 14. verse He shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the Mercy-Seat east-ward and before the Mercy-Seat shall be sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times And at the 21. verse And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confesse over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins putting them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness and so he shall make an atonement as in that Chapter This was the work of the High Priest in case any had finned to make an atonement and satisfaction by way of Type for the sins of the people Now for the better proof of this great Gospel-Truth that I have propounded I shall insist on these Five things First That when the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the Crosse he did offer up Himself a sacrifice unto God the Father Secondly That when this sacrifice was upon the Altar then the sins of all beleevers past present and to come were all laid upon Jesus Christ Thirdly That when these sins were thus laid upon Christ he did thereby give full satisfaction unto God the Father unto Divine Justice Fourthly That all this he did as our great High-Priest and in a more Transcendent and Eminent manner then ever any High Priest did before him Fifthly How all this doth conduce to our Comfort and to our Holiness First When our Lord Jesus Christ died upon the Cross He did offer up himself a sacrifice unto God
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
1 3 225 12 10 11 12. 246 Matthew 5 3 4. 4 12 47.50 5 28 19 76 3 11 105 5 16 109 27 6 126 4 4 178 11 20 197 9 9 199 9 10 11 12 13. 226 13 32 31. 238 Luke 23 24 4 24 36 5 22 32 28 1 20 175 17 13 179 7 38 182 17 6 196 17 3 197 19 5 199 14 16 17 18. 219 19 9 222 19 10 224 7 41 225 15 18 19. 228 7 37 230 John 1 17 9 16 7.10 10 1 12 20 17 19 24 4 34 26 17 3 80 14 6 94 10 3 96 10 3 96 14 20 115 5 26 117 12 23 158 20 29 180 21 5 185 2 4 5. 206 Acts 9 6 184 Romans 8 15 47 1 7 96 7 4 96 4 5 228 11 30 242 1 Corinthians 15 45 21 2 3.5 59 15 10 59 1 9 129 3 22 203 Galatians 4 begin 77 5 22 102 Ephesians 1 23 8 2 1.5 53 4 10 116 Philippians 2 12 58 2 7.9.98 158 Colossians 1 19 9 1 22 81 3 11 96 2 9 128 Timothy 5 5 157 1 13 222 Titus 2 14 28 Hebrews 7 25 9 2 18 22 3 2 25 1 1 78 10 19 121 11 1 203 James 1 17 93 4 8 225 1 Peter 3 4 36 5 10 51 4 19 177 1 John 1 3 115 Revelations 1 18 94 3 21 120 11 11 155 3 20 253 FINIS The great GOSPEL-Mystery Of the SAINTS comfort and holinesse HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him Preached at Stepney April 25 1647. to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and a faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation or atonement for the sins of the people For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted THE Apostle Paul whom I take to be the Pen-man of this Epistle having in the former part of this Chapter shewed the Reasons why it behoved Christ for to suffer death He comes now in the latter end thereof to give you an account by laying down some Reasons Why it behoved Christ to be in all things made like unto us whom the Apostle here cals the Brethren of Jesus Christ In other Scriptures we find that our Lord and Saviour Christ is called our Father The everlasting Father the Prince of peace Here he is called our Brother we his Brethren Now the same Person to be both a Father and a Brother unto the same man in nature it cannot be But because all these Relations are to scant and narrow Vessels to hold forth the love of Jesus Christ towards us Therefore Inconsistent Relations are given unto him A Father Provides for his child which the brother doth not A Brother can stoop and condesend unto his brother which the superiority of the Father will not bear So that here is held forth unto us the stooping Condesending love of Jesus Christ and therfore he is called our Brother and we his Brethren But why Quest and what Reason is there That the Lord Jesus Christ should in all things be made like unto us his Brethren The Apostle in these words gives the Reason Answ That he might be a merciful and a faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people c. The Lord God our Father swear unto Jesus Christ Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek He was to be the great high Priest Among the Jews in the times of the old Testament they had an high Priest that was in all things to stand between God and them and in case any sinned to make an atonement for them As the Jewes had their High Priest So the Lord Jesus Christ he was to be and he is The Apostle and the High Priest of our Christian profession as Aaron was of the Jewes profession And therefore saies the Apostle It behoved him in all things to be made like unto us But could not Jesus Christ be merciful unto poor tempted souls Quest unless he were in all things made like to them like in their Natures like in their Affections like in matter of Temptations Christ as God could have been merciful unto us Ans although he had not been made like unto us but not as our High Priest There is an ability of Sufficiency and of Power and so Christ as God was able to succour those that are tempted although himself had never been tempted But there is an ability of Idoneity or Fitness or Aptness and Disposition and so the Apostle saies here For in that Himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted It 's plain then what that is that is the great support of a Christian against all Temptations wherein lies our succour against all Temptation namely in the Priestly-Office of Jesus Christ The Priestly-Office of Christ Is it the great Magazine and Stonehouse of all that Grace and Comfort which we have on this side Heaven It is that whereby we are reconciled to God the Father and relieved against all temptation This is the great thing that these words hold forth And therefore upon this account the Apostle Paul finding the Hebrewes labouring under great Temptations Doubtings Fears and much Unbeleef he does not only here but all along in this book of the Hebrews open the Priestly Office of Christ unto them And indeed what comfort can we have in God Himself but through Christ and what comfort can we have in Christ Himself but as he is cloathed with his Prestly-Garment with his Office of the High Priest Whatsoever comfort we have in the other Offices of Christ namely his Kingly and his Prophetical Office it is all Originated and Principiated in this The Priestly Office of Jesus Christ it does give a Life and Being and Efficacy to both the other Offices And therefore the High Priest in the times of the old Testament who was a Type of Christ he wore a Crown upon his head and the breast-plate of Vrim and Thummim upon his breast showing that both the other Offices the Kingly and the Prophetical Office were planted upon the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ Yea If you look into the First Second and Third Chapters of the Revelation you will find that whatsoever streames of comfort did run down upon the Churches through the other Titles and Attributes of God they are all fountain'd here In the Second Chapter and the first verse The Lord Christ hath this Title That he holdeth the seven stars in his right hand These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand In the Eight verse writing unto the Church of Smyrna he takes up another Title or Attribute These things saith the first and the last which was dead and is alive At the Twelf verse writing unto the Church of Pergamus he takes up another Title These things saith he who hath the sharp sword with two edges Now
the Father He did not as the Socinians say die only as an example for to teach us how to die but he offered up himself a sacrifice unto God the Father then Yea as if all sacrifices were met in him all those titles that are given unto other Sacrifices they are given unto him There were Three sorts of Sacrifices some were living others were not living and those were either solid as bread and the like or else they were liquid as wine and oyle There was a alwaies Destructio rei oblatiae A destroying of the thing offered If it were a living thing that was sacrificed then it was said to be slain In answer to that Jesus Christ is said to be a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world If it were a dead thing that was offered up as bread or corn a solid thing then the sacrifice or offering was said to be bruised In answer to that our Lord and Saviour Christ is said to be bruised for our iniquities If it were a liquid thing that was offered up to God as wine or oyle then it was said to be powred out In answer to this it is said of our Lord and Saviour That his soul was powred out unto death Thus all Sacrifices meeting in him Behold the Lamb of God saies John the Baptist when he saw Christ He does not say Behold the Bull of God or the Goat of God and yet Buls and Goats were sacrificed Why does he rather say behold the Lamb of God than the Bullock or the Goat For when the High Priest went into the Holy of Holiest and sprinkled the Mercy-Seat he did not sprinkle the Mercy-Seat with the blood of the Lamb but with the blood of a Goat and yet notwithstanding it is not said Behold the Goat of God but Behold the Lamb of God Why so Not only because that Christ was of a lamb-like and meek disposition as some would have it Nor only because that the great Type of Christ was the Pascal-Lamb though these be reasons But there was a dayly sacrifice in the Temple whether men brought any offering or no there was a standing sacrifice in the Temple morning and evening and that sacrifice was a Lamb. Now therefore to shew that Jesus Christ is the dayly sacrifice therefore he cries out and saies Behold the Lamb of God and not the Goat of God for the Goat was not sacrificed every day as the Lamb was For proof of this take the Apostles Exhortation Ephe. 5.2 Walk in love as Christ hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God Here are Three things considerable First He does not say Who hath redeemed us but to show his great love unto us Who hath given himself for us He doth not say Who hath given himself for our sins Yet he saies so in Gal. 1.4 Who gave himself for our sins But Who gave himself for us Why To shew who they were that he gave himself for He gave himself for us as sinners Again He saies here He gave himself for us an offering and a sacrifice not only an offering but a sacrifice too So that this first Proposition is cleerly proved That our Lord Jesus when he died upon the Crosse he did offer up himself as a sacrifice unto God the Father Secondly As he did offer up himself a sacrifice unto God the Father So when he was upon this Altar this sacrifice the sins of all beleevers were then laid upon Jesus Christ those that do now beleeve or shall hereafter beleeve they were all then laid upon Jesus Christ Look into the 53. of Isaiah ver 6. All we like sheep have gone astray and have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all That which God laies on shall never be taken off no man shall take it off The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all Yea Our iniquities are not only said to be laid on him but to use the same word that is used for the sacrifice it is said he bare our sins upon the Crosse as the Goat bare the sins of the people So saies the Apostle He himself bare our sins upon the Cross Moreover He did not only bare our sins upon the Cross but saies the Apostle he was made sin for us 'T is not said He was made a sinner or accounted a sinner only for us but he was made sin for us All our iniquities were laid on him he bare our sins and he was made sin for us upon the Crosse Thus briefly the Second Proposition is cleared That when he did thus offer up himself upon the Crosse as a sacrifice the sins of all beleevers were then laid on him Thirdly When the sins of beleevers were laid on him then he did make full satisfaction unto God the Father and Divine Justice for all our sins This is a bottom of much comfort For if the Lord Jesus Christ our surety had not satisfied to the utmost farthing our great Creditor God the Father for all our debts God the Father might come upon us the Debters But our Surety the Lord Christ hath given full satisfaction unto God the Father that no more demands can be made upon us And indeed else how could our Surety ever have come out of prison He was under arrest he was in the Jayle in the grave The Father the great Creditor lets him out and did not only let him out but the Lord Jesus Christ he goes inbto Heaven and sits down there at the right hand of the Father Surely if the Creditor had not been satisfied the Surety should never have bin released out of prison He was so fully satisfied That he looked for iniquity and he found none saies the text He look't over all his books to see if he could find any thing upon the score but he found none all our debts were paid Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world He does not say That takes away the sin of the Jewes only but takes away the sin of the whole world He does not say That takes away the sins in the plural Number but takes away the sin in the singular Number Sins go so together as if they were but one but let the sin be never so twisted together as if it were but one sin this lamb of God he takes away the sin of the world And he does not say That hath pardoned the sin of the World for then a poor soul might say I but though he hath pardon'd my sin yet my sin is not mortified Neither does he say Behold the lamb of God that Mortifies or Destroyes the sin of the world But he gives you a word that takes in both pardon and Mortification too Behold the lamb of God that takes them away both in regard of Pardon and in regard of Mortification Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world There is
nothing that does so satisfie God the Father as Obedience and the more full the Obedience is the more God the Father is satisfied thereby Now it is said of our Lord and saviour Christ That in this great sacrifice upon the Crosse he was Obedient He was Obedient even to the death of the Cross That he that did make the Law should come down from Heaven and be subject to the Law what Obedience was here Obedient to the Death Yea unto the Deaths in the plural Number And he made his grave with the sinners and his Deaths was with the rich He made his grave with the wicked and with the rich had his Deaths Isaiah 5â— ver 9. It is in the Plural Number in the Hebrew though in your English translation it is in the Singular As if the holy Ghost had called death the Second death that our Lord Christ had in some measure suffered For if you consider things truly and rightly I beleeve you will find that our Lord and Saviour Christ when he died and was in his agony he did not only indure the first but the torments of the second death He overcame no more than he submitted to he overcame death by submitting to death Now he overcame the second death also and therefore in some measure submitted to the torments of it so far as he was capable Look what the first Adam should have indured for his sin in the fall that the second Adam now did indure in some measure for to take it off The day that thou eatest thou shalt die the death It was not barely the corporal and outward death but it was the second death If our Lord and Saviour Christ did not indure the torments of the second death the wrath of God upon his soul why did he sweat drops of blood and tremble and shake so when he came to die There is many Saints and Martyrs when they come to die they go skipping and leaping and rejoycing and our Lord and Saviour when he came to die he sweats drops of blood surely there was more than an outward death Oh! the wrath of God and the torments of the second death was upon his soul Thus obedient he was and this obedience of his it was volontary for he needed not to have died but he saw that God the father was dishonoured by mans sin and that poor man would be lost and rather than that should be he does volontarily offer himself unto this Obedience Loe I come saies he in the volum of the book it is written of me I delight to do thy will and thy Law is within my heart Psal 40.7 8. Mark what an expression there is in that Psalm 't is spoken concering Christ as is plainly interpreted by the Apostle in the 10. of the Hebrews at the 6. verse Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire mine eares hast thou opened or bored The Apostle when he translates these words he translates them thus My body hast thou prepared But reade them as they are here in the Psalm Sacrifice and offring thou didst not desire mine eare hath thou bored That as when a servant was willing to stay with his Master and to do him yet more service the servants eare was to be bored So saies the Lord Christ I am as willing to do this work to be thus obedient as a servant whose eare is bored is willing to stay with his master And mine eare hast thou bored saies he ah here 's obedience here 's obedience this now did infinitly satisfie God the Father In so much that ye may see what is said in that same 5. of the Ephesians and the 2. verse Who hath loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour The whol world it was ful of a stench before and the Lord was displeased with man before but now when Christ comes and offers up this sacrifice he did thereby give full satisfction unto God the father for it was a sweet swelling-savour unto God the Father So that thus the Father he was fully satisfied To this I shall ad one word When the Lord Jesus Christ offered up himself a sacrifice unto God the Father and had our sins laid upon him he did given more perfect satisfaction unto Divine justice for our sins than if you and I and all of us had been damned in Hell unto all eternity For a Creditor is more satisfied if his debt be paid him all down at once than if it be paid by the week A poor man that cannot pay all down will pay a groat a week or sixpence a week but 't is more satisfaction to the Creditor to have all paid at once Should we have been all damned we should have been but paying the debt a little and a little and a little but when Christ paid it he paid it all down to God the Father Had we gone to Hell and been damned for ever we had alwaies been satisfying of God I but God had never been satisfied but now when Christ makes satisfaction God was satisfied The Creditor if he be a merciful and a good man is more truly satisfied where the Debter is spared he does not desire that the Debter should be cast into prison and there lie and rot but he is better satisfied with the sparing of the Debter let me have but my Money and so the Debter be spared I am willing nay I desire it saies the good Creditor Now if all we had bin cast into everlasting burnings indeed the debt should have been a paying but there the Debter had been lost But not when Christ comes and makes satisfaction unto Divine justice Ah! poor man is redeemed here is the Debter spared And therefore the Lord he is infinitly more satisfied by the satisfaction that Christ made upon the Cross for our sins than if all we had gone to Hell and been damned to all eternity Oh! what a glorious and blessed satisfaction did this our High-Priest make unto God the Father But you will say then Quest If the Lord Christ made this full satisfaction unto God the Father how is it that Beleevers many of them have their sins and debts standing upon the score still in their Consciences so perplexed in regard of sin as if there were no satisfaction at all made Luther cals this aspect of sin A sacralegious aspect Answ and beholding of sin As now saies he If a man take out of an holy place some goods and bring them into his owne house This is sacraledge So for me to go and take my sins From Christ and lay them in mine own bosome this is sacraledge saies Luther But the reason of it is this Because that men do not study this Truth but was ignorant of it As suppose that a man do owe three or four hundred pound to a shop-keeper for wares and commodities that he hath taken up there a friend comes and he payes the debt crosses the book but the
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
to do the work of his office if he be faithful A Porter is willing to carry a burden why because it is his office to do it It is the office of Jesus Christ for to bear our sins It is his Office to be the great High-Priest that does satisfie God the Father for our sins Surely therefore he is willing to do it for he is faithful in his office But besides Answ 3 The more I see an holy Necessity upon Christ Jesus for to show mercy to me the more my faith rises It 's very remarkable The Lord Jesus Christ as God he may refuse and might refuse whether he would show mercy to us or no But now as a High-Priest he cannot refuse a poor sinner that does come unto him If I know that Christ is able to satisfie is able to show mercy to me my faith stirs a little at the sight of Christs ability If I know that Christ be willing to show mercy to me my faith rises higher but if I know that Christ cannot refuse me if I do come unto him then my faith rises up to a great height indeed When a poor sinner amongst the Jews had sinned and brought his sacrifice to the High-Priest the Priest might not refuse it Our Lord Jesus Christ is our great High-Priest I say as God he may refuse but now he being our great High-Priest therefore when a poor sinner comes to Jesus Christ as a High-Priest he cannot refuse Oh! what a great strengthening is this to faith Strengthen faith and you strengthen all the right understanding of this truth doth wonderfully strengthen faith Further Answ 4 The more a man is ingaged to Jesus Christ and takes himself to be ingaged to him the more Holy he is the more a man sees himself freed from sin by Christ the more he takes himself to be ingaged to Christ for freeing of him from his sin Now this truth tels us how Christ hath satisfied for our sins freed us from sin and so we shall be the more ingaged to Christ If a man were going to prison even at the Compter door for a great sum of money and the door were unlocking if a man should come and speak to the Sergeant Hold your hands here is money for you I will pay this mans debt and laies the money down would not this poor debtor take himself for ever ingaged to that man that should thus come and lay down the money and free him so seasonably from the Compter and prison Thus it was with the Lord Christ Ah we were all going to prison everlasting prison chains of darkness and he comes and laies down the money makes full satisfaction to God the Father as our great High-Priest Oh! what an ingagement is this to every soul unto the Lord Christ to become the Lord Christs for ever Lastly The more a man does deny his own righteousness Answ 5 the more Holy he is with Gospel-Holiness It is said of the Jewes That they going about to establish their own righteousness submitted not unto the righteousness of Christ So on the contrary when a man does go about to establish the righteousness of Christ then he submits unto it and then he denies his own righteousness The more we see a fulness of satisfaction made by Jesus Christ for all our sins unto God the Father the more we acknowledge Christs righteousness and the more we establish it and the more we shall be brought off from all our own righteousness Oh! Therefore now as ever you do desire to have more Grace more Holiness more Comfort study and study much this Priestly office of Jesus Christ There are many that complain that they cannot profit under the means of grace That they have hard hearts That the waies and Ordinances of God are not sweet to them Prayer they do perform but with no sweetness they do not relish the blood and Spirit of Christ upon their spirits in their duties c. Many complain that their sins and temptations like the sons of Zarviah are too mighty for them and that one day they shall be slain by the hand of Saul such a lust such a corruption No wonder that we have these complaints when we do not go unto the store-house of comfort and grace that the Lord hath set open for us The Priestly office of Christ it is the great Magazine and Storehouse of all that grace and comfort which we have on this side heaven if ye do not go unto it is it any wonder that ye want comfort or that ye want grace I appeal to you now are there not some nay many that never went to Jesus Christ as their High-Priest to this day Ah are there not some even Professors that do not know what the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ meanes Oh! No wonder poor soule so uncomfortable no more stength against thy temptations If the State should appoint a man for to relieve poor maimed souldiers that go a begging if they meet with the sawme man that is appointed by the State and they beg of him in the streets as an ordinary man he relieves them not but now if they come unto him as a man appointed by the State for relief of such then he relieves them according to the duty of his place So it is with men they go to Christ in an ordinary way they do not go to Christ as the great Lord Treasurer of all our grace as our great High-Priest they do not go unto him as in office set up in office by God the Father for such reliefe they do not addresse themselves to him as their High-Priest to make satisfaction for them and therefore they go away and have no relief But would we have more strength against corruption would we walk more comfortably in our course would we find the waies of God Ordinances and duties more sweet and comfortable to our souls then reade and consider that place in the Canticles 2.3 As the apple-tree among the treesof the wood so is my beloved among the sons I sate down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet unto my tast The spouse speaks it concerning Christ What is this fruit of Christ Your Justification Adoption Vocation Sanctification Consolation it is al the fruit of Christ All your own Duties your Prayers Reading Meditation they are all the fruit of Christ The injoyment of al his Ordinances al your spiritual priviledges under the Gospel they are the fruit of Christ Now saies she I sate down under his shadow and his fruit it was sweet unto my tast As it is unto a man that does love fruit be it Pears Apples Cherries or the like I love this fruit saies he but yet notwithstanding I must needs go where this fruit grows and gather it off the tree and when he hath gone to the tree and taken the fruit off the tree saies he I sate down under the tree I had not the fruit the Apple or Cherry brought unto
my house but I went unto the tree and gathered it off the tree and I sate down under the shadow of the tree and Oh! how sweet was the fruit unto me So saies the soul so saies the Spouse of Jesus Christ I sate down under the shadow of Jesus Christ and then his fruit was sweet unto my tast It may be we have had other shadows we have sate down under the shadow of our Estate our outward Estate hath been sweet unto our tast We have sate down it may be under the shadow of friendship and the fruit of friendship hath been sweet unto our tast But behold here a tree the tree of life whose shadow reaches to the end of the earth Ah Come Come and sit down under the shadow of Jesus Christ If there be ever a poor soul that never yet knew what Comfort meant Ah Come Come under the shadow of the Lord Jesus The Priestly Office of Jesus Christ it hath a very sweet shadow Come therefore you that say you cannot profit under the means and you that complain of such and such temptations and such and such sins and that you were never yet comforted your consciences never pacified Come now and sit down under the shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ I tell thee from the Lord thus fruit of His it shall be sweet unto thy tast thou shalt go to Prayer and Prayer shall be sweet unto thy soul though heretofore thou couldst find no sweetness in it so the Word and other Ordinances shall be sweeter unto thee than the hony or the hony combe Thus it 's evident how comfortable the Priestly Office of Jesus Christs and how much conducing unto our Comfort and Holiness Oh! therefore let us study now study the Priestly Office of Jesus Christ and come and sit down under his shadow and the Lord make his fruit sweet unto all our souls And thus I have opened and applyed the first particular of Christs Priestly Office The Second follows c. SERMON II. HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all things it behoved him Preached at Stepney Maii. 2. 1647. to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest 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 I Have begun to discover from these words That the Friestly Office of Jesus Christ is the great Magazine and Storehouse of all that grace and comfort which we have in this world that whereby we are succoured and relieved against all Temptations This hath been made good in the Generall and in one Particular work of the High Priest If we now inquire further what the work of the High-Priest was and is that accordingly we may address our selves unto Jesus Christ for succour We shall find that it is also to Pray and Intercede for the people To make reconciliation for the sins of the people saies the text To make Atonement for the sins of the people saies the old Testament Which Reconciliation or Atonement was made in the times of the old Testament not only by offering of a sacrifice but by taking the blood thereof and presenting that with Praers and intercessions unto God to accept of it for the sins of the people As we shall find in that same 16. of Livitieus After the sacrifice was kild the Priest was to take the blood of it and sprinkle it with his finger upon the Mercy-Seat as we reade in the 14. verse And at the 12. and 13. He shall take a Censer full of burning coals of fire from off the Alter before the Lord and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the vaile And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the incense may cover the Mercy-Seat He was to cause a cloud of incense to arise upon the Mercy-Seat All which was a great Type of the Prayers and Intercessions of Jesus Christ who having once offered up himself a sacrifice for our sins hath carried the blood and the vertue of it into Heaven there sprinkled the Mercy-Seat and there still by his Intercessions does appear for us As it is proved at large in the 9. Chapter of this Epistle to the Hebrews 11. and 12 verses But Christ being come an High-Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this building Neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood be entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternall redemption for us And at the 24. verse For Christ is not entered into the Holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us And if you duely consider this book of the Hebrews you will find that this work of Christs Intercession is The Essential work of his Priestly-Office it seems rather to go beyond the former than to fall short of it Hebrews the 8. Chapter and the 4. verse For if he were on earth he should not be a Priest That is look as it was in the times of the old Testament if the Priest had only offered a sacrifice and had not gone into the holy of holiest with the blood thereof sprinkling the Mercy-Seat praying and interceding that it might be accepted for the sins of the people the Priest had not done the work of the Priest and so he had not been a compleat Priest So now saies the Apostle if Jesus Christ had only offred up himself here a sacrifice and had not gone into Heaven the holy of holiest and carried the power and the vertue of his death thither to pray and intercede for us he had not done the work of the great High-Priest Every Priest might sacrifice but every Priest might not go into the Holy of Holiest that belonged only to the High-Priest to do Now therefore Jesus Christ going into Heaven the Holy of Holiest there to make Intercession for us is the great and the special work of this High-Priest That I may cleer up this mysterious Truth I shall deliver my self these Four waies by opening First Wherein the Intercession of Christ consisteth and what he doth when we say he intercedes in Heaven for us Secondly How powerfull and prevailing his Intercessions are with God the Father Thirdly That he doth now intercede as our great High-Priest and in a more transcendent and eminent way and manner than ever any High-Priest did before Fourthly This does conduce to our Comfort and to our Holiness First If it be demanded Quest Wherein consisteth this Intercession of Jesus Christ I Answer Answ 1 First it consists in this His appearing for us in Heaven his owning of our Cause and of our souls to God the Father It is the word that is used in that 9.
Chapter of the Hebrews the 24. verse Christ is not entred into the holy place made with hands but into Heaven now to appear in the presence of God for us He does not in an ordinary way and manner appear for us in Heaven but with an Emphasis he does openly and publickly before all the Saints and Angels appear for us in the presence of God the Father It is a comfort unto a man sometimes to have a good friend at Court at the Kings elbow that may own him and appear for him but though a man have a friend at Court sometimes if there be any danger he will not appear and own a man it may be he will own him and countenance his Cause as long as there is no danger but no longer But now here we have a friend in Heaven that will appear for us and own our Causes and our souls and in all conditions appear for us That is the First Secondly Answ 2 He doth not only appear for us but by vertue of his Priestly Office he does carry the power merit and vertue of his blood into the presence of God the Father in Heaven and sprinkles the Mercy-Seat with it seven times Seven is a note of Perfection Those that Christ suffered for he does Intercede for He takes all their bonds and he carries them in unto God the Father and he saies Father I have paid these bonds I have paid this debt I have satisfied thy Justice for these poor sinners and now my desire is that they may be acquitted from these bonds and from these debts This also is remarkable in that 9. Chapter of the Hebrews 11 12. verses Thirdly Answ 3 He doth not only carry the power and vertue of his blood and present it to God the Father for our discharge but he does also plead our Cause in Heaven answering unto all those accusations that are brought against us And therefore we may reade what the Apostle saies in the 8. of the Rom. 33. ver Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect it is God that justifies who is he that condemneth it is Christ that died yea rather that he is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us Upon this ground the Apostle speaks thus Who shall condemn them Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God the Father to take off all accusations that shall be brought against them Let the World condemn let Moses condemn let Satan condemn Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God the Father to take off all accusations that shall be raised against them Concerning this there is a clear and full instance in that notable Scripture the 3. Chapter of Zachariah and the 1. verse We find Satan standing at the right hand of Joshua to resist him He shewed me Joshua the High-Priest standing before the Angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right band to resist him It was the custome of the Accuser to stand at the right hand of the accused Psalme 109. ver 6. Set thou a wicked man over him and let Satan stand at his right hand take the wall of him in his accusation condemning of him Now here Satan-standing at Joshua's right hand notes his accusing of him Well what was the matter that he accused him of Ye shall find that there was matter verse the 3. Now Joshua was cloathed with filthy garments and stood before the Angel Satan came and accused him that he had filthy garments and so he had for the Priests had defiled themselves in Babylon in marrying of strange wives as Joshua and his children are charged in the 10. Chapter of Ezra and the 18. verse Give me leave a little to open this charge of Satan that we may see Satan had matter of Charge and accusation against Joshua And among the sons of the Priests there were found that had taken strange wives namely of the sons of Joshua He was High-Priest So that now Joshua had defiled his garments thre was then matter of accusation for Satan to work upon But now our Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest steps in and takes off this accusation The Lord said at the 3. of Zachariah 2. verse unto Satan The Lord rebuke thee O Satan even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee The word used by the Septuagint is the same that is used for Excommunication And it is here twice repeated The Lord rebuke thee even the Lord rebuke thee not only to show the fulnesse of Satans rebuke but to show the fulnesse of the intercession of Jesus Christ Now would we see the fulnesse of Christs apology for Joshua Saies the Lord unto Satan The Lord rebuke thee even the Lord rebuke thee And saies he at the latter end of the 2. verse Is not this a brand pluck't out of the fire Thus it is true Lord that Joshua hath filthy garments but yet notwithstanding Joshua is but as a brand pluck't newly out of the burning Take a brand and pull it newly out of the fire and there will be dust ashes and dirt about it Lord saies he Joshua is but newly puld out of the burning and therefore Lord he must needs have some ashes and some dirt and some filth about him O Lord saies Christ although that Joshua be clothed with filthy garments I will take away those filthy garments verse the 4. He answered and spake unto those that stood before him saying Take away the filthy garments from him and unto him he said Behold I have caused thine iniquity to passe from thee and I will clothe thee with change of raiment This can be none but Christ Thus Christ takes off the accusation that was brought against Joshua by Satan for his filthy garments And so does the Lord Christ now If a poor soul fall into any sin defile his garments Satan he comes in and takes the right hand of him stands at the right hand and accuses by reason of this filthy garment but our Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he being at the right hand of the Father takes up the cause and answers to the accusation True Lord this poor soul indeed hath filthy garments but he is but as a fire-brand pluck't newly out of the burning He was in his natural and sinful condition the other day in his burning and he is but newly changed and therefore he must needs have some dirt and some filth upon him as a fire-brand pluck't out of the burning and therefore consider him in that respect and though he have filthy garments now upon him yet I will give him change of raiments and take away his filthy garments Thus the Lord Christ steps in to God the Father and answers to all those accusations that are brought against him to God the Father This is the Third thing that he does by way of his Intercession Again Answ 4 He doth not only plead our Cause and take off accusations that are
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
holy brethren consider the Apostle and High-Priest of our profession Christ Jesus who was faithful to him that appointed him as also Moses was faithful in all his house He steps over Aaron who was the the High-Priest and he compares him here to Moses in faithfulness Now Moses was faithful in all his house But our Lord and Saviour here he is preferred before Moses in point of faithfulness yet it is said Moses was faithful in all his house When that the Lord commanded Moses any thing as the Lord commanded so did he and rose up early in the morning to do the commandement of God He was faithful in all his house and yet our Lord and Saviour was more faithful than Moses in the matter of his Priesthood For so it is brought in here at the 3. verse For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses in as much as be who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house Verse the 5. Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after but Christ as a Son over his own house Look now as a Child or a son is more faithful in his fathers house than a servant will be so saies the Apostle Christ is more faithful than Moses And look as the builder of the house does go beyond and excel every beam and stone in the house or every part of the building So does the Lord Christ in faithfulness exceed Moses You will say there is a great difference between a stone in the building and the maker of the house Look what difference there is between a stone or a piece of wood the maker of the building so great a difference there is saies the Apostle between Jesus Christ in the matter of his Priesthood and Moses yet notwithstanding Moses is faithful in all his house Oh! then how faithful is Jesus Christ in the matter of his Priesthood He goes before all that ever went before him Again Take other High-Priests and though they were never so good they could not alwaies intercede they died the High-Priest died and another came in his room But this man liveth for ever to make Intercession Yea Take the High-priest in the times of the old-Testament and while he lived he did not alwaies intercede for the people Once in a year the High-priest came to enter into the Holy of Holiest to sprinkle the Mercy-seat with blood and caused a cloud to arise upon the Mercy-seat with his prayers and intercessions for their acceptance and then he went out of the Holy of Holiest and laid aside his garments But now our great High-priest is ascended into the Holy of Holiest never to put off his Priestly garments and he does not once a year sprinkle the Mercy-seat with his sacrifice but every day and therefore he goes beyond all the High-priests that ever went before him And yet further Take the High-priest in the old Law in the times of the old Testament and though they did offer sacrifice for some sinnes and intercede yet there was other sins again that no sacrifice was to be offered for If a man did kill another at un-awares there was a sacrifice If a man sinned ignorantly there was a sacrifice But saies the Text in the 15. of Numbers 30. vers If any man sin presumptuously he shall be cut off and there shall be no sacrifice for him No sacrifice no intercession by the High-priest then But we have such an High-priest that makes intercessions for All sins So he saies himself Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven except the blasphemy against the Holy-Ghost Every sin though it boyle up to blasphemy it shall be forgiven but without sacrifice there is no remission and therefore he hath made a sacrifice and so he presents the sacrifice and intercedes for every poor sinner and therefore he is such an High-priest that transcends all the high-priests that euer was before him In the Fourth place How doth all this conduce now to our Comfort or our Holiness to ur Grace or Peace First To our Comfort Very much to our Comfort And therefore in the 1. Chap. of Zach. good words comfortable are spoken upon this occasion ver 8. saies the Prophet I saw by night and behold a man riding upon a red horse and he stood among the myrile-trees that were in the bottome and behind him were there red horses speckled white Then said I O my Lord what are these And the Angel that talked with me said unto me I will shew thee what these be And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walke to and fro through the earth And they answered the Angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle-trees and said Wee have walked to and fro through the earth and behold all the earth sitteth still and is at rest And the Angel of the Lord answered and said O Lord of hosts how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the Cities of Judah against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years Here is Intercession And the Lord answered the Angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words Give me leave to open the words a little and we shall see how much it makes to our comfort this Intercession of Jesus Christ At the 8. verse I saw saies he a man riding upon a red horse This is the Lord Jesus Christ presented thus unto us And he stood among the myrtle-trees The Saints and people of God they are called myrtle-trees for their greenness sweetness and fruitfulness And these myrtle-trees were in the bottome That is in a dark in a low and a poor condition it is the condition of myrtle-trees and of the Saints and people of God to be oft in bottoms and in a dark and low condition Well Behind him were there red horses speckled and white And I said O my Lord what are these Now that this is Christ First of all he is called a Man and an Angel too Secondly As Christ walked between the golden Candlesticks in the book of the Revelation So here he stood among the mirtle-trees among the Saints And behind him attending upon him were red horses speckled and white That is Angels sent to and fro through the earth upon his message and upon his errand and unto him they come and give an account and to none but Christ Then we shall see this Angel that stood among the myrtle-trees comes and Intercedes all the Angels they come and bring in this report That the Church and people of God were in a low condition Then this Angel that stood among the Myrtle-trees answered and said at the 12. verse O Lord of hosts how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the Cities of Judah against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten yeers It
must needs be Christ for no Angel intercedes but Christ alone What is the fruit of this Intercession at the 13. verse The Lord answered the Angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words I indeed good words and comfortable are the fruit of the Intercession of Jesus Christ It is a matter of great comfort this That the Lord Christ our great High-Priest is in Heaven to intercede for us Is it not a comfort to a poor man to have a friend above neer the King or in the Court that may be able to do him kindness A man sometimes saies I had a friend indeed in the Court but now he is dead I but here is a friend that never dies He ever lives to make Intercession Friends may alter and turn enemies but he changeth not Our Lord and Saviour Christ said unto his Disciples Rejoyce not in this that the Devils fall down like lightning before you but rejoyce in this That your names are written in Heaven it is a matter of great joy to have ones name written in Heaven Oh! but what is it then to have ones name written in the chiefe part of Heaven to have ones name written there upon the breast-plate of Jesus Christ our great High-Priest that is gone into the Holy of Holiest Thus it is The Lord Christ is now gone to Heaven entred into the Holy of Holiest and carries our names into the presence of God the Father and there pleades and intercedes for us Oh! what matter of comfot is here But you will say unto me Object This is indeed exceeding good and very comfortable in it self but what is this to me for I am afraid that the Lord Christ does not intercede for me if indeed I could perswade my self that the Lord Jesus were in Heaven as my High-Priest to intercede for me I think verily I should have comfort though I were in the lowest bottom though I were in Hell it self but Oh! I am afraid to bear my self upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ lest I should presume This is the great Objection and stands up continually Ans to resist the comforts of Gods people Give me leave therefore to deal with this Objection all along and to take it off that so the comfort may fall the more fully upon you First I will shew It is no presumption for us to bear our selves upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ Secondly Who those are that the Lord Christ does Intercede for in Heaven And Thirdly How willing how infinitely willing he is to Intercede for us that so I may bring the comfort neerer to our own bosomes First I say it is no Presumption for us to bear our selves upon the Intercession of Jesus Christ no Presumption to beleeve We know the story of the woman in the Gospel that came unto our Lord and Saviour touching the hem of his garment for her cure and she was cured thereby But our Saviour perceiving vertue to be gone from him he cals out the person Who hath touched me come forth and the woman came forth trembling Our Lord and Saviour Christ does not say to this poor woman How dare you thus touch me how durst you thus presume to do it Consider The woman had no Command to do it no Precept to back her The woman had no promise to engage her that if shee did touch the hem of his garment she should be cured The woman had no Example never any before that touched the hem of his garment and was cured No Commandement No Promise No Example Surely now if any woman or man should Presume it should be this woman that had no Commandement nor no Promise nor no Example and yet the Lord Jesus Christ does not chide her away does not tell her she had presumed but O woman thy faith hath saved thee thy faith hath made the whole Let me speake this home we have a Command now to beleeve in Christ and a Promise Those that come unto him he ever liveth to make Intercession for them And we have Examples of many that have come unto Jesus Christ born themselves upon his Intercession and have gone away cured what was it no Presumption for the woman to come and touch Christ without a Commandement and a Promise and an Example and have you Examples and have you Promises and have you Commandements to beleeve and will you say this is Presumption Be not deceived it is no Presumption for thee poor soul to bear thy self at length upon Jesus Christ Secondly To make this out a little more fully I shall discover who those are that the Intercession of Jesus Christ does belong unto 1 Joh. 2.1 If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous You will say This is to be carried upon those that were spoke of before and those were such as had fellowship with the Father Truely our fellowship is with the Father and with his Sonne Jesus Christ Chap. 1. verse 3. Now if any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous If any man that hath fellowship with the Father or Christ sin they have an Advocate with God the Father First therefore stand you by I pray that we will take for granted all you that ever had any fellowship with God the Father or with Jesus Christ this Doctrine of the Intercession of Jesus Christ and the comfort hereof does belong to you Moreover In the 17. Chapter of John there we find that our Saviour saies He prayes for those that do beleeve and should beleeve Those that he prayes for here he intercedes for in Heaven Neither pray I for these alone at the 20. verse but for them also which shall beleeve on me through thy word I do not pray only for those that do beleeve now but for them also which shall beleeve Well then here is a second sort Those that do beleeve and those that wait upon the Lord in the Ordinance that they may beleeve or shall beleeve Stand you by also you are another sort of people that the Intercession of Jesus Christ and the comfort thereof does belong unto But now yet further If we look into the 7. Chapter of this Epistle unto the Hebrews at the 25. verse we shall find these words Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them Who are those Those that come unto God by him Lay this and 53. Chapter of I saiah the 12. verse together He was numbred with the transgressors speaking of Christ cleerly and he bare the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors It may be thou canst not say I have fellowship with God the Father it may be thou canst not say I do beleeve I am perswaded that I do beleeve thou canst not say so Well but can you say thus Through the Lords grace I do come unto God by Christ I
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
Devil looks upon him And Jesus Christ looks upon him The work of the Law is to Condemn The work of the Devil to Accuse And the work of Jesus Christ is to Intercede it is the work of his office Now therefore assoon as the Devil sees such a soul Oh saies he here 's a fine instrument for me here 's a fit subject for me to injoy Assoon as Moses sees this man Here 's a fine subject for me to condemne unto all Eternity But when Jesus Christ looks upon such a soul saies he Here 's a fine soul for me to save unto all Eternity to intercede for why because it is his Office and what a man does by office he interprets accordingly Therefore what the Lord Jesus Christ does he does by office and he does it readily and willingly And I will give you one demonstration of it It was the end why Jesus Christ was taken into Heaven into the Holy of Holiest that he might Intercede According to the Scriptures mentioned before in Heb. 9.24 For Christ is not entered into holy places made with hands but into Heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us He does not say thus Christ is now gone to Heaven to be glorified there Christ is now gone to Heaven to injoy the bosome of his Father for his own happiness No but he is gone into Heaven to appear in the presence of God for us This is the end of his ascention And so again in the 7. of the Hebrews Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us What is he in Heaven to be glorified there No but the end why Christ is in Heaven Is to make intercession for poor sinners And therefore he must needs be infinitly willing to do this because it is the end of his going thither into the Holy of Holiest Oh therefore be of good comfort all you that do come unto God by him for he is willing to intercede for you And let not any thing discourage you It may be you will complain and say Oh! but I am much opposed here in this world What matter so long as Jesus Christ does intercede for me in Heaven and speaks good words unto God the Father for me in heaven what though I be opposed by men It may be you will complain and say Oh! but I am much tempted and cannot pray Be humbled for it but yet know this That when you cannot pray Christ prayes for you and he prayes that you may pray It may be you complain and say Oh! but I labour under such and such corruptions and the Devil he is busie with me exceeding busie and I cannot overcome them and the Devil stands at my right hand for to tempt me and to lead me into such and such sins Wel be it so yet notwithstanding the Lord Jesus Christ he is at the right hand of our Father and he is set down at the right hand of God the Father till all enemies be made his footstool and your sins are his enemies And therefore be of good comfort O all ye people of the Lord. Is there ever a poor myrtle-tree a soul that growes in a bottom in a poor dark condition be of good comfort the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he is entered into Heaven into the Holy of Holiest there to intercede with God the Father for thee I but Quest you will say unto me Does not this conduce to our Grace and Holiness too and how does it do it This Intercession of Jesus Christ Ans this work of the Priestly Office of Christ and the consideration thereof it does conduce exceedingly unto our Grace and Holinesse For. First What a mighty incouragement is here unto all poor sinners for to come unto Jesus Christ He ever liveth to make Intercession for those that come unto God by him Oh! then who would not come unto God by Christ who would not come unto Jesus Christ Me thinks a poor sinner should say Indeed my sins were so great that I was afraid for to come unto God But now I hear that the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all those that come unto God by him Though I have been a Drunkerd now I wil go unto God by Christ And though I have been a Swearer and though I have been an unclean wanton yet I will go unto God by Christ Indeed I thought that my time was past for I have been an Old Swearer and I have been an Old Drunkard and I have been an Old Sabbath-breaker and I have been a sinner so long that I was even afraid of going to God at all and thought there was no mercy nor no pardon for me But seeing now that this is true That the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all those that come unto God by him Well through the Lords grace now I will go unto the Lord Christ I will go unto Jesus Christ I indeed am a young man and I thought it was to no purpose to go unto God God would not regard poor ignorant ones and I am a poor ignorant creature and thought it was to no purpose for me to go unto God But now I understand this That the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all those that come unto God by him Well then Though I am ignorant yet will I go unto God by Christ and though I am but a poor young thing and scarce understand the termes of Religion yet will I go unto God by Christ Oh! come unto Christ come unto Christ Behold here in the Name of the Lord I stand and make invitation to poor sinners Come poor Drunkard Swearer Sabbath-breaker Unclean heart the Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven to make intercession for all that come unto God by him and will not you come Oh! how will you answer it at the great day when it shall be said The Lord Jesus Christ made a tender and offer of mercy to you and you would not accept of it you would not come unto him Here is matter of great Incouragment unto all poor sinners to come unto Jesus Christ Again Secondly The more I apprehend or see with a spiritual eye That the Lord Jesus Christ does appear in Heaven for me the more am Fingaged to appear upon earth for him Mark I pray that you may see how this does conduce unto Grace and Holiness Ah! shall the Lord Jesus Christ appear in Heaven before Saints and Angels and God the Father for my soul and shal I be afraid to appear before poor worms for him Shall the Lord Jesus Christ own me in Heaven and shall not I own him upon earth Shall the Lord Jesus Christ as the great High-Priest take my name and carry it upon his breast into the presence of God the Father and shall not I take the Name of Christ and hold it forth to the world Oh! I beseech
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
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
all this for us as our great High-Priest that is the meaning of it So that this is plain what he doth when as our great High-Priest he offers up our Gifts unto God the Father But in the Second place Suppose he doth so What Favour Quest 2 or Acceptance hath this our great High-Priest in Heaven He hath very much Answ Father saies he I thank thee that thou hearest me alwaies He never spake a word unto God the Father but the father heard him alwaies We reade as I remember but of Two places in the new Testament where the Lord by an audible voice gives testimony of Jesus Christ his Son And in both those places we have the same words uttered This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased And again This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased We may know what favour a man hath with another by the Trust that he doth commit to and repose upon him Joseph had great favour in the eyes of Pharaoh and how did it appear It appear'd by this Because Pharaoh trusted him with so much Now God the Father hath trusted Jesus Christ this our great High-Priest very much This I shall evidence in Four Particulars viz. What a great Trust God the Father hath put upon him First It was an agreement between God the Father and Christ the Second Person before the world was That in due time he should come into the world take flesh upon him and die for sinners and he did so But before Christ came into the world there were thousands of souls saved How came they to be saved They came to be saved by the blood of Christ and before Christ had died So then God the Father saved them upon Christs bare word That he would come into the world and die for them What a mighty Trust was here That so many hundred thousand souls should be saved upon a bare word of Christ That he would come into the world and die for them afterward Again The Trust appears in this That he was made when he did come into the world the great Lord-Treasurer of all the Grace and Comfort that should be given out unto the children of men When Pharaoh trusted Joseph all the whole kingdom was put into his hand with the Corn thereof and not a grain was to be given out to any but as Joseph gave it out which argued a mighty Trust So now That not any Grace or Comfort given out to the children of men but only by the hand of Christ it argues a mighty Trust that the Father put upon him But yet further When our Lord and Saviour Christ died and ascended unto God the Father to Heaven as soon as ever he came into Heaven saith the Father to him Thou hast now suffered Aske of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession all the world at one word Aske of me saith he and at the first word I will give thee the whole world It was a mighty and a great Trust that the Father did put upon him Yea as if all this were not enough The Father did put the keyes of Heaven and of Hell into his hand the keyes of Heaven and Hell into the hand of Christ So we reade in the 1. of Revel 18. ver I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keyes of Hell and of death There 's no man that goes to Hell but he is lok't in by Jesus Christ And there 's no man goes to Heaven but Christ hath the keyes of Heaven and he locks him in there unto all Eternity The Lord Jesus Christ he hath the keyes of Hell and of Heaven he hath the keyes of all mens Eternities hanging at his girdle Oh! what an infinite Trust is here that God the Father hath put upon him Then let us conclude if that Trust do argue favour and the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest hath such a great trust as this put into his hands by the Father what infinite Acceptance must he needs have with God the Father In the Third place Suppose that he have all this favour Quest 3 and Acceptance in Heaven Doth he Improve this his Favour and Acceptance for our Acceptance and for our Favour Yes He Improves all this his favour and acceptance Answ for our acceptance and does plant all our Prayers and Duties upon his own acceptance Lord saith he unto his Father concerning beleevers I will that where I am they may be also I will O Lord that they may be One even as thou Father and I am one He doth not count himself full and happy but in the happiness and fulness of the Church And therefore as Christ is called The fulness of God the Father So the Church is called The fulness of Jesus Christ in the 1. of the Ephesians and the last verse Which is his body the fulness of him that filleth all in all When our Lord and Saviour Christ came to die and the heart and love of God the Father was let out unto him Ye shall find if ye look upon that 17. of John and reade it all over That he spends his time not so much in praying for himself The time was but short and his prayer short Father if it be possible let this cup passe if not yet not my will but thine be done But he spends most of the time in praying and interceding for those that did beleeve or should afterward beleeve The favour and acceptance which the High-Priest had in the times of Moses was not for himself he had a Mitre upon his head and a golden girdle upon his loynes Priestly garments and he had great acceptance when he went into the Holy of Holiest but it was not for himself he did improve it all for the people he was to lay it out all for the people and not for himself Our High-Priest goes beyond all other High-Priests in this particular also for now as for other High-Priests though they went in with their incense and covered the Mercy-seat with a cloud yet it was but once in the yeer But our High-Priest is alwaies in the Holy of Holiest and never goes out of it ever covering the Mercy-Seat with his Intercessions Take their High-Priest and though he were very Holy as Aaron was yet sometimes he made the people naked unacceptable But our great High-Priest never makes his people naked but alwaies clothes them with his own righteousness Take their High-Priest and though he did go into the Holy of Holiest for the people yet he never led the people into the Holy of Holiest they stood without But our great High-priest is not only gone into the Holy of Holiest himself but doth also lead every poor beleever into the Holy of Holiest as we reade in the 10. of the Hebrews and the 19. verse Having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the Holiest
by the blood of Jesus Christ The people might not enter into the Holiest in the time of the Jewes But our great High-Priest hath improved his favour for us thus far that every man may come into the Holy of Holiest Now If our great High-Priest in this respect go beyond all the High-Priests that ever were before him and they did improve their interest and their favour and their acceptance for the people much more doth the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest improve the favour interest and acceptance that he hath in heaven for our acceptance and and the acceptance of all our Duties And that is a Third Particular But Quest 4 If that it be so then surely we have great acceptance in all our Duties but have we so Yes Answ very great in and through the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest And therefore if we look into the 14. of John our Lord and Saviour saith Whatsoever ye aske in my Name at the 13. verse that will I do I but may we be sure of this He repeats it again in the 14. verse If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it Yea that ye may see what great acceptance we have now through him in all those Duties that we offer up to God the Father saith he in the 16. Chap. and the 26. vers At that day ye shall aske in my name and I say not unto ye that I will pray the father for you for the father himself loves you It is a mighty high speech I don't say That I will pray for you Ye shall have so much favour and love in Heaven from the Father imediately that he will hear you presently I but is not all upon Christs account Yes and therefore saith he at the 13. verse of the 14. chapter Whatsoever ye shall aske in my name that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son So that all is upon Christs account Great was the testimony of Christs acceptance which he had from Heaven This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Now if we look into the Scripture we shall find that the same words are given unto the Saints Is the Lord Jesus Christ called the Son of God My beloved Son So are Beleevers too As many as receive him have power to be called the Sons of God Is he called The Beloved Son of God This is my beloved Son So are the Saints also In the 31. chapter of Jeremy at the 20. verse Ephraim my deer Son a pleasant child Ephraim that is Israel my deer Son a pleasant child Well Is it said In whom I am well pleased my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased The same word also is given to men When our Lord and Saviour Christ was born into the world the Angels they came and sung at his birth and they sung Good will towards men So we reade it but it is the same word that is used concerning Christ himself My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased So that whatsoever word there is in all this speech This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased whatsoever word there is in that sentence concerning Christ 't is given also unto the Saints unto Beleevers so greatly does he improve his own favour acceptance for our acceptance and so great acceptance have we through Christ Yea As the Lord Jesus Christ is said to be made sin for us in the Abstract So are we said to be made Righteousnesses by him in the Abstract too As we have it in the 1. of the Canticles the 3. vers Therefore do the Virgins love thee so we reade it in our english translation But in the Hebrew it is Therefore do the Righteousnesses love thee The Saints and Beleevers through Christ are called Righteousnesses in the Abstract So that here is the great acceptance that the Saints and Beleevers do find through this acceptation of Jesus Christ our High-Priest But Quest Suppose a man be very poor and lives in some mean cottage which hath but one room to lie dine and sup in and that a smoky dark room too and this poor creature comes and prayes unto God Will the Great and Glorious God of Heaven and Earth take notice of such a prayer from such a worme as this and shall he find acceptance with God the Father For answer to that Answ look into the 2. of the Canticles and the 14. verse O my dove that art in the clefts of the rock in the secret places of the stairs let me see thy countenance they are the words of Christ let me hear thy voice Why for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is comely But I pray where now is the Church In the clefts of the rock and in the secret places of the staires in a hole under the staires as it were in a poor distressed place an hidden place now saies he here thy voice is sweet and thy tountenance comely Well Quest But suppose that a Duty or service be performed by one that is weak weak in Grace or weak in parts and Gifts for this is my case will some say I am one of very weak parts and Gifts and I have little Memory or Ability of speech there are some men indeed that are of great Parts and Graces and when they pray I make no question but their prayers do find acceptance but as for me I am one of very mean Abilities Oh! can there be any acceptance of such prayers as mine are through Jesus Christ Will God answer such stammerings lispings halfe-words broken imperfect petitions Yes Answ We know that the paire of Turtles were accepted in the time of the Law by those that could offer no more Surely much more now will a poor Turtle be accepted in the time of the Gospel those that could but bring Goats-haire towards the making of the Tabernacle they were welcome and shall it not be so now much more in the times of the Gospel That which is little in regard of Quantity it may be great in regard of Proportion as the widdows mite was The Sun fals we know with a common influence upon all the Herbs and Plants but there is a several sweetness and flowers that are of a several and different growth There is the Rose and there is the Violet The Violet is not so Tall as the Rose the Violet lies on the ground but though the Violet be not so tall as the Rose the Violet hath its sweetnesse and it may say to the Rose Though I be not so tall yet I have my sweetness as well as thou hast So now there is a common influence from Jesus Christ upon all the Saints and they have their several sweetness one as the Rose and the other as the Violet It may be here lies a poor Christian upon the ground like the Violet and is not so tall in Gifts and Parts as the other is but yet notwithstanding he hath his sweetness Christ
takes that lovingly that comes from love whatever it be though it be never so weak Well But suppose that a mans Duty Quest or Service be performed with many failings infirmities Hardness of heart Straightness of spirit distracting thoughts this is my case Oh! is there any acceptance for such a Duty as this is will the Lord Jesus Christ the great High-Priest take such a Duty as this is and carry it in unto God the Father and is there any acceptance for such a Duty as this We know how it was with Nicodemus Answ and the woman that came trembling and touched the hem of Christs garment And we must know that in every duty that we do performe there are Two things There is the Sacrifice and there is the Obedience in offering the Sacrifice Though the Sacrifice may be imperfect yet your Obedience in offering the Sacrifice may be perfect with Gospel-perction 'T is in regard of our Duties as in regard of our Persons never think that God will deal otherwise with our Duties than he deals with our Persons The Lord came and justified the ungodly when he justified you He comes and he finds a poor soul in a sinful condition he imputes his righteousness unto that soul and justifies an ungodly one not justifying him so as to go on in sin it is the word of the Apostle He justifies the ungodly So the Lord comes and finds a great deal of ungodliness in your Duty and he imputes his righteousness unto that Duty and he justifies the Duty which in your eye is an ungodly duty This indeed is the wonder of all that he should deal thus by us For did we ever hear of any garment that would make the crooked straight If a man have a crooked back come and put velvet upon him silk scarlet upon him it may make him handsomer but it will not change his back and make him strait But when the Lord Christ comes he finds all our souls crook-back't as it were and he puts on his righteousness and this garment makes that that was crooked to become straite it makes the very crook-back't Duty to become a strait Duty Did we ever hear or reade of any Seal that when it was set upon the wax would change the wax into gold or into silver like the seal it may leave it's impression but it does not change the wax into it's own mettall If there be a stamp set upon silver or gold the mettal remains as it was before But if a stamp be set upon brasse it don't make it silver or if it be set upon silver it don't make it gold I but when the Lord Jesus Christ comes unto a Duty and sets his own stamp and his own righteousness upon a Duty that which was brasse before full of failings and much unrighteousness before changes it into gold into silver He only hath the Philosophers stone as I may so speak all that Christ touches turns into gold turns all our Duties into gold and when he hath done so he presents them unto God the Father This our great High-Priest doth And this is the Fourth thing But how doth all this make for our Comfort Quest 5 or for our Grace Surely Ans we cannot but see already how it doth make for our Comfort Is it not a comfortable thing for a man to know that his Duties are not lost that his Prayer is not lost that his Hearing the word is not lost that his Searching the Scriptures is not lost that his Conference and Communion is not lost A man is unwilling to lose any thing and the more precious it is the more unwilling to lose it If we have a venture at Sea we are unwilling to lose our venture and the greater our venture is the more unwilling to lose it If a man have but a quarter of his Estate in a vessel he is unwilling to lose it more unwilling if he have half his Estate most if he have all and his children there in the vessel too Now as men are unwilling to lose their worldly venture So a man that is sensible of his soul is very unwilling to lose his souls venture to lose his Prayers and to lose all his Duties Friends here 's an Insuring-Office The Lord Jesus Christ is our great Insurer in this respect and he doth as he is our High-Priest offering up our Gifts unto God the Father assure us that none is lost not any lost Indeed if we had such an High-Priest as were not able to take notice of the Circumstances of our Duties much might be lost but this our Lord Christ our great High-Priest doth not only take notice of our Duty what ever it be but of all the Circumstances of our Duties and so presents them unto God the Father in the full latitude in all the gracious Circumstances of them Therefore saith he unto the Angel of the Church of Pergamos in the 2. of the Revelation and the 13. verse I know thy works Why but Lord though thou doest know our works yet it may be thou doest not take notice where our work is done Lord it may be thou doest take notice of my Prayer but Lord thou doest not take notice where I dwell and live and in what family I do pray unto thee Lord I am in a wicked and a wretched family that does oppose Prayer Lord may be thou doest take notice of my Prayer but thou doest not take notice of this Circumstance Yes saies he I know thy works and where thou dwellest even where Satans seat is Well and thou holdest fast my Name and hast not denied my faith even in those daies wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth It 's remarkable The Lord Jesus Christ takes notice not only of our Duty but of every Circumstance of the Duty and so he presents it unto God the Father not only the Duty but the Circumstance of the Duty and therefore there is not a haire of your Duty lost not one graine of your Duty lost is not this an unspeakable Comfort unto a poor soul that it knows that nothing is lost of all the Prayers it hath made unto God that there is no losse at all The very pantings of our hearts at the Throne of grace are received into the bosom of our Heavenly Father Further Is it not a Comfort for a man to have liberty to go unto the Mercy-Seat and there for to meet with God 'T is said of wicked men That they sit in the seat of the scornful There is it seems then the seat of the scornful and there is a Mercy-Seat A Drunkard when he is with his drunken company and sits upon the Ale-bench it may be scorning and jeering at some of the godly making songs on them he is set upon the seat of the scornful that is a cursed seat I but there is another seat there is a Mercy-Seat and there is never a poor Saint and Child of God
but he may go in to the Mercy-Seat of the Lord Jesus Christ that hath all the favour and acceptance in Heaven he carries him into the Mercy-Seat and God the Father will never put him by what Comfort is here Besides Is it not a great Comfort to a man for to know how it shall go with him at the great day of Judgment When there shall be hundred thousands at the right hand of Christ hundred-thousands at the left hand of Christ when all faces shall gather palenesse Oh! saies one that I did but know how it shall go with me at that day This Doctrine tels us The Lord Jesus Christ shall be our Judge at that day and he that shall judge us then he takes our Prayers and all our Duties now and carries them in unto the presence of God the Father by him we have acceptance and according to these we shall be judged Surely then if he takes our Duties and carries them in for acceptance unto God the Father he will never judge you for them and condemn you for them at that day Here is Comfort Once more Is it not a Comfort for a poor begger to be relieved at a rich-mans door We are al beggers in regard of Heaven and the Lord Jesus Christ he does not only come forth and serve us but he takes us poor beggers by the hand and leads us in to his Father Oh! what Comfort is here what Comfort is here Indeed if I were able to say That the Lord did accept my Duty Cbj. this were Comfort indeed if I were able to conclude That the Lord Jesus Christ did take my Prayers and my Duties and carry them in unto God the Father this were sweet consolation but how shall I know that If the Lord Jesus Christ be our High-Priest Ans then we may say also that he takes our duties and carries them in for acceptance unto God the Father if we may say that Jesus Christ hath satisfied for us and doth intercede for us then we may say also that he takes our duties and carries them for acceptance unto God the Father But yet a little further to bring this Comfort nearer to your hearts give me leave to appeal to you First Whosoever thou art that makes this Objection Didst thou never find a spiritual fire come down from Heaven as it were upon thy heart in Duty or after Duty In the times of the old-Testament if they offered up a sacrifice and a material fire came down from Heaven and burnt up the sacrifice to ashes it was a certain testimony that the sacrifice was accepted Now in the times of the Gospel we must not expect material fire to come down upon our Duties But hath the Lord at any time caused an inward and spiritual fire to fall down upon thy heart warming thy spirit in Dutie there the Lord speaks thus much to thee Thy sacrifice is turn'd into ashes and it is accepted by Jesus Christ Again Did you never find in your heart you that make this Objection to Pray and Cry and Intercede for others for the godly especially Look what disposition there is in your heart towards the members of Christ there is the same disposition in Christ's heart towards you Ah! do you think that there is love in your bosome towards the Saints and that there is none in Christ's heart towards you Do you think that your bowels are more large than Christ's Canst thou find in thine heart to go unto God when thou seest a Saint in misery to go to God and pray and cry and intercede for him and don 't you think that the Lord Jesus hath as much bowels towards you to go and intercede for you and present your prayers unto God the Father Further Don't you look upon your own Duties as coming from your selves most unworthy Beloved 't is in regard of Duties as it is in regard of Persons When a man does judge himself to be most unworthy then Christ counts him worthy God counts him worthy in Christ As you reade in the 1. of the Canticles saies the Spouse there ver 5. I am black O ye daughters of Jerusalem as the tents of Kedar Look not upon me because I am black ver 6. Now would you see Christs opinion of her that counts her self black saith she Black and Black again but Christ saith concerning her verse 8. O thou fairest among women She calls her self Black and Christ cals her Fair and the Fairest among women Now when a man doth count himself most unworthy God counts him most worthy and when a man looks upon his own Duties and Sacrifices as most unworthy they are look't upon by Jesus Christ as most worthy poor prayers in our eyes are precious in Gods eye A word more Don't ye think that grace is larger now in the times of the Gospel than it was in the times of the Law If ye doubt it as unto this particular Look upon the 30. Chapter of Exodus compared with the 41. of Ezekiel In the 30. Chapter of Exodus The Lord commands an Altar to be made to burn incense upon Of Shittim wood shalt thou make it verse the 1. A cubit shall be the length thereof verse the 2. The Altar is for Incense 't is the matter that now we are upon A cubit shall be the length thereof and a cubit the breadth thereof and two cubits shall be the highth therof Now in the 41. Chapter of Ezekiel he speaks of the Altar in the times of the Gospel and saith he at the 22. verse 't is the Altar of incense that there is prescribed to be made the Altar of wood of Shettem wood The Altar of wood was three cubits high and the length thereof two cubits And yet again this altar of incense in the times of the Gospel is to be as large again as that in the times of the Law as high and as long and as large again In the times of the Law times of the old-Testament a poor soul might go unto the High-Priest and might challenge a right in him and might say That his Service and his Duty and his Sacrifice was accepted by the High-Priest If in the times of the Old-Testament a man might say so much more may a poor soul now go unto Jesus Christ our great High-Priest and say That his Service and his Duty and Sacrifice is accepted through him Here is abundance of Comfort unto the Saints be of good comfort all you that do beleeve But How doth this make unto our Holiness Quest unto Holiness of life We confess indeed that there is abundance of Comfort in this That the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest takes all our Gifts and al our Prayers and presents them to God the Father and that in his acceptance we have acceptance but I pray how doth all this conduce to our Holiness of life Much every way Answ First In case I be Ungodly a Wicked man Here is that that may
unto ye like unto me hear ye him And now here in this 17. of Matthew at the transfiguration Moses and Elias appeared which they did not in the 3. of Matthew First Consider that the Emphasis may lie upon the word Hear and not upon the word Him only This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased Hear ye him His face did shine as the Sun and his rayment was white as the light And Christ appeared in great glory and they stood looking upon him Nay saies the Lord from Heaven do not make it a gazing matter but Hear him don't stand looking upon him but Hear him He don't appear in such a glory in the 3. of Matthew when he was baptized and therefore those words are not added there But again Here now in the 17. Chapter of Matthew at the Transfiguration appears Moses and Elias Behold at the 3. verse There appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him Moses that gave the Law Elias that restored it Then answered Peter and said unto Jesus Lord 't is good for us to be here if thou wilt let us make here Three Tabernacles one for Thee and one for Moses and one for Elias Peter and so the rest of the Disciples began for to equallize Moses to Jesus Christ One for Moses and one for Elias and one for Jesus Christ no more for Christ than for Moses Now the Lord takes Peter off from all his mistakings Your eye is upon Moses saith he but I saith the Lord God Almighty am wel pleased in my Son This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased I am well pleased with you and with your Duties through this my Son and not through Moses and therefore Hear Christ and not Moses He laies this in upon it that therefore they should be Evangelical and hear Jesus Christ because the Lord Christ gives acceptance unto all and by him God is well pleased with them Again further The more glory Christ does appear in the greater reason there is why we should hear him Now here the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in glory his face did shine as the Sun and his raiment was white as the light In the 3. of Matthew he was there baptized and he did not appear in glory but now here he appears in glory and therefore saies the Lord now Hear him this is your glorious Saviour Hear him Beloved what greater glory can Jesus Christ appear to your souls in than this the glory of his love he takes every one of your Duties and your Prayers and he carries them in to the bosome of God the Father and by him you have acceptance Oh! what a glorious Saviour have ye therefore Hear him This is that if any thing will make ye very Obedient to Christ more than to Moses to be Evangelical in all your Duties Yet further The more a man can rejoyce in spiritual priviledges with humility and the more humble a man is and yet can rejoyce in his spiritual priviledges the more holy he is there goes a great deal of Holiness to it to joyn these two together for a man to rejoyce in his spiritual priviledges and yet to be humble and to walk very humbly Some there are that look upon ther spiritual priviledges and rejoyce much but they don't walk humbly Some labour to walk humbly and are much troubled in the consideration of their own evil but they don't rejoyce in their spiritual priviledges Give me a Christian that doth both and he is a blessed man The study of this Truth that is now before you will teach you to do both to do both together For what a great priviledge is this not a figh not a groane not a duty but the Lord Christ takes it and carries it in and presents it to God the Father for me whereby I have acceptance Considering this here is matter of much joy and rejoycing I but It is Christ that does it there is no such worthiness in mine own duty it were lost and cast away if Jesus Christ did not take it in his hand and carry it into the bosome of God the Father and therefore why should I not walk humbly I conclude all with this If that the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest offers up all our Gifts unto God the Father whereby we have acceptance What infinite cause have we all to be Thankful to God for Christ and to love Jesus Christ for ever Suppose one of you had been among the Disciples when the Lord Christ wash't his Disciples feet and he should have come and wash't your feet and have done it would not your heart have glowed with love to Jesus Christ Yet when the Lord Jesus Christ wash't his Disciples feet it was in the daies of his flesh when he was here on the earth but now he is in glory and yet for all this he takes your dirty prayers and does as it were wash the feet of your prayers that he may present them to God the Father he washes your tears over again in his bloud and presents them to God the Father he takes all your Duties and perfumes them with his intercessions and so presents them unto God the Father Oh! what cause have we to love Jesus Christ Oh! you that never loved Christ love him now and you that have loved him before love him much more you that fear the lord love the Lord and let us all even go away with our hearts warmed with this love blessing and praising the Name of the Lord. And thus I have led you into a Third work of our great Hight Priest which is this To offer up the Gifts of the people unto God the Father A Fourth follows c. SERMON IV. HEBREWES 2.17 18. Wherefore in all thing it behoved him Preached at Stepney May. 16. 1647. to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people For in that He himselfe hath suffered being tempted he is able to succou them that are tempted IT hath been opened and applied that the work of the High-Priest was and is To satisfie for the sins of the people to make Intercession for them and to offer up their Gifts unto God the Father all which Christ doth for us I shall speak of one work more of our great High-Priest and that is To bless the people We reade in the Old-Testament of two sorts of High-Priests One according to the order of Aaron the Levitical High-Priest as I may so speak and his work was for to Bless the People as we may reade in the 6. Chapter of Numbers the 23. verse Speak unto Aaron and unto his Sons saying On this wise ye shall bless the Children of Israel saying unto them c. There was another High-Priest not according to this order of Aaron and that was Melchisedec and he also did Blesse Abraham And the Apostle speaking of him
as a great Type of and in relation to Jesus Christ our great High-Priest in the 7. Chapter of this book of the Hebrews and the 6. verse saith That he blessed Abrabam But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham and Blessed him that had the Promises So then this Blessing of the people being the work of both the High-Priests and both Aaron and Melchisedec being great types of Jesus Christ our High-Priest Surely it must needs be one of the great works of our High-Priest for to blesse the people For the opening and cleering up of this Truth I shall endeavour to discover First What the Blessing of Christ our High-Priest is wherein consists and what Christ doth when he doth Bless the people Secondly That it belongs unto Jesus Christ especially for to Bless the people Thirdly That our Lord and Saviour Christ our great High-Priest is exceeding willing for to Bless poor sinners and that this Blessing of the people is a work whereunto he is much inclined and wherein he is much delighted Fourthly That he doth this and doth it fully Fifthly according to our method How all this doth conduce unto our Comfort and unto our Holiness First If ye aske me What the Blessing of Christ Quest 1 and of the Gospel is and wherein it consists I answer First in the General That the Blessing of the Gospel Answ and of Christ consisteth in Spiritual things especially and not in Temporal And therefore saith the Apostle in that 1. of the Ephesians and the 3. verse Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ The Curse and Judgments of God that do befal men now under the Gospel are not in outward afflictions and bodily troubles so much as in Spiritual miseries Blindness of mind and Hardness of heart And so also on the contrary the blessing of the Gospel doth not consist much in Outward things as in Spiritual Who hath blessed us with Spiritual blessings Indeed if we look into the old Testament we shall find That when Moses did bless the people he blest them much in Temporal blessings in the 28. of Deuteronomy and the 2. verse All these things shall come upon thee and overtake thee if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God What blessings are those Blessed shalt thou be in the city and blessed shalt thou be in the field blessed shall be the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy ground and the fruit of thy cattel the increase of thy kine and the flocks of thy sheep blessed shall be thy basket and thy store Thus he goes on in outward blessings But now if we look into the Gospel and consider the blessings of Jesus Christ and lay them together with Moses we shall find them to be Spiritual blessings In the 5. of Matthew and the 3. verse c. Blessed are the poor in spirit for their's is the Kingdom of Heaven Blessed are those that mourn for they sall be comforted Indeed the promise of the earth comes is at the 5. vers but he returns again to Spiritual blessings Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after rightousness for they shall be filled Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God Here are Spiritual blessings this is the stream of the Gospel it runs this way When the Lord blesseth a man he gives him that which is sutable to him In the times of the Gospel men are more Spiritual than they were in the times of the Law therefore Gospel-blessings they are Spiritual blessings Every thing gives and communicates to another according to what it hath it self The Sun communicates light unto the world because it hath light it self And man communicates the nature of man unto his child because he hath the nature of man himself So our Lord Christ when he Blesses he communicates according unto what he hath himself and his blessings especially consisting in spiritual things so he doth blesse Indeed as in the times of the Old Testament there were Spiritual blessings that were mixt with Temporal by vertue of the Covenant that was made with Abraham So now Outward blessings are thrown in as an overplus but yet notwithstanding though they be not spiritual in their nature they are spiritual in their end and so it is true to say That the blessing of the Gospel and of Christ is a spiritual blessing But more particularly if yet ask me wherein this consisteth I shall name but Two things First This Blessing of the Gospel or of Christ it consists in a supernatural and spiritual injoyment of God in Christ the love and favour of God in Christ When the Priests blest in the time of the old Testament in that 6. of Numbers they said The Lord cause his face for to shine upon you The Lord make his face for to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee the Lord blesse thee and keepe thee Verse 24 25 26. Which the Spostle Paul expounding in the 2 Cor. the 13. Chapter and the 14. verse renders it thus The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the holy Ghost be with you all Amen The Lord blesse thee the Lord cause his face to shine upon you the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you Three times the Lord the Lord the Lord noting the Trinity which the Apostle here explains by the Father the Son and the holy Spirit Blessed are the pure in heart Mat. 5.8 for they shall see God Seeing of God is a blessing out of the mouth of Christ a Gospel-blessign And what is it for a man to see God In the phrase of the old Testament the Hebrew to See it is ordinarily used for to Injoy In the 4. Psalme Who will shew us any good The word in the Hebrew is Who will make us to See any good that is t Injoy good So then to see God it is to injoy him When Jacob injoyed God he saw him and the place it was called Peniel for he had seen the Lord and there the Lord blest him There 's no seeing of God but in Christ And therefore I say that herein confists the blessing of the Gospel in a supernatural and spiritual in joyment of God in Christ the favour and love of God in Christ Again It consists also in the Inhabitation of the holy Ghost in our hearts the giving out of the holy Ghost unto the hearts of men And therefore it is added in that place of the Corinthians And the Communion of the holy Ghost be with you all Amen That must needs be the great blessing of the Gospel and so of Christ that is the thing promised in the Gospel What is that If we look into the 1. Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles and the 4. verse It is said
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
that ever in the way of their preaching pronounced so many Blessings as Christ did He begins blessing Blessed are the poor and Blessed are those that mourn and Blessed are those that hunger and thirst and Blessed are those that are persecuted for my Names sake Blessed are those that hear the Word of God and keep it He took little children into his arms and Blest them Do but mark in all the Gospel how frequent Christ was in Blessing never in Cursing more frequent in blessing than ever any Preacher was in all his Sermons What 's the reason of this Because this work of Blessing the people is a work wherein the Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest is much delighted a work whereunto he is most in clined Well But doth he do it Quest 4 Yes He doth do it and doth it fully Answ The same place that I named will prove it the 1. of the Ephesians and the 3. verse Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in beavenly places IN Christ Nor only meritoriously but by the hand of Christ And saith he He hath done it with all spiritual blessings and he hath done it by Jesus Christ You will say We don't see that men are thus blest by Christ Oject for where Christ blesseth he doth not only wish well and good unto a wan but he bestoweth it yea he doth not only bestow good but he doth increase and multiply But upon this account how few are there in the world that are blest by Christ For Answer Answ 1 It is a hard thing sometimes unto a Christian for to discern-this Blessing of Christ Ye can see the Boughs Fruit Body Bark of the Tree but if ye will see the Root ye must dig and take pains for to see it it 's an easie thing to see the Leaves c. but if you would see the Root ye must dig and take pains for it This Blessing of Jesus Christ it is the Root of all and if you will see this you must dig and take pains to see it it does not lie open to every ones view The Lord Jesus Christ our High-Priest does not Blesse as man blesses and so his Blessing is very much hidden from our eyes he does not blesse as we do he does not bless as the world does if the world sees a Rich man it pronounces him blessed Oh! there 's a blessed man and there 's a happy man what an excellent Dwelling hath he how healthful his Table is spread c. The world blesses Rich men pronounces them Happy and blessed But our Lord Jesus Christ he does as Jacob did when Joseph brought his two Sons to Jacob to be blest by him he set Ephraim the younger at the left hand of Jacob and he set Manasses the elder at the right hand of Jacob that Jacob might give the right-hand blessing to the Elder and the left-hand blessing to the Younger but when Joseph had set them thus before Jacob Jacob crosses hands and he turns the right-hand blessing to the Younger So two men are brought before Christ a Rich man it may be and a Poor man and in the eye of the world the Rich man must carry the blessing Oh! but our Lord Christ he crosses hands and he laies the blessing upon the younger brother many times And so in regard of Ordinances Two sorts of Ordinances are brought before Christ Gods Ordinance and Mans Ordinance and Mans Ordinance in the eye of the world is the Elder brother and Gods Ordinance the Younger brother and both these are brought before Christ for a blessing and the Ordinance of Man is set at the right hand of Christ by the world but the Lord Christ he crosses hands and he laies the blessing upon the younger brother in this respect And so two men are brought before him a proud Pharisee and a poor broken-hearted sinner the Pharisee comes unto the right-hand of Christ thinks for to carry the blessing but the Lord Christ crosses hands laies the right-hand blessing upon the poor broken-hearted sinner and passes by the proud Pharisee The Lord Christ doth not blesse as the world blesseth Again As he doth not Bless as the World Blesseth Answ 2 so he doth not Bless alwaies as Professors Bless Professors they do ordinarily Blesse men according unto their outward Priviledges Gospel and Church-Priviledges Oh! saies the woman unto Christ Blessed is the womb that bare thee and blessed are the paps that gave thee suck Christ crosses hands Nay but saies Christ Blessed are those that hear the word of God and keep it and do my Commandements You blesse according to Outward Priviledges I don't go that way of blessing saies Christ He does not blesse as Professors blesse alwaies Thirdly He does not blesse as Godly men do blesse alwaies Answ 3 as Gracious men blesse not alwaies For you that are Godly you pronounce such a man blessed as hath much Grace and hath Assurance of the love of God in Christ and one that hath strong and great Parts and able to carry away whole Sermons word for word and of strong Memory and large Gifts that are head and shoulders above their fellows But the Lord Jesus Christ does not alwaies blesse thus Blessed are the poor in spirit saies he Blessed are those that mourn He don't say Blessed are those that rejoyce or Blessed are those that have the Assurance of Gods love or Blessed are those that are strong in grace No but doest thou know a poor weak Christian a mourning soul like a dove of the vallies saies the Lord I blesse him Thus I say the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he does not Blesse as We blesse he does not blesse as the World blesses he does not blesse alwaies as Professors blesse he does not blesse alwaies as Godly men Blesse and therefore no wonder that his Blessing is hidden Children when they are very young are often blest by their Parents and they don't mind it or take notice of it children of two or three year old And so it is with many a gracious soul blessed by Jesus Christ and don 't take notice of their fathers blessing But the Lord Christ doth alwaies blesse his people only there are several times speciall seasons that he gives out his blessing let me tell ye of those times a little that so ye may come for his blessing while his hand is in as it were so that you may be crowned with spiritual blessings in and from Jesus Christ First When Christ our High-Priest doth see that a man is weak in Grace or weak in Gifts and hath some work or service for him to do some imployment to call him forth unto then the Lord Christ doth Blesse him There are Two times especially as I remember that the Lord speaks those words concerning man Increase and Multiply Once in the beginning when he had made man and woman And once in the 9.
of Genesis when he had brought Noah out of the Ark Why does he rather choose for to speak those words Increase and Multiply at these Two times especially rather than at any other time In the beginning there was but a little stook of man-kind and the Lord had a design upon man to make use of him in the world and therefore in the beginning saies he Increase and Multiply but afterward that the floud had swept away man Noah and his family being preserved when he came out of the Ark the Lord having yet a further design upon man to use him he reneweth those words again Increase and Multiply So when the Lord Christ sees that a mans heart is upright and sincere with him and he hath some work and service for him to do then the Lord comes forth and blesses him O soul Increase and Multiply increase in thy Gifts and Graces and Multiply That is one Again As the Lord doth blesse weak Gifts and Graces when he intends to use them so also when as he hath made use of a man when a man hath done the work of God and done it to purpose then the Lord blesses that man Melchisedec a great Type of Christ here when Abraham had been upon a great service slaying Kings and resoued Lot then Melchisedec the High-Priest comes forth and blesses him So when the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest sees that a poor soul hath been upon his work upon his service and hath done his work faithfully then he comes forth and blesses that soul O soul live for ever Again As he does blesse at this time when a man hath done his work so also when a man is willing for to leave all his Relations and natural ingagements for to follow him to cleave close unto him and to his waies and ordinances The Lord blessed Abraham Thou shalt be blessed In Blessing I will Blesse thee and thou shalt be blessed Upon what occasion Abraham saies he get thee out of thy Country and go to a land and place that I will shew thee and Abraham did so Abraham puld up his Tent and went after the Lord and left his own Relations and thereupon the Lord fell upon him and blest him So when the Lord Christ our High-Priest sees a soul willing even to trample upon his Relations for to follow him willing to leave all natural ingagements for to be his servant then the Lord Christ comes out and saies he This soul do I blesse In blessing I will blesse thee and I will blesse thee exceedingly That is a Third time Fourthly The Lord Christ our High-Priest does blesse when the world Curses a speciall time of Christs blessing is when the world Curses When Rabshekah reviled blasphemed and Cursed then God blest When Balak hired Balaam for to Curse the people of Israel then the Lord blest them by the mouth of Balaam himself And ye see what Christ saies to this purpose in that same 5. chapter of Matthew at the 10. verse Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousnesse sake But when are they blessed Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you I but suppose it don't come to a bodily persecution men may not be thrown in prison or brought to the stake Saies he Blessed are ye when men shall Revile persecute you with the tongue and say all manner of evil against you for my sake When the world saies of such a poor soul That he is an Hypocrite a dissembler and speaks all manner of evil that can be divised against a poore soule for the Name of Christ that is the very time that Christ comes for to bless that soule then doth Christ blesse it 's a blessed season In the Fift place The Lord Christ does also Bless when as People do graciously injoy the Ordinances purely and Evangelically administred It is said concerning Zion There commanded he his blessing for ever Psa 89.15 Blessed are the people that hear the joyful sound they shall walk in the light of his countenance It is written of the Priests in the times of the Old-Testament that when the people the Congregation were come together they blest them when the People were come together for the injoyment of Ordinances according to Gods own appointment then the Priests blest them And did their High-Priest blesse them then and shall not our High Priest do it now Did their High-Priest blesse them when they sate under Mosaical Ordinances and shall not our High-Priest blesse the people that sit under Evangelical and Gospel-Ordinances purely Evangelically administred The people then might make account of the greatest blessing and so may you do also of the blessing of Jesus Christ when thus you do enjoy Ordinances Only there is this difference other differences there are but this only I shall speak of Then the Priest did blesse the people when the Congregation was dismist but now the Lord Jesus Christ our great High-Priest he is blessing of the Congregation all the while he is going up and down in the Congregation all the while that the Word is preached and Ordinances administred and he is blessing poor souls as they sit longing after him and sighing towards him he is blessing of them all the while Thus he does blesse and though you don 't alwaies perceive it yet he doth blesse his people Quest 5 And that 's the Fourth thing But yet you will say How does all this conduce unto our Comfort Answ and unto our Holiness Much every way First for Comfort Beloved Is it not a Comfortable thing to be blessed by Jesus Christ Children counted it a great matter to be blest by their parents when as Jacob had gotten the Blessing from Esau Esau goes and fits down and mourns he could not be comforted because the blessing was gone and Jacob though he were thrust out of doors yet because he had gotten the Blessing he went away cheerfull and it was but an Isaac's Blessing But behold a greater then Isaac is here Oh! was it such a matter to have an Isaac's Blessing what is it then to be Blessed by Jesus Christ Beloved when as Christ doth bless he turns all our Curses into Blessings and our Miseries into Mercies When God Curses he turns our Table into a Snare and when Christ Blesseth he turnes our snare into a Table quite contrary Jacob pronounced a Curse upon his two sons Simeon and Levi you know upon what occasion They should be divided and scattered in Israel afterward the Tribe of Levi stands up at the cōmandement of God to execute Justice Judgment the Lord blest them And how did he bless them They were to be the Preachers unto all the Tribes and so that they might be Preachers unto all the Tribes they were to be scattered into all the tribes so Jacobs curse was turned into a
blessing to them Is it not a Comfortable thing for a man to have all his Cursers to be Blessers It 's a Comfortable thing for all a mans Curses to become Blessings But now I say it 's a Comfortable thing for al a mans Cursers to be Blesters to him Whē the Lord Christ Blesses he will make mens Cursers whether they wil or no in the day of their visitation at least for to Bless Ye know that Balaam would have Cursed Israel but the Lord had blest them Balaam got upō a high mountain and from thence he would have Cursed Israel but it would not be Then he gets upon another high Mountain from thence he would have Cursed Israel but it would not be Then he gets upon another high Mountain thinking that would have done it and from thence he would have Cursed Israel but that would not do it Oh! saies he The Lord hath seene no iniquity in Israel and therefore he Blesses them the Curse is turned into a Blessing So there are many that deale thus by the people of God in these daies They get upon such a high Mountain such a great and high means and they think to Curse the people of God from thence but it won't be Then they get upon another Mountain another means thinking from thence to Curse the people of God but it will not be Then they get upon another high Mountain or hill and think then to Curse the people of God and do them mischief but it will not do it Why for the Lord Christ sees no iniquity the Lord Christ hath blest them and so at last in the day of wicked mens visitation they are forced to say These are the people of God and these are Blessed and shall be blessed We know what is said in the Scripture The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow therewithal Is it not a good thing then to be blest by Christ If a man be blessed by Jesus Christ he may blesse himself in the Lord and he may comfort himself in every Condition and he may say thus Well though I be a Poor man yet I am blest by Christ And though my Estate be sunk and decaied yet I am blest by Christ And though I be reproached and hated by men yet I am blessed by Jesus Christ a man may comfort himself in every condition But you will say Object Indeed if a man be assured that Christ hath blest him he may do thus but I am afraid that Christ hath not blest me or that he is not willing to bless me if I could be assured that this great High-Priest had once laid his hand his blessinghand upon me I should have comfort in all conditions Give me leave to lay Two or Three things before you concerning this Answ First When the Lord blest Abraham he said unto him In thee and thy seed shall all Nations be Blest It 's a sign unto Abraham that he was blest because others were blessed by him So now when a mans Parts Gifts Graces and Comforts are blessings to others it is an argument that that man is blest himself Further When a man is blessed by God or Christ he is drawn nearer to God by all outward things by all things Come ye Blessed Go ye Cursed Blessing hath an attractive Nature Come ye Blessed when the Lord Christ does bless a man he does draw him Come ye Blessed When a man is brought nearer to God by Affliction he is blessed when a man is brought nearer to God by his Estate by any Comfort by any Sorrow here is blessing Come ye Blessed Blessing draws one nearer to God with a cord of love Thirdly Where the Lord does Bless he does cause a man to Increase and Multiply in that thing wherein he is Blest Increasing and Multiplying is so natural unto Blessing that in the Original tongues of the old and new Testament Plenty is put for Blessing I will give you but one clear place for it in the new Testament the 2 Cor. 9. Chapter 5. verse Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren that they would go before unto ye and make up before hand your Bounty The word is your Blessing Whereof you had notice before that the same might be ready as a matter of Bounty The word is as a matter of Blessing But especially in the next verse But this I say he which soweth sparingly shal reap sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully And he which soweth with Blessing as it is in the Original shall reap with Blessing And here 't is opposed to Sparingly and translated Bountifully Where the Lord does blesse he does alwaies cause a man to Increase and Multiply Now beloved in the Lord I appeal unto all your souls you that make this Objection that are afraid the Lord Christ hath not blest you as your High-Priest hath not laid his hand upon you and blest you yet don 't ye know more of Christ than ye have known before hath not the hidden truths of the Gospel been increased and multiplied upon your hearts hath not your hearts been brought neerer to God by Affliction hath not your souls been drawn neerer to God by his outward dealings with you And as Abraham was therefore blest because he was made a blessing to others So I appeal to ye have not your Parts Gifts and Graces in some measure been blessings unto others even unto your poor Family and unto others also Then be of good Comfort man or woman where ever thou stand'st the Lord Christ hath blest thee and thou shalt be blessed hold up thy head poor blessed soul the Lord Jesus hath blest thee when the Lord did lay this blessing upon thee I cannot till thee but I find thee a blessed man stay thy self upon the Lord cheer up thy drooping heart thou art a blessed soul But you will say Quest How does this make unto our Holiness I confess this is a very Comfortable Cordial That the Lord Jesus Christ is in office to bless poor sinners but how does this conduce unto our Holinesse Very much Answ This holds forth great incouragement unto all poor sinners for to come to Christ and to come without delay Why Once come to Christ and blessed but without Christ and Cursed an enemy to Jesus Christ and a Cursed man Cursed in thy store-house Cursed in thy basket and Cursed in all things that thou puttest thine hand unto Oh! then will you not come to Christ that you may be Blessed That day that a poor soul comes unto Christ whatever he hath been he is blessed that day may be called Gilgal for then the Curse is rouled away from him Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven and whose sin is pardoned The first day the first minute that he comes to Christ his sin is pardoned and he is blessed Who would not then come unto Christ presently that he may be blest for ever When as Esan had
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
our Prayers and Gifts vnto God the Father And to Bless poor souls Now then beloved according to all your Wants and according to all your Temptations I do beseech you in the Lord Go to Jesus Christ unto this High-Priest try and see if you don't find it true That the Lord does make good all this unto you In case that you be under any spiritual Want or Temptation put your souls unto this Disjunction Come O my soule Either the Lord Jesus Christ is our great High-Friest or else he is not If he be not what means this and that Scripture And if the Lord Jesus Christ be our great High-Priest then surely he being faithful will do all the work of the High-Priest for my soul Indeed I have sinned and sinned greatly but O Lord it is the work of our High-Priest to Satisfie Now Lord Jesus I come to thee as mine High-Priest Oh! Satisfie for me Indeed I confesse mine own Conscience does Accuse me Satan does Accuse me Moses does Accuse me but it is the work of our great High-Priest to take off all Accusations brought against poor beleevers Now Lord I do come unto thee as to my great High-Priest Oh! take off this Accusation that any poor soul does labour under Indeed when I look upon mine own Duties there is so much deadness so much hardness of heart and so many distractions that do accompany them that I am afraid they will never be accepted but O Lord it is the work of our great High-Priest to take away the weeds of the Duty and to present the Duty now O Lord I come unto thee as mine High-Priest Oh! carry my Prayers into the bosom of God the Father Yea when I look upon my former life Lord I cannot but conclude my self a poor cursed finner but yet notwithstanding it is the work of our great High-Priest for to blesse the people O Lord I do therefore now come unto thee as mine High-Priest Oh! blesse me and say unto all my graces Increase and Multiply FINIS SATANS Power to tempt AND CHRISTS love to and care of his people under temptation HEBREWES 2.18 For in that He himself hath suffered being tempted Preached at Margrets New-fish street Octob. 5. 1646. he is able to succour them that are tempted THE Scope and Drift of this Epistle is to raise and strengthen the faith of the Hebrewes and so the faith of those that are weak in grace Our Apostle Paul therefore whom I take to be the Pen-man labours to discover the transcendent Excellency of Jesus Christ with his love and good-will to the Children of men And because his Excellencies were either such as relate his Person or such as relate his Offices of King Priest Prophet He tels us in the first Chapter that for the Personal Excellencies of Jesus Christ He is the Son of God Heire of all things by whom were the World 's made being the brightness of his Fathers glory and the express Image of his Person in the 2 3. verses of that Chapters That he is far above the Angels at the 4. verse That he is God himself at the 6. verse And as for those excellencies that relate his Offices He tels us at the 1. verse That he is the Prophet of Prophets That he is the great King at the 8. verse That he is an High-Priest in the 2. Chap. and the 17. verse and therefore who would not trust unto him and take heed unto such things are he shall speak unto them And as for the love and good-will that he bears unto the Children of men the Apostle speaks it out in all this Second Chapter The greater Condeseention in the person loving to the person loved the greater is the love Now though Jesus Christ be Heir of all things and had all things put under his feet far above all Angels yet notwithstanding at the 7. verse He is made a little lower than the Angels takes our nature upon him c. The more Profitable any love is to the person loved the greater is the love Such is the love of Christ for his love is such That by him many sons are brought to glory at the 10. verse Sanctified while they live at the 11. verse Satan their deadly enemy subdued for them at the 14 15 verses The more Distinguishing any love is the greater is that love Now Jesus Christ as the great Load-stone passes by the golden mettel of Angels and draws unto himself the Iron-mettal of man kind at the 16. verse For verily he took not on him the nature of Angels but he took on him the seed of Abraham Again The more the person loving does Suffer for the person loved the more and the greater is the love Christ suffered death and he was while he lived subject to our infirmities and unto our temptations He was in all thing made like unto us at the 17. verse And he was tempted as we are tempted that he might succour those that are tempted at the 18. verse And would you have an Account or a Reason of all this it is that he might shew mercy unto the children of men verse the 17. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things partaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people If he were not made like unto us in regard of our infirmities he could not so experimentally pity us under our infirmities If he were not tempted like unto us he could not so feelingly succour us under our temptation and so he had not been so fit to have benn our High-Priest but our High-Priest he is gone into the holy of holiest to make reconciliation for the sins of the people Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto us that he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted be is able to succour them that are tempted I will not hold you longer in the Coherence or Division of the words or further Explication I shall open the words God willing more particularly and distinctly as I shall come to the Observations that shall be raised from them And I begin with the last being made the reason of the former For in that he him self hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted Tempted twice He tempted and They tempted This word Tempted or Tempt it is given in Scripture phrase sometimes to God sometimes to Man and sometimes to the Devil and accordingly it is used Three waies Sometimes it is used for to Prove and so God is said for to Tempt in the 13. of Deuteronomy Sometimes it is used for to Try to make experiment of a Thing or a Person whom or which we did not know before and so it is given to Man as I take it in the 6. of Judges Sometimes it is used for a Solicitation and Drawing unto
a temptation but you are beleaguer'd by it and when your temptation is about you say O my soul be quiet yeeld not the Lord Christ is a succouring Christ and succour will come and therefore hold it out Shall the Lord Jesus Christ shall he succour me against my temptations with his bosom and shall I take my sins and temptations into mine own bosom Shall he come to succour me against my sins and shall I succour my sins that he comes against What a mighty argument is here to keep us from all our sins and from yeelding to our temptations Jesus Christ is a succouring Christ to tempted souls In the fift place If there be a truth in this Christ is a succouring Christ Let us all labour to answer Christ Beloved 't is the duty and the property of the people of God to observe what God is doing upon their hearts and to help on that work If Jesus Christ be succouring of any of your souls against your temptations Oh! help it on help on the work 't is your duty for to help it on and to answer him But you will say Quest Christ succours Before temptation and he succours Vnder temptation and he succours After temptation how shall I answer this how shall I help his work on Give me leave to give an answer unto this Question Answ and so I will winde up all Does the Lord Jesus Christ succour Before temptation Observe his succours and lay them up in your hearts against a rainy day Gird your sword upon your thigh it may not be to seek when the enemy comes have it in readinesse You don't lay the plaister on upon the wrist for the Ague when the Ague is on but before it comes Observe what those tokens of love are that Jesus Christ does throw into your bosom before a temptation comes and lay them up carfully there And beloved in the Lord Labour to keep the sence of his love warm upon your hearts Look as it is with water in winter so with your hearts in this respect So long as the fire is under the water and the water is hot it freezes not but when the heat goes off and the water is cold then ice comes upon it And so long as your heart is kept up in the sence of Christs love and warm with Christs love so long the ice comes not the temptation comes not The slumber of grace is a preparation to sin and a preparation to temptation When once our hearts grow cold and grow remisse then way is made to temptation and therefore if you would answer Jesus Christ Oh! labour to keep the sence of his love still upon your hearts And when the temptation is come Then look upon Jesus Christ No temptation so violent or fierce but a thought may steal out and get a look upon Jesus Christ The sight of Christ on the Cross is a Judge upon the Bench against all temptation The consideration of Three things keeps one from the power of temptation The worth of a soul The hainousness of sin And the love of Christ And you see all these in Christ upon the Crosse When temptation comes stand look upon him You know that when the Israelites were stung they were then to look upon the brasen serpent and by their very looking upon it they were cured thereby The Lord Jesus Christ is our brasen-serpent lift up upon Gospel poles having more excellency than any brasen-serpent That was but a piece of brasse he is the God of glory That for a time he is our High-Priest and lives for ever That for the Jewes only but he for Jew and Gentile That for those that could see and if any poor blind man was stung it was a case what should become of the blind man how should he look upon the brasen serpent how should he be cured but this our brasen serpent is able to give you an eye Beloved this Ordinance is still on foot spiritually And therefore Christ saies by the Prophet Esay Look unto me from all the ends of the earth and be saved Oh! when a temptation comes poor tempted soul addresse thy self to the Lord Jesus stand wishly looking upon him And then Give thy soul over into the hands of Christ all thou canst put thy self out of thine own hands So long as the planck or the board swims in the stream in the midst of the water you may draw it along with a little thred but if once it come towards the banck towards the shoare and touches upon the ground then you can hardly draw it So long as your temptation is in the stream of Christs love and of his blood you may draw it along the more easily but if once it come to touch upon your own shoare Oh! then you draw hard Whensoever therefore a temptation arises go unto Jesus Christ and say O Lord I have no strength to stand against this great Enemy I confesse it is my duty to resist this temptation but 't is thy promise to succour me under this temptation and therefore I put my self upon thee And then rest upon Christ As I use to say Your very resting on him makes him yours your resting on his strength makes it yours and your resting on his succour makes that yours And if the Lord command you to the use of any means Don't rest upon any because they are great Or despise any because they are small You do observe that the great Victories amongst the Jewes they were obtained by the weakest means and by the blowing of rams horns wals fell down Those were but Types of those spiritual Victories under the Gospel God seldom does wound the head of a temptation but first the heel the means is bruised whereby the head of the temptation is wounded As Christs heel is bruised in his wounding of Satans head So I say 't is in regard of means seldome that any means does wound the head of a temptation but the very heel of that means is first bruised and therefore don't despise it though it be small And if it please the Lord to cast in any Promise when you are under a temptation Oh! take heed that you don't live upon the letter of the Promise I mean don't live upon the Conveyance but upon the Land and yet how many do live upon the bare Promise bare letter of the Promise When a temptation comes passe from the temptation unto the Promise and through the Promise unto Jesus Christ and learn to live upon the thing Promised and not the letter of the Promise After temptation is over I can but touch on things Either you have the better of Satan Or else the worse If you have the worse Be for ever Humbled but never Discouraged And if you have the better of him Then rejoyce in the Lord and in all his goodness toward you and in all his succouring love and mercy Rejoyce in the Lord evermore and again I say rejoyce As one whom his mother comforteth
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
are in the deep and his footsteps are not known but as the Heavens are greater than the earth so are Gods waies of mercy beyond our waies Now therefore if a drak temptation do come upon ye and ye see no way to get out say O but my soul remember Gods waies are infinite and his waies are beyond our waies and though I see no way God hath infinite waies he walks over mulbery-trees and his waies have been in the deep and so it hath been all along with my soul and therefore now O my soul wait on God Sixthly Answ 6 If temptation come if Satan come Do you run to Christ and look how Satan appears to you so do you apply the Attributes of Christ to you sutable to his temptation Does Satan set a temptation unto your breast observe what temptation it is and take an Attribute of Christ sutable to that temptation and set it to the breast of that temptation For Example Does Satan come and tempt as a Serpent Then remember that Jesus Christ is the brasen serpent Does Satan come and present himself as a roaring Lyon Now remember that Jesus Christ is the Lyon of the tribe of Judah Does Satan come and present himself as an Accuser Now remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is an advocate Beloved in the time of temptation ye are to run to Christ that is true but that is not all but you are to observe how your temptation lies and apply that Attribute of Christ to your soul which is sutable to your temptation do this and your faith shall not faile in time of temptation Seventhly Answ 7 and lastly Above all things take the Shield of faith Take the Shield of faith that your faith may not fail for the way to beleeve is to beleeve the way to pray is to pray the way to hear is to hear the way to receive is to receive the way to perform duty is to perform duty the way to exercise grace is to exercise grace When temptation therefore does come upon thee that thy faith may not fail now stir up thy self to this work of faith and to beleeve and if ye beleeve that ye shall overcome ye shall overcome and if ye beleeve that ye shall prevaile against your temptations ye shall prevaile against your temptations And poor soul if thou canst relie upon Christ and beleeve that thou shalt be justified thou shalt be justified and if thou canst by faith relie upon the Promise the Promise shall belong to thee Wherefore stir up your selves now to beleeve when temptation comes When ye have to deal with an Enemy here among men I don't say beleeve ye shall overcome your enemy and ye shall overcome a man may beleeve he shal overcome his outward enemy here in the field and yet fall before him and not overcome but having to deal with this enemy Gods enemy your fathers enemy and your enemy beleeve ye shall overcome him and ye shall overcome him Quest But shall we overcome him Only if we beleeve Answ Who ever thou art that speakest or thinkest thus Doest thou make on Only of beleeving I tell thee from the Lord It is an harder thing to beleeve than to keep all the Commandements for there is something in Nature towards the keeping of the ten Commandements but nothing in Nature towards beleeving in Christ And poor soul doest thou make an Only of beleeving thou doest not know what beleeving means but I say unto thee from the Lord Beleeve that thou shalt overcome and thou shalt overcome beleeve that thou shalt prevaile against Satan and thou shalt prevail against him beleeve that thy sins shal be pardoned through Christ and relie upon him and thy sins shal be pardoned Whensoever therefore any temptation comes Oh! run to Christ cry unto Christ and rest upon Christ and say Lord I do beleeve help thou my unbelief Beloved in the Lord ye have heard That in all Satans temptations his great design is upon your faith to weaken your faith therefore let it be all your design in all your temptations to strengthen your faith and to look to your faith Which that ye may do think on all these things and the Lord bless them to you SERMON V. 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 Preached at Stepney Oct. 24 1647. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not THese words as ye have heard acquaints us with a great temptation that was to come down upon Christs Disciples Concerning which ye have here The Danger of the temptation And the Remedy against it For the Danger of the temptation I have spoken already and now come unto this 32. verse But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not Here is something Implyed and somthing Exprest Satans design implyed which is and was to weaken the faith of Christs Disciples to make their faith to fail And of that ye have heard already Now that which is exprest is Christs tender care of and love unto his Disciples in regard of their temptations And this love and care of his towards his Disciples under temptation is Exprest in many things First in the forewarning of them of a temptation coming upon them there is his love and care in that he told them of the temptation before it came And then also He prayed for them Yea He prayed for them before they were tempted Yea And he tels them that he did pray for them that they might have assurance of his help in the time of their temptation Great was his love and care to and for his Disciples unders their temptation And so the Observation is this Christs love and mercy Doct. is never more at work for his Disciples and people then when they are most assaulted by Satan When Satan is most busie to tempt and assault their faith then is Christs love and mercy most at work to keep and defend both them and their faith We don't reade of such a prayer for Peter before We reade indeed that our saviour said unto Peter Vnto thee do I give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church but we don't reade there that he prayed for Peter But here he prayes and for Peter in particular I have prayed for Thee Why because now his temptations were to be more than Ordinary and therefore Christs love and care was drawn out and exprest in a more than ordinary way For the clearing of this Truth unto ye I shall labour to discover First Wherein the love care and mercy of Christ is expressed unto his people under their temptations Secondly That this love and care of his is most expressed when they are most tempted Thirdly What there is in the heart of Christ that does thus incline him to this indulgence or mercy And so to the Application First Quest 1 If
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
Massab and Meribah the waters of strife and of temptation there the Lord gave Israel his statutes How many experiences do Gods people get in and by their temptations tempting times are teaching and Christ teaches his people by their temptations Satans Buffetings are the Saints schoolings Yea Thirdly He does not only teach his people But he does also bear up and uphold their hearts with new supplies of his grace and Spirit in the times of their temptations Christ does not suffer his people to go into new temptations with old strength but as a new temptation does come from Satan so new supply of grace and strength does come from Christ Saies David in the 94. Psalm and the 18. verse When I said my foot slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up He does not say thus when my foot slippeth thy mercy O Lord held me up but when I said my foot slippeth when I thought I was quite rejected cast off and forsaken when I said my foot slippeth then thy mercy O Lord held me up As new temptations do come in so new strength comes in Yea and supplies of greace in Proportion to our temptations My grace is sufficient for thee saies the Lord to Paul my grace is Fit for thee Yea he does not only give out Proportionable strength but an Cverplus of sirength As the woman that had oyle given her not enough barely to pay her debt but an Overplus to live on the rest So Gods people in the time of their temptations have not only strength given them to stand out against their temptations but an Cverplus to live on the rest Yea and they have not only in-comes of Assisting grace but of Accepting grace too more Accepting grace God doth and will then Accept lesser than at another time Though the prayer be weak and the faith low yet saies the Lord it is the time of temptation with this my poor servant and therefore I will take the Duty though it be never so little because it is the time of temptation it 's a time of darkness and a time of sadness Ye know what our saviour said unto Thomas Reach hither thine hand and put it into my side Come Thomas if thou wilt not beleeve without it I 'le take thy faith even upon these termes for I know it is a time of temptation with thee What grace what love and mercy is here Yea Fourthly The Lord Jesus Christ does not only come in thus with supplies of grace strength in the times of temptation But he does give his people an Ease and a Remedy a breathing time under their temptations though they be never so sad and never so great Indeed Job said That God was his enemy and would not suffer him to swallow his spittle he followed him so close but the good man was mistaken much for at the same time the time of his temptation he could say I know that my Redeemer liveth and he could blesse the Lord he had his breathing time in the midst of all When David was persecuted by Saul he was under temptation for as the Devil casts some men into prison so the Devil persecutes in wicked men yet David had his breathing time now and then Saul given into his hands as a pledge of that ful deliverance that David should have afterwards And this is no other than that which the Apostle speaks of in that same 1 of the Corinthians the 10. Chap. at the 13. verse Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape Make an Out-let so the word is He will make an Out-let Though the smoke be very offensive yet there shall alwaies be some window open for to let it out or some door open for a poor tempted soul to go out at stil an out-let some breathing time in the midst of these temptations Fiftly and lastly As the Lord Jesus Christ liveth for ever to make intercession for us So he doth it especially when his people are under temptation then he prayes for them and then especially I will not determine whether Christ now in Heaven does intercede Vocally or Really but when Satan lies hard upon a poor tempted soul and fetches blood from it then does the Lord Jesus step in unto his Father and present his wounds and his blood and saies unto his Father O Father I have prayed unto thee that this poor man or woman may not fail in the time of temptation Thus it was with Peter here I have prayed for thee and yet this was not the time of his full intercession when he was here on earth There are two parts of Christs Priestly Office Satisfaction and Intercession The proper place for him to make satisfaction for sin was here on earth and in Heaven the holy of holiest he does make intercession there he does do it fully but he could not for bear while he was here on earth but he saies unto Peter I have prayed for thee Though my great work in Heaven be to intercede and my special work here on earth be to satisfie yet notwithstanding I have prayed for thee already Peter And the Lord Jesus Christ was heard in all that he prayed for Now then if the Lord Christ doth intercede here on earth for his poor tempted servants and was heard here how much more when his Disciples are tempted does he intercede and pray for them in Heaven and is heard there Satan may come running in upon you with his temptation but when Satan runs in upon you with his temptation Christ runs into the presence of God the Father and spreads his blood and his satisfaction for you and there he saies unto the Father Father I have prayed that this man or womans faith may not fail Oh! what grace and mercy and love is here Thus in all these respects and many others that I might mention is the love of Christ and his mercy drawn out unto his people in the time of their temptation Well Quest 2 But how may it appear that Christs mercy is most at work when his people are most assaulted by Satan Christ deals by His Answ as God the Father did deal by Him Now ye shall find that Gods love was never more towards Christ than when Christ was under temptation When Christ came to die Satan was very busie it 's called The hour of darkness so busie was Satan with all his malice against him yet then was the Fathers love towards Christ then especially for saies Christ Therefore does the Father love me because I lay down my life If the Father did therefore love him because he laid down his life then his love was most at work towards Christ when this hour of darkness was And so I say when you hour of darknese is the hour of temptation Christs love is then most at work because he deals by His as the Father did deal by Him The truth is Christs dealing with his Disciples
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
Peter Object but my faith doth constantly fail Peter denied and his faith failed in the exercise as to one Act but my faith doth constantly fail in time of temptation I was heretofore more able to beleeve in the time of my temptation than now I am my faith is failed and it constantly fails and therefore I fear that the Lord Christ will not pray for me in the time of my temptation Well But if you be more able to relye upon meer free-grace Answ than ye have been heretofore then your faith is not less but increased rather If you be now more able to be contented with your condition than you were heretofore If you can let God and Christ alone to use his own means about you If you can leave the Events and successes of things more unto God than you could heretofore then your faith is not failed but rather increased Man or woman if that you are able now to take those hints of a word which you could not heretofore If your judgment be more setled in the Truth If you be more contented to suffer now for the Cause and the way of God than you were heretofore Then thy faith is not failed but thy faith is increased rather and so thou comest within the compasse of the Lord Christs prayer Oh! Object but yet will some say I have sinned greatly very much I have been a great sinner and therefore I fear that the Lord Jesus Christ will let me alone to wrestle with my temptations all alone and will not pray and intercede for me in the time and hour of my temptation Well Answ I must yet say again to you Hast thou sinned more than this Peter did when he denied his Lord and Master Yet Christ prayed for him and his prayer took and prevailed Have you sinned more than Jerusalem did Oh! Jerusalem thou that stonest the Prophets saies Christ when they put him to death And yet if you look into the 1. of the Acts you shall find that Christ after his Resurrection bids his Disciples for to stay and wait at Jerusalem and not stir from thence and preach the Gospel and mercy and free-grace in Jerusalem Hast thou man or woman that makest this objection sinned more than those that did put Christ to death that run him into his body with a spear that nailed him upon the crosse hast thou sinned more than these Ye know our Lord and Saviour when he was upon the crosse he prayed for them Oh! Father forgive them they know not what they do But Lord these are thine opposers these are persecutors and they persecute thee to death Well be it so saies Christ I know what I do and I know whom I pray for Father forgive them they know not what they do Oh! what grace and mercy and love is here Comfort yea Comfort unto all the Disciples of Jesus Christ when ye are in temptation the Lord Christ is at prayer for you And remember the Doctrine Never is his love and mercy more at work for ye than when Satan is most busie about ye to tempt ye most What comfort is here This was that in part that comforted the Martyrs in the Primitive times ye reade of very great comforts that the Martyrs had in the Primitive times those times next after Christ I have desired to consider what it was especially that bore up their hearts under all those persecutions And Turtullian pitches upon this as one thing We consider saies he the case of Peter Satan desired to winnow him Christ prayed for him Here were saies Turtullian two requests before God the Father One was the request of Satan and another was the request of Christ Now the Son having more credit with God the Father than Satan his request must needs prevail So saies he Satan hath desired for to tempt and to winnow us and persecute us but the Lord Jesus Christ hath requested for us There are two requests before God the Father There 's Satans request to winnow us and there 's the Sons request praying for us Now therefore seeing that the Son hath more credit with God the Father than Satan therefore are we assured that we shall be upheld and our faith shall not fail And so may you also This is matter of great comfort unto all the Saints You will say Indeed it is matter of great comfort Quest but is there no Duty that this Truth cals for at our hands Here is much comfort but what is that Duty that this Truth cals for Much every way If I be an Ungodly man Answ what a mighty incouragement is here for to get into Jesus Christ that I may be in the number of the true Disciples So long as a man is out of Christ not a true Disciple of Jesus Christ Satan may come and tempt and do what he wil with him and no Christ by to help Satan could not hurt or touch or tempt Job but he must ask leave But Satan went to the Sabeans and brought in them upon Jobs Estate and he did not ask leave for that they were in his power He ruleth in the children of disobedience Daniel was in the Lyons-den and they devouered him not their mouthes were stopt and they could not hurt him But when the Enemies were thrown into the Lyons they crack'd and crush'd their bones before they came to the ground If a godly man one that is a true Disciple of Jesus Christ if he be in a den with these Lyons Devils their mouths shall be stopt they shall not swallow him But oh for wicked men that are not in Christ these Lyons they crush their bones every day they crush their bones and a wicked man may say as Saul did The Philistims are upon me and God is departed from me So a wicked man that is not in Christ he may cry out and say Oh! temptations are upon me and Christ is departed from me I have none of Christ to help me as for the Saints and those that are true Disciples of Jesus Christ they have Christ at hand though they fall Christ is by for to help them up And Christ himself measures out all their temptations and Christ assists them and helps them but Oh! as for me I am all alone in my temptations I poor soul am all alone in my temptations Ah! who would be a Drunkard still who would be a Swearer still who would be an Unclean wanton still who would be a lyar and a Theevish servant still Let me tell ye that while ye go on in these sins you are out of Christ Poor soul a Swearer a Drunkard a common Lyar a Sabbath-breaker a Wanton out of Christ and thy temptations fall heavily upon thee the Lord knowes thou art all alone in the time of thy temptations Oh! but get into Jesus Christ get into Jesus Christ to be in the number of Christs true Disciples and when thou art tempted the Lord prayes for thee yea and the love and mercy of Christ
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
had leave And he could not winnow Job till he had leave he hath not power to tempt you further than your own Father gives him leave Again Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That nothing hath befallen you but what hath befallen the best of Gods Children the greatest Saints Men say somtimes Oh! never any ones condition like to mine never any affliction like to mine The most godly men have been most sorely tempted In the old Testament David a man after Gods own heart 't is said of him 1 Chron. 21.1 The Devil stood up and moved him to number the people What a report did God give of Job and you know his winnowing and his continuance In the new Testament Two famous Apostles Paul and Peter Peter Satan hath desired to winnow thee Paul a messenger Satan sent to buffet him And our Lord Jesus Christ himself In all things tempted Heb. 2.18 that he might succour those that are tempted Oh! beloved how gracious will Jesus Christ be to tempted ones that came from heaven on purpose to be gracious to them Further Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That you have alwaies one for to run unto to succour you to relieve you in your temptations a brasen serpent up against you be stung Paul therefore in that 7. of the Romans Having said O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death in the next words saies I thank God through Jesus Christ When Satan is tempting Christ is praying interceding Luke 22.31 Satan hath desired to winnow thee saies he but I have prayed You cannot pray Truely sometimes we pray most when we pray least for Christ prayes for us Again Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That ye have such an Estate that these theeves can never rob you of A Christian is a Traveller the Thief meets him and takes his money that he hath about him But he hath an Inheritance of Land at home the Theif cannot take away from him And Satan by his Temptations possibly may rob you of these Comforts that are about you But you have an Inheritance and Estate Christian in heaven that shall never be taken away that you shall never be robbed of I 'le conclude this Is it not matter of Praise and Thanksgiving That by this mud you shal be more cleansed Beloved this is Christs way he suffers men to be tempted that they may be freed from more temptations and he suffers this dirt to be cast upon them that they may be the more cleansed Simon Simon saies our Saviour Satan hath desired to winnow thee as wheat How so Satan goes up and down like a roaring Lyon seeking whom he may devour True that is his intent in his Temptations Satans intent in the temptation is not to winnow that is Christs intent Satans intent in the temptation is to devour but Jesus Christs intent in al those temptations are to winnow And who more konwing who more gracious who more humble who more thankful than those that have been most assaulted with a temptation Pray observe what is said in the 2 of the Corinths 12. Chapter 7. verse Saies Paul Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations there was given me a thorne in the flesh the messenger Satan so it may be read without of The messenger Satan to buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure again See how that goes before and follows it begins the verse and ends the verse Lest I should be exalted above measure at the beginning of the verse Lest I should be exalted above measure at the latter end of the verse As if now that these temptations were special preservations against spiritual pride 't is set down twice Least I should be exalted above measure again and again Spiritual pride indeed is very dangerous It was Mr Fox his speech As I get good by my sins so I get hurt by my graces in regard of that spiritual pride he was guilty of upon the receipt of them By Temptation God uses to keep men humble The Hebrew word for Lees the Lees of wine comes from the root that signifies to Keep because the wines are kept by the Lees. And so God is pleased to keep men humble by these Temptations in these Lees and in these dregs God keeps mens graces Temptations do you no hurt til ye yeeld to them The greater the Temptation and the more your flesh does tremble at it the greater the Affliction but the lesser the Sin Temptation is the souls Rape it may deflowre your soul offer violence to your soul it cannot take away your innocency Now it it not a great mercy to be kept innocent and chast unto Jesus Christ Austin hath a notable speech If ye praise God under good things ye are paid your debt if ye praise God under evil ye have made God your debter The truth is we can never pay our debt to God neither are we able to make God our debtor but God is pleased to call himself so when men praise him under Temptations and under Persecutions and under Desertions God is pleased to call himself our Debtor Surely therefore it is good for a Christian to blesse God and to praise God in every thing in all things to be thankful in Affliction in Persecution in Desertion under Temptation This is the will of God our Father that we should be thankful to him in every thing in every condition And if so Applic. then what great cause have we to be very Thankful to God in these times Had the Lord let in the Enemy upon you ye should have been Thankful Had ye been plundered of all your Estates ye must have been Thankful Had ye lien at the mercy of the mercilesse Enemy crying for quarter yet you must have been Thankful how much more now Had ye been emptied of all ye must have been Thankful Oh! shall we not be Thankful then unto God now that hath given us such Deliverance and such Victories as these You will say unto me Quest What special thing is there that we should be Thankful unto God for in these times Hath the Lord done such great things for England and art thou only a stranger in Israel Answ Did ever England hear of such a year as this last year hath been Can any Records tell us of such a year May I not say Stand out O all ye Ancient Records from your dust and tell us from the first day of Englands birth Did ever England see such a year as this hath been wherein the Power and Mercy and Free-grace of God hath rode in Triumph throughout the Kingdome Yet that I may not be wanting to you to your Question look I pray into the 107. Psalm the 1 and the 2. verses ye shall find it written O Give thanks unto the Lord for he is good for his mercy indures for ever Let the redeemed of the Lord say so
matter of Praise The more Errour does prevail the more mercy it is that you are kept And truely the only way or a special way to be kept from Errour is to be thankful for Truth As a way to be kept from sin is to be thankful for grace So a special way to be kept from Errour is to be thankful for Truth So then Notwithstanding all this yet you are to be thankful Thankful even in this condition though many Errours yet ye are to be thankful to be in all things thankful in every thing thankful Thankful when ye are straitened as well as when ye are most enlarged Thankful when ye are Deserted as well as when God shines upon you Thankful when ye are Afflicted as well as when ye are Delivered Thankful when ye have no Victories as well as when ye have Victories Some it may be now will Praise the Lord and be Thankful hearing of so many Victories and because there may be some hopes of Peace But beloved 't is our duty to be in every thing Thankful 'T is the will of God our Father that we should be Thankful in every thing Thankful in every condition Give me leave to propound some few Incouragments hereunto for it seems a hard thing to be Thankful in every thing in every condition If you can be thankful in every thing even when ye are low you will engage God for to raise you up If when you are weak you engage God for to make you strong If when you are Deserted you engage God to enlarge you to shine upon you It pleases God much you cannot please him more than to be Thankful in every thing even when ye are low For Example Suppose a man be convinc'd of sin troubled in Conscience hath no assurance of Gods love in Christ If he should die he does not know whether he should go to heaven or hell Yet notwithstanding saies he what ever become of me I bless the Lord that I am come hither I was going on in the most sad condition the Lord hath opened my eyes I see indeed nothing but the wrath of God due for my sins but yet blessed be the Lord that hath opened my eyes to see this I saies the Lord doest thou blesse me because I have opened thy eyes for to see thy sins I 'le open thine eyes for to see thy Saviour Doest thou blesse me because I have opened thy eyes to see thy own heart and the naughtiness thereof I 'le open thy eyes to see all my grace and I 'le cause all my grace to passe before thee This engages God when ye can be thankful for every thing and when ye are low it engages God much unto you Again Hereby your Afflictions shall be made blessings unto you You say How shal I know whether an Affliction be a blessing or no Take this note when thou canst blesse God under an Affliction then thy Affliction is made a blessing thy very blessing of God under an Affliction makes thy Affliction a blessing to thee Job greatly afflicted and he blest God and his Affliction was a blessing to him so shall it be with you Touch but thy Affliction with a Thankful heart it will turn it into gold Moreover The more you can be Thankful for any thing when ye are low the more peace shall your heart and your soul be fild with Some of you it may be want peace of Conscience and ye say Oh! that I had peace within whatever become of me Outwardly whatsoever the world do with me Oh! that I had peace within To this purpose consider the 4. to the Philippians saies the Apostle Be ye in nothing careful at the 6. verse but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus This is the way to get a great and a full peace Be in nothing careful be in all things Thankful then the peace of God shall guard you Besides Hereby ye shall shame the Devil your great adversary shall retreate from tempting of you as one ashamed and confounded Some there are that shame the Saints and are a shame to the waies of God the Gospel Some there are that shame the Devil The Devil said unto God concerning Job Do but touch him Job 1.11 12 21 and he will curse thee to thy face saies the Lord He is in thy hand only save his life and Satan touch't him what then The Lord giveth the Lord taketh away blessed be his Name The Devil said he would Curse God and he blesses God See how the Devil is sham'd and confounded here Some there are that make the Devils words good Touch him and he will curse thee to thy face and so do some do and thereby they are a shame indeed unto the people of God and the waies of God But when people can blesse God under Affliction if ye in every this be Thankful the Devil is confounded God is much honoured Wherefore beloved as ye desire that God may be much honoured by you the Devil confounded your own peace setled all your afflictions turned into blessings and the Lord engag'd to you to raise you up when ye are low learn out this lesson not only to be Thankful when ye are full but to be Thankful when ye are empty to be in every thing Thankful this is the will of God your Father How shall we do this Quest you will say how must that be done Some few things in answer to that and so I will wind up all First Answ 1 Observe your own temper and accommodate your selves put thy self upon that duty and that grace which thine own disposition lies next unto God hath given us this indulgence Jam. 5.13 Is any afflicted let him pray is any merry let him sing Psalms According to your disposition saies he that is the meaning So let your work be so let your grace be It may be thou canst not Pray by that time thou hast been at another duty that thy disposition lies more unto next unto thou wilt be fit to pray It may be thou canst not Sing by that time thou hast been at Prayer which thy disposition lies next unto thou wilt be fit to Sing Let us not be more cruel to our souls than God is he hath give us this indulgence observe your selves accommodate your selves and by this means you shall be able upon all occasions to blesse and praise the Lord. Again Be sure of this that you maintain your Assurance fresh and green It 's a hard thing for a man to be thankful in every thing that wants Assurance Come to him for to praise God for a great work but it may be saies he it came in Judgment to me I have no Assurance Strengthen your Assurance in these Three things and it will cause continual Thankfulnesse Thankfulnesse in every thing Assurance
of your Interest in Christ and Union with him Assurance that all comes from love Assurance that all things work together for your good and then if the Tempter come and saies Wilt thou praise the Lord dost thou not see how all thy acquaintance hath left thee and all thy friends left thee you will answer again I but all this is for my good and all this comes out of love and so what ever fals out you will be thankful in every thing Desire not Much he that desires much will expect much and he that expects much he won't be content with little much lesse Thankful for every thing Jacob was a plain-hearted man he desired little he was content with less he was Thankful for every thing So must you be And if you do desire much let your eye be as much upon what ye have as upon what ye want The Covetous rich man having a desire to have more is not Thankful for what he hath if you come to borrow money of him saies he I have need to borrow of you I am a very beggar I have nothing His eye is so much upon what he would have he forgets what he hath So many times it fals out spiritually let your eye therefore be as well upon what you have as upon what you want Lastly Be sure of this that you maintain the sense of your own unworthiness No man more Thankful than David no man more sensible of his unworthiness than David Continually thankful Continually sensible of his unworthines There is a Two-fold unworthines Creature-unworthiness and Sinful-unworthiness Accordingly a Two-fold sence of unworthiness One that arises from the apprehension of creature-unworthines of the emptines that is in us as Creatures And another that arises from sense of guilt of sin See them both in the 8. Psalm The Psalmist there praises the Lord O Lord our God verse the 1. how excellent is thy Name in all the Earth when I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers what is man that thou art mindful of him and the Son of man that thou visitest him He praises the Lord this Thankfulness was raised from the sense of unworthiness it was Creature-unworthiness Lord what is man O Lord our God how excellent is thy Name in all the earth Lord what is man Look into the 116. Psalm and there ye find the Psalmist praising God upon the sence of unworthiness too Gracious is the Lord and righteous yea our God is merciful verse the 12. What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me here 's his Thankfulness it was raised upon sence of unworthiness But what unworthiness Sinful unworthiness verse the 11. I said in my hast all men are lyars what shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me He was sensible of his own unworthiness and it was a sinful unworthiness I said in my hast all men are lyars yet God is gracious to me What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits So now it will be with you if ye can but keep the sense of your own unworthiness you wil say I was a wretched and a great sinner and though I have but little in the world yet any thing is too much for one that was such a great sinner as I was you will be Thankful for every thing in every thing Thankful maintain but this Beloved ye see how in all these troubles of these times God hath given us our lives for a prey As the Lord said concerning Job Only spare his life Job 2.6 So hath the Lord said concerning us spare their lives God did not deal so by our Saviour Christ when our Saviour Christ came into the world he met with hard dealing from wicked men and his life went for it he did not say Only spare his life his life went for it You have more in this respect than our dear Saviour had you have your lives given you for a prey in these evil times our Saviour had not Shall we not then be Thankfull in every thing having more than our Saviour had in this respect shall we not be Thankful for any thing for any thing that God gives us shall we not now be Thankful How many are there that walke directly contrary unto this Truth that I have spread before you In every thing Thankful and they in nothing Thankful in nothing contented Husband godly Children hopeful Estate comfortable and yet never contented Servants cannot please Children cannot please friends cannot please never contented Oh! is this a duty to be in every thing Thankful how do they lie in a sin and the breach of this commandement that are in nothing contented never pleased Beloved I don't now come to call for contentment and patience and quietness under Affliction but for Thankfulness and not for thankfulness only when all goes well with you but for Thankfulness in every thing Oh! therefore let us return unto our own souls consider how it hath been with us If there be ever a discontented man or woman reade this Sermon consider this Scripture The Lord saies be in every thing Thankful and thou hast been in nothing Thankful in nothing contented in thy condition Oh! how will you answer it at the great day Let me leave this Exhortation with you in your bosoms the Lord knows into what condition we may come whether into Affliction or Persecution or Desertion or of Temptation Remember here lies your duty before you lay it up in your hearts 'T is the will of God even our Father that we should be Thankful to him in every thing not in some things not when things go well only when we have Victory but in all things Thankful In every thing give Thanks unto God for this is the will of God our Father concerning you FINIS THE TABLE Of the First VOLVMNE A Absolution ABsolution of sin how obtained by Christ Page 90 Ability Difference between ability of sufficiency and ability of Idoniety Page 119 Acceptance see Duties Affliction Affliction and temptation used promiscuously in the New Testament Page 103 See Temptation Agreement There was an Agreement made between God and Christ before the world was made Page 57 Anointed Christ is anointed to be our High-priest Page 45 Antichrist Antichrist labours to derogate most from the priestly office of Christ Page 5 Argument The greatest argument to make us walk closely with God in Christ Page 50 Attributes Those Attributes of Christ which are most beneficial to the Saints are most opposed by the world Page 4 The same Attributes are given to the Devil for evil that are given to God for good Page 244 Avoid see Temptations B Bless What Christ doth when he blesseth men Page 80 Christ blesseth as God blesseth Page 82 Christs willingness to blesse men Page 83 How Christ blesseth ibid Christ doth not blesse as man blesseth Page 84 Whom Christ blesseth Page 86 Blessing What will make a man to be alwaies blessing