for it Besides all this Misery that is inflicted upon the poor Body in this Life if it be not brought within the compass of a share in the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ at the morning of the Resurrection it must be reunited to the Soul and sentenc'd to share with the Soul in eternal Misery having been a sharer with it in a course of Sin in this Life Thirdly I shall shew the Misery that Adam brought upon all his Offspring by the Fall Adam stood not before God as a single Person but as one that had all his Offspring in him They being all in him and to proceed from him by Generation became sharers with him in that state which he fell into Gen. 5.3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years and begat a Son in his own Likeness after his Image and called his Name Seth born to the same Misery that his Father Adam was in and a sharer with him in it Adam received Light from the eternal Creator and a holy rectitude of Soul and was under no necessity of giving way to a Temptation there being nothing in him while in his state of Innocency to fasten a Temptation upon so that his Fall was a voluntary going off from God He receiving those excellent Endowments of Soul and Body as a publick Person by his Transgression Judgment came upon all Men to Condemnation Rom. 5.14 Nevertheless Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam 's Transgression For from Adam to Moses we do not read that after the Fall God ever treated with Adam or with his Offspring by an outward trial upon the terms of Do and live Besides Death then reigned and doth still reign over little Children whose Infant-state makes them uncapable of being put to the trial of their Obedience How doth daily Experience shew us that poor Infants are many times arrested as soon as gotten into the World by grievous Distempers as the Convulsions and such like which keep them in grievous Misery for several days together before the Soul be separated from the Body which is a sufficient Testimony that they have another's Sin imputed to them by which their very Nature is defiled upon which defiled Nature Death feeds until it hath brought it to Dissolution as to their Bodies but their Souls I desire to leave to that rich and free Grace which flows to Sinners through a second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ and to the Spirit 's applying of it to them without any outward means Having gone through this third Chapter which contains the misery of the first Adam and his Offspring before thou leavest it make some Application of it to thy own Soul Look back my Soul and see what thou wast in an unconverted state thou spentst twelve Years in gross darkness without the least knowledg of that God from whence thou receivedst thy being thou wast wholly given up to the ways of Sin without the least consideration what bitter Fruit it did produce that the way of it led to the Chambers of Death and the Pit of eternal Misery How many times wast thou while in this state nigh the Dissolution of thy Body the Grave both to thy self and others seeming to open its Mouth to receive thee What could have been thy state in eternity if thou hadst been then removed Dos not the holy Scripture fully declare that those who spend their days in Sin and in Satan's slavery shall he eternally miserable with him O my Soul tho thou couldst not pity thy self because of that gross darkness that was upon thee yet that God that gave thee thy being pitied thee and extended sparing Mercy to thee It is he that hath delivered thy Soul from Death thine Eyes from Tears and thy Feet from falling Thou now groanest in an unredeemed Body but thou viewst by Faith a redeem'd one Doth the Creation groan by reason of that weight of Sin that is upon it Thy Lord Jesus's Return draws very nigh his Coming will bring with it a removal of the Curse and times of Refreshing shall come with him he will renew the Earth and in it shall dwell nothing but Righteousness CHAP. IV. Of the Image of God that was upon the Heart of the first Adam how it discovers it self in the Hearts or Souls of his fallen Children The nature of the leadings of that first Covenant-light and the Condition of those that stand under the highest Attainment of it THat Adam was a publick Person and that the great Creator enter'd into Covenant with him upon the terms of Obey and live hath been proved in the foregoing Chapter and shall by the help of the Spirit of God be more fully demonstrated in this That all his Offspring as descending from him by Generation are under the same Covenant have some remaining Impressions of the same Law upon their Souls and Light from the Creator answering the terms of that first Covenant I shall First clear up from Scripture Secondly from the Sayings of many famous Gentiles Thirdly from common Experience of all Persons that do take notice of the dealings of God with their Souls And First to prove it from Scripture Deut. 30.11 12 13 14 15. For this Commandment which I command thee this day it is not hidden from thee neither is it far off it is not in Heaven that thou shouldst say Who shall go up for us to Heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it Neither is it beyond the Sea that thou shouldst say Who shall go over the Sea for us and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it But the Word is very nigh unto thee in thy Mouth and in thy Heart that thou mayest do it I have set before thee this day Life and Good and Death and Evil. Compared with Rom. 2.14 15. For when the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law that is in the outward letter are a Law unto themselves Which shew the work of the Law written in their Hearts their Conscience also bearing witness and their Thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another From which Scriptures it is evident that the Law delivered at Sinai and written in Tables of Stone was but a Copy of this inward Law which was ingraven in the Soul of Adam and on the Souls of all his Offspring It doth further appear that Adam's Offspring as they descend from him are under the same Covenant with himself from their dealing with God and his with them according to the terms of that first Covenant Gen. 4.5 6 7. But unto Cain and his Offering he had not respect and Cain was very wroth and his Countenance fell and the Lord said unto Cain Why art thou wroth and why is thy Conntenance fallen If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest not well Sin lieth at the
of Election and answers the Designs of it doth further appear from Rev. 13.8 And all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him whose Names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the World Here are some by eternal Decree secured from falling into Idolatrous Worship here is the Death of the Lord Jesus Christ taken in by the Decree as the means appointed by the Decree to secure them from falling To sum up this Chapter If the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ be comprehended in the Decree of Election as the means appointed to answer that part of the design of the Decree which was the satisfying the Conditions of the Covenant of Works that so the Elect might be delivered from the Penalty of it it will appear to any unprejudiced Christian that the Covenant of Grace and Redemption are but one Covenant CHAP. III. Of the Mediatorship of the Lord Jesus Christ in two parts First In procuring and sending of the Spirit to fit for the publishing of the way of Salvation Secondly For the Spirits accompanying the outward Declaration by opening the Heart and so leading into the way and keeping the Saints in it subservient to the Decree of Election and answering the Designs of it IF we consider the state of the Elect as they come into the World which by reason of the natural Pollution that doth attend them doth make them wholly unfit for Communion with God it is necessary that they should have one to be their Head who doth partake both of the Nature of God and of the Nature of Man as the Person that was to stand betwixt them and God He must be Man of kin to the Nature offending that he might satisfy the Justice of God for the Righteousness of God did require that the same Nature which had committed Sin should undergo the Penalty due to Sin And he must be God that so his Justice Goodness and Righteousness being every way infinite and eternal might make the Sufferings of that Nature to which it was united of no less force than eternal Torment in others to the satisfying of Justice for whom he suffered And altho the eternal Word did not actually take our Nature on him that he might discharge the Elect from the Penalty of the first Covenant until his appearance in the state of his Humiliation yet he stood as the Head of the Covenant and through his Undertaking Mercies were conveyd to the Elect and Judgments prevented from falling upon them We have several Instances in the Old Testament upon special occasions of his appearing in Man's Nature and that as Mediator upon the account of the Elect Gen. 18.1 2 3. And the Lord appeared unto him in the Plain of Mamre and he sat in the tent-door in the heat of the day And he lift up his Eyes and looked and lo three Men stood by him and when he saw them he ran to meet them from the tent-door and bowed himself toward the ground and said My Lord if now I have found favour in thy sight pass not away I pray thee from thy Servant That one of these three was the eternal Word in Man's Nature appears ver 20 21. And the Lord said Because the Cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great and because their Sin is very grievous I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the Cry of it which is come unto me and if not I will know That his Eye was upon the Elect in Sodom doth appear ver 32. And he that is Abraham said O let not the Lord be angry and I will speak yet but this once Peradventure ten shall be found there that are righteous And he said I will not destroy it for tens sake Compared with Chap. 19. and the former part of the 22d Verse Haste thee escape thither for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither The Son of God who is the Head of the Elect hath searched after the number of the Righteous in this place and hath found them in it who belong unto him they must be removed before the wicked can be destroy'd A second Scripture for the confirming of what I am treating of is Gen. 32.24 And Jacob was left alone and there wrestled a Man with him until the breaking of the day That this Man is the eternal Word in Mans Nature will appear ver 28. And he said Thy Name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel for as a Prince hast thou Power with God and with Men and hast prevailed The Son of God sympathizes with his poor afrighted Member who was in danger to be destroy'd by his cruel Brother Esau Hosea 12.4 Yea he Jacob had power over the Angel of the Covenant and prevailed he wept and made Supplication Having opened the way into this Chapter by the foregoing Introduction I come now to clear up the Matter containd in it and I shall confine my self to the times of the New Testament which affords us the greatest Light in these Truths And first I shall shew that the sending of the Spirit to fit for the publishing of the way of Salvation dependeth on his Intercession as Mediator betwixt the Father and the Elect and that the Spirit 's accompanying the outward Declaration and opening the Heart to receive the Truths held forth in the Gospel Declaration dependeth likewise upon him Secondly That the keeping of the Saints in a way of Salvation dependeth likewise upon him And under this Head I shall endeavour to shew the nature of that Work which the holy Spirit carries on in the Hearts of the Saints Thirdly and lastly I shall shew how it is all subservient to the Decree of Election and answers the Designs of it And first I shall shew that the sending of the Spirit for the publishing of the way of Salvation dependeth upon the Intercession of the Lord Jesus I shall divide this Head into two parts and first treat of the extraordinary Qualification wherewith the first Publishers of the Gospel were indued Secondly the ordinary Qualification without which a Person can have no real Satisfaction to his own Soul that he is call'd of God to that great Work and Service And first I shall treat of that extraordinary Qualification wherewith the first Publishers of the Gospel were endued The Lord Jesus Christ after he was risen from the dead bids his Disciples stay for the Qualification wherewith they should be fitted for the dispensing of the Gospel in these words Luke 24.49 And behold I send the Promise of my Father upon you but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem until ye be endued with Power from on high Compared with Acts 2.1 2 3 4. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come they that is the Disciples were all with one accord in one place And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind and it filled all the House where they were
manifest it self it leads the Administrator unto a chearful administring the Ordinance to such Persons And he Peter commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord. Those that do lay aside the Supper-Ordinance do say that Christ is come and therefore the Supper-Ordinance is of no longer continuance But if such Persons would seriously consider what the coming of Christ is which they speak of they would do well for if by coming inwardly into the Soul and the Holy Ghost's manifesting him in the Soul by the Glass of the Gospel be meant this is the Qualification to come to the Ordinance and so he is come to every sincere Christian 1 Pet. 1.8 Whom having not seen ye love in whom tho now ye see him not yet believing ye rejoice with Joy unspeakable and full of Glory Compared with Ephes 3.17 That Christ may dwell in your Hearts by Faith This dwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ by Faith is the inward discerning of him in his Sufferings which being wholly wanting in those that do partake of the outward part of the Ordinance they eat and drink Damnation to themselves not discerning the Lord's Body But if by being come they intend such a coming as to exclude the Expectation of the second Personal Appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ Whom the Apostle tells us Acts 3.21 the Heaven must receive until the Restitution of all things then they destroy one of the Articles of the Christian Faith The Saints in this day do in a measure witness with the Apostles the inward Enjoyment of him by Faith and by the same Faith that they liv'd in do expect the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ The Apostle John speaks fully to this in 1 Joh. 3.2 Beloved now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is They could not be brought into the state of Children without the inward Enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ by Faith for this is the Evidence of Sonship and it doth not yet appear what we shall be in Eternity we do but as in a Glass behold the Glory that the Children shall there be made partakers of but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is Not alone we know that he is ours but we know that he will hold and keep us till we enjoy eternal Glory with our Head the Lord Jesus Christ at his second personal Appearance then shall our vile Bodies be changed like his glorious Body and we be ever with the Lord. The next thing to be treated of is that the way of administring the Ordinances be kept to according to the Rule of the Word and that is as to the Ordinance of Baptism a burial of the Body in Water in the Name of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Buried with him by Baptism into Death Leigh in his Note upon the words of Rom. 6.4 The Apostle saith he alludes to the manner in which Baptism was then administred which was to plunge the Baptized in the Water after which they put on new Garments whence those manners of speaking used in Scripture to put on Christ to put off the old Man and put on the new Mr. Perkins agrees with Leigh as to the manner of Administration of the Ordinance of Baptism in the Primitive Church and tells us that it was altered from plunging of the Body under Water to sprinkling in the Face by reason of the Coldness of this Northern Climate but from whence the Power is derived to make any alteration in the Ordinance from its Primitive Institution this that holy Man shews not as if the Elements were not subject to the Power of God and he were not sufficient to preserve his Children in their Obedience to him in his own Appointments Secondly The way of administring the Supper-Ordinance we have set down by the Lord Jesus who was the first Administrator Mat. 26.26 27 28. And as they were eating that is the Passover Jesus took Bread and blessed it and brake it and gave it to his Disciples and said Take eat this is my Body The Bread put for the thing signified by it which was the Body of Christ Ver. 27. And he took the Cup and gave Thanks and gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it Ver. 28. For this is my Blood that is a Sacrament or figure of his Blood poured forth of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of Sins This leads me to the next thing What the Ordinances do hold forth when administred according to the Rule of the Word I shall first treat of the Ordinance of Baptism which consists of two parts the one outward the other inward the outward part I have spoken to already which is a Burial of the Body in Water the inward part figured out by the outward is the Burial and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 6.4 5. Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into Death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the Glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of Life For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his Death we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection As the outward Declaration of the Gospel is the instrumental Means in the hand of the Holy Ghost to convey that which is held forth by it which is the Lord Jesus Christ unto the Soul so is the Ordinance of Baptism the Means appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ and made use of by the Spirit to convey that which is held forth by it The outward of it self conveys nothing it is only made use of by the holy Spirit to set before the Soul what is figured out by it The Burial of the Body holds forth the Burial of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Benefits which we receive by it which is a discharge from the Penalty of Sin and our rising out of the Water his Resurrection and the Benefits which we receive by it which is to walk with God in newness of Life by Power received from the Father through the Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ The holy Spirit accompanying the Ordinance doth let the Soul see what Christ hath gone through to free it from Hell and to procure for it the Enjoyment of Heaven which inward sight by Faith knits the Soul to the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ The Apostle calls it a being planted into the likeness of his Death and into the likeness of his Resurrection The Believer is let into Christ so as to draw that spiritual Life by which he lives unto God from the Lord Jesus Christ he not only lives in the Enjoyment of the Father but doth likewise convey of that spiritual Life unto all his Members in a measure For
implied that his Obedience should continue Life to him But stop my Soul and take a view of what thou hast been treating in this Chapter Was Adam so happy in having his Soul created in the Image of God Did his Understanding consist in true Wisdom Was his Memory sanctified with the remembring or meditating upon divine things Was the Will at liberty of chusing or refusing Were the Affections taken up with the desire of enjoying Communion with the Creator Was the Conscience upright in walking with God Consider my Soul that the Children of the second Adam who are gotten to the Souls of just Men made perfect in Glory have this Image fully restored to them again and in many respects are in a better condition than the first Adam enjoy'd in Innocency for his State was brought to the trial whether he could be able to stand before a Temptation or not their Condition is eternally fixt and never more subject to trial by any Temptation O my Soul art thou interested by Faith in this second Adam Dost thou witness a recovery of the same Excellency of the Image of God upon thee in a good measure which the first Adam enjoy'd in his Innocency by the powerful workings of the Spirit of God upon thee Then wilt thou behold more and more of the Beauty of it the more thou experiencest of the recovery of this holy Image in thee the stronger will be thy Cries after a full recovery of it the more thou seest of inward Corruption by which this blessed Image is defac'd the stronger will be thy Cries unto God against this Corruption and that thou mayst be brought to that blessed place where the Souls of the Children of the second Adam are made perfect CHAP. III. Of the Fall of Adam The miserable change of his Condition by the Fall and how all his Offspring were included in it THE great and glorious Creator that he might shew forth his Soveraignty over that curious Creature Man whom he had created in his own Image and that he might shew unto Man that he did require a perfect Obedience from him was pleased to try his Obedience by prohibiting of him to eat of the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die This Tree was to be as a warning to them of their Mutability for altho the state wherein they were created was a most glorious state nevertheless it was such a state as was liable to be lost the Creature enjoying of it upon the terms of a perfect Obedience not that the Tree could give Knowledg but by tasting of if the terms upon which Adam and Eve stood in the favour of God were broken on Man's part and so they came to have the experimental knowledg of Evil in themselves which before they had of Good only But altho God had no hand at all in Satan's Temptation or in Adam and Eve's Sin yet we may safely own God to be concerned in the Fall of Adam and Eve to far as to give them up into the hands of the Tempter and giving the Tempter power over them to try them whether they would willingly go from their Obedience to God or no he having afore by his eternal Decree determined to magnify his Power Justice and Mercy For being able to bring Good out Evil as Light out of Darkness he ordereth in his Wisdom the Fall of Man to the setting out of the Glory of his Mercy in those that shall be saved in Christ and of his Justice on those that shall perish for their Sins out of Christ Satan being fallen from a glorious Angel through his Pride into the depths of Ruin was fill'd with Melice against God and with Envy at the happy state of Adam and Eve and endeavours to bring them into the like Misery with himself and so is rightly call'd a Murderer from the beginning Joh. 8.44 He was a Murderer from the beginning and abode not in the Truth because there is no Truth in him When he speaketh a Lie he speaketh of his own for he is a Liar and the Father of it He gains upon Eve by first questioning her concerning what God had commanded Gen. 3.1 Yea hath God said Ye shall not eat of Every Tree of the Garden And finding by her Answer that he gain'd upon her she not answering to his Question as God had spoken that surely they should die but by a term of doubting lest ye die he proceeds in his Temptation to a flat denial of the truth of the Threatning Gen. 3.4 5. And the Serpent said unto the Woman Ye shall not surely die For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof your Eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as Gods knowing good and evil Hereby endeavouring to beget in Eve's Mind hard thoughts of God as if his prohibiting them to eat of that Tree was to keep a future good from them and begetting Pride in her Mind in not being satisfied with that happy state and condition that she was then in Thus through Unbelief in God and Pride to be like unto God did Sin enter into Eve and through Eve's Prevalency with her Husband Sin enter'd into him Thus we may see the nature of Sinners is to draw others to the same Condemnation they are in as Satan Eve and Eve her Husband even those who are nearest them whose good they should procure Having cleared up how Adam and Eve were brought into their fallen State I proceed to shew the miserable state that they were fallen into and how their Offspring were included in it and I shall treat of it under these three Heads I shall first shew the miserable change that was brought upon their Souls Secondly The miserable change that was brought upon their Bodies And Thirdly The miserable state they brought upon all their Posterity The Sentence threaten'd against Adam and Eve for their Disobedience in eating the forbidden Fruit did not reach to a Dissolution of the Soul as to its being for the Soul remains immortal after Sin enter'd as it was before but the Sentence reached to a Dissolution of that Union that was betwixt the great Creator and the Soul the Soul by Sin being changed from that happy state in which it was created into a state of Misery the Faculties of the Soul being put out of that Rectitude and Order in which at first they were placed The Understanding wherein consisted true Wisdom and the knowledg of heavenly things is now become blind and dark ignorant of God and of his Will 1 Cor. 2.14 But the natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned compared with Ephes 4.17 18 19. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their Minds having the Vnderstanding darkened being alienated from the Life of
God through the Ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their Hearts who being past feeling have given themselves over unto Lasciviousness to work all Vncleanness with greediness The Understanding is so far from being taken up with the Knowledg of God his Mind and Will that it labours more and more after the knowledg of the ways of Sin and so becomes more and more estranged from God wise to do evil but to do good without Understanding The Memory wherein lay a holy remembrance of heavenly things is now become dull and forgetful and easily lets go those things which we are in the chiefest place concerned to remember we can remember readily the things which concern this Life the Vanities and Follies of the ways of Sin What deep Impression do these things make upon the Memory of poor Creatures But things which lead to the enjoyment of God and the everlasting Welfare of the immortal Soul how slippery and weak is the Memory become to retain these The Will wherein lay the liberty of choosing or refusing and before Sin enter'd will'd always that which was good is now become impotent and weak in its joining with Good how is it inslaved by Sin and in the Chains of Satan Rom. 6.20 For when you were the Servants of Sin ye were free from Righteousness Holiness without which God cannot be enjoy'd the poor unconverted Sinner hath no Will in him to lay hold of but on the contrary lusteth after that which is evil Gen. 6.6 And God saw that the Wickedness of Man was great in the Earth and that every Imagination of his Heart was evil continually compared with Job 15.16 How much more abominable is Man who drinketh Iniquity like Water Yea what an Enmity is seated in the Will of unconverted Sinners against the ways of Holiness How do their very Hearts rise against it Rom. 8.7 Because the carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can be The Affections of the Soul wherein lay the strength of the desire after God are subjected to Sin How are they set upon unmeet Objects inclined to things they should not be and not to those they should Thus we naturally hate good and love evil 1 Kings 22.8 And the King of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat There is yet one Man Micaiah the Son of Imlah by whom we may inquire of the Lord but I hate him for he doth not prophesy good concerning me but evil Our Affections are naturally raised to meet Sin and the Temptations that lead into it and do even embrace the Temptation but are not stirred up to that which is Good unless it be to eschew and shun it Besides when the Affections do move how disorderly is their Motion when merry too merry when sad too sad The Conscience wherein lay Man's Integrity or walking with God and wherein were the Impressions of the Divine Law which contained in it our Duty to God and to one another how is it disordered by Sin the Acts of Sin taking away the inward sense and feeling of the evil of it And with what weakness doth that first Covenant-Light which leads the Soul to seek after God as Creator move in the Soul How are its Reproofs hardly taken notice of by most Persons and that by reason of that great Darkness that is fallen upon the Soul of Man Thus we may see that Sin as a Leprosy hath over-run all the Faculties and is become as a Body in the Soul consisting of many Members Rom. 7.23 24. But I see another Law in my Members warring against the Law of my Mind and bringing me into Captivity to the Law of Sin which is in my Members O wretched Man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this Death Tho all Sin doth not appear alike in all some by Nature are more mild and courteous than others the reason of which difference is not that there are not the same seeds of Corruption in all but that the Lord keepeth down those Sins in some which he suffereth to rise up in others The Children of God that are by the Inlightnings of the holy Spirit come to see into the Corruptions of their Hearts how do they see the seeds of Sin lying in their Souls even of such Sins which they thought had not been in them The Heart or Soul doth then appear to be desperately wicked who but God himself can have the full knowledg of it For the Children of God in their searches after Heart-corruptions cannot come to find the bottom of them so far is the Soul of Man fallen from God by Sin that it is afraid to come nigh unto God it flies farther and farther from God until it gets into the Pit of eternal Misery How dark was Adam become by Sin as to think the Trees of the Garden could hide him from the Eye of the great Creator And that God might aggravate and heighten his Sin he speaks ironically by way of taunt The Man is become like one of us He is come to know Evil by woful experience he is fill'd with inward Horror and with outward Shame Secondly I shall shew the miserable state that Adam was brought into by the Fall as to his Body for no sooner was he fallen but the Sentence was inflicted on him That in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Altho the Sentence was not so far put in execution against him as to separate the Soul from the Body yet his bodily state was so far changed as to bring it under those Evils that lead to a Dissolution He was driven out of that pleasant Garden of Delight in which God at first placed him into the Earth to get his Living in it amongst the Beasts of the field and whereas in his innocent state he had a furnished Table provided without labor or toil God himself having by his own Power provided things necessary for his bodily Subsistence now he must till the Earth with labour and toil which was put under the Curse of Barrenness for Man's sake until the poor Body wearied out returneth to the Earth by a painful Death from whence it was taken Dust thou art and to Dust thou shalt return The Beasts of the Field who gave a willing Subjection to him as their Soveraign were now so far estranged from him as to rebel against him and ready to put in execution the Sentence of a bodily Death the Air in which he breathed was changed for his sake and infected the poor Body with many sorts of Distempers Sores Sicknesses and Diseases of all sorts Sin being the cause of all this Misery Mat. 9.2 And behold they brought to him a Man sick of the Palsie lying on a Bed and Jesus seeing their Faith said unto the sick of the Palsie Son be of good cheer thy Sins be forgiven thee Thus by taking away the Sin he takes away that which was inflicted upon the poor Body
come to partake of them the Promises run to him and fix in him as in an immoveable Rock that can never be shaken 2dly He is the Head of the Elect and the way through which electing Love doth pass to every elect Person because they are given to him as a Seed Psal 89.27 28 29. Also I will make him my first-born higher than the Kings of the Earth My Mercy will I keep for him for evermore my Covenant shall stand fast with him His Seed will I make to endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven Compared with Heb. 2.13 And again I will put my Trust in him And again I and the Children which God hath given me As the first Adam conveys natural Defilement to all his Seed and that which causeth the loss of Communion with God so the Lord Jesus Christ that conveys to all the elect Seed which removes that which hinders Communion and restores Communion to them John 6.57 As the living Father sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me Here is three Livers here is 1. The Life of the Godhead 2. Here is the Man Christ living upon the Godhead 3. Here is the Believer living upon the Lord Jesus Christ as God-man in one Person the Divine Nature putting Life into the Manhood and conveying of that Life to the Elect. Gal 3.16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the Promises made He saith not To Seeds as of many but as of one And to thy Seed which is Christ Is Christ mystical here meant saith Leigh then the Elect are comprehended in him To Abraham and his Seed were the Promises made to Abraham in Christ and not to Christ in Abraham saith Kendal against John Goodwin 3dly It doth appear that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Elect and the way through which electing Love doth pass to every elect Person from the Experience of the Saints from Abel to this very day The Elect that were in the World before his appearance in the state of his Humiliation did all by Faith look at him and through him were brought to the enjoyment of God and upon him lay their hope of persevering with God Heb. 12.1 2. Wherefore seeing we are compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the Sin that doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the Race that is set before us looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our Faith This Cloud of Witnesses that look'd unto Jesus were the Saints from Abel's time in the 11th Chapter The Saints that have been and are in the World in the times of the New Testament through Jesus do go to God through Jesus do enjoy Communion with God 2 Cor. 4.6 For God who commanded Light to shine out of Darkness hath shined into our Hearts to give the Light of the Knowledg of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ To sum up this Chapter Was the Lord Jesus Christ comprehended in the Womb of the Decree of Election Was the Union of the two Natures in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ comprehended in the Decree as the Head of the Elect and by the Decree appointed to be the Conveyer of Grace to every elect Person Then whatever was acted and done by him was subservient to the Decree and proves the Covenant of Grace and Redemption to be but one Covenant Joh. 4.34 Jesus saith unto them My Meat is to do the Will of him that sent me and to finish his work CHAP. II. Of the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ in two parts First Perfect Obedience to the Law Secondly Satisfaction to the Penalty of it for the Elect subservient to the Decree of Election and leading to answer the great Designs of it THE great God that he might make good that threatning against Satan That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents Head doth by the incomprehensible Power of the Holy Ghost first sanctify that Matter of which the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ was made and then without the help of Man's Seed did create or form it into the shape of Man to which a living Soul was given that so he might appear to be like his Brethren the Elect. To this second Man so wonderfully made was the eternal Word the second Person in the Godhead united in the Womb of the Virgin Mary and brought forth into the World our Emanuel the Mighty God the everlasting Father the wonderful Counsellor the Prince of Peace His Divine Nature being the express Image of his Father's Substance and in respect of it it was no Robbery in him to be the Father's equal and one with the Father That he might be one with the Elect he is wonderfully united to their Nature in the Womb of the Virgin and that he might figure out the Misery that all the Elect were in by Generation he is born in a Stable and laid in a Manger typifying out that by reason of their natural Pollution they were like their first Father Adam who was driven from the Presence of God amongst the Beasts He is put under the first Covenant that he might fulfil the Righteousness of it Gal. 4.4 5. Made under the Law to redeem them that were under the Law that we might receive the Adoption of Sons And he is not only put under the first Covenant to give it a perfect Obedience that in that Obedience of his the Elect might appear before God but he is likewise put under the first Covenant to give Satisfaction to the Wrong done to it by the Elect as they successively come into the World Gal. 3.13 Christ hath redeemed us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us as it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a Tree Compared with Heb. 2.14 Forasmuch then as the Children are partakers of Flesh and Blood he the eternal Word also himself likewise took part of the same that through Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death that is the Devil Those that stood in the Decree of Election as Children coming into the World in such a way by Generation as brought them under the defilements of Sin and so under the Penalty of the first Covenant the eternal Word takes hold of their Nature and by sanctifying of it in Death perfuming the Sacrifice by his Divine Nature the Penalty of the first Covenant is removed and a Pardon laid in for the Children as they shall successively come into the World and have it applied to their Souls by the Spirit They being interested in this Satisfaction the Penalties of the first Covenant are removed and the executive Power of it taken out of the hands of Satan Having now by way of Introduction opened the door into the Work of Redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ I come in the next place to consider this Soul-amazing
Work under these three Heads First In his perfect Righteousness by which he answered the Requirings of the first Covenant Secondly In his giving up himself voluntarily to Death to answer the Justice of God for the Elect. Thirdly How it was subservient to the Decree of Election and answers the Design of it And first I shall consider this perfect Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and that I may the more clearly behold it I shall consider him with the Apostle as a second Adam and as a second Adam brought to the trial of his Obedience given up into the hands of Satan to be sifted and tried whether he would yield to the Tempter or no Mat. 4. from ver 1 to 11. From v. 1 to 3. we have the preparatory Work that went before the Temptation And here we may view the great difference that is betwixt the Persons of the two Adams the first Adam assisted with all the outward Advantages that were possible to be afforded him that he might withstand the Temptation the other put under all the outward Disadvantages that might tend to make him yield to it Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted of the Devil And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights he was afterwards an hungred The first Adam was under no necessity of feeling that grievous Misery that Hunger brings upon Nature having always a furnished Table before him the Temptation was in a place where there was no moving Cause to draw the Creature from his Obedience to God but his Disobedience was a voluntary Act. But the second Adam in his Human Nature to prepare for the Temptation was brought to feel the bitter Pain of Hunger Nature having wanted Supplies of Food for forty days and forty nights together and besides the Temptation is brought in a place even in a Wilderness destitute of all outward Support The next step is to consider the Progress of the Temptation it self in its three several Assaults First From ver 3 to v. 5. Secondly From ver 5 to v. 8. Thirdly From ver 8 to v. 12. And first As to the first Assault from ver 3 to v. 5. And when the Tempter came unto him he said If thou be the Son of God command that these Stones be made Bread But he answered and said Man shall not live by Bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the Mouth of God Let us compare this Temptation with the Temptation brought against the first Adam and consider the difference that is betwixt the Matter contain'd in the Temptations In the Temptation that was brought against Eve and handed by her to her Husband there is a Discontentedness with the Bounty already bestowed and a seeking by indirect means to attain to a greater pitch of Glory wrapt up in the Temptation Ye shall be as Gods knowing Good and Evil. In the Temptation brought against the second Adam the Lord Jesus Christ the Matter contain'd in the Temptation is more closely laid together here is the supply of Nature's Necessities presented and here is the working of a Miracle propounded to supply the craving Necessities of his Human Nature If thou consent Nature will be supplied and the Power of thy Divinity will be manifested The first Adam looks not at what should be the issue of going out of God's way to attain that which the Temptation presented to him and so is taken in the Snare The Lord Jesus looks to the Event as appears in his Answer to the Devil Man shall not live by Bread alone It 's the Blessing of God upon the Bread that makes it tend to the satisfying of Nature and not Bread alone without his Blessing that can do it and so he overcomes the Tempter The Devil being overcome in this first Assault he prepares for the second ver 5 6. And the Devil taketh him up into the holy City and setteth him on a Pinnacle of the Temple and saith unto him If thou be the Son of God cast thy self down for it is written He shall give his Angels charge concerning thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a Stone Ver. 7. Jesus said unto him It is written again Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God Not that another Scripture opposeth the true meaning of that Scripture cited by the Devil but his addition to it Cast thy self down for he is said to tempt God who presumptuously without necessity seeks an Experiment of the Wisdom Power Goodness and Truth of God The Devil being overcome in this second Temptation prepares for the third ver 8. Again the Devil taketh him up into an exceeding high Mountain and sheweth him all the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of them Ver. 9. And saith unto him All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me Here he appears as a Liar in saying that the Kingdoms of the World and the Glory of it were at his disposal and he manifests his Pride in requiring the Son of God to fall down and worship him which is implied in our Saviour's Answer ver 10. Get thee hence Satan for it is written Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve It appears from what hath been here laid down that the Lord Jesus Christ being required as the Head of the Elect to give a perfect Obedience to the Law or the first Covenant did notwithstanding the assaults of Satan persevere in his Obedience which Obedience of his is in Scripture call'd God's Righteousness because of the Union of the two Natures in his Person and because it was by the Power of his Divine Nature that his Human Nature was supported and inabled to withstand the Temptations But seeing I shall have occasion to speak further of this Righteousness when I come to shew how the Holy Ghost doth apply it to the Souls of poor weary heavy-laden Sinners who fly out of self-dependance unto him as to a Sanctuary I shall proceed to the second part of the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ which consisted in his free and voluntary giving up of himself to answer the Justice of God for the Elect. And first I shall take notice of the Sufferings of his Soul Isa 53.10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to Grief when thou shalt make his Soul an Offering for Sin He never had committed Violence neither was Guile found in his Mouth but having undertaken to make Satisfaction to the Justice of God for the Elect and to undergo the Penalty of the first Covenant how did he feel the weight of Divine Wrath upon his Soul as that bitter fruit which doth attend Sin Mat. 26.37 38. And he took with him Peter and the two Sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy Then saith he unto them My Soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto Death
experience and that is by leading a poor sensible Sinner to the Declaration of the Sufferings of the Blessed Jesus and conveying the Declaration into the Soul and with it giving the Soul an inward Glance of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ from whom the Soul by the help of the Spirit doth draw such Virtue as causeth an immediate removal of inward Guilt which the Soul hath contracted by Sin and under much Brokenness the Soul is brought to close with him Where this Closure is witnessed there doth an Intercourse with the Father attend it The Name of the Blessed Jesus is with this Closure engraven so on the Heart that the Injoyment of him becomes exceeding pleasant and comfortable 3ly I shall proceed to shew how the Holy Spirit doth break down Corruption in the Soul and carries on the Work of Sanctification 1. By discovering unto the Soul the polluting Nature of Sin that unless the Soul be preserved from it Communion with a holy God cannot be enjoyed It leads the Soul to watch against Temptations that draw into Sin and it leads the Soul through Christ to the Father for power to be kept from it The Lord Jesus Christ as Mediator is the Person upon the account of whose Worthiness the Soul craves help from God No sooner is the Soul come before God to seek him in its private Addresses but if Christ be enjoy'd by Faith the Outgoings of the Heart are to him and through him to the Father The Soul claims a Right of Relation or Kindred with him and so useth Plainness of Speech with him about its State and Condition and by beholding that its own nature in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ stands nighly related to the Father it puts him upon taking its Condition and the managing of it into his own hands as being able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him seeing he ever lives to make Intercession for them 2. The Spirit of God doth put the Soul upon seeking unto God for more light that so those Seeds of Sin that lie undiscovered in the Soul may not only be brought to light but likewise be rooted out as saith the Psalmit Search me O God and know my Heart try me and know my Thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting Such is the nature of Holiness in the Souls of the Saints that it would have the very Seeds of Corruption removed and as the Spirit of God doth put the Soul upon the using that means which God hath appointed for the subduing of Sin and Corruption so it likewise doth not only beget a Principle of Grace in the Soul by the Soul's Union with the Lord Jesus Christ but by its inward Supplies it puts fresh Vigor and Life into it by which the Heart comes more and more to be led forth unto God to seek after him and engaged more closely to follow him 3. The H. Spirit doth encourage the Soul to persevere in the Way that leads to Communion with God by letting the Soul feel the peaceable Fruit that it doth bear in it in this Life and likewise that eternal Happiness that it fits the Soul for in glory The Saints sow in Tears here but they shall reap in Joy they go on their way weeping bearing pretious Seed but at the Morning of the Resurrection then they shall appear bearing their Sheaves with them I come now in the third place to prove how all this is subservient to the Decree of Election and answers the designs of it Ephesians the first Chapter ver 3 4 5. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly places in Christ According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the World that we should be holy and without blame before him in love Having predestinated us unto the Adoption of Children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his Will to the praise of the glory of his Grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved Compared with the first Epistle of Peter the first Chapter 2 3 4 5th Verses Elect according to the Fore-knowledg of God the Father through Sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ Grace unto you and Peace be multiplied Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ which according to his abundant Mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an Inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for you Who are kept by the power of God through Faith unto Salvation ready to be revealed in the last time These Scriptures do fully prove the Truths of which I have been treating the Oneness of the Covenant of Grace and Redemption for here the Decree as it proceeds from God is eternal and passeth through Time into Eternity to the effecting or perfecting what was designed by it Can any Person separate the means comprehended in the Womb of the Decree to attain the End and not do manifest Wrong to the Decree it self Let the serious Reader judg Here is the Lord Jesus Christ the second Person in the Godhead set up by the Decree as the Head of the Elect all the Elect comprehended in him He appears in a State of Humiliation for the Elect they have the Offers of Grace by him and are brought to give Obedience to the Offers have his Blood applied to their Souls for their Justification and through him have the Spirit sanctifying them and by his mighty Power bringing them to the Glory which the Decree hath designed for them All these outward Acts which were transacted in time were but the gradual fulfilling of what was comprehended in the Decree which in it self was eternal which I hope doth prove that which was designed by the second Part of this Book that is that the Covenant of Grace and Redemption is but one Covenant For a Conclusion This Doctrine administers a great deal of Comfort to those that have the Marks of Election already wrought in their Souls to see their Salvation sixt upon such a sure Foundation and the Accomplishment in such a way as brings the greatest Motives with it to Humility and Thankfulness of engaging the Heart unto God And for those that are under the means which lead to attain the End it is not discouraging Doctrine to them because who are comprehended in the Decree is a Secret wholly reserved to God alone and we no otherwise know that our selves or others are in it but as we come under effectual Calling which is that which opens the Door into it Therefore it is in vain for the Creature to think to know what God at present conceals from him any other way but that which is of his own appointing Secret things belong to
the further clearing up and confirming the truth of what is held forth by the Ordinance of Baptism I shall open the Apostle's words in 1 Pet. 3.19 20 21. By which also he went and preached unto the Spirits in Prison He the Lord Jesus Christ in his Divine Nature went by Noah's Ministry and preached Repentance while the Ark was building to those Souls who for their Impenitency were cast into the Prison of Hell Which sometime were disobedient when once the Long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the Ark was a preparing the Forbearance of God towards the old World continued and Noah preached Repentance to them wherein few that is eight Persons were saved by Water The like Figure whereunto even Baptism doth now save us not the putting away the filth of the Flesh but the answer of a good Conscience towards God by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ The outward part which is Water and which puts away the filth of the Flesh by the burial of the Body in it is not that which saves but it is a Figure of that which doth save the Spirit accompanying the Ordinance when it is administred by the answer of a good Conscience towards God that is the answer of a believing Heart which by Faith lays hold of that which is figured out by it the Lord Jesus Christ in his Death and Resurrection The Lord's Supper hath likwise two parts an Outward and an Inward the Outward part is the Bread broken and eaten the Wine poured forth and drunk by the Believer the Inward part is his Flesh crucified and his Blood shed for the sake of his Members Luke 22.19 20. And he took Bread and gave Thanks and brake it and gave unto them saying This is my Body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you The Martyrs being press'd by the Papists to shew how the Lord Jesus Christ was present in this Ordinance owned that as Bread and Wine was apprehended by the Body in feeding upon it to its Nourishment so the Flesh and Blood of Christ was apprehended by the Soul in feeding upon him to the nourishing of the Soul The Bread and Wine is not the Body but a Sacramental Figure by which the Body of Christ is represented to us 1 Cor. 11.26 For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink of this Cup ye do shew the Lord's Death till he come PART IV. Being an Appendix which the Author leaves for a Legacy to his Children GEN. 18.19 For I know him that he will command his Children and his Houshold after him and they shall keep the way of the Lord to do Justice and Judgment that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him WHAT I shall leave with you my Children I shall comprehend under these two general Heads First Lay before you the way that God hath taken to bring my Soul to the Enjoyment of himself by Faith Secondly The Counsel and Direction which I recommend unto you if I should be shortly removed from you First I shall lay before you the way that God hath taken to bring me to the Enjoyment of himself by Faith I was in my younger years exceedingly beloved of my Mother so that her very Life seem'd almost bound up in me and tho I do believe she had a Work of Grace upon her Soul yet her Love to me did not run in that pure Channel which it ought to have run that is to have made my immortal Soul the great Object of her Love and Care But her Indulgence to me in my tender years tended greatly to heighten Sin and Corruption in my Soul for I chose for my Companions the profanest Boys in Bridlington and altho I was not gotten to such a pitch of Profaneness as some of them yet I took delight to hear them belch out their Wickedness and frequently at our Meetings we had profane Ballads which I was as industrious to learn to sing as any of them my poor Mother did know of my Companions but I do not think that she did believe that they were altogether so wicked as they were for they generally appeared moderately sober before her I do think that it is one of the greatest Duties that belongs to Parents to endeavour to cast their Children among other sober Children for what avails all Admonition that can be given to a Child if as soon as we have done we deliver it up into Temptation I do not think that it is in Parents power to give a Principle of Grace to their Childen but it may be in their power to give a check to the outbreakings of Corruption which may greatly hinder its growth Prov. 22.6 Train up a Child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it When I was about seven years old and a Scholar at the Free School a wonderful Providence did befal me Being at play with about forty Scholars with me in the Green before the Church and a poor Woman at the Well-side drawing Straw I laid my Breast over the great blue Stones that lay about the Well to sail my Ship in it it being full of Water and so went head forward down into the Well neither my Play-fellows seeing me fall into it nor the poor Woman that was by but altho no Eye saw me yet the Eye of the Almighty was over me and his sparing pitying Love was towards me being very unfit to go into Eternity having no knowledg of God neither of the worth of my precious Soul and he by his Wisdom open'd a way to save me in such a manner that all concern'd in me might know that he had done it A poor old Woman whose Name was Alice Brown that liv'd right against the Well had hung on a Pan with Water to lay Leven but a lump of Soot fell down out of the Chimny which had been swept but three days before into her Pan so that she cast out the Water and came to the Well for more and seeing me gave a sudden skreek the poor Woman who was a common Harlot that was drawing Straw supposing it to be her Boy my Mother having a little before given her some of my old Clothes laid her hand upon the Stones and leapt directly into the Well which was up to her Breast in Water and catching me in her Arms handed me out with very little discovery of Life in me This amazing Providence had not the least effect upon me to frighten me out of my Sins but being well recovered I became more sinful than before and that which tended to heighten it was that I made this Harlot's Son who had been the Instrument in saving me my chief Companion In this course I continued until I was about thirteen years of Age. Being a dull Scholar and my Master churlish to me and
tarry ye here and watch with me Mark 14.35 And he went forward a little and fell on the ground and pray'd that if it were possible the hour might pass from him Compared with Luke 22.42 43 44. Father if thou be willing remove this Cup from me nevertheless not my Will but thine be done And there appeared an Angel unto him from Heaven strengthening him And being in an Agony he prayed more earnestly and his Sweat was as it were drops of Blood falling down to the ground He prayeth for freedom from that Cup and Hour that is from the grievous Torments that were upon his Soul yea so great was the Sorrow wherewith his Soul was ready to be overwhelmed that he seeks for help by the Prayers of his poor drousy sleeping Disciples There is an Astonishment or an Amazement which falls upon the Soul two ways that is an Astonishment of Admiration and an Astonishment of Fear the latter is here meant He saw himself fallen on a sudden into such Distress as he knew he could not be delivered from it and being in an Agony he wrestles with Grief and Fear which pressed his precious Soul yea he struggles and wrestles with it that he might not be so far overcome by it as to bewray any kind of Impatience he vents his Grief and Sorrow in these words Not my Will but thine be done The first Adam had a Garden of Pleasure to walk in the second Adam hath a Garden of Sorrow to weep and mourn in The Garden in which Adam and Eve was placed had a pleasant River running through it to water it this Garden is watered with the Blood of the second Adam that is forced through his Veins by inward Grief and excessive Sorrow he not only is said to have sweat drops of Blood but as it were to have bedew'd the place Saith Jansen upon the words If we behold him upon the Cross he there complains of the withdrawings of the Divine Nature from him in these words My God my God why hast thou forsaken me I come secondly to speak of the Sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ in his Body he experienced the fulfilling of the words of the Prophet Isa 50.6 I gave my Back to the smiters and my Cheeks to them that pluck'd off the Hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting Pilate who was his Judg pronounceth him innocent and as an outward sign of his Innocency washeth his hands when he pronounceth Sentence against him to clear himself of his Blood yet scourgeth him and deliver'd him to be crucified Mat. 27.27 28. Then the Souldiers of the Governour took Jesus into the common Hall and gathered unto him the whole band of Souldiers And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet Robe The putting on the Scarlet Robe was for two Reasons the first that the pain of his scourging might be increased upon him the second reason to shew their Contempt of his Kingly Power Ver. 29 30. And when they had platted a Crown of Thorns they put it upon his Head and a Reed in his right-hand and they bowed the Knee before him saying Hail King of the Jews And they spit upon him and took the Reed and smote him on the Head They would not only mock him with the putting of such a Crown on him but by the same also shew their Cruelty to him by fastening the Thorns into his Head Ver. 32. And as they came out they found a Man of Cyrene Simon by name him they compelled to bear his Cross It was a Custom among the Romans that those Malefactors that were to be crucified did bear their own Cross but such had been already the grievous Sufferings of this innocent Lamb that his Body was wearied and made unable to undergo it so a Stranger is laid hold of to carry it for him to the place of Execution Ver. 38. Then were two Thieves crucified with him one on the right-hand and the other on the left This Death of the Cross was a very painful and shameful Death the weight of the Body being born up by Nails struck through the Hands and Feet until they died by a languishing Death He was numbered with the Transgressors having a Thief on each hand that we might be reckoned amongst the Sons of God His Arms were stretched open to shew his willingness to receive poor returning Sinners with one Arm inviting the Jews with the other the Gentiles to flee from Wrath to come by taking Sanctuary in him O my Soul dost thou desire to behold the abominable nature of Sin Dost thou desire to know how hateful it is in God's sight Then take a view of thy suffering Lord. How was his precious Soul fill'd with Anguish How was his precious Body which was formd by the incomprehensible Power of the Holy Ghost in the Womb of the Virgin Mary wearied out by a painful Death Behold this Man of Sorrow that is acquainted with Grief The Vail of the Temple is rent at his Death to shew that he was plucking away that Vail that interposed betwixt God and poor Sinners The Sun was darkned being asham'd to behold the Rage of the wicked against him the Earth who had long groaned under the Curse for Sin trembles to behold what the Son of God indures to remove the Curse Thirdly I proceed to shew that the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ was subservient to the Decree of Election and answers the Designs of it And I shall clear it up from these following Scriptures Acts 2.22 23. Ye Men of Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth a Man approved of God among you by Miracles and Wonders and Signs which God did by him in the midst of you as ye your selves also know Him being delivered by the determinate Counsel and foreknowledg of God ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain I shall pass by the Wickedness of these malicious Jews and only take notice of what is contain'd in this 23d Verse concerning the Decree of God his determinate Counsel and Fore-knowledg having determined it to be so that is that his Son should thus suffer which did not in the least lesson their Sin The reasons of our Lord's Death in reference to the answering of the Decree we have in John 17.19 And for their sakes I sanctify my self that they also might be sanctified through the Truth Compared with Heb. 2.11 For both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one for which cause he if not ashamed to call them Brethren By sanctified and sanctifieth in these two Scriptures is not meant the sanctifying Work of the holy Spirit but his being set apart to the Work of Redemption performed by the Lord Jesus Christ being the Head of the Elect for their sakes he willingly submitteth to those Conditions his Father required to clear them from the Penalty of the first Covenant That the Redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ is subservient to the Decree