least of these mercies but I will not insist here your duty lyes much higher than contentment Be thankful as well as content in every state blessed be God saith the Apostle the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ O think what are men to Angels that Christ should pass by them to become a Saviour to men and what art thou among men that thou shouldst be taken and others left and among all the mercies of God what mercies are comparable to these confer'd upon thee O bless God in the lowest ebb of outward comforts for such priviledges as these And yet you will not come up to your Duty in all this except you be joyful in the Lord and rejoyce evermore after the receipt of such mercies as these Philip. 4. 4. Rejoyce in the Lord ye righteous and again I say rejoyce for hath not the poor Captive reason to rejoyce when he hath recovered his liberty the Debtor to rejoyce when all scores are cleared and he owes nothing the weary traveller to rejoyce though he be not owner of a shilling when he is come almost home where all his wants shall be supplied Why this is your case when Christ once becomes yours you are the Lords freemen your debts to Justice are all satisfied by Christ and you are within a little of compleat redemption from all the troubles and inconveniencies of your present state Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. The Second SERMON Serm. 2. JOHN 17. 23. Wherein the believers Union with Christ is stated and opened as a principal part of Gospel Application I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfect in one THE design and end of the Application of Christ to Sinners is the Communication of his benefits to them but seeing all Communications of benefits necessarily imply Communion and all Communion as necessarily presupposes Union with his person I shall therefore in this place and from this Scripture treat of the Mystical Union betwixt Christ and believers this Union being the principal act wherein the Spirits application of Christ consists of which I spake as to its general nature in the former Sermon In this Verse omitting the Contexture we find a threefold Union One betwixt the Father and Christ a second betwixt Christ and believers a third betwixt believers themselves First Thou in me this is a glorious ineffable Union and is fundamental to the other two the Father is not only in Christ in respect of dear affection as one friend is in another who is as his own soul nor only essentially in respect of the identity and sameness of nature and attributes in which respect Christ is the express Image of his person Heb. 1. 3. but he is in Christ also as Mediator by communicating the fulness of the godhead which dwells in him as God-man in a transcendant and singular manner so as it never dwelt nor can dwell in any other Col. 2. 9. Secondly I in them here is the Mystical Union betwixt Christ and the Saints q. d. thou and I are one essentially they and I are one mystically thou and I are one by the communication of the Godhead and singular fulness of the Spirit to me as Mediator and they and I are one by my communication of the Spirit to them in measure Thirdly From hence results a third Union betwixt believers themselves that they may be made perfect in one the same Spirit dwelling in them all and equally uniting them all to me as living members to their head of influence there must needs be a dear and intimate Union betwixt themselves as fellow members of the same body Now my business at this time lying in the second branch namely the Union betwixt Christ and believers I shall gather up the substance of it into this Doctrinal proposition to which I shall apply this discourse Doct. That there is a strict and dear Union betwixt Christ and all true believers The Scriptures have borrowed from the book of Nature four elegant and lively Metaphors to help the Nature of this Mystical Union with Christ into our understandings Namely that of two pieces of timber united by glew that of a graff taking hold of its stock and making one tree that of the husband and wife by the marriage Covenant becoming one flesh and that of the members and head animated by one soul and so becoming one Natural body Every one of these is more lively and full than the other and what is defective â—…in one is supplied in the other but yet neither any of these singly or all of them jointly can give us a full and compleat account of this Mystery Not that of two pieces united by glew 1 Cor. 6. 17. he that 1 Cor. 6. 17. is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glewed to the Lord. For though this cementeth and strongly joyns them in one yet this is but a faint and imperfect shadow of our Union with Christ for though this Union by glew be intimate yet it is not vital but so is that of the soul with Christ. Nor that of the graff and stock mentioned Rom. 6. 5. for Rom. 6. 5. thought it be there said that believers are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 implanted or ingraffed by way of incision and this Union betwixt it and the stock be vital for it partakes of the vital sap and juice of it yet here also is a remarkable defect for the graff is of a more excellent kind and nature than the stock and upon that account the tree receives its denomination from it as from the more noble and excellent part but Christ into whom believers are ingraffed is infinitely more excellent than they and they are denominated from him Nor yet that Conjugal Union by marriage Covenant betwixt Eph. 6. 32. a man and his wife for though this be exceeding dear and intimate so that a man leaves father and mother and cleaves to his wife and they two become one flesh yet this Union is not indissolvable but may and must be broken by death and then the relict lives alone without any Communion with or relation to the person that was once so dear but this betwixt Christ and the soul can never be dissolved by death it abides to eternity Nor Lastly That of the head and members united by one Eph. 4. 15 16. vital Spirit and so making one Physical body mentioned Eph. 4. 15 16. for though one soul actuates every member yet it doth not knit every member alike near to the head but some are nearer and others removed farther from it but here every member is alike nearly united with Christ the head the weak are as near to him as the strong Two things are necessary to be opened in the doctrinal part of this point 1. The reality of this Union 2. The quality First For the reality of it I shall make
assenting act of faith in the very foundation and hence I doubt I do not believe There may be and often is a true and sincere assent found in the soul that is assaulted with violent atheistical suggestions Sol. from Satan and thereupon questions the truth of it and this is a very clear evidence of the reality of our assent that whatever doubts or contrary suggestions there be yet we dare not in our practice contradict or slight those truths or duties which we are tempted to disbelieve Ex. gr we are assaulted with atheistical thoughts and tempted to slight and cast off all fears of sin and practice of religious duties yet when it comes to the point of practice we dare not commit a known sin the awe of God is upon us we dare not omit a known duty the tye of conscience is found strong enough to hold us close to it in this case 't is plain we do really assent when we think we do not A man thinks he doth not love his child yet carefully provides for him in health and is full of grief and fears about him in sickness why now so long as I see all fath rly duties performed and affections to his childs welfare manifested let him say what he will as to the want of love to him whilest I see this he must excuse me if I do not believe him when he saith he hath no love for him Just so is it in this case A man saith I do not assent to the being necessity or excellency of Jesus Christ yet in the mean time his soul is fill'd with cares and fears about securing his interest in him he is found panting and thirsting for him with vehement desires there 's nothing in all the world would give him such joy as to be well assured of an interest in him while it is thus with any man let him say or think what he will of his assent it 's manifest by this he doth truly and heartily assent and there can be no better proof of it than these real effects produc'd by it Secondly But if these and other objections were never so fully answer'd for the clearing of the assumption yet it often falls out that believers are afraid to draw the conclusion and that fear arises partly from First The weighty importance of the matter Secondly The sense of the deceitfulness of their own hearts First The conclusion is of infinite importance to them it is the everlasting happiness of their souls than which nothing is or can be of greater weight upon their spirits things in which we are most deeply concerned are not lightly and hastily received by us it seems so great and so good that we are still apt if there be any room for it to suspect the truth and certainty thereof as never being sure enough Thus when the women that were the first messengers and witnesses of Christs resurrection Luke 24. 10 11. came and told the disciples those wonderful and comfortable tydings it 's said that their words seemed to them as idle tales and they believed them not they thought it was too good to be true too great to be hastily received so is it in this case Secondly The sense they have of the deceitfulness of their own hearts and the dayly workings of hypocrisie there makes them afraid to conclude in so great a point as this is They know that very many dayly cozen and cheat themselves in this matter they know also that their own hearts are full of falseness and deceit they find them so in their daily observations of them and what if they should prove so in this why then they are lost for ever they also know there is not the like danger in their fears and jealousies that would be in their vain confidences and presumptions by the one they are only deprived of their present comfort but by the other they would be ruined for ever and therefore choose rather to dwell with their own fears though they be uncomfortable companions than run the danger of so great a mistake which would be infinitely more fatal And this being the common case of most Christians it follows that there must be many more believers in the world than do think or dare conclude themselves to be such Infer 4. If the right receiving of Jesus Christ be true saving and justifying faith then those that have the least and lowest degree and measure Infer 4. of saving faith have cause for ever to admire the bounty and riches of the grace of God to them therein If you have received never so little of his bounty by the hand of providence in the good things of this life yet if he have given you any measure of true saving faith he hath dealt bountifully indeed with you this mercy alone is enough to ballance all other wants and inconveniencies of this life Poor in the world rich in faith James 2. 5. O let your hearts take in the full sense of this bounty of God to you say with the Apostle Eph. 1. 3. blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus and you will in this one mercy find matter enough of praise and thanksgiving wonder and admiration to your dying day yea to all eternity for do but consider First The smallest measure of saving faith which is found in any of the poople of God receives Jesus Christ and in receiving him what mercy is there which the believing soul doth not receive in him and with him Rom. 8. 32. O believer though the arms of thy faith be small and weak yet they embrace a great Christ and receive the richest gift that ever God bestowed upon the world no sooner art thou become a believer but Christ is in thee the hope of glory and thou hast authority to become a son or daughter of God thou hast the broad seal of heaven to confirm thy title and claim to the priviledges of Adoption for to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God To as many be they strong or be they weak provided they really receive Christ by faith there is authority or power given so that it 's no act of presumption in them to say God is our Father heaven is our inheritance Oh precious faith the treasures of ten thousand worlds cannot purchase such priviledges as these all the Crowns and Scepters of the earth sold at their full value are no price for such mercies Secondly The least degree of saving faith brings the soul into a state of perfect and full Justification For if it receives Jesus Christ it must therefore needs in him and with him receive a free full and final pardon of sin the least measure of faith receives remission for the greatest sins By him all that believe are justified from all things Acts 13. 39. it unites thy soul with Christ and then as
have their thoughts sinking deeper into these things than others these thoughts lye with different degrees of weight upon men but all are most solemnly and awfully concerned about their condition all frothiness and frolicks are gone and the heart settles it self in deepest earnest about its eternal state Secondly The heart that receives Jesus Christ is in a frame of deep humiliation and self-abasement O when a man begins to apprehend the first approaches of grace pardon and mercy â—…y Jesus Christ to his soul a soul convinced of its utter unworthiness and desert of hell and can scarce expect any thing else from the just and holy God but damnation how do the first dawnings of mercy melt and humble it O Lord what am I that thou shouldest feed me and preserve me that thou shouldest but for a few years spare me and forbear me but that ever Jesus Christ should love me and give himself for me that such a wretched sinner as I should obtain Union with his person pardon peace and salvation by his blood Lord whence is this to such a worm as I and will Christ indeed bestow himself upon me shall so great a blessing as Christ ever come within the arms of such a soul as mine will God in very deed be reconciled to me in his son what to me to such an enemy as I have been shall my sins which are so many so horrid so much aggravated beyond the sins of most men be forgiven me O what am I vile dust base wretch that ever God should do this for me And now is that Scripture indeed fulfill'd and made good Ezech. 16. 63. That thou maist remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord God Thus that poor broken-hearted believer stood behind Christ weeping and washing his feet with tears as one quite melted down and overcome with the sense of mercy to such a vile sinner Luke 7. 38. Thirdly The soul that receives Jesus Christ is in a weary Condition restless and full of disquietness neither able to bear the burden of sin nor knowing how to be discharged from it except Christ will give it ease Matth. 11. 28. Come unto me that is believe in me you that are weary and heavy laden if they do not look into their own souls they know there 's no safety and if they do there 's no comfort O the burdensome sense of sin overweighs them they are ready to fail to sink under it Fourthly The soul that rightly receives Christ is not only in a weary but in a longing condition never did the hart pant more earnestly for the water-brooks never did the hireling desire the shadow never did a condemned person long for a pardon more than the soul longs after Jesus Christ. O said David that one would give me of the waters of the well of Bethlehem to drink O saith the poor humbled sinner that one would give me of the open'd fountain of the blood of Christ to drink O for one drop of that precious blood O for one encouraging smile from Christ O now were ten thousand worlds at my command and Christ to be bought how freely would I lay them all down to purchase him but he is the gift of God O that God would give me Christ if I should go in raggs and hunger and thirst all my days in this world Fifthly The soul in the time of its closing with or receiving Christ is in a state of conflict it hangs betwixt hopes and fears encouragements and discouragements which occasion many a sad stand and pause in the way to Christ sometimes the number and nature of its sins discourage it then the riches and freeness of the grace of Christ erects his hopes again there 's little hope saith unbelief nay it 's utterly impossible saith Satan that ever such a wretch as thou shouldst find mercy now the hands hang down O but then there 's a necessity an absolute necessity I have not the choice of two but am shut-up to one way of deliverance others have found mercy and the invitation is to all that are weary and to all that are athirst he saith he that cometh to him he will in no wise cast-out now new hopes inspire the soul and the hands that did hang down are again strengthned These are the Concomitant frames that accompany faith Lastly Examine the Consequents and effects of Faith if you 3. Mark would be satisfied of the truth and sincerity of it and such are First Evangelical meltings and ingenuous thawings of the heart under the apprehensions of grace and mercy Zech. 12. 10. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and shall mourn Secondly Love to Christ his ways and people Gal. 5. 6. Faith worketh by love i. e. it represents the love of God and then makes use of the sweetness of it by way of argument to constrain the soul to all acts of obedience wherein it may testifie the reality of its love to God and Christ. Thirdly Heart purity Acts 15. 9. purifying their hearts by faith it doth not only cleanse the hands but the heart no principle in man besides faith can do this morality may hide corruption but faith only purifies the heart from it Fourthly Obedience to the commands of Christ Rom. 16. 26. the very name of faith is call'd upon obedience for it accepts Christ as Lord and urges upon the soul the most powerful arguments in the world to draw it to obedience In a word let the poor doubting believer that questions his faith reflect upon those things that are unquestionable in his own experience which being well considered will greatly tend to his satisfaction in this point It 's very doubtful to you whether you believe but yet in the mean while it may be past doubt being a matter of clear experience that you have been deeply convinced of sin struck off from all carnal props and refuges made willing to accept Jesus Christ upon what terms soever you might enjoy him you doubt whether Christ be yours but it 's past doubt that you have a most high and precious esteem of Christ that you heartily long for him that you prize and love all whether persons or things that bears his image that nothing in the world would please your hearts like a transformation into his likeness that you had rather your souls should be fill'd with his Spirit than your houses with Gold and Silver 'T is doubtful whether Christ be yours but it 's past doubt that one smile from Christ one token of his love would do you more good than all the honours and smiles of the world and nothing so grieves you as your grieving him by sin doth you dare not say that you have received him nor can you deny but that you have had many sick days and nights for him that you have gone into many secret places with
they receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness Rom. 5. 17. of his fulness they all receive grace for grace Joh. 1. 16. all the fulness of Christ is made over to them for the supply of their wants my God shall supply all your need saith the Apostle according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ Phil. 4. 19. If all the riches of God can supply your needs then they shall be supplyed Say not Christ is in the possession of consummate glory and I am a poor creature struggling with many difficulties and toyling in the midst of many cares and fears in the world for care is taken for all thy needs and orders given from heaven for their supply my God shall supply all your need O say with a melting heart I have a full Christ and he is fill'd for me His pure and perfect righteousness is to justifie me his holiness is to sanctifie me his wisdome is to guide me his comforts are to refresh me his power is to protect me his all-sufficiency is to supply me O be chearful be thankful you have all your hearts can wish and yet be humble it is all from free grace to empty and unworthy creatures Infer 3. How absurd disingenuous and unworthy of a Christian is it to deny or with-hold from Christ any thing he hath or by which he Infer 3. may be served or honoured Doth Christ communicate all he hath to you and can you with-hold any thing from Christ On Christs part it is not mine and thine but ours or mine and yours Joh. 20. 17. I ascend to my Father and your father to my God and your God But O this cursed Idol Self which impropriates all to its own designs and uses How liberal is Christ and how penurious are we to him Some will not part with their credit for Christ when yet Christ abased himself unspeakably for them Some will not part with a drop of blood for Christ when Christ spent the whole treasure of his blood freely for us yea how loth are we to part with a shilling for Christ to relieve him in his distressed members when as yet we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for our sakes he became poor that we through his poverty might be rich O ungrateful return O base and disingenuous Spirits The things Christ gives us are great the things we deny to him are small he parts with the greatest and yet is denyed the least The things he communicates to us are none of ours we have no right nor title by nature or any desert of ours to them the things we deny or grudge to Christ are by all titles his own and he hath the fullest and most unquestionable title to them all what he gives to us he gives to them that never deserved it what we with-hold from him we with-hold from one that hath deserved that and infinitely more from us than we have or are He interested you freely in all his riches when you were enemies you stand upon trifles with him and yet call him your best and dearest friend he gave himself and all he hath to you when you could claim nothing from him you deny to part with these things to Christ who may not only claim them upon the highest title his own soveraignty and absolute property but by your own act who profess to have given all in Covenant to him what he gives you returns no profit to him but what you give or part with for him is your greatest advantage O that the consideration of these things might shame and humble our souls Infer 4. Then certainly no man is or can be supposed to be a loser by conversion seeing from that day whatever Christ is or hath becomes Infer 4. his O what an inheritance are men possessed of by their new birth Some men cry out Religion will undo you but with what eyes do these men see surely you could never so reckon except your souls were so incarnated as to reckon pardon peace adoption holiness and heaven for nothing that invisibles are non-entities and temporals the only realities 'T is true the converted soul may lose his estate his liberty yea his life for Christ but what then are they losers that exchange Brass for Gold or part with their present comforts for an hundredfold advantage Mark 10. 29. So that none need scare at religion for the losses that attend it whilest Christ and heaven is gain'd by it they that count religion their loss have their portion in this life Inference 5. How securely is the Saints inheritance settled upon them seeing they are in commons with Jesus Christ Christ and his Saints Infer 5. are joynt-heirs and the inheritance cannot be alienated but by his consent he must lose his interest if you lose yours indeed Adams inheritance was by a single title and moreover it was in his own hand and so he might as indeed he soon did devest himself and his posterity of it but it is not so betwixt Christ and believers we are secured in our inheritance by Christ our co-heir who will never alienate it and therefore it was truly observed by the Father Foelicior Job in sterquilinio quam Adamus in Paradiso Job was happier upon the Dunghil than Adam was in Paradise The covenant of grace is certainly the best tenure as it hath the best mercies so it gives the fullest security to enjoy them Infer 6. How rich and full is Jesus Christ who communicates abundantly to all the Saints and yet hath more still in himself than is Infer 6. communicated to them although all they receive were brought into one heap Take all the faith of Abraham all the meekness of Moses all the patience of Job all the wisdome of Solomon all the zeal of David all the industry of Paul and all the tender-heartedness of Josiah add to this all the grace that is poured though in lesser measure into all the elect vessels in the world yet still it is far short of that which remains in Christ he is anointed with the oyl of gladness above his fellows and in all things he hath and must ever have the preeminence there be many thousand Stars glittering above your heads and one star differs from another star in glory yet there is more light and glory in one Sun than in the many thousand Stars grace beautifies the children of men exceedingly but still that is true of Christ Psal. 45. 2. Thou art fairer than the children of men grace is poured into thy lips for all grace is secondarily and derivatively in the Saints but it is primitively and originally in Christ Joh. 5. 26. Grace is imperfect and defective in them but in him it is in its most absolute perfection and fulness Col. 1. 19. In the Saints it is mixed with abundance of corruption but in Christ it is altogether unmixed and exclusive of its opposite Heb. 7. 26. So
be called death if it were not for what follows him Rev. 6. 8. but when they consider that hell follows they tremble at the very name or thoughts of death Thirdly Such is the nature of these inward troubles of spirit that they swallow up the sense of all other outward troubles alas these are all lost in the deeps of soul sorrows as the little rivulets are in the vast Sea he that is wounded at the heart will not cry Oh at the bite of a Flea and surely no greater is the proportion betwixt outward and inward sorrows a small matter formerly would discompose a man and put him into a fret now ten thousand outward troubles are lighter than a feather For saith he why doth the living man complain am I yet on this side eternal burnings O let me not complain then whatever my condition be have I losses in the world or pains upon my body alas these are not to be named with the loss of God and the feeling of his wrath and indignation for evermore Thus you see what troubles inward troubles for sin be Secondly If you ask in the second place how it comes 2. How souls are supported under such troubles to pass that any soul is supported under such strong troubles of Spirit that all that feel them do not sink under them that all that go down into these deep waters of sorrow are not drowned in them The Answer is First Though this be a very sad time with the soul much like that of Adam betwixt the breach of the first Covenant and the first promise of Christ made to him yet the souls that are thus heavy laden do not sink because God hath a most tender care over them and regard to them underneath them are the everlasting arms and thence it is they sink not were they left to grapple with these troubles in their own strength they could never stand but God takes care of these mourners that their Spirits do not fail before him and the souls that he hath made I mean those of his Elect whom he is this way preparing for and bringing unto Christ. Secondly The Lord is pleased to nourish still some hope in the soul under the greatest fears and troubles of Spirit though it have no comfort or joy yet it hath some hope in the bottom and that keeps up the heart the afflicted soul doth in this case as the afflicted Church Lam. 3. 29. he putteth his mouth in the dust if yet there may be hope he saith its good for a man to hope and quietly to wait for the salvation of God there are usually some glimmerings or dawnings of mercy through Christ in the midnight darkness of inward troubles non dantur purae tenebrae in hell indeed there is no hope to enlighten the darkness but it is not so upon earth Thirdly The experiences of others who have been in the same deeps of trouble are also of great use to keep up the soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est primum picturae lineamentum sumitur hic pro exemplo ut viderent quid sibi spâ—…randum sit 〈◊〉 domino gratiam esse uberiorem ac potentiorem peccatoâ—… quis qui credit diffidereti sibi paratam esse veniam Poli Synops in Loc. above water The experience of another is of great use to prop up a desponding mind whilest as yet it hath none of its own and indeed for the support of souls in such cases they were recorded 1 Tim. 1. 16. For this cause I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long suffering for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting for an encouraging pattern an eminent precedent to all poor sinners that were to come after him that none might absolutely despair of finding mercy through Christ. You know if a man be taken sick and none can tell what the disease is none can say that ever they heard of such a disease before it 's exceeding frightful but if one and another it may be twenty come to the sick mans bedside and tell him Sir be not afraid I have been in the very same case that you now are and so have many more and all did well at last why this is half a cure to the sick man So it is here a great support to hear the experiences of other Saints Fourthly As the experiences of others support the soul under these burdens so the riches of free grace through Jesus Christ uphold it 't is rich and abundant Psal. 130. ult plenteous redemption and 't is free and to the worst of sinners Isa. 1. 18. and under these troubles it finds it self in the way and proper method of mercy for so my Text a Text that hath upheld many thousand drooping hearts states it all this gives hope and encouragement under trouble Fifthly Lastly Though the state of the soul be sad and sinking yet Jesus Christ usually makes haste in the extremity of the trouble to relieve it by sweet and seasonable discoveries of his grace cum duplicantur lateres venit Moses in the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen It is with Christ as it was with Joseph whose bowels yearned towards his brethren and he was in pain till he had told them I am Joseph your brother This is sweetly exhibited to us in that excellent parable of the Prodigal Luke 15. when his Father saw him being yet a great way off he ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him mercy runs nimbly to help when souls are ready to fail under the pressure of sin And thus you see both how they are burthened and how upheld under the burthen Thirdly If it be enquired in the last place why God makes the burden of sin press so heavy upon the hearts of poor 3. Why doth God make the burden of sin lie so heavy upon the souls of some sinners sinners 't is answered First He doth it to divorce their hearts from sin by giving them an experimental taste of the bitterness and evil that is in sin mens hearts are naturally glewed with delight to their sinful courses all the perswasions and arguments in the world are too weak to separate them and their beloved lusts The morsels of sin go down smoothly and sweetly they roll them with much delectation under their tongues and it is but need that such bitter potions as these should be administred to make their stomachs rise against sin as that word used by the Apostle in 2 Cor. 7. 11. signifies in that ye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 indignatio stomochatio Leigh's Critica in verb. sorrowed after a godly sort what indignation it wrought it notes the rising of the stomach with rage a being angry even unto sickness and this is the way the best and most effectual way to separate the soul of a sinner from his Lusts for in these troubles conscience saith as it is in
troubled souls Fourthly Be more careful to shun sin than to get your selves clear of trouble 'T is sad to walk in darkness but worse to lye under guilt Say Lord I would rather be grieved my self than be a grief to thy Spirit O keep me from sin how long soever thou keep me under sorrow Wait on God in the way of faith and in a tender spirit towards sin and thy wounds shall be healed at last by thy great Physician Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. The Eleventh SERMON Sermon 11. LUKE 1. 72. Text. Containing the second motive to enforce the general exhortation from a second Title of Christ. To perform the mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember his holy Covenant THis Scripture is part of Zechariahs Prophecy at the rising of that bright Star John the Harbinger and forerunner of Christ they are some of the first words he spake after God had loosed his tongue which for a time was struck dumb for his unbelief His tongue is now unbound and at liberty to proclaim to all the world the riches of mercy through Jesus Christ in a song of praise Wherein note The Mercy celebrated viz. Redemption by Christ vers 68. The description of Christ by place and property vers 69. The faithfulness of God in our Redemption this way vers 70. The benefit of being so Redeemed by Christ vers 71. The exact accomplishment of all the promises made to the Fathers in sending Christ the mercy promised into the world vers 72. To perform the mercy promised to our Fathers c. In these words we find two parts viz. 1. A mercy freely promised 2. The promised mercy faithfully performed First You have here a mercy freely promised viz. by God the Father from the beginning of the world and often repeated 1. and confirmed in several succeeding ages to the Fathers in his Covenant transactions This Mercy is Jesus Christ of whom he speaks in this Prophecie the same which he stiles an horn of salvation in the house of David vers 69. The mercy of God in Scripture is put either for 1. His free favour to the Creature or 2. The effects and fruits of that favour 'T is put for the free and undeserved favour of God to the creature and this favour of God may respect the creature two wayes either as undeserving or as ill deserving It respected innocent man as undeserving for Adam could put no obligation upon his Benefactor it respecteth fallen man as ill deserving Innocent man could not merit favour and fallen man did merit wrath the favour or mercy of God to both is every way free and that is the first acceptation of the word mercy but then it is also taken for the effects and fruits of Gods favour and they are Either 1. Principal and primary or 2. Subordinate and Secundary Of Secundary and Subordinate Mercies there are multitudes both Temporal respecting the body and Spiritual respecting the soul but the Principal and Primary Mercy is but one and that is Christ the first-born of mercy the capital mercy the comprehensive-root-mercy from whom are all other mercies and therefore called by a singular emphasis in my Text The Mercy i. e. the mercy of all mercies without whom no drop of saving mercy can flow to any of the sons of men and in whom are all the tender bowels of Divine mercy yearning upon poor sinners The Mercy and the mercy promised The first promise of Christ was made to Adam Gen. 3. 15. and was frequently renewed afterwards to Abraham to David and as the Text speaks unto the Fathers in their respective generations Secondly We find here also the promised mercy faithfully performed To perform the mercy promised What mercy 2. soever the love of God engageth him to promise the faithfulness of God stands engaged for the performance thereof Christ the promised mercy is not only performed truly but he is also performed according to the promise in all the circumstances thereof exactly So he was promised to the Fathers and just so performed to us their Children hence the Note is DOCT. That Jesus Christ the Mercy of mercies was graciously promised and faithfully performed by God to his people Doct. Three things are here to be opened First Why Christ is stiled the Mercy Secondly What kind of Mercy Christ is to his people Thirdly How this promised Mercy was performed First Christ is the mercy emphatically so called the peerless invaluable and matchless mercy because he is the 1. prime fruit of the mercy of God to Sinners The mercies of God are infinite mercy gave the world and us our beings all our protections provisions and comforts in this world are the fruits of mercy the after-births of Divine Favour but Christ is the first-born from the womb of mercy all other mercies compared with him are but fruits from that root and streams from that fountain of mercy the very bowels of Divine mercy are in Christ as in vers 78. according to the tender mercies or as the Greek the yearning bowels of the mercy of God Secondly Christ is the mercy because all the mercy of 2. God to sinners is dispensed and conveyed through Christ to them Joh. 1. 16. Col. 2. 3. Eph. 4. 7. Christ is the medium of all Divine communications the Channel of Grace through him is both the decursus recursus gratiarum the flows of mercy from God to us and the returns of praise from us to God fond and vain therefore are all the expectations of mercy out of Christ no drop of saving mercy runs beside this Channel Thirdly Christ is the mercy because all inferiour mercies derive both their nature value sweetness and duration from 3. Christ the fountain mercy of all other mercies First they derive their nature from Christ for out of him those things which men call mercies are rather traps and snares than mercies to them Prov. 1. 32. The time will come when the rich that are Christless will wish O that we had been poor and Nobles that are not ennobled by the new birth O that we had been among the lower rank of men All these things that pass for valuable mercies like Ciphers signifie much when such a speaking Figure as Christ stands before them else they signifie nothing to any mans comfort or benefit Secondly They derive their value as well as nature from Christ for how little I pray you doth it signifie to any man to be rich honourable politick and successfull in all his designs in the world if after all he must lye down in Hell Thirdly All other mercies derive their sweetness from Christ and are but insipid things without him There is a twofold sweetness in things one natural another spiritual those that are out of Christ can relish the first Believers only relish both they have the natural sweetness that is in the mercy it self and a sweetness supernatural from Christ and the Covenant the way in
which they receive them Hence it is that some men taste more spiritual sweetness in their daily bread than others do in the Lords Supper one and the same mercy by this means becomes a feast to soul and body at once Fourthly All mercies have their duration and perpetuity from Christ all Christless persons hold their mercies upon the greatest contingencies and terms of uncertainty if they be continued during this life that 's all there is not a drop of mercy after death but the mercies of the Saints are continued to eternity the end of their mercies on earth is the beginning of their better mercies in Heaven There is a twofold end of mercies one perfective another destructive the death of the Saints perfects and compleats their mercies the death of the wicked destroys and cuts off their mercies for these reasons Christ is called the mercy Secondly In the next place let us enquire what manner of mercy Christ is and we shall find many lovely and transcendent 2. properties to commend him to our souls First He is a free and undeserved mercy called upon that account the gift of God John 4. 10. And to shew how free this gift was God gave him to us when we were enemies Rom. 5. 8. needs must that mercy be free which is given not only to the undeserving but to the ill deserving the benevolence of God was the sole impulsive cause of this gift John 3. 16. Secondly Christ is a full mercy replenished with all that answers to the wishes or wants of sinners in him alone is found whatever the justice of an angry God requires for satisfaction or the necessities of souls require for their supply Christ is full of mercy both extensively and intensively in him are all kinds and sorts of mercies and in him are the highest and most perfect degrees of mercy for it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell Col. 1. 19. Thirdly Christ is the seasonable mercy given by the Father to us in due time Rom. 5. 6. in the fulness of time Gal. 4. 4. a seasonable mercy in his exhibition to the world in general and a seasonable mercy in his application to the soul in particular the wisdom of God pitched upon the best time for his incarnation and it hits the very nick of time for his application When a poor soul is distressed lost at its wits end ready to perish then comes Christ all Gods works are done in season but none more seasonable than this great work of Salvation by Christ. Fourthly Christ is the necessary mercy there is an absolute necessity of Jesus Christ hence in Scripture he is called the bread of life Joh. 6. 48. he is bread to the hungry he is the water of life Joh. 7. 37. as cold water to the thirsty soul he is a ransome for captives Mat. 20. 28. a garment to the naked Rom. 13. ult only bread is not so necessary to the hungry nor water to the thirsty nor a ransom to the Captive nor a garment to the naked as Christ is to the soul of a sinner the breath of our nostrills the life of our souls is in Jesus Christ. Fifthly Christ is a fountain mercy and all other mercies flow from him a believer may say of Christ all my fresh springs are in thee from his merit and from his Spirit flow our Redemption Justification Sanctification Peace Joy in the Holy Ghost and blessedness in the world to come In that day shall there be a fountain opened Zech. 13. 1. Sixthly Christ is a satisfying mercy he that is full of Christ can feel the want of nothing I desire to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified 1 Cor. 2. 2. Christ bounds and terminates the vast desires of the soul he is the very Sabbath of the soul how hungry empty straitned and pinched in upon every side is the soul of man in the abundance and fulness of all outward things till it come to Christ The weary motions of a restless soul like those of a River cannot be at rest till they pour themselves into Christ the Ocean of blessedness Seventhly Christ is a peculiar mercy intended for and applied to a remnant among men some would extend redemption as large as the world but the Gospel limits it to those only that believe and these Believers are upon that account called a peculiar people 1 Pet. 2. 9. The offers of Christ indeed are large and general but the application of Christ is but to few Isai. 53. 1. the greater cause have they to whom Christ comes to lye with their mouths in the dust astonished and overwhelmed with the sense of so peculiar and distinguishiug mercy Eighthly Jesus Christ is a suitable mercy fitted in all respects to our needs and wants 1 Cor. 1. 20. wherein the admirable wisdom of God is illustriously displaied ye are complete in him saith the Apostle Col. 2. 20. Are we enemies He is reconciliation are we sold to sin and Satan He is redemption are we condemned by Law He is the Lord our righteousness hath sin polluted us He is a fountain opened for sin and for uncleaness are we lost by departing from God He is the way to the Father Rest is not so suitable to the weary nor bread to the hungry as Christ is to the sensible sinner Ninthly Christ is an astonishing and wonderful mercy his name is called Wonderful Isai. 9. 6. and as his name is so is he a wonderful Christ his person is a wonder 1 Tim. 3. 16. Great is the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh his abasement wonderful Phil. 2. 6. his love is a wonderful love his redemption full of wonders Angels desire to look into it he is and will be admired by Angels and Saints to all eternity Tenthly Jesus Christ is an incomparable and matchless mercy as the Apple-tree among the Trees of the Wood so is my Beloved among the Sons saith the enamoured Spouse Cant. 2. 3. Draw the comparison how you will betwixt Christ and all other enjoyments you will find none in Heaven or earth to match him he is more than all externals as the light of the Sun is more than that of a Candle nay the worst of Christ is better than the best of the world his reproaches are better than the worlds pleasures Heb. 11. 25. he is more than all Spirituals as the Fountain is more than the Streams he is more than justification as the cause is more than the effect more than sanctification as the person himself is more than his image or picture he is more than all peace all comfort all joys as the Tree is more than the Fruit. Nay draw the comparison betwixt Christ and things eternal and you will find him better than they for what is Heaven without Christ Psal. 73. 25. Whom have I in Heaven but thee If Christ should say to the Saints Take Heaven among you but as for me I will withdraw my self from you
the Saints would fall a weeping even in Heaven it self and say Lord Heaven will be no more Heaven to us except thou be there thou art the better half of Heaven Eleventhly Christ is an unsearchable mercy who can spell his wonderful name Prov. 30. 4. who can tell over his unsearchable riches Eph. 3. 8. Hence it is that souls never tire in the study or love of Christ because new wonders are eternally rising out of him he is a deep which no line of any created understanding angelical or humane can fathom Twelfthly and Lastly Christ is an everlasting mercy the same yesterday to day and for ever Heb. 13. 8. All other enjoyments are perishable time eaten things time like a Moth will fret them out but the riches of Christ are durable riches Prov. 8. 18. the graces of Christ are durable graces Joh. 4. 14. all the creatures are flowers that appear and fade in their month but this Rose of Sharon this Lilly of the Valley never withers Thus you see the mercy performed with his desirable properties Thirdly The last thing to be opened is the manner of 3. Gods performing this mercy to his people which the Lord did 1. Really and truly as he had promised him 2. Exactly agreeable to the promises and predictions of him First Really and truly as he had promised so he made good the promise Act. 2. 36. Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made the same Jesus whom ye crucified both Lord and Christ. The manifestation of Christ in the flesh was no phantasm or delusion but a most evident and palpable truth 1 Joh. 1. 1. That which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and our hands have handled A truth so certain that the assertors of it appealed to the very enemies of Christ for the certainty thereof Act. 2. 22. yea not only the sacred but prophane writers witness to it not only the Evangelists and Apostles but even the Heathen writers of those times both Roman and Jewish as Suetonius Tacitus Plinius the younger and Josephus the Jewish Antiquary do all acknowledge it Secondly As God did really and truly perform Christ the promised mercy so he performed this promised mercy exactly agreeable to the promises types and predictions made of him to the Fathers even to the most minute circumstances thereof This is a great truth for our faith to be established in let us therefore cast our eyes both upon the promises and performances of God with respect to Christ the mercy of mercies See how he was represented to the Fathers long before his manifestation in the flesh and what an one he appeared to be when he was really exhibited in the flesh First As to his person and qualifications as it was foretold so it was fulfilled His original was said to be unsearchable and eternal Mica 5. 2. and so he affirmed himself to be Rev. 1. 11. I am Alpha and Omega the first and the last Joh. 6. 31 32. Before Abraham was I am his two natures united in one person was plainly foretold Zech. 13. 7. the man my fellow and such a one God performed Rom. 9. 5. His immaculate purity and holiness was foretold Dan. 9. 24. to anoint the most Holy some render it the great Saint the Prince of Saints and such an one he was indeed when he lived in this world Joh. 8. 46. Which of you convinceth me of sin His Offices were foretold the prophetical Office predicted Deut. 18. 15. and fulfilled in him Joh. 1. 18. his Priestly Office foretold Psal. 110. 4. fulfilled Heb. 9. 14. his Kingly Office foretold Mica 5. 2. and in him fulfilled his very enemies being Judges Mat. 27. 37. Secondly As to his birth the time place and manner thereof was foretold to the Fathers and exactly performed to a tittle First The time prefixed more generally in Jacobs Phophecie Gen. 44. 10. when the Scepter should depart from Judah as indeed it did in Herod the Idumean more particularly in Daniel seventy weeks from the decree of Darius Dan. 9. 24. answering exactly to the time of his birth so cogent and full a proof that Porphyry the great enemy of Christians had no other evasion but that this Prophecie was devised after the event which yet the Jews as bitter enemies to Christ as himself will by no means allow to be true and Lastly The time of his birth was exactly pointed at in Haggai's Prophecie Hag. 2. 7 9. compared with Mal. 3. 1. he must come whilst the second Temple stood at that time was a general expectation of him Joh. 1. 19. and at that very time he came Luke 2. 38. Secondly The place of his birth was foretold to be Bethlehem Ephrata Mica 5. 2. and so it was Mat. 2. 5 6. to be brought up in Nazareth Zech. 6. 12. Behold the man whose name is the branch the word is Netzer whence is the word Nazarite and there indeed was our Lord brought up Mat. 2. 23. Thirdly His Parent was to be a Virgin Isai. 7. 14. punctually fufilled Mat. 1. 20 21 22 23. Fourthly His Stock or Tribe was foretold to be Judah Gen. 49. 10. and it is evident saith the Apostle that our Lord sprang out of Judah Heb. 7. 14. Fifthly His Harbinger or forerunner was foretold Mal. 4. 5 6. fulfilled in John the Baptist Luk. 1. 16 17. Sixthly The obscurity and meanness of his birth was predicted Isai. 53. 2. Zech. 9. 9. to which the event answered Luk. 2. 12. Thirdly His Doctrine and Miracles were foretold Isai. 61. 1 2. and Isai. 35. 4 5. the accomplishment whereof in Christ is evident in the History of all the Evangelists Fourthly His death for us was foretold by the Prophets Dan. 9. 26. The Messiah shall be cut off but not for himself Isai. 53. 5. He was wounded for our transgression and so he was Joh. 11. 50. The very kind and manner of his death was prefigured in the brazen Serpent his Type and answered in his death upon the Cross Joh. 3. 14. Fifthly His burial in the Tomb of a rich man was foretold Isai. 53. 9. and accomplished most exactly Mat. 27. 59 60. Sixthly His resurrection from the dead was Typed out in Jona and fulfilled in Christs abode three days and nights in the Grave Mat. 12. 39. Seventhly The wonderful spreading of the Gospel in the world even to the Isles of the Gentiles was fore-prophesied Isai. 49. 6. To the truth whereof we are not only the witnesses but the happy instances and examples of it Thus the promised mercy was performed Inference 1. If Christ be the mercy of mercies the medium of conveying all other mercies from God to men Then in vain do men expect Inference 1. and hope for the mercy of God out of Jesus Christ. I know many poor sinners comfort themselves with this when they come upon a bed of sickness I am sinful but God is merciful and it is very
mercy to give than Christ thy portion in him all necessary mercies are secured to thee and thy wants and straits sanctified to thy good O therefore never open thy mouth to complain against thy bountiful God Inference 4. Is Christ the mercy i. e he in whom all the tender mercies Inference 4. of God towards poor sinners are then let none be discouraged in going to Christ by reason of the sin and unworthiness that is in them his very name is mercy and as his name is so is he Poor drooping sinner incourage thy self in the way of faith the Christ to whom thou art going is mercy it self to broken-hearted sinners moving towards him in the way of faith Doubt not that mercy will repulse thee 't is against both its name and nature so to do Jesus Christ is so merciful to poor souls that come to him that he hath received and pardoned the chiefest of sinners men that stood as remote from mercy as any in the world 1 Tim. 1. 15. 1 Cor. 6. 11. Those that shed the blood of Christ have yet been washed in that blood from their sin Act. 2. 36 37. Mercy receives sinners without exception of great and heinous ones Joh. 7. 37. If any man thirst let him come to me and drink Gospel invitations run in general terms to all sinners that are heavy laden Mat. 11. 28. When Mr. Billney the Martyr heard a Minister preaching at this rate O thou old Sinner who hast been serving the Devil these fifty or sixty years dost thou think that Christ will receive thee now O said he what a preaching of Christ is here Had Christ been thus preached to me in the day of my trouble for sin what had become of me But blessed be God there is a sufficiency both of merit and mercy in Jesus Christ for all sinners for the vilest among sinners whose hearts shall be made willing to come unto him So merciful is the Lord Jesus Christ that he moves first Isai. 65. 1 2. So merciful that he upbraids none Ezec. 18. 22. So merciful that he will not despise the weakest if sincere desires of souls Isai. 42. 3. So merciful that nothing more grieves him than our unwillingness to come unto him for mercy Joh. 5. 40. So merciful that he waiteth to the last upon sinners to shew them mercy Rom. 10. 21. Mat. 23. 37. In a word so merciful that it is his greatest joy when sinners come unto him that he may shew them mercy Luk. 15. 5. 22. But yet it cannot enter into my thoughts that I should obtain Object mercy First You measure God by your selves 1 Sam. 24. 19. If Sol. a man find his enemy will he let him go well away Man will not but the merciful God will upon the submission of his enemies to him Secondly You are discouraged because you have not tryed Go to Jesus Christ poor distressed sinner try him and then report what a Christ thou findest him to be But I have neglected the time of mercy and now it is too late Object How know you that Have you seen the Book of Life or turned over the Records of Eternity Or do you not unwarrantably Sol. intrude into the secrets of God which belong not to you Besides if the treaty were at an end how is it that thy heart is now distressed for sin and solicitous after deliverance from it But I have waited long and yet see no mercy for me May not mercy be coming and you not see it or have you Object not waited at the wrong dore If you wait for the mercy of Sol. God through Christ in the way of humiliation and faith and continue waiting assuredly mercy shall come at last Inference 5. Hath God performed the mercy promised to the Fathers the great mercy the capital mercy Jesus Christ then let no Inference 5. man distrust God for the performance of lesser mercies contained in any other promises of the Scripture the performance of this mercy secures the performance of all other mercies to us For First Christ is a greater mercy than any other which yet remains to be performed Rom. 8. 32. Secondly This mercy virtually comprehends all other mercies 1 Cor. 3. 21 22 23. Thirdly The promises that contain all other mercies are ratified and confirmed to Believers in Christ 2 Cor. 1. 20. Fourthly It was much more improbable that God would bestow his own Son upon the world than that he should bestow any other mercy upon it Wait therefore in a comfortable expectation of the fulfilling of all the rest of the promises in their seasons hath he given thee Christ he will give thee bread to eat rayment to put on support in troubles and whatsoever else thy soul or body stands in need of the blessings contained in all other promises are fully secured by the performance of this great promise thy pardon peace acceptance with God now and enjoyment of him for ever shall be fulfilled the great mercy Christ makes way for all other mercies to the souls of Believers Inference 6. Lastly How mad are they that part with Christ the best of Inference 6. mercies to secure and preserve any temporal lesser mercies to themselves Thus Demas and Judas gave up Christ to gain a little of the world O soul-undoing bargain How dear do they pay for the world that purchase it with the loss of Christ and their own peace for ever Blessed be God for Jesus Christ the mercy of mercies The Twelfth SERMON Sermon 12. CANT 5. part of verse 16. Text. Containing a third motive to enliven the general exhortation from a third title of Christ. yea he is altogether lovely AT the ninth verse of this Chapter you have a query propounded to the Spouse by the Daughters of Jerusalem What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved To this question the Spouse returns her answer in the following verses wherein she asserts his excellency in general vers 10. He is the chiefest among ten thousands confirms that general assertion by an enumeration of his particular excellencies to vers 16. where she closes up her Character and Encomium of her Beloved with an elegant Epiphonema in the words that I have read Yea he is altogether lovely The words you see are an affirmative proposition setting forth the transcendent loveliness of the Lord Jesus Christ and naturally resolve themselves into three parts viz. 1. The Subject 2. The Predicate 3. The manner of Predication First The subject He viz. the Lord Jesus Christ after 1. whom she had been seeking for whom she was sick of love concerning whom these Daughters of Jerusalem had enquired whom she had endeavoured so graphically to describe in his particular excellencies This is the great and excellent Subject of whom she here speaks Secondly The predicate or what she affirmeth or saith of 2. him viz. that he is a lovely one machamaddim desires according to the import of
fortior one Believer can do much many can do more when Daniel designed to get the knowledge of that secret hinted in the obscure dream of the King which none but the God of Heaven could make known it 's said Dan. 2. 17. Then Daniel went to his House and made the thing known to Hanania Mishael and Azaria his Companions that they would desire mercies of the God of Heaven concerning this secret The benefit of such assistance in prayer by the help of other favourites with God is plainly intimated by Jesus Christ unto us Mat. 18. 19. If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask it shall be done for them of my Father which is in Heaven God sometimes stands upon a number of voices for the carrying of some publick mercy because he delighteth in the harmony of many praying souls and also loves to oblige and gratifie many in the answer and return of the same prayer I know this usage is grown too formal and complemental among Professors but certainly it is a great advantage to be inward with them who are so with God St. Bernard prescribing rules for effectual prayer closes them up with this wish cum talis fueris memento mei when thy heart is in this frame then remember me Inference 2. If Believers be such favourites in Heaven in what a desperate Inference 2. condition is that Cause and those Persons against whom the generality of Believers are daily engaged in prayers and cries to Heaven Certainly Rome shall feel the dint and force of the many millions of prayers that are gone up to Heaven from the Saints for many generations the cries of the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus joyned with the cries of thousands of Believers will bring down vengeance at last upon the Man of sin 'T is said Rev. 8. 4 5 6. That the smoak of the incense which came with the prayers of the Saints ascended up before God out of the Angels hand and immediately it is added vers 5. And the Angel took the Censer and filled it with fire of the Altar and cast it into the earth and there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and earth-quakes and the seven Angels which had the seven Trumpets prepared themselves to sound The prayer of a single Saint is sometimes followed with wonderful effects Psal. 18. 6 7. In my distress I called upon the Lord and cryed unto my God he heard my voice out of his Temple and my cry came before him even into his ears then the earth shook and trembled the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken because he was wroth what then can a thundring legion of such praying souls do It was said of Luther iste vir potuit cum Deo quicquid voluit that man could have of God what he would his enemies felt the weight of his prayers and the Church of God reaped the benefits thereof The Queen of Scots professed she was more afraid of the Prayers of Mr. Knox than of an army of ten thousand men these were mighty wrestlers with God howsoever contemned and vilified among their enemies There Jacobus Lanigius the Sorbone Doctor who wrote the lives of Luther Knox and Calvin speaks as if the Devil had hired his pen to abuse those precious servants of Christ. will a time come when God will hear the prayers of his people who are continually crying in his ears How long Lord how long Inference 3. Let no Believer be dejected at the contempts and slightings of Inference 3. men so long as they stand in the grace and favour of God it is the lot of the best men to have the worst usage in this world those of whom the world was not worthy are not thought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e the sweepings of the house the filth wiped off any thing Erasmus the dirt that sticks to the Shoos Valla the dung of the Belly as the Syriack translates The condemned man that was tumbled from a steep Rock into the Sea as a sacrifice to Neptune was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Budeus Sit pro nobis 〈◊〉 worthy to live in the world Heb. 11. 38. Paul and his Companions were men of choice and excellent spirits yet saith he 1 Cor 4. 13. Being defamed we intreat we are made as the filth of the world and are the off-scouring of all things unto this day they are words signifying the basest contemptiblest and most abhorred things among men How is Heaven and Earth divided in their Judgements and estimations of the Saints those whom men call filth and dirt God calls a peculiar Treasure a Crown of Glory a Royal Diadem But trouble not thy self Believer for the unjust censures of the blind world they speak evil of the things they know not he that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man 1 Cor. 2. 14. You can discern the earthliness and baseness of their spirits they want a faculty to discern the excellency and choiceness of your spirits He that carries a dark Lanthorn in the night can discern him that comes against him and yet is not discerned by him a Courtier regards not a slight in the Country so long as he hath the ear and favour of his Prince Inference 4. Never let Believers fear the want of any good thing necessary Inference 4. for them in this world the favour of God is the fountain of all blessings provisions protections even of all that you need He hath promised that he will withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly Psal. 84. 11. He that is bountiful to his enemies will not withhold what is good from his friends The favour of God will not only supply your needs but protect your persons Psal. 5. 12. Thou wilt bless the righteous with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield Inference 5. Hence also it follows that the sins of Believers are very piercing Inference 5. things to the heart of God The unkindness of those whom he hath received into his very bosom upon whom he hath set his special favour and delight who are more obliged to him than all the people of the earth beside O this wounds the very heart of God What a melting expostulation was that which the Lord used with David 2 Sam. 12. 7 8. I anointed thee King over all Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul and I gave thee thy masters house and thy masters wives into thy bosom and gave thee the house of Israel and Juda and if that had been too little I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things wherefore hast thou despised the Commandment of the Lord But Reader if thou be a reconciled person a favourite with God and hast grieved him by any eminent transgression how should it melt thy heart to hear the Lord thus expostulating with thee I delivered thee out of
The freedom of Believers is a comfortable freedom the Apostle comforts Christians of the lowest rank poor servants with this consideration 1 Cor. 7. 22. He that is called in the Lord being a servant is the Lords freeman q. d. Let not the meanness of your outward condition which is a state of subjection and dependance a state of poverty and contempt at all trouble you you are the Lords freemen of precious account in his eyes O 't is a comfortable liberty Sixthly and Lastly 'T is a perpetual and final freedom they that are once freed by Christ have their manumissions and final discharge from that state of bondage they were in before Sin shall never have dominion over them any more it may tempt them and trouble them but shall never more rule and govern them Acts 26. 18. And thus you see what a glorious liberty the liberty of Believers is The improvement whereof will be in the following Inferences Inference 1. How rational is the joy of Christians above the joy of all Inference 1. others in the world shall not the captive rejoycé in his recovered liberty The very Birds of the air as one observes had rather be at liberty in the woods though lean and hungry than in a golden Cage with the richest fare every creature naturally prises it none more than Believers who have felt the burthen and bondage of corruption who in the days of their first illumination and conviction have poured out many groans and tears for this mercy What was said of the captive people of God in Babylon excellently shadows forth the state of Gods people under spiritual bondage with the way and manner of their deliverance from it Zech. 9. 11. By the blood of thy Covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water Believers are delivered by the blood of Christ out of a worse pit than that of Babylon and look as the Tribes in their return from thence were overwhelmed with joy and astonishment Psal. 126. 1 2. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Sion we were like them that dream then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing they were overwhelmed with the sense of the mercy so should it be with the people of God 'T is said Luke 15. 24. when the Prodigal Son there made the embleme of a returning converting sinner was returned again to his Fathers house that there was heard musick and dancing mirth and feasting in that house The Angels in Heaven rejoice when a soul is recovered out of the power of Satan and shall not the recovered soul immediately concerned in the mercy greatly rejoyce Yea let them rejoyce in the Lord and let no earthly trouble or affliction ever have power to interrupt their joy for a moment after such a deliverance as this Inference 2. How unreasonable and wholly inexcusable is the sin of Apostasie from Jesus Christ What is it but for a delivered captive Inference 2. to put his feet again into the shackles his hands into the manacles his neck into the iron yoke from which he hath been delivered 'T is said Mat. 12. 44 45. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest and findeth none then he saith I will return into mine house from whence I came out and when he is come he findeth it empty swept and garnished then goeth he and taketh with him seven other Spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first Even as a Prisoner that hath escaped and is again recovered is loaded with double irons Let the people of God be content to run any hazzard endure any difficulties in the way of Religion rather than return again into their former bondage to sin and Satan O Christian if ever God gave thee a sight and a sense of the misery and danger of thy natural state if ever thou hast felt the pangs and throes of a labouring and distressed Conscience and after all this tasted the unspeakable sweetness of the peace and rest that is in Christ thou wilt rather choose to dye ten thousand deaths than to forsake Christ and go back again into that sad condition Inference 3. How suitable and well-becoming is a free spirit in Believers to Inference 3. their state of liberty and freedom Christ hath made your condition free O let the temper and frame of your hearts be free also do all that you do for God with a spirit of freedom not by constraint but willingly Methinks Christians the new nature that is in you should stand for a command and be instead of all arguments that use to work upon the hopes and fears of other men See how all creatures work according to the principle of their natures you need not command a Mother to draw forth her breasts to a sucking Child nature it self teaches and prompts to that you need not bid the Sea ebb or flow at the stated hours O Christian why should thy heart need any other argument than its own spiritual inclination to keep it s stated times and seasons of communion with God Let none of Gods commandments be grievous to you let not thine heart need dragging and forcing to its own benefit and advantage Whatever you do for God do it cheerfully and whatever you suffer for God suffer it cheerfully it was a brave spirit which acted holy Paul I am ready saith he not only to be bound but also to dye at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Acts 21. 13. Inference 4. Let no man wonder at the enmity and opposition of Satan to the Inference 4. preaching of the Gospel For by the Gospel it is that souls are recovered out of his power Acts 26. 18. 't is the express work of Ministers to turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God Satan as one faith is a great and jealous Prince he will never endure to have liberty proclaimed by the Ministers of Christ within his dominions and indeed what is it less when the Gospel is preached in power but as it were by beat of Drum and sound of Trumpet to proclaim liberty liberty spiritual sweet and everlasting liberty to every soul that is made sensible of the bondage of corruption and cruel servitude of Satan and will now come over to Jesus Christ and oh what numbers and multitudes of prisoners have broken loose from Satan at one proclamation of Christs Acts 2. 41. but Satan owes the servants of Christ a spite for this and will be sure to pay them if ever they come within his reach persecution is the Genius of the Gospel and follows it as the shadow doth the body Inference 5. How careful should Christians be to maintain their spiritual liberty Inference 5. in all and every point thereof Stand fast saith Paul in the liberty wherewith