holy enough as did these Scribes and Pharises who needed no Physician they no more saw their need of a Physician then they saw their sicknesse And thâ— there be many whole men in the world and almost al men are generally whole in these daies Hos. 7. 9. Ephraim saw not his gray haires nor the consumption of his strength Revel 3. â—7 Laodicea saith she is rich and needs nothing The Pharisie blesseth God he is not as others he seeth in himselfe no hypocrisie nor pride nor contempt of others he is a whole man Many a civill man liveth honestly he doth no man harme he is beloved of his neighbours he keeps the Commandements as well as God will give him leave This mans case in his owne conceit is sound and good and he hopes he shall live in his righteousnesse And in thousands presumption is as a chaine to the necke who tell us they love God with all their hearts have a strong saith never had any doubt they thanke God no not so much as any grudgings of unbeleefe and it were pitty he should live that doubteth of his salvation These are sound men and whole but as they never beleeved so they never bewailed their infidelity never groaned under the burthen of their sinnes are enemies to God to his Word to all righteousnesse worldlings oppressors deceivers swearers cursors otherwise abominable yet still found and whole men in their owne conceit And another cause of conceited soundnesse is the extenuaation of sinne Some qualmes and grudgings they have and all men are sinners and crazy but themselves are no great sinners or no greater then other men Thus they mince and lessen their sinnes They are not sicke enough to seeke out to the Physician they have ease enough yet if it would hold without Christ. Now see the miserable and damnable estate of these men First they are eaten up with griping diseases and deadly pangs and yet feele nothing Paines of sinne are like the pains of sicknesse the lesse felt the more dangerous and deadly Secondly as they need not the Physician so certainely the Physician needs not them hee came not for them they have as much helpe from him as they seeke He came not to call the righteous He calleth and cureth onely the sicke and heavy laden with the sense and burden of sinne Let this therefore serve to convince these whole men and let them see their estate so as they may seeke to the Physician and not dye senslesse The markes and spots of a deadly disease are these First an ill stomacke argueth bodily disease so Spirituall If the Word the Manna from heaven be bitter if thy minde rise against it and the mouth of thy soule be out of taste if thy memory keepe not the doctrine of God if by meditation thou digestest it not and so sendest it not into all parts of thy life thou art sick iudeed though thou secmost never so whole Secondly when the body consumeth the parts are weakned the knees bowe under a man and with much adoe he draggeth his limbes after him there is certainly a bodily disease though there bee no complaint So in the soule when men are weake to deeds of piety have no strength to conquer temptation to suffer crosses and trials to workes of charity mercy or justice but all strength of grace seems to be exhausted here is a dangerous disease here may wee justly feare a spirituall hecticke which is no sooner discernable then deadly Thirdly when the senses faile the eyes grow dimme the eares dull it is an apparant signe of a bodily or spirituall disease A senslesse man is the sickest man because he is sicke though he be not sensible Even so when the eye-strings of the soule are broken that they see not the light of grace nor of God which as the Sunne shines round about them the eares heare not the voyce of God the feeling is gone they have no sense of the great gashes and wounds of the lusts of uncleannesse drunkennesse covetousnesse swearing lying malice against God and his servants nay no complaint but rather rejoycing in these neither is there any fellowship in the afflictions of Ioseph the soule of such a man lyes very weake as a man for whom the Bell is ready to toll Fourthly difficulty of breathing or to be taken speechlesse is a signe of a disease and death approching So in the soule prayer being the breath of the soule when a man can hardly fetch this breath cannot pray or with much adoe can begge mercy strength and supply of grace or when he is speechlesse a man cannot heare him whisper a good and savoury word but all is earthly fruitlesse or hurtfull here is a living Corps a painted sepulcher not a man of a better world Would men try themselves by these notes they would soone discorne their sicknesse and runne out to the Physician But oh what an hard taske is it to bring a man rightly to know his estate A singer of the body cannot ake but men complaine and bind it up But the soule lies gasping and there is no such care c. Thus negatively of the Patient or party fit for cure Affirmatively it is the sicke man And he is the sicke man that feeles and groanes under the paine and burden of his sin The point this Sinne is the most dangerous sâ—ickenesse in the whole world and fitly resembles bodily sickenesse For First sicknesse comes by intemperance the temperate body is never sick while we were in innocency we were in sound health but through distemperature in our natures we were poysoned at first and ever since our sinnes and lusts conceiving bring forth sinne and death And as some sicknesses be hereditary and propagated so the sicknesse of sinne is propagated from Adam to all his posterity and every man hath added to his disease by his owne wilfull transgression Secondly sicknesse weakneth the body and impaireth the vigor of nature so doth sinne in the soule experience sheweth that after some sinne we very hardly and weakly attempt any good thing for along time Sin hath weakned the faculties darkened the understanding corrupted the will disordered the affections thence this sicknesse Thirdly sickenesse brings paine and torment into the body so doth sinne into the soule first or last There is no peace to a wicked man but terrors soule horrors of conscience and desperate feares doe ever attend him Fourthly sicknesse continuing and lingring on the body threatneth death and without timely cure bringeth it Sinne also not removed by repentance menaceth and bringeth certaine death to body and soule Fifthly sicknesse is generally incident to al men So the soules of all men are diseased by nature even the soules of the Elect till they bee healed by Christ. And these diseases are most foule and incurable compared in Scripture to a gangrene which suddenly eateth up the body 2 Tim.
tame and tractable as a Lambe of Christs fold and as a childe of God his Father inunion both with head members and acknowledgeth all the tyes and bonds between himselfe and his fellow-members They are children of one Father and Mother God and the Church brethren of the same elder brother Jesus Christ of one houshold of faith sit at the same table clothed with the same suits heires of the same inheritance and can these live as Jewes and Samaritans 4. The Disciples respected all Christs commandements but that which above all Christ was so earnest in they would not forget his new commandement of loving one another Col. 3. 13. and 1 Pet. 4. 8. Above all things put on love What above faith confidence prayer and the like No faith is the parent of love but above all graces that binde man to man of which the Apostle there speaketh It is the sinewes in the body the cement in the house without which all were but cobling and confusion He is no Disciple no living stone who is not coupled with this cement called the bond of perfection Well get those graces in truth and be not discouraged for their weaknesse For how weak were the Disciples while Christ was with them Christ will yet acknowledge thee a Disciple if men doe not and owne thee when thou darest scarce owne him Let him deny himselfe Here our Saviour propounds the first note and tryall of a Disciple the renouncing or forsaking of himselfe Where 1. What is meant by himselfe 2. The difficulty of this precept 3. The necessity of obeying it 4. The use For the first of these By himselfe are meant 1. Things outward that is concerning the outward man yet so neere him as they are after a sort himselfe Not onely his riches which a man is willing to hold as fast as his life nor onely his friends which are most dear as a second selfe but even his name his liberty his life it selfe all which must be willingly and cheerfully given up to God and denied rather than Christ and his truth that a man may say with Peter Master wee have left all to follow thee Mat. 19. 27. 2. Things inward which can hardly bee distinguished from himselfe and which yet come neerer the quicke as namely a mans whole corrupt nature And here taking it to peeces First hee must deny all the wisedome of the flesh which is enmity to God And till this be done there is no savouring of the things of God no relish in Gods word wisdome or waies 2. Hee must deny his owne corrupt will which is contrary to Gods will and onely seeketh how it may please it selfe And till this bee denied well thou maist say Thy will be done but it shall be by others not by thy selfe 3. He must deny all his owne corrupt carnall and unmortified passions and affections as carnall love feare hatred anger and the like for even all these branches must bee stocked up with the root 4. He must deny all his owne wicked inclinations the streames and incessant stirrings of naturall corruption as apt to bee kindled as any Gunpowder by the least sparke whether more common to the nature of man or more proper to a mans owne person as hastinesse pronenesse to revenge to hatred injustice or the like 5. Hee must denyall wicked habits and sins the acting of lusts and vices as all intemperance rotten speech uncleannesse covetousnesse wrath envie pride idlenesse and the like that a man live not now to himselfe but wholly to Christ whom he professeth to follow In a word all selfe-respects selfe-seeking selfe-aymes must be renounced and the Christian wholly vanish into nothing and all things in the world become drosse and doung in comparison of Christ. Next of the difficulty Who seeth not by this time what a difficult precept our Saviour hath enjoyned every one of his followers even the cutting off of hands and plucking out of eyes the most necessary and tender parts and casting them away To discerne which difficulty a little more distinctly 1. Consider the neernesse of things to be denied Were it only in things without us as to part with friends and riches this were a difficult commandement to flesh as appeares in the examples both of him that must first bury his father and bid his friends farewell as also of the young man that left Christ because of his possessions But when it comes so close to us as to lead us out of our owne reason wisedome and judgement what an hard province proves it For who thinkes not his reason neerer him than his religion what worldly-wise man can yeeld to that of the Apostle That he must become a foole to bee wise To advise a man to despise lands liberty and life for his profession were to wish a man to hate his owne flesh which no man in his wits ever did To perswade to the keeping under of lusts and to the forgoing of dearling sinnes is to cut them short of meat and drinke these are sweet morsels which they hide under their tongues will not let goe 2. Naturall pride and selfe-love is such that it is with us as with Solomon in the dayes of his folly Eccles. 2. 10. Whatsoever mine eyes desired I withheld it not Nay wee wish so well to our selves as wee could not offer the least wrong to our least lowest joynt nor endure it of others We are so far from crossing our selves that wee endure not any other should crosse us or deny us in our persons or corrupt lusts Haman is sicke on his bed because Mordecai denies him obeysance If John deny Herod his Herodias hee shall dye for it If Jonas lose his gourd hee will be angry to the death If a man touch Lamech hee will revenge seventy times seven times Such impatiency and impotency is in our nature if wee bee crossed in our wils 3. Distrust in God and trust in the meanes maketh the precept yet more difficult We see not easily how wee can do well without friends wealth liberty favour preferments Wisedome wee say is good with an inheritance Eccles. 7. wee would be on the sunny side and on the gathering hand and it is a sore thing to forsake all which makes the young man goe sad away from Christ himselfe God in his creatures wee can better content our selves withall than either in himselfe or in his Son Our unbeleeving hearts see the gift better than the giver Wee cannot live by promises something we would have in hand and are loth to let all our hold go Ye see the necessity of selfe-deniall Our Lord was not ignorant how this precept is an hard saying able to discourage any from once thinking to follow him or become a Disciple And therefore his great wisedome would not have laid this ground for a foundation if it had not bin
of sinne Get unto Christ and touch the hemme of his garment as the woman having the issue of blood and get cure Hide thy sinne with Adam and there is no cure no prosperity While I held my tongue my bones consumed in my roaring all the day long Psal 32. 3 4. But the very opening of the sore is a part of the cure because the core of sinne is let out by confession and to confesse and forsake sinne is the way to mercy Confession which brings guiltinesse before men brings pardon and discharge before God And besides thy Physician is of such skill experience as thou canst conceale nothing from him if thou wouldest Lastly if Christ be the Physician here is marvellous comfort for afflicted soules pained and pined under the burthen of sinne First he is a skilfull Doctor he knowes all our diseases and the remedies thou mayst safely commit thy selfe into his hands as his mother said to those servants Ioh. 2. Whatsoever he commonds that doe Simple obedience is required without reasoning or enquiry All his sayings must we doe Secondly he is able enough to cure us because hee is God Omnipotent able to worke an infinite cure and onely such a Physician can bestead us for all created power cannot helpe us Thirdly he is as willing to helpe as able being a mercifull High-Priest compassed with infirmities to have compassion on them that are out of the way How willing would a tender husband be to helpe his wife out of a deadly sicknesse no lesse willing is Christ to helpe his Spouse Fourthly he is ready to answer all objections Obiect 1. I am unworthy he should looke on me or that I should speake to him Answ. Oh but be of good comfort he calls thee Come to me all that labour and are heavy laden Looke not for a merit in thy selfe but in him whose mercy is thy merit The poore woman having the bloody issue thought her selfe unworthy to speake to him or looke him in the face yet she could creepe behind him and touch the hâ—m of his garment So in thy humility thrust in to touch by the hand of thy faith the hem of his garment for Whosoever touched it was made whole Mat. 14. 36. Obiect 2. But oh the greatnesse and multitude of my sins is such as how can I but despaire of cured they are deeply grounded in me and of long coutinuance Ans. No disease foiles Christ not Peters denyall not Davids murder not Pauls persecution and blasphemy not Manassehs sorcery can foyle him not sins of a crimson dye if thy sinnes be as red as searlet he can make thee white as snow Esa. 1. Not multitude of diseases not complicated diseases which are most dangerous in the body It is all one with him to forgive tenne thousand talents as one to cure deadly sicknesses as well as crazednesse Hos. 14. 5. Long diseases foyle him not who stretcheth out his hand all the day long if thou come in any time Say not then of any sinne My sinne is greater than can be forgiven this was a lye in Cain saith Saint Augustine Obiect 3. But it is appointed for all men once to dye and I am infinitely afraid of death Answ. Thou hast a Physician that can command death that hath beene the death of death and hath raised himselfe from death and much more can and will raise thee a member from the dead Else should he be imperfect in his glorious body which he will not endure Obiect 4. But after death comes judgement and how shal I stand before the Iudge Answ. Thy Physician shall be thy Iudge hee that cured thee shall cover thee he that knowes thy debt is wholly paid by his owne hands must needs acquit thee Obiect 5. But how shall I be regarded among those infinite millions of men that shall stand before him Answ. Get faith by which thou art contracted unto Christ and that shall be thy marriage-day A loving husband will be carefull of his loving wife above thousands of others HAving spoken of the Patients and of the Physician wee come now to the Cure which is the third generall wherein consider 1. The confection 2. The application In the confection are 1. the Author 2. the Matter 3. the Vertue The Author must be a man and above a man He must be a man because man had sinned and mans nature must satisfie else Gods justice and menace had not taken place In the day thou sinnest thou shalt dye the death Beside the manner of satisfaction requires him to be a man because he must subject himselfe both to the perfect obedience of the Law and to the suffering of death for our disobedience And finally he must be the seed of the woman that must bruise the Serpents head that is a man spotlesse innocent pure one that needs no medicine for himselfe He must be a man of Adam but not by Adam even borne of a Virgin to stop originall sin in the course of it But withall he must be above a man even our Emanuel Esa. 7. 14. God with us yea that great Ithiel and Ucal Pro. 30. 1. a strong and mighty God first for the proportion between the sinne and punishment the sinne being infinite so also must the punishment be which none but an infinite person could sustaine Secondly he must be God manifested in the flesh to remove those infinite evils which attend sinne Gods wrath and Satans power damnation death c. All this must our Physician doe by his lowest abasement He must satisfie Gods justice appease his anger triumph against enemies of salvation subdue sinne foyle the divell overcome death discharge all debts cancell all obligations and hand-writings against us and after all be exalted to glory Thirdly he must be God to procure us those infinite good things we need viz. To restore us Gods Image lost and with it righteousnesse and life eternall To defend soule and body against the world the divell hell and all enemies To recover us to an excellent and firme estate of sonnes by adoption by meanes of a lasting and eternall covenant And to lead us into eternal happineâ—â— as our great Joshua into that good Land that Paradise of God whence the Divell and our sin hath cast us Thus of the Author Next the Matter of the Cure and that is the Physicians owne blood by which is meant his whole Passion 1 Pet. 2. 19. By his stripes we are healed his sicknesse brings us health It must be by blood All our ransome must be paid by blood for without shedding of blood there is no remission of sinnes Heb. 9 31. And it must be by his blood not the blood of beasts which only sanctified outwardly in respect of the Commandement and signification Heb. 9. 12. â—0 but this blood is the laver which purgeth away all sinne Not the blood of Saints Martyrs
and holiest men can make attonement but onely his blood which removeth the curse of the Law by satisfying for our sins which opens heaven now shut upon us and obtaines a perfect redemption Heb. 9. 2â— Next the Vertue and Preciousnesse of this Cure Oh it was a powerfull and precious blood and that in five respects 1. In respect of the quality it is the blood incorruptible All other diseases are cured with corruptible things but this is opposed to all corruptible things in the world 1 Pet. 1. 18. Yee are not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Iesus Christ. 2. In respect of the person it was the blood of God Act. 20. 28. and therefore of infinite merit and price to purchase the whole Church 3. In respect of the subject of it no other cure or remedy can reach the soule All others drugs conduce for healthfull life and worke upon the body but this makes for an holy life and workes upon the soule the sicknesse whereof the most precious thing in the world cannot cure Minister to a wounded spirit Aurum potabile Bezoar Alchermes dust of Pearles all is in vaine it is onely this blood which heales soules and spirits 4. In respect of the powerfull effects of it above all other cures in the world for first they may frame the body to some soundnesse of temperature but this makes sound soules according to the conformity of Gods Law Secondly they may preserve naturall life for a while but this brings a supernaturall life for ever Thirdly they may restore strength and nature decayed but this changeth and bringeth in a new nature according to the second Adam Fourthly they cannot keepe away death approaching but this makes immortall Fifthly they cannot raise or recover a dead man but this raiseth both dead in sinne dead in soule and dead in body Lastly in respect of time All other physicke is made of drugs created with the world but this was prepared before the foundation of the world 1 Pet. 1. 18. Againe all the worke of all other physicke is done in death but the perfection and most powerfull worke of this is after death By all this take we notice of our extreme misery by sinne seeing nothing else can cure us but the blood of the Sonne of God Gold enough can ransome the greatest Potentate on earth but here nothing can doe it but the blood of the Kings sonne If we had such a disease as nothing but the heart-blood of our dearest friends alive suppose our wife husband mother or childe could cure us what an hopelesse and desperate case were it it would amaze and astonish the stoutest heart But much more may it smite our hearts that we have such a disease as nothing else but the heart-blood of the Sonne of God can cure Looke upon the execration of thy sinne in this glasse If any thing can worke the hatred of sinne this may 1. To see the fire of Gods wrath kindled and nothing but this blood can quench it 2. To see the deadlinesse 〈◊〉 the disease in the price of the physicke and the dearenesse of the remedy 3. The danger of sinning against so precious a blood for if Abels blood being shed cryed from earth for vengeance much more will this blood trod under foot But those never saw their sinne in this glasse who conceive the cure as easie as the turning of an hand a light Lord have mercy or an houre of repentance at death and have lived in sinne and loved their sinne as if there were no danger in it passe away their daies and live in ignorance swearing cursing Sabbath-breaking lying covetousnesse filthinesse and all unrighteousnesse whereas had they eyes to see they might out of the price and greatnesse of the remedy gather the danger and desperatenesse of the disease For all the earth affords not any herbe or simple nor drug of this vertue but the Sonne of God from heaven must shed his blood Nay all the men on earth and all the Angels of heaven could not make a confection to cure one sinne or sinner Neither any of Salomons fooles who make a mocke of sinne ever saw it in this glasse Is it not extremity of folly to make a tush of sinne and to take pleasure and delight in it O consider in time that the sinne thou makest so light of cost Christ deare and the least sinne thou delightest in must either cost Christ his blood or thee thine in endlesse torments It is no safe jesting with edged tooles and to east darts and fire-brands and say Am I not in jest In this Cure we may observe a world of wonders First wonder and admire this Physician who is both the Physician and the Physicke Was ever the like heard of in all nature Secondly admire the confection that the Physician must temper the remedy of his owne heart-blood He must by passion be pounded in the mortar of Gods wrath he must be beaten smitten spit upon wounded sweat water and blood be trodden on as a worme be forsaken of his Father the Lambe of God must be slaine the just suffer for the unjust Doest thou not here stand and wonder 〈◊〉 there ever such a Prece 〈…〉 〈◊〉 the world that the wo 〈…〉 〈◊〉 one man should heale ano 〈…〉 〈◊〉 â—ound or that the wo 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Captaine should heal 〈…〉 souldiers The 〈◊〉 suffered darkenesse the earth quaked the rockes rent asunder the graves opened the dead arose to shew the admirable confection of this Cure and are we senslesse still Thirdly admire the power of weaknesse and the Omnipotent worke of this Cure by contraries as in the great worke of Creation there the Sonne of God made all things not out of something but out of nothing so in this great worke of our Cure by Redemption he works our life not by his life but by his owne death he makes us infinitely happy but by his owne infinite misery he opens the grave for us by his owne lying in the grave he sends us to heaven by his owne descending from heaven and shuts the gates of hell by suffering hellish torments He honours us by his owne shame he breakes away our temptations and Satans molestations by being himselfe tempted Here is a skilfull Physician tempering poyson to a remedy bringing light out of darkenesse life out of death heaven out of hell In the whole order of nature one contrary refisteth another but it is beyond nature that one contrary should produce another Wonder Fourthly admire the care of the Physician who provided us a remedy before our disease before the world was or we in it together with his bounty who bestowed on us so precious a balme when there was none in Gilead when neither all the gold in India nor all the metals or minerals in the bowels of the earth could save one soule nor all the wealth in the world oure one