of vnction The first importeth his Diuinity the second his Humanity The first is taken from the Hebrewes to shew that he is a Sauiour of the Iewes the second from the Greeks to shew that he is a Sauiour also of the Gentiles For though he was sent onely to the Iewes yet hee was not sent only for the Iewes He was sent to them onely pradicatione verbi to call them to repentance by preaching the word of life he was sent for vs all solutione presij to redeeme vs from sin by paying the ransome thereof in the effusion of his bloud Both names are here ioyned together for as each people Iew and Gentile hath the same Sauiour and are both vnited in him so each hath right equally in the same benefits which hee hath purchased for both And though obstinacy become to Israel yet that is vntill the fulnesse of the Gentiles become in and so all Israel shall be saued Rom. 11.25 26. He the Iew that was first shal be last but yet he shal be called in and before the end So much of the words now to the matter No man commeth vnto the Fahher but by the Sonne Iohn 14.6 No blessing commeth from the Father also but by the Sonne and whatsoeuer we aske of the Father in his name he will giue it vnto vs Ioh. 15.16 He is the ladder of Iacob Gen. 28.12 reaching from the earth in his Humanity to heauen in his Diuinity that so by him we may ascend from our earthly habitations below vnto the heauenly places aboue Therefore saith our Apostle Blessed bee God euen the Father of our Lord Iesus Christ which hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in heauenly things in Christ As namely the blessings of Election Filiation Redemption in which as in the rest the Father vseth the Sonne howbeit not as an instrumentall meanes but a cooperatiue cause Whatsoeuer things he Father doth the same doth the Sonne also Ioh. 5.19 Yea the same doth the holy Ghost also For though the internall actions of God be proper vnto each person by himselfe yet the externall are common vnto them all To the point The First blessing was of Election The Father chose vs in his Son He chose vs in him before the foundation of the world Ephes 1.4 The Second blessing was of Filiation The Father hath adopted vs in his Sonne so that he was a Son by nature we by grace in him he by generation we by adoption in him The Father hath many sons in one Sonne He the Father hath predestinated vs to be adopted through Iesus Christ vnto himselfe according to the good pleasure of his will Ephes 1.5 The third blessing was of Redemption God the Father was in Christ recontiling the world vnto himselfe 2. Cor. 5 19. Jn regard whereof the Father spake from heauen saying This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased Mat. 3.17 In him and with vs. For if the sacrifice offered vp by Noah which was but of birds and beasts had such efficacic and vertue that God smelled a sauour of rest therein Gen. 8 21. much more did he smell a sauour of rest in the bloudy sacrifice of his onely begotten and dearely beloued Sonne For behold here is a greater then Noah and a greater sacrifice then his His sacrifice yeelded a sauour of rest vnto God by acceptation this by desert his by the mercy of the Father this by merit of the Sonne Now since the whole sum and parts of our saluation are thus comprehended in our Lord Iesus Christ we must not deriue any parcell thereof directly nor indirectly positiuely nor consequently vnto any other Man or Angell but looke alwaies vnto him the author and finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 If we seeke saluation it is in his name if any gifts of the spirit they are in his vnction if fortitude it is in his dominion if purity it is in his conception if indulgence it is in his natiuity if redemption it is in his passion if absolution it is in his condemnation if remission of the curse it is in his crosse if satisfactiō it is in his sacrifice if purgation it is in his bloud if mortificatiō it is in his graue if newnesse of life it is in his resurrection if immortality it is in his reuiuing if inheritance of heauen it is in his entrance thither if safety it is in his kingdome if secure expectation of the iudgement to come it is in the power of iudging which the Father hath committed vnto him For the Father iudgeth no man but hath committed all iudgement vnto the Sonne Iohn 5.22 Why Because all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father Let vs honour him therefore and the Father ascribing praise and honour and glory and power vnto him that sitteth vpon the throne and vnto the Lambe for euermore Amen Apoc. 5.13 Thus much of the foure particulars in the last verse of my texe It remaineth now that according to my * Pag. 30. designe I reflect vpon the generall doctrine which is contained in the same and so by it I will make a transition vnto my own particular case The consideration whereof hath treated with me to make speciall choice of this text in regard of sundry markeable effects of Gods mercy loue and grace towards me which as I feele comfortably in my selfe so I would impart willingly vnto you The generall doctrine streaming out of the premises concerneth the glory of God which he seeketh and obtaineth in all his works In our glory he aduanceth his owne as our Apostle saith He declareth the riches of his glory vpon the vessels of mercy which hee hath prepared vnto glory Rom. 9.22 Here his glory is shewed in his mercy which sometimes he sheweth in his iustice also but with different effect toward vs. For then he is glorified in vs not of vs he getteth glory we giue it not we are passiue in the one actiue in the other First he is glorified in vs that is to say in our destruction by his iustice I will get me honour saith God vpon Pharaoh and vpon all his host Exod. 14.4 Glorificabor in Pharaoh as the vulgar hath it and neerer vnto the originall I wil be glorified in Pharaoh that is my honour and glory shall be declared eminently in his ruine and fall Fiet voluntas Dei aut à nobis aut de nobis the will of God shall be done vpon vs if not by vs as here you may see in the lamentable submersion subuersion of this puissant and mighty King Secondly he is glorified of vs that is to say in our saluation by his mercy Call vpon me saith God in the day of trouble so I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie me Psal 50.15 Here is a good harmony concord God deliuereth man Man glorifieth God God is honoured and man is saued Both these glorifications are ioyned together by Moses after he had seene the confusion of Pharaoh and
one death wrought or brought forth another Spiritualis corporalem culpabilis poenalem voluntaria necessariam c. The spirituall a corporall the culpable a penall the voluntary a necessary death But now wee are raised vp from the one and other FIRST we are raised vp from the death of the soule by the spirit of illumination and the spirit of sanctification two works but one and the same spirit enlightning the darkenesse of our vnderstanding and cleansing the corruption of our hearts This is the resurrection of which S. Iohn speaketh Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection for on such death hath no power Apocal. 20.6 For though death remaine in act yet it is destroied in effect Death died in Christ and by Christ O death where is thy sting O graue where is thy victory The sting of death is sinne and the strength of sinne is the law But thanks be vnto God who hath giuen vs the victory through Iesus Christ our Lord 1. Corinth 15.55.56.57 So that Non est malum in morte nisi malum post mortem There is no euill in the first death all the euill that is is in the second Blessed then indeed holy is he whose first life secureth him from the second death SECONDLY how are we raised from the death of the body who are not yet dead therein For the Apostle saith not God will raise vs vp but God hath raised vs vp as though it were not to come but past I answere first that our corporall resurrection is already past in the preuision of God to whom al things which are to come are actually present and in the purpose of God which changeth not I am the Lord and I change not Mal. 3.6 So the Prophets in the Law and the Apostles in the Gospel do speake of things which are yet to come as if they were already past Propter certitudinem euentus for the certainty of the euent Thus Esay the Euangelicall Prophet saith expressely of Christ He hath borne our infirmities He was wounded for our transgressions Hee was afflicted c. Esay 53. These sufferings of Christ were already past in the eternall destination of the Father but were yet to come in the actuall oblation of himselfe J answer secondly that wee are risen in Christ as in our Head betwixt whom and vs there is an indissoluble connexion and an inseparable bond For as there is a naturall vnion in Christ of his body and soule an hypostaticall vnion of the humane nature with his diuine person a sacramental vnion of the bread with his body so there is a mysticall vnion with vs he being the Head and we the members Therefore as in the ceremoniall Law the first fruits being blessed all the residue was blessed therein so Christ who was the first fruits of them that slept 1. Cor. 15.20 being raised from the dead we are also raised vp in him And this is a singular comfort against the feare of death though it bee the most terrible of all terrible things Why should we feare to die who are already raised frō the dead Our life is hid with God in Christ Col. 3.3 Will he not keepe it safely who bought it so dearely Therefore I will lay mee downe and sleepe in peace for thou Lord onely makest mee to dwell in safety Psal 4.8 With which comfortable sentence Gorgonia the blessed sister of Nazianzen commended her soule into the hands of her Redeemer Thus much of the second benefit to wit Resurrection of soule and body The third ensueth namely the Session of both in heauen Before we were quickned then raised now seated in heauen hee hath made vs sit together in the heauenly places in Christ O happy life to be so quickned ô happy resurrection to be so raised ô happy session to bee so placed First hee hath made vs to sit This is a signe of our tranquillity and rest aboue after much trouble and motion heere both in body and soule We are Pilgrimes vpon this earth as all our fathers were We are in via in our way to mooue not in patria in our countrey to sit downe We may not stand still for that is reproued Quid statis hîc otiosi Why stand you here idle Mat. 20.6 We can not sit for that is reserued vnto an other and better life when many shall come from the East and West and shall sit downe with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the kingdome of heauen Mat. 8.11 SECONDLY then he hath made vs sit together in heauenly places that is to say in the heauen of blessed Angels and Spirits to whom God reuealeth himselfe in the abundance of his glory For though God filleth the heauen and earth with his essence presence and power yet hee sheweth not the like effects thereof in euery place He is peculiarly in his elect by grace peculiarly in heauen by glory which is the Chamber of presence wherein we shall see him as he is and behold him face to face But what the qualities of these heauenly places are or what are the ioies therein as also how the degrees of ioy are vnequall since there are many mansions in heauen Joh. 14.2 and that may be here implied by the plurality places I neither can conceiue them as they are nor yet expresse what I conceiue thereof I will therefore conclude this point with that excellent speech of S. Augustine concerning the ioy of heauen Profectò in me totum non intrabit sed ego in illud totus intrabo truely it will not enter wholly into me by knowledge that I may apprehend it but I shall enter wholly into it by fruition that I may enioy it for euer and euer Now for the matter it selfe We sit in the heauenly places How Not by plenary possession but by the right of inheritance Not by personall fruition but by assurance of faith Finally not in our selues but in Christ our Head So saith my text he hath made vs sit together in the heauenly places in Christ For as Ioseph dreamed Genes 37.9 and it was a true dreame that the Sunne and the Moone to wit Iacob his father and Rachel his mother did reuerence vnto him which yet she neuer performed in her selfe for Rachel died before Genes 35.19 but in the person of Iacob her husband when he came downe into the land of Egypt so wee are already seated in the heauenly places not in our selues but in Christ our Head who as a Man tooke our nature from his mother and as a Redeemer vndertook our persons with his Father and so what he hath receiued for vs we enioy in him He being in heauen we are in heauen also he being ascended wee are ascended thither with him For though he descended alone yet he is ascended with vs. Therefore whereas our Sauiour saith No man ascendeth into heauen but he that descended from heauen the Sonne of man who is in heauen Joh. 3.13 S. Bernard meditateth vpon it in this
little in our eyes as Lot said of Zoar is it not a little one and my soule shall liue Gen. 19.20 yea perhappes none at all God said by a direct affirmation thou shalt not eate of the tree of knowledge for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die the death Gen. 2.17 The woman commeth in with a mincing hesitation lest perhaps you die Genes 3.3 The Diuell with a peremptorie negation you shall not die at all Such goodly creatures as you die for an apple or some fruit of litle value No saith he you shall not die But Gods word was the truer for Adam did die the death The lesser the precept was in respect of the matter and thing it selfe the greater was the sinne in respect of the disobedience contempt Secondly when we haue committed a sinne vpon his suggestion our consent then he bringeth another false glasse wherein he maketh our sinne appeare so great that God himselfe is not great enough to forgiue the same My sinne is greater saith desperate Cain Gen. 4.13 then that it can be forgiuen But here Cain I dare giue thee the lie or rather thy Diuell who is the father of lies Ioh. 8.44 for no sin is so great but that God can such is his power and will such is his goodnes forgiue the same Js it not simply the sinne committed but our impenitencie added vnto sinne which maketh it irremissible in euent that is otherwise remissible in it selfe In all such temptations therefore which doe or may assault vs it is good to haue S. Peters counsell 1. Pet. 5.9 euermore set before our eyes Resistite resist him How must we resist him Fortes being strong and stedfast Wherein must we be strong and stedfast In fide in faith that it may apprehend the grace of God For if I sinne he hath grace If my sinnes be great there is the riches of his grace If my sins be in number as the sands of the sea and were euery sand a milstone there is the exceeding riches of his grace Exceeding aboue all my sinnes For if it be true and it is most true that the mercy of God is ouer or aboue all his works Psal 145.9 is it not ouer aboue all my works also Howsoeuer his be good and very good Genes 1.31 mine euill and very euill that is not the point he will not haue his grace and mercy to bee exceeded by my sinnes Plus potest dimittere quà m ego committere he can remit more vnto me then I can cōmit against him And so much of the first The SECOND particular is the Tendernesse of Gods affection through his kindnes Sweete is the name and sweeter is the thing Thy louing kindnesse is better then life therefore my lips shall praise thee Psal 63.3 Let mee repeate it once againe O that I might dwell for euer in the contemplation of this heauenly and diuine sentence Thy louing kindnes is better then life therefore my lippes shall praise thee O Lord thou art without passion but not without compassion The Lord is mercifull and righteous and our God is full of compassion Psal 116.5 In regard whereof it is that in the holy Scriptures wee finde him compared sometimes to a Friend somtimes to a Father somtimes to a Mother sometimes to an Husband that so by these familiar speeches we might aspire vnto some sense knowledge of his indulgent and compassionate nature But since before his other attributes were attended with certaine epithetes to amplifie the dignity thereof as rich Mercy great Loue exceeding Grace is there none here for his Kindnesse which is the spring and fountaine whence all the rest proceed It needed not the cause is sufficiently commended by the effects Howbeit wee may assume certaine epithetes from some other passages of Scripture as in that place which I mentioned before Thy louing kindnesse and Ionah 42. Thou art of great kindnesse Compound these simples and you shall haue great louing kindnesse in God This this is it which aboue all other things doth winne our hearts vnto God if not in piety yet in good nature For what doth more singularly affect vs then the kindnesse and sweet disposition of a Friend or what can oblige vs more in the straitest bonds of loue Woe is me saith Dauid for thee my brother Ionathan Why Very kind hast thou beene vnto me 2. Sam. 1.26 But the kindnesse of God doth as far surpasse the kindnes of man as GOD excelleth MAN that is to say infinitely beyond all proportion and without any measure And so much of the second The THIRD particular is the Obiect of this kindnesse Vs his kindnesse toward vs. Not toward the good Angels they were in the possibility not in the act of sinne So they needed not redemption from sinne but confirmation in grace and consequently they needed not the kindnes of God at the least not in this sense whereof I now intreat Not toward the bad Angels whom God left iustly vnto obduration in their pride against him and malice against vs. Not toward vnreasonable creatures they were not capable thereof But toward vs. Men who needed it and fell by the suggestion of others and were capable of this kindnesse but had no means to redeem our selues from the power of Satan who held vs in the captiuity of sinne and death Here then was a fit case wherein the kindnesse of God might fully and excellently declare it selfe And truly God did thus declare his kindnesse but yet in iustice also S. Bernard describeth it ingenuously and bringeth in the Sonne of God speaking in this manner Behold how for my sake my Father doth lose his creatures The Angels affected my highnesse but presently he strooke them with an incureable wound Then Man affected my knowledge vpon him also my Father had no pitie neither did his eye spare him Hath be then care of oxen He made onely two noble creatures partakers of reason and capeable of felicity to wit Angels and Men but loe for mee he hath destroied all Men and many Angels Now therefore that men may know how I loue the Father recipiat per me quos quodammodò propter me amisisse videtur Let him receiue them againe by my meanes whom he seemeth in a maner to haue lost for my sake So the Sonne of God restored vs againe vnto his Father by iustice paying the iust price and full ransom of our sins Thou hast redeemed vs vnto God by thy bloud Apocal. 5.9 By the expense of his temporall he hath purchased our eternal life That we might haue it as a gift he hath giuen himselfe for vs. Therefore wel saith the Apostle here in my text that the kindnes of God towards vs was in Iesus Christ And this is the FOVRTH particular in this verse First of the words secondly of the matter In the words there are many obseruable points but I may not be copious therein as namely Iesus is a name of saluation Christ a name