could well subsist because he was to get vp his head and to wrestle out from vnder all this paine and grief And heerein is offered to vs a great word of comfort that seeing all the troubles that wee sustaine in this life are finite both in weight and time For what is our life but a moment And the Lord who afflicteth vs knoweth our mould and our shape that we are but dust Then although the Lord to thy sense intreate thee hardlie yet he is still to thee a louing Father in regard of that glorious end that he hath appointed for thee whervnto momentanean troubles shall succeed an infinite weight of Ioy and glory As the gravitie of Christ his sufferings is pointed at in the inflictor God himselfe so also in the phrase of speaking whereby his suffring is imported it is not a light nor superficiall going over but a deep sinking and graving so deepe that of him are the wordes of Ieremy to be vnderstood Consider yee that passe by if there be any dolour like vnto my dolour The wordes of Dauid in the 129 Psal. The plowers haue drawne deep furrowes vpon my back And the words of Esay in his 50 Chapter I giue my backe to the smiters and my cheekes to them that plucked off the haire The deepe ingrauing of this Stone look to it this way The thornes making impression in his Head the scourges making deepe furrowes in his backe the nailes piercing his hands and feete the souldiers speare going through his side to his Heart so that water and blood came forth And yet a deeper ingraving then all this the plough of the wrath of God went deeply through his Soule made so deep a furrow that he did sweat Blood for water Now looke to and consider the grauen Stone and therein see great matter of feare there being heere the most fearefull declaration of Gods wâ—…ath against sin that euer was giuen great mater of loue being herein The greatest declaration of loue that could be offered to mankinde Secondly he was so deeply grauen that although his paine and suffering be away and ended yet the print of his suffering is not away but remaineth fresh in the eyes of his Father as meritorious for all them that shal be safe Thirdly hee was so grauen that he might take vs and graue vs vpon his brest vpon the palmes of his hands neuer to be forgetfull of vs but to present vs blamelesse before his Father Let the suffrings therefore and Crosse of IESVS Christ be drawne in our hearts not lightly nor superficially but deeply grauen that we may say with the Apostle We desire to know nothing but Iesus Christ and him crucified The fourth thing mentioned in these verses is the happy fruite and effect that followeth vpon the suffering of IESVS CHRIST it is expressed this way I will sayth the Lord remoue the iniquity of the Land in one day The grauing of Christ although painfull to him for a time yet pleasant and comfortable to his Church for euer For it is by reason of his sufferings that God his Father hath giuen this declaration I wil take away and put forth of my remembrance the iniquity and sinnes of all that repent beleeue in him his stripes were many his grauing deep his sufferings infinite in weight although not in time Therefore though thy sinnes were neuer so many and thy iniquities neuer so great they are all wel payd for Thou being in him needest not to feare death hell nor condemnation In the words expressing this benefite of taking away the peoples sinnes two things are to bee marked The one is of the perfection of the worke All sinne and iniquitie shal be taken away And the other is of the circumstance of time in that day As for the first there is promised heere the perfect taking away of sin and iniquity And how doth this agree with the manifold complaints of the Saints in the Scripture of the abiding of iniquitie and with the experience euen of these who beleeued remission of sinnes and taking away of iniquities in the Blood of Iesus Christ. Doe not the Saints in Scripture complaine of sinne cry out vnder the burden of sinne craving daylie the renovation and purgation of their heart And who hath not reason with Dauid to say If I should reckon my iniquities they are moe in number then the haires of my head And who knoweth the errours of his life Hath there beene and is there manifold sinnes euen in the best children of God how doth God then performe this promise saying that the day of his Sonnes death shal be a day wherein he will take away all the sin and iniquitie of his people for answer to this When God is said in Scripture to take away the sinne and iniquity of his people two things are imported The one is that which hath the proper respect of sinne which accuseth and condemneth vs before God the guiltinesse of it that is taken away And so to take away sinne is to forgiue sin to cover sin not to impute sin In the meane time there remaineth in the corrupt nature of man the mater of sinne the nourishments of sinne sinfull concupiscences wherewith the Elect of God haue a daylie strife not suffring this remnant sin to reigne in their mortal bodies Secondly by the words of this promise is imported that the remission of thy sinnes that great benefite acquired by the death of Christ is full absolute and perfect although the renovation be not as yet perfect His merite taketh away all the guiltinesse of thy sin so that thou art free of condemnation althogh at the first all corruption be not mortified slaine into thee So that both these are the speeches of a renewed man the one of the assurance of faith there is no condemnation to me the other of the complaint of sin the flesh lusteth against the spirit and this holdeth them in a continual exercise striuing to a daylie mortification till in end sin as it is perfectly forgiuen so it may be perfectly slaine and abolished and left as a carcase without motion life or senses The other worde heere is of the circumstance of time God saith he will do this in one day And the day meant of heere is the day of the slaughter and sacrificing of his Sonne It may then bee demanded was there no remission of sinnes till the day of his death Is he not that that Lambe spoken of in the Apocalypse 13. that was slaine from the beginning was not the sinnes of faithfull Patriarches Prophets and Servants of GOD taken away in the vertue of that same Blood althogh the day of the actuall shedding of it was not as yet come For laying open this matter ye must consider about the suffring of Iesus Christ four things 1. The ordaining of it by God the Father as the mean
Dauid in his 32 Psal. saith not Blessed is the man that is not a sinner no man is blessed that way but blessed is hee whose sins are covered to whom the Lord imputeth not his iniquity I haue put away thy transgressions like a cloude and thy sinnes like a mist Esay 44 Chapter Clouds and mists which appeare for a time are by the brightnesse of the Sunne vtterly dispersed When God looks vpon thee through the bright Son of Righteousnesse IESVS CHRIST all thy sinnes like a mist and cloude goeth away The King Ezechiah saith Esay in his 38 Chapt. That the Lord had casten his sinnes behind his backe That thing a man will not remember nor regardeth not he turneth away his face from This is the gracious doing of our God with his people his amiable face is toward their persons his back is turned vpon their sinnes They shall neuer come in his eye nor be remembred of him The Prophet Micah in his seuenth Chapter saith That the Lord casteth the sinnes of his owne in the bottome of the Sea alluding to Pharaoh his chariots whom he drowned in the red Sea so that they were neuer seene againe aliue to trouble his people So will the Lord drowne in euerlasting oblivion the sinnes of his owne that they shall neuer meet them to effray or disquiet them Heere is then the comfortable fruit of the sufferings of Christ pointed out vnto vs. God himself the engrauer of this Stone hath as it were with his owne finger written vpon his crosse Remission of sins and taking away the iniquitie of all that beleeue in him Adam and his wife put forth their hands and tooke of the fruite of that forbidden tree wherevpon followed nakednes and shame Stretch out thy hand and take of the fruite of this tree Remission of sinnes which groweth vpon the Crosse of Iesus Christ. Righteousnes and life eternall shall follow Remission of sinnes that great and maine benefite earnestly to bee sought for of vs all For since all are borne sinners and liue in sinne if a man obtaine not remission of sinnes it had beene better for him neuer to haue beene borne or being borne it had bin better for him to haue beene a beast nor a man for the death of the beast is the end of all miserie to it But the death of a man dying in his sinnes is the beginning of such miserie and woe as shall neuer haue an end There is no burden nor weight comparable to the burden of sin that hangeth so fast on and presseth down The burden of sicknes of long and heavie sicknes is a heauie burden The burden of shame and ignominie a heavy burden which maketh Dauid so earnestly cry to God in his 119 Psalme to deliuer him from that shame which he feared and his sin had deserued The burden of disdaine and contempt a heavy burden We are counted saith the Apostle the off-scowrings of the World The burden of povertie and want a heavy burden And therefore Iacob vowed that God should be his God if he would giue him food and rayment And Agur the son of Iakeh desired the Lord not to presse him with the burden of povertie lest he should blaspheme him But of all these burdens none of them can compare with the burden of sinne lying vpon a mans conscience vnpardoned And that made the Kingly Prophet laying aside his royaltie earthly pleasures of his Kingdome to cry out Blessed is the man whose sinnes are forgiuen Seeing therfore we haue often at the desire and entisements of the deuil eaten of the bitter fruits of sin which althogh they looke pleasant at the first yet shall proue bitter as gall and wormewood Let vs resort to this tree to IESVS CHRIST crucified and eate of this fruite and liue euen remission of sinnes in his death And that thou may know that thou hast true lie tasted of this fruit and that it is no presumption but the assurance of faith that draweth in this comfort to thy soule of the remission of sinnes Consider first if thou can looke to God the Author of it who for Christs sake hath taken away thy sinnes and forgiuen thy iniquitie Secondly by dailie teares humiliation mourning and weeping for sin labour to increase thine assurance I water my bed with teares saith Dauid Thirdly let euery one that saith he hath gotten from God remission of sinnes of many sinnes and great sinnes change the tenor of his life endeavour to walke more holy lie And then although death when it commeth strip thee naked of all the pleasures that are heere yet thou being made naked and free of sinne thou shalt not bee found in that great day as the wicked are but shal be covered with the white rayment of the righteousnes of IESVS CHRIST THE THIRD SERMON ZECHARIAH 3. Chap. and 10. verse 10 In that day saith the Lord of hostes shall ye call euery man his neighbour vnder the vine and vnder the figtree THe last point contained in these words is in the last verse and that is of the happie estate of the Church and Kingdome of Christ vnder him so gracious and comfortable a Head As remission of sins and taking away iniquitie is a consequent of his suffring and of this deep engrauing of the stone so this peaceable estate is a necessary consequent of remission of sinnes for all that haue remission of sins in the death and suffering of Christ of necessitie they must haue peace with God peace in their owne heart and soule which passeth vnderstanding tranquillity and rest which is the beginning of heauen heere for we who beleeue doe enter presently in our rest The words of the verse if they shal be considered with some respect to the temporall deliuerie of the people from Babylon and their full restitution from the captivity as was both prophecied and performed then they offered this comfort vnto them that albeit the dayes by past haue beene vnto them dayes of woe and miserie dayes of weeping and lamentation wherein they haue beene brought in a strange countrie at the rivers of Babel to shed teares for hearing the enemies deride their Hebrew songs and in the remembrance of Sion that was of before so beautifull and glorious yet when the Lord should returne to shew himself the captain Defender of his Church and should loose their yoke and bonds that day and time of their libertie is to bring with it a great glorious change being broght to their owne home and country where before they were in Babel Lying vnder their owne Vine and Figtree where before they lay at the rivers of Babel each neighbour speaking comfortablie to an other where of before they were forced to heare the rayling and out-cryings of the children of Babel And all these in the appointed time of God did so gratiously come to passe that albeit in the dayes of their
of mans redemption 2. the typing figuring of it by the ceremonies of the Law Leviticall sacrifices 3. The merite efficacie of it And last that very act it selfe when his body was at Golgotha affixed to the Crosse. Now althogh this act of his suffring was in the last time yet in the decree and ordinance of GOD it was from the beginning In the ceremonies of the Law he was typically slain before their eies the merite and efficacie of his death extended the selfe to all that was safe from the beginning and doth extend to all that shall be safe to the end of the world These words of the promise of taking away sinne and iniquity being narrowly looked into you will finde they containe these necessary points that thou must know and beleeue in this comfortable Article of the remission of sinnes as heere you are led to consider 1. the Author of the benefite I will take them away sayth the Lord. Sin being the offence of God none hath power to forgiue or take away his offence but himselfe And whereas God is the Author of this benefite then hath it these properties First it is sure Secondly perfect Thirdly it is vnchangeable and neuer commeth vnder revocation Thy memory may forget thy sinnes for a while and cast them vp againe thy conscience may loose feeling of them and cast them vp againe But if God take them away they shall neuer meet thee neither to thy shame heere nor condemnation after this A necessary point of tryall for men to examine what way they are made quite of their bypast sinnes For although thou haue drowned them in oblivion and put them away in forgetfulnes yet are they not soundly taken away till GOD take them away that thou be able to say God for Iesus Christ his sake hath forgiuen me them Secondly in these words is pointed out vnto vs the meanes by which remission of sins is obtained and that is cleare by ioyning these words with the former He said before I will graue the Stone I will sinke it deeply I will lay great weight of suffering vpon the back of my Sonne What then shall follow vpon it this same gracious effect I laide this great burden of pain vpon him that I may take off the great burdens of iniquity The meane is then whereby remission of sins is purchased his bloody Passion the grauing of the Stone his painfull sufferings If you aske at Iohn in his first Epistle and first Chapter how men are freed of their sinnes he will answere you The Blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth vs from all our sinnes If you aske at Peter in his first Epistle and first Chapter how and by what meanes we are redeemed he will tell you not with gold nor siluer but with the precious Blood of the Sonne of God And if there were no more but this Sinners are sent to rest vpon Iesus Christ and his Blood because it is the onelie meane of our reliefe which GOD himselfe hath devised and found out I wil saith he graue the Stone and by that meanes take away all thy iniquitie He that wold present to Gods eye any other thing meritorious of the remission of his sinnes but this graven Stone Iesus Christ crucified he must remaine comfortleffe if it were for no other way but this he misknoweth that way of his peace which GOD himself hath devised and appointed Thirdly in these wordes of the promise wee are to consider of the persons to whom belongeth this great benefite of taking away their iniquitie And it is heere said The iniquity of all the Land A generall to be restrained to the Church and people of God the eyes of whose faith as was said of before shal be fastened vpon this Stone Thus saith Esay in his 33 Chapter The people that dwell therein meaning of the Church shall haue their sins forgiuen And in his 62 Chapter They shal be called an holy people the redeemed of the Lord a citie soght out and not forsaken By the Arke of Noah which was a type of the Church It was told vs none would bee safe but they that are within the compasse of the Church And now the builder of the Church saw this and therefore made a good prayer for his son Iaphet God perswade Iaphet to dwell in the Tents of Sem that is make him a member of the Church to whom this promise is made I will take away all thy iniquitie Fourthly to make this comfort that is in the promise of remission of sinnes firme sure he doth not giue to sin the common word of sin but hee giueth it a name more expressing the weight of it and calleth it iniquitie Wherein he would allure vs to apprehend the comfort of the promise this way Let no man by reason of his sinne iniquitie despaire when he considereth these two things First It is I saith the Lord of hostes that am the doer that taketh away iniquity come and reason with me Albeit thy sinnes be many and great is it not easie to mee to take them away I that said to Light and to all the rest of the Creatures let them bee I that can fold vp the heauens as a garment cannot I make thy iniquities passe away Esay was lamenting his impuritie and crying Woe is me But how easie was it to the Lord to send him comfort when an Angell with a slight came to him with a coale taken from the Altar touching his lips telling him that his sin was taken frō him The thief that did hang on the right side of Christ had experience of this who hauing vttered but a few words of remors for his sin his iniquitie was instantly taken away his soul made ready for the Paradise of God 2. As looking to God the Author of this work men should not despair So considering the medicine how pretious it is how can sinners distrust go away comfortlesse here is a stone deeply grauen much blood shed And whereas one drop of that precious blood being the Blood of GOD might haue bin a ransome for all the world behold streames of blood flowing frō him that thou may euer therein as it were bath thy soule And although thy sins were neuer so great yet heere is the medicine so large it goeth beyond and aboue all Last of all you would mark here the phrase of speaking vsed heere I will saith the Lord take away the iniquity of the Land In the former Chapter speaking to Iehoshua he said to him I haue caused thy iniquity to passe from thee God is said to take away our sinnes when for the merite and suffering of his Sonne he accounteth of them as if they had neuer beene committed And to ingraue this consolation in the hearts of penitent and beleeuing sinners divers phrases and sundry forms of speeches are vsed by God in Scripture
captivity their sorrow was exceeding great yet the day of their deliuerie brought with it greater abundance of joy and a gladnes more exceeding And thus they confesse themselues in the 126 Psalme When the Lord say they brought againe our captivity we were as men in a dreame It was a worke so farre beyond our expectation that we doubted whether we were waking or sleeping Our mouthes were filled with laughter our tongues and words did show vs joyfull men yea the worke was so great and marvailous as at the sight thereof the very Heathen was amased and moued to cry out and say Surely the Lord hath done for this people marvailous and great things In the signification of the wordes as they are referred to the glad day of the deliuerie of the people from their bodily trouble and captivitie these things wold be obserued First as it is true of Christ and his suffering so is it also of his members and people The day of his ingraving a darke day The day of his suffering vpon the Crosse a blacke day the Sunne covered his face but the day of his resurrection a glorious day such a day saith Paul as in it he was manifestlie declared to be the Sonne of God It was so with this people heere They had a black day of captivitie but a glorious day of deliuerie It is true of all his people these that are in covenant with him Although they haue a darke day of trouble and affliction yet there succeedes vnto it a cleare day of comfort Albeit they lying in the graue of affliction it appeare not what they are yet being raised by Gods hand it shal be not onely sensible to themselues but manifest to others that they are the children of God Secondly althogh all this life were an continued day of trouble yet there is a day comming that shall recompense all which is the day of the glorious libertie of the Sons of God Let vs therefore hold fast these comforts which Dauid out of his owne sense and inspired by the Spirit hath laid in register to vs. To the righteous that is to them that are made righteous in IESVS CHRIST there shall arise Ioy in trouble light in darknesse God will not alwayes frowne vpon his owne but though weeping be in the euening Ioy shall come in the morning Thus the people liued in an hard and miserable case being in Babel yet in regard of the promises made to them many of them liued in hope of the cleare day of their deliverie And therefore they can say in their mournfull song at the rivers of Babel Let my hand forget to touch the harp and my tongue cleaue to the roofe of my mouth if I ioy before I see the deliverance of Ierusalem past But when the day came according as it was promised then are they not onely ioy full in their owne deliverie but in that same 126 Psalme they register out of their experience a sentence to stand to the perpetuall comfort of the Church and all the members thereof that shall goe vnder whatsoeuer crosse heere They that sow in teares shall reape in Ioy. Take it therefore and vse it as an vndoubted consolation The teares of the Saints shall haue a succeeding Ioy This is not so generall as all teares shall haue comfort and all that weepe shall haue ioy Esau had teares and Iudas had teares and the hand of the Lord vpon most wicked men will expresse teares But mark the phrase of the Church heere It is not they that sow teares but they that sow in teares or with teares They that in the day of Gods visitation doe sow with teares the confession of their sinnes they that sow with teares a true acknowledgement of their owne deserving They that sow with teares their prayers and supplications to GOD from whom commeth the reliefe of his owne They that sowe with teares their holy promises and vowes of amendment Assuredly although the seed-time be dolorous the haruest shal be fruitfull pleasant they shall reape remission of sinnes they shall finde from GOD a ioyfull deliverie The LORD in the beginning after he had destroyed the World with water being againe pacified hee setteth downe in the 8. Chapter of Genesis a vicissitude of these things while the world lasteth There shall be seed-time and harvest cold and heate sommer and winter day and night al 's long as the earth remaineth It is euen so with the Church of GOD and members thereof Al 's long as the earth remaineth cold and heate sommer and winter darkenesse of trouble light of deliverie weeping and reioycing till in end they bee brought to that perpetuall day and all teares bee wiped from their eyes But leauing this of the temporall deliverie because the speech hath beene hitherto of the Messias and his Kingdome Heere mention is made of the secure and peaceable estate of the subiects thereof And that this may bee the more cleare comparison is borrowed from the peaceable and quiet estate of subiects dwelling in a temporall and earthly Kingdome vnder a temporall and earthly King The peaceable estate of subiects in a worldlie Kingdome is set out this way When a man may without harme or interruption call his neighbour vnder his Vine and vnder his Fig-tree In the dayes of warre or time of oppression of enemies men draw apart to holes and holds and haue not these free meetings In the dayes or time of pestilence neighbour doth not call neighbour but neighbour skarreth with neighbour yea the friend with his friend the father with the sonne the man with his wife In the dayes or time of famine neighbour doth hardly call or invite neighbour lest as the wise Virgins said to the foolish there bee not sufficient for vs and you both But heere is the peaceable and happie estate of a Kingdome when openly without feare when familiarly without danger when vnder the vine and figtree in plentie without scarcitie hauing the Creatures of God not onely to necessitie but to delectation a neighbour may invite and call his neighbour and peaceablie enioy the benefite of God As this is in generall the description of the peaceable estate of the subiects dwelling in a Kingdome and vnder a King whom God doth blesse with peace So haue you a notable example agreeable to the same description in the Kingdome of Salomon Of which it is said in the first Booke of the Kings and fourth Chapter That all Israel from Dan to Beersheba dwelt safely vnder his vine and vnder his figtree all the dayes of Salomon Before wee come to the translation of this speech to the Kingdome of Christ something would be spoken of the comparison that forasmuch as the Spirit of God doth here borrow and take comparison from the peaceable estate of earthly Kingdomes to shadow out the peaceable and prosperous estate of the spirituall Kingdome of the Messias that