God should fetch any argument or any motive to make himselfe our God from what wee do And if wee could do any such thing yet there cannot be any moving power in such performances to obtaine God for our God for in the very best of our performances there is unrighteousnesse there is filthinesse any the Prophet saith that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags sweet motives to prevail with God for such a gift as to communicate himself No beloved it is not what we do but what he in his own thoughts hath freely determined to do for us Object But you will say Christ makes God to be our God Ans I answer beloved in some sense that is true but as I said before originally Christ doth not make God to be our God Give me leave to open this clearly unto you for I must tell you that Christ himself is marvellous chary and wary not to assume or take to himself that which belongs unto his Father nor should wee give to Christ himself that which belongs unto God peculiarly as giving Christ himself unto us Christ saith Give to Cesar the things that are Cesars and to God the things that are Gods and this holds as true between God and Christ as Mediator Give unto God the things that are his and to Christ the things that are his For our Saviour in John 17. at the beginning of the Chapter saith speaking to the Father in prayer I have finished the worke that thou hast given me to doe What worke was that towards the latter end of the Chapter you shall finde As thou Father art one in mee and I in thee so also they may bee one in us as much as to say that thou mightest communicate thy selfe to them observe it Christ doth professe that it is the work that his Father hath given him to do that he did not put himselfe upon it originally but the Father did put him upon it The truth is the meer good pleasure of God contriving determining and ordaining this communicating of himselfe was the first originall and ground that Christ was sent into the world that hee was conceived in the womb of a Virgin c. And the Lord by the obedience and righteousnesse of Christ hath actually brought all the benefits of the Gospel upon us to which end Christ hath done this work But the first conception of it and the foundation of it was the thing by which he was Christ and Mediator and therefore Christ could not be the originall of that eternall decree and purpose of God to communicate himself to us for the execution whereof Christ was sent into the world The Schooles have a rule that the end of a thing is first intended though it be last in execution so this that God would communicate himself to the sons of men being the end for which Christ was sent though till Christ had by vertue of his death made way there was no actuall communion yet still it was the end of Christs coming into the world it was in the mind of God before the means was in being Therefore if you will have God to be your God you must not thinke that such and such things will make God to be yours Nothing will get God to be yours but his owne free motion from himselfe by his Son Secondly there is a way by which God is found to be the God of such peopleâ— now these things being confounded together put people into a labyrinth thinking the way to find God and to get God is all one now although it is the meer good pleasure of God himself that doth bestow himselfe upon us yet he is pleased to chalk out a way whereby he may be found to be our God and that we may find him to be so we must meet God in those wayes he useth to be met in But you will say How doth God usually manifest himselfe and how is he found of his people to be theirs I answer there is an efficient of our finding out of God or a passive instrument of finding him out the way of finding out of God efficiently to be our God is the Spirit of the Lord acquainting the spirits of men with the minde of the Lord. I say he is the efficient All the world is not able to work any impression upon the spirit of a man that the Lord is his God but only the Spirit of the Lord must perswade the spirit of man that he may receive this principle It is true indeed the Spirit of the Lord doth it according to the word of Grace and speaks no more to the spirit of a man but what is in the word of Grace but the word of Grace it selfe doth not of it selfe work this impression that God is my God or thy God but the impression is wrought by the Spirit of the Lord. Object What serve all the Ordinances for will you say is not here a crying down of Ordinances There will bee still this scandall cast upon us But let me tell you there is a most comfortable use of Ordinances though they â—erve not to such high purposes as these are I say though they are not efficient to beget and finde out and reveale to the spirits of men the things that concerne God yet besides the efficient revelation of God to be our God from the Spirit alone there is a passive inâ—â—rument by which the Lord doth make himself â—nowne to be the God of his people but that way is meerly passive and not active First passively God makes himself knowne to be the God of his people by the word of his Grace and Faith laying hold upon the word of Grace revealed and more subordinately in Prayer Fasting receiving of the Lords Supper and such Ordinances so far as they are mixed with faith Now give me leave in a few words to communicate unto you the full use and utmost extent of Gods thoughts concerning the Ordinances that he hath propounded how far forth he would have the creature look upon the Ordinances and as much as may be put upon the use of them so farre forth as they are usefull Know therefore as I said before that all these Ordinances are but passive wayes of conveying this great Gift the knowledge of God to bee our God I mean more plainly thus These Ordinances are only of and in themselves empty dry chanels or pipes through which the Spirit of the Lord brings from God himselfe the Spring these riches and conveyes the same into the spirit of a man Look as a chanell digged in a dry ground is the way through which the Spring conveyes his water into a Cisterne the chanell it selfe communicates none of its own only it is a passage through which the Spring conveys his water so are all the Ordinances even Faith it self Prayer and all other services they are but chanels through which the Spirit of the Lord passeth and bringeth from the Lord himselfe the Spring and Fountain the revelation
in generall If any man sin as if he had said there must something be done by Believers that goes beyond the being of sin before they can be excluded from having interest in the Advocateship of Christ Here the Apostle speaks expresly there is an Advocateship of Christ for Believers finning without exception I know it is too frequent among many that more grosse sins then ordinary in a Believeâ— do not only waste the conscience but do also interpose between such a person and Christ of which we shall have occasion to speak else-where For present there is a coâ—â—eit that if a Believer sine more then ordinarily presently there is just câ—use for him to suspect Christ will not sufficiently manage his office for him an least Christ hath not sufficiently managed it already so that there is juâ—t cause of feare But let me tell you to the everlasting consolation of Gods people that there is no sin which a Believer can commit which can exclude him from the benifit of this Advocateship or bring him beyond the bounds of this large grant If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father And if it be any man you will say it extends to all men in the world as well as Believers if any man sin Nay there is a restraint in the words and you shall easily see it If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father If any of us that have fellowship with the Father and the Son it is not every one that hath Christ for an Advocate but those that are Believers Those that have right to fellowship with the Father and the Son are only spoken of in this place I speak this to the end that those who 〈…〉 fear of death are subject unto bondage all their lives long â—ay know that Christ is coâ—â—e to deliver them and reveales this truth on purpose to deliver them from the feare of death and bondage by being their Advocate for their sins He is an Advocate he is a propitiation for every sin of his The words run in the generall to the end If any man sin we have an Advocate with the Father and he is the propitiation for our sins The Apostle doth not say he is not an Advocate for such and such but for such and such Believers that sin so and so if they commit sin so and so agravated and if their sins rise to such an height there is no propitiation for them But the Apostle speaks in the generall style If any man sin and he is the propitiation for our sins and yet beloved I must be bold to goe a little further in respect of the persons whose cause Christ doth plead and in whose behalf Christ is an Advocate I say it is for all sorts of Believers nay I go further it is for more then present Believers even for some who are not for the present Believers but remaine as yet in a state of unbelief In brief Christ is the Advocate of the cause of euery person in the world for whom he paid the price of redemption whether they be persons already called or persons not yet acquainted with the Grace of God for every Elect person as well unconverted as converted Christ doth equalty in respect of the substance of his plea interpose but when I say he plead as well for the unconverted as for the converted I mean for such unconverted persons as do belong unto the election of Grace and have their portion in the price of his blood Beloved for mine own part I cannot yet conceive any other considerable difference between the plea of Christ for the converted persons and the Elect unconverted but this circumstantiall difference namely that the value of his blood is equally of force to Believers and unbelievers being elected saving that the Belevers have this priviledge that the Lord Christ pleads for the manifestation of this discharge unto this converted person but pleads not for the present manifestation there of unto the unconverted elect person tell such time as he shall be called to the faith and by that faith that thing be made evident which before was hid I say the pardon of sin by the blood of Câ—rist is 〈◊〉 full for the unconverted elect person as fully passed over in grant I mean to that person as to the Believer himself God doth add never a tittle of pardon it self more to him that is a Believer then to that person not yet converted to the faith in regard of the substance of the pardon it self For the cleering of this to you I beseech you note what is the rise or ground-work of the pardon of sin Secondly note when this pardon of sin is compleat with God These two things considered you shal perceive that all the pardon in respect of the substance of it that God passeth over unto men he doth passe it over before their conversion Look I say upon the rise the true rise or originall of the pardon of sin is the gracious grant of God upon the blood of Christ shed This is the onely foundation of pardon I say Gods gracious grant upon the sheding of the blood of Christ there is no pardon appliable to any person in the world but what pardon is to be found in the word of Grace Thou that art a Believer at present thou hast the pardon of thy sins in thy spirit thou art assured of it Where hadst thou this pardon Didst thou not fetch it out of the word of Grace Then as soon as the word of Gods Grace was first published this Grace of the pardon of sin was held forth If thou foundest it not here thou found'st it some where else but tell me where will you have this Grant of God to build upon if you will not have it in the word of Grace You will say the Spirit of God will reveale it unto you It is true indeed but if the Spirit of the Lord doth reveal a grant to you of Grace it is according to his Word The Spirit speaking out of the word oâ— Grace to men speakes no otherwise but according to this word of Grace in men and if that there be a contradiction between the inward voyce and this word of Grace that is enough to give you cause of suspicion yea you may be confident that that voice within you in respect of such contradiction is a false voyce I say that the Lord Christ sends us unto his Word and from the word we take out the pardon of sin we have Now beloved I beseech you consider if all pardon to all the Elect to the end of the world be contained in this word of Grace there is no more pardon then what is written there then it must needs follow that God passed over his act of pardon of sin at that instant when he entred this pardon in the volume of his Book Is there no pardon till thou art converted and called then the pardon of all thy sins are not to be
indeed of the world never stirs nor moves God because he know well enough how he can blast every attempt yet because he knowes that his people have some flesh remaining still in them the appearance of a tumult and the opposition of the Gospell may peradventure put them into an affright The Lord therefore endeavours to hearten his own people against the frights that they might take in regard of the outward appearance of opposition and this he doth in the words of the Text Feare thou not for I am with thee bee not dismayed for I am thy God Now lest there should be a mistake to whom the Lord directs this speech for the intent of the Lord may be mistaken in the extent of the people to whom hee speakes and therefore in the 8. and 9. verses the Lord shews to whom he speaks such incouragements But thou Israel art my servant and Jacob whom I have chosen the seed of Abraham my friend Object Why some will say It seemes then that in this Text Gods speaking of comfort and encouragement is confined onely unto the people of the Jews that are the children of Jacob and the seede of Abraham and therefore what ever comfort there is in the Text there is little comfort belongs unto us Answ Consider the ninth verse and then it will appear that though God speakes of Jacob Israel and the seed of Abraham yet he doth not speak of the seed according to the flesh but according to the Spirit for in the ninth verse you read the words thus Thou whom I have chosen and taken from the ends of the earth That Jacob then and Israel to whom the Lord speakes these comfortable words is the Jacob and Israel that is called from the ends of the earth Now if you would know what is meant by the ends of the earth the Prophet will tell you in chap. 43. of Isaiah and the 5,6,7 verses Feare not for I am with thee I will bring thy seed from the East and gather thee from the West I will say to the North Give up and to the South Keepe not back bring my Sonnes from farre and my Daughters from the ends of the earth even every one that is called by my name As much as to say this Israel and Jacob to whom the Lord speaks not to feare is a people gathered from the East and from the North and from the South and from the West now the seed of Jacob naturally considered is not of that extent as to over-spread the World every way however the last clause that it is even every one that is called by his name puts it out of doubt that it extends also to us Gentiles This I note beloved that so we may not only have a guesse that the comfortable language frequently mentioned by the Prophet belongeth unto us as wel as the Jews but that we may see that it is the mind of the Lord that he hath revealed it himself that it doth indeed extend it self unto us for by the way solid comfort wil not be raised upon meer guesses or presumptions taking things for granted without the sense of a good foundation to bear up such comforts All the comfort people have when they runne upon guesses is onely abiding with them so long as there is not administred an occasion of discomfort But all the comforts in the world will vanish that have not some firme foundation when they are struck at and when some tempest beats against them to cast them downe And therefore it is good to bee established in every truth wherein comfort may be received Now from this passage as it hath reference to the coherence I may observe unto you that When ever the Lord Jesus Christ is set up in freshnesse and glory and beauty he doth alwayes meet with strong opposition I say the Lord Christ that righteous Man was never raised up but a storme was raised with him there is an everlasting fighting against the glorious light of Christs Gospel when ever it breakes out You may see the truth of this beloved especially since Christs personall coming at all times no sooner did the Apostles begin to preach Christ as raised from the dead but a madnesse and a fury grew upon those that thought themselves in authority as the Scribes and Pharisees their swords were presently drawn their prisons set open to clap up those that preached Christ Herod killed one imprisoned another intending to kill him too Beloved I need say little of this your owne experience may now be a sufficient witnesse of that which perhaps you feared long before Now is come the time of reformation and purging of the Church the time is come of setting up the Ark and bringing Dagon down you see the fruit of this you see what combustions this hath raised in the world let Christ himself be never so peaceable yet when he comes men will picke a quarrell with him therefore by the way as it is a truth in generall so is it in particular cases too When ever we the Ministers of the Gospel devote our selves only to set up Christ and labour might and maine upon this worke we must expect to have the world about our cares And for you beloved if you dreame of peace and rest in the world if you dreame of finding of friendship and amity and applause with men while you endeavour to set up the Lord Christ you mistake your selves exceedingly You must looke for uproars and tumults and clamours from the world and there will be these continually attending you In the second place from the coherence you may observe As mad and desperate as the world is and the enemies of Christ are in fighting and making opposition against Christ yet no weapons formed in this kinde shall prosper The Lord hath raised him up saith the Text and he shall rule over the Heathen and they shall bee as dust before his sword and as driven stubble before his bow I say this shall come to passe and therefore it is no great matter how majestically the world lookes and how mighty it makes it selfe for beloved if all the World should combine against one person that stands for the cause of Christ rather than Christ should sinke this person should bee able to withstand even the whole World But however let thaâ— person bee borne downe to the ground or over-borne with the World Christ shall never be over-borne Christ shall reign in glory and triumph not onely in Heaven but also in his Church too When all comes to all let them fight never so desperately Christ shall bee the conqueror he shall puriue nay he shall passe onâ— softly hee shall not neede to take any great pains nor toile to maintaine himself thus set up and destroy his enemies hee shall doe iâ— with ease But this is not that I meane neither I come therefore to the Text it selfe The Text is a word of incouragement or a word of heartening held forth to those spirits
helpe thee I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousnesse they are the three supporters that do issue out of this main principle for they are all but branches flowing from this priviledge of Gods being your God These I say are sufficient to keep the most tottering spirit in the world immovable like Mount Sion never to be removed I shall take the Principle the main support into task at this present and therein consider what excellency of support there is in it Fear not I am with thee be not dismayed I am thy God In the handling of this that you may the better see what stability there is for a tottering spirit in this support let us consider First what it is for God to be thy God Secondly what a person hath in this who hath God for his God Thirdly by way of answering objections shew how it is so well with those that are the Lords if this be true that God himself is their God Fourthly how God doth become their God and upon what terms Fifthly how God will be found of them to be so as he is become There are excellent usefulnesses if the truth be well fifted and dived into I will begin with the first what it is for God to be thy God There is much in it nay I will say more there is more in it then is in any one thing delivered in Scripture I will go yet further there is all in it that doth concerne the present and future wel-being and happinesse of a Believer I say all is in this one thing I am thy God While you have all things else but this you have but the rayes of the Sun while you have this you have the Sun it self in his brightnesse and glory and lustre But to cleer this thing a little what it is for God to be thy God or my God you must not understand that the Holy Ghost speaks here in the full collection of all nor that he is to be understood as speaking in the plurall number because he takes in the whole world but he is to be understood of all the members of Christ as one body and also the passage is to be understood distributively of every such particular person and so he is thy God and my God and their God I am their God is all one with I am thy God In the Scriptures you shall finde a most vast difference betweene God simply and abstractively considered and God relatively considered and that we must note beforehand that you may know wherein the strength and comfort of this passage lyeth For God to say Fear not I am thy God is ten thousand times more comfortable and hath more in it then simply for God to have said Feare not I am God I say there is farre more stability and support in this expression of God considered as our God then as he is considered simply and abstractively without relation to us for so it imports only to us the incomprehensible perfect and compleat being of God as he is in himself But God considered in relation here as he is thy God imports to us not only what God is in respect of his absolute perfection and compleatnesse but what he is to those persons whose he is so that the phrase doth import not only what God simply is but also that whatever he is in and from himself the same he is to those persons whose hee is It is worth the observation that the Scriptures plainly hold out that when ever the Lord is spoken of in reference to wicked persons God is never mentioned in way of relation of propriety unto them but only as he is spoken of in reference to his owne people You shall not finde in all the Scripture God said to be the God of any person that is a wicked man But lest there be a mistake you must know that this relation of God to people may be considered either as common or as speciall and peculiar It is true take a Church as it is mixed so sometimes the Lord is spoken of in relation to them as for example in the 20. Chapter of Exodus I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of the Land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage Here is God spoken of in relation I am the Lord thy God and this seems to be spoken collectively to the whole body of the Church one with another but alwayes observe this rule Where the Lord is mentioned in relation to a mixed people that is a Church consisting of mixed persons all the priviledges from such a relation of God in reference to such persons are but common priviledges So in that very Text I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of the Land of Egypt Observe he calls himself indeed their God take them conjunctively one with another But wherein their greatest priviledge was which they had in having him their God he expresseth thus I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of the Land of Egypt which was but a common priviledge and therefore though God be said to be the God of people being mixed yet he is not so their God as he is the God of his own people the living members of Christ those that are mixed they receive some common propriety or common things in that propriety but they partake not of the whole propriety Usually in Scripture the phrase I am thy God is spoken only to the Lords servants his chosen that he will not cast off and so it is to be underâ—oâ—d in this Text as it is in the words immediatly before the text For you shall see that God speakâ— peculiarly of his own elect people and faith of them and to them Feare not be not 〈◊〉 I am thy God c. You shall finde beloved that the Lord doth frequently expresse himselfe when he doth comfort and stay up his people in this relation as being the best motive that can be to uphold their spirits In Isa 50.10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord that walke in darâ—nesse and seeth no light let him rest in the name of the Lord and stay himselfe upon his God Here is the very basis the great pillar to bear up even in a state of darknesse God is his God let him stay himself upon him because of this relation He is his God Beloved a man that doth trust to another mans estate he trusts to a broken staff as we say and may be deceived except that estate be made his owne a childe of light can never be able to walke in darknesse except hee have assurance that God is his God by whom he stands God is my rock and my salvation saith the Psâ—lmiâ— Psal 62.2 Who is a recke save our God Psal 18 31. So Thomas not being present when Christ did make it appear to the rest that he it was that suffered and rose againe because he would not beleeve Christ was risen he received this checke