laid as a Foundation and some things proposed as the Effects and Consequences of it 1. Something premised and laid as a Foundation Because you are Sons Here the Adoption of Believers is positively asserted as a thing in present possession There are indeed some further Fruits of our Adoption yet future and expected so the Redemption of our Bodies from the Grave at the end of the World is stiled the Adoption which we wait for Rom 8.23 because the Resurrection to Glory will be an eminent declaration of our Adoption as Christ was declared to be the son of God with power by his rising from the dead chap. 1.4 but still our Adoption it self is not deferr'd till then the Scripture affirms the contrary 1 John 3.2 Beloved now we are the sons of God So in this Epistle chap. 3.26 You are all the Children of God by Faith in Christ Jesus As soon as we come home to God by believing we are taken into this Relation for the Houshold of Faith is his select peculiar Family 2. Some things proposed as the Effects and Consequences of this partly with reference to the Act of God the Father and partly with reference to the Act of the Spirit 1. As to what concerns the Act of the Father who is plainly meant in that Clause God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts Here we may consider the Person spoken of the act respecting this Person and the Objects that have the benefit of this Act. 1. The Person spoken of The Spirit of his Son i. e. the Spirit of Christ So he is call'd Rom. 8.9 1 Pet. 1.11 This Character is given him on this occasion for various reasons 1st Because 't is the same Spirit which was in Christ and which is in all Believers That one Spirit which abode upon him resteth upon them also Though he had a greater Fullness of the Spirit yet they in their measure are filled with him too 2dly By the effectual Operation of this Spirit Christ is formed in us and we conformed to him He fashions the whole Church of the First-born into the lively Similitude of God's only begotten 3dly To intimate Christ's procurement of this Blessing for us We were predestinated to the Adoption of Children by Christ Ephes 1.5 Election is attributed to the Father but the Son is the Purchaser of what we are elected to Hence he is said to give power or right to become the Sons of God to them that receive him John 1.12 and 't is by virtue of our union to him that we recover our lost relation to God all the Children of God are given to Christ written in his Book and ransom'd by his Blood for he redeem'd us that we might receive the Adoption of Sons ver 5. of this Chapter 4thly To teach us that the Spirit it self is procured for us by Christ. They that have not the Spirit are such as have not the Son for an Interest in the one does infallibly carry along with it a participation of the other Those Rivers of living Water by which the effusion of the Spirit is express'd flow out of his pierc'd side The Holy Ghost had never been sent down from Heaven if the Son of God had not desecended first to prepare his way 2. The Act respecting this Person God hath sent forth The same word is used with respect to the Son ver 4. this act is ascribed to God several times in Scripture Psal 104.30 John 14.26 and it imports not any change of place as if he were more distant from the Father when he is thus sent than he was before for he is Omnipresent Psalm 139.7 and of the same undivided Essence with the Father but it notes only his Commission for some special Work in and upon the Creature 3. The Objects that have the Benefit of this Act Into your Hearts i. e. into the Hearts of them that believe Two things are signified by this 1. That the Work here intended is an inward Work Ezek. 36.27 I will put my Spirit within them And therefore 't is secret and does not minister to Vain-glory or carnal Boasting The Testimony of the Spirit is privately given between him and us and the new Name is that which no Man knows but the receiver himself 2. 'T is a saving Work The Residence of the Spirit is appointed not in the Brain by common unsanctified Gifts such as Hypocrites may be endowed with but in the Heart where all the Habits of Grace are planted and from whence all the Issues of Life proceed 2dly As to what concerns the Act of the Spirit Crying Abba Father Here we may examine how the Spirit is said to cry in our Hearts and what it is which he does cry 1. How is the Spirit said to cry in our Hearts when he is sent forth into them Ans Even as God is said to know when he makes others know Deut. 13.3 So the Spirit maketh intercession for us Rom. 8.26 in helping us to Pray for our selves and therefore 't is a vain and feeble Argument which some Socinians would bring from this and the like Texts against the Deity of the Holy Ghost Matth. 10.20 It is not you that speak but the spirit of the Father that speaketh in you i. e. Though your Tongues utter words yet they could not do it without his assistance and direction as the principal necessary Cause As in this Epistle chap. 2.20 I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me The Apostle corrects himself not as if he were not the true and proper Subject of spiritual Life but to shew that Jesus Christ was the Spring and Fountain of it So here the Spirit sent forth into our Hearts is said to Cry because they cry through his gracious Influence The Holy Ghost teaches us to pray but strictly it is we that pray in the Holy Ghost Jude 20. 2. What is it which the Spirit does cry Abba Father i. e. Father Father This Repetition may be upon two accounts 1. To intimate that both Jews and Gentiles are equal sharers in this Blessing of Adoption Therefore the Apostle makes use of two Words in two different Tongues to express the same thing Abba being a Syriack word which was a Language then commonly known among the Jews and that which we render Father beinga Greek word which was a Language then commonly used among the Gentiles Though a Learned Critick Capellus Spicileg hath taken much pains to prove that Abba is a Greek word also and so applied by the Apostle in this place alluding to the manner of little Children when they first begin to speak and call after their Parents which in all Languages as well as the English isn earest to the same sound with this word Abba 2. To note the strength and vehemency of desire The doubling of words does frequently signify this in Scripture Our Lord in the Garden when he offered up prayers and supplications with strong crys and tears as the Apostle
them and those that are below them 1. Creatures that are above them do Service to them Angels disdain not to be their Guardians while they are here as they are to be their more intimate and perpetual Associates hereafter Are they not all without exception the highest Orders of them sent forth as ministring Spirits on the behalf of the Heirs of Salvation Heb. 1. ult Who but they can look to be thus attended Angels of Light do gladly minister to the Children of Light they are deputed by our Heavenly Father to keep us in all our ways and at last to convey us home 2. Creatures below them are directed and over-ruled to serve them also Every one in God's great House on Earth shall though perhaps without your knowledge and against your will promote the Interest of those that are design'd to dwell in Heaven As all things are put under the feet of Christ our elder Brother Ephes 1.22 so we by him recover as much of our lost Dominion as we have real occasion for The whole Creation is more subject to the Heirs of God than to the common Men. 2. To shew that this Sonship of Believers is a Gospel Privilege It is so in a two-fold sense by way of opposition to the Law of Works and by way of composition with the times of the Old Testament Consider it either way it is truely and strictly Evangelical 1. In Opposition to the Law of Works No Soul was ever invested thereby with this blessed Privilege of Adoption This is plain because 1. The Law worketh Wrath and nothing else Rom. 4.15 It speaks no Favour to any Son or Daughter of Adam it breaths out Threatnings but is utterly silent as to Promises The Language of the Law is Judgment without Mercy extremity of Vengeance without any mixture of Kindness Therefore 't is said that as many as are under the Works of the Law who are in the first Covenant and adhere to it and rest upon it are under the Curse who are in the first Covenant and adhere to it and rest upon it are under the Curse Gal. 3.10 Adoption through Grace is perfectly concluded by the Law it will never make Men Children of God but pronounces them Children of Wrath. 2. The Law convinces of Sin and Guilt but gives no Righteousness therefore Sonship cannot come by the Law For Adoption presupposes Justification and is consequent upon it The Children of God are all Righteous with a Righteousness that perfectly answers the Legal Demands viz. the Righteousness of Christ For in him shall all the Seed of Israel be justified Isa 45.25 But now all the natural Seed of Adam before they are adopted to God are Condemned for want of such a Righteousness The Law Sentence goes forth against them and takes hold of them as Guilty Sinners that have broken the Commandment can never keep it 2. in comparison with the Times of the Old Testament 'T is true the Believers in those times were the Sons and Daughters of God and they challeng'd their Privilege Isa 63.16 Doubtless thou art our Father but yet it was in so defective a degree that they seem'd more like to Servants than Sons and were trained up under suitable Discipline Hence the Apostle says ver 7. following the Text Wherefore thou art no more a Servant but a Son implying that thou hast been in a kind of servile but art now Translated in these New Testament Times into a more filial State Our Privilege of Sonship under the Gospel excels in Two Regards 1. As to clearness of Manifestation and Discovery The Children of Princes and great Persons many times know little of the Honour and Hopes which they are born to till they arrive at some competent maturity So the Ancient Believers understood a great deal less of Divine Benefits by Jesus Christ than we do now They like Moses had a Veil upon their Faces we behold with open Face if compared with them They were not strangers to the Covenant of Promise but their acquaintance with the things promised fell very short of ours All that is freely given us of God is now made more known and plac'd in a better Light 2. As to Fulness and Amplitude of Enjoyment The Merit and Influence of Christ's Death in all Points extended backwards as far as the First Ages of the World wherein any Believers lived but the Fruits of it then did not so abound as since his coming The Spirit was shed abroad and pour'd out then but not so richly and liberally as now He was given then more sparingly now in a larger measure And consequently their Fruition of this blessed Sonship was not equal to ours though they had such a Privilege they could not use it with so much advantage They were like Heirs in Childhood that have only some smaller allowance during that time we are like those upon the edge of Manhood who have more of their Estate in their own Hands III. How is this Gospel-Privilege discern'd by the help of the Spirit How do we come to know that we have it through the sending of him into ours Hearts Answ In six Propositions 1. The Spirit of God in his dealing with Souls does not ordinarily begin as a Spirit of Adoption but rather as a Spirit of Bondage This seems to be hinted Rom. 8.15 You have not received the Spirit of Bondage again to fear but you have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we cry Abba Father This was written to actual Believers those that were called to be Saints and their not receiving of the Spirit of Bondage again after they had received the Spirit of Adoption supposes they had so received him before The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption are one and the same Spirit distinguish'd only by various Operations noting two different Effects of the same Cause Now usually the former of these does precede and introduce the latter while the Spirit is making use of the Law to bring us to Christ we see our selves in a miserable undone Condition when he hath fully brought us to Christ by the Ministry of the Gospel the Scene is alter'd and we perceive our selves to be the Seed which the Lord hath Blessed Strong Cordials are not so fit to be immediately pour'd into foul Stomachs There is a shaking which goes before the Establishment a making of Trouble before the speaking of Peace a Storm raised in the Soul before a comfortable Calm As Manasseh was taken first among the Thorns and bound in Fetters and carried to Babylon and then knew the Lord 2 Chron. 33.11 13. And as Joseph was sold for a Servant into Egypt and laid in Irons there which made way for his Enlargement and Preferment Psalm 105.17 18. c. so does our Exercise under a Spirit of Bondage tend to Liberty by the Spirit of Adoption if we are the Called according to God's purpose 2. The time of our continuance under a Spirit of Bondage before we receive the Spirit of Adoption with the
degrees and measures of its working is very different and uncertain Some know more of the Terrors of the Lord than others and some are held longer in Prison before they are brought out though no Soul knows more or is held longer than God sees needful to its thorough Humiliation We must be laid low and yet we shall not be quite sunk God's wounding and healing of our Spirits is not always performed with the same speed as all Convictions are not alike sharp God does not limit himself in this case to any stated Rules which are known to us but acts as he thinks fit towards various Persons He hath said he will not contend for ever but yet we cannot punctually tell how long he will contend His dealing with one Soul must not be alledged as the exact Pattern of his Dealing with another Some Dispositions are more rough and stubborn some sins have been more hainously aggravated perhaps their Chains may be the heavier and not so soon taken off Common Parents consider the Tempers and Crimes of their several Children and proportion their Rebukes accordingly SERMON XVIII March 9. 1697. GAL. IV. vi And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts crying Abba Father 3. THE Spirits usual way of evidencing our Sonship to us is nbot by any vocal Testimony or immediate Revelation Every Servant must not look to be as his Lord in this respect who had the Spirit of God visibly descending upon him at his Baptism with a voice from Heaven saying This is my beloved Son c. Matth. 3.16 17. What sudden Divine Suggestions to this purpose filling the Soul in a moment with extraordinary Joy may be sometimes afforded to some peculiar Persons at peculiar seasons I will not dispute it may be when a Soul is under strong and violent Temptations from Satan to throw up all its hopes or after long Attendance upon God in some soleme secret Duties or before our Entrance upon some very difficult and hazardous publick Services but such things are not commonly to be expected God does not tie or confine himself to ordinary means but yet he generally makes use of them and works by them 'T is possible some may be wone without the Word 1 Pet. 3.1 but yet the most are born again by the Word chap. 1.23 so 't is possible that the Spirit may in some cases reveal himself to our Comfort without the Word though never against it but this is not the Method which he commonly takes 4. The usual way of the Spirit in the declaring and confirming of our Sonship to us is by a particular powerful Application of Gospel Promises to us and an illustration of his own Fruits in us 1. By an Application of Gospel Promises There are many Promises to the same Effect with that 2 Cor. 6.18 I will be a Father to you and you shall be my Sons and Daughters c. This avails but little to us till by a Spirit of Faith we are enabled to take hold of it 't is great and precious in it self but we are not at all the richer till it is applied and set home with a mighty power upon the Soul then 't is an inestimable Treasure a Mine a Spring of everlasting Consolation The Spirit takes of Christ's and shews them unto us not only Christ's things but Christ's words too and that word among the rest John 14.8 I will not leave you comfortless Gr. Orphans Such a word as this is enough if he do but imprint it 2. By an illustration of his own Fruits These are the Marks of our Adoption which the Word refers us to and so the Spirit speaks according to the Word in helping us to argue from them As the Grace of God in Truth is by his Operation so the discovery of the Truth of Grace is by his Light reflected upon it that Christ formed in the Soul may be even felt as when the Babe leaped in Elizabeth's Womb at Mary's Salutation Luke 1.44 The Spirit of God submits his witnessing Act to be tried by what he hath wrought in us which is no more dishonour to him than it was to Christ who requir'd the Jews to believe him for his Works sakes John 14.11 As Jacob's Sons pointed him to the Waggons which Joseph sent for a proof that he was alive Gen. 45.27 5. The Spirit of God is very Arbitrary both in the giving and continuing of his Divine Testimony He is an infinitely free Agent as to both He shines as well as breaths upon whom he pleases and when he pleases 1. The Spirit acts Arbitrarily after a Sovereign way in the giving of this Testimony concerning our Adoption The Liberty of the Divine Will appears in the Communication of Grace and yet more in the dispensing of Comfort The Spirit of God is not at our command any more than the Wind which Christ compaes him to and which God is said to gather in his Fists Prov. 33.4 and to bring forth out of his Treasure Jer. 10.13 He is not such a Witness as Men may summon and produce to clear and strengthen their Cause in Humane Courts who sometimes are oblig'd under certain Penalties to appear and give in their Evidence There can be no necessity laid upon him as God sometimes holdsl his peace and is still when he might answer by terrible things so the Spirit of God might be silent in our Hearts when he cryes Abba Father 2. The Spirit Acts after the same Arbitrary manner in the continuing of this Testimony after 't is once given He can weaken and abate it he can suspend and with-draw it at his own Pleasure He that bears Witness at one Time may not do it at another Evidences may be darken'd and obscur'd which were very bright and plain hidden Manna like that in the Wilderness is not constantly gather'd every Day but very often is like that Vessel in Peter's Vision which was let down thrice to the Earth And then received up again into Heaven Acts 10.16 This makes the Ebbings and Flowings in our Hopes and Joys 6. The Spirits testifying of our Adoption is therefore distinct from our Adoption it self and not indispensibly Essential to it The Truth of the Relation does neither include nor depend upon our Knowledge of that Relation A Man may be really a Child of God and not know himself to be so by the infallible Declaration of the Spirit of God he may have as Job had Chap. 16.19 A Witness in Heaven and a Record on high and yet want a legible Copy of it in his own Bosom for his present Satisfaction The Spirits witnessing is not that which makes us the Children of God but supposes us to be so before he Witnesses that we are Children and therefore we are not the less Children though he should not Witness it We should lose the Comfort of our Sonship very much indeed but the fundamental Priviledge it self would remain however Things which for a
when it is so plainly confirmed by the Word of God as I have elsewhere shewed If we receive the Witness of Men the Witness of God is greater And there needs no greater Vindication of any Doctrine than the Testimony of God to the truth of it The Author of these Discourses was a Person whose Worth was well known in this City he was a Person of a sound Mind and Judgment in the great Doctrines of the Gospel and held fast the Form of sound Words carefully shunning the Paths of those By-way Men who please themselves with the fond Thoughts of such Opinions wherein they chuse to walk by themselves apart from the Community of the Saints and Churches of God None who knew him and love the Interest of Christ and the Souls of Men but must bewail the loss of such an Eminent Servant in the Lord's Work especially in such a day as this is wherein the Harvest is so great and Faithful Labourers so few But why stand I in the Door-way which leads to the Discourse it self I shall therefore no longer hinder thy Entrance than by begging a Blessing upon the Work that it may be sanctified to thy Vnderstanding for Knowledge to thy Judgment for Establishment to thy Conscience for Peace and for Joy and Gladness to thy whole Soul So Prays Thy Servant in the Lord's Work And for his Sake Matth. Mead. Febr. 2d 1699. ERRATA PAge 18. Line 9. read Duties P. 25. l. 21. r. it 's P. 28. l. 27. r. not P. 31. l. 28. r. askt P. 51. l. 15. r. Fortifies P. 52. l. 15. r. the P. 77. l. 16. r. knew P. 79. l. 21. r. of P. 104. l. 11. r. Law P. 144 l. 1. dele that l. 27. r. hardened P. 193. l. 12. dele when we are so P. 213. l. 17. r. but P. 256. l. 4. r. are P. 257. l. 12. r. Comparison P. 274. l. 13. dele and P. 315. l. 25. r. bounds P. 330. l. 6. r. Thyatira's P. 335. l. 11. r. Equivalent P. 362. l. 26. r. Scope THE TEXTS Matth. XVI 17. AND Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona for Flesh and Blood hath not revealed it to thee but my Father which is in Heaven Page 1 Psalm XXVI 3. For thy loving kindness is before mine eyes and I have walked in thy Truth p. 36 2 Corinth I. 20. For all the Promises of God in him are yea and in him Amen unto the Glory of God by us p. 67 Psalm LXXX 17. and 18. former part Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thy self 18. So will not we go back from thee p. 95 Judges XVI 20. last Clause And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him p. 125 Acts V. 32. latter part And so is also the Holy Ghost whom God has given to them that obey him p. 156 Mark X. 26 27. And they were astonished out of measure saying among themselves Who then can be saved And Jesus looking upon them saith With Men it 's impossible but not with God for with God all things are possible p. 186 Psalm LXIX 4. last Clause Then I restored that which I took not away p. 217 Gallat IV. 6. And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts crying Abba Father p. 247 Ephes IV. 7. But unto every one of us is given Grace according to the measure of the Gift of Christ p. 279 Deuteronomy XXXIV 5. So Moses the Servant of the Lord died there in the Land of Moab according to the word of the Lord p. 311 Hebr. VII 25. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them p. 340. SERMON I. April 23. 1695. MATTHEW XVI xvii And Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona For Flesh and Blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in Heaven TO understand the occasion of these Words we must look back as far as ver 13. of this Chapter where our Lord having a mind to clear and confirm his Disciples in the Knowledge of himself makes way for it by the proposing of such Questions as would draw forth suitable Answers Accordingly 1. He asks them what was the Opinion of others concerning him Whom do Men say that I the Son of Man am Christ usually stiled himself thus Son of Man not only as an Expression of his Humility but to shew that he was the promised Seed the Person foretold under that Character in the Old Testament Psal 8.4.80.17 Dan. 7.13 And perhaps also to try the Faith of his Hearers whether they had an Eye to any more than his Humanity therefore says he here what does that World which you Converse with think of me what kind of Person do they take me to be The Answer is ver 14. Some say that thou art John the Baptist some Elias and others Jeremias or one of the Prophets Here was a diversity of Opinions about Christ and none of them right but all false and fabulous the Products of vain Imagination That Christ was John the Baptist risen from the Dead was Herods Opinion Chap. 14.2 That he was Elias was the Opinion of many among the Jews who had a mistaken Notion that Elias must first come before the Appearance of Christ Chap. 17.10 And again another sort of them thought that he was the Soul of some eminent Deceased Prophet in a new Body which was one of the wild Conceits of that dark erroneous Age. But 2. Christ asks them what was their own Opinion ver 15. Whom say ye that I am Do you concur with this blind and ignorant World or have you any better Apprehensions of me different from theirs 'T is meet that you who are my little Flock should give me some account of your particular Belief and 't is also meet that seeing you are to Preach me unto others you should first make some Confession of me your selves The Answer to this and the Person answering we have ver 16. Which because it hath an immediate Coherence with the Words now before us ought to be distinctly consider'd And 1. We may begin with the less considerable Part the Person speaking Simon Peter answered and said 'T is probable that he spake as the Mouth of the Apostles in the Name of all and that the rest agreed to this Testimony and believ'd as he said Not that he had any real Precedency or Superiority above the rest for then why should they enquire who was the greatest c. Chap. 18.1 but because he was one of the first call'd to the Apostleship and of the more esteem among them as he was of so long a standing and because he was of a very warm and forward Spirit as is evident by many other Passages 2. Here is the Thing spoken which is the main Subject of our
God hath raised up such an Horn of Salvation for us Luke 1.69 Shall we say That we have taken to us Horns by our own Strength Amos 6.13 Is the Iniquity of our heels too little for us that we must back it with such Pride of Heart Hath the Work of Faith any Vertue or Power in it self to justifie or is it the Dignity of the Object that Faith lays hold upon Does our New Obedience make any recompence to God for our Old Sins Does any Man in the common Affairs of humane Life imagine to clear himself from former Debts by paying those of a later Date is our Repentance any Reparation for our Offence That 's the Duty of a sinful Creature without the help of any new suppos'd Law to make it so Light of Nature teaches that 't is a Sin to detain what hath been wrongfully taken Job 20.10 3. Let all that have Christ be excited to Glory in him 'T is that which they not only may but ought to do Isa 45. ult The humbling sight of Sin should not hinder or lessen our Holy Rejoycing in his Salvation It becometh every one that believeth in Jesus to lift up his Face without Fear and without Confusion Christ hath Pray'd against it ver 6. of this Psalm Let not them that wait on Thee oh Lord be asham'd for my sake c. If there be any Cause of shame remaining to a Believer as a Believer Christs Work must be imperfect and the reproach will lye at his Door 'T is a part of our gratitude to Christ to commend him to the World as one mighty to save Thus he is daily to be praised Psalm 72.15 As he did not hide God's Righteousness within his Heart so neither must we Psalm 10.10 Our Tongues are to Publish his Righteousness and make honourable mention of it Psalm 71.16 It is not more our Priviledge to be invested with it than 't is our Duty to confess it and to take all fit occasions of magnifying him for it 4. Remember your increased Obligations of faithful Subjection to Christ It would be vilely disingenuous and inexcusably Presumptuous to take encouragement from this Doctrine to run up new scores They that can be guilty of such ill behaviour towards Christ and wax so wanton against him shew plainly that they have no real Part in him He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his Rom. 8.9 And does this kind of Carriage discover any Thing of the Spirit of Christ No surely but on the contrary the Spirit of the Devil who would stain the Glory of our Holy Redeemer by setting him forth as the Minister of Sin God will not bear such abominable silth upon the Foundation of his laying even a Man would not suffer his Kindness to be so perverted and abus'd but express his just Resentment of it If we Sin through weakness we have an Advocate ready but if we Sin wilfully there is no more Sacrifice to be offer'd confident Debtors that Care not how they Live nor what they spend are not to be countenanc'd those Bankrupts whom Christ hath once reinstated are made very Cautious afterwards 5. Learn not to Repine at any of your deserved Chastenings Straggling Sheep can have no Reason to complain when they pass under the Rod considering how the good Shepherd was smitten How can such dry Trees as we are fly in God's Face when he is hewing of us with gentle strokes if we did but bear upon our Minds how the Green-Tree was cloven in sunder Know thou that God exactest of thee less than thine Iniquity deserveth Job 10.6 Thy Afflictions are moderate and God deals with thee in Mercy rather than in Judgment and thou hast need of these Things to bridle or reclaim thee but our Lord Jesus was more roughly handled who was worthy of the highest Expressions of Love and never could be cast out of the Bosom of the Father Christ was not indebted to the Justice of God and therefore Typisied by an Heifer upon which no Yoke ever came Numb 19.2 And yet how was he prosecuted at the suit of Heaven it self Therefore when God deals so favourably with us real Offenders as he does indeed at the worst if we compare our Sufferings with Christ's we should lay our Hand upon our Mouths and calmly bear his restrained Indignation 6. Follow the steps of Christ by being meek and patient as he was under the sharpest Exercises from causeless Enemies The having of Truth and Justice on our side will not warrant unruly Clamour and Contention 'T is much better in many Cases for a Man to give up his own Right than to behave himself unseemly in the Defence of it so as utterly to break the Bond of Peace and stain the Credit of his Christian Profession The Church of Corinth was therefore condemn'd for going to Law before the Unbelievers for the smallest Matters and the Apostle puts it to them Why do you not rather take wrong and suffer your selves to be defrauded 1 Cor. 6.7 'T is one of the glories of Christ's Disciples to lye down with quietness under the worst of Injuries from unreasonable Men when they cannot regularly help them i. e. without Sin and Scandal In the Case of our good Name which is more valuable than great Riches when Things are laid to our Charge which we know not there ought to be an asserting of our Innocence indeed but yet a bearing of Reproach we should disown the guilt and yet submit to the dishonour Thus Job would not remove his Integrity nor let go his Righteousness Chap. 27.5 6. and yet says That if his Adversary had written a Book he would take it on his Shoulder and bind it as a Crown to him Chap. 31.35 36. This is to imitate the Temper and Practise of our Blessed Lord who readily restor'd what he took not away SERMON XVII February 23. 1697. GAL. IV. vi And because ye are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your Hearts crying Abba Father THE main design of this Epistle is to obviate the dangerous insinuations of the false Teachers who had crept into the Churches of Galatia and vehemently urged Circumcision and the keeping of the Law as necessary to Mens Justification and Salvation The beginning of this Chapter is particularly levelled against this Principle for here the Apostle shews that the abolished Ceremonies of the former Dispensation were properly suited to their minority and infant State which required Instruction in spiritual Mysteries by carnal Resemblances but that now Christ by his actual appearance in humane Flesh had obtain'd our Freedom from all those Yokes and put us into a fuller possession of the Rights of Children even of such as are come to Age and grown up to riper Years This is the point which he is pursuing in the Text And because you are Sons c. or to prove that you are Sons and dealt with accordingly In which words we have something premised and
while are not perceiv'd to be do not therefore cease to be we may be taken into the number of the Sons of God and yet want the Manifestation of our being such Rom. 8.19 I speak not this to discourage any in the least from looking after the clearing up of these Matters as much as can be to their own Souls but to prevent those from being too much discouraged who are yet kept in the dark by God that they may not conclude positively against themselves but rather take Courage with the Church under the hidings of God's Face But thou art our Father Isa 64.7 8. IV. How is this Priviledge of a Believer's Sonship improve'd by the Spirit 's help The Text seems to have a special Reference to Prayer and to our Challenging and Pleading of this filial Relation in that Duty I shall endeavour the opening of this Point in these eight Things 1. That the Spirit of Christ is particularly promis'd and given as a Spirit of Supplication Zech. 12.10 His Influence is eminently needful in this Service We should never sind in our Hearts to Pray one acceptable Prayer to God throughout our Lives if the Spirit did not put it into our Hearts first We cannot speak to God in any Language which he will hear upon any occasion whatsoever without the Spirits Direction They are all vain Words which are not of his Teaching the froth and scum of Man's Invention which however esteemed among Creatures here below bears no Price at all in Heaven Every Petition which the Father receives is dictated and drawn up by the Holy Ghost God never inclines his own Ear but when he thus prepares our Hearts Except this Advocate be at Work in us there is no finding of Audience with him And therefore they that prophanely renounce all Supplication in and by the Spirit as some have done may as well go a little further and lay aside all Supplication in general for whatever Prayer they pour out is as Water spilt on the Ground 2. Effectual Prayer such as the Spirit teaches and helps us in is put up to God as a Father Jesus Christ is a Pattern to us and if we examine the style of his Prayers we shall find that they are all grounded upon this Relation Mat. 11.25 I thank thee oh Father c. which Title is repeated ver 26. Even so Father c. John 12.27 Father save me from this Hour Father glorifie thy Name And no less than six Times over Chap 17. Again in the Garden Mat. 26.39 O my Father if it be possible c. Yea some of his last Words upon the Cross were in the same strain when he came to give up the Ghost Luke 23.46 Father into thy Hands c. And that we might not think this was proper and suitable to him only the Directory which he gave to his Disciples is so likewise After this manner Pray ye Our Father c. Mat. 6.9 When the Scripture speaks of making Supplication to our Judge Job 9.15 We must understand it of Praying that he would not deal with us as a Judge Psalm 143.2 Enter not into Judgment c. 3. The Praying Dispositions of Children are first infus'd into them by the Spirit Every Babe in Christ is furnish'd with them and as he increases in spiritual Strength and Stature they grow up with him Children naturally apply themselves to their Parents for what they want rather than to other Persons and this also is natural to all the Children of God 'T is a part of their new Nature which is the Work and Product of the Spirit He that hath not a Divine Principle in him which leads him to call on the Father deserves not to be call'd a Christian Assoon as the Soul is born again it crys and its cry is immediately to him whom it is born of This cry is renewed every Day several times in a Day for there is an Habit of this kind emplanted in the Soul which puts forth it self in frequent Acts. The Spirit 's quickening is always accompanied with inward groaning so that where no such groans are we may be sure that Death hath Dominion still and the Man hath not begun to Live 4. The Spirit fills the Mouth with Arguments in the very Act of Prayer such as are fit to be us'd and urg'd to a Father Holy and humble Argumentations with God are truly the very sinews of Prayer wherein its great Strength lies It does not so much consist in the bare proposing of our Requests to God as in the alledging of proper Pleas for God's answering and fulfilling of them Such as that of the Church Isa 63.15 Where is the sounding of thy Bowels and of thy Mercies towards me are they restrained This is Connected with their Claim of God as a Father in the next Words twice ver 16. A fatherly Relation speaks Tenderness and Compassion Psalm 103.13 Like as a Fasther pitieth his Children c. Whoever are void of Pity Fathers are wont to put on Bowels or if the Fathers of our Flesh should be unnatural the Father of our Spirits cannot be so and therefore this was a very apt and agreeable Plea which the Spirit of God hath Register'd for us Whatever you need to have done intreat of God to do as becomes a Father 5. The Spirit enables us to go to God as a Father with Confidence for whom can Children repair so freely to as to their own Parent Whom can they with so much certainty expect Relief from as from him that begat them Therefore as we have Access by one Spirit unto the Father Eph. 2.18 So we are said to have boldness and access or access with boldness Chap. 3.12 The Command of God is to ask in Faith to trust him and depend upon him for the seasonable Accomplishment of all our regular Desires and this dependance is as much our Duty as Subjection is and it is every whit as difficult yea as impossible to be perform'd without the help of the Spirit 'T is far easier to utter many thousands of Petitions before God than to lift up one to him believingly But when the Soul is strengthen'd with all might by the Spirit in this Duty all the workings of unbelief are instantly subdued Doubts and Fears of our Acceptance and Success are made to vanish like Shadows that fly away upon the Appearance of the Sun 6. The Spirit instructs us how to Address our selves to God as a Father with becoming Reverence There must be a mixture of this with our Considence or else we abuse our Priviledge instead of improving it The same Spirit is a Spirit of the fear of the Lord as well as of Faith Isa 11.2 We are not to make so bold with God as not to stand in awe of him The Freedom which God allows us in his Presence is not a rude Familiarity this is not Child-like for a Father ought to be respected by those that descend from him He must be consider'd as a
Superiour and honour'd accordingly and the more Kind and Indulgent he is the more Honour is due Any behaviour that betrays a slight esteem or a presumptuous Contempt of God is offensive to him and they that carry themselves so have Reason to try and condemn the Spirit which they are acted by He is our Father in Heaven and we his Children on Earth Eccles 5.2 He sits upon a Throne and we must remember that we Worship at his Footstool 7. The Spirit stirs up filial Affection to God in Prayer This makes it a delightful Exercise as indeed it should be Do Children count it a burdensome Task to go to a Father or are they not rather glad of the Opportunity of Converse with those that are so dear to them A Slave indeed hath an Aversion to the Presence of his Lord as the Bond-woman When Sarah dealt hardly with her fled from her Face Gen. 16.6 But when a Child hath to do with a tender Parent 't is quite contrary 't is sweet Employment to pour out the Soul into a Father's Bosom We set about it with Pleasure and a Pleasure which exceeds the Fruition of any Creatures whatsoever The Spirit of Adoption is a Spirit of Love and this Love breaths out it self in Holy Desires to him The Soul loves to commune with him for his own sake even though we could suppose that there were no pressing occasion for it it loves to visit him not only in Trouble when Necessity drives but at all other Times being drawn by internal Motives 8. The Spirit helps us to Pray with unwearied Fervency It behoves us so to do when we are dealing with a Father who will certainly be won and prevail'd upon how deaf or regardless soever he may seem to be for a Time Dull and stupid formality does not suit with the Relation wherein we stand where we look for cold Entertainment 't is apt to cool our Requests but Esau's Opinion of his Fathers Favour made him the more earnest for his Blessing Gen. 27.34 38. The Children of God are baptized with Fire their Hearts burn within them and it would be strange if their Words should freeze Theirs is not an Artificial Zeal which is quickly spent but a Zeal which holds out till the desire comes and by this means they are always Conquerors and as 't is said of I uther Iste vir potuit apud Deum quicquid voluit they can do what they will with God they will take no denial but wrestle and strive till they have obtain'd All this is done by the Assistance of the Spirit of our Father V. Vse I Information 1. The Love of God is to be seen and admir'd in our Adoption as much as in any Thing besides The Love of the Father in predestinating us to it the Love of the Son in procuring it for us and the Love of the Spirit in testifying it to us 'T is God's loving us as Children which is the Foundation and Root of all our Love to him as a Father for his Love descends before ours ascends 'T is marvellous that God should answer to any such Name when we call him by it and that he should give us any such Name himself the Apostle breaks forth into a kind of Ecstasie and Ravishment of Spirit when he consider'd it 1 John 3.1 Behold what manner of Love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God That in the Place where it was said to us Gentiles Ye are not my People it should be now said You are the Sons of the Living God Hos 1.10 Rom. 9.26 Are such vile Prodigals as we Worthy to be call'd his Sons Luke 15.21 That cannot be suppos'd nor is it for want of other Objects that he bestows this Favour upon us He hath an Eternal Son in whom his Soul delighteth whom he possest with Infinite Joy before all his Works of Old or this Favour might have been directed to fallen Angels but God hath preferr'd us Inferiour Creatures to that which they are excluded from 2. The Dignity of Believers excels all the Titles of Honour in the World 't is of a more glorious Nature and confirm'd by a greater Testimony By Faith Moses refused to be call'd the Son of Pharaoh's Daughter though Pharaoh was a mighty Prince Heb. 11.24 It pleased David to be Son-in-law to the King before he was so but he found little Comfort in it afterwards 1 Sam. 18.26 These Relations to the greatest of Men are poor trifling mean and empty Things in Comparison of Believer's Relation to God Magistrates are called Children of the most High because they bear some little faint Representation of God's Authority Psalm 82.6 But the least of Christ's little ones are God's Children in a sublimer Sense 'T is Ten Thousand Times more honourable to be a Child of God then Lord of the whole Earth 3. Walking after the Commandments of Men is a very ungrateful requital of God Certainly we owe most Duty where we receive the greatest Priviledge and what can Men do for us to be compar'd with what God hath done that we should pay any Homage to them in Opposition to him 'T is basely disingenuous for Children to regard what others say more than the Injunctions of their own Parents The Sense of this unspeakable Benefit of God's adopting us to himself is enough to restrain us from yielding Obedience to Men that is inconsistent with our Obedience to God This is the meaning and scope of that Caution given by Christ Mat. 23.9 Call no Man your Father upon Earth for one is your Father which is in Heaven That one God whose Children we are hath the only Supream Title to our Allegiance 4. The possibility of Assurance one would think should be without all Controversie To call it in Question is to give the lye to this very Text and to cast a blasphemous Reproach upon the Witness of the Spirit 'T is matter of rejoicing to have the single Testimony of our own Conscience for us 2 Cor. 1.12 For Conscience as one says is like a kind of Eccho which makes our spiritual Actions resound after they are past and gone from us but when we have the concurrent Testimony of the Spirit of God this makes our Joy a great deal more full Rom. 8.16 The Spirit it self beareth Witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God The Spirit is more present and conversant with the Soul than the Soul with it self and is better acquainted with its State He knows every Child of God by Name and therefore is best able to make us know if we are such if an Angel from Heaven were sent to tell us it would not be so sure The Spirit that beareth Witness of those things is Truth in the abstract 1 John 5.6 Some may be deluded by a lying Spirit instead of him but does it follow that there must be no Persuasion which comes of him that call us Because there are Counterfeits in
the World are there no Realities So the Assurance of the strongest Believer's may not be compleat perhaps but is it therefore not true Our Graces the Fruits of the Spirit are all imperfect but that does not make them false and feigned and Perfection in Comfort is above the standard of this Life as well as in Holiness II. Exhortation 1. Enquire into your own Adoption 'T is not a Priviledge common to all see whether you have just Cause to apprehend that 't is yours The World hath a mixt Multitude in it there are Sons of Belial and Children of the Devil as well as of God 1 John 3.10 There are Strangers and Dogs as well as Children And there be many who are called the Children of God and are not so indeed being such only by visible external Profession as they were Gen. 6.2 We deceive our selves if we are satisfied with this for this will be of no more Advantage to us than the National Adoption which once belong'd to the Jews is useful to them with Respect to which the Apostle positively says They which are the Children of the Flesh are not the Children of God Rom. 9.8 Think not that 't is enough to be Christians outwardly any more than to be Jews outwardly but look after a real Change of State 2. Apply your selves to God for this Benefit if yet destitute of it Consider what miserable helpless Creatures you are in your present Case like a wretched Infant that is cast out into the open Field in the Day that it is born Ezek. 16.5 Go and bemoan your Case at the Foot of God And as Abraham said to him Lord God what wilt thou give me seeing I go Childless Gen. 15.2 You may much better say what wilt thou give me seeing I go Fatherless What canst thou give that I can receive any Comfort in Tell him that you can never call your selves Happy till you can call him Father and that you desire nothing besides this in Comparison of it The Chief of Sinners may take Encouragement from that blessed Text Jer. 3.19 Justice seems to argue against it in the former Part of the verse and Mercy concludes for it in the latter 3. Take heed of grieving the Spirit you who have this Benefit that you may not lose the comfortable Sense of it This depends upon his sealing Work and therefore provoke and offend him not if you would keep the Impression clear Eph. 4.30 Two Things are especially grievous to the Spirit which we should beware of neglecting his Motions and opposing his Testimony 1. Neglecting his Motions When he stirs us up to seeking of God and any Act of Communion with him we should stir up our selves It is a part of the Character of God's Children to regard the Spirit 's Conduct Rom. 8.14 As many as are led by the Spirit of God c. 2. Opposing his Testimony The indulging of unbelief in our own Hearts is a Contradiction to the Spirit 's Witness He is sent forth to cry Abba Father unbelief says nay God is not so unto me It will be helpful to Souls in such Temptations to look to God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for this will bring them to Eye him as theirs also See John 20.17 Eph. 1.2 3. That Promise seems to concern both Christ and the Believer too Psalm 89.26 He shall cry unto me thou art my Father c. You may venture to say that after Christ which otherwise you could not 4. Evidence the Truth of your Sonship unto others Make it appear that there is indeed a substantial Difference between you and the Children of this World in every Thing that hath a respect to Sin and Duty If you do as others do they will have Reason to suspect that you are not what you pretend to be The Jews were not to disfigure themselves like other People because they were the Children of the Lord their God Deut. 14.1 Let your spot therefore be the spot of his Children let his Image be seen upon you as well as his Name that you may like them Judg. 8.18 Resemble the Children of such a King You must be Followers and Imitators of God Eph. 5.1 Or else you will give occasion to Men to think you a spurious Brood You must be blameless and harmless and without rebuke exemplary and inoffensive in the midst of a perverse Nation for so are the Sons of God Phil. 2.15 Disorderly Children are a shame and scandal to their Parents therefore Credit the Relation wherein you stand by a strict and regular Deportment Particularly 1. By a sober and thankful use of every Mercy Wanton Prodigals that wast their Substance and mispend their Portion are a dishonour to God's Family and deserve to be renounc't Your Father expects that all which is given by him should be improved for him Men reckon it barbarous and unnatural if their Children turn Rebels against them with the Estates which they bestow upon them 2. By a patient and humble bearing of every Affliction Not that a Fathers Anger is a Light thing and to be despis'd they must be very profligate that think so but all his Rebukes should be receiv'd with great Submission Nor must they drive us from him but make us come the nearer and cling the faster to him considering that God's Corrections endur'd in a right Manner are Proofs of our Legitimacy Heb. 12.6 7 8. 3. By a reconcileable and forgiving temper towards the worst of Men. Mat. 5.9 Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the Children of God So ver 44 45. Love your Enemies bless them that Curse you do good to them that Hate you c. That you may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven c. For this is to transcribe his Pattern and do as he does 4. By living in Love with all our Holy Brethren They do not walk worthy of such a Relation as this is that shew any Unchristian bitterness or unreasonable strangeness towards those that are of the same stock with themselves Let us check our selves in this Case with those Words of the Prophet Mal. 2.10 Have we not all one Father Why do we then deal treacherously every Man against his Brother To Conclude Brotherly Kindness is the necessary Duty of all God's Children and a necessary Token to convince all others that we are so SERMON XIX May 18. 1697. EPHES IV. vii But unto every one of us is given Grace according to the measure of the Gift of Christ AS it is the Apostle's manner in his other Epistles to mingle Exhortations to Holiness with Explications of Faith so here having in the three former Chapters of this Epistle given some account of the Gospel Doctrine he does in the three latter stir up to suitable Practice In the beginning of this Chapter he presses worthy Walking with respect to those Instances of Humility Meekness and Christian Forbearance as things which have a special Influence in the furthering
Vera Effigies TIMOTHEI CRUSO Aetat 40. 1697. T. Forster delin N. White scuÌ„lp TWENTY-FOUR SERMONS Preached at the MERCHANTS-LECTURE AT Pinners Hall By the late Reverend Mr. TIMOTHY CRVSO LONDON Printed by S. Bridge for Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns in Cheapside MDCXCIX TO THE READER THese Sermons are some of the Reliques of one who is gone to receive the Fruit of his Labours who hath left Sowing for the sake of the Harvest wherein he is now reaping Though this is a Posthumous Piece yet it speaks out the living Praise of the dead Author whose it was without any Alteration or Addition being Printed from his own Notes If I may use the Phrase in Fashion he lived too fast not as too many do who shorten their Days by their Debaucheries and sinful Excesses but as a Taper which wastes it self to give Light to others His Bodily Constitution was too weak to undergo the Service his Soul put it to in constant Studies and hard Labour that he might Answer the Restlesness of his Mind which was always aspiring to greater Knowledge and higher Attainments whereby he laid greater load upon his Flesh than its weakness could bear and so sinking under the burden he died in the midst of his Days There is no need of my Epistle to Midwife these Excellent Discourses into the World nor had I had any hand in it had it not been to answer the Desires of some Relations of his to whom my Obligations will not allow me to deny any thing And also to take this occasion to Vindicate what I spake and published in his Funeral Sermon about the Vnion of the Spirit of Christ with the Dead Body of a Saint which hath by some been greatly stumbled at and called in question as a new Doctrine I therefore thought it Charity to such to remove this stumbling Block not by any Arguments further than what I have therein already urged but by calling in the Judgment of others in this matter and I shall look no farther back than to the Learned Men of our own Times Mr. Rutherford speaking of the Covenant of Grace Treatise of the Covenant of Grace p. 216. says It is thus Eternal in that the dead Parties Abraham Isaac and Jacob are still in the Covenant of Grace and there remains a Covenant Union between Christ and their rotten Flesh sleeping in the Dust Mr. Calamy says Morning Exercise of Giles in Fields Ser. 24. p. 548. The Bodies of the Saints shall be raised by vertue of their Union with Christ for the Body of a Saint even while it is in the Grave is united to Christ and is asleep in Jesus and shall be raised by vertue of this Union And in p. 557. If thou gettest into Christ while thou livest thou shalt die in Christ and sleep in Christ and be raised by Christ into Eternal Happiness Mr. Case speaking of the Vnion between Christ and Believers Case his Mount Pisgah first Part p. 38. says Not only in Death but even after Death this Union holds the Saints are said to sleep in Jesus that part of the Saints which is capable of sleep is not capable of Separation from Christ While their more noble Part is united to Christ in Heaven among the Spirits of Just Men made perfect Christ is united to their inferiour and more ignoble Part in the Grave their very Dust they sleep in Jesus Mr. Stedman says Stedman's Mystical Vnion of Believers with Christ p. 191. Death it self shall not separate Believers from Jesus Christ but still they are entirely in him even when they are dead As it was in the death of Christ himself though it made Separation between his Body and Soul yet it did not separate the Humane Body from the Divine So it is in the death of the Saints though it rend the Spirit from the Flesh yet it can part neither from the Son of God The very Bodies of Believers are united to Jesus when they are dead Dr. Collings on those words of our Lord Pool 's Annotations on John 11.26 He that believeth on me shall never die says Though his Body shall die because of sin yet his Spirit shall live because of Righteousness and God shall in the great Day quicken again his Mortal Body through the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in him and is united to him Dr. Thomas Goodwin Dr. Goodwin 's first Fol. on Ephes 1.14 p. â—â—1 Doth the Spirit dwell in you now When you are laid in the Grave that Spirit dwelleth in you as he did in the Body of Christ I do not say in the same manner The Spirit of God did dwell in the Body of Christ in the Grave and raised it up he never left him Though his Body was a dead Carkass without a Soul yet that Body was Hypostatically united to the Godhead therefore it was called Holy One My Holy One shall not see Corruption Now the Comparison is If we have the Spirit of Christ and if he dwell in us the same Spirit shall never leave our Bodies till he hath raised us up also Nay while thy Body is dead and rotten in the Grave the Holy Ghost dwells in it And hear what a great Man of the Church of England in his Day saith Christ's Deity was united to his dead Body his Resurrection was perform'd by the Power and Spirit of the Father God reached out his hand to him and raised him up Here then is our Comfort the same Spirit of God is communicable to us the same Arm of Power may be reached out to us He will imploy the same power for us as he did for Christ Ephes 1.19 And again in p. 210. His Spirit dwells in you The Inhabitation of God's Spirit that is the Ground of our Resurrection because it is Vinculum unionis the Spirit is the Bond of our Union and Conjunction with Christ By it we are Incorporated into his Body and made Members of it Now then if our Head rise all the Members must rise with it if the Head be in Heaven the Members shall not for ever perish in the Grave This Union by the Spirit is like the touch of a Load-stone it will attract and draw us to him that where he is we shall be also It is spoken of his Hypostatical but it is true also of his Mystical Union Quod semel assumpsit nunquam deposuit Christ will part with none of his Members Bishop Brownrig 2d Vol. p. 204. And again in the same Page Our Bodies by this Inhabitation are Consecrated to be a Possession of the Holy Ghost and the Temple of God must not be destroy'd God's Spirit takes Pleasure not only in these living Temples but owns them when they are dead takes Pleasure in the dead Bones and Favours the Dust of them I could multiply Testimonies of elder Date to prove the Truth of this Doctrine and that it is no new Notion but there needs no Proof from Humane Testimony
Consideration Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God The same good Confession was made once before by Peter John 6.69 And now repeated to evidence his firm Establishment in this grand Article of Faith In which our Lord is describ'd two Ways both by his Office and his Essence 1. Christ is a Name of Office of the same Signification with the Messiah as the Holy Ghost himself Interprets it John 1.41 The anointed of the Lord he to whom the Prophets witness't he that should come into the World as John 11.27 He whose Work and Business was to be a Saviour not a Temporal but an Eternal one a Saviour from Sin and Wrath from the drudgery of the Devil and the Prison of Hell 2. The Son of God is a Name which respects his Essence and Being a Son not by Adoption and Grace as the Baptist and Elias and Jeremy and the other Prophets were but a Son by Nature a Son whose Generation is ineffable for he is infinitely Equal with the Father for he is true God as well as Son of God the Father hath that Title of the Living God in Opposition to false Gods Jer. 10.10 Acts 14.15 And the very same Title is likewise given to the Son Heb. 3.12 Jesus is true Jehovah and according to the true Import of that Word he hath Life in himself as the Father hath John 5.26 Well Christ's Commendation of this Confession is set down in the Text Jesus answered and said unto him c. Where we may take Notice of three Things 1. The Name which Christ calls this Apostle by Simon Bar-jonai or Simon Son of Jona as the Word signifies Peter was the Name that Christ gave to him ver 18. As God gave the Name of Israel to Jacob Gen. 32.28 But here Christ puts him in Mind of the meanness of his Extraction and of what he was originally as he does again after his fall no less than three Times over John 21.15 16 17 What change soever is made upon us by the Favour and Mercy of God 't is good to reflect sometimes upon our Primitive Vileness and Wretchedness to look to the Rock whence we are hewen and the hole of the Pit whence we are digged 2. The Happy State which Christ pronounc't him to be in Blessed art thou Christ had Authority to pronounce Persons blessed for he had Power to make them so Acts 3.26 God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to bless you He can really and effectually do it what Palak said falsly of Balaam is true of Christ The Man whom he blesses is blessed Numb 22.6 If he blesses we shall be blessed for ever as David said to God 1 Chron. 17.27 Such is the Blessedness which Christ speaks of here both Perfect and Perpetual without Defect and without Decay 3. The Reason assign'd to back this comfortable Sentence which refers to the Way and Means of the discovery of that Truth which Peter had now confest and this is laid down both Negatively and Affirmatively 1. Negatively For Flesh and Blood hath not revealed it unto Thee Flesh and Blood are variously taken in Scripture 1. Sometimes for the humane Nature consisting of Soul and Body so Heb. 2.14 2. Sometimes for the natural Body accompanied with its present Infirmities in Opposition to a spiritual glorified Body So 1 Cor. 15.50 3. Sometimes for humane Instruction so Gal. 1.16 Paul says that he conferred not with Flesh and Blood which is the same Thing with not receiving the Gospel which he Preacht of Man ver 12. 4. Sometimes for humane Opposition so Eph. 6.12 We wrestle not with Flesh and Blood c. i. e. we have not only to do with persecuting Men but raging Devils 5. Sometimes for natural Reason our own Judgments and Understanding And this I take to be the principal Sense of the Phrase here q. d. Thou dost not owe this Revelation to thy self or to any discerning Faculty in thee above other Men. 2. Affirmatively But my Father which is in Heaven Four Things seem to be intimated by this 1. That there is a mysterious Order in all Divine Operations according to which God the Father is to be lookt upon as the Fountain The Father Works and the Son and Spirit Works conjunctly there is no Inequality or Subordination among the Persons and yet we are led by the Gospel to Eye the first Person as the spring of all When our Lord speaks of sending the Comforter 't is from the Father John 15.26 And when the Spirit of the Son is sent forth into our Hearts God is said to do it which is plainly meant of God the Father Gal. 4.6 2. That in all the Works of Grace towards lost Creatures God acts as the Father of Christ Eph. 1.3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual Blessings in him Out of Christ we can expect only the Curse of God as a revenging Judge but we can expect nothing from him as a Father in a way of Love and Mercy 3. Acquaintance with the only begotten Son of God must flow from him that begat him No Man knoweth the Son but the Father as no Man knoweth the Father but the Son Mat. 11.27 Therefore they mutually manifest and declare each other which none else is capable of doing Who should lay open the Secrets of one Man to another but himself And who should reveal the glorious Persons in the Godhead but themselves See 1 Cor. 2.11 4. If therefore we look for Light we must look upwards As the Sun over our Heads is the visible Cause of natural Illumination so spiritual Illumination is from an Infinite Being above the Sun 'T is one of the gracious Issues which belong to our Father in Heaven The dark Places of the Earth unanimously say it is not in us Every good and perfect Gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of Lights James 1.17 The Words thus open'd come to this Point Obs There is a certain Blessedness annext to the Knowledge of those Truths which humane Reason does not discover but God himself Here 1. Shew That there are some Truths necessary to be believ'd which humane Reason neither does nor can discover 2. How such Truths are discovered by God 3. What kind of Knowledge is the Effect of this discovery 4. Wherein lyes the Blessedness annext to that Knowledge 5. Why it is so 6. Use 1. To shew That there are some Truths necessary to be believ'd which humane Reason cannot discover The peculiar Doctrines of the Gospel are as deep as the Commands of the Law are broad But I will confine my self to the instance mention'd in the Context the Godhead of Jesus Christ Every one is bound to believe this and every Man that calls himself a Christian professes the Belief of it without such a Profession his Christianity is void and without such a Belief his Profession is vain To take upon us the Christian Name and
end but this is most effectual As 1. A Sence of God's absolute as well as relative Goodness I mean to consider how good a Master he is in himself should be an inducement to serve him as 't is possible that some may be willing to do service to an extraordinary Person from a respect to his inherent Worth The Matchless Excellencies of God whom none in Heaven or Earth can be likened to should invite us to take a pleasure in his work it should be our meat and drink to do the Will of such an one for the sake of what he is for the glorifying of him who is so glorious must needs be our own Glory 2. A sence of God's Sovereignty and Dominion over us Who can refuse to yield himself to God that is seriously convinc't of his infinite Right to command and govern him He may challenge from us all that we can do for both our Being and active Power is from him He hath made us for himself and we may as well disown his being our Creator as deny him to be our Ruler but what kind of Ruler do we make him if we are not his servants to obey Subjection follows upon Dominion or is implied in it He is the Lord and worship thou him Psal 45.11 3. The consideration of the purity of the precepts which God calls us to observe This made the Word of God so amiable to David Psal 119.140 It requires nothing of us but what highly becomes us and behoves us nothing but what 't is our Honour and Interest to comply with The work of God is of the noblest kind such as none but a filthy depraved Creature would desire to be exempted from Paul therefore magnisies the Holiness Justice and Goodness of the Law Rom. 7.12 And upon that score expresses his Consent to it ver 16. And delight in it ver 22. 4. The Consideration of the Reward which we enjoy in Obedience at present and which is rescrv'd for us hereafter These are proper encouraging Thoughts and should recommend our Duty to us The Reward which attends our doing it is great the Reward which is laid up till we have done it is greater and this would not be so far revealed as it is but that it might be a spur to us Col. 3.23 24. Whatsoever ye do do it heartily c. knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the Peward of the Inheritance c. He that hath the Hope of such a promis'd blessedness should be excited by it to universal Holiness And yet the main Argument of all is the Love of God II. To offer some Proofs for the Demonstration of this Truth As. 1. No Man hath such a Sense of the Love of God but the Elect Sinner upon his return to God he is the only Subject of it And therefore it must needs very powerfully engage to Obedience 1. None but the Elect Sinner hath a true Sense of the Love of God This Treasure is put only into chosen Vessels this hidden Manna is only for God's hidden ones and consequently there is no danger of its corrupting but it will certainly nourish Grace and strengthen to Duty As none but they that are written in the Lamb's Book enter into Heaven Rev. 21. ult So this Heaven upon Earth does not enter into any others There are a peculiar number whom God hath set his Love upon and this peculiar number are the only Persons whom he manifests it to The aninting which teacheth us all things is Truth and no Lye 1 John 2.27 How then can they be taught the Knowledge of God's Love whom his Soul hates And on the other Hand how can they turn this against the Interest of Holiness who are chosen that they might be Holy 2. Elect Sinners have not such a Sense but when they are upon their return to God When Christ is about to be formed in the Soul those discoveries of the Love of God do greatly promote and help it forward if they have been Enemies in their Minds they shall not continue such If they have done Iniquity they shall do no more they shall not go on in their Trespasses after the Grace of God is so display'd in their Remission The white Stone is too great a Jewel to be cast before those filthy Swine that will turn again and rend or trample it under their Feet The chosen of God themselves have it not till God is calling them home to himself The Time of Conversion is the Time of Love Ezek. 16.8 The Time not only of God's Exercising but manifesting Love to the Sinner 2. None can impress such a Sense of God's Love upon us but the Spirit of God he is the only Author of it and therefore it must needs quicken to Obedience False hopes and groundless Comforts which do tend indeed to the Patronizing and Encouraging of Sin arise from our selves and from the Devil but the Consolations of God which always produce Holiness to the Lord are from the Spirit as he Works Love to God in us so he witnesses Gods Love to us As we cannot see the Sun but by its own Light So we cannot see the Face of God with Joy but by a beam from himself We can no more know that God is at Peace with us meerly by our own Understandings than we can reconcile our selves to him by the Power of our own Wills our Hearts are naturally like an Hell as there is a burning Fire of insatiable Lust so biting Worms of endless Fears The stupid Sinner is hard to be Convinced and the Convinced Sinner refuses to be Comforted We are as far from the applying of Promises as from hearkening to Precepts and as we cannot be subject to the Law so we can get no relief by the Gospel But the blessed Spirit he does both let us know the Things which are freely given us of God 1 Cor. 2.12 And also the Things which are indispensibly requir'd of us by God we should never know that God is our Father without this Spirit of Adoption The Love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts by the Holy Ghost Rom. 5.5 And as he diffuses it there so he improves it to Holy Purposes his sanctifying Operations are always befriended and assisted by his Comforting Testimonies SERMON IV. July 30. 1695. PSALM XXVI iii. For thy Loving Kindness is before mine Eyes And I have walked in thy Truth 3. THE Promises which Declare and Confirm the Love of God to us are special means of working Holiness in us As they assure our Deliverance from Wrath so they promote our Salvation from Sin Divine Promises do not only tend to beget us to a lively Hope but they help to produce and maintain the Life of every Grace they are the spiritual Food of Souls which does both nourish our Faith and strengthen us to Obedience We do not obtain any Gospel Priviledge by the Performance of Duty but Duty is effectually enforc't by the Enjoyment of Gospel Priviledges God brings us
to take hold of hsi gracious Covenant and thereby fortifie us against turning from the Holy Commandment This is plainly set forth as the Way and Method in which he first Works upon us and enables us to Work 2 Cor. 7.1 Having therefore these Promises let us cleanse our selves from all filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit c. The Promise of God's being a Father to us which is mention'd in the last verse of the foregoing Chapter is a stronger Inducement to purifie our selves and be Followers of him than any threatening of God's being a Revenger So 2 Pet. 1.4 Exceeding great and precious Promises are given unto us that by these you might be Partakers of the Dikvine Nature c. As the chief Thing communicated from God is the Divine Nature whereby we are made to resemble him so the Promises of God set home upon the Soul are the means of Communication they are to Milk and Honey of the Scripture which do not cherish the Old Man but support the New they are not Pillows for sinful Sloth but spurs to Holy Diligence The Promises of Grace animate the Soul to Duty and when we thus see the goodness of the Lord it encourages our Subjection to his Government 4. A Sense of the Love of God will create in us a more perfect hatred of Sin Divine Reconciliation to our Persons breeds the most implacable Enmity against our Lusts when we know that God is pacified towards us it makes us loath and abhor our selves the more in remembrance of the Evils we have done If he passes by Transgression the pardoned Transgressor sixes his Eye upon it with greater Indignation as David's Sin was ever before him though Nathan had told him from God that his Sin was put away Psalm 51.3 compar'd with 2 Sam. 12.13 For the Title of that Psalm informs us that it was penn'd after Nathan the Prophet had come to David A Sinner is never so odious in his own sight as when he is persuaded of his being precious in the sight of God How does Paul repeat and aggravate the foul Abominations of his natural Pharisaical State when he knew himself to be belov'd of God and establi shed in Christ he speaks of his persecuting and wasting the Church of God beyond measure Gal. 1.13 So with Holy Confusikon he bewails what he once was after he had obtained Mercy and after the Grace of our Lord Jesus had exceedingly abounded towards him 1 Tim. 1.13 14. Though God had made him whiter than Snow in the Lamb's Blood yet he still sets out himself in his own black and filthy Colours We do not lose the Prospect of our own vileness by having the Kindness and Love of God before our Fyes but we see it the better His gracious Absolution kindles the most flaming Zeal and Revenge in us against the Sins from which we are absolved consequently is a mighty furtherance of our Obedience 5. A Sense of the Love of God is most apt to beget an awful fear of Falling under his displeasure That I may not be mistaken let it be consider'd 1. That this awful Fear is not only distinct from dreadful Horrour but opposite unto it The trembling of a Devil and the trembling of a Child are real Contraries Godly jealousie of our selves and sinful Distrust of God are two things of most different Kinds The fear of Caution which I would recommend keeps us walking closely with God the fear of Desperation which I would warn against hurries us violently away from God 2. That this displeasure of God which Believers are lyable to fall under is exercis'd only in this World and not in the next That Wrath which God occasionally lets out against his own is not the same with that which comes upon the Children of disobedience Eph. 5.6 We must not confound the temporary hidings of God's Face with Everlasting Destruction from God's Presence He that believes is secur'd from sinal Condemnation but nevertheless he is still incident to sad Desertion Now for the Soul to be kept under the awe of this is a great help to our Obedience and where the Love of God is perceived by the Soul this awe will certainly prevail God's sanctified ones can say it from Experience Psalm 130.4 There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared Not only a readiness to forgive but actual forgiveness is with God and as our Fear of God is the end of his granting it so 't is the effect and issue of our receiving it Two Things will make this more evident 1. This joyful Sense of the Love of God supposes a sorrowful Sense of his displeasure going before it Ordinarily God does not thus set Men up on high till he hath first brought them into the Depths the does not make them glad with his Countenance till he had laid them more or less in the lowest Pit Psalm 88.6 How few are admitted to take the Cup of Salvation without Drinking for some time of the Cup of God's Fury How few are call'd into this pleasant Light without passing through a scorching Fire Sore Conflicts prepare the way for the most part to ravishing Comforts and the Heart knows a great deal of bitterness before it comes to taste how good the Lord is 2. They that have been sensible of God's displeasure and are sensible of his Love will take Care to avoid the one and continue in the other Who so likely to be afraid of receiving a Spirit of Bondage again as they that have felt it Who so far from provoking God to carry them back into an howling Wilderness as they who have been there before Who so cautious of interrupting their sweet Communion with God as they that have enjoy'd it Who so capable of rightly valuing that Priviledge as they that are possest of it and therefore who so ready to endeavour the preserving of it by a circumspect Walk Souls that are thus favoured of God are most seriously convinc't That in his Favour is Life Psalm 30.5 Therefore when the Spirit of God hath carried them up to this Pinnacle this heighth of Consolation they are the more afraid of doing any Thing to occasion their casting down 6. The commonest and strongest Temptations to departing from God are best overcome by a Sense of his Love viz. The Temptations which arise both from the flatteries and frowns of the World the Love of Life and Fears of Death He that hath the Loving Kindness of God before his Eyes is most able to make a resolute and successful Resistance to all these As particularly 1. The Flatteries of the World do too often allure Men from their Obedience to God but they that have a Sense of God's Love upon their Hearts are best armed against this Temptation Hereby the World with all its gaudy Vanities is Crucified to us and we unto the World hereby all these Things are stript of their seeming Glory as the Sun puts out the lesser Lights and as the Works of
to commit the very Sins which they had the greatest Aversion to and Abhorrence of Satan and indwelling Sin together do not make up so great a Force but that we may withstand and repel them when we have the Presence of the Spirit of God but when we are bereaved of that Presence we are too weak to grapple with them asunder Therefore the first Rule in the spiritual Warfare is be strong in the Lord Eph. 6.10 'T is not to be believed what an Head Corruption will get and what inrodes the Devil will make when a Saint is left but a little to himself One Temptation is admitted after another with very faint and fruitless Reluctancy like Jerusalem That open'd her Feet to every one c. Ezek. 16.25 4. Impenitency for a Time under the guilt of Sin committed There are several Causes of sinful hardness and among the rest we find it sometimes in Scripture attributed to God which cannot be understood as if he were in any Sense the Author of it or the Agent in it so as to produce it by positive Influence but chiefly by Way of Privation viz. by removing of the Spirit from us whose proper work it is to soften to make our Hearts tender and bring us to Repentance Hence it is that the very Children of God such as can boldly say doubtless thou art our Father do not only err from God's ways but which is more are hasten'd from his Fear Isa 63.16 17. They may not only commit Sin but continue in it a great while when the Case is so with them 'T is astonishing that David should remain without Repentance so many Months as he did we cannot imagine but that he often heard and read the sixth and seventh Commandments in that Time both in his own House and in the Temple and yet Conscience lay asleep still till the Spirit of God by Nathan awaken'd him again His Reproofs of Sin are the only Effectual Ones for while he is silent all other smitings will signifie little to sound Conviction 5. Impatience or Despondency even under light Afflictions Fretting or Fainting in a Day of Adversity are the natural Issues of our own Spirit when they are not calm or comforted by God's 1. We cannot possess our Souls in Patience under Suffering when the Spirit leaves us There is need of strengthening with all might according to his glorious Power unto all Patience c. Col. 1.11 There is a natural Frowardness of Heart which all afflictive Evils tend to Kindle and Provoke which we are no more able of our selves to Conquer than we are to rule the Raging of the Sea The same God that lays his Hand at any Time upon us must also by his own Grace humble us under it and reconcile us to it or else our rebellious Passion will struggle and contend against it Jonahs extravagant Anger for a Gourd and justifying of himself shews how ungovernable we are when forsaken of God Jonah 4.9 2. We cannot rejoyce in Hope under any Suffering when the Spirit is with-drawn We are ready to sink immediately when our Support is taken away our feeble Knees like Belshazzar's are apt to smite one against another and we cannot bare any Burden alone Carnal Fear swallows up the Soul our Hearts fail us and weare as they that have no more Spirit in them when we have lost God's encouraging Presence God's help is as necessary against Despair in Trouble as for Deliverance out of it He that believes to see the goodness of the Lord when he is feeling his Severity must be under the Influence of the Spirit of Faith 6. Shameful Denials of God's Name in perillous Times when we are called to hold it fast and to make an open Profession of it Courage and Resolution Constancy and Stedfastness in appearing for the Cause and Interest of Christ at all Times is an eminent Fruit of the Spirit and therefore Believers were not so frequently nor in such large numbers call'd to suffer for God under the Old Testament as now under the New When there is a more plentiful Effusion of the Spirit than there was before And therefore the Apostles were commanded to tarry at Jerusalem and not to Launch into a Sea of Persecution by going about to Preach the Gospel till the Spirit was given which Christ expresses by their being endued with Power from on high Luke 24.49 What a miserable Coward was Peter before this that had not the Confidence to own his Master when only challeng'd by two of the Maids of the High-Priest Mark 14.66 c. And yet how undaunted after this in his Acknowledgment of him to the Rulers of the People and Elders of Israel Acts 4.10 11. When the Disciples were fill'd with the Holy Ghost they spake the Word of God with boldness ver 31. But how easily will Men's furious Threatenings scare us when our God abandons us 7. Woful Confusion and Disorder in the Exercise of our Thoughts and workings of our Affections 1. In the Exercise of our Thoughts A Man's Thoughts are naturally quick and nimble and therefore the more apt of themselves to be hurried and confounded as we know that the swiftest Motions are perplext the soonest When Cain went out from the Presence of the Lord he became a Fugitive and a Vagabond so the Mind is full of will and loose incohaerent distracted vain Imaginations that serve to no use that will be kept in no Order when 't is not under the actual Conduct of the Spirit of God it roves and wanders from one thing to another and can fix or settle no where as it should There are swarms of bad Thoughts which thrust out the good ones and we can no more meditate to any Purpose upon spiritual Objects without the Spirit than a Man can take the Prospect of a Star through a Glass held with a shaking Hand 2. In the working of our Affections these are as hard to be regulated as our Thought are to be compos'd They will boyl over when they should be kept in and when they ought to flow out then there will be none stirring The best of our Hearts if they be not under better Management than our own will be hot and cold by fits at the contrary Seasons Upon slight occasions we know not how to restrain them and upon great occasions we know not how to excite them This is and will be the Case whenever God suspends his own gracious Acts and stands at a distance from us 8. Vnwilling and sad Expectation of Death and Judgment 'T is impossible for a Child of God chearfully to lay down his Temporal life and lay hold of Eternal unless God be with him Psal 23.4 Though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I will fear no Evil for thou art with me c. How dismal must it be to think of going to a departed God Of standing at his Bar when we apprehend our selves cast out of his sight How can we be
1.8 And no Prohibitions or Threatenings must stop their Mouths or tempt them to neglect their Duty But this is not all that which follows in the last Clause of the Verse is yet more considerable And so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey him q.d. Though you quarrel with us and oppose our Testimony there is a witness above all Exception who may not only silence but Cure your lnfidelity we are not alone in this Work we have one to back us who is greater than all even the Spirit of God himself This agrees with what Christ had said John 15.26 27. When the Comforter is come he shall testifie of me and ye also shall bear witness The Words are the Conclusion of Peter's Reply to the Jewish Sanhedrim in which we have a brief Abridgement of his Sermon or larger Discourse upon the Day of Pentecost though that and this had very different Effects they who heard that were pricked to the Heart and it issued in their saving Conversion Chap. 2.37 They who heard this were cut to the Heart and consulted about slaving the Apostles ver 33. of this Chapter The same Expression is us'd concerning Stephen's Murderers Chap. 7.54 And signifies the galling of their Consciences Which provoke them to a more furious Resistance of the Truth when they have been persuaded to embrace it Thus that very Word in substance the same which is the savour of Life unto one becomes the savour of Death unto another Obs The Holy Spirit whom God hath given to them that obey him is a Witness to Jesus Christ The Text is not a direct Assertion of the Doctrine of the Trinity but we have here all the Three Divine Persons brought in and mentioned together Our Lord Christ is the Person witness'd to the Holy Ghost is the Person witnesssin and God the Father is the Person whom this Witness proceeds from and is sent by These are the Three that are siad to bear Record or witness in Heaven 1 John 5.7 And indeed they all Testifie to each other The Father bore Witness of Christ John 5.37 Christ also was given to be a Witness to him Isa 55.4 And in this Place the Holy Ghost is named as a Witness to Christ In handling this I. Shew in what Sense the Holy Spirit is given II. Whom he is given to III. How he performs the Work and Office of a Witness to our Lord Jesus IV. Use I. In what Sense is the Holy Spirit given by God In many Places which 't is needless to repeat the same Phrase occurs to us especially in the New Testament To prevent misunderstanding in so fuudamental a Point I shall endeavour with an humble regard to the greatness of the Mystery to open it Negatively and Positiverly 1. Negatively The giving of the Spirit by God the Father does not import the Spirits being Inferiour to the Father nor does it exclude the Purchase and Gift of Christ 1. This does not import the Spirit 's being Inferiour to the Father How difficult soever it be to conceive the Order which is among the Persons in the Godhead we are sure 't is impossible that there should be any inequality The Blessed Spirit is one with the Father and to him belong all the glorious Perfections of the Supream Being he is the most High God as the Father is All the Three Persons have the same Infinite Essence and Nature the same Understanding Will and boundless Power If any one Person be put beneath another his Deity is thereby destroy'd and therefore we must take heed of any such unscriptural Imagination concerning the Spirit of God The Holy Ghost is given indeed but not as by a Superiour who hath a command over another whether he will or not for he is given with his own Consent and one equal may give another if they agreee to do so as in like manner Jesus Christ whom the Scripture calls God's Fellow is also said to be given of God 2. This does not exclude either the Purchase or the Gift of Christ The Holy Spirit is given by the Father and yet Purchased and given by the Son too 1. Purchased by Christ the Son of God He hath obtained the Spirit for us or else we should never have partaken of him Hence it is that he is said to be shed on us through Jesus Christ our Saviour Tit. 3.5 6. His Bloud was the Price of this Priviledge his Intercession procures our actual Enjoyment of it John 14.16 I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforther c. After the finishing of his Work on Earth and Exaltation to Glory the Apostle tells us That he receiv'd of the Father the Promise of the Holy Ghost Acts 2.33 The Promise of the Holy Ghost here is put for the Holy Ghost promised to speak strictly Christ receiv'd the Promise of the Holy Ghost in the Everlasting Covenant of Redemption upon such and such Conditions which he was to perform in the fulness of Time but now those Conditions being perform'd he receiv'd an abundant Accomplishment of this Promise not for himself but for those that belong to him 2. The Spirit is given by Christ He is said to shed him forth in the last cited Place So he engag'd to send him John 15.26 Chap. 16.7 The same Act may very well be attributed both to the Father and Son as concurring in external Operations My Father worketh hitherto and I work Chap. 5.17 The Father is represented as the Maker of all Things very frequently and so is the Son In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth and in that beginning Jesus Christ was with God not as an unactive Spectator but as a Co-worker Believers are sanctified by God the Father Jude 1. And they are also sanctified in or by Christ Jessu 1 Cor. 1.2 The Greek Particle is the same in both Places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Therefore 't is manifest that the giving of the Holy Ghost by God the Father is not at all inconsistent with the dispensing of the same Gife by our Lord Christ 2. Positively There are Four Things which seem to be signified to us by the Father's giving of the Holy Ghost 1. That the Grace and Love of the Father is the spring of all Divine Communications Here is the first Rise and Original of all the good that we receive 't is all resolv'd into the Father's good Pleasure as the Primary moving Cause John 3.16 God so laved the World that he gave his only begotten Son c. 'T is from the same Fountain of Eternal Love in the Bosom of God the Father that this Gift of the Holy Ghost does issue also 'T is very remarkable therefore that our Lord directs the Faith of his Disciples to fasten chiefly hereupon Chap. 15.26 27. I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you for the Father himself loveth you The meaning is not that Christ
would omit to mediate for them or that his Mediation was not to be eyed by them but the meaning is that the Father's Love does prevent as it were this Act of Christ and is the very ground which 't is built upon for Christ had never been appointed to this work if God had not lov'd us 2. That the Communication of the Spirit is altogether free and undeserved He is truly given and whatsoever is proper Gift is not bestowed as a recompence to any previous Endeavours but in a way of most gracious voluntary Disposal it might be withheld denied and kept back without the least shadow of unrighteousness or wrong to the Creature God is under no Obligation to give the Spirit to any but what by his own Promise he hath laid upon himself and there is no Promise but what Mercy is as much concern'd in the making as Truth in the keeping of God hath practised to give the Spirit to them that ask him and for our our Encouragement he is describ'd as more willing to give the Spirit upon our asking than the tenderest Parents are to give necessary Sustenance to their own Children Luke 11.13 But is this ever the less an Act of Grace because we are put to beg it And is not our very begging an effect of Grace receiv'd For we cannot ask the Spirit without the Spirit the Spirit of Supplication is poured out where Pleaded for 3. That when the Spirit of God is once communicated he is never totally recall'd God does not take away what he gives of this sort His saving Gists as the Gift of the Holy Ghost most certainly is are without Repentance Rom. 11.29 In them is Continuance as the Prophet speaks Isa 64.5 Their Duration runs Parallel with the being of the Giver They that are really made partakers of the Holy Ghost in his special sanctifying Operations cannot lose him He is given to abide with them for ever they are his Living Temples which shall be at no Time forsaken or left desolate There may be transient workings and long strivings of the Spirit with carnal Hypocrites but they are not indeed possest of him and therefore are sinally without him There was a notable Difference between the Anointing of Saul and David the former with a Vial 1 Sam. 10.1 The latter with an Horn of Oil Chap. 16.1 God's Ceremonies are very signisicant the Horn was a more solid the Glass a more brittle Substance to intimate the permanency of the Divine Presence with David and its sudden removal from Saul 4. That the Communication of the Spirit is an exceeding valuable Blessing When God is said to give the Holy Ghost it implies the Priviledge of those that receive him 'T is an instance of singular Favour on God's Part and a Matter of unspeakable Advantage on their Part both to themselves and others 1. 'T is the greatest Advantage to themselves There are many good and perfect Gifts of God but this Gift excells The Promise of Christ in the Old Testament and of the Spirit in the New contain all the Promises in Eminency There are some Things which God gives in Anger but he never gives the Spirit so There are some Things which God distributes promiscuously and some times to those whom he hates most plentifully but the Spirit is a Gift which the World cannot receive John 14.17 Other Things may be the lot of such as are reserved to the Day of Destruction but they that have the Spirit are sealed to the Day of Redemption 2. T is a great Advantage to others also 1 Cor. 12.7 The Manifestation of the Spirit is given to every Man to profit withal No Persons in the World so useful in their Places as they that partake of this blessed Gift It was this which recommended Joseph to the Egyptians Gen. 41.38 Pharaoh said unto his Servants can we find such an one as this a Man in whom the Spirit of God is One fill'd with the Holy Ghost is worth a Thousand of common Men he is a capable Instrument of much more good in his Generation than all the Philosophers Criticks and Disputers of his World with their vast stores of unsanctified Learning II. Whom is this Spirit given to The Answer is in the Text to them that obey him For the clearing of this there are Three Things which should be a little enquir'd into Who is the Person here said to be obey'd What is meant by our obeying him And how we are to understand the Spirits being given unto such 1. Who is the Person here said to be obey'd To them that obey him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 'T is indeed applicable to all the Three Persons Father Son and Spirit as they are all the just Objects of our Obedience God the Father is to be obey'd in the Commands which he gives forth God the Holy Ghost is to be obey'd in his inward Motions upon our own Hearts but I incline rather to their Judgment who Interpret this especially of God the Son Jesus Christ This seems the fairest Construction if we view the Words in the Original we are his Witnesses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Christ's Witnesses Christ is the Person spoken of first and last the Verse begins and closes with him Now that Christ hath a right to our Obedience is undeniable 1. Because we were made by him and as his Creatures we are bound to be his Servants He that brought us into Being may upon that Account require the utmost Performance of Duty from us 2. As he is our Redeemer he is entitled to be our Ruler He may very well give Laws to us that hath restor'd our Lives to us as the impotent Man urg'd to the Jews when they censur'd him for carrying his Bed on the Sabbath-day John 5.11 He that made me whole the same said unto me take up thy Bed and Walk q.d. it becomes me to follow his Orders to whom I owe my Recovery Christ is Saviour and Lord to the same Persons and all that are ransom'd by him are thereby engag'd to be subject to him 2. What is meant by obeying him here Some render it by Believing and that this must be included if it be not principally intended I would offer these few Argumeuts to prove 1. Faith it self is the highest Act of Obedience We read of the Obedience of Faith Rom. 16.26 As the great End of the Gospels Publication and the very same Words are render'd Obedience to the Faith Chap. 1.5 If we should take Faith here for the Doctrine of Faith 't is evident that the receiving of this Doctrine is set forth by Obedience In believing we obey for this is his Commandment that we should Believe c. 1 John 3.23 Indeed 't is the most difficult Duty as they that are found in the Performance of it are able to declare from their own Experience Presumption is easie but the true Exercise of Faith is hard Work 2. Faith is the Foundation of all Evangelical Obedience Obedience
is manifest because immediately after this he enter'd upon his publick Ministry here was a Pledge first given of the Authority which he was invested with that he might be accordingly acknowledg'd and regarded in the Exercise of his Office which till now he had not begun 2. The extraordinary Works that were done by Christ these were the Seals of his Commission and prov'd him to come from Heaven for the Doctrine of an Impostor would never have been so signally asserted But now all these Works were done in the Power of the Holy Ghost whom he is said to be anointed with and partly for that End Acts 10.38 Particularly he cast out Devils by the Spirit of God Mat. 12.28 And for that Reason he charges the Jews with Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost the unpardonable Sin who ascrib'd this mighty Act of his to Beelzebub the Prince of Devils ver 31 32. If Christ himself only had been concern'd in this Work this could have been Blasphemy against him only but seeing the Spirit of God concurr'd with him in it they were guilty of Blaspheming that Spirit also 3. The Resurrection of Christ which was a considerable Testimony to his Eternal Deity is ascrib'd to the Spirit likewise This Work is indeed in Scripture ascrib'd to all the Three Persons to the Father Rom. 6.4 To Christ himself John 10.17 18. And the Holy Ghost is interested in it too Rom. 8.11 If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead dwell in you he that rais'd up Christ from the Dead shall also quicken your mortal Bodies by his Spirit c. The Connexion of the Words and the Relation which one Thing in them bears to another shews this to be the meaning that God will revive and raise the Dead Bodies of Believers by the same Spirit by whom he rais'd his Son that Spirit who reunited the Humane Soul and Body of Jesus Christ will reunite ours also So 1 Pet. 3.16 Quicken'd in the Spirit the same Spirit by which he Preach'd to the Disobedient in the Days of Noah ver 19 20. with Gen. 6.3 3. How did the Spirit witness to Christ after his Departure into Heaven I mean in the Times of the Apostles and in those first Ages of the Gospel Answ I. By the Revelation of the Mysteries of the Gospel to the Apostles which they were to Preach to others This we have an Account of from Christ himself John 16.12 13 14 15. I have yet many Things to say unto you but you cannot bear-them now howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth c. He shall Glorifie me for he shall receive of mine and shew it unto you which is repeated in the next Words The Disciples then were weak in the Faith prepossest with carnal Notions about the Kingdom of Christ and at that Time also overwhelm'd with Sorrow upon the Notice of his intended Departure and by this means they were uncapable at the present of Learning all that they needed to be taught now Jesus Christ who consider'd their weakness and dealt with them according to it refers them to be more fully instructed by the promised Spirit who though he did not discover any new Truths which they never heard yet he brought old Truths to their Remembrance with new Illumination he help'd their remaining Ignorance and Infrimity in giving them a clearer Understanding of all the Things of Chirist of all those Doctrines concerning Christ which were hid and veil'd from them before 2. By endowing them with a miraculous Power of doing those Things which were above the utmost activity of Nature for the Confirmation of the Christian Doctrine Thus he is said to give Testimony to the Word of his Grace in granting Signs and Wonders to be done by their Hands Acts 14.3 God bearing them Witness with Signs and Wonders and divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost Heb. 2.4 A great many of those supernatural Effects were produced by his means in the Course of their Ministry and some of them such as even exceeded what were wrought by our Lord himself So he had told them that it should be John 14.12 He that believeth on me the Works which I do shall he do also and greater Works than these shall he do because I go to my Faither I would not go about to restrain this Text to the Apostles because Christ puts it in larger Terms He that believeth c. but undoubtedly it was verified in them They were enabled to Work the same Miracles which he did and in some Respects such as out-did them Chap. 9. The Healing of those that were laid upon Beds and Couches in the Streets with the Shadow of Peter passing by ver 15. of this Chapter and Chap. 19.11 12. We read of special Miracles wrought by the Hands of Paul so that from his Body were brought unto the Sick Handkerchiefs or Aprons and the Diseases departed from them c. The Reason of these greater Works done by the Apostles was Christ's going to the Father which made Way for an eminent pouring forth of the Spirit and this tended not so much to the Reputation of their particular Persons for they could not Work them when they would as to the Glory of Christ whose Interest was hereby advanced in the World 3. By the remarkable and numerous Conversions of great Multitudes to Christ among whom they preach'd As soon as ever the Holy Ghost was come upon them there were Three Thousand Souls added to them That gladly receiv'd their Word and were Baptized Chap. 2.41 Soon after these were made up Five Thousand Chap. 4.4 All this was done in the compass of very few Days and the first Harvest was the Fruit of one Sermon At Samaria when Philip went and Preach'd Christ to them 't is said that the People with one accord gave heed to the Things which he spake Chap. 8.5 6. Which is the more extraordinary because they had all given heed to Simon the Sorcerer before from the least to the greatest ver 10. What a strang and marvellous turn was here in an whole City upon the Preaching of the Gospel In many other Places the Word of God grew mightily and prevail'd Chap. 19.20 It got ground against all the Opposition both of Jews and Gentiles The Preachers of it were made to Triumph in Christ and baffies all contrary attempts from open Enemies and false Brethren and overcame the Devil by the Word of their Testimony And the way of doing all this is explain'd to us 1 Cor. 2.4 My Speech and my Preaching was in Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power The Spirit of God accompanied their Word and made it thus successful 4. By the supernatural Gifts which were bestowed upon other Believers also as well as the Apostles The Truth of this might be made out by several Instances if it were needful Acts 10.44 While Peter spake the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word viz. Cornelius
Communicatious of Light and Grace as long as we are in the World that our Faith may grow and that what is lacking in it may be perfected According as the Spirit enriches us in the Progress of our Sanctification the Testimony of Christ is confirmed in us 1 Cor. 1.6 He grounds and settles us and makes us unmoveable from the Hope of the Gospel he fortifies and establishes us against various contrary Temptations whereby the Devil is frequently endeavouring to loosen our hold of Christ and beat us off from him We are poor wavering unsteady Creatures when we are left to our selves rejoycing one Moment and drooping the next confidently assured of that at one Time which we are ready to call in Question at another The best Believers in the World will most humbly own this the strongest Faith would certainly fail if the Cause of Christ in the Soul were not often pleaded over again by the Spirit as an Antidote for the Motions to Infidelity IV. Vse There are several Things which from hence we may be informed of and exhorted to 1. There are several Things which we may be informed of As 1. Jesus Christ never will nor can be left without a Witness because the Eternal Spirit is his Witness who will never with-dram his Testimony This Spirit of Christ is given to all that obey him and he testifies of Christ to them and by them to others but if we could suppose this whole Generation of the righteous to be extinct which yet shall never be as long as the Earth remains if all these Humane Witnesses were slain and not one left to stand up on the behalf of Christ in the World yet while the Holy Ghost survives as a faithful Witness in Heaven 't is impossible that Christ should be destitute Let the Rage and Malice of the World against Christ go as far as it can in stopping the Mouths or shedding the Blood of all that receive or bear the Record which God hath given of his Son the Spirit cannot be prevented from doing constant Honour to Jesus Christ 2. The Word of Christ hath a better Foundation than any Tesitimony from Man or from any Church or Party of Men whatever As Christ said He had a greater Witnrss than that of John John 5-36 Concerning thy Testimonies I have knowu of Old says David that thou hast founded them for ever Psalm 119.152 But if mortal Witnesses were their only Supporters they would be as liable to fade and perish to be subverted and destroyed as other Inferiour Things To build the Credit of the Gospel upon Humane Tradition is like putting the Ark of the Testimony into a wooden Cart which will be apt to shake and reel if not to tumble The Church of God is the Pillar and Ground of the Truth 1 Tim. 3.15 To hold it forth indeed not to hold it up not such a Pillar as Houses stand upon but as Writings hang upon for Publick Notice 3. The unrighteous Judgment of Satan and the World against Christ is and will be perfectly reversed Now is the Judgment of this World says Christ John 12.31 So Chap. 16.11 When the Sprit is come he will Reprove or Convince the World of Judgment because the Prince of this World is judged I take these Two Texts to refer to one and the same Thing for the Prince of this World and the World it self pass the same Judgment on Jesus Christ and the Judgment of both is very unjust the World and its Prince make up as it were but one Person the Head and the Body and they exactly Agree and Joyn in the same Sentence to condemn our Lord Jesus But here is a Witness that nuls this Sentence and plainly proves the Iniquity and Falshood of it and indeed none of the Devil's Devices can stand when God himself comes forth to withstand and oppose them 4. It must needs be a lying Spirit that speaks a Word against Christ or that derogates any Thing from him 1 Cor. 12.3 I give you to nderstand that no Man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed Whatever is spoken by any to the dishonour of our Lord Jesus cannot proceed from the Spirit of God This is most certain because the Spirit of God cannot contradict himself he cannot testifie for him and against him too The Holy Ghost is Christ's Witness the unclean Spirit is his Adversary and too many Tongues are duided by this unclean and wicked Spirit that pretend to Prophesie in Christ's Name and whereas a true Witness delivereth Souls Prov. 14.25 These do lay snares for their Ruine and Destruction 5. They that have the Spirit of God cannot err in what is essential to the Faith of Christ and necessary to Salvation They are undoubtedly taught to hold the Substance of Divine Testimony though they may be mistaken in lesser Particulars This is hinted by what our Lord says Mat. 24.24 There shall arise false Christ's and false Prophets and shall shew great Signs and Wonders insomuch that if it were possible they shall deceive the very Elect. That Parenthesis is the most material Part of the Proposition there is no possibility of any of God's chosen and called ones miscarrying by a fundamental Delusion they have a Resident Witness for Christ in their own Bosoms who secures them from it 6. Vnbelief is a special Sin against the Holy Ghost all unbelief is so though all unbelief and perhaps no meer unbelief is not the Sin against the Holy Ghost It is the Spirit that beareth Witness because the Spirit is Truth 1 John 5.6 But he that believeth not makes him a Lyar ver 10. Hypocrisie is a lying to the Lord as Ananias and Sapphira lyed to the Holy Ghost but infidelity is a belying of him Jer. 5.12 'T is a painting of the Spirit of God like the Sons of Men who are Lyars upon Record Rom. 3.4 Yea like the Devil who is the Father of Lyes John 8.44 This black aggravated Evil is included in the not receiving of the Spirit 's witness 2. There are some Things which we may hence be exhorted to 1. Set your Seal to the Truth of the Spirits Testimony unto Christ by Believing in him and reject it not against your selves Embrace him with all your Hearts upon the high and honourable Commendation which the Holy Ghost gives of him How readily do we repose a Confidence in Creatures when we have receiv'd a worthy Character of them from Persons of known Integrity And shall we be influenc'd more by the Witness of Man than by the Witness of God God forbid How much greater Encouragements have we to Divine than humane Faith There are infallible Grounds for Divine Faith to rest upon which for humane cannot be 2. Grieve not the Spirit of God by Sin that he may not deliver you up nor leave you alone to be led away by Error The Holy Ghost is often provok'd by Men's loose Conversations to give them over to some unsound Opinions Practical
speaks Heb. 5.7 makes use of those very words so repeated Mark 14.36 Abba Father take away this cup from me So on the Cross My God my God c. So when Elijah was caught up Elisha saw it and cry'd My Father my Father c. 2 Kings 2.12 And the foolish virgins that came when the Door was shut cry'd Lord Lord c. Matth. 25.11 All which Passages speak a passionate and extraordinary con cernment of Soul There are several things which may be learned from hence which I shall but mention tho' seasonable enough in an Age so much corrupted by the revival and industrious Propagation of old Errors As 1. That there are Three Sacred Persons in the Blessed Godhead the Father Son and Spirit all of them held forth to us at one view in the compass of this single Verse yea in that single Clause God hath sent forth the Spirit of his son 2. The Spirit is not a Quality or Operation but a Person that hath a true and real subsistence of himself else this Phrase of being sent forth could not agree to him 3. This Spirit proceeds both from Father and Son for he is sent by the Father and he is the Spirit of the Son There is an Order among the Divine Persons though no priority of Being and according to that Order there is an ineffable mysterious communication from the First and Second Person to the Third But the chief thing is this Obs The great Gospel Privilege of a Believer's Sonship is not only discern'd but improv'd by the help of the Spirit of Christ. Here I. Shew that a Believer's Sonship is a great Privilege II. That it is a Gospel Privilege III. How this is discern'd by the help of the Spirit IV. How improved by his help V. Use I. To shew That a Believer's Sonship is a great Privilege This will appear in six things 1. 'T is a Privilege of God's everlasting Kindness which is more durable and therefore more valuable than Life it self The Favour of God is never wholly withdrawn from those that are once his Children by Adoption Goodness shall furely follow them all their Days and continue towards them to Eternity Earthly Parents may abandon and be alienated from their own natural Off-spring but God will not yea cannot forget them A Son abides in the House always John 8.35 he shall not be disinherited nor turned out of doors nor the entail of Covenant Blessings be cut off from him He is brought into a Relation which shall not be destroyed and dignified with a Name which shall never be blotted out If God is pleased to Adopt us 't is certain that he hath loved us from the beginning and will to the end 2. 't is inseparably attended with regenerating Grace Both these Privileges of Adoption and Regeneration do constantly go hand in hand There is a real and a relative change togehter As the Fathers of our Flesh communicate not only their Names but Natures to us so here is a new Birth as well as a new Title When God calls us into this honourable State he begets us of his own Will and at the same time that we contract such an Alliance to him we are also born of him John 1.13 It would be a far less Privilege to be a Child of God if there were not a Divine renewing in the Spirit of our minds connected with it To remain upon the dead stock of the old Adam still is a miserable Curse which would mar the Blessing but thanks be to God it is not so 3. The Sons of God are under the Exercise of sparing mercy There is a sweetness in the Compellation of Father which agrees to the tenderness of God in dealing with his Children Mal. 3.17 I will spare them as a Man spareth his own Son that serveth him He does not mark their Iniquities nor revenge them as he might He does not reckon with them for every Offence nor rebuke them for any in hot displeasure He does not strike them with an Arm like God but chastens them with the Rod of Men. His free Compassion overcomes his deserved Severity he would be just in doing what out of indulgent pity he leaves undone How many wandrings of theirs does he pass over what abatements does he make when sin is visited upon them and how gently doth he lift them up after he hath cast them down 4. They are Objects of a peculiar Providence both in respect of Care by preserving them from Ill and in respect of Bounty by supplying them with Good 1. In respect of Care by preserving them from Evil. His Children have a place of Refuge Prov. 14.26 such an one as others have not They whom God takes as his own are received into his Almighty Protection which the rest of the World can have little ground to hope for To such the Promne belongs and to such only He shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust Psal 91.4 what a Charge did David give to all his Officers concerning his Son though at that time in Rebellion Beware that none touch the young man Absalom 2 Sam. 18.12 God is more solicitous for the safety of all his and therefore he is said to carry them in his Bosom where nothing truly hurtful can befal them Isa 40.11 2. In respect of Bounty by supplying them with Good even all that is necessary and convenient for them Whoever want his Children shall not he knows what they need and when they need it and always deviseth means for their seasonable Relief He calls Heaven and Earth to take notice of this Isa 1.2 I have nourish'd and brought up Children There is a Table prepar'd for the King's Sons at which his Mephibosheths eat 2 Sam. 9.11 God hath eminently undertaken for their certain and undoubted maintenance there is an Emphasis upon it Verily thou shalt be fed Psal 37.3 rather than not have a Seed to serve him he 'll raise Children out of Stones rather than they starve those Stones shall become Bread 5. They are made joint Heirs with Christ which is extraordinary indeed and yet follows upon our being Children Rom. 8.17 No Children of God but what is entituled to a glorious Inheritance and which makes it much more marvellous they are made to inherit with our Lord Jesus himself God calls them into the Fellowship of his Son 1 cor 1.9 to partake of the same Glory which is given to him to possess the same Kingdom which is appointed to him to sit upon his Throne and reign in Company with the Lamb for ever and ever As if it were not enough for us to reap the Benefits of the Sufferings of Christ we shall share in his Advancement the depth of his Humiliation was purely for our sakes the height of his Exaltation will likewise turn to our account 6. They have the best and most useful Service from all Creatures in the invisible and visible World both those that are above
whereas there is but one Lord Jesus Christ they make up one Mystical Body but not one natural Person therefore his Grace and theirs must numerically differ 3. The Grace given to Christ was to serve some special Purposes and Ends which the Grace given to us is not adapted for He was not only made under the Ceremonial Law and under the Moral as others were but under a peculiar Law which concern'd himself only Gal. 4.4 There is a vast Difference between the Work of Christ as Mediator and the Work of an ordinary Christian and therefore besides the stock of habitual Grace of which his Manhood was possest he had the Godhead also to support him and there was absolute need of it There was more Service and Duty incumbent upon Jesus Christ than ever was upon any meer Creature before or since The Active and Passive Obedience of Christ exceeds all that any Man was ever called to do or suffer Our work under the Influence of his Grace hath a subordinate Respect to our own Salvation he was to work out the Salvation of all his Elect in a way of proper Merit and Satisfaction 4. The Grace in him and in us are not equally perfect they are not like Parallel Lines which run the same length No Believer can pretend to be so full of Grace as he was our receivings are far from coming up to the same measure with his Christ had an extraordinary anointing in a larger Quantity we have it drop't in Comparison upon us He as the Sun of Righteousness Mal. 4.2 We as twinkling Stars He as the King of Righteousness Heb. 7.2 We as Inferiour Subjects Grace is Christ was like Water in a wide Sea which hath no visible Bounds Grace in us is like Water in a little Brook or a narrow River Grace in him was in sinless Perfection at the first in us it is never so while we are in this World there are mixtures of sinful Infirmity with all the Grace which we have or Exercise He had abundance of Grace clouded with no Corruption we compar'd with him have a great deal of Corruption besetting a little Grace 2. To State the Truth it self as it is in this Case 1. The Grace which is in Believers bears some Proportion and Similitude to the Grace which is in Christ as it proceeds from one and the same Spirit The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him and make him of quick Vnderstanding in the Fear of the Lord Isa 11.2 3. All Holy Communications to Christ and us are the immediate Effects of this Blessed Spirit the Third Person in the Godhead He was sanctified by the Holy Ghost when he was sent into the World so are we when called out of the World and translated into his invisible Kingdom As Christ gives us the same Glory Which the Father gave to him John 17.22 So he fills us with the same Divine Spirit which he had himself 2. Christ's Grace and ours have one general Scope and Aim viz. The glorifying of God No Grace can be of the right Seed but what is levell'd at the Honour of the Giver As it is God's Design in giving it so it will be our Design in acting it if it be acted with Integrity Christ who had so rich a Furniture of Grace sought not his own Glory nor the exalting of himself But he glorified God on the Earth John 17.4 This is what he had an Eye to in all he did so every Believer intends and pursues the same Thing 'T is as much his business to glorifie God as it is his Pleasure to enjoy him Grace consecrates even his natural Actions to serve and promote this noble End the Actions of Eating and Drinking which in others are only perform'd for Necessity or else for Lust 1 Cor. 10.31 3. As Christ had every Grace so hath the Believer though none in the highst Degree Our Lord Jesus was a compleat Copy of universal Righteousness none could say to him as he said to the Young Man One Thing thou lackest So as to the kinds of Grace they that belong to Christ are likewise perfect and entire wanting nothing James 1.4 And they stand compleat in all the Will of God Col. 4.12 they are not endued with some Graces and destitute of others but where one is there is all If a a Liar c. 1 John 4.20 These Things are not separable any more than you can divide Christ from himself Wheresoever Faith is there is Repentance and new Obedience that 's a Counterfeit Faith which is alone 't is Dead and therefore cannot be true James 2.17 Saving Graces are always in Connection They make up the one Chain on the Spouses Neck which ravishes the Heart of Christ Song 4.9 4. The Matter of his Grace and ours is the same The new Creature is therefore set forth by Christ formed in us Gal. 4.19 Because of the Agreement and Conformity betwixt the stamp of God's Holiness upon the Humane Soul of Christ and the Souls of them that believe Hence the same Mind is said to be in us as was in him Phil. 2.5 The same humble meek self-denying self-resigning Temper So he that doth Righteousness is Righteous even as he is Righteous 1 John 3.7 'T is the same Rule of Righteousness observ'd by both and so the same specifical Work of Righteousness perform'd by both That Law which was perfectly obey'd by Christ is sincerely obey'd by all that are Christ's A new Commandment write I unto you which Thing is true in him and in you 1 John 2.8 That Law which was in his Heart is in ours if we be Partakers of Christ and that which govern'd his exemplary Life will govern ours also Vse Many Things follow from hence both for our Learning and Practise 1. For our Learning As 1. If Grace it self be given then nothing done by the help of Grace can be meritorious of Glory If our first stock and all our Improvements are from God and vouchsafed freely What Reward can we challenge for any thing we do God is so much before-hand with us that he can never be oblig'd or indebted to us if we were capable of first giving to him we might expect a recompence and requital but says God Who hath prevented me that I should repay him Job 41.11 We do not prevent God with Duty but he prevents us with Grace and therefore we owe all that we can do to God and a great deal more we can never answer the Engagements which we are under nor discharge the thousandth part of what he might require from us so that 't is impossible for the least or lowest Degree of Favour to be due from him All our returns of Service and Obedience to God are built upon the Foundation of Grace receiv'd we do but give him of his own as David said 1 Chron. 29.14 And therefore the Gift of Eternal Life cannot flow from distributive Justice but must be a further Act of undeserved Bounty 2. If Grace
dead rise not for if the dead rise not then is not Christ raised Either he that quickned our Lord's natural Body will quicken our mortal Bodies also or we must renounce the Faith of both together Secondly The Intercession of Christ in Heaven In handling this we should enquire what is meant by this Intercession How he lives to this end how he ever lives in order to it and wherein his infinite Ability to save is evidenc'd hereby 1. What is meant by the Intercession which Christ makesin Heaven That it differs from the Prayers and Supplications which he offer'd up in the days of his Flesh upon the account of the differing Circumstances of his now Glorious State which we must understand it suitably to is I think without all Controversie That all Intercession carries in it in general something of the true nature of Prayer seems also clear whether it be managed with or without the use of words is a disputed Point And therefore I shall sum up all that needs to be spoken to it in these three things 1. He appears in the Presence of God for us Hebr. 9.24 He represents our Persons there presents himelf in our stead and on our behalf As Aaron bore the Names of the Children of Israel in the breast-plate of Judgment upon his Heart when he went into the Holy Place Exod 28.29 And perhaps in Allusion to this Christ's speaks of confessing the names of those that overcome before his Father Rev. 3.5 When no one could undertake such a desperate Cause as ours was he interposes and stands forth to be our Advocate when we did not dare to shew our selves before the Throne God he acts in the place of poor and miserable Clients and makes it his Business to sue and sollicite for them in that awful Court of Heaven 2. He expresses his Will and Desire that we should partake of all that he hath procured for us So far his Intercession above agrees with that Prayer which he made while he was here below John 17.24 Father I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory c. And he who knows what is the mind of the Spirit interceding in us does very well know the mind of Christ in his making Intercession for us The Father knows not only what we want but what his Son would have for us In what way or manner Jesus Christ signifies his Desires to any such purpose we cannot be easily satisifed but that the Desires of Jesus Christ are all really before God and regarded by him we may be very sure 3. He insists upon his own Blood as a moving Plea As the High-Priest under the Law was to carry the Blood of the Sacrifice within the Vail and sprinkle it upon and before the Mercy Seat Lev. 16.14 15. So the Blood of Christ does not like the Blood of Abel cry from the Ground but speaks in Heaven Hebr. 12.24 And 't is stiled the Blood of sprinkling there as being effectually pleaded by him that shed it and the Fruits of it demanded to be bestow'd upon those whom it was shed for Whatsoever needs to be requested for us our Lord Jesus does justly require as due to himself Our Necessities cannot go so far but that his Merits extend still further and upon all occasions it may be perfectly and fitly urg'd by him though by none else Father I am worthy for whom thou shouldst do this 2dly How Christ lives to this End 1. Vltimately Christ lives to God Rom. 6.10 His Exaltation issues and centers in the Glory of God the Father Phil. 2.9 10 11. This was the chief hope and aim of the Life of Christ while he dwelt among us here below and so it is of the Life which he now lives in the World above And therefore it must still be supposed that whatever other Designs he is engaged in the pursuit of they are all subordinate to this The honouring of the Father is more to Christ than the Happiness of any Creature whatsoever tho' they may very consistently be carried on both at once 2. 'T is undeniable that Jesus Christ does not live for this end only in Subordination to the Glory of God but for other purposes besides which have all a reference and tendency to that last end He lives to execute his Prophetical Office still for by his Spirit whom he sheds forth he leads both his Ministers and all Believers into all Truth and so declares and manifests the Counsel of God most effectually to this very day He lives to execute his Kingly Office still in the Holy Government of his Church and further subduing of his Enemies for he must reign till he hath put all under his Feet 1 Cor. 15.25 And he is to sit upon his Throne of his Glory as Universal Judge at the Great Day when all Nations shall be gathered before him and Sentenc'd by him Matth. 25.31 32. 3. The making of Intercession is a very eminent and considerable Act which Christ lives in order to though it be not his ultimate or only end of living I say a very eminent and considerable Act for Intercession is a special part of Christ's Priestly Office the Priesthood of Jesus Christ did not expire at his Death but after Death when he lived again he was to transact and negotiate our Affairs with God This is the true meaning of that Text which is abused and perverted by the Socinians to countenance their false Principles that Jesus Christ was not a Priest till he came to Heaven Hebr. 8.4 If he were on Earth he should be a Priest The plain sense and import of which Passage is this That if Jesus Christ had remain'd on Earth he could not have been a perfect and compleat High-Priest if all his Work as a Priest had ended in what he did on Earth his Office had not been consummated for it was necessary that he should go into Heaven as the High-Priest under the Law did into the Holy of Holies When he had obtained eternal Redemption for us here it was requisite that he should enter there in order to the applying of what he had obtained 3. How is it that Christ ever lives to make Intercession So he is affirmed to be a Priest for ever to be made after the power of an endless Life Verse 16. of this Chapter As Melchisedech as Type of him in a much inferior Sense is said to abide a Priest continually ver 3. 1. Christ Interecedes constantly without intermission He does not as the High Priest did it once a Year but always He spent whole Nights sometimes in Prayer while he was in this World but yet it was not his perpetual Work as now it is He intercedes Year after Year and is never silent on our behalf so much as for a moment As he does not cease to live at any time so he does not cease to Mediate with God for us There never is any demurr