everlasting Rock for the soul to rest and betrust it self upon So that hast thou been a wonderful sinner here is a more wonderful Saviour are thy sins wonderfully great here is a more wonderful mercy to pardon them and righteousness to attone for them And are thy wants thy weakness thy distempers wonderful that thou canst not know them here is power holiness fulness more wonderful and farther above thy knowledge And therefore cast thy self with much confidence upon him in all streights wants dangers and difficulties whatsoever 4. This will also have another effect it will take off thine heart from admiring the creature By thy wondring at Jesus Christ thy soul will be so raised and enlarged that it will apprehend all things besides him but mean and trivial The Eye having beheld the brightness of the Sun seeth all other light far below it Moses seeing him that is Invisible beheld such riches and glory enjoyed such sweetness and pleasures in God as made the Heb. 11. 24. 25. 29. glory and pleasures of Pharoahs Court mean and worthless in his esteem Paul being rapt up to the third heavens and in a divine extasie admiring the unutterable things Phil. 3. 8. of Christ accounted all but loss and dung for the knowledge of him And our Lord Jesus living alwaies in the clear sight of his Fathers glory was not at all allured or affected with the glory of the Kingdoms of this world when it was by Satan set before him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Philosopher Men of great and raised spirits despise those things which others are taken with And nothing will be so effectual to bring down the thoughts of man to a mean esteem of himself then to be thus raised in the admiration of Jesus Christ That act of the soul that doth most exalt Christ doth most debase man As those two Stars called Gemini the one ariseth as the other falleth So as Christ is raised and exalted in us so do we fall down lower and lower in the esteem of our selves 5. Lastly This will also lead the heart into an holy boasting and triumphant rejoycing in Jesus Christ As man will more boast in a treasure that he knows is inexhausted then in the greatest riches and possessions that he can discover the bounds of So whiles we are beholding the fulness and riches of Christ as inexhausted and unsearchable and are wondring at them this will naturally carry out our spirits to boast and triumph in him When after all thy knowledge of him thy Commmnion with him thy enjoyments and receits from him thou hearest yet a voice speaking to thee thou shalt yet enjoy and see greater things then these Vse last I have only one word more to add If Jesus Christ be thus wonderful and declares this name of his especially in our salvation Let us learn and endeavor to be wonderful in our actings for him as he is in his actings for us That we may now all strive to be as it was said of Zach. 3. 8. Joshua the Priest and his fellows in another sense men of wonder Surely if we do visibly deny our selves subject all our own Interests to the glory of Christ the promoting the Gospel and establishing Justice and Righteousness in the Nation and in our whole conversation cross the common course of the world we shall be men of wonder in our generation and in generations yet to come that England may be made the wonder of the world for righteousness wisdom truth and holiness as it hath been made the wonder of the world for salvations and deliverances Surely we shall not answer the extraordinary appearances of Christ for us if we do not now extraordinarily and eminently appear for him He now hath put us to the tryal by giving great opportunities into our hands and certainly great things may be done if we lay down Animosities self-ends and corrupt principles and with sincerity wisdom and unity address to the great works of God and the Nation that are before us The change of Government will avail us little the name of a Commonwealth will do little service if we do not see the common good sought and promoted common grievances and burthens removed and Common Justice impartially administred throughout the Nation And O that you Right Hnorable who sit at the Stern of this City and those that do or hereafter may sit at the Stern of this Commonwealth would set their shoulders effectually to these great works that the poor Church of Christ may live and flourish under the wings of such Rulers and Governors which the Lord hath promised she should enjoy in these last times And that sweet promise may be fulfilled upon her Isai 60. 17 18. I will also make thy Officers peace and thine Exactors Righteousness Violence shall no more be heard in thy Land wasting nor destruction within thy borders but thou shalt call thy wals Salvation and thy gates Praise FINIS
erst-while to shine forth upon the Earth And this day is represented by the day of their deliverance from the Babylonish Captivity as the shadow of it in the beginning of this Chapter that their joy might be the more enlarged and this deliverance more welcome when they should receive it not alone as a temporal deliverance but as a type and pledge of that spiritual salvation which the Lord Jesus was to administer at his coming This day of Christ is presented by the Prophet as approaching in this Chapter with these several goodly attendants Light Ioy. Victory 1. First is Light as in ver 2. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light All light hath its pleasure the lowest light that which is sensible and visible is pleasant Eccles 11. 7. but the higher the light is the more sutable to man and so the more pleasant This light that shines from Christ is intellectual spiritual breaking out from the highest sphear and the first fountain of light 2. Second is Ioy as in ver 3. They joy before thee Which is exprest by two of the highest joys in nature the one is of harvest when the Husbandman reaps the fruit of his long toyl and travels The other is of dividing the spoils when after the enemy is routed the battle won the danger and difficulty of the service over the Soldiour makes his triumph and divides the spoil 3. Third is Victory which you read in ver 4. which is described in the Parts of it Manner of it Author of it 1. The several parts of it ver 4. Thou hast broken the yoke of his burthen and the staffe of his shoulder the rod of his oppressor First The yoke of his burthen or burthensom yoke which is the Law which Christ hath broken off from the necks of Saints Second is The staffe of his shoulder which is the tyranny and guilt of sin wherewith the Conscience is afflicted and beaten and the spirit in man enslaved Third is The rod or the * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Scepter of his oppressor which is the dominion and reign of the devil 2. Next we have the manner of it expressed by a two-fold parallel First is that Victory of Gideon over the Midianites As in the day of Midian ver 4. recorded Judg. 7. and an eminent type of this First in the Conquerour Gideon * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Exscidit which signifies one that doth cut off or destroy as he did cut off the enemies of Israel and bring in their deliverance so doth Jesus Christ for his people Secondly in the person Conquered the Midianites * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Causam egi◠Midian signifies Contention or pleading in Judgement against another This Midian CHRIST doth overthrow and silence whatever Sin the Law Satan or Conscience could plead against us Christ hath put to silence and overcome as the Apostle asserts by a word very significant to this purpose Rom. 8. 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or who shall call them into judgement Thirdly in the assistance he used in the Conquest which was from Abiezer signifying the help of my father Judg. 6. 34. so Christ prevailed in the power and assistance of his Father Fourthly in the paucity of his men whereby he conquered his Army of thirty two thousand being reduced to three hundred none of those that were fearfull or bowed down upon their knees to drink engaging with him in the battle So fares it with Jesus Christ in those spiritual battles he is fighting in the world some desponding by carnal fear others bowed down by earthly engagements and interests do basely fall off going back to self and the world But lastly and especially in the strangeness of it Gideon prevailed not by might nor strength not by wonted policy or warlike stratagems but by Lamps and Pitchers and the sound of Trumpets So our Lord Iesus by Lamps and Pitchers by the light of Truth in Earthen vessels and by the sounding of the Gospel doth destroy the powers of darkness the Kingdom of Sathan confounds and scatters all the enemies of our salvation This is the first Parallel Next it is paralleld with other ordinary battles and victories ver 5. Every battle of the Warriour is with confused noise and with garments rolled in blood but this shall be or as we may better read it and it is or will be with burning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the fuel of fire So in Christs spiritual battles you have all these Concomitants here is a confused noise when he comes and sets up his standard within us and is subduing us to himself how do carnal reason the wisdom and lusts of the flesh make a noise within us contradicting and opposing Christ in his word works and wayes within us Two irreconcileable parties clashing and fighting against each other do bring forth this confused noise and tumult in the soul And in other victories we may see garments rolled in blood so neither is this spiritual victory without blood Christ overcame by his blood so do Saints overcome by the blood of the Lamb and their garments are made white being dipped and rolled in this blood Rev. 7. 14. Lastly other victories are attended with burnings firing of Gates Houses Cities and other fuel of fire So this spiritual battle and victory is not without fire the fire of the Spirit is burning within us whatever is fleshly and carnal whatever is hay and stubble is the fuel of this fire and the day of the Lord when he comes to conquer will consume and devour it Thus we have seen this Victory in the manner of it 3. Lastly it is set forth in the Author of it who is now the warriour that fights these battles the Conqueror that subdues these enemies here are great Victories atchieved brave exploits acted strong and puissant adversaries broken do you not long to see the person brought forth in view whose atchievements ye have heard the high reports of and before you see him are speaking within your selves as they in the Gospel What manner of man is this Lo the verse I have read presents him to you It is no other then a Child For unto us a Child is born and unto us a Son is given c. The Child is the same which was spoken of Chap. 7. 14. that was to be born of a Virgin and whose name is called Immanuel The same with that child born of the Prophetess called Maher-Shalal-hash baz not Hezekiah as the Jews would fain understand the Text but our Lord Jesus himself who is presented in this 6. verse under such a description as cannot agree to any creature 1. He is described in his twofold nature a child born a son given the child of the Virgin in respect of his humanity the Son of God in respect of his Divinity 2. In his Dedication to his people in both natures he
was but a child he was found in the Temple disputing with the Doctors and putting them to silence and we often read that when the Scribes and Pharises and Doctors of the Law came to entrap him by the wisdom of his answers he delivered himself and sent them away ashamed And so further he was a man wonderful in power What manner of man is this say the people that the Winde and Seas obey him Beloved while you look upon him speaking to the devils and they tremble at his voyce speaking to the dead and they rise to the graves and they open doth not this declare him a man wonderful in power He was also wonderful in his holiness a man without the least tincture of sin and amidst all the tentations and defilements of this world round about him yet kept himself unspotted and pure never departing from his Fathers Will never seeking himself in any one act never so much as beholding any object through a false and deceitful notion And all divine and heavenly perfection and vertues did shine forth in a wonderful manner in him wonderful patience strange humility unconceiveable mercy astonishing kindness and goodness We might add also how he was wonderful at his death when as the rocks rent the graves opened the dead arose and darkness was upon the face of the earth which made a learned man in those times cry out * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Diony Areopagita Vid. Tertul. Apologet. Either God suffers or doth sympathize with him that suffers But thirdly Considering him as God-man so we shall again find wonderful things in him Here in General you may see the Eternal God coming down into the lowest depth of debasement and humility and frail man raised up into the highest pitch of dignity and glory so that as Divinity could not well stoop lower so neither could Humanity be raised higher 1. First Here we see a poor low Creature made one person with the highest God two natures infinitely distant yet so wonderfully united as to make one person To see the Elements of differing and contrary qualities to meet together in one compound body to see the soul that is of a spiritual substance to be in so near affinity and conjunction with an earthly body is strange but to see God and man met together in one Person is such a mystery that neither men nor Angels can comprehend So that by vertue of this union the properties of the Godhead are ascribed to the Manhood as to be Infinite Omnipotent c. And the properties of the Manhood are attributed to the Godhead as to shed blood dye and suffer and the like Yea for the Creator to become a Creature for the Eternal Spirit to be made Flesh for the Holy God to be made Sin the Ever-blessed God to be made a Curse the strong God to become weak the Lord of Life to dye for riches and poverty glory and shame strength and weakness righteousness and sin fulness and emptiness to meet thus together in this union is such a Mystery as swalloweth up all finite Understandings 2. And Secondly In this union again we see Heaven and Earth embracing and that two ways First by way of Reconciliation Christ in the nature of man doth reconcile man and this whole Creation to the Father as the Apostle speaks Col. 1. 20. By him to reconcile all things to himself whether they be things in earth or things in heaven Secondly by way of union man being made one with God who is in himself a little world this whole Creation is come also into a union with God Christ clothing himself with our nature was in a manner invested with the whole Creation and all his works did do him Homage and Service and bring in praise and glory to him in the Man Christ Jesus The Apostle speaks forth this Mystery Eph. 1. 10. That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things which are in heaven and which are on earth even in Incarnatio est elevatio totius universi in divinam personam him And learned Cajetan speaks thus saith he The incarnation of Christ is the lifting up of the whole Vniverse into the Divine person 3. Thirdly In this union we see Man in the soveraignty and power of God Man exercising power and dominion over all the works of God for the Humanity doth co-operate with the Divinity in swaying the Scepter both of heaven and earth Math. 28. 18. All power is given unto me both in Heaven and in Earth And is not this wonderful to see our Nature sitting upon the Throne of God and raigning in the same authority and soveraignty with the Eternal God 4. Fourthly In this union we yet see further wonders we see the wonderful perfections of Almighty God shining forth in the highest and clearest discoveries of themselves to the world Though God is wonderful in all his works this fabrick of Heaven and Earth is a wonderful piece and much of Gods glory appears in it yet nowhere is he so fully and gloriously declared as in the Man Christ Jesus so that the Angels themselves as it were passing by the rest of Gods works do especially gaze upon those discoveries that God hath made of himself in Jesus Christ we read 1 Pet. 1. 12. Ephes 3. 10. whether ye speak of Mercy or of Truth or of Patience or of Justice or of Power or of Wisdom all these in an eminent and astonishing way shine forth in the Man Christ Jesus Thus we have shewed him first wonderful in his person 2. In the second place we shal present him wonderful in his Offices as King Priest and Prophet And it is sometheir wonderful to see these three formally to meet in their highest perfection in one and the same person Melehizedeck was a King and a Priest Solomon a King and a Prophet Samuel a Priest and a Prophet but we read of none in whom all these Offices did formally meet together but in Christ alone 1. But to consider them distinctly First He is a wonderful King wonderful in respect of outward meanness a great King and yet in the meanest garb in the lowest state born a King and yet laid in a Manger a King and yet had not where to lay his head a King and yet riding upon a poor silly Ass In nothing was he like the Kings of this world The Thiefe upon the Cross desires him to remember him when he came into his Kingdom to whom I remember Augustine makes these witty Interrogatories O thief what royalty dost thou see Dost thou see any other Crown on his head but Thorns any other Scepter in his hand but nailes any Throne but a Cross any Purple but Blood any Guard but Executioners Again A strange King if you look upon his anointing The Spirit was that oyl wherewith he was annointed of God and the Scepter he sways is a strange Scepter other Scepters are of gold and silver
Jesus Christ are the highest mysteries and the greatest rarities that Heaven and Earth can afford Was not this that which drew the Queen of Sheba from the uttermost parts of the Earth the report which she heard of the wonderful wisdom of King Solomon And do not stories tell us that men came from all parts of the earth to behold the rare beauty of Penelope But yet lo A greater then Solomon is here one in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and a beauty which that of Penelope was scarce a shadow of Oh that men would come to feed and to feast their souls in the contemplation of those rare excellencies delights and perfections which are treasured up in Jesus Christ Yea here are all perfections not only to gaze upon but to be improved for your salvation and happiness Here is wonderful mercy shal be improved to pardon thee wonderful grace to accept and entertain thee wondrous goodness to relieve and supply thee wonderful power to redeem and support thee wonderful wisdom to instruct and guide thee and wonderful holiness to adorn and sanctifie thee and wonderful fulness to fill and satisfie thee And as for you who already know him seeing he is wonderful be you still searching and enquiring into him his Person his Offices his Works for in all he is wonderful Things that are wonderful have a heighth depth and bredth in them not easily discovered and the further we search into this great mysterie the Lord Jesus the more will his wonderfulness shine forth upon us And though we may see an end of all created perfection yet in him there is still a perfection beyond our reach to entertain our admiration Solomon doth advise us to seek after wisdom as silver and to search after her as hidden treasure This wisdom is our Lord Jesus in whom all the treasures of heaven are hidden and laid up and are discovered unto those spirits that are in the power and light of God searching into them The Apostle in the third to the Ephes having spoken in the beginning of the Chapter of the great mysterie of Christ which was hid in God comes to pray in ver 18. that the Ephesians might be able with all Saints to comprehend what is the heighth depth length and breadth In natural things there are but three dimensions length breadth and depth but here are four for Saints to be daily exercised in the comprehending of Oh that therefore you would bend your thoughts hither and fix your contemplation upon the wonders of Jesus Christ Especially considering that Christ hath this name Wonderful given him in order to your salvation and as he is the Saviour of his people So that you do but discover the treasures of your own comfort happiness and glory while you are enquiring and searching into him As you finde him a rich Mine and unsearchable riches treasured up in him so are they all laid out upon your salvation As the eye of your soul goes before and makes discovery so Faith the hand of your soul may follow after and take hold of what is discovered He that is heir apparent to the Crown looks upon the Majesty Royalty and Riches of the King with another eye then a meer stranger the one may gaze upon them and wonder but the other doth behold them as in a propriety and so doth secretly possess them rejoyce and glory in them Vse 2. If the Lord Jesus be thus wonderful then let us not circumscribe and limit him not confine and measure him by our narrow understanding seeing he is in every respect wonderful And 1. Take heed of limiting his Person by framing mean and low conceptions of those immense perfections that are in himself we are apt to conceive of him by what we see in the creature and to measure the Infinite by the finite his infinite beauty mercy sweetness and wisdom by what we see of these among the creatures below Indeed Jesus Christ hath all these perfections of the creature in himself but in such an eminent and transcendent manner as no created understanding can reach To whom will you liken the Lord saith the Prophet or what likeness will you compare unto him Isa 40. 18. And there is nothing that can be compared to him in Heaven or Earth And therefore when thou fallest down before him to worship him take heed of representing him to thy self under any created form lest thou worship an Idol set up in thy brain instead of God Si quis viso Deo cognovit id quod vidit non illum vidit saith a Learned man Thou that sayest thou seest God if thou dost Comprehend what thou seest thou seest not God for he is infinitely above all comprehension 2. Take heed of limiting him in respect of his working for he is herein also wonderful Which speaks out three things 1. Prescribe him not his way dictate not to him his method for if we do we limit him He will accomplish his own designs and end but haply in such a way as thou didst never imagine for he is wonderful Who Isa 40. 13. hath directed the Spirit of the Lord or being his Counsellor hath taught him saith the Prophet In nothing is God more wonderful then in the path and method wherein he walks And this is that which many forward Professors in our dayes have been offended at having prescribed to God his way wherein they intended to follow him he choosing out another-way to himself they have then deserted him and departed from him 2. Again do not distrust him for then we limit him As the Israelites thus limited God Can God say they prepare a Table in the wilderness Can he give us water in this dry and thirsty Land We forget this name of his in the Text when ever we distrust him we say indeed that he is Almighty and Al-sufficient but when we come into such extremities that Almightiness must help us or nothing how do our hearts faint and die within us He is wonderful in Counsel to guide thee in Power to support thee in Mercy to pardon thee in Goodness to supply thee and therefore distrust him not Thou haply seest the work of thy salvation encountred with great difficulties and strong opposition and great mountains laid in the way of Sions glory yet let the remembrance of this name of his support thy faith against them all 3. Do not censure him when he hath put thy reason to a stand and is quite gone out of thy sight and is doing his work under the dark clouds that thou canst not see him and where thou wouldst least look for him censure him not for he is wonderful He will answer the prayers of his people and work out the salvation of Sion but in a way that few shall be able to bear We have cryed and prayed for Justice for Reformation for the Kingdom of Christ the throwing down the Man of Sin but few of us knew what indeed