libKASY Of PRINCETON
MAR 2 9 2005
— "■ i
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
THE
WHOLE WOEKS
LATE REVEREND THOMAS "^BOSTON
OF ETTRIOK;
NOW l-IUSX COLLECTED, AND TxEPEINTED WITHOUT
ABRIDGMENT;
INCLUDING
HIS MEMOIRS, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.
EDITED BY THE
REV. SAMUEL M'MILLAN.
VOL. VIII.
LIBRARY OF PRINCETON
MAR 2 9 2005
J
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
ABERDEEN:
GEORGE AND ROBERT KING, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.
M.DCCC.L.
HUMAN NATURE
FOURFOLD STATE,
PRIMITIVE INTEGRITY; ENTIRE DEPRAVITY
BEGUN RECOVERY;
AND CONSUMMATE HAPPINESS OR MISERY :
A VIEW OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE
FEOM THE SACKED RECORDS.
REV. THOMAS BOSTON,
OF ETTRICK,
ABERDEEN:
GEORGE AND ROBERT KING, ST. NICHOLAS STREET.
1850.
Paoe
CONTENTS OF VOL. VIII.
MAN'S FOURFOLD STATE.
STATE I THE STATE OF INNOCENCE.
EccLEs. vil. 29. — Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man up-
right ; but they have sought out many inventions, .. ..... 9
11. THE STATE OF NATURE.
Part 1. — the sinfulness of man's natural state.
Gen. vi. 6, — God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, 27
Part 2. — the misery of man's natural state.
Eph. ii. 3. — We were by nature the chidren of wrath, even as others, ... 97
Part 3 man's utter inaeilitv to recover hi.mself.
Rom. v. 6. — For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died
for the ungodly.
John v. 44. — No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me
draw him, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 124
III. THE STATE OF GRACE.
Part 1 on regeneration.
1 Pet. i. 23. — Being born agaiu, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever, ... ... 138
Part 2 mystical union between christ and believers.
John xv. 5 — I am the vine, ye are the branches, ... ... ... ... 177
IV. THE ETERNAL STATE.
Part 1 death.
Job XXX. 23. — For 1 know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house
appointed for all living, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 232
Part 2. — differencb between the righteous and the wicked in
their death.
Prov. xiv. 32. — The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: Ijut the righte-
ous hath hope in his death, ... ... ... ... ... ... 333
VI. CONTENTS.
Page
Part 3 of the resurrection.
JoHK V. 28, 29. — Marvel not at this : for the hour is corning, in the which all
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth : they that
have done good unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil
to the resurrection of damnation, ... ... ... ... ... 271
Part 4. — of the general judgment.
Matt. xxv. 31 — 34, 41, 46. — When the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of
his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall sepa-
rate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats :
and he shall set the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left. Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed, &c. —
Unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, &c. — And these
shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life
eternal, 289
Part 5. — the kingdom of heaven.
Matt. xxv. 34. — Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 316
Part 6. — of hell.
Matt. xxv. 41. — Then shall he say unto them on the left hand. Depart from
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, 347
A VIEW OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE FROM THE SACRED
RECORDS.
Psalm Ixxxix. 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen ; I Cor. xv. 45.
— The last Adam was made a quickening spirit, ... ... ... 379
Head. I The parties in the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... 385
Of the party contractor on Heaven's side, ... ... ... ... ... 386
Of the party contractor on man's side, ... ... ... ... ... 388
Of the party contracted and undertaken for, ... ... ... ... ... 399
Head II. — The making of the covenant of grace, ... ... ' ... ... 406
Christ the kinsman-redeemer in the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... 412
Christ the surety of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... 416
Christ the priest of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... 427
Inferences from the second head, ... ... ... ... ... ... 430
Head III The parts of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... 435
The conditionary part of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ib.
Article 1. Holiness of nature, . . ... ... ... ... ... 441
2. Righteousness of life, ... ... ... ... ... ... 443
3. Satisfaction for sin, ... ... ... ... ... ... 445
Inferences from the conditionary part of the covenant, ... ... ... 452
CONTENTS. Vll
Page
The second, or promissory part of the covenant, ... ... ... ... 461
Of the promises in general, ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 464
Of the promises peculiar to Christ, ... ... ... ... ... ... 471
The promise of eternal life to the elect, considered in three periods, ... 474
Period I. Before union with Christ. — 1. The promise of preservation, 475
2. The promise of the Spirit, ... ... ... ... ... ... 477
Period II. From union with Christ until death, 481 1. The promise of
justification, 481 2. The promise of a new and saving covenant-relation
to God, 483 3. The promise of sanctification, 486. — 4. The promise of
perseverance in grace, 503 5. The promise of temporal benefits, ... 607
Period III. Fronx death, through eternity, 510. — 1. The promise of victory
over death, 511. — 2. The promise of everlasting life in heaven, 512 In-
ference from the promise of eternal life, 516. — No proper penalty of the
covenant of grace, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 518
Head IV. The administration of the covenant of grace, ... ... ... 519
Christ the administrator of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ib.
Sinners of mankind the objects of the administration of the covenant, ... 523
The ends of the administration of the covenant, ... ... ... ... 527
The nature of the administration of the covenant, ... ... ... ... 630
Christ the trustee of the covenant, ... ... ... ... .. ... 531
Christ the testator of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... . 536
Christ the prophet of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... 548
Christ the king of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... 553
Christ the intercessor of the covenant, ... ... ... ... ... ... 561
Head V. The trial of a saving personal inbeing in the covenant of grace, 665
Head VI. The way of instating sinners, personally and savingly, in the co-
venant of grace, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 657
Sinners instated in the covenant, by faith or believing, ... ... ... 678
A faith of the law preparatory for the covenant, ... ... ... ... 582
The faith of the gospel instating in the covenant, ... ... ... ... 584
The faith of Christ's sufficiency, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 585
The faith of the gospel-offer, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 587
The faith of our right to Christ, ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 591
The faith of particular trust for salvation, ... ... ... ... ... 597
t
MAN'S FOURFOLD STATE.
STATE I.
THE STATE OF INNOCENCE.
EccLES. vii. 29,
ho, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright ; but they
have sought out many inventions.
There are four things very necessary to be known by all that would
see heaven : 1. What man luas in the state of innocence, as God made
him. 2. What he is in the state of corrupt nature, as he hath un-
made himself. 3. What he must be in the state of grace, as created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, if ever he be made a partaker of
the inheritance of the saints in light. 4. What he luill be in his
eternal state, as made by the Judge of all, either perfectly happy,
or completely miserable, and that for ever. These are weighty
points, that touch the vitals of practical godliness, from which most
men, and even many professors, in these dregs of time, are quite
estranged. I design, therefore, under the divine conduct, to open
these things, and apply them.
I begin with the first of them, namely, the State of Innocence:
that beholding man polished after the similitude of a palace, the
ruins may the more affect us ; we may the more prize that match-
less Person whom the Father has appointed the repairer of the
breach ; and that we may, with fixed resolves, betake ourselves to
that way which leadeth to the city that hath immoveable foun-
dations.
In the text we have three things : —
1. The state of innocence wherein man was created. " God hath
made man upright." By " man" here we are to understand our
first parents ; the archetypal pair, the root of mankind, the com-
YOL. YIII. A
10 EXPLANATION OF THE TEXT.
pendized world, and the fountain from whence all generations have
streamed ; as may appear by comparing Gen. v. 1,2, " In the day
that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him : male
and female created he them ; and blessed them," as the root of
mankind, " and called their name Adam." The original word is
the same in our text. In this sense, man was made right, (agree-
able to the nature of God, whose work is perfect,) without any im-
perfection, corruption, or principle of corruption, in his body or
soul. He was made " upright," that is, straight with the will and
law of God, without any irregularity in his soul. By the set it got
in its creation, it directly pointed towards God, as his chief end ;
which straight inclination was I'epresented, as in an emblem, by the
erect figure of his body, a figure that no other living creature par-
takes of. What David was in a gospel sense, that was he in a legal
sense ; one " according to God's own heart," altogether righteous,
pure, and holy. God made him thus: he did not first make him,
and then make him righteous ; but in the very making of him, he
made him righteous. Original righteousness was created with him ;
so that in the same moment he was a man, he was a righteous man,
morally good ; with the same breath that God breathed into him a
living soul, he breathed into him a righteous soul.
2. Here is man's fallen state : " But they have sought out many
inventions." They fell off from their rest in God, and fell upon
seeking inventions of their own, to mend their case ; and they quite
marred it. Their ruin was from their own proper motion: they
would not abide as God had made them; but they sought out inven-
tions, to deform and undo themselves.
3. Observe here the certainty and importance of these things ;
" Lo, this only have I found," &c. Believe them, they are the re-
sult of a narrow search, and a serious inquiry, performed by tlie
wisest of men. In the two preceding verses, Solomon represents
himself as in quest of goodness in the world ; but the issue of it
was, he could find no satisfying end of his search after it ; though
it was not for want of pains, for he " counted one by one, to find
out the account. Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, —
to wit, " That," as the same word is read in our text, " yet my soul
seeketh, but I find not." He could make no satisfying discovery of
it, which might stay his inquiry. He found the good very rare, one
as it were among a thousand. But could that satisfy the grand query,
" Where shall wisdom be found ?" No it could not : and if the ex-
perience of others in this point, run counter to Solomon's, as it is no
reflection on his discernment, it can as little decide the question,
which will ren?ain undetermined till the last day. But, amidst all
OK :\rAN'S ORIGINAL lUGnTEOUSNESS. 11
tliis uncertainty there is one point found out and fixed — " This have
I found." You may depend upon it as a most certain truth, and be
fully satisfied in it ; " Lo this ;" fix your eyes upon it, as a matter
worthy of most deep and serious regard; namely, that man's na-
ture is now depraved : but that depravity was not from God, for he
" made man upright ;" but from themselves, " they have sought out
many inventions."
Doctrine — God made man altogether righteous.
This is that state of innocence in which God placed man in the
world. It is described in the holy Scripture with a running pen,
in comparison of the following states ; for it was of no continuance,
but passed away as a flying shadow, by man's abusing the freedom
of his will. I shall,
I. Inquire into the righteousness of this state wherein man was
created.
II. Lay before you some of the happy concomitants and consequen-
ces thereof.
III. Applying the whole.
I. Of Man's Original Righteousness.
As to the righteousness of this state, consider, that as uncreated
righteousness, the righteousness of God is the supreme rule ; so all
created righteousness, whether of men or angels, has respect to
a law as its rule, and is a conformity thereto. A creature can no
more be morally independant of God in its actions and powers,
than it can be naturally indepeudent of him. A creature, as a
creature, must acknowledge the Creator's will as its supreme law ;
for as it cannot exist without him, so it must not be but for him,
and according to his will ; yet no law obliges, until it is revealed.
And hence it follows, that there was a law, which man, as a rational
creature, was subjected to in his creation ; and that this law was
revealed to him.
" God made man upright," says the text. This supposes a law
to which he was conformed in his creation ; as when any thing is
made regular, or according to rule, of necessity the rule itself is
presupposed. Whence we may gather, that this law was no other
than the eternal, indispensable law of righteousness, observed in
all points by the second Adam, opposed by the carnal mind, and
some notions of which remain yet among the Pagans, who, " having
not the law, are a law unto themselves," Rom. ii. 14. In a word,
a2
12 OF MAX's OKIGIXAL RIGUTEOUSXESS.
this law is the very same which was afterwards summed up in the
ten commandments, and promulgated, on mount Sinai, to the Israe-
lites, called by us the moral law, and man's righteousness consisted
in conformity to this law or rule. More particularly, there is a
twofold conformity required of a man ; a conformity of the powers
of his soul to the law, which you may call habitual righteousness ;
and a conformity of all his actions to it, which is actual righteous-
ness. Now, God made man habitually righteous ; man was to make
himself actually righteous ; the former was the stock which God
put into his hand; the latter was the improvement he should have
made of it. The sum of what I have said is, that the righteousness
wherein man was created, was the conformity of all the faculties
and powers of his soul to the moral law. This is what we call Ori-
orinal Righteousness, which man was originally endued with. Wo
may take it up in these three things : —
1. Man's understanding was a lamp of light. He had perfect
knowledge of the law, and of his duty accordingly : he was made
after God's image, and consequently could not want knowledge,
which is a part thereof. Col, iii. 10. " The new man is renewed in
knowledge, after the image of Him that created him." And in-
deed this was necessary to fit him for universal obedience ; seeing
no obedience can be according to the law, unless it proceed from a
sense of the commandment of God requiring it. It is true, Adam
had not the law written upon tables of stone ; but it was written
upon his mind, the knowledge thereof being created with him. God
impressed it upon his soul, and made him a law to himself, as the
remains of it among the heathens do testify, Rom. ii. 14, 15. And
.seeinc man was made to be the mouth of the creation, to glorify
God in his works, we have ground to believe he had naturally an ex-
quisite knowledge of the works of God. "We have a proof of this
in Adam's giving names to the beasts of the field, and the fowls of
the air, and those such as express their nature. " Whatsoever
Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof,"
Gen. ii. 19- The dominion which God gave hira over the creatures,
soberlv to use and dispose of them according to bis will, (still in
subordination to the will of God,) seems to require no less than a
knowledge of their natures. And, besides all this, his perfect
knowledore of the law proves his knowledge in the management of
civil affairs, which, in respect of the law of God, " a good man will
euide with discretion," Psalm cxii. 5.
2. His will in all things was agreeable with the will of God,
Eph. iv. 42. There was no corruption in his will, no inclination
to evil : for that is sin, properly and truly so called : hence the
OF MAN 3 UEIGIXAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 13
apostle says, Kora. vii. 7, " I liad not known sin, but by the law;
for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not
covet." An inclination to evil is really a fountain of sin, and there-
fore inconsistent with that rectitude and uprightness which the text
expressly says he was endued with at his creation. The will of man
then was directed and naturally inclined to God and goodness,
though mutable. It was disposed, by its original make, to follow
the Creator's will, as the shadow does the body ; and was not left
in an equal balance to good and evil : for at that rate he had not
been upright, nor habitually conformed to the law ; which in no mo-
ment cau allow the creature not to be inclined towards God as his
chief end, any more than it can allow man to be a god to himself. The
law was impressed upon Adam's soul : now this, according to the
new covenant, by which the image of God is repaired, consists in
two things : — 1. Putting the law in the mind, denoting the know-
lege of it ; 2. "Writing it in the heart, denoting inclinations in the
will, answerable to the commands of the law, Heb. viii. 10. So that
as the will, when we consider it as renewed by grace, is by that
grace naturally inclined to the same holiness, in all its parts, which
the law requires ; so was the will of man, when we consider him as
God made him at first, endued with natural inclinations to every
thing commanded by the law. For if the regenerate are partakers
of the divine nature, as undoubtedly, they are, for so says the
Scripture, 2 Pet. i. 4; and if this divine nature can import no less
than the inclination of the heart to holiness, then surely Adam's
will could not want this inclination; for iu him the image of God
was perfect. It is true it is said, Rom. ii. 1-i, 15, " That the Gen-
tiles show the work of the law written in their hearts ;" but this de-
notes only their knowledge of that law, such as it is : but the apostle
to the Hebrews, in the text cited, takes the word heart iu another
sense, distinguishing it plainly from the mind. And it must be
granted, that, when God promises, in the new covenant, " to write
his law in the hearts of his people," it imports quite another thing
than what heathens have : for though they have notions of it in
their minds, yet their hearts go another way : their will has got a
set and bias quite contrary to that law ; therefore the expression
suitable to the present purpose must needs import, besides these no-
tions of the mind, inclinations of the will going along therewith;
which inclinatious, though mixed with corruption in the regenerate,
were pure and unmixed in upright Adam. In a word, as Adam
knew his Master's pleasure in the matter of duty, so his will inclined
to what he knew.
3. His affections were orderly, pure, and holy; which is a neces-
14 OF JIAN's original ItlGHTEOUSNESS.
sary part of that uprightness wherein man was created. The apos-
tle has a petition, 2 Thess. iii. 5, " The Lord direct your hearts into
the love of God ;" that is, " The Lord straighten your hearts," or
make them lie straight to the love of God: and our text tells us
that man was made straight. " The new man is created in righte-
ousness and true holiness," Eph. iv. 24. Now this holiness, as it is
distinguished from righteousness, may import the purity and good
order of the aftections. Thus the apostle, 1 Tim. ii. 8, will have
men to "pray, fifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting:"
because, as troubled water is unfit to receive the image of the sun
so the heart filled with impure and disorderly affections is not fit for
divine communications. Man's sensitive appetite was indeed natur-
ally carried out towards objects grateful to the senses. For seeing
man was made up of body and soul, and God made man to glorify
and enjoy him, and for this end to use his good creatures in subor-
dination to himself; it is plain that man was naturally inclined both
to spiritual and sensible good ; yet to spiritual good, the chief good
as his ultimate end. Therefore his sensitive motions and inclina-
tions were subordinate to his reason and will, which lay straight
with the will of God, and were not in the least contrary to the same.
Otherwise he would have been made up of contradictions; his soul
being naturally inclined to God, as the chief end, in the superior
part thereof; and the same soul inclined to the creature, as the chief
end, in the inferior part thereof, as they call it ; which is impos-
sible : for man, at the same instant, cannot have two chief ends.
Man's affections, then, in his primitive state, were pure from all de-
filement, free from all disorder and distemper, because in all their
motions they were duly subjected to his clear reason, and his holy
will. He had also an executive power answerable to his will ; a
power to do the good which he knew should be done, and which he
was inclined to do, even to fulfil the whole law of God. If it had
not been so, God would have required of him perfect obedience; for
to say that " the Lord gathereth where he hath not strawed," is but
the blasphemy of a wicked heart against so good and bountiful a
God, Matt. xsv. 24—26.
From what has been said, it may be gathered, that the original
righteousness explained was universal and natural, yet mutable.
1. It was universal, both with respect to the subject of it, the
whole man, and the object of it, the whole law. Universal, I say,
with respect to the subject of it ; for this righteousness was difi"nsed
through the whole man : it was a blessed leaven, that leavened the
whole lump. There was not a wrong pin in the taberuacle of human
nature, when God set it up, however shattered it is now. Man was
OF man's UiaUINAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. 15
then lioly in soul, body, and spirit ; while the soul remained un-
tainted, its lodging was kept clean and undetiled ; the members of
the body were consecrated vessels, and instruments of righteousness.
A combat between ilesh and spirit, reason and appetite, nay, the
least inclination to sin, or lust of the flesh in the inferior part of
the soul, was utterly inconsistent with this uprightness in which man
was created ; and has been invented to veil the corruption of man's
nature, and to obscure the grace of God in Jesus Christ ; it looks
very much like the language of fallen Adam, laying his own sin at
his Maker's door, Gen. iii. 12, " The woman whom thou gavest to be
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." But as this
righteousness was universal in respect of the subject, because it
spread through the whole man ; so also it was universal in respect
of the object, the holy law. There was nothing in the law but what
was agreeable to his reason and will, as God made hiu), though sin
hath now set him at odds with it; his soul was shajien out in length
and breadth to the commandment, though exceeding broad ; so that
his original righteousness was not only perfect in its parts, but in
degrees.
2. As it was universal, so it was natural to him, and not super-
natural in that state. Not that it was essential to man, as man,
for then he could not have lost it, without the loss of his very being,
but it was natural to him ; he was created with it, and it was neces-
sary to the perfection of man, as he came out of the hand of God,
necessary to his being placed in a state of integrity. Yet,
3. It was mutable ; it was a righteousness that might be lost, as
is manifested by the doleful event. His will was not absolutely in-
diflFerent to good and evil ; God set it towards good only, yet he did
not so fix and confirm its inclinations, that it could not alter. No,
it was moveable to evil, and that only by man himself, God having
given him a sufficient power to stand in this integrity, if he had
pleased. Let no man quarrel with God's works in this ; for if
Adam had been unchangeably righteous, he must have been so either
by nature or by free gift : by nature he could not be so, for that is
proper to God, and incommunicable to any creature ; if by free gift,
then no wrong was done to him in withholding what he could not
crave. Confirmation in a righteous state is a reward of grace, given
upon continuing righteous through the state of trial, and would have
been given to Adam if he had stood out the time appointed for pro-
bation by the Creator ; and accordingly is given to the saints upon
account of the merits of Christ, who " was obedient even unto
death." And herein believers have the advantage of Adam, that
they can never totally nor finally fall away from grace.
16 OF man's OIUGINAL HAPPINESS,
Thus was man made originally righteous, being created in *' God's
own image," Gen. 1. 27, which consists in the positive qualities of
" knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness," Col. iii. 10. Eph. iv.
24. " All that God made was very good, according to their several
natures," Gen. i. 31. And so was man morally good, being made
after the image of him who is " good and upright," Psalm xxv. 8.
Without this, he could not have answered the great end of his crea-
tion, which was, to know, love, and serve his God, according to his
will ; nay, he could not be created otherwise, for he must either be
conformed to the law in his powers, principles, and inclinations, or
not : if he was, then he was righteous ; and, if not, he was a sinner;
which is absurd and horrible to imagine.
II. I shall lay before you some of those things which accompanied
or flowed from the righteousness of man's primitive state. Happi-
ness is the result of holiness ; and as this was a holy, so it was a
happy state.
1. Man was then a very glorious creature. We have reason to
suppose, that as Moses' face shone when he came down from the
mount, so man had a very lightsome and pleasant countenance, and
beautiful body, while as yet there was no darkness of sin in him at
all. But seeing God himself is "glorious in holiness," Exod. xv. 11,
surely that spiritual comeliness which the Lord put upon man at his
creation, made hira a very glorious creature. 0 how did light shine
in his holy conversation, to the glory of the Creator ! while every
action was but the darting forth of a ray and beam of that glorious
unmixed light which God had set up in his soul, while that lamp of
love, lighted from heaven, continued burning in his heart, as in the
holy place ; and the law of the Lord, put in his inward parts by the
finger of God, was kept by him there, as in the most holy. There
was no impurity to be seen without ; no squint look in the eyes,
after any unclean thing; the tongue spoke ncthing but the language
of heaven; and, in a word, "the King's son was all glorious within,"
and his " clothing of wrought gold."
2. He was the favourite of Heaven. He shone brightly in the
image of God, who cannot but love his own image, wherever it ap-
pears. While he was alone in the world, he was not alone, for God
was with hira. His communion and fellowship were with his
Creator, and that immediately; for as yet there was nothing to turn
away the face of God from the work of his own hands, seeing sin
had not as yet entered, which alone could make the breach.
By the favour of God he was advanced to be confederate with
heaven in the first covenant, called the covenant of works. God
OF man's original happiness. 17
reduced the law, which he gave in his creation, into the form of a
covenant, whereof perfect obedience was the condition : life was the
thing promised, and death the penalty. As for the condition, one
great branch of the natural law was, that man should believe what-
soever God revealed, and should do whatsoever he commanded ; ac-
cordingly, God making this covenant with man, extended his duty
to the " not eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil ;" and
the law thus extended, was the rule of man's covenant obedience.
How easy were these terms to him who had the natural law written
on his heart; and that inclining him to obey this positive law re-
vealed to him, it seems, by an audible voice, Gen. ii. 16, 17, the
matter whereof was so very easy ! And indeed it was highly rea-
sonable that the rule and matter of his covenant obedience should
be thus extended, that which was added being a thing in itself
indifferent, where his obedience was to turn upon the precise point
of the will of God, the plainest evidence of true obedience; and it
being in an external thing, wherein his obedience or disobedience
would be most clear and conspicuous.
Now, upon this condition, God promised him life, the continuance
of natural life, in the union of soul and body, and of spiritual life,
in the favour of his Creator : he promised him also eternal life in
heaven, to have been entered into when he should have passed the
time of his trial upon earth, and the Lord should see meet to trans-
port him into the upper paradise. This promise of life was in-
cluded in the threatening of death, mentioned. Gen. ii. 17- For
while God says, " In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die;" it is, in effect, " If thou do not eat of it, thou shalt surely
live." And this was sacramentally confirmed by another tree in
the garden, called therefore, " The Tree of Life," which he was
debarred from when he had sinned ; Gen. iii. 22, 23, " Lest he put
forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live
for ever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of
Eden." Yet it is not to be thought that man's life and death did
hang only on this matter of the forbidden fruit, but on the whole
law ; for so says the apostle, Gal. iii. 10, " It is written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them." That of tlie forbidden fruit was a
revealed part of Adam's religion, and so was necessary expressly
to be laid before him ; but as to the natural law, he naturally knew
death to be the wages of disobedience, for the very lieathens were
not ignorant of this, *' knowing the judgment of God, that they
which commit such things are worthy of death," Rom. i. 32. More-
over, the promise included in the threatening, secured Adam's life,
18 OF MAX's ORIGINAL HAPriNE.SS.
according to the covenant, as long as he obeyed the natural law,
with the addition of that positive command; so that he needed
nothing to be expressed to him in the covenant but what concerned
the eating of the forbidden fruit. That eternal life in heaven Avas
promised in this covenant, is plain from this, that the threatening
was of eternal death in hell, to which, when man had made himself
liable, Christ was promised, by his death to purchase eternal life.
And Christ himself expounds the promise of the covenant of works,
of eternal life, while he proposes the condition of that covenant to
a proud young man, who, though he had not Adam's stock, yet
would needs enter into life in the way of working, as Adam was to
have done under this covenant. Matt. xix. 17, " If thou wilt enter
into life," (namely, eternal life, by doing, ver. 16,) " keep the com-
mandments."
The penalty was death. Gen. ii. 17, " In the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die." The death threatened was such as
the life promised was, and that most justly; namely, temporal, spi-
ritual, and eternal death. The event is a commentary on this ; for
that very day he did eat thereof he was a dead man in law, but the
execution was stopped because of his posterity, then in his loins,
and another covenant was prepared : however, that day his body
got its death-wound, and became mortal. Death also seized his
soul ; he lost his original righteousness, and the favour of God ;
witness the pangs of conscience which made him hide himself from
God. And he became liable to eternal death, which would have
actually followed of course, if the Mediator had not been provided,
who found him bound with the cords of death, as a malefactor
ready to be led to execution. Thus you have a short description of
the covenant into which the Lord brought man' in the state of inno-
cence.
And does it seem a small thing unto you, that earth was thus
confederate with heaven ? This could have been done to none but
him whom the King of Heaven delighted to honour. It was an act
of grace, worthy of the gracious God whose favourite he was ; for
there was grace and free favour in the first covenant, though the
exceeding riches of grace, as the apostle calls it, Eph. ii. 7, were re-
served for the second. It was certainly an act of grace, favour, and
admirable condescension in God, to enter into a covenant, and such
a covenant, with his own creature. Man was not at his own, but at
God's disposal, nor had he any thing to work with but what he had
received from God. There was no proportion between the work
and the promised reward. Before that covenant, man was bound
to perfect obedience, in virtue of his natural dependence on God ;
OF MAx's ORIGINAL PrAl'l'IXESS. 19
and death was naturally the wages of sin, which the justice of
God could and would have required, though there had never been
any covenant between God and man : but God was free ; man could
never have required eternal life as the reward of his work, if there
had not been such a covenant. God was free to have disposed of
his creatures as he saw meet : if he had stood in his integrity to the
end of time, and there had been no covenant promising eternal lifo
to him upon his obedience, God might have withdrawn his support-
ing hand at last and so have made him creep back into nothing,
whence almighty power had drawn hira forth. And, what wrong
could have been in this, for God would have only taken back what
he freely gave ? But now, the covenant being made, God becomes
debtor to his own faithfulness : if man will work, he may crave the
reward on the ground of the covenant. Well might the angels,
then, upon his being raised to this dignity, have given him this salu-
tation— " Hail ! thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with
thee."
3. God made him Lord of the world, prince of the inferior crea-
tures, universal Lord and emperor of the whole earth. His creator
gave him dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, over all the earth, yea, and every living thing that moveth on
the earth ; he " put all things under his feet," Psalm viii. 6 — 8. He
gave him a power, soberly to use and dispose of the creatures in the
earth, sea, and air. Thus man was God's deputy governor in the
lower world, and this his dominion was an image of God's severeign-
ty. This was common to the man and to the Avoman : but the man
had one thing peculiar to him, namely, that he had dominion over
the woman also, 1 Cor. xi. 7- Behold how the creatures came unto
him, to own their subjection, and to do him homage as their lord,
and quietly stood before him till he put names on them as his own.
Gen. ii. 19. Man's face struck an awe upon them ; the stoutest
creatures stood astonished, tamely and quietly owning him as their
lord and ruler. Thus was man " crowned with glory and honour,"
Psalm viii. 5. The Lord dealt most liberally and bountifully with
him "put all things under his feet;" only he kept one thing, one
tree in the garden, out of his hands, even the tree of knowledge of
good and evil.
But you may say, and did he grudge him this ? I answer. Nay ;
but when he had made him thus holy and happy, he graciously gave
hira this restriction, which was in its own nature a prop and stay to
keep hira from falling. And this I say upon these three grounds :
— 1. As it was most proper for the honour of God, who had made
man lord of the lower world, to assert his sovereign dominion over
20 OF man's original happiness.
all, by some particular visible sign; so it was most proper for man's
safety. Man being set down in a beautiful paradise, it was an act
of infinite wisdom, and of grace too, to keep liim from one single
tree, as a visible testimony that he must hold all of his Creator, as
his great landlord ; that so, while he saw himself lord of the crea-
tures, he might not forget that he was still God's subject. 2. This
was a memorial of his mutable state given to him from heaven, to
be laid up by him for his greater caution. For man was created with
a free will to good, which the tree of life was an evidence of : but his
will was also free to evil, and the forbidden tree was to him a me-
morial thereof. It was, in a manner a continual watchword to him
against evil, a bacon set up before him, to bid him beware of dash-
ing himself to pieces on the rock of sin. 3. God made man upright,
directed towards God as his chief end. He set him, like Moses, on
the top of the hill, holding up his hands to heaven : and as Aaron
and Har stayed up Moses' hands, Exodus xvii. 10 — 12, so God gave
man an erect figure of body, and forbade him the eating of this tree
to keep him in that posture of uprightness wherein he was created.
God made the beasts looking down towards the earth, to shew that
their satisfaction might be brought from thence ; and accordingly it
does afford them what is suited to their appetite : but the erect fig-
ure of man's body, which looketh upward, shewed him that his hap-
piness lay above him, in God : and that he was to expect it from
heaven, and not from earth. Now this fair tree, of which he was
forbidden to eat, taught him the same lesson ; that his happiness
lay not in enjoyment of the creatures, for there was a want even in
paradise : so that the forbidden tree was, in effect the hand of all
the creatures, pointing man away from themselves to God for happi-
ness. It was a sign of emptiness hung before the door of the crea-
tion, with the inscription, " This is not your rest."
4. As he had a perfect tranquillity within his own breast, so he
had a perfect calm without. His heart had nothing to reproach
him with; conscience then had nothing to do, but to direct, approve,
and feast him : and without, there was nothing to annoy him. The
happy pair lived in perfect amity ; and though their knowledge was
vast, true, and clear, they knew no shame. Though they were
naked, there were no blushes in their faces ; for sin, the seed of
shame, was not yet sown, Gen. ii. 25. And their beautiful bodies
were not capable of injuries from the air: so they had no need of
clothes, which are originally the badges of our shame. They were
liable to no diseases nor pains : and, though they were not to live
idle, yet toil, weariness, and sweat of the brows, were not known in
this state.
OF MAx's ORIGINAL IIAPPINP.SS. 21
5. Man had a life of pare delight, and unalloyed pleasure, in
this state. Rivers of pure pleasure ran through it. The earth,
with the product thereof, was now in its glory ; nothing had yet
come in to mar the beauty of tho creatures. God placed him, not
in a common place of the earth ; but in Eden, a place eminent for
pleasantness, as the name of it imports ; nay, not only in Eden, but
in the garden of Eden ; the most pleasant spot of that pleasant
place ; a garden planted by God himself, to be the mansion-house
of this his favourite. When God made the other living creatures,
he said, " Let the water bring forth the moving creature," Gen. i.
29, and, " Let the earth bring forth the living creature," verse 24.
But when man was to be made, he said ; " Let us make man," verse
18. So, when the rest of the earth was to be furnished with herbs
and trees, God said, " Let the earth bring forth grass, and the fruit-
tree," &c. verse 11. But of paradise it is said, " God planted it."
Gen. ii. 8, which cannot but denote a singular excellence in that
garden, beyond all other parts of the then beautiful earth. He was
provided with every thing necessary and delightful ; for there was
" every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food," verse
9. He knew not those delights which luxury has invented for the
gratification of lust : but his delights were such as came out of the
hand of God; without passing through sinful hands, which always
leave marks of impurity on what they touch. So his delights
were pure, his pleasures refined. Yet may I show you a more ex-
cellent way : wisdom had entered into his heart ; surely then know-
ledge was pleasant unto his soul. What delight do some find in
their discoveries of the works of nature, by those scraps of know-
ledge they have gathered ! but how much more exquisite pleasure
had Adam, while his piercing eyes read the book of God's works,
which God laid before him, to the end he might glorify him in the
same; and therefore had certainly fitted him for the work ! But,
above all, his knowledge of God, and that as his God, and the com-
munion which he had with him, could not but afford him the most
refined and exquisite pleasure in the innermost recesses of his heart.
Great is that delight which the saints find in those views of the
glory of God, which their souls are sometimes let into, while they
are compassed about with many infirmities : and much may well be
allowed to sinless Adam; who no doubt had a peculiar relish of
those pleasures.
6. He was immortal. He would never have died if he had not
sinned; it was in case of sin that death was threatened. Gen. ii.
17, which shews it to be the consequence of sin, and not of the sin-
less human nature. The perfect constitution of his body, which
22 OF THE STATE OF INNOCKNCE-.
came out of God's hand very good, and the righteousness and holi-
ness of his soul, removed all inward causes of death ; nothing being
prepared for the grave's devouring mouth, but the vile body, Phil,
iii. 21, and those who have sinned, Job xxiv- 19. And God's special
care of his innocent creature, secured him against outward violence.
The apostle's testimony is express, Eom. v. 12, " By one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin." Behold the door by
which death came in ! Satan wronght with his lies till he got it
opened, and so death entered ; therefore is he said to have been " a
murderer from the beginning," John viii. 44.
Thus have I shown you the holiness and happiness of men in
this state. If any should say, What is all this to us, who never
tasted of that holy and happy state ? — they must know, it nearly
concerns us, as Adam was the root of all mankind, our common head
and representative ; who received from God our inheritance and
stock, to keep it for himself and his children, and to convey it to
them. The Lord put all mankind's stock, as it were, in one ship;
and, as we ourselves would have done, he made our common father
the pilot. He put a blessing in the root, to have been, if rightly
managed diffused into all the branches. According to our text,
making Adam upright, he made man upright ; and all mankind had
that uprightness in him ; for, " if the root be holy, so are the
branches." But more of this afterwards. Had Adam stood, none
would have quarrelled with the representation.
III. The Doctrine of the State of Innocence applied.
Use I. For information. This shews us, 1. That not God, but
man himself was the cause of his ruin. God made him upright ;
his Creator set him up, but he threw himself down. Was the
Lord's directing and inclining him to good, the reason of his woful
choice ? or did heaven deal so sparingly n'ith him, that his pressing
wants sent him to hell to seek supply ? Nay, man was, and is, the
cause of his own ruin. 2. God may most justly require of men per-
fect obedience to his law, and condemn them for their not obeying
it perfectly, though now they have no ability to keep it. In so do-
ing, he gathers but where he has sown. He gave man ability to
keep the whole law; man has lost it by his own fault ; but his sin
could never take away that right which God hath to exact perfect
obedience of his creature, and to punish in case of disobedience. 3.
Behold here the infinite obligation we lie under to Jesus Christ the
second Adam, who, with his own precious blood has bought our
freedom, and freely makes offer of it again to us, Hos, xiii. 9, and
that with the advantage of everlasting security, and that it can
OF THE STATE OF INNOCENCE. 23
never be altogetlier lost any more, John x. 28, 29. Free grace will
fix those, whom free will shook down into the gulph of misery.
Use II. This conveys a reproof to three sorts of persons : 1. To
those who hate religion in the power of it, wherever it appears ; and
can take pleasure in nothing but in the world and in their lusts.
Surely such men are far from righteousness : they are haters of
God, Rora. i. 30, for they are haters of his image. Upright Adam
in paradise would have been a great eyesore to all such persons ;
as he was to the serpent, whose seed they prove themselves to be,
by their malignity. 2. It reproves those who put religion to shame,
and those who are ashamed of religion, before a graceless world.
There is a generation, who make so bold with the God who made
them, and can in a moment crush them, that they ridicule piety,
and make a mock of seriousness. " Against whom do you sport
yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the
tongue ?" Isaiah Ivii. 4. Is it not against God himself, whose
image, in some measure restored to some of his creatures, makes
them fools in your eyes ? But, " be ye not mockers, lest your
bands be made strong," Isa. xxviii. 22. Holiness was the glory
which God put on man when he made him ; but now the sons of
men turn that glory into shame, because they themselves glory in
their shame. There are others that secretly approve of religion,
and in religious company will profess it, who, at other times, to be
neighbour-like, are ashamed to own it ; so weak are they, that they
are blown over with the wind of the wicked's mouth. A broad
laughter, an impious jest, a scoffing jeer, out of a profane mouth, is
to many an unanswerable argument against religion and serious-
ness ; for, in the cause of religion, they are as silly doves without
heart. 0 that such would consider that weighty sentence, " Who-
soever therefore shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man
be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the
holy angels," Mark viii. 38. 3. It reproves the proud self-con-
ceited professor, who admires himself in a garment of rags which
he has patched together. There are many who, when once they
have gathered some scraps of knowledge of religion, and have
attained to some reformation of life, swell big with conceit of them-
selves; a sad sign that the effects of the fall lie so heavy upon
them that they have "not as yet come to themselves, Luke xv. 17-
They have eyes behind, to see their attainments; but no eyes
within, no eyes before, to see their wants, which would surely hum-
ble them : for true knowledge makes men to see, both what once
they were, and what they are at present; and so is humbling, and
24 or THE STATE OF INNOCKXCE.
will not suffer tliem to be content with any measure of grace
attained ; but inclines them to press forward, " forgetting the things
that are behind," Phil. iii. 13. But those men are such a spectacle
of commiseration, as one would be who had set his palace on fire,
and was glorying in a cottage which he had built for himself out of
the rubbish, though so very weak, that it could not stand against a
storm.
Use III. Of lamentation. Here was a stately building ; man
carved like a fair palace, but now lying in ashes : let us stand and
look on the ruins, and drop a tear. This is a lamentation, and shall
be for lamentation. Could we avoid weeping, if we saw our country
ruined, and turned by the enemy into a wilderness ? if we saw our
houses on. fire, and our property perishing in the flames? But all
this comes far short of the dismal sight ; Man fallen as a star from
heaven ; Ah, may we not now say, "■ 0 that we were as in months
past !" when there was no stain in our nature, no cloud on our
minds, no pollution in our hearts ! Had we never been in better
case, the matter had been less ; but they that were brought up in
scarlet, do now embrace dunghills. Where is our primitive glory
now ? once no darkness in the mind, no rebellion in the will no dis-
order in the affections. But ah ! " How is the faithful city be-
come an harlot ! — Righteousness lodged in it ; but now murderers.
Our silver is become dross, our wine mixed with water." That
heart which was once the temple of God, is now turned into a den
of thieves. Let onr name be Ichabod, for the glory is departed.
Happy wast thou, 0 man ! who was like unto thee ? no pain nor
sickness could affect thee, no death could approach thee, no sigh
was heard from thee, till these bitter fruits were plucked from the
forbidden tree. Heaven shone upon thee, and earth smiled : thou
wast the companion of angels, and the envy of devils. But how
low is he now laid, who was created for dominion, and made lord of
the world! "The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us that we
have sinned." The creatures that waited to do him service, are now,
since the fall, set in battle-array against him, and the least of them,
having commission, proves too hard for him. Waters overflow the old
world ; fire consumes Sodom ; the stars in their courses fight against
Sisera; frogs, flies, lice, &c. become executioners to Pharaoh and his
Egyptians; worms eat up Herod : yea, man needs a league with the
beasts ; yea, with the very stones of the field. Job v. 23, having rea-
son to fear, that every one who findeth him will slay him. Alas !
how are we fallen ! how are we plunged into a gulf of misery !
The sun has gone down on us, death has come in at our windows ;
our enemies have put out our two eyes, and sport themselves with
OF THE STATE OF INNOCENCE. 25
our miseries. Let us then lie dowu in the dust, let shame and con-
fusion cover us. Nevertheless, there is hope in Israel concerning
this thing. Come then, 0 sinner, look to Jesus Christ, the second
Adam : quit the first Adam and his covenant ; come over to the
Mediator and Surety of the new and better covenant ; and let your
hearts say, " Be thou our ruler, and let this breach be under thy
hand." Let your " eye trickle down, and cease not, without any
intermission, till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven,"
Lam. iii. 49, 50.
Vol. VII r.
STATE 11.
THE STATE OF NATURE.
PART I.
THE SINFULNESS OF MAN'S NATURAL STATE.
And God saw that the ivickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil con-
tinually.— Gen. vi. 5.
We have seen what man was, as God made him ; a lovely and happy
creature: let us view him now as he hath unmade himself; and we
shall see him a sinful and a miserable creature. This is the sad state
we are brought into by the fall ; a state as black and doleful, as the
former was glorious; and this we commonly call " The State of
Nature ;" or " !Man's Natural State ;" according to that of the apostle,
Eph. ii. 3, " And were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others." — And herein two things are to be considered : 1. The sm-
fidness ; 2. The misery oi this state, in which all the unregenerate
live. I begin with the sinfulness of man's natural state, whereof the
text gives us a full, though short account : " And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great," &c.
The scope and design of these words are, to clear God's justice in
bringing the flood on the old world. — There are two particular causes
taken notice of in the preceding verses : 1. Mixed marriages, verse
2, " The sons of God," the posterity of Seth and Enos, professors of
the true religion, married with " the daughters of men," the profane,
cursed race of Cain. They did not carry the matter before the
Lord, that he might choose for them, Psalm xlviii. 14, but without
any respect to the will of God, they chose, not according to the rules
of their faith, but of their fancy; they " saw that they were fair;"
and their marriage with them occasioned their divorce from God.
This was one of the causes of the deluge, which swept away the old
world. Would to God that all professors in our day could plead
not guilty : but though that sin brought on the deluge, yet the de-
EXPLANATION OF THE TEXT. 27
Inge hath not swept away that sin ; which as of old, so in our day^
may justly be looked upon as one of the causes of the decay of re-
ligion. It was an ordinary thing among the Pagans, to change their
gods, as they changed their condition into a married lot : many sad
instances the Christian world aiFords of the same; as if people were
of Pharaoh's opinion, That religion is only for those who have no
other care upon their heads, Exodus v. 17- 2. Great oppression,
verse 4, " There were giants in the earth in those days ;" men of
great stature, great strength, and monstrous wickedness, " filling
the earth with violence," verse 11. But neither their strength, nor
treasures of wickedness, could profit them in the day of wrath. Yet
the gain of oppression still causes many to forget the terror of this
dreadful example. Thus much for the connexion, and what parti-
cular crimes that generation was guilty of. But every person that
was swept away by the flood could not be guilty of these things ;
and " shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?" Therefore,
in ray text, there is a general indictment drawn up against them all,
" The wickedness of man was great in the earth," &c. and clearly
proved, for God saw it. Two things are here laid to their charge :
1. Corruption of life, wickedness, great ivickedness. I understand
this of the wickedness of their lives ; for it is plainly distinguished
from the wickedness of their hearts. The sins of their outward
conversation were great in the nature of them, and greatly aggra-
vated by their attendant circumstances : and this not only among
those of the race of cursed Cain, but those of holy Seth ; the
wickedness of man was great. And then it is added, " in the
earth:" 1. To vindicate God's severity, in that he not only cut oflT
sinners, but defaced the beauty of the earth, and swept oiT the brute
creatures from it, by the deluge ; that as men had set the marks of
their impiety, God might set the marks of his indignation, on the
earth. 2. To shew the heinousness of their sin, in making the
earth, which God had so adorned for the use of man, a sink of sin,
and a stage whereon to act their wickedness, in defiance of Heaven.
God saw this corruption of life: he not only knew it, and took
notice of it, but he made them to know that he took notice of it,
and that he had not forsaken the earth, though they had forsaken
heaven.
2. Corruption of nature : Every imagination of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually. All their wicked practices are here
traced to the fountain and spring-head : a corrupt heart was the
source of all. The soul, which was made upright in all its faculties,
is now wholly disordered. The heart, that was made according to
God's own heart, is now the reverse of it, a forge of evil imagina-
b2
28 EXl'LANATIOX OF THE TEXT.
tions, a sink of inordinate affections, and a storehouse of all im-
piety, Mark vii. 21, 22. Behold the heart of the natural man, as it
is opened in our text. The mind is defiled ; the thoughts of the
heart are evil ; the will and affections are defiled : the imagination
of the thoughts of the heart, that is, whatsoever the heart frameth
within itself by thinking, such as judgment, choice, purposes, de-
vices, desires, every inward motion, or rather the frame of the
thoughts of the heart, namely the frame, make, or mould of these,
1 Chron. xxix. 18, is evil. Yea, and every imagination, every
frame of his thoughts, is so. The heart is ever framing something ;
but never one right thing : the frame of thoughts, in the heart of
man, is exceedingly various ; yet are they never cast into a right
frame. But is there not, at least, a mixture of good in thera ? No,
they are only evil; there is nothing in them truly good and accept-
able to God : nor can any thing be so, that comes out of that forga ;
where, not the Spirit of Grod, but "the prince of the power of the
air, worketh," Eph. ii. 2. Whatever changes may be found in
them, are only from evil to evil ; for the imagination of the heart,
or frame of thoughts in natural men, is evil continually, or every
day. From the first day to the last day, in' this state, they are in
midnight darkness ; there is not the glimmering of the light of holi-
ness in them; not one holy thought can ever be produced by the
unholy heart. 0 what a vile heart is this ! 0 what a corrupt
nature is this ! The tree that always brings forth fruit, but never
good fruit, whatever soil it be set in, whatever pains be taken with
it, must naturally be an evil tree : and what can that heart be,
whereof every imagination, every set of thoughts, is only evil,
and that continually ? Surely that corruption is ingrained in our
hearts, interwoven with our very natures, has sunk deep into our
souls, and will never be cured but by a miracle of grace. Now
such is man's heart, such is his nature, till regenerating grace
change it. God that searcheth the heart saw man's heart was so,
he took special notice of it : and the faithful and true Witness can-
not mistake our case ; though we are most apt to mistake ourselves
in this point, and generally overlook it.
Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart saying,
What is that to us ? Let that generation of whom the text speaks,
see to that. For the Lord has left the case of that generation on
record, to be a looking-glass to all after generations, wherein they
may see their own corruption of heart, and what their lives would
be too, if he restrained them not : for " as in water face answereth
to face, so the heart of man to man," Prov. xxvii. 19. Adam's fall
has framed all men's hearts alike in this matter. Hence the
EXPLANATION UF THE TEXT. 29
apostle, Rom. iii. 10 — 18, proves the corruption of the nature,
hearts, and lives of all men, from what the psalmist says of the
wicked in his day, Psalm xiv. 1 — 3; Psalm, v. 9 ; Psalm cxl. 3;
Psalm X. 7 ; Psalm xxxvi. 1 ; and from what Jeremiah saith of the
wicked in his day, Jer, ix. 3, and from what Isaiah says of those
that lived in his time, Isa. Ivii. 7, 8, and concludes, verse 19, "Now
we know, that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law ; that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before Grod." Had the history of the
the deluge been transmitted unto us, without the reason thereof in
the text, we might thence have gathered the corruption and total
depravity of man's nature : for what other quarrel could the holy
and just God have with the infants that were destroyed by the flood,
seeing they had no actual sin ? If we saw a wise man, who having
made a curious piece of work, and heartily approved of it when he
gave it out of his hand, as fit for the use it was designed for, rise
up in wrath and break it all in pieces, when he looked on it after-
wards ; should we not thence conclude that the frame of it had been
quite marred since it came out of his hand, and that it does not serve
for the use it was at first designed for ? How much more, when we
see the holy and wise God destroying the work of his own hands,
once solemnly pronounced by him very good, may we not conclude
that the original frame thereof is utterly marred, that it cannot be
mended, but must needs be new made, or lost altogether ? Gen. vi.
6, 7, " And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the
earth, and it grieved him at his heart ; and the Lord said, I will de-
stroy man," or blot him out; as a man doth a sentence out of a
book, that cannot be corrected by cutting off some letters, syllables,
or words, and interlining others here and there, but must needs be
wholly new framed. But did the deluge carry off" this coruption of
man's nature ? did it mend the matter ? No, it did not. God, in
his holy providence, " that every mouth may be stopped, and all the
new " world may become guilty before God," as well as the old,
permits that corruption of nature to break out in Noah, the father
of the new world, after the deluge was over. Behold him, as an-
other Adam, sinning in the fruit of a tree. Gen. ix. 20, 21, " He
planted a vineyard, and he drank of the wine, and was drunken,
and he was uncovered within his tent." More than that, God gives
the same reason against a new deluge, which he gives in our text
for bringing that on the old world : " I will not," saith he, " again
curse the ground any more for man's sake ; for the imagination of
man's heart is evil from his youth," Gen. viii. 21. Whereby it is
intimated, that there is no mending of the matter by this means ;
30 THE CORRUPTION OF MAn's NATURE.
and tliat if he shoald always take the same course with men that he
had done, he would be always sending deluges on the earth, seeing
the corruption of man's nature still remains. But though the flood
could not carry off the corruption of nature, yet it pointed at the
■way how it is to be done ; to wit, that men must be " born of water
and of the Spirit," raised from spiritual death in sin by the grace
of Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood ; out of which a new
world of saints arise in regeneration, even as the new world of sin-
ners out of the waters, where they had long lain buried, as it were,
in the ark. This we learn from 1 Pet. iii. 20, ?,1, where the
apostle, speaking of Noah's ark, saith, " Wherein few, that is, eight
souls, were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even bap-
tism doth also now save us." Now the waters of the deluge being a
like figure to baptism, it plainly follows, that they signified as bap-
tism doth "the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost." To conclude then, those waters, though now dried up, may
serve us still for a looking-glass, in which we may see the total cor-
ruption of our nature, and the necessity of regeneration.
From the text, thus explained, this weighty point of doctrine
arises, which he that runs may read in it, namely, Man's nature is
now wholly corrupted. There is a sad alteration, a wonderful over-
turning in the nature of man : where, at first, there was nothing
evil, now there is nothing good. — In treating on this doctrine, I shall,
I. Confirm it.
II. Represent this corruption of nature in its several parts.
III. Shew you how man's nature comes to be thus corrupted.
IV. Apply this doctrine.
I. I shall confirm the doctrine of the corruption of nature.
I shall hold the glass to your eyes, wherein you may see your
sinful nature ; which, though God takes particular notice of it,
many quite overlook. Here we shall consult the word of God, and
men's experience and observation.
For scripture-proof, let us consider,
1. How the scripture takes particular notice of fallen Adam's
communicating his image to his posterity. Gen. v. 3, "Adam begat
a son in his own likeness, after his image, and called his name
Seth." Compare with this the first verse of that chapter, " In the
day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him."
Behold here, how the image after which man was made, and the
image after which he is begotten, are opposed. Man was created
in the likeness of God; that is, the holy and righteous God made a
holy and righteous creature ; but fallen Adam begat a son, not in
THE CORRUPTIOK OF MAn's NATURE. 31
the likeness of God, but in his own likeness; that is, corrupt sin-
ful Adam begat a corrupt sinful son. For as the image of God bore
righteousness and immortality in it, as was shewn before ; so this
image of fallen Adam bore corruption and death in it, 1 Cor. xv.
49, 50, compare verse 22. Moses, in that fifth chapter of Genesis,
giving us the first bill of mortality that ever was in the world,
ushers it in with this, that dying Adam begat mortals. Having
sinned, he became mortal, according to the threatening; and so he
begat a son in his own likeness, sinful, and tiierefore mortal. Thus
sin and death passed on all. Doubtless he begat both Cain and
Abel in his own likeness, as well as Seth. But it is not recorded of
Abel ; because he left no issue behind him, and his falling the first
sacrifice to death in the world, was a sufficient document of it : nor
of Cain, to whom it might have been thought peculiar, because of his
monstrous wickedness ; and besides, his posterity was drowned in
the flood : but it is recorded of Seth, because he was the father of
the holy seed ; and from him all mankind since the flood have de-
scended, and fallen Adam's own likeness with them.
2. It appears from that text of Scripture, Job xiv. 4, " Who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean ? Not one." Our first parents
were unclean, how then can we be clean ? How could our immedi-
ate parents be clean? how can our children be so? The unclean-
ness here referred to, is a sinful uncleanness; for it is such as makes
man's days full of trouble : and it is natural, being derived from un-
clean parents : " Man is born of a woman," ver. 1, " And how can
he be clean, that is born of a woman ?" Job xxv. 4. The omnipo-
tent God, whose power is not here challenged, could bring a clean
thing out of an unclean, and so did in the case of the man Christ :
but no other being can. Every person that is born according to the
course of nature is born unclean. If the root be corrupt, so must
the branches be. Neither is the matter mended, though the parents
be sanctified ones ; for they are but holy in part, and that by grace,
not by nature ! and they beget their children as men, not as holy
men. Wherefore as the circumcised parent begets an uncircumcised
child, and after the purest grain is sown, we reap chaflT with the
corn ; so the holiest parent begets unholy children, and cannot com-
municate their grace to them, as they do their nature ; which many
godly parents find true, in their sad experience.
3. Consider the confession of the psalmist David, Psalm, li. 5,
" Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother con-
ceive me." Here he ascends from his actual sin, to the fountain of
it, namely, corrupt nature. He was a man according to God's own
heart ; but from the beginning it was not so with him. He was
32 TflE CuRRUPTIOy OP^ MAX'i; NATLltE.
begotten iu lawful marriage: but when the lump was shaken in
the womb, it was a sinful lump. Hence the corruption of nature is
called the " old man ;" being as old as ourselves, older than grace,
even in those that are sanctified from the womb.
4. Hear onr Lord's determination of the point, John iii. 6, " That
which is born of the flesh is flesh." Behold the universal corrup-
tion of mankind — all are flesh ! Not that all are frail, though that
is a sad truth too : yea, and our natural frailty is an evidence of
our natural corruption ; but that is not the sense of the text : the
meaning of it is — all are corrupt and sinful, and that naturally.
Hence our Lord argues, that because they are flesh, .therefore they
must be born again, or else they cannot enter into the kingdom of
God, vers. 3 — 5. And as the corruption of our nature shews the
absolute necessity of regeneration, so the absolute necessity of re-
generation plainly proves the corruption of our nature ; for why
should a man need a second birth, if his nature were not quite mar-
red in his first birih ?
5. Man certainly is sunk very low now, in comparison of what he
once was. God made him but a" little lower than the angels :" but
now we find him likened to the beasts that perish. He hearkened
to a brute, and is now become like one of them. Like Nebuchad-
nezzar, his portion in his natural state is with the beasts, " minding
only earthly things," Phil. iii. 19. Nay, brutes, iu some sort, have
the advantage of the natural man, who is sunk a degree below them.
He is more negligent of what concerns him most, than the stork, or
the turtle, or the crane, or the swallow, in what is for their interest,
Jer. viii. 7- He is more stupid than the ox or ass, Isa. i. 3. I find
him sent to school to learn of the ant, which has no guide or leader
to go before her ; no overseer or oflicer to compel or stir her up to
work ; no ruler, but may do as she lists, being under the dominion
of none; yet " provideth her meat in the summer and harvest,"
Prov. vi. 6 — 8 ; while the natural man hath all these, and yet ex-
poseth himself to eternal starving. Nay, more than all this, the
Scriptures hold out the natural man, not only as wanting the good
qualities of these creatures, but as a compound of the evil qualities
of the worst of the creatures; in whom the fierceness of the lion, the
craft of the fox, the unteachableness of the wild ass, the filthiuess of
the dog and swine, the poison of the asp, and such like, meet.
Truth itself calls them " serpents, a generation of vipers ;" yea,
more, even " children of the devil," Matt, xxiii. 33 ; John viii. 44.
Surely, then, man's nature is miserably corrupted.
6. " We are by nature the children of wrath," Eph. ii. 3. — We
are worthy of, and liable to, the wrath of God ; and this by nature :
THE CORECPTIOX OF ITAS'i XATCRE. 33
therefore, doubtless, we are by nature sinful creatures. We arc
condemned before we have done good or evil ; under the corse, be-
fore we know what it is. But, " will a lion roar in the forest when
he bath no prey ?" Amos iii. 4; that is, will the holy and just God
roar in his wrath against man, if he be not, by his sin, made a prey
for his wrath ? No, be will not ; he cannot. Let us conclude then,
that, according to the word of God, man's nature is a corrupt nature.
If we consult experience, and obserre the ease of the world, in
those things that are obvious to any person who will not shot his
eyes against clear light, we shall quickly perceive such fmits as dis-
corer this root of bitterness. I shall propose a few things that may
serve to convince us in this point : —
1. Who sees not a flood of miseries orerflowing the world?
Whither can a man go where he shall not dip his foot, if he go not
over head and ears, iu it ? Every one at home and abroad, in city
and country, in palaces and cottages, is groaning under some one
thing or other, ungrateful to him. Some are oppressed with po-
Terty, some chastened with sickness and pain, some are lamenting
their losses, every one has a cross of one sort or another. No man's
condition is so soft, but there is some thorn of uneasiness in it- At
length death, the wages of sin, comes after these its harbingers, and
sweeps all away. — Now, what but sin has opened the sluice of sor-
row : There is not a complaint nor sigh heard in the world, nor a
tear that falls from our eye, but it is an evidence that man is fallen
as a star from heaven ; for God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
Job xsi. 17. This is a plain proof of the corruption of nature : for-
asmuch as those who hare not yet actually sinned, have their share
of these sorrows ; yea, and draw their first breath in the world
weeping, as if they knew this world at first sight to be a Bochim,
the place of weepers. There are graves of the smallest, as well as
of the largest size, in the churchyard ; and there are never wanting
some in the world, who are, like Rachel, weeping for their children
because they are not. Mat. ii. 18.
2. Observe how early this corruption of natnre begins to appear
in young ones, Solomon observes, that " eren a child is known br
his doings," Prov. xx. 11. It may soon be discerned what way the
bias of the heart lies. Do not the children of fallen Adam, before
they can go alone, follow their fathers footsteps ? What a vast
deal of little pride, ambition, sinful curiosity, vanity, wilfulness, and
averseness to good, appears in them \ And, when they creep out of
infancy, there is a necessity of using the rod of correction, to drive
away the foolishness that is boond in their hearts, Pror. xx. 15,
which shews, that, if grace prevail not, the child will be as Ishmael
— " a wild ass-man," as the word is, Gen. xvi. 12.
34 THE CORRUPTION OF MAn's NATURE.
3. Take a view of the manifold gross outbreakings of sin in the
world: the wickedness of man is yet great in the earth. Behold thy
bitter fruits of the corruption of our nature, Hosea iv. 2. " By
swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing
adultery, they break out, like the breaking forth of waters, and
blood touchoth blood." The world is filled with filthiness, and all
manner of lewdness, wickedness, and profanity. From whence
comes the deluge of sin on the earth, but from the breaking up of
the fountains of the great deep, the heart of man ? out of which pro-
ceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, cove-
tousness, &c. Mark vii. 21, 22. You will, it may be, thank God
with a whole heart, that you are not like other men ; and indeed
you have more reason for it than, I fear, you are aware of; for, as
in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man, Proy.
xxvii. 19. As, looking into clear water, you see your own face ; so,
looking into your heart, you may see other men's there; and, look-
ing into other men's, in them you may see your own. So that the
most vile and profane wretches that are in the world, should serve
you for a looking-glass ; in which you ought to discern the corrup-
tion of your own nature : and if you were to do so, you would, with
a heart truly touched, thank God, and not yourselves, indeed, that
you are not as other men in your lives ; seeing the corruption of
nature is the same in you as in them.
4. Cast your eye upon those terrible convulsions which the world
is thrown into by the lusts of men ! Lions make not a prey of
lions, nor wolves of wolves : but men are turned lions and Avolves to
one another, biting and devouring one another. Upon ho^y slight
occasions will men sheath their swords in one another ! The world
is a wilderness, where the clearest fire that men can carry about
with them will not frighten away the wild beasts that inhabit it, and
that because they are men, and not brutes ; but one way or other
they will be wounded. Since Cain shed the blood of Abel, the earth
has been turned into a slaughter-house; and the chase has been con-
tinued, since Ximrod began his hunting; on the earth, as in the sea,
the greater still devouring the lesser. When we see the world in
such a ferment, every one attacking another with words or swords,
we may conclude there is an evil spirit among them. These violent
heats among Adam's sons, shew the whole body to be distempered,
the whole head to be sick, and the whole heart to be faint. They
surely proceed from an inward cause, James iv. 1, "lusts that war
in our members."
5. Consider the necessity of human laws, guarded by terrors and
severities; to which we may apply what the apostle says, 1 Tim
TUE COKUUPTIOX OF MAn's NATUKE. 35
i. 9, tliat " the law is not made for a righteous man, but for tlie
lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners," &c.
Man was made for society ; and God himself said of the first man,
when he had created him, that it was " not meet he should be
alone ;" yet the case is such now, that, in society, he must be
hedged in with thorns. And that from hence we may the better
see the corruption of man's nature, let us consider — 1. Every man
naturally loves to be at full liberty himself; to have his own will
for his law ; and, if he were to follow his natural inclinations, he
would vote himself out of the reach of all laws, divine and human.
Hence some, the power of whose hands has been answerable to their
natural inclination, have indeed made themselves absolute, and
above laws ; agreeably to man's monstrous design at first, to be as
gods. Gen. iii. 5. Yet — 2. There is no man that would willingly
adventure to live in a lawless society : therefore even pirates and
robbers have laws among themselves, though the whole society
casts off all respect to law and right. Thus men discover them-
selves to be conscious of the corruption of nature ; not daring to
trust one another, but upon security. 3. How dangerous soever it
is to break through the hedge, yet the violence of lust makes many
daily adventure to run the risk. They will not only sacrifice their
credit and conscience, which last is lightly esteemed in the world ;
but for the pleasure of a few moments, immediately succeeded with
terror from within, they will lay themselves open to a violent death
by the laws of the land wherein they live. 4. The laws are often
made to yield to men's lusts. Sometimes whole societies run into
such extravagances, that, like a company of prisoners, they break
off their fetters, and put their guard to flight ; and the voice of laws
cannot be heard for the noise of arms. And seldom is there a time,
wherein there are not some persons so great and daring, that the
laws dare not look their impetuous lusts in the face; which made
David say, in the case of Joab, who had murdered Abner, " These
men, the sons of Zeruiah, be too hard for me," 2 Sam. iii. 39.
Lusts sometimes grow too strong for laws, so that the law becomes
slack, as the pulse of a dying man. Hab. i. 3, 4. 5. Consider, what
necessity often appears of amending old laws, and making new
ones; which have their rise from new crimes, of which man's nature
is very fruitful. There would be no need of mending the hedge, if
men were not, like unruly beasts, still breaking it down. It is
astonishing to see what a figure the Israelites, who were separated
unto God from among all the nations of the earth, make in their
history ; what horrible confusions were among them, when there
was no king in Israel, as you may see from the eighteenth to tho
CO THK CURRUPTIOX OF MAN S XATURE.
twenty-first cliapter of Judges: how hard it was to reform them,
when they had the best of magistrates ! and how quickly they
turned aside again, when they got wicked rulers I I cannot but
think, that one grand design of that sacred history, was to discover
the corruption of man's nature, the absolute need of the Messiah,
and his grace ; and that we ought, in reading it, to improve it to
that end. How cutting is that word which the Lord has to Samuel,
concerning Saul, 1 Sam. ix. 17, " The same shall reign over" — or,
as the word is, shall restrain — " my people." 0 the corruption of
man's nature ! the awe and dread of the God of heaven restrains
them not ; but they must have gods on earth to do it, " to put them
to shame," Judg. xviii. 7.
6. Consider the remains of that natural corruption in the saints.
Though grace has entered, yet corruption is not expelled : though
they have got the new creature, yet much of the old corrupt nature
remains ; and these struggle together within them, as the twins in
Rebekah's womb. Gal. v. 17- They find it present with them at
all times, and in all places, even in the most retired corners. If a
man has a troublesome neighbour, he may remove ; if he has an ill
servant, he may put him away at the term ; if a bad yoke-fellow, he
may sometimes leave the house, and be free from molestation that
way: but should the saint go into a wilderness, or set up his
tent on some remote rock in the sea, where never foot of man,
beast, or fowl had touched, there will it be with him. Should he be
with Paul, caught up to the third heavens, it will come back with
him, 2 Cor. xii. 7. It follows him as the shadow doth the body ; it
makes a blot in the fairest line he can draw. It is like the fig-tree
on the wall, which however nearly it was cut, yet still grew, till the
wall was thrown down : for the roots of it are fixed in the heart,
while the saint is in the world, as with bands of iron and brass. It
is especially active when he would do good, Rom. vii. 21, then the
fowls come down upon the carcasses. Hence often, in holy duties,
the spirit of a saint, as it were, evaporates ; and he is left be-
fore he is aware, like Michal, with an image in the bed instead
of a husband. I need not stand to prove to the godly the cor-
ruption of nature in them, for they groan under it; and to prove
it to them, were to hold out a candle to let them see the sun :
as for the wicked, they are ready to account mole-hills in the
saints as big as mountains, if not reckon them all hypocrites.
But consider these few things on this head: 1. "If it be thus
in the green tree how must it be in the dry ?" The saints are
not born saints, but made so by the power of regenerating grace.
Have they got a new nature, and yet the old remains with them ?
THE COnKUl'TlON OF MAn's NATURE. 37
How great roust that corruption be in others, in whom there
is no grace ! 2. The saints groan under it, as a heayy burden.
Hear the apostle, Horn. vii. 24, "0 wretched man that I am ! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" — What though the
carnal man lives at ease and quiet, and the corruption of nature is
not his burden, is he therefore free from it? No, no; it is because
he is dead, that he feels not the sinking weight. Many a groan is
heard from a sick bed, but never any from a grave. In the saint,
as in the sick man, there is a mighty struggle ; life and death striv-
ing for the mastery : but in the natural man, as in the dead corpse,
there is no noise ; because death bears full sway, 3. The godly
man resists the old corrupt nature ; he strives to mortify it, yet it
remains ; he endeavours to starve it, and by that means to weaken
it, yet it is active : how must it spread then, and strengthen itself
in that soul, where it is not starved, but fed ! — And this is the case
of all the unregenerate, who make " provision for the flesh, to fulfil
the lusts thereof." If the garden of the diligent afford him new
work daily, in cutting off and rooting up, surely that of the slug-
•gard must needs be " all grown over with thorns."
7. I shall add but one observation more ; and that is, that in
every man, naturally, the image of fallen Adam appears. Some
children, by the features and lineaments of their face, do, as it
were, father themselves : and thus we resemble our first parents.
Every one of us bears the image and impression of the fall upon
him : and to evince the truth of this, I appeal to the consciences of
all, in these following particulars :
• 1. Is not sinful curiosity natural to us? and is not this a print of
Adam's image? Gen. iii. 6. Is not man naturally much more
desirous to know new things, than to practise old known truths ?
How much like old Adam do sve look in this eagerness for novelties,
and disrelish of old solid doctrines ? We seek after knowledge
rather than holiness, and study most to know those things which are
least edifying. Our wild and roving fancies need a bridle to curb
them, while good solid affections must be quickened and spurred on.
2. If the Lord, by his holy law and wise providence, puts a
restraint upon us, to keep us back from any thing, does not that
restraint whet the edge of our natural inclinations, and makes us so
much the keener in our desires? And in this do we not betray it
plainly, that we are Adam's children? Gen. iii. 2 — 6. I think this
cannot be denied; for daily observation evinces, that it is a natural
principle, that " stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret
is pleasant," Prov. ix. 17- The very heathens were convinced, that
man was possessed with this spirit of contradiction, though they
38 THE CORRUPTION OF MAN's >ATLRE.
knew iiot the spring of it. How often do men let themselves loose
in those things, in which, had God left them at liberty, they would
have bound up themselves ! but corrupt nature takes a pleasure in
the very jumping over the hedge. And is it not a repeating of our
fathers' folly, that men will rather climb for forbidden fruit, than
gather what is shaken off the tree of good providence to them, when
they have God's express allowance for it?
3. Which of all the children of Adam is not naturally disposed
to hear the instruction that causeth to err ? And was not this the
rock our ftrst parents split upon ? Gen. iii. 4 — 6. How apt is weak
man, ever since that time, to parley with temptations ! " God
speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not," Job xxxiii.
14, but he readily listens to Satan. Men might often come fair off,
if they would dismiss temptations with abhorrence, when first they
appear; if they would nip thera in the bud, they would soon die
away : but, alas ! though we see the train laid for us, and the fire
put to it, yet we stand till it runs along, and we are blown up with
its force.
4. Do not the eyes in your head often blind the eyes of the
mind ? And was not this the very case of our first parents ? Gen.
iii. 6. Man is never more blind than when he is looking on the
objects that are most pleasiug to sense. Since the eyes of our first
parents were opened to the forbidden fruit, men's eyes have been
the gates of destruction to their souls; at which impure imagina-
tions and sinful desires have entered the heart, to the wounding of
the soul, wasting of the conscience, and bringing dismal efi'ects
sometimes on whole societies, as in Achan's case, Joshua vii. 21.
Holy Job was aware of this danger, from these two little rolling
bodies, which a very small splinter of wood can make useless ; so
that, with the king who durst not, with his ten thousand, meet hira
that came with twenty thousand against him, Luke xiv. 31, 32, he
sendeth and desireth conditions of peace: Job xxxi. 1, " I made a
covenant with mine eyes," &c.
5. Is it not natural to us to care for the body, even at the
expense of the soul? This was one ingredient in the sin of our first
parents. Gen. iii. 6. 0 how happy might we be, if we were but at
half the pains about our souls, that we bestow upon our bodies ! If
that question, " What must I do to be saved ?" Acts xvi. 30, ran
but near as often through our minds as these questions do, " What
shall we eat? what shall we drink? wherewithal shall we be
clothed ?" Matt. vi. 31, then many a hopeless case would become
very hopeful. But the truth is, most men live as if they were
nothing but a lump of flesh : or as if their soul served for no other
THE CORRUPTION OP MAN's NATURE. ' 39
use, but, like salt, to keep their body from corrupting. *' They are
flesh," John iii. 6 ; *' they mind the things of the flesh," Rom. viii.
5; "and they live after the flesh," ver. 13. If the consent of the
flesh be got to an action, the consent of the conscience is rarely-
waited for : yea, the body is often served, when the conscience has
entered a protest against it.
6. Is not every one by nature discontented with his present lot in
the world, or with some one thing or other in it ? This also was
Adam's case, Gen. iii. 5, 6. Some one thing is always wanting; so
that man is a creature given to changes. If any doubt this, let
them look over all their enjoyment ; and, after a review of them,
listen to their own hearts, and they will hear a secret murmuring
for want of something ; though perhaps, if they considered the mat-
ter aright, they would see that it is better for them to want than to
have that something. Since the hearts of our first parents flew out
at their eyes, on the forbidden fruit, and a night of darkness was
thereby brought on the world, their posterity have a natural disease
which Solomon calls, " The wandering of the desire," or, as the
word is, " The walking of thy soul," Eccl. vi. 9. This is a sort of
diabolical trance, wherein the soul traverses the world ; feeds itself
with a thousand airy nothings ; snatches at this and the other
created excellency, in imagination and desire ; goes here, and there,
and every where, except where it should go. And the soul is never
cured of this disease, till conquering grace brings it back to take up
its everlasting rest in God through Christ : but till this be, if man
were set again in paradise, the garden of the Lord, all the pleasures
there would not keep him from looking, yea, and leaping over the
hedge a second time.
7. Are we not far more easily impressed and influenced by evil
councils and examples, than by those that are good ! You will see
this was the ruin of Adam, Gen. iii. 6. Evil example, to this day,
is one of Satan's master-devices to ruin men. Though we have, by
nature, more of the fox than of the lamb ; yet that ill property
which some observe in this creature, namely, that if one lamb skip
into a water, the rest near will suddenly follow, may be observed
also in the disposition of the children of men ; to whom it is very
natural to embrace an evil way, because they see others in it before
them. Ill example has frequently the force of a violent stream, to
carry us over plain duty ; but especially if the example be given by
those we bear a great afl'ection to ; our affection, in that case, blinds
our judgment ; and what we should abhor in others, is complied
with, to humour them. Nothing is more plain, than that generally
men choose rather to do what the most do, than what the best do.
40 ■ THE coKRvrTio>' of man s nature.
8. Who of all Adam's sons needs be taught the art of sewing fig-
leaves together, to cover their nakedness? Genesis iii. 7. When we
have ruined ourselves, and made ourselves naked to our shame, we
naturally seek to help ourselves, by ourselves : many poor contriv-
ances are employed, as silly and insignificant as Adam's fig-leaves-
What pains are men at, to cover their sin from their own con-
science, and to draw all the fair colours upon it that they can !
And when once convictions are fastened upon them, so that they
cannot but see themselves naked, it is as natural for them to at-
tempt to cover it by self-deceit, as for fish to swim in water, or
birds to fly in the air. Therefore the first question of the convinced
is, " What shall we do ?" Acts ii. 37. How shall we qualify our-
selves? What shall we perform? Not considering that the new
creature is God's own workmanship or deed, Eph. ii. 10, any more
than Adam considered and thought of being clothed with the skins
of sacrifices, Gen. iii. 21.
9. Do not Adam's children naturally follow his footsteps, in hid-
ing themselves from the presence of the Lord? Gen. iii. 8. We are
quite as blind in this matter as he was, who thought to hide himself
from the presence of God amongst the shady trees of the garden.
We are very apt to promise ourselves more security in a secret sin,
than in one that is openly committed. " The eye of the adulterer
waiteth for the twilight, saying, no eye shall see me," Job xxiv. 15.
Men will freely do that in secret, which they would be ashamed to
do in the presence of a child; as if darkness could hide from the
all-seeing God. Are we not naturally careless of communion with
God; ay, and averse to it? Never was there any communion bet-
ween God and Adam's children, where the Lord himself had not the
first word. If he were to let them alone they would never inquire
after him. Isa. Ivii. 17, " I hid me." Did he seek after a hiding
God ? Very far from it : " He went on in the way of his heart."
10. How loth are men to confess sin, to take guilt and shame to
themselves? Was it not thus in the case before us? Gen. iii. 10.
Adam confesses his nakedness, which could not be denied ; but says
not one word of his sin : the reason of it was, he would fain have
hid it if he could. It is as natural for us to hide sin, as to commit
it. Many sad instances thereof we have in this world ; but a far
clearer proof of it we shall get at the day of judgment, the day in
which " God will judge the secrets of men," Rom. ii. 16. Many a
foul mouth will then be seen which is now " wiped, and saith, I
have done no wickedness," Prov. xxx. 20.
11. Is it not natural for us to extenuate our sin, and transfer the
guilt upon others ? When God examined our guilty first parents.
TUK OOKRUPTlON Oi' MAn's NATUKE, 41
did not Adam lay the blame ou the woman ? and did not the
woman lay the blame on the serpent ? Gen. iii. 12, 13. Now
Adam's children need not be taught this hellish policy ; for before
they can well speak if they cannot get the fact denied, they
will cunningly lisp out something to lessen their fault, and lay the
blame upon another. Nay, so natural is this to men, that in the
greatest sins, they will lay the fault upon God himself; they will
blaspheme his holy providence under the mistaken name of mis-
fortune or ill luck, and thereby lay the blame of their sin at hea-
ven's door. And was not this one of Adam's tricks after his fall ?
Gen. iii. 12, " And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to
be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." Observe the
order of the speech. He makes his apology in the first place ; and
then comes his confession : his apology is long ; but his confession
very short: it is all comprehended in one word, "and I did eat."
How pointed and distinct is his apology, as if he was afraid his
meaning should have been mistaken ! " The woman," says he, or
" that woman," as if he would have pointed the judge to his own
works, of which we read, Gen. ii. 22. There was but one woman
then in the world; so that one would think he needed not to have
been so nice and exact in pointing at her: yet she is as carefully
marked out in his defence, as if there had been ten thousand.
" The woman whom thou gavest me :" here he speaks, as if he had
been ruined with God's gift. And, to make the gift look the
blacker, it is added to all this, " thou gavest to be with me," as my
constant companion, to stand by me as a helper. This looks as if
Adam would have fathered an ill design upon the Lord, in giving
him this gift. And, after all, there is a new demonstrative here,
before the sentence is complete ; he says not, " The woman gave
me," but " the woman she gave me," emphatically ; as if ho had
said, she, even she, gave me of the tree. This much for his apology.
But his confession is quickly over, in one word, as he spoke it,
" and I did eat." There is nothing here to point out himself, and
as little to shew what he had eaten. How natural is this black art
to Adam's posterity ! he that runs may read it. So universally
does Solomon's observation hold true, Prov. xix. 3, " The foolish-
ness of man perverteth his way ; and his heart fretteth against
the Lord." Let us then call fallen Adam, father; let us not deny
the relation, seeing we bear his image.
To shut up this point, sufficiently confirmed by concurring evi-
dence from the Lord's word, our own experience, and observation ;
let us be persuaded to believe the doctrine of the corruption of our
nature; and look to the second Adam, the blessed Jesus, for the
Vol. Till. c
42 CORRUPTION OF THE UNDERSTANDING.
application of his precious blood, to remove the guilt of our sin ;
and for the efl&cacy of his Holy Spirit, to make us new creatures ;
knowing that " except we be born again, we cannot enter into the
kingdom of God."
I. I proceed to inquire into the corruption of nature in the several
parts thereof. But who can comprehend it ? who can take the ex-
act dimensions of it, in its breadth, length, height, and depth ?
" The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ;
■who can know it ?" Jer. xvii. 9. However, we may quickly perceive
as much of it as may be matter of deepest humiliation, and may dis-
cover to us the absolute necessity of regeneration. Man in his na-
tural state is altogether corrupt : both soul and body are polluted,
as the apostle proves at large, Rom. iii. 10 — 18. As for the soul,
this natural corruption has spread itself through all the faculties
thereof; and is to be found in the understanding, the will, the aj^ec-
tions, the conscience, and the metnory.
I. Of the Corruption of the Understanding.
The understanding, that leading faculty, is despoiled of its primi-
tive glory, and covered over with confusion. We have fallen into
the hands of our grand adversary, as Samson into the liands of the
Philistines, and are deprived of our two eyes. " There is none that
understandeth," Rom. iii. 11. " Mind and conscience are defiled,"
Tit. i. 15. The natural man's apprehension of divine things is cor-
rupt. Psalm 1. 21, Tliou thoughtest that I was altogether such an
one as thyself." His judgment is corrupt, and cannot, be otherwise,
seeing his eye is evil : therefore the scriptures, to show that man
does all wrong, says, " every one did that which was right in his
own eyes," Judges xvii. 6; and xxi. 25. And his imaginations, or
reasonings, must be cast down by the power of the word, being of a
piece with his judgment, 2 Cor. x. 5. But, to point out this corrup-
tion of the mind or understanding more particularly, let these fol-
lowing things be considered :
1. There is a natural weakness in the minds of men with respect
to spiritual things. The apostle determines concerning every one
that is not endued with the graces of the Spirit, " That he is blind,
and cannot see afar oft'," 2 Pet. i. 9. Hence the Spirit of God in
the scriptures clothes, as it were, divine truths with earthly figures,
even as parents teach their children, using similitudes, Hosea xii.
11. This, though it doth not cure, yet it proves this natural weak-
ness in the minds of men. But there are not wanting plain proofs
of it from experience. As, 1. How hard a task is it to teach many
CORRUPTION OF THE UNDKRSTANI>IXO. 43
people the common principles of our holy religion, and to make
truths so plain as they may understand them ? There must be " pre-
cept upon precept, precept upon precept ; line upon line, line upon
line." Isa. xxviii. 10. Try the same persons in other things, they
will be found " wiser in their generation than the children of light."
They understand their work and business in the world as well as
their neighbours ; though they are very stupid and unteachable in
tlie matters of God. Tell them how they may advance their worldly
wealth, or how they may gratify their lusts, and they will quickly
understand these things ; though it is very hard to make them know
how their souls may be saved, or how their hearts may find rest in
Jesus Christ. 2. Consider those who have many advantages be-
yond the generality of mankind ; who have had the benefits of good
education and instruction ; yea, and arc blessed with the light of
grace in that measure wherein it is asci'ibed to the saints on earth ;
yet how small a portion have they of the knowledge of divine
things ! "What ignorance and confusion still remain in their minds !
How often are they perplexed even as to practical truths, and speak
as children in these things ! It is a pitiful weakness that we cannot
perceive the things which God has revealed to us ; and it must needs
bo a sinful weakness, since the law of God requires us to know and
believe them. 3. "What dangerous mistakes are to be found amongst
ni 'U, in concerns of the greatest weight ! "What woful delusions
prevail over them ! Do we not often see those, who in other things
are the wisest of men, the most notorious fools with respect to their
.soul's interest ? Matt. ix. 25, " Thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent." Many that are eagle-eyed in the trifles of time,
are like owls and bats in the light of life. Nay, truly, the life of
every natural man is but one continued dream and delusion, out of
which he never awakes, till either, by a new light darted from
heaven into his soul, he come to himself, Luke xv. 17, or, in hell he
lift up his eyes," chap. xv. 23. Therefore, in scripture account,
though he be ever so wise, he is a fool, and a simple one.
2. Man's understanding is naturally overwhelmed with gross
darkness in spiritual things. Man, at the instigation of the devil,
attempting to break out a new light in his mind. Gen. iii. 5, instead
of that, broke up the doors of the bottomless pit, so as, by the
smoke thereof, to be buried in darkness. When God first made
man, his mind was a lamp of light; but now, when he comes to
make him over again, in regeneration, he finds it darkness; Eph.
V. 8j " Ye were sometimes darkness." Sin has closed the windows
of the soul, darkness is over all the region : it is the land of dark-
ness and the shadow of death, where the light is as darkness. The
c 2
44 CORRUPTION OF THE UNDERSTANDING.
prince of darkness reigns there, and nothing but the works of dark-
ness are framed there. We are born spiritually blind, and cannot
be restored without a miracle of grace. This is thy case, whoever
thou art, who are not born again. That you may be convinced in
this matter, take the following proofs of it :
Proof I. The darkness that was upon the face of the world, be-
fore, and at the time when Christ came, arising as the Sun of
Righteousness upon the earth. When Adam by his sin had lost
that primitive light with which he was endued at his creation, it
pleased God to make a glorious revelation of his mind and will to
him, as to the way of salvation. Gen. iii. 15. This was handed
down by him, and other godly fathers, before the flood : yet the
natural darkness of the mind of man prevailed so far against that
revelation, as to carry ofi" all sense of true religion from the old
world, except what remained in Noah's family, which was preserved
in the ark. After the flood, as men multiplied on the earth, the
natural darkness of the mind prevailed again, and the light decayed,
till it died away among the generality of manldnd, and was pre-
served only among the posterity of Shem. And even with them it
had nearly set, when God called Abraham from serving other gods,
Joshua xxiv. 15. God gives Abraham a more full and clear revela-
tion, which he communicates to his family, Genesis xviii. 19 ; yet
the natural darkness wears it out at length, save that it was
preserved among the posterity of Jacob. They being carried down
into Egypt, that darkness so prevailed, as to leave them very little
sense of true religion ; and there was a necessity for a new revela-
tion to be made to them in the wilderness. And many a cloud of
darkness got above that, now and then, during the time from Moses
to Christ. When Christ came, the world was divided into Jews and
Gentiles. The Jews, and the true light with them, were within an
enclosure. Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20. Between them and the Gentile
world, there was a partition wall of God's making, namely, the cere-
monial law : and upon that was reared up another of man's own
making, namely, a rooted enmity betwixt the parties, Eph. ii. 14,
15. If we look abroad without the enclosure, and except those pro-
selytes of the Gentiles, who by means of some rays of light breaking
forth upon them from within the enclosure, having renounced idola-
try, worshipped the true God, but did conform to the Mosaical rites,
we see nothing but " dark places of the earth, full of the habitations of
cruelty," Psalm Ixxiv. 20. Gross darkness covered the face of the
Gentile world, and the way of salvation was utterly unknown
among them. They were drowned in superstition and idolatry, and
had multiplied their idols to such a vast number, that above thirty
COKKUI'TION OF THE UNBEESTAXBIXG. 45
thousand are reckoned to liave been worshipped by the men of Eu-
rope alone. Whatever wisdom was among their philosophers, " the
world by" that " wisdom knew not God," 1 Cor. i. 21, and all their
researches in religion were but groping in the dark, Acts xvii. 27.
If we look within the enclosure, and except a few that were groan-
ing and " waiting for the consolation of Israel," we shall see
gross darkness on the face of that generation. Though " to them
were committed the oracles of God," yet they were most corrupt in
their doctrine. Their traditions were multiplied ; but the know-
ledge of those things, wherein the life of religion lies, was lost.
^Masters of Israel knew not the nature and necessity of regeneration,
John iii. 10. Their religion was to build on their birth-privileges,
as children of Abraham, Matth. iii. 9, to glory in their circumcision,
and other external ordinances, Phil. iii. 2, 3, and to " rest in the
law," Rom. ii. 17, after they had, by their false glosses, cut it so short,
as they might outwardly go well nigh to the fulfilling of it, Matth. v.
Thus was darkness over the face of the world, when Christ, the
true light, came into it ; and so is darkness over every soul, till he
as the day-star, arises in the heart. The latter is an evidence of
the former. What, but the natural darkness of men's minds, could
still thus wear out the light of external revelation, in a matter upon
which eternal happiness depends ? Men did not forget the way of
preserving their lives: but how quickly they lost the knowledge of
the way of salvation of their souls, which are of infinitely more
weight and worth ? When the teaching of patriarchs and prophets
was ineffectual, it became necessary for them to be taught of God
himself, who alone can open the eyes of the understanding. But
that it might appear that the corruption of man's mind lay deeper
than to be cured by mere external revelation, there Avere but very
few converted by Christ's preaching, who spoke as never man
spoke," John xii. 37, 38. The great cure remained to be performed,
by the Spirit accompanying the preaching of the apostles ; who ac-
cording to the promise John. xiv. 12, were to do greater works.
And if we look to the miracles wrought by our blessed Lord, we
shall find, that by applying the remedy to the soul, for the cure of
bodily distempers as in the case of "the man sick of the palsy,"
Slatth. ix. 2, he plainly discovered, that his main errand into the
world was to cure the diseases of the soul. I find a miracle wrought
upon one that was born blind, performed in such a way, as seems to
have been designed to let the world see it, as in a glass, their cage
and cure, John ix. 6, " He made clay, and anointed the eyes of the
blind man with the clay." What could more fitly represent the
blindness of men's minds, than eyes closed up with earth ? Isa. vi.
46 COltUUi'TIOK OF THE VKKERSTANDIKG.
10, " shut your eyes ;" slmt liiem up by anointing, or " casting them
with mortar," as the word will bear. And chap. xliv. 18, "He hath
shut their eyes :" the word properly signifies, he hath plastered
their eyes ; as the house in which the leprosy had been, was to be
plastered, Lev. xiv. 42. Thus the Lord's word discovers the de-
sign of that strange work ; and by it, shews us. that the eyes of our
understanding are naturally shut. Then the blind man must go
and wash off this clay in the pool of Siloam : no other water will
serve this purpose. If that pool had not represented him, whom
the rather sent into the world to open the blind eyes, Isa. xlii. 7, I
think the evangelist had not given us the interpretation of the name
which he says, signifies sent, John ix. 7. So we may conclude, that
the natural darkness of our minds is such as there is no cure for, but
from the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ, whose eye-salve only can
make us see, llev. iii. 18.
Proof 2. Every natural man's heart and life is a mass of darkness,
disorder, and confusion, how refined soever he may appear in the
sight of men. " For we ourselves also," saith the apostle Paul,
" were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts
and pleasures," Tit. iii. 3 ; and yet, at the time which this text re-
fers to, 'he was blameless, "touching the righteousness which is in
the law," Phil. iii. 6. This is a plain evidence that "the eye is evil ,
the whole body being full of darkness," Matth. vi. 23. The unre-
newed part of mankind is rambling through the world, like so
many blind men, who will neither take a guide, nor can guide them-
selves ; and therefore are falling over this and the other precipice,
into destruction. Some are running after their covetousness, till they
are pierced through with many sorrows ; some sticking in the mire
of sensuality ; others dashing themselves on the rock of pride and
self-conceit : every one stumbling on some one stone of stumbling
or other : all of them are running themselves upon the sword-point
of justice, while they eagerly follow whither unmortified passions
and affections lead them : and while some are lying along in the
way, others are coming up, and falling headlong over them. There-
fore, " woe unto thee" blind " world because of offences," Matth.
xviii. 7. Errors in judgment swarm in the world because it is
" night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth." All
the unregenerate are utterly mistaken in the point of true happi-
ness : for though Christianity hath fixed that matter in point of
principle, yet nothing less than overcoming grace can fix it in the
practical judgment. All men agree in the desire of being happy ;
but, among the unrenewed men, concerning the way to happiness,
there are almost as many opinions as there are men ; they being
COEnUI'TION OF THE UKDEKSTAKDJKG. 47
" turned every one to his own way," Isa. liii. 6. They are like the
blind men of Sodom, about Lot's house, all were seeking to find the
door; some grope one part of the wall for it, some another, but none
of them could certainly say, he had found it ; so the natural man
may stumble on any good, but the chief good. Look into thine own
unregenerate heart, and there thou wilt see all turned upside down :
heaven lying under, and earth at top. Look into thy life, there
thou mayst see how thou art playing the madman, snatching at sha-
dows, and neglecting the substance : eagerly flying after that which
is not, and slighting that which is, and will be for ever.
Proof 3. The natural man is always as a workman left without
light ; either trifling or doing mischief. Try to catch thy heart at
any time thou wilt, and thou wilt find it either weaving the spider's
web, or hatching cockatrice eggs, Isa. lis. 5, roving through the
world, or digging into the pit; filled with vauity, or else with vile-
ness ; busy doing nothing, or what is worse than nothing. A sad
sign of a dark mind.
Proof 4. The natural man is void of the saving knowledge of
spiritual things. He knows not what a God he has to do with : he
is unacquainted Avith Christ, and knows not what sin is. The great-
est graceless wits are blind as moles in these things. Ay, but some
such can speak of them to good purpose ; so might those Israelites
of the temptations, signs, and miracles, which their eyes had seen,
Deut. xxix. 3; to whom nevertheless, the Lord had "not given a
heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto that day,"
ver. 4. Many a man that bears the name of a Christian, may make
Pharoah's confession of faith, Exod. v. 2, " I know not the Lord,"
neither will he let go what he commands them to i)art with. God
is with them, as a prince in disguise among his subjects, who meets
with no better treatment from them than if they were his fellows,
Psalm I. 21. Do they know Christ, or see his glory, and any beauty
in him, for which he is to be desired ? If they did, they would not
slight him as they do : a view of his glory would so darken all cre-
ated excellence, that they would take him for and instead of all, and
gladly close with him, as he off'ers himself in the gospel, John iv.
13; Psalm ix. 10; Matt. xiii. 44 — 46. Do they know what sin is,
who nurse the serpent in their bosom, hold fast deceit, and refuse
to let it go ? I own, indeed, that they may have a natural know-
ledge of these things, as the unbelieving Jews had of Christ, whom
they saw and conversed with ; but there was a spiritual glory in
him, perceived by believers only, John i. 14, and in respect of that
glory, " the" unbelieving " world knew him not," ver. 10. The spi-
ritual knowledge of tliem they cannot have it is above the reach of
48 CORRUPTION OF THE UNDKKSTANDING.
tlie carnal uiind. 1 Cor. ii. 14. " The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness nnto him; nei-
ther can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." He
may indeed discourse of them, but in no other way than one can
talk of honey or vinegar, who never tasted the sweetness of the one,
nor the sourness of the other. He has some notions of spiritual
truths, but sees not the things themselves that are wrapt up in the
words of truth, 1 Tim. i. 7. " Understanding neither what they say,
nor whereof they affirm." In a word, natural men fear, seek, con-
fess, they know not what. Thus you may see man's understanding
naturally overwhelmed with gross darkness in spiritual things.
3. There is in the mind of man a natural bias to evil, whereby it
comes to pass, that whatever difficulties it finds while occupied
about things truly good, it acts with a great deal of ease in evil, as
being in that case in its own element, Jer. iv. 22. The carnal mind
drives heavily on in the thoughts of good, but furiously in the
thoughts of evil. "While holiness is before it, fetters are upon it ;
but when once it has got over the hedge, it is as a bird got out of a
cage, and becomes a freethinker indeed. Let us reflect a little on
the apprehension and imagination of the carnal mind, and we shall
find incontestable evidence of this woful bias to evil.
Proof!. As when a man by a violent stroke on the head loses his
sight, there arises to him a kind of false light whereby he seems to
see a thousand airy nothings ; so man, being struck blind to all that
is truly good for his eternal interest, has a light of another sort
brought into his mind ; his eyes are opened, knowing evil ; and so
are the words of the tempter verified. Gen. iii. 5. The words of the
prophet are plain — "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they
have no knowledge," Jer. iv. 22. The mind of man has a natural
dexterity to devise mischief; there are not any so simple as to want
skill to contrive ways to gratify their lusts, aud ruin their souls,
though the power of every one's hand cannot reach to put their
devices in execution. No one needs to be taught this black art;
but, as weeds grow up of their own accord in the neglected ground,
so does this wisdom which is earthly, sensual, devilish. Jam. iii. 15,
grow up in the minds of men, by virtue of the corruption of their
nature. Why should we be surprised with the product of corrupt
wits, their cunning devices to aff'ront Heaven, to oppose and run
down truth and holiness, and to gratify their own and other men's
lusts? They row with the stream, no wonder that they make great
progress ; their stock is within them, and increases by using it, and
the works of darkness are contrived with the greater advantage,
because the mind is wholly destitute of spiritual light, which, if it
1
CORRUPTION OF THE UNDERSTANDING. 49
were in them in any measure, would so far mar the work : 1 John
iii. 9, " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ;" he does it
not as by art, wilfully and habitually, for " his seed remaineth in
him." But, on the other hand, " It is as a sport to a fool to do mis-
chief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom," Prov. x. 23.
*' To do witty mischief nicely," as the words import, " is as a sport
or play to a fool ;" it comes off with him easily ; and why, but be-
cause he is a fool, and hath not wisdom, which would mar the con-
trivances of darkness ! The more natural a thing is, the more easily
it is done.
Proof 2. Let the corrupt mind have but the advantage of one's
being employed in, or present at, some piece of service for God,
that so the device, if not in itself sinful, yet may become sinful by
its unseasonableness : it will quickly fall upon some device or ex-
pedient, by its starting aside, which deliberation, in season, could not
produce. Thus Saul, who wist not what to do before the priest be-
gan to consult God, is quickly determined when once the priest's
hand was in : his own heart then gave him an answer, and would
not allow him to wait an answer from the Lord, 1 Sam. xiv. 18, 19.
Such a devilish dexterity hath the carnal mind in devising what
may most effectually divert men from their duty to God,
Proof 3. Doth not the carnal mind naturally strive to grasp spi-
ritual things in imagination, as if the soul were quite immersed in
flesh and blood, and would turn every thing into its own shape ?
Let men who are used to the forming of the most abstracted notions,
look into their own souls, and they will find this bias in their
minds ; whereof the idolotry which did of old, and still doth, so
much prevail in the world, is an incontestible evidence : for it
plainly shews, that men naturally would have a visible deity, and
see what they worship, and therefore they " changed the glory of
the incorruptible God into an image," &c. Rom. i. 23. The refor-
mation of these nations, blessed be the Lord for it, has banished
idolatry, and images too, out of our churches; but heart-reformation
only can break down mental idolatry, and banish the more subtile
and refined image worship, and representations of the Deity, out of
the minds of men. The world, in the time of its darkness, was
never more prone to the former, than the unsanctified mind is to the
latter. Hence are horrible, monstrous, and misshapen thoughts of
God, Christ, the glory above, and all spiritual things.
Proof 4. What a difficult task is it to detain the carnal mind be-
fore the Lord ! how averse is it to entertain good thoughts, and
dwell in the meditation of spiritual things ! If a person be driven,
at any time, to tliink of the great concerns of his soul, it is not
50 COKKUPTIOK OF THE UM)Ei;STAKDING.
harder work to hold in an unruly hungry beast, than to hedge in
the carnal mind, that it get not away to the vanities of the world
again. When God is speaking to men by his word, or they are
speaking to him in prayer, does not the mind often leave them be-
fore the Lord, like so many " idols that have eyes, but see not, and
ears, but hear not." The carcass is laid down before God, but the
world gets away the heart ; though the eyes be closed, the man sees
a thousand vanities ; the mind, in the mean time, is like a bird got
loose out of a cage, skipping from bush to bush ; so that, in effect,
the man never comes to himself till he is gone from the presence of
the Lord. Say not, it is impossible to get the mind fixed — it is
hard, indeed, but not impossible : grace from the Lord can do it,
Psalm cviii. 1 ; agreeable objects will do it. A pleasant specula-
tion will arrest the minds of the inquisitive ; the worldly man's
mind is in little hazard of wandering, when he is contriving his
business, casting up his acounts, or telling his money ; if he answers
you not at first, he tells you he did not hear you, he was busy ; his
mind was fixed. Were we admitted into the presence of a king, to
petition for our lives, we should be in no hazard of gazing through
the chamber of presence. But this is the case, the carnal mind, em-
ployed about any spiritual good, is out of its element, and therefore
cannot fix.
Proof 5. But however hard it is to keep the mind on good
thoughts, it sticks like glue to what is evil and corrupt like itself,
2 Pet. ii. 14, " Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease
from sin." Their eyes cannot cease from sin, (so the words are
constructed,) that is, their hearts and minds, venting by the eyes
what is within, are like a furious beast, which cannot be held in
when once it has got out its head. Let the corrupt imagination
once be let loose on its favourite object, it will be found hard work
to call it back again, though both reason and will are for its retreat.
For then it is in its own element ; and to draw it ofi" from its im-
purities, is like drawing a fish out of the water, or rending a limb
from a man. It runs like fire set to a train of powder, that rests
not till it can get no farther.
Paoof 6. Consider how the carnal imagination supplies the want
of real objects to the corrupt heart, that it may make sinners happy,
at least in the imaginary enjoyment of their lusts. Thus the cor-
rupt heart feeds itself with imagination-sins ; the unclean person is
filled with speculative impurities, " having eyes full of adultery ;"
the covetous man fills his heart with the world, though he cannot
get his hands full of it ; the malicious person with delight acts his
revenge within his own breast : the envious man, within his own
COKRUrTlON OF TUE LNDrKSTA^DIXG. 51
narrow soul, beholds with satisfaction his neighbour laid low ; and
every lust finds the corrupt imagination a friend to it in time of
need. This the heart does, not only when people are awake,
but sometimes even when they are asleep ; whereby it comes to
pass, that those sins are acted in dreams, which their hearts pant
after when they are awake. I am aware that some question the
sinfulness of these things ; but can it be thought they are consist-
ent with that holy nature and frame of spirit which was in
innocent Adam, and in Jesus Christ, and should be in every one ?
It is the corruption of nature, then, that makes filthy dreamers
condemned, Jude, ver. 8. Solomon had experience of the exer-
cise of grace in sleep : in a dream he prayed, in a dream he made
the best choice ; both were accepted of God, 1 Kings iii. 5 — lo.
And if a man may, in his sleep, do what is good and acceptable to
Grod, why may he not also, when asleep, do that which is evil and
displeasing to God .? The same Solomon would have men aware of
this, and prescribes the best remedy against it, namely, " the law
upon the heart," Prov. vi. 20, 21. "When thou sleepest," says he,
ver. 22, "it shall keep thee," to wit, from sinning in thy sleep; that
is, from sinful dreams: for a man's being kept from sin, not his
being kept from affliction, is the immediate proper effect of the law
of God impressed upon the heart, Psalm cxix. 11. And thus the
whole verse is to be understood, as appears from ver. 23. " For the
commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs of in-
struction are the way of life." Now, the law is a lamp and light,
as it guides in the way of duty ; and instructing reproofs from the
law are the way of life, as they keep from sin : they guide not into
the way of peace, but as they lead into the way of duty ; nor do
they keep a man out of trouble, but as they keei> him from sin.
Remarkable is the particular which Solomon instances, namely, the
sin of uncleanness, " to keep thee from the evil woman," &c. ver.
24, which is to be joined to ver. 22, enclosing the 23d in a parenthe-
sis, as some versions have it. These things may suffice to convince
us of the natural bias of the mind to evil.
4. There is in the carnal mind an opposition to spiritual truths,
and an aversion to receive them. It is as little a friend to divine
truths, as it is to holiness. The truths of natural religion, which do,
as it were, force their entry into the minds of natural men, they hold
prisoners in unrighteousness, Rom. i. 18. As for the truths of re-
vealed religion, there is an evil heart of unbelief in them, which op-
poses their entry; and there is an armed force necessary to capti-
vate the mind to the belief of them, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. God has made
a revelation of his mind and will to sinners, concerning the way of
52 CORRUPTION OF THE UNDERSTANDING.
salvation ; he has given us the doctrine of his holy word : but do
natural men believe it indeed ? No, they do not ; " for he that be-
lieveth not on the Son of God, believeth not God," as is plain from
1 John v. 10. They believe not the promises of the word : they look
on them, in effect, only as fair words ; for those who receive them
are thereby made " partakers of the divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4.
The promises are as silver cords let down from heaven, to draw sin-
ners unto God, and to waft them over into the promised land; but
they cast them from them. They believe not the threatenings of the
■word. As men travelling in deserts carry fire about with them, to
frighten away wild beasts, so God has made his law a fiery law,
Deut. xxxiii. 2, surrounding it with threats of wrath : but men are
naturally more brutish than beasts themselves ; and will needs
touch the fiery smoking mountain, though they should be thrust
through with a dart. I doubt not but most, if not all of you, who
are yet in the black state of nature, will here plead, Not Guilty ;
but remember, the carnal Jews in Christ's time were as confident as
you are, that they believed Moses, John is. 28, 29. But he confutes
their confidence, roundly telling them, John v. 46, "Had ye believed
Moses, ye would have believed me." If you believe the truths of
God, you dared not to reject, as you do. Him who is truth itself.
The very difficulty you find in assenting to this truth, discovers that
unbelief which I am charging you with. Has it not proceeded so far
■with some at this day, that it has steeled their foreheads with impu-
dence and impiety, openly to reject all revealed religion? Surely it
is " out of the abundance of the heart their mouth speaketh." But,
though ye set not your mouth against the heavens, as they do, the
same bitter root of unbelief is in all men by nature, and reigns in
you, and will reign, till overcoming grace brings your minds to the
belief of the truth. To convince you in this point, consider those
three things :
Proof 1. How few are there who have been blessed with an inward
illumination, by the special operation of the Spirit of Christ, leading
them into a view of divine truths in their spiritual and heavenly
lustre ! How have yon learned the truths of religion, which you
pretend to believe ? Ton have them merely by the benefit of ex-
ternal revelation, and by education; so that you are Christians, just
because you were not born and bred in a Pagan, but in a Christian
country. You are strangers to the inward work of the Holy Spirit,
bearing witness by and with the word in your hearts ; and so you
cannot have the assurance of faith, with respect to the outward di-
vine revelation made in the word, 1 Cor. ii. 10 — 12, therefore you
are still unbelievers. " It is written in the Prophets, They shall be
COKRUPTTO:S OF THE UNDKRSTANDIXa. 53
all taught of God. — Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath
learned of the Father cometh unto nie," says our Lord, John vi. 45,
Now, ye have not come to Christ, therefore ye have not been taught
of God : ye have not been so taught, and therefore ye have not
eorae ; ye believe not. Behold the revelation from which the faith,
even of the fundamental principles in religion, springs, Matt. xvi.
16, 17, " Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. — Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona ; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven." If ever the Spirit of the
Lord take you in hand, to work in you that faith which is of the
operation of God, it may be, that as much time will be spent in
rasing the old foundation, as will make you find the necessity of the
working of his mighty power, to enable you to believe the very
foundation-principles, which now you think you make no doubt of,
Eph. i. 19.
Proof 2. How many professors have made shipwreck of their
faith, such as it was, in time of temptation and trial ! See how
they fall, like stars from heaven, when Antichrist prevails ! 2 Thess.
11. 12, " God shall send them strong delusions, that they should
believe a lie ; that they all might be damned, who believed not the
truth." They fall into damning delusions ; because they never
really believed the truth, though they themselves, and others too,
thought they did believe it. That house is built on the sand, and
that faith is but ill-founded, that cannot stand, but is quite over-
thrown, when the storm comes.
Proof 3. Consider the utter inconsistency of most men's lives with
the principles of religion which they profess : you may as soon
bring east and west together, as their principles and practice. Men
believe that fire will burn them ; and therefore they will cot throw
themselves into it: but the truth is, most men live as if they
thought the gospel a mere fable, and the wrath of God, revealed in
his word against their unrighteousness and ungodliness, a mere
scarecrow. If you believe the doctrines of the word, how is it that
you are so unconcerned about the state of your souls before the
Lord? how is it that you are so little concerned about this weighty
point, whether you be born again or not ? Many live as they were
born, and are likely to die as they live, and yet live in peace. Do
such persons believe the sinfulness and misery of a natural state?
Do they believe that they are children of wrath ? Do they believe
that there is no salvation without regeneration, and no regeneration
but what makes a man a new creature ? If you believe the pro-
mises of the word, why do you not embrace them, and seek to enter
into the promised rest ? What sluggard would not dig for a hid
54 CORRUPTIOX OW THE UNDERSTAXDIJ7G.
treasure, if he really believed that he might so obtain it? Men
will work and toil for a maintenance, because they believe that by
so doing they shall get it; yet they will be at no tolerable pains
for the eternal weight of glory ! why, but because they do not be-
lieve the word of promise ? Heb. iv. 1,2. If you believe the threa-
tenings, how is it that you live in your sins ; live out of Christ, and
yet hope for mercy? Do such persons believe God to be the holy
and just One, who will by no means clear the guilty ? No, no ;
none believe ; none, or next to none, believe what a just God the
Lord is, and how severely he punisheth.
5. There is in the mind of man a natural proneness to lies and
falsehood, which favours his lusts : " They go astray as soon as they
be born, speaking lies," Psalm Iviii. 3. We have this, with the
rest of the corruption of our nature, fi'om our first parents. God
revealed the truth to them : but through the solicitation of the
tempter, they first doubted, then disbelieved it, and embraced a lie
instead of it. For an incontestable evidence hereof, we may see the
first article of the devil's creed, " ye shall not surely die," Gen. iii.
4, which was obtruded by him on oixr first parents, and by them
received, naturally embraced by their posterity, and held fast, till
light from heaven obliges them to quit it. It spreads itself through
the lives of natural men : who, till their consciences are awakened,
walk after their own lusts, still retaining the principle, "That they
shall not surely die." And this is often improved to such perfec-
tion, that man says, in the face of the denounced curse, " I shall
have peace, though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add
drunkenness to thirst," Deut. xxix. 19. Whatever advantage the
truths of God have over error, by means of education or otherwise,
error has always, with the natural man, this advantage against
truth, namely, that there is something within him which says, " 0
that it were true !" so that the mind lies fair for assenting to it.
And this is the reason of it : the true doctrine is, " the doctrine that
is according to godliness," 1 Tim. vi. 3, and " the truth which is
after godliness," Titus i. 1. Error is the doctrine which is accord-
ing to ungodliness ; for there is not an error in the mind, nor an
untruth vented in the world, in matters of religion, but has an affi-
nity with one corruption of the heart or another; according to that
saying of the apostle, 2 Thess. ii. 12, "They believed not the
truth," but had pleasure in unrighteousness. So that truth and
error, being otherwise attended with equal advantages for their
reception, error, by this means, has most ready access into the
minds of men in their natural state. "Wherefore, it is not strange
that men reject the simplicity of gospel truths and institutions, and
CORRUPTION^ OF TUK UNDEUSTAxVPIN'O. 55
greedily embrace error and external pomp in religion, seeing they
are so agreeable to the lusts of the heart, and the vanity of the
mind of the natural man. Hence also it is, that so many embrace
atheistical principles ; for none do it but in compliance with their
Irregular passions ; none but those, whose advantage it would be
that there were no God.
6. Man is naturally high-minded ; for when the gospel comes in
power to him, it is employed in " casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,"
2 Cor. X. 5. Lowliness of n^ind is not a flower that grows in the
field of nature ; but is planted by the finger of God in a renewed
heart, and learned of the lowly Jesus. It is natural to man to think
highly of himself, and what is his own : for the stroke which he has
got by his fall in Adam, has produced a false light, whereby mole-
hills about him appear like mountains ; and a thousand airy beauties
present themselves to his deluded fancy. "Vain man would be wise,"
so he accounts himself, and so he would be accounted by others,
" though man be born like a wild ass's colt," Job xi. 12. His way
is right, because it is his own : for " every way of man is right in
his own eyes," Prov. xxi. 2. His state is good, because he knows
none better; he is alive without the law, Horn. vii. 9, and therefore
his hope is strong, and his confidence firm. It is another tower of
Babel, reared up against heaven ; and it will not fall, while the
power of darkness can hold it up. The word batters it, yet it
stands ; one while breaches are made in it, but they are quickly re-
paired ; at another time, it is all made to shake, but still it is
kept up ; till either God himself by his Spirit raises a heart-quake
within the man, which tumbles it down, and leaves not one stone
upon another, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5, or death batters it down, and razes the
foundation of it, Luke xvi. 23. And as the natural man thinks
highly of himself, so he thinks meanly of God, whatever he pre-
tends. Psalm 1. 21, "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an
one as thyself." The doctrine of the gospel, and the mystery of
Christ, are foolishness to him ; and in his practice he treats them as
such, 1 Cor. i. 18, and ii. 14. He brings the word and the works of
God, in the government of the world, before the bar of his carnal
reason ; and there they are presumptuously censured and condem-
ned, Hos. xiv. 9. Sometimes the ordinary restraints of Providence
are taken off, and Satan is permitted to stir up the carnal mind :
and, in that case, it is like an ant's nest, uncovered and disturbed ;
doubts, denials, and hellish reasonings, crowd in it, and cannot
be overcome by all the arguments brought against them, till power
from on high subdue the mind, and still the mutiny of the corrupt
principles.
56 COERUPTIOX OF THE WILL.
Thus much of the corruption of the understanding ; which,
although the half be "not told, may discover to you the absolute ne-
cessity of regenerating'grace. Call the understanding now, " Icha-
bod; for the glory is departed from it," 1 Samuel iv. 21. Consider
this, yon that are in the state of nature, and groan out your case
before the Lord, that the Sun of Righteousness may arise upon you,
lest you be shut up in everlasting darkness. What avails your
wordly wisdom ? What do your attainments in religion avail, while
your understanding lies wrapt up in its natural darkness and confu-
sion, utterly void of the light of life ? Whatever be the natural
man's gifts or attainments, we must, as in the case of the leper.
Lev. xiii. 44, " pronounce him utterly unclean, his plague is in his
head." But that is not all ; it is in his heart too; his will is cor-
rupted, as I shall soon shew.
IL Of the Corruption of the Will.
The Will; that commanding faculty, which at first was faithful
and ruled with God, is now turned traitor, and rules with and for
the devil. God planted it in man, " wholly a right seed ;" but now
it is " turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine." It v»'-as
originally placed in due subordination to the will of God, as was
shewn before ; but now it is wholly gone aside. However some
magnify the power of free-will, a view of the spirituality of the
law, to which acts of moral discipline in no wise answer, and a deep
insight into the corruption of nature, given by the inward operation
of the Spirit, convincing of sin, righteousness, and judgment, would
make men find an absolute need of the power of free grace, to re-
move the bands of wickedness from off their free-will. To open
up this plague of the heart, I offer these following things to be
considered :
1. There is, in the unrenewed will, an utter inability for what is
truly good and acceptable in the sight of God. The natural man's
will is in Satan's fetters, hemmed in within the circle of evil, and
cannot move beyond it, any more than a dead man can raise himself
out of his grave, Eph. ii. 1. We deny him not a power to choose,
pursue, and act what is good, as to the matter ; but though he can
will what is good and right, he can will nothing aright and well,
John XV. 5. Christ says, " Without me," that is, sejjarate from
me, as a branch from the stock, as both the word and context will
bear, " ye can do nothing ;" which means, nothing truly and spiri-
tually good. His very choice and desire of spiritual things, is
carnal and selfish, John vi. 26. " Te seek me — because ye did eat of
COKRUPTIOX OF THE WILL. 57
the loaves aud were filled." He not only does not come to Christ,
but " he cannot come," ver. 44, And what can he do acceptable to
God, who believeth not on him whom the Father hath sent ? To
prove this inability for good in the nnregenerate, consider these two
things :
Proof. 1, How often does the light so shine before men's eyes,
that they cannot but see the good which they should choose, and the
evil which they should refuse : and yet their hearts have no more
power to comply with that light, than as if they were arrested by
some invisible hand ! They see what is right, yet they follow, and
cannot bat follow what is wrong. Their consciences tell them the
right way, and api)rove of it too, yet their will cannot be brought up
to it : their corruption so chains them, that they cannot embrace it;
so that they sigh and go backward, notwithstanding their light. If
it be not thus, how is it that the word and way of holiness meet
with such entertainment in the world ? How is it that clear argu-
ments and reason on the side of piety and a holy life, which seem
to have weight even with the carnal mind, do not bring men over to
that side ? Although the existence of a heaven and a boll were
only probable, it were sufficient to determine the will to the choice
of holiness, were it capable of being determined thereto by mere
reason: but men, "knowing the judgment of God, that they who
commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but
have pleasure in them that do them," Rom. i. 31. And how is it
that those who magnify the power of free-will, do not confirm their
opinion before the world, by an ocular demonstration in a practice
as far above others in holiness, as the opinion of their natural
ability is above that of others ? Or is it maintained only for the
protection of lusts, which men may hold fast as long as they please ;
and when they have no more use for them, throw them off in a
moment, and leap out of Delilah's lap into Abraham's bosom?
Whatever use some make of that principle, it does of itself, and in
its own nature, cast a broad shadow for a shelter to wickedness of
heart and life. It may be observed, that the generality of the
hearers of the gospel, of all denominations, are plagued with it; for
it is a root of bitterness, natural to all men ; from whence spring so
much fearlessness about the soul's eternal state, so many delays and
excuses in that weighty matter, whereby much work is laid up for a
deathbed by some, while others are ruined by a legal walk, and
neglect the life of faith, and the making use of Christ for sanctifica-
tion; all flowing from the persuasion of sufficient natural abilities.
So agreeable is it to corrupt nature.
Proof 2. Let those, who, by the power of the spirit of bondage,
Vol. VIII. i>
58 CORRUPTION OF XUE WILL.
have had the law opened before them in its spiritnality, for their
conviction, speak and tell, if they found themselves able to incline
their hearts toward it, in that case ; nay, whether the more that
light shone into their souls, they did not find their hearts more and
more unable to comply with it. There are some who have been
brought unto " the place of the breaking forth," who are yet in the
devil's camp, who from their experience can tell, that light let into
the mind cannot give life to the will, to enable it to comply there-
with ; and could give their testimony here, if they would. But take
Paul's testimony concerning it, who, in his unconverted state, was
far from believing his utter inability for good ; but learned it by
experience, Rom. vii. 8 — 13. I own, the natural man may have a
kind of love to the letter of the law : but here lies the stress of the
matter, he looks on the holy law in a carnal dress; and so, while he
embraces the creature of his own fancy, he thinks that he has the
law ; but in very deed he is without the law : for as yet he sees it
not in its spirituality; if he did, he would find it the very reverse
of his own nature, and what his will could not fall in with, till
changed by the power of grace.
2. There is in the unrenewed will an aversion to good. Sin is the
natural man's element; he is as unwilling to part with it as fish are
to come out of the water on to dry land. He not only cannot
come to Christ, but he will not come, John v. 40. He is polluted,
and hates to be washed, Jer. xiii. 27, " Wilt thou not be made
clean? when shall it once be?" He is sick, yet utterly averse to
the remedy : he loves his disease so, that he loathes the Physician.
He is a captive, a prisoner, and a slave ; but he loves his con-
queror, his jailor, and master: he is fond of his fetters, prison, and
drudgery, and has no liking to his liberty. For proof of the aver-
sion to good in the will of man, I will instance in some particulars :
Proof 1. The untowardness of children. Do wo not see them
naturally lovers of sinful liberty? How unwilling are they to be
hedged in ! How averse to restraint ! The world can bear witness,
that they are " as bullocks unaccustomed to the yoke :" and more,
that it is far easier to bring young bullocks tamely to bear the
yoke, than to bring young children under discipline, and make
them tamely submit to be restrained in sinful liberty. Every body
may see in this, as in a glass, that man is naturally wild and wilful,
according to Zophar's observation. Job xi. 12, that " man is born
like a wild ass's colt." What can be said more? He is like a
colt, the colt of an ass, the colt of a wild ass. Compare Jer. ii. 24,
" A wild ass used to the wilderness;, that snuifeth up the wind at
her pleasure ; in her occasion who can turn her away ?"
CORRUPTIOX OK THE WILL. 59
Proof 2. What pain and diflBciiUj- do men often find in bringing
their hearts to religious duties ! and what a task is it to the carnal
heart to abide at them ! It is a pain to it, to leave the world but a
little to come before God, It is not easy to bonow time from the
many things, to spend it upon the one thing needful. Men often
go to God in duties, with their faces towards the world ; and when
their bodies are on the mount of ordinances, their hearts will
be found at the foot of the hill " going after tht;ir covetousness,"
Ezek. xxxiii. 31. They are soon wearied of well-doing; for holy
duties are not agreeable to their corrupt nature. Take notice of
them at their worldly business, set thera down with their c'irn:il
company, or let them be et'joying a lust; time seems to thera to fly,
and drive furiously, so that it is gone before they are aware. But
how heavily does it pass, while a prayer, a sermon, or a Sabbath
lasts! The Lord's day is the longest day of all the week, with
matiy; therefore they must sleep longer that morning, and go
sooner to bed that night, than ordinarily they do; that the day may
be made of a tolerable lengtli : for their hearts say within them,
" When will tlie Sabbath be gone ?" Amos viii. 5. The hours of
worship are the longest hours of that day : hence, when duty is
over, they are like men eased of a burden ; and when sermon is
ended, many have neither the grace nor the good manners to stay
till the blessing is pronounced, but, like the beasts, their head is
away, so soon as a man puts his hand to loose them ; and why ? be-
cause, while they are at oi'dinances, they are, as Doeg, " detained
before the Lord," 1 Sam. xxii. 7-
Proofs. Consider how the will of the natural man rebels against
the light, Job sxiv. 13. Light sometimes enters in, because he is
not able to keep it out : but he loves darkness rather than light.
Sometimes, by the force of truth, the outer door of the understand-
ing is broken up ; but the inner door of the will remains fast bolted.
Then lusts rise against light ; con-uption and conscience encounter,
and tight as in the field of battle, till corruption getting the upper
hand, conscience is forced to turn its back ; convictions are mur-
dered, and truth is made and held prisoner, so that it can create no
more disturbance. While the word is preached or read, or the rod
of God is upon the natural man, sometimes convictions are darted
in upon him, and his spirit is wounded in greater or lesser measure :
but these convictions not being able to make him fall, he runs away
with the arrows sticking in his conscience ; and at length, one way
or other, gets them out, and makes himself whole again. Thus,
while the light shines, men, naturally averse to it, wilfully shut
their eyes, till God is provoked to blind them judicially, and they
d2
60 COKHUPTIOX UF THE WILL,
become proof agaiust his word and providences too : so, go where
they will, tliey can sit at ease ; there is never a word from heaven
to them, that goeth deeper than their ears. Hos. iv. 17, " Eph-
raim is joined to idols : let him alone."
Proof 4. Let us observe the resistance made by elect souls, when
the Spirit of the Lord is at work, to bring them from " the power
of Satan unto God." Zion's King gets no subjects but by stroke of
sword, " in the day of his power," Psalm ex. 2, 3, None come to
him, but such as are drawn by a divine hand, John iv. 44. When
the Lord comes to the soul, he finds the strong man keeping the
house, and a deep peace and security there, while the soul is fast
asleep in the devil's arms. But " the prey must be taken from the
mighty, and the captive delivered." Therefore the Lord awakens
the sinner, opens his eyes, and strikes him with terror, while the
clouds are black above his head, and the sword of vengeance is held
to his breast. Now, he is at no small pains to put a fair face on a
biack heart, to shake off his fears, to make head against them, and
to divert himself from thinking on the unpleasant and ungrateful
subject of his soul's case. If he cannot so rid himself from them,
carnal reason is called in to help, and urges, that there is no ground
for such great fear ; all may be well enough yet ; and if it be ill
with him, it will be ill with many. When the sinner is beat from
this, and sees no advantage in going to hell with company, he re-
solves to leave his sins, but cannot think of breaking off so soon ;
there is time enough, and he will do it afterwards. Conscience
says, " To-day if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts :"
but he cries, "To-morrow, Lord; to-morrow. Lord;" and "just
now. Lord ;" till that now is never like to come. Thus many times
he comes from his prayers and confessions, with nothing but a
breast full of sharper convictions ; for the heart does not always
cast up the sweet morsel, as soon as confession is made with the
mouth, Judges x. 10 — 16. And when conscience obliges him to
part with some lusts, others are kept as right eyes and right hands,
and there are rueful looks after those that are put away ; as it was
with the Israelites, who with bitter hearts remembered " the fish
they did eat in Egypt freely," Numb. xi. 5. Nay, when he is so
pressed, that he must needs say before the Lord, that he is content
to part with all his idols; the heart will be giving the tongue the
lie. In a word, the soul, in this case, will shift from one thing to
another; like a fish with the hook in its jaws, till it can do no more,
for power is come to make it yield, as " the wild ass in her month,"
Jor. ii. 24.
3. There is in the will of man a natural " proneness to evil," a
CORRUPTION OF THE WILL. 61
woful bent towards sin. Men naturally are " bent to backsliddiug
from God," Hos. xi. 7- They hang, as the word is, towards back-
sliding; even as a hanging wall, whose breaking coraeth suddenly
at an instant. Set holiness and life upon the one side, sin and death
upon the other; and leave the unrenewed will to itself, it will
choose sin, and reject holiness. This is no more to be doubted, than
that water, poured on the side of a hill will run downward, and not
upward ; or that a flame will ascend, and not descend.
Proof 1. Is not the way of evil the first way which the children
of men go ? Do not their inclinations plainly appear on the wrong
side, while yet they have no cunning to hide them ? In the first open-
ing of our eyes in the world, we look asquint, hell-ward, not hea-
ven-ward. As soon as it appears that we are rational creatures,
it appears that we are sinful creatures. Psalm Iviii. 3, "The
wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as
they be born." Prov. xxii. 15, " Foolishness is bound in the
heart of a child : but the rod of correction shall drive it far from
him." Folly is bound in the heart, it is woven into our very nature.
The knot will not unloose ; it must be broken asunder by strokes.
Words will not do it, the rod must be taken to drive it away ; and
if it be not driven far away, the heart and it will meet and knit
again. Not that the rod of itself will do this : the sad experience
of many parents testifies the contrary ; and Solomon himself tells
you, Prov. xxvii. 22, " Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mor-
tar, among wheat, with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart
from him ;" it is so bound in his heart. But the rod is an ordi-
nance of God, appointed for that end; which, like the word, is
made eff'ectual, by the Spirit's accompanying his own ordinance.
This, by the way, shews that parents, in administering correction to
their children, have need, first of all, to correct their own irregular
passions, and look upon it as a matter of awful solemnity, setting
about it with much dependance on the Lord, and following it with
prayer for the blessing, if they would have it effectual.
Proof. 2. IIow easily are men led aside to sin ! The children who
are not persuaded to good, are otherwise simple ones, easily wrought
upon : those whom the word cannot draw to holiness, are " led by
Satan at his pleasure." Profane Esau, that cunning man, Gen. xxv.
27, was as easily cheated of the blessing as if he had been a fool
or an idiot. The more natural a thing is, the more easy it is : so
Christ's yoke is easy to the saints, in so far as they are partakers
of the divine nature : and sin is easy to the unrenewed man ; but to
learn to do good, is as difiicult as for the Ethiopian to change his
skin ; because the will naturally hangs towards evil, and is averse
62 COKEUPTION OF THE WILL.
to good. A child can cause a round thing to run, when he cannot
move a square thing of the same weight ; for the roundness makes
it fit for motion, so that it goes with a touch. Even so, men find
the heart easily carried towards sin, while it is as a dead weight in
the way of holiness ; we must seek for the reason of this from the
natural set and disposition of the heart, whereby it is prone and
heut to evil. "Were man's will, naturally, but in equal balance to
good and evil, the one might be embraced with as little difliculty as
the other ; but experience testifies it is not so. In the sacred his-
tory of the Israelites, especially in the Book of Judges, how often
do we find them forsaking Jehovah, the mighty God, and doting
upon the idols of the nations about them ! But did ever any one of
these nations grow fond of Israel's God, and forsake their own
idols ? No, no ; though man is naturally given to changes, it is but
from evil to evil, not from evil to good, Jer. ii. 10, 11, " Hath a
nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods ? But my people
have changed their glory, for that which doth not profit." Surely
the will of man stands not in equal balance, but has a cast to the
wrong side.
Proof 3. Consider how men go on still in the way of sin, till
they are stopped, and that by another hand than their own ; Isa.
Ivii. 17, " I hid me, and he went on forwardly in the way of his
heart." If God withdraw his restraining hand, and lay the reins
on the sinner's neck, he is under no doubt what way to choose ; for,
observe it, the way of sin is the way of his heart ; his heart natu-
rally lies that way; it hath a natural propensity to sin. As long
as God suflfers them, they walk in their own way, Acts xiv. 16.
The natural man is so fixed in his woful choice, that there needs
no more to shew he is ofl: from God's way, than to say he is upon
his own.
Proof. 4. Whatsoever good impressions are made on him, they do
not last. Though his heart be firm as a stone, yea, harder than the
nether-millstone, in point of receiving of them ; it is otherwise un-
stable as water, and cannot keep them. It works against the re-
ceiving of them ; and, when they are made, it works them oflT, and
returns to its natural bias; Hos. vi. 4, " Your goodness is as
a morning cloud, and as the early dew ifc goeth away." The morn-
ing cloud promises a heavy shower, but, when the sun arises,
it vanisheth : the suu beats upon the early dew, and it evaporates ;
so the husbandman's expectation is disappointed. Such is the good-
ness of the natural man. Some sharp affliction, or piercing convic-
tion, obliges him, in some sort, to turn from his evil course : but
his will not being renewed, religion is still against the grain with
COllKUl'TION or THE WILL. 63
hira, and therefore this goes off again, Psalm Ixxviii. 34 — 37.
Though a stone thrown up into the air, may abide there a little
while, yet its natural heaviness will bring it down again : so do un-
renewed men return to their wallowing in the mire ; because,
though they washed themselves, yet their swinish nature was not
changed. It is hard to cause wet wood to take fire, hard to
make it keep alight ; but it is harder than either of these to
make the unrenewed will retain attained goodness ; which is a
plain evidence of the natural bent of the will to evil.
Proof 5. Do the saints serve the Lord now, as they were wont to
serve sin, in their unconverted state ? Very far from it, Rom. vi.
20, " When ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righte-
ousness." Sin got all, and admitted no partner ; but now, when
they are the servants of Christ, are they free from sin ? Nay,
there are still with them some deeds of the old man, shewing that
he is but dying in them ; and hence their hearts often raigive them,
and slip aside unto evil, " when they would do good," Rom. vii. 21.
They need to watch, and keep their hearts with all diligence ; and
their sad experience teaches them, " That he that trusteth in his
own heart is a fool," Prov. xxviii. 26. If it be thus in the green
tree, how must it be in the dry ?
4. There is a natural contrariety, direct opposition, and enmity,
in the will of man, to God himself, and his holy will, Rom. viii. 7,
" The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be." The will was once God's
deputy in the soul, set to command there for him ; but now it is set
up against him. If you would have the picture of it in its natural
state, the very reverse of the will of God represents it. If the fruit
hanging before one's eye be but forbidden, that is sufficient to draw
the heart after it. Let me instance in the sin of profane swearing
and cursing, to which some are so abandoned, that they take a
pride in it, belching out horrid oaths and curses, as if hell opened
with the opening of their mouths ; or larding their speeches with
minced oaths ; and all this without any manner of provocation,
though even that would not excuse them. Pray, tell me — 1. What
profit is there here? A thief gets something for his pains; a drunk-
ard gets a belly-full; but what do you get ? Others serve the devil
for pay ; but you are volunteers, who expect no reward but your
work itself, in aftronting Heaven ; and if you repent not, you will
get your reward in full measure ; when you go to hell, your work
will follow you. The drunkard shall not have a drop of water to
cool his tongue there; nor will the covetous man's wealth follow
hira into the other world ! you may drive on your old trade there ;
64 coRiiupTiojsr or the will.
eternity will be long enough to give you your heart's fill of it. 2.
What pleasure is there here, but what flows from your trampling on
the holy law ? Which of your senses doth swearing and cursing
gratify ? If it gratify your ears, it can only be by the noise it
makes against the heavens. Though you had a mind to give up
yourselves to all manner cf profanity and sensuality, there is so
little pleasure can be strained out of these sins, that we must needs
conclude, your love to them, in this case, is a love to them for them-
selves, a devilish unhired love, without any prospect of profit or
pleasure from them otherwise. If any shall say, these are monsters
of men : be it so ; yet, alas ! the world is full of such monsters ;
they are to be found almost every where. Allow me to say, they
must be admitted as the mouth of the whole uuregeuerate world
against heaven, Honi. iii. 14, " Whose mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness." Ver. 19, "Now we know, that what things soever the
law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth
may be stojjped, and all the world may become guilty before God."
I have a charge against every unregenerate man and woman,
young and old, to be proved by the testimony of Scripture, and their
own consciences; namely that whether they bo professors or profane
seeing they are not born again, they are heart enemies to God ;
to the Son of God ; to the Spirit of God ; and to the law of God.
Hear this, ye careless souls, that live at ease in your natural state.
(1.) Ye are enemies to God in your mind. Col. i. 21. Te are not
as yet reconciled to hira ; the natural enmity is not as yet slain,
though perhaps it lies hid, and ye do not perceive it. 1. You are
enemies to the very being of God, Fsalm xiv. 1, "The fool hath said
in his heart, there is no God." The proud man wishes that none
were above himself; the rebel, that there were no king; and the un-
renewed man, who is a mass of pride and rebellion, that there were
no God. He saith it in his heart, he wisheth it were so, though he
is ashamed and afraid to speak it out. That all natural men are
such fools, appears from the apostle's quoting a part of this psalm,
" That every mouth may be stopped," Rom. iii. 10 — 19. I own, in-
deed, that while the natural man looks on God as the Creator and
Preserver of the world, because he loves his own self, therefore his
heart rises not against the being of his Benefactor : but his enmity
will quickly appear when he looks on God as the Governor and
Judge of the world, binding him, under the pain of the curse, to
exact holiness, and girding him with the cords of death, because of
his sin. Listen in this case to the voice of the heart, and thou wilt
find it to be, " No God." 2. Ye are enemies to the nature of God,
Job xxi, 14, " They say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not
CORElrrTIOX OF THE WILL. 65
the knowledge of thy ways." Men set up to themselves an idol of
their own fancy, instead of God, and then fall down and worship it.
Ttiey love him no other way than Jacob loved Leah, while he took
her for Rachel. Every natural man is an enemy to God, as he is
revealed in his word. The infinitely holy, just, powerful, and true
being, is not the God whom he loves, but the God whom he loathes.
In fact, men naturally are haters of God, Rom. i. 30 ; if they could,
they certainly would make him otherwise than what he is. For,
consider it is a certain truth, that whatsoever is in God, is God ;
therefore his attributes or perfections are not any thing really dis-
tinct from himself. If God's attributes be not God himself, he is
a compound being, and so not the first being, to say which is blas-
phemous ; for the parts compounding, are before the compound it-
self; but he is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.
Now, upon this I would, for your conviction, propose to your con-
science a few queries. 1. How stand your hearts affected towards
the infinite purity and holiness of God ? Conscience will give an
answer to this, which the tongue will not speak out. If you be
not partakers of his holiness you cannot be reconciled to it. The
Pagans finding that they could not be like God in holiness, made
their god's like themselves in filthiuess; and thereby they shew what
sort of a God the natural man would have. God is holy ; can an
unholy creature love his unspotted holiness ? Nay, it is the righte-
ous only that can "give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness,"
Psalm xcvii. 12. God is light ; can creatures of darkness rejoice
therein ? Nay, " every one that doth evil hateth the light," John
iii. 20. " For what communion hath light with darkness ?" 2 Cor.
vi. 14. 2. How stand your hearts affected to the justice of God ?
There is not a man, who is wedded to his lusts, as all the unregene-
rate are, but would be content, with the blood of his body, to blot
that letter out of the name of God. Can the malefactor love his
condemning judge ? or an unjustified sinner, a just God ? No, ho
cannot, Luke vii. 47, " To vihom little is forgiven, the same loveth
little." Hence, as men cannot get the doctrine of his justice blotted
out of the Bible, it is such an eye-sore to them, that they strive to
blot it out of their minds : they ruin themselves by presuming on
his mercy, while they are not careful to get a righteousness, wherein
they may stand before his justice; but "say in their heart. The
Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil," Zeph. i. 12. 3.
How stand you affected to the omniscience and omnipresence of
God ? Men naturally would rather have a blind idol, than the all-
seeing God ; therefore they do what they can, as Adam did, to hide
themselves from the presence of the Lord. They no more love the
C6 COnRUPTION OF THE WILL.
all-seeing, every-wliere present God, tlian the thief loves to have the
judge witness to his evil deeds. If it could he parried by votes,
God wonld be voted out of the world, and closed up in heaven ; for
the language of the carnal heart is, " The Lord seeth us not ; the
Lord hath forsaken the earth," Ezek. viii. 12. 4. How stand ye
affected to the truth and veracity of God ? There are but few in
the world who can heartily subscribe to this sentence of the apostle,
Rom. iii. 4, " Let God be true, but every man a liar." Nay, truly,
there are many who, in effect, hope that God will not be true to his
word. There are thousands who hear the gospel, that hope to be
saved, and think all safe with them for eternity, who never had any
experience of the new birth, nor do at all concern themselves in the
question, Whether they are born again, or not ? a question that is
likely to wear out from among us at this day. Our Lord's words
are plain and peremptory, " Except a man be born again, he cannot
see the kingdom of God." What are such hopes, then, but real
hopes that God — with profound est reverence be it spoken — will
recall his word, and that Christ will prove a false prophet ? What
else means the sinner, who, " when he heareth the words of the
curse, blesseth himself in his heart, saying, T shall have peacp,
though I walk in the imagination of mine henrt ?" Dent. xxix. 19.
5. How stand you affected to the power of God ? None but new
creatures will love him for it, on a fair view thereof; though others
may slavishly fear him upon account of it. There is not a natural
man, but would contribute, to the utmost of his power, to the build-
ing of another tower of Babel, to hem it in. On these grounds I
declare every unrenewed man an enemy to God.
(2.) You are enemies to the Son of God. That enmity to Christ
is in your hearts, which would have made you join the husbandmen
who killed the heir, and cast him out of the vineyard, if ye had
been beset with their temptations, and no more restrained than they
were. " Am I a dog ?" yon will say, that I should so treat my
sweet Saviour ? So did Hazael ask in another case ; but when he
had the temptation, he was a dog to do it. Many call Christ their
dear Saviour, whose consciences can bear witness, that they never
derived as much sweetness from him as from their sweet Insts, which
are ten times dearer to them than their Saviour. He is no other
way dear to them, than as they abuse his death and sufferings, for
the peaceable enjoyment of their lusts ; that they may live as they
please in the world; and when they die, be kept out of hell. Alas!
it is but a mistaken Christ that is sweet to you, whose souls loathe
that Christ who is the " brightness of the Father's glory, and the
express image of his person." It is with you as it was with the
COKRUrTlON OF THE WILL. 67
carnal Jews, who delighted in him, while they mistook his errand
into the world, fancying that he would be a temporal deliverer to
them, Mai. iii. 1. But when he " sat as a refiner and purifier of
silver," vers. 2, 3, and rejected them as reprobate silver, who
thought to have had no small honour in the kingdom of the Messiah,
his doctrine galled their consciences, and they had no rest till they
imbrued their hands in his blood. To open your eyes in this point,
which you are so averse to believe, I will lay before you the enmity
of your hearts against Christ in all his offices.
First, Every uiiregenerate man is an enemy to Christ in his pro-
phetical office. He is appointed of the Father the great Prophet
and Teacher ; but not upon the call of the world, who, in their na-
tural state, would have unanimously voted against him : therefore,
when he came, he was condemned as a seducer and blasphemer.
For evidence of this enmity, I will instance two things.
Proof 1. Consider the entertainment which he meets with when he
comes to teach souls inwardly by his Spirit. Men do what they can
to stop their ears, like the deaf adder, that they may not hear his
voice. They "always resist the Holy Ghost :" "They desire not the
knowledge of his ways;" and therefore bid him "depart from them."
The old calumny is often raised upon him on that occasion, John x. 20,
"He is mad, why hear ye him?" Soul-exercise, raised by the spirit of
bondage, is accounted, by many, nothing else but distraction, and
melancholy fits ; men thus blaspheming the Lord's work, because
they themselves are beside themselves, and cannot judge of those
matters.
Proof 2. Consider the entertainment which he meets with when
he comes to teach men outwardly by his word.
His written word, the Bible, is slighted, Christ hath left it to
us, as the book of our instruction, to shew us what way we must
steer our course, if we would go to Immauuel's land. It is a lamp
to light us through a dark world, to eternal light. And he hath
enjoined us, to search it with that diligence wherewith men dig into
mines for silver and gold, John v. 39. But, ah ! how is this sa-
cred treasure profaned by many ! They ridicule that holy word, by
which they must be judged at the last day ; and will rather lose
their souls than their jest, dressing up the conceits of their wanton
wits in sciipture phrases ; in which they act as mad a part, as one
would dig into a mine, to procure metal to melt, and pour down his
own and his neighbour's throat. — Many exhaust their spirits in read-
ing romances, and their minds pursue them, as the flame doth the
dry stubble; while they have no heart for, nor relish to, the holy
word ; and therefore seldom take a Bible in their hands. What is
68 conRunioK of the will.
agreeable to the vanity of tlieir minds, is pleasant and taking ; but
what recommends holiness to their unholy hearts, makes their spi-
rits dull and flat. What pleaaure they find in reading a profane
ballad, or stcry-book, to whom the Bible is entirely tasteless ! Many
lay by their Bibles with their sabbath-day's clothes ; and whatever
use they have for their clothes, they have none for their Bibles, till
the return of the Sfibbath. Alas ! the dust or the finery about your
Bibles is a witness now, and will, at the last day, be a witness of
the enmity of your hearts against Christ as a Prophet. Besides all
this, among those who usually read the scripture, how few are there
that read it as the word of the Lord to their souls, and keep up
communion with him in it ! They do not make his statues, their ^
counsellors, nor does their particular case send them to their Bibles.
They are strangers to the solid comforts of the scriptures. And
when they are dejected, it is something else than the word that re-
vives them : as Ahab was cured of his sullen fit, by the obtaining
of Naboth's vineyard for him.
Chrict's word preached is despised. The entertainment which
most of the world, to whom it has come, have always given it, is
that which is mentioned, Matt. xxii. 6, " They made light of it ;"
and for his sake, they are despised whom he employs to preach it ;
whatever other face men put upon their contempt of the ministry.
John XV. 20, 21, " The servant is not greater than the Lord : if they
have persecuted me, they will also persecute you : if they have kept
my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will
they do unto you for my name's sake." That Levi was the son of
the hated, seems not to have been without a mystery, which the world
in all ages hath unriddled. But though the earthen vessels, wherein
God has put the treasure, be turned, with many, into vessels wherein
there is no pleasure, yet why is the treasure itself slighted? But
slighted it is, and that with a witness, this day. "Lord, who hath
believed our report ? To whom shall we speak ?" Men can, with-
out remorse, make to themselves silent Sabbaths, one after another.
And, alas ! when they come to ordinances for the most part, it is
but to appear, or as the word is, to be seen before the Lord ; and to
tread his courts, namely, as a company of beasts would do, if they
were driven into them, Isa. i. 12, so little reverence and awe of God
appgar on their spirits. Many stand like brazen walls before the
word, in whose corrupt conversation the preaching of the word makes
no breach. Nay, not a few are growing worse and worse, under
" precept upon precept ;" and the result of all is, " They go and
fall backward, and are broken, and snared, and taken," Isa. xxviii.
13. What tears of blood are sufficient to lament that the gospel of
COUBUPTION' OF THE WILL. 69
" the grace of God," is thus " received in vain !" Ministers are but
the voice of one crying ; the speaker is in heavan ; and speaks to
you from heaven by men : why do you " refuse him that speaketh ?"
Heb. xii. 25, God has made our master Christ, heir of all things,
and we are sent to seek for a spouse for him. There is none so
worthy as he ; none more unworthy than they to whom this match
is proposed ; but the prince of darkness is preferred before the
Prince of Peace. A dismal darkness overclouded the world by
Adam's fall, more terrible than as if the sun, moon, and stars had
been for ever wrapt up in blackness of darkness; and there we
should have eternally lain, had not this grace of the gospel, as a
shining sun, appeared to dispel it. Tit. ii. 11. But yet we fly like
night-owls from it; and, like the wild beasts, lay ourselves down
in our dens: when the sun ariseth, we are struck blind with the
light thereof; and, as creatures of darkness, love darkness rather
than light. Such is the enmity of the hearts of men against Christ,
in his prophetical office.
Secondly, The natural man is an enemy to Christ in his priestly
office. He is ajipointcd of the Father a priest for ever ; that, by
his alone sacrifice and intercession, sinners may have peace with,
and access to God , but Christ crucified is a stumbling-block, and
foolishness to the unrenewed part of mankind, to whom he is
preached, 1 Cor. i. 23. They are not for him as the " new and liv-
ing way ;" nor is he, by the voice of the world, " an Uigh-priest over
the house of God." Corrupt nature goes quite another way to work.
Proof 1. None of Adam's children are naturally inclined to re-
ceive the blessing in borrowed robes; but would always, according
to the spider's motto, "owe all to themselves:" and so climb up to
heaven on a thread spun for themselves. For they " desire to be
under the law," Gal. iv. 21, and "go about to establish their own
righteousness," Rom. x. 3. Man naturally looks on God as a great
master; and himself as his servant, that must work and win hea-
ven as his wages. Hence, when conscience is awakened, he thinks
that, to the end he may be saved, he must answer the demands of
the law, serve God as well as he can, and pray for mercy wherein
he comes short. And thus many come to duties, that never come
out of them to Jesus Christ.
Proof 2. As men naturally think highly of their duties, that seem
to them to be well done, so they look for acceptance with God,
according as their work is done, not according to the share they
Iiave in the blood of Christ. " Wherefore have we fasted, say they,
and thou seest not?" They value themselves on their performances
and attainments ; yea, their very opinions in religion, Phil. lii. 4 —
70 CORRUPTION OF TUE AVILL.
7, taking to themselves what they rob from Christ the great High-
priest.
Proofs. The natural man, going to Glod in duties, will always be
found either to go without a Mediator, or with more than the one
only Mediator, Jesus Christ. Nature is blind, and therefore ven-
turesome; it sets men agoing immediately to God without Christ ;
to rush into his presence, and put their petitions in his hand, with-
out being introduced by the Secretary of heaven, or putting their
requests into his hand. So iixed is this disposition in the unre-
newed heart, that when many hearers of the gospel are conversed
with upon the point of their hopes of salvation, the name of Christ
will scarcely be heard from their mouths. Ask them how they
think to obtain the pardon of sin ? they will tell you they beg and
look for mercy, because God is a merciful God ; and that is all they
have to confide in. Others look for nipvcy for Christ's sake : but
how do they kr.ow that Christ will take their plea in hand? Why,
as the papists have their mediators with the Mediator, so have they.
They know he cannot but do it; for they pray, confess, mourn, and
have great desires, and the like; and so have something of their
own to commend them unto him : they were never made poor in spi-
rit, and brought empty-handed to Christ, to lay the stress of all on
his atoning blood.
Thirdly, The natural man is an enemy to Christ in his kingly
office. The Father hath appointed the Mediator, " King in Zion,"
Psalm ii. 6. All to whom the gospel c^mes are commanded, on
their highest peril, " to kiss the Son," and submit theraselves unto
him, verse 12. But the natural voice of mankind is, "Away with
him ;" as you may see, verse 2, 3, " They will not have him to
reign over them," Luke xix. 14.
Proof 1. The workings of corrupt nature would wrest the govern-
ment out of his hands. No sooner was he born, but, being born a
King, Herod persecuted him, Matt. ii. And when he was crucified,
they " set up over his head his accusation written, This is Jesus,
the King of the Jews," Matt, sxvii. 37- Though his kingdom be a
spiritual kingdom, and not of this world, yet they cannot allow him
a kingdom within a kingdom, which acknowledgeth no other head
or supreme but the Royal Mediator. They make bold with his
royal prerogatives, changing his laws, institutions, and ordinances ;
modelling his worship according to the devices of their own hearts,
introducing new offices and officers into his kingdom, not to be
found in "the book of the manner of his kingdom;" disposing of
the external government thereof, as may best suit their carnal
designs. Such is the enmity of the hearts of men against Zion's
King.
COJiUUl'TION OK THE WILL. 71
Proof 2. How unwilling are men, naturally, to submit unto, and
be hedged in by, the laws and discipline of his kingdom ! As a
king, he is a lawgiver, Isaiah xxxiii. 22, and has appointed an ex-
ternal government, discipline, and censures, to control the unruly,
and to keep his professed subjects in order, to be exercised by offi-
cers of his own appointment. Matt, xviii. 17, 18 ; 1 Cor. xii. 28 ;
1 Tim. V. 17 ; Heb. xiii. 17- But these are the great eye-sores of
the carnal world, who love sinful liberty, and therefore cry out,
" Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from
us," Psalm ii. 3. Hence this work is found to be, in a special man-
ner, a striving against the stream of corrupt nature, which, for the
most part, puts such a face on the church, as if there were no king
in Israel, every one doing that which is right in his own eyes.
Proof 3. However natural men may be brought to feign submis-
sion to the King of saints, yet lusts always retain the throne and
dominion in their hearts, and they are serving divers lusts and
pleasures, Titus iii. 3. None, but those in whom Christ is formed,
do really put the crown on his head, and receive the kingdom of
Christ within them. His crown is " the crown wherewith his
mother crowned him on the day of his espousals." Who are they,
■whom the power of grace has not subdued, that will not allow him
to set up, and to put down, in their souls, as he will ? Nay, as for
others, any lord shall sooner get the rule over them, than the Lord
of glory: they kindly entertain his enemies, but will never abso-
lutely resign themselves to his government, till conquered in a day
of power. Thus you may see, that the natural man is an enemy
to Jesus Christ in all his offices.
But 0 how hard it is to convince men in this point ! They are
very loath to believe. And, in a special manner, the enmity of the
heart against Christ in his priestly office seems to be hid from the
view of most of the hearers of the gospel. There appears to be a
peculiar malignity in corrupt nature against this office of his. It may
be observed, that the Socinians, those enemies of our blessed Lord,
allow him to be properly a Prophet and a King, but deny him to
be properly a Priest. And. this is agreeable euough to the corrup-
tion of our nature : for, under the covenant of works, the Lord was
known as a Prophet or Teacher, and also as a King or Ruler ; but
not at all as a Priest: so man knows nothing of the mystery of
Christ, as the way to the Father, till it is revealed to him : and
when it is revealed, the will riseth up against it ; for corrupt na-
ture is opposed to the mystery of Christ, and the great contrivance
of salvation, through the crucified Saviour, revealed in the gospel.
For clearing of which weighty truth, let these four things be con-
sidered : —
72 CORRUPTION OF THE WILL.
[1.] The soul's falling in with the grand scheme of salvation by
Jesus Christ, and setting the matters of salvation on that footing
before the Lord, is declared by the Scriptures of truth to be an un-
doubted mark of a real saint, who is happy here, and shall be happy
hereafter, Matt. xi. 6, " Blessed is he whosoever shall not be of-
fended in me." 1 Cor. i. 23, 24, " But we preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ;
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God." Phil. iii. 3, " For we are
the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Now, how could
this be, if nature could comply with that grand device ?
[2.1 Corrupt nature is the very reverse of the gospel plan. In
the gospel, God proposes Jesus Christ as the great means of re-unit-
ing man to himself; he has named him as the Mediator, one in
whom he is well pleased, and will have none but him. Matt. xvii. 5 ;
but nature will have none of him. Psalm Ixxi. 11. God appointed
the place of meeting for the reconciliation, namely, the flesh of
Christ ; accordingly, God was in Christ, 2 Cor. v. 19, as the taber-
nacle of meeting, to make up the peace with sinners: but natural
men, although they should die for ever, will not come to Christ, John
V. 50, " Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." In the way
of the gospel, the sinner must stand before the Lord in an imputed
righteousness : but corrupt nature is for an inherent righteousness ;
and, therefore, so far as natural men follow after righteousness they
follow after "the law of righteousness,*' Rom. ix. 31, 32; and not
after " the Lord our righteousness." Nature is always for building
up itself, and to have some ground for boasting ; but the great de-
sign of the gospel is to exalt grace, to depress nature, and exclude
boasting, Rom. iii. 27. The sum of our natural religion is, to do
good from and for ourselves, John v. 44 ; the sum of the gospel re-
ligion is, to deny ourselves, and to do good from and for Christ,
Phil. i. 21.
[3.] Every thing in nature is against believing in Jesus Christ.
What beauty can the blind man discerij in a crucified Saviour, for
which he is to be desired? How cau the will, naturally impotent,
yea, and averse to good, make choice of him ? Well may the soul
then say to him in the day of the spiritual siege, as the Jebusite
said to David in another case, " Except thou take away the blind
and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither," 2 Sam. v. 6. The
way of nature is to go iuto oneself for all ; according to the funda-
mental maxim of unsanctified morality, " That a man should trust
in himself;" which, according to the doctrine'of faith, is mere fool-
CORRUPTION OF THE WILL. 73
isliness : for so it is determined, Prov. xxviii. 26, " He that trusteth
in his own heart is a fool." Now faith is the soul's going out of
itself for all : and this nature, on the other hand, determines to be
foolishness, 1 Cor. i. 18 — 23. Wherefore there is need of the work-
ing of mighty power to cause sinners to believe, Eph. i. 19 ; Isa.
liii. 1. We see the promises of welcome to sinners, in the gospel-
covenant, are ample, large, and free, clogged with no conditions,
Isa. Iv. 1 ; Rev. xxii. 17- — If they cannot believe his bare word, he
has given his oath upon it, Ezek. xxxiii. 11 ; and, for their greater
assui'ance, he has annexed seals to his sworn covenant, namely, the
holy sacraments : so that no more could be demanded of the most
faithless person in the world, to make us believe him, than the
Lord hath condescended to give us, to make us believe himself.
This plainly speaks nature to be against believing ; and those who
flee to Christ for a refuge, to have need of strong consolation, Heb.
vi. 18, to balance their strong doubts, and propensity to unbelief.
Farther, also, it may be observed, how in the word sent to a secure,
graceless generation, their objections are answered beforehand ; and
words of grace are heaped one upon another, as you may read, Isa.
Iv. 7 — 9 ; Joel ii. 13. Why ? Because the Lord knows, that when
these secure sinners are thoroughly awakened, doubts, fears, and
carnal reasonings against believing, will be getting into their breasts,
as thick as dust in a house, raised by sweeping a dry floor.
[4.] Corrupt nature is bent towards the way of the law, or co-
venant of works ; and every natural man, so far as he sets himself
to seek after salvation, is engaged in that way ; and will not quit
it, till beat from it by divine power. Now the way of salvation by
works, and that of free grace in Jesus Christ, are inconsistent.
Rom. xi. 6, " And if by grace, then is it no more of works ; other-
wise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
more grace ; otherwise work is no more work." Gal. iii. 12, "And
the law is not of faith ; but the man that doth them shall live in
them." Wherefore, if the will of man naturally incline to the way
of salvation by the law, it lies cross to the gospel plan. And that
such is the natural bent of j)ur hearts, will appear, if these follow-
ing things be considered :
First, The law was Adam's covenant ; and he knew no other, as
he was the head and representative of all mankind, that were
brought into it with him, and left under it by him, though without
strength to perform the condition thereof, llence, this covenant is
interwoven with our nature ; and though we have lost our father's
strength, yet we still incline to the way he was set upon, as our
head and representative in that covenant ; that is, by doing, to live.
Vol. YIII, e
74 CORRUPTION OF THE WILL.
This is our natural religion, and tlie principle which men naturally
take for granted, Matth. xix. 16, "What good thing shall I do, that
I may have eternal life ?"
Secondly, Consider the opposition that has always been made in
the world, against the doctrine of free grace in Jesus Christ, by men
setting up for the way of works; thereby discovering the natural
tendency of the heart. It is manifest, that the great design of the
gospel plan is to exalt the free grace of God in Jesus Chiist, Rom.
iv, 16, " Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace," — See
Eph, i. 6, and chap. ii. 7 — 9. All gospel truths centre in Christ:
so that to learn the truth, is to learn Cljrist, Eph. iv. 20, and to be
truly taught it, is to be taught as "the truth is in Jesus," verse 21.
All dispensations of grace and favour from heaven, whether to na-
tions or particular pei'sons, have still had something about thera
proclaiming the freedom of grace ; as in the very first separation
made by the divine favour, Cain, the elder brother is rejected, and
Abel, the younger, accepted. This shines through the whole history
of the Bible : but, as true it is, this has been the point principally
opposed by corrupt nature. One may well say, that, of all errors
in religion, since Christ the seed of the woman was preached, this of
works, in opposition to h^e grace in him, was the first that lived,
and, it is likely, will be the last that dies. There have been vast
numbers of errors, which have si)rung up, one after another; where-
of, at length, the world became ashamed and weary, so that they
died away: but this has continued, from Cain, the first author of
this heresy, unto this day ; and never wanted some that clave to it,
even in the times of greatest light. I do not, without ground, call
Caiu the author of it ; who, when Abel brought a sacrifice of atone-
ment, a bloody offering of the firstlings of his flock, like the publi-
can smiting on his breast, and saying, "God be merciful to me a sin-
ner," advanced with his thank-ofl'ering of the fiuit of the ground,
Gen. iv. 3, 4, like the proud Pharisee with his " God, I thank thee,"
&c. For Avhat was the cause of Cain's wrath, and of his murdering
Abel .^ was it not that he was not accepted of God for his work ?
Gen.iv. 4, 5. "And wherefore slew he Jiim? Because his own works
were evil and his brother's righteous," 1 John iii. 12; that is, done
in faith, and accepted, when his were done without faith, and rejec-
ted, as the apostle teacheth, Heb. xi. 4. So he wrote his indigna-
tion against justification and acceptance Avith God thiough faith, in
opposition to works, in the blood of his brother, to convey it down
to posterity. And, since that time, the unbloody sacrifice has often
swimmed in the blood of those that rejected it. — The promise made
to Abraham, of the seed in which all nations should be blessed, was
CORRUPTION OF THE WILL. <0
SO overclouded among his posterity in Egypt, that the generality of
them saw no need of that way of obtaining the blessing, till God
himself confuted their error by a fiery law fiom Mount Sinai, which
" was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come,"
Gal. iii. 19. I need not insist on telling you, how Moses and the
prophets had still much to do, to lead the people oif IVora the con-
ceit of their own righteousness. The ninth chapter of Deuteronomy
is entirely spent on that purpose. They were very gi-oss in that
point in our Saviour's time, in the time of the apostles, when the
doctrine of free grace was most clearly preached, that error lifted
up its head in the face of the clearest light ; witness the epistles to
the Eomans and Galatians. And since that time it has not been
wanting ; Popery being the common sink of former heresies, and
the heart and life of that delusion. And, finally, it may be ob-
served, that always as the church declined flora her purity other-
wise, the doctrine of free grace was obscured proportionably.
Thirdly, Such is the natural propensity of man's heart to the way
of the law, in opposition to Christ, that, as the tainted vessel turns
the taste of the purest liquor put into it, so the natural man turns
the very gospel into law, and transforms the covenant of grace into
a covenant of works. The ceremonial law was to the Jews a real
gospel ; which held blood, death, and translation of guilt, before
their eyes continually, as the only way of salvation ; yet their very
table, that is, their altar, with the several ordinances pertaining there-
to, Mai. i. 12, was a snare unto them, Rom. xi. 9, while they used it to
make up the defects in their obedience to the moral law ; and clave
to it so, as to reject him, whom the altar and sacrifices pointed them
to, as the subject of all ; even as Hagar, whose duty was only to serve
was, by their father, brought into her mistress's bed ; not without
a mystery in the purpose of God, " for these are the two covenants,"
Gal. iv. 24. Thus is the docti'ine of the gospel corrupted by pa-
pists, and other enemies to the doctrine of free grace. And indeed,
however natui'al men's heads may be set right in this point, as
surely as they are out of Christ, their faith, repentance, and obe-
dience, such as they are, are. placed by them in the room of Christ
and his righteousness ; and so trusted to, as if by these they fulfilled
a new law.
Fourthly, Great is the difficulty, in Adam's sons, of their parting
with the law as a covenant of works. None part with it, in that
respect, but those whpm the power of the Spirit of grace separates
from it. The law is our first husband, and gets every one's virgin
love. When Christ comes to the svnl, he finds it married to the
law, so as it neither can nor will be married to another, till it
£ 2
76 CORRUPTION 01' THE WILL.
be obliged to part with the first husband, as the apostle teaches,
Rom. vii. 1 — 4. Now, that you may see what sort of a parting this
is, consider,
First, It is death, Rom. vii. 4; Gal. ii. 19. Entreaties will not
prevail with the soul here; it saith to the first husband, as Ruth to
Naomi, " The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death
part thee"and me." And here sinners are true to their word ; they
die to the law, before they are married to Christ. Death is hard to
every body ; but what difficulty, do you imagine, must a loving
wife, on her deathbed, find in parting with her husband, the hus-
band of her youth, and with the dear children she has brought
forth to him ? The law is that husband ; all the duties performed
by the natural man are these children. "What a struggle, as for
life, will be in the heart before they are parted ? I may have occa-
sion to toucli upon this afterwards ; in the mean time, take the
apostle's short but pithy description of it, Rom. x. 3, " For they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the
righteousness of God." They go about to establish their own
righteousness, like an eager disputant in schools, seeking to esta-
blish the point in question ; or, like a tormentor, extorting a con-
fession from one upon the rack. They go about to establish it, to
make it stand : their righteousness is like a house built on the sand;
it cannot stand, but they would have it to stand : it falls, they set
it up again ; but still it tumbles down on them ; yet they cease not
to go about to make it stand. But wherefore all this pains about
a tottering righteousness ? Because, such as it is, it is their own.
What sets them against Christ's righteousness ? Why, that would
make them free grace's debtors for all ; and that is what the proud
heart can by no means submit to. Here lies the stress of the
matter, Psalm x. 4, " The wicked, through the pride of his counte-
nance, will not seek," to read it without the supplement, in other
terms, it means, " He cannot dig, and to beg he is ashamed." Such
is the struggle before the soul dies to the law. But what speaks
yet more of this woful disposition of the heart, nature oft-times gets
the mastery of the disease : insomuch that the soul, which was like
to have died to the law while convictions were sharp and piercing,
fatally recovers of the happy and promising sickness ; and, what is
natural, cleaves more closely than ever to the law, even as a wife
brought back from the gates of death, would cleave to her husband.
This is the issue of the exercises of many about their souls' case;
they are indeed brought to follow duties more closely ; but they are
as far from Christ as ever, if not farther.
CORRUPTION OF THE WILL. 77
Secondly, It is a violent death, Rom. vii. 4, " Ye are become
dead to the law," being killed, slain, or put to death, as the word
bears. The law itself has a great hand in this ; the husband gives
the wound, Gal. ii. 19, " I through the law am dead to the law."
The soul that dies this death, is like a loving wife matched with a
rigorous husband ; she does what she can to please him, yet he is
never pleased, but harrases and beats her till she breaks her heart,
and death sets her free : this will afterwards more fully appear.
Thus it is made evident, that men's hearts are naturally bent to the
way of the law, and lie cross to the gospel method : and the second
article of the charge against you that are unregenerate is verified,
namely, that you are enemies to the Son of God.
(3.) You are enemies to the spirit of God. He is the Spirit of
holiness : the natural man is unholy, and loves to be so, and there-
fore resists the Holy Ghost, Acts vii. 51. The work of the Spirit is
to convince the world of " sin, and of righteousness, and of judg-
ment," John xvi. 8. But 0, how do men strive to ward off these
convictions, as much as they ward oif a blow, threatening the loss
of a right eye, or a right hand ; If the Spirit of the Lord dart thera
in, so that they cannot avoid them ; the heart says, in effect, as
Ahab to Elijah, whom he both hated and feared, " Hast thou found
me, 0 mine enemy ?" And indeed they treat him as an enemy,
doing their utmost to stifle convictions, and to murder these har-
bingers that come to prepare the Lord's way into the soul. Some
fill their hands with business, to put their convictions out of their
heads, as Cain, who set about building a city ; some put them off
with delays and fair pi'oinises, as Felix did ; some will sport thera
away in company, and some sleep them away. The Holy Spirit is
the Spirit of sanctification ; whose work it is to subdue lusts, and
and burn up corruption : how then can the natural man, whose
lusts are to him as his limbs, yea, as his life, fail of being an enemy
to him ?
(4.) You are enemies to the law of God. Though the natural
man desires to be under the law, as a covenant of works, choosing
that way of salvation, in opposition to the mystery of Christ; yet
as it is a rule of life to him, requiring universal holiness, and for-
bidding all manner of impurity, he is an enemy to it; " is not sub-
ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," Rom. viii. ?• For,
1. There is no unrenewed man, wlio is not wedded to some one lust
or another, which his heart can by no means part with. Now that
he cannot bring up his inclinations to the holy law, he would fain
have the law brought down to his inclinations: a plain evidence of
the enmity of the heart against it. Therefore, " to delight in the
78 COKEUPTION OF THE WILL.
law of God after the inward man," is proposed in the word as a
mark of a gracious soul, Ko.ii. vii. 22; Psalm i. 2. It is from this
natural enmity of the heart against the law, that all the pharisaical
glosses upon it have arisen; whereby the commandment, which is in
itself exceeding broad, has been made very narrow, to the intent
that it might be the moie agreeable to the natural disposition of the
heart. 2. The law, laid home on the natural conscience in its spi-
rituality, initates corruption. The nearer it comes, nature rises
the higher against it. In that case it is as oil to the fire, which
instead of quenching it, makes it flame the more : " When the com-
mandment came, sin revived," says the apostle, Rom. vii. 9. What
reason can be assigned for this, but the natural enmity of the heart
against the holy law? Uumortified corruption, the more it is
opposed, the more it rages. Let us conclude then, that the unrege-
nerate aie heart-enemies to God, his Son, his Spirit, and his law ;
that there is a natural contrariety, opposition, and enmity in the
will of man to God himself, and his holy will.
5. There is in the will of man contumacy against the Lord.
Man's will is naturally wilful in an evil course ; he will have his
will, though it should ruin him: it is with him, as with the levia-
than. Job xli. 29, "Darts are counted as stubble; he laugheth at
the shaking of a spear." The Lord calls to him by his word; says
to him, as Paul to the jailor, when he was about to kill himself,
"Do thyself no harm:" sinner, " why will you die?" Ezek. xviii.
31. But they will not hearken; everyone turneth to his course,
"as the horse lusheth into the battle," Jer. viii. 6. AVe have a
promise of life, in form of a command, Prov. iv. 4, " Keep my com-
mandments, and live:" it speaks impenitent sinners to be self-
destroyers, wilful self-murderers. They transgress the command of
living; as if one's servant should wilfully starve himself to death,
or greedily drink a cup of poison, which his master commands him
to forbear: even so do they ; they will not live, they will die, Prov.
viii. 36, " All they that hate me, love death." — 0 what a heart is
this! It is a stony heart, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, hard and inflexible as a
stone : mercies melt it not, judgments break it not ; yet it will
break ere it bend. It is an insensible heart : though there be upon
the sinner a weight of sin, which makes the earth to stagger;
although there is a weight of that wrath on him, which makes the
devils to tremble; yet he goes lightly under the burden; he feels
not the weight any more than a stone would, till the Spirit of the
Lord quickens him so far as to feel it.
6. The unrenewed will is wholly perverse, in reference to man's
chief and highest end. The natural man's chief end is not God, but
CORRUPTION OF THE WILL. 79
liimseir. The being of man is merely relative, dependent, bor-
rowed: he has neither being nor goodness originally from himself;
but all he has is from his God, as the first cause and spring of all
perfection, natural or moral: dependence is woven into his very
nature: so that if God were totally to withdraw fiom him, he would
dwindle into a mere nothing. Seeing then whatever man is, he is
of him, surely in whatever lie is, he should be to him, as the waters
which came from the sea, do of couise return thit'ier again. Thus
man was created, directly looking to God, as his chief end : but,
falling into sin, he fell off from God, and turned into himself; and,
like a traitor usurping the throne, he gathers in the rents of the
crown to himself. Tiiis infers a total apostasy and universal cor-
ruption in man ; for where the chief and last end is changed, there
can be no goodness thei'e. This is the case of all men in their
natural state, Psalm xiv. 2, 3, "The Lord looked down — to see if
there were any that did — seek God. They are all gone aside" from
God; they seek not God, but themselves. Though many fair
shreds of morality are to be found amongst them, yet " there is
none that doth good, no, not one ;" for though some of them in
appearance run well, yet they are still off the way; they never aim
at the right mark. They are "lovers of their own selves," 2 Tim.
iii. 2, "more than God," ver. 4. Wherefore Jesus Christ, having
come into the world to bring men back to God again, came to biing
them out of tiiemselves in the first place, Matt. xvi. 24. The godly
groan under this woful disposition of the heart: they acknowledge
it, and set themselves against it, in its subtile and dangerous
insinuations. The uuregenerate, though most insensible of it, are
under the power thereof; and whithersoever they turn themselves,
they cannot move beyond the circle of self: they seek them-
selves, they act for themselves ; their natural, civil, and religious
actions, from whatever springs they come, all run into, and meet in
the dead sea of self.
Most men are so far from making God their chief end, in their
natural and civil actions, that in these matters, God is not in all
their thoughts. Their eating and drinking, and such like natural
actions, are for themselves; Iheir own pleasure or necessity, without
any higher end, Zech. vii. 6, " Did ye not eat for yourselves ?"
They have no eye to the glory of God in these things, as they ought
to have, 1 Cor. x. 31. They do not eat and drink to keep up their
bodies for the Lord's service ; they do them not because God has
said, " Thou shalt not kill ;" neither do those drops of sweetness,
which God has put into the creature, raise up their souls towards
that ocean of delights that is in the Creator ; though they be a sign
80 CORRUPTION OF THE AFFECTIONS.
hung out at lieaveu's door, to tell men of the fulness of goodness
that is in God himself, Acts xiv. 17. But it is self, and not God,
that is sought in them, by natural men. And what are the unre-
newed man's civil actions, sucli as buying, selling, working, &c., but
fruit to himself ? Hos. x. 1. So marrying, and giving in marriage,
are reckoned amongst the sins of the old world. Matt. xxiv. 38 : for
they have no eye to God thereinj to please him ; but all they had in
view was to please themselves, Gen. vi. 3. Finally, self is natural
men's highest ei d, in their religious actions. They perform duties
for a name, Ma,tt. vi. 1, 2, or some other worldly interest, John vi,
26. Or if they be more refined, it is their peace, and at most their
salvation from hell and wr.itli, or thtr own eternal happiness, that
is their chief and highest end, Matt. xix. 16 — 22. Their eyes are
held, that they see not the g'ory of Ooi. They seek God indeed,
yet not for himself, but for themselves. They seek him not at all,
but for their own wdlfc:re : so their wliole life is woven into one web
of practical blasphemy ; making God the means, and self their end ;
yea, their chief end.
Thus I have given you a rude draught of n.an*s will, in his natu-
ral state, drawn by scripture, and men's own experience. Call it
no more Naomi, but Marah ; for bitter it is, and a root of bitterness.
Call it no more free-will, but slavish lust ; free to evil, but free from
good, till regenerating grace loosens the bands of wickedness. Now,
since all must be wrong, and nothing can be right, where the under-
standing and will are so corrupt ; I shall briefly despatch what re-
mains, as following, of course, on the corruption of these prime fa-
culties of the soul.
III. The Corruption of the Affections.
The afections are corrupted. The unrenewed man's affections are
wholly disordered and distempered : they are as the unruly horse,
that either will not receive, or violently runs away with, the rider.
So man's heart naturally is a mother of abominations, Mark vii. 21,
22, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness," &c. The
natural man's affections are wretchedly misplaced ; he is a spiritual
monster. His heart is, where his feet should be, fixed on the
earth; his heels are lifted up against heaven, which his heart should
be set on. Acts ix. 5. His face is towards hell, his back towards
heaven ; and therefore God calls to him to turn. He loves what he
should hate, and hates what he should love ; joys in what he ought
to mourn for, and mourns for what he should rejoice in ; glories in
his shame, and is ashamed of his glory ; abhors what he should de-
sire, and desires what he should abhor, Prov. ii. 13 — 15. They hit
CORRUPTION OF TUE CONSCIENCE. 81
the point indeed, as Caiaphas did in another case, wl o cried out
against the apostles, as men that turned the world upside down,
Acts xvii. 6 ; for that is the wo*rk which the gospel has to do in the
world, where sin has put all things so out of order, that heaven lies
under, and earth a-top. If the unrenewed man's affections be set on
lawful objects, then they are either excessive or defective. Lawful
enjoyments of the world have som'etimes too little, but mostly too
much of them; either they get not their due, or, if they do, it is
measure pressed down, and running over. Spiritual things have al-
ways too little of them. In a word, they are never I'ight; only evil.
Now, here is a threefold cord against heaven and holiness, not
easily to be broken ; a blind mind, a perverse will, and disorderly
distempered affections. The mind, swelled with self-conceit, says,
the man should not stoop ; the will, opposite to the will of God,
says, he will not ; and the corrupt affections, rising against the
Lord, in defence of the corrupt will, say, he shall not. Thus the
poor creature stands out against God and goodness, till a day of
power comes, in which he is made a new creature.
IV. Corruption of the Conscience.
The conscience is corrupt and defiled, Titus i. 15. It is an evil
eye, that fills one's conversation with much darkness and confusion ;
being naturally unable to do its oflice : till the Lord, by letting in
new light to the soul, awakens the conscience, it remains sleepy and
inactive. Conscience can never do its work, but according to the
light it has to work by. "Wherefore, seeing the natural man cannot
spiritually discern spiritual things, 1 Cor. ii. 14, the conscience na-
turally is quite useless in that point; being cast into such a deep sleep,
that nothing but saving illumination from the Lord can set it on
work in that matter. The light of the natural conscience in good and
evil, sin and duty, is very defective ; therefore, though it may check
for grosser sins, yet, to the more subtile workings of sin, it cannot
check them, because it discerns them not. Thus, conscience will fly
in the face of many, if at any time they be drunk, swear, neglect
prayer, or be guilty of any gross sin ; who otherwise have a pro-
found peace, though they live in the sin of unbelief, and are strang-
ers to spiritual worship, and the life of faith. Natural light being
but faint and languishing in many things which it reaches, con-
science, in that case, shoots like a stitch in one's side, which quickly
goes off : its incitements to duty, and checks for, and struggles
against sin, are very remiss, which the natural man easily gets over.
But because there is a false light in the dark mind, the natural con-
science following the same, will call evil good, and good evil, Isa. v.
82 COKUUPTION OF THE MEMOKY.
20. So it is often found like a blind and furious horse, which vio-
lently runs down himself, his rider, and all that comes in his way.
John xvi. 2, " Whosoever killelh you, will think that he doeth God
service." When the natural conscience is awakened by the Spirit
of conviction, it will indeed rage and roar, and put the whole man
in a dreadful consternation ; awfully summon all the powers of the
soul to help in a strait ; make the stiff heart to tremble, and the
knees to bow ; set the eyes weeping, the tongue confessing ; and ob-
lige the man to cast out the goods into the sea, which he apprehends
are likely to sink the ship of the soul, though the heait still goes
after them. Yet it is an evil conscience which naturally leads to
despair, and will do it elTectually, as in Judas' case ; unless either
Insts prevail over it, to lull it asleep, as in the case of Felix, Acts
sxiv. 25, or the blood of Christ jjrevail over it, sprinkling and purg-
ing it from dead works, as in the case of all true converts, Heb. ix.
14, and x. 22.
Y. Corraption of the Metnoiy.
Even the memory bears evident marks of this corruption. What
is good and worthy to be remembered, as it makes but slender im-
pression, so that impression easily wears off; the memory, as a
leaking vessel, lets it slip, Heb. ii. 1. As a sieve that is full when
in the water, lets all go when it is taken out, so is the merao.>-y with
respect to spiritual things. But how does it retain what ought to
be forgotten? Siaful things so bear in themselves upon it, that
though men would fain have them out of mind, yet they stick there
like glue. However foigetful men are iu other things, it is hard to
forget an injury. So the memory often furnishes new^ fuel to old
lusts ; makes men in old age re-act the sins of their youth, while it
presents them again to the mind with delight, which thereupon re-
turns to its former lusts. Thus it is like a riddle, that lets through
the pure grain, and keeps the refuse. Thus far of the corruption
of the soul.
YI. Corruption of the Rody.
The body itself also is partaker of this corruption and defilement,
so far as it is capable thereof. Wherefore the Scripture calls it
sinful flesh, Rom. viii. 3. We may take this up iu two things. 1.
The natural temper, or jather distemper of the bodies of Adam's
children, as it is an efi^ect of original sin, so it has a natural ten-
dency to sin, incites to sin, leads the soul into snares, yea, is itself
CORRUPTION OF THE BODY. 83
a snare to the soul. Tlie body is a furions beast, of sucli a temper,
tliat if it be not beat down, kept under, and brought into subjection,
it will cast the soul into luuch sifl and misery, 1 Cor. ix. 27. Tlure
is a vileness in the body, Phil. iii. 21, which, as to the saints, will
never be removed, until it be melted down in the grave, and cast
into a new form at the resurrection, to come forth a spiritual body ;
and will never be carried off from the bodies of those who are not
partakers of the resurrection to life. 2. It serves the soul in many
sins. Its members are instruments cr weapons of uurighteousness,
whereby men fight against God, Eom. vi. 13. The eyes and ears
are open doors, by Avhich impure motions and sinful desires enter
the soul : the tongue is " a world of iniquity," James iii. 6, " an un-
ruly evil, full of deadly poison," ver. 8 : by it the impure heart
vents a great deal of its filthiness. " The throat is an open sepul-
chre," Rom. iii. 13. The feet run the devil's errands, v< r. 15. The
belly is made a god, Phil. iii. 19, not only by drunkards and riotous
livers, but by every natural man, Zech. vii. 6. So the body natu-
rally is an agent for the devil, and a magazine of armour against
the Lord.
To conclude — man by nature is wholly corrupted : *' From the
sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in him."
As in a dunghill every part contributes to the corruption of the
whole, so the natural man, while in this state, grows still worse and
worse : the soul is made worse by the body, and the body by the
soul : and every faculty of the soul serves to corrupt another more
and more. This much for the second general head.
III. I shall show how raau's nature comes to be thus corrupted.
The heathens perceived thai man's nature was corrupted ; but how
sin -had entered, they could not tell. But the Scripture is very
plain on that point, Rom. v. 12, 19, " By one man sin entered into
the world. By one man's disobedience many were made sinners."
Adam's sin corrupted man's natuie, and leavened the whole lump
of mankind. We putrefied as in Adam as our root. The root was
poisoned, and so the branches were envenomed : the vine turned
into the vine of Sodom, and so the grapes became grapes of gall.
Adam, by his sin, became not only guilty, but corrupt; and so
transmits guilt and corruption to his posterity, Gen. v. 3 ; Job xiv.
4. By his sin he stripped himself of his orig'ual righteousness, and
corrupted himself; we weie in him representatively, being repre-
sented by him as our moral head in the covenant of works : we were
in him seminally, as our natural head; hence we fell in him, and by
his disobedience were made sinners, as Levi, in the loins of Abra-
ham, paid tithes, Heb. vii. 9, 10. His first sin is imputed to us ;
84 CORRUPTION OF THE BODY.
therefore we are justly left under the want of his original righte-
ousness, which being given to him as a common person, he cast off
by his sin : and this is necessarily followed, in him and us, by the
corrnption of the whole nature ; righteousness and corruption being
two contraries, one of which must needs always be in man, as a sub-
ject capable thereof. And Adam, our common father, being cor-
rupt, we are to too ; for " who can bring a clean thing out of an un-
clean .?"
Although it is sufficient to prove the righteousness of this dis-
pensation, that it was from the Lord, who doeth all things well ;
yet, to silence the raunnurings o." proud nature, let these few things
farther be considered. 1. In the covenant wherein Adam repre-
sented us, eternal happiness was promised to him and his posterity,
upon condition of his, that is, Adam's perfect obedience, as the re-
presentative of all mankind : whereas, if there had been no cove-
nant, they could not have pleaded eternal life upon their most per-
fect obedience, but might have been, after all, reduced to nothing ;
notwithstanding, by natural justice, they would have been liable to
God's eternal wrath, in case of sin. Who in that case would not
have consented to that representation ? 2. Adam had a power to
stand given him, being made upright. He was as capable of stand-
ing for himself and all his posterity, as any after him could be for
themselves. This trial of mankind in their head would soon have
been over, and the crown for them all, had he stood : whereas, had
his posterity been independent of him, and every one left to act for
himself, the trial would have been continually carrying on, as men
came into the world. 3. He had the strongest natural affection to
engage him, being our common father. 4. His own stock was in the
ship, his all lay at stake, as well as ours. He had no separate inter-
est from ours; but if he forget ours, he must necessarily forget his
own. 5. If he had stood, we should have had the light of his mind,
the righteousness of his will, and holiness of his affections, with en-
tire purity, transmitted unto us; we could not have fallen ; the crown
of glory, by his obedience, would have been for ever secured to him
and his. This is evident from the nature of a federal represen-
tation, and no reason can be given why, seeing we are lost by
Adam's sin, we should not have been saved by his obedience. On
the other hand, it is reasonable, that he falling, we should with him
bear the loss. 6. Those who quarrel with this dispensation, must
renounce their part in Christ ; for we are no otherwise made sinners
by Adam, than we are made righteous by Christ, from whom we
have both imputed and inherent righteousness. "We no more made
choice of the second Adam for our head and representative in the
CORRUPTTON OF NATURE APPLIED. 85
second covenant, than we did of the first Adam in the first cove-
nant.
Let none wonder that such a horrible change conld be brought on
by one siu of our first parents ; for thereby they turned away from
Grod, as their chief end, Avhich necessarily infers a universal depra-
vation. Their sin was a complication of evils, a total apostasy
from God, a violation of the whole law : by it they broke all the
ten commands at once. 1. They chose new gods. They made their
belly their god, by their sensuality : self their god, by their ambi-
tion ; yea, and the devil their god, by believing him, and disbeliev-
ing their Maker. 2. Though they received, yet they observed not
that ordinance of God about the forbidden fruit. They contemned
that ordinance so plainly enjoined them, and would needs carve out
to themselves how to serve the Lord. 3. They took the name of
the Lord their God in vain ; despising his attributes, his justice,
truth, power, &c. They grossly profaned the sacramental tree ;
abused his word, by not giving credit to it ; abused that creature
of his which they should not have touched ; and violently mis-
construed his providence, as if God, by forbidding them that tree,
had been standing in the way of their happiness ; therefore he
suffered them not to escape his righteous judgment. 4. They re-
membered not the Sabbath to keep it holy, but put themselves out
of a condition to serve God aright on his own day ; neither kept
they that state of holy rest wherein God had put them. 5. They
cast off their relative duties; Eve forgets herself, and acts with-
out the advice of her husband, to the ruin of both ; Adam, instead
of admonishing her to repent, yields to the temptation, and con-
firms her in her wickedness. They forgot all duty to their poste-
rity. They honoured not their Father in heaven ; and therefore
their days were not long in the land which the Lord their God gave
them. 6. They ruined themselves, and all their posterity. 7. Gave
themselves up to luxury and sensuality. 8. Took away what was
not their own, against the express will of the great Owner. 9. They
bore false witness, and lied against the Lord, before angels, devils,
and one another; in effect giving out, that they were hardly dealt
by, and that Heaven grudged their happiness. 10. They were dis-
contented with their lot, and coveted an evil covetousness to their
house ; which ruined both them and theirs. Thus was the image of
God on man defaced all at once.
IV. I shall now apply this Doctrine of the Corruption of Nature.
Use L For information. Is man's nature wholly corrupted?
Then,
1. No wonder that the grave opens its devouring mouth for us, as
86 COREUPTION OF Ts^ATUUE APPLIED.
soon as tlie womb lias cast us forth ; and that the cradle is turned
into a cofBn, to receive the corrupt lump : for we are all, in a spiri-
tual sense, dead-born ; yea, and filthy. Psalm xiv. 3, noisome, rank,
and stinking as a corrupt thing, as the word imports. Then let us
not complain of the miseries we are exposed to at our entrance into,
nor of the continuance of them while we are in the world. Here is
the venom that lias poisoned all the springs of earthly enjoyments
we have to drink of. It is the corruption of man's nature that
brings forth all the miseries of human life, in chuiches, states, and
families, and in men's souls and bodies.
2. Behold her<-, as in a glass, the spring of all the wickedness,
profanity, and formality, which is in the world; the souice of all
the disorders in thy own heart and life. Every thing acts like
itself, agreeable to its own nature ; and so corrupt man acts cor-
ruptly. You need not wonder at the sinfulness of your own heart
and life, nor at the sinfulness and perverseness of others ; if a man
be crooked, he cannot but halt; and if the clock be set wrong, how
can it point the hour aright?
3. See here, why sin is so pleasant, and religion such a burden
to carnal spirits : sin is natural, holiness not so. Oxen cannot feed
in the sea, nor fishes in the fiuitful fields. A swine brought into a
palace would soon get away again, to wallow in the mire; and cor-
rupt nature tends ever to impurity.
4. Learn from this the nature and necessity of regeneration.
First, This discovers the nature of regeneration, in these two
things: 1. It is not a partial, but a total change, though imperfect
in this life. Thy whole nature is corrupted ; therefore the cure
must go through every part. Piegeneration makes not only a new
head, for knowledge, but a new heart, and new aflTections, for holi-
ness— "All things become new," 2 Cor. v. 17. If a man, having
received many wounds, should be cured of them all, save one only,
he might bleed to death by that one as well as by a thousand : so, if
the change go not through the whole man, it is naught. 2. It is not
a change made by human industry, but by the mighty power of the
Spirit of God. A man must be born of the Spirit, John iii. 5.
Accidental diseases may be cured by men; but those which are
natural, not without a miracle, John ix. 32. The change wrought
upon men by good education, or forced upon them by a natural con-
science, though it may pass among men for a saving change, yet it
is not so ; for our nature is corrupt, and none but the God of nature
can change it. Though a gardener, by ingrafting a pear branch into
an apple tree, may make the apple tree bear pears, yet the art of
raan cannot change the nature of the apple tree : so a man may fix
i
CORRUPTION OF NATUKE APPLIED. 87
a new life to liis old heart, but lie can never change the heart.
Secondly, This also shews the necessity of regeneration. It is abso-
lutely necessary, in order to salvation, John iii. 4, " Except a man
be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Ko unclean
thing can enter the New Jerusalem; but thou ait Avholly unclean,
while in thy natural state. If every member of thy body were dis-
jointed, each joint must be loosened before the members can be set
light again. This is the case of thy soul, as thou hast heard:
therefore thou must be born again ; otherwise thou shalt never see
heaven, unless it be afar off, as the rich man in hell did. Deceive
not thyself: no mercy of God, no blood of Christ, will bring thee
to heaven in thy unregenerate state : for God will never open a
fountain of mercy to wash away his own holiness and truth ; nor did
Christ shed his precious blood, to blot out the truths of God, or to
overturn God's measures about the salvation of sinners. Heaven !
What would you do there, you who are not born again ? you who
are no ways fitted for Christ the head? That would be a strange
sight ! a holy head, and members wholly corrupt ! a head full of
treasui'es of grace, and members wherein are no thing but treasures
of wickedness ! a head obedient to the death, and heels kicking
against heaven ! You are no better adapted for the society above,
than beasts are for converse with men. Thou art a hater of true
holiness ; and at the first sight of a saint there, wouldst cry out —
" Hast thou found me, 0 mine enemy !" Nay, the unrenewed man,
if it were possible he could go to heaven in that state, would go to
it no otherwise than now he comes to the duties of holiness ; that is,
leaving his heart behind him.
Use II. For lamentation. Well may we lament thy case, 0 na-
tural man ! for it is the saddest case one can be in out of hell. It
is time to lament for thee; for thou ait dead already, dead while
thou livest : thou carriest about with thee a dead soul in a living
body ; and because thou art dead, thou canst not lament thy own
case. Thou art loathsome in the sight of God ; for thou art altoge-
ther corrupt; thou hast no good in thee. Thy soul is a mass of
darkness, rebellion, and vileness, before the Lord. Thou thinkcst,
perhaps, that thou hast a good heart to God, good inclinations, and
good desires: but God knows there is nothing good in thee: " Every
imagination of thine heart is only evil continually." Thou canst do
no good; thou canst do nothing but sin. For,
1. Thou art the servant of sin, Rom. vi. 17, and therefore free
from righteousness, ver. 20. Wliatever righteousness be, poor soul,
thou art free from it ; thou dost not, thou canst not meddle with it.
Thou art under the dominion of sin; a dominion where righteousness
OO CORRUPTION OF NATURE APPLIED.
can have no place. Thou art a child and servant of the devil, see-
ing thou art yet in a state of nature, John viii. 44 — " Ye are of
your father the devil." And, to prevent any mistake, consider, that
sin and Satan have two sort of servants : 1. There are some em-
ployed, as it were, in coarser work ; those bear the devil's mark on
their foreheads, having no form of godliness ; but are profane,
grossly ignorant, mere moralists, not so much as performing the ex-
ternal duties of religion, but living in the view of the world as sons
of the earth, only attending to earthly things, Phil. iii. 19. 2.
There are some employed in a more refined sort of service to sin,
who carry the devil's mark in their right hand ; which they can and
do hide from the eyes of the world. These are close hypocrites, who
sacrifice as much to the corrupt mind, as the others to the flesh, Eph.
ii. 3. These are ruined by a more secret trade of sin : pride, unbe-
lief, self-seeking, and the like, swarm in, and prey upon their cor-
rupted, wholly corrupted souls. Both are servants of the same
house ; the latter as far as the former from righteousness.
2. How is it possible that thou shouldest be able to do any good,
thou whose nature is wholly corrupt? — Can fruit grow where there
is no root? or. Can there be an effect without a cause? " Can the
fig-tree bear olive berries ? either a vine, figs ?" If thy nature be
wholly corrupt, as indeed it is, all thou dost is certainly so too ;
for no effect can exceed the virtue of its cause. " Can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit ?" Matth. vii. 18.
Ah ! what a miserable spectacle is he that can do nothing but
sin ! Thou art the man, whoever thou art, that art yet in thy natu-
ral state. Hear, 0 sinner, what is thy case.
(1.) Innumerable sins compass thee about: mountains of guilt are
lying upon thee ; floods of impurities overwhelm thee, living lusts
of all sorts roll up and down in the dead sea of thy soul, where no
good can breathe, because of the corruption there. Thy lips are un-
clean ; the opening of thy mouth is as the opening of an unripe
grave, full of stench and rottenness, Hom. iii. 13, " Their throat
is an open sepulchre." Thy natural actions are sin ; for " when ye
did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves and
drink for yourselves ?" Zech. vii. 6. Thy civil actions are sin, Prov,
xxi. 4, " The ploughing of the wicked is sin." Thy religious ac-
tions are sin, Prov. xv. 8, " The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomi-
nation to the Lord." The thoughts and imaginations of thy heart
are only evil continually. A deed may be soon done, a word soon
spoken, a thought swiftly pass through the heart; but each of these
is an item in thy accounts. 0 sad reckoning! as many thoughts,
words, and actions, so many sins. The longer thou livest, thy ac-
i
COlUlUrHON OF NATURE ATl'LIED. 89
counts swell the more. Should a tear be dropt for every sin, thiue
head must be waters, and thine eyes a fountain of tears ; for no-
thing but sin comes from thee. Thy heart frames nothing but evil
imaginations : there is nothing in thy life but what is framed by
thine heart ; and, therefore, there is nothing in thy heart or life but
evil.
(2.) All thy religion, if thou hast any, is lost labour, as to accep-
tance with God, or any saving effect on thyself. Art thou yet in
thy natural state ? Truly, then, thy duties are sins, as was just
now hinted. Would not the best wine be loathsome in a vessel
wherein there is no pleasure ? So is the religion of an unregene-
rate man. Under the law, the garment which the flesh of the
sacrifice was carried in, though it touched other things, did net
make them holy : bat he that was unclean touching any thiug,
whether common or sacred made it unclean. Even so thy du-
ties cannot make thy corrupt soul holy, though they in them-
selves be good ; but thy corrupt heart defiles them, and makes
them unclean, Hag. ii. 12 — 14. Thou wast wout to divide thy
works into two sorts; some good, some evil: but thou must count
again, and put them all under one head : for God writes on
them all " only evil." This is lamentable : it will be no won-
der to see those beg in harvest, who fold their hands, and sleep
in seed-time ; but to be labouring with others in the spring, and
yet have nothing to reap when the harvest comes, is a very sad
case, and will be the case of all professors living and dying in their
tural state.
(3.) Thou canst not help thyself. What canst thou do, to take
away thy sin, who art wholly corrupt ? Nothing, truly but sin. If
a natual man begin to relent, drop a tear for his sin, and reform,
presently the corrupt nature takes merit itself; he has done much
himself, he thinks, and God cannot but do more for him on that ac-
count. In the mean time, he does nothing but sin : so that the fit-
ness of the merit is, that the leper be put out of the camp, the dead
soul buried out of sight, and the corrupt lump cast into the pit.
How canst thou think to recover thyself by any thing which thou
canst do ? Will mud and filth wash out filthiness ; and wilt
thou purge out sin by sinning ? " Who can bring a clean thiug
out of an unclean ? not one," Job xiv. 4. This is the case of
thy corrupt soul ; not to be recovered but by Jesus Christ. " 0
Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help,"
Hos. xiii. 9. Thou art poor indeed, extremely " miserable and
poor," Rev. iii. 17- Thou hast no shelter, but a refuge of lies ;
no garment for thy soul, but filthy rags ; nothing to nourish it,
Vol. VIII. p
90 (4od's noticing natural corruption
but husks that cannot satisfy. And more than this, thon didst
get such a bruise in the loins of Adam, as is not yet cured, so that
thou art without strength, as well as ungodly, Rom. v. 6 ; unable to
do, or work for thyself; nay, more than all this, thou canst not so
much as think aright, but art lying helpless, as an infant exposed
in the open field, Ezek. xvi. 5.
Use III. I exhort you to believe this sad truth. Alas ! it is evi-
dent that it is very little believed in the world. Few are concerned
to get their corrupt conversation changed ; but fewer, by far, to get
their nature changed. Most men know not what they are, nor what
spirits they are of; they are as the eye, which, seeing many things,
never sees itself. But until you know every one the plague of his
own heart, there is no hope of your recovery. Why will you not
believe it? You have plain Scripture testimony for it; but you
are loath to entertain such an ill opinion of yourselves. Alas ! this
is the nature f)f your disease. Rev. iii. 17, " Thou knowest not that
thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
Lord, open their eyes to see it, before they die of it, and in hell lift
up their eyes, and see what they will not see now.
I shall close this weighty point, of the corruption of man's na-
ture, with a few words as to another doctrine from the text.
God's specially noticing our Natural Corruption.
Doctrine — Grod takes special notice of our natural corruption, or
the sin of our nature. This he testifies two ways: 1. By his word,
as in the text, — " God saw that every imagination of the thoughts
of man's heart was only evil continually;" see Psalm xiv. 2, 3. 2.
By his works. God marks his particular notice of it, and displea-
sure with it, as in many of his works, so especially in these two.
1. In the death of the inffint children of men. Many miseries
they have been exposed to : they were drowned in the deluge, con-
sumed in Sodom by fire and brimstone ; they have been slain with
the sword, dashed against the stones, and are still dying ordinary
deaths. — What is the true cause of this ? On what ground does a
holy God thus pursue them ? Is it the sin of their parents ? That
may be the occasion of the Lord's raising the process against them ;
but it must be their own sin that is the ground of the sentence pass-
ing on them: for "the soul that sinncth, it shall die," saith God,
Ezek. xviii. 4. Is it their own actual sin ? They have none. — But
as men do with serpents, which they kill at first sight, before they
have done any hurt, because of their venomous nature ; so it is in
this case.
ORrOIXAL SIN OVEKLOOKEIJ. 91
2. In the birth of the elect children of God. — When the Lord
is about to change their nature, he makes the sin of their nature lie
heavy on their spirits. When he means to let out their corrup-
tion, the lance goes deep into their souls, reaching to the root of
sin, Rom. vii. 7 — 9. The flesh, or corruption of nature, is pierced,
being crucified, as well as the affections and lusts, Gal. v. 24.
Use. Let us then have a special eye upon the corruption and sin
of our nature. God sees it : 0 that we saw it too, and that sin
were ever before us ! What avails it to uotice other sins, while
this mother-sin is not noticed? Turn your eyes inward to the sin
of your nature. It is to be feared, that many have this work to
begin yet ; that they have shut the door, while the grand thief is
yet in the house undiscovered. This is a weighty point ; and in
handling of it, I shall notice these four heads :
Men overlooking their NafMrcd Sin.
1. I shall, for conviction, point at some evidences of men's over-
looking the sin of their nature, which yet the Lord takes particular
notice of. 1. Men's looking on themselves with such confidence, as
if they were in no hazard of gross sins. Many would take it very
unkindly to get such a caution as Christ gave his apostles, Luke
xxi. 34, " Take heed of surfeiting and drunkenness." If any
should suppose them to break out in gross abominations, each would
be ready to say, " Am 1 a dog?" It would raise the pride of their
hearts, but not their fear and trembling, because they know not the
corruption of their nature. 2. Want of tenderness towards those
that fall. Many, in that case, cast ofl" all feelings of Christian com-
passion, for they do not consider themselves, lest they also be
tempted, Gal. vi. 1. Men's passions are often highest against the
faults of others, when sin sleeps soundly in their own breasts.
David, even when he was at his worst, was most violent against the
faults of others. While his conscience was asleep under bis own
guilt, in the matter of Uriah, the Spirit of the Lord takes notice,
that his anger was greatly kindled against the man in the parable,
2 Sam. xii. 5. Atfd, on good grounds, it is thought it was at the
same time that he treated the Ammonites so cruelly, as is related,
ver. 31, " Putting them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and
under axes of iron, and making them pass through the brick-kiln."
Grace makes men zealous against sin in others, as well as in them-
selves : but eyes turned inward to the corruption of nature, clothe
thera with pity and compassion ; and fill them with thankfulness to
the Lord, that they themselves were not the persons left to be such
f2
92 MEN OVERLOOKING THEIR NATURAL (^IN.
spectacles of human frailty. 3. There are not a few, who, if they
he kept from afflictions in worldly things, and from gross outbreak-
ings in their conversation, know not what it is to have a sad heart.
If they meet with a cross, which their proud hearts cannot stoop to
bear, they are ready to say, 0 to be gone ! but the corruption of
their nature never makes them long for heaven. Lusts, scandal-
ously breaking out at a time, will mar their peace : but the sin of
their nature never makes them a heavy heart. 4. Delaying of re-
pentance, in hopes to set about it afterwards. Many have their own
appointed time for rei)entance and reformation : as if they were
such complete masters over their lusts, that they can allow them to
gather more strength, and yet overcome them. They take up reso-
lutions to amend, without an eye to Jesus Christ, union with him,
and strength from him ; a plain evidence that they are strangers to
themselves ; so they are left to themselves, and their flourishing re-
solutions wither ; for, as they see not the necessity, so they get not
the benefit, of the dew from heaven to water them. 5. Men's ven-
turing freely on temptations, and promising liberally in their own
strength. They cast themselves fearlessly into temptation, in con-
fidence of their coming oif fairly : but, were they sensible of the cor-
ruption of their nature, they would be cautious of entering on the
devil's ground ; as one girt about with bags of gunpowder, would be
unwilling to walk where sparks of fire are flying, lest he should be
blown up. Self-jealousy well becomes Christians. " Lord, is it I ?"
They that know the deceit of their bow, will not be very confident
that they shall hit the mark. 6. Ignorance of heart-plagues. The
knowledge of the plagues of the heart is a rare qualification.
There are indeed some of them written in such great characters,
that he who runs may read them : but there are others more
subtile, which few discern. How few are there, to whom the bias
of the heart to unbelief is a burden ? Nay, they perceive it not.
Many have had sharp convictions of other sins, that were never to
this day convinced of their unbelief; though that is the sin especi-
ally aimed at in a thorough conviction, John xvi. 8, 9, " He will
reprove the world of sin, because they believe not on me." A dis-
position to establish our own righteousness, is a weed that naturally
grows in every man's heart ; but few labour at the plucking of it
up : it lurks undiscovered. The bias of the heart to the way of the
covenant of works, is a hidden plague of the heart to many. All
the difficulty they find is, in getting up their hearts to duties : they
find no difiiculty in getting their hearts off them, and over them to
Jesus Christ. How hard it is to bring men off from their own
righteousness ! Yea, it is very hard to convince them of their lean-
OKIGINAL SIN" IS TO BE NOTICED. 93
ing to it at all. 7- Pi'ide and self-conceit. A view of the corrup-
tion of nature would be very humbling, and oblige him that has it
to reckon himself the chief of sinners. Under the greatest attain-
ments and enlargements, it would be ballast to his heart, and hide
pride from his eyes. The want of thorough humiliation, piercing to
the sin of one's nature, is the ruin of many professors : for digging
deep makes the great difference betwixt wise and foolish builders,
Luke vi. 48, 49.
Onginal Sin to be specially noticed.
II. I will lay before you a few things, in which you should have
a special eye to original sin. 1. Have a special eye to it, in your
application to Jesus Christ. Do you find any need of Christ, which
sends you to him as the Physician of souls ? 0 forget not your dis-
ease when yon are with the Physician. They never yet knew well
their errand to Christ, who went not to him ior the sin of their na-
ture ; for his blood to take away the guilt of it, and his Spirit to
break the power of it. Though, in the bitterness of your souls, you
should lay before him a catalogue of your sins of omission and com-
mission, which might reach from earth to heaven : yet, if original
sin were wanting in it, assure yourselves that you have forgot the
best part of the errand which a poor sinner has to the Physician
of souls. "What would it have availed the people of Jericho, to
have set before Elisha all the vessels in their city, full of the
water that was naught, if they had not led him forth to the
spring, to cast in salt there? 2 Kings ii. 19 — 21. The applica-
tion is easy. 2. Have a special eye to it in your repentance, whe-
ther in its beginning or progress ; in your first repentance, and in
the renewing of your repentance afterwards. Though a man be
sick, there is no fear of death, if the sickness strike not to his
heart ; and there is as little fear of the death of sin, as long as the
sin of our nature is not touched. But if you would repent indeed,
let the streams lead you up to the fountain ; and mourn over your
corrupt nature, as the cause of all sin, in heart, lip, and life, Psalm
li. 4, 5, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight. — Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did
my mother conceive me." 3. Have a special eye upon it in your
mortification. Gal. v. 24, " They that are Christ's, have crucified
the flesh." It is the root of bitterness that must bo struck at ;
which the axe of mortification must be laid to, else we labour in
vain. In vain do men go about to cleanse the stream, while they
are at no pains about the muddy fountain : it is a vain religion to
94 WliY ORIGINAL SIN IS TO BE NOTICED.
attempt to make the life truly good, while the corruption of nature
retains its ancient vigour, and the power of it is not broken. 4.
You are to eye it in your daily walk. He that would walk aright,
must have one eye upward to Jesus Christ, and another inward to
to the corruption of his own nature. It is not enough that we look
about us, we must also look within us. Where the wall is weakest ;
there our greatest enemy lies ; and there are grounds for daily
watching and mourning.
Wh^ original Sin is to be especiall'i/ noticed.
III. I shall offer some reasons, why we should especially notice
the sin of our nature.
1. Because of all sins, it is the most extensive and diffusive. It
goes through the whole man, and spoils all. Other sins mar par-
ticular parts of the image of God, but this at once defaces the
whole. A disease affecting any particular member of the body
is dangerous ; but that which affects the whole, is worse. The
corruption of nature is the poison of the old serpent cast into the
fountain of action, which infects every action, and every breathing
of the soul.
2. It is the cause of all particular lusts, and actual sins, in our
hearts and lives. It is the spawn which the great leviathan has left
In the souls of men, from whence comes all the fry of actual sins
and abominations, Mark vii. 21, " Out of the heart of men proceed
evil thoughts, adulteries," &c. It is the bitter fountain : particular
lusts are but rivulets running from it, which bring forth into the
life a part only, and not the whole of what is within. The fountain
is always above the stream : and where the water is good, it is best
in the fountain ; where it is bad, it is worst there. The corruption
of nature being that which defiles all, it must needs be the most
abominable thing.
3. It is virtually all sin : for it is the seed of all sins, which want
but the occasion to set up their heads, being, in the corruption of
nature as the effect in the virtue of its cause. Uence it is called
" a body of death," Rom. vii. 24, as consisting of the several mem-
bers belonging to such " a body of sins," Col. ii. 11, whose life lies
in spiritual death. It is the cursed ground, fit to bring forth all
manner of noxious weeds. As the whole nest of venemous creatures
must needs be more dreadful than any few of them that come
creeping forth ; so the sin of thy nature, that mother of abomina-
tions, must be worse than any particular lust that appear stirring
in thy heart and life. Never did every sin appear, in the conversa-
"WHY ORIGINAL SIN IS TO BE NOTICED. 95
tion of the vilest wretch that ever lived ; but look thou into thy
corrupt nature, and there thou mayest see all and every sin, in the
seed and root thereof. There is a fulness of all unrighteousness
there, Rom. i. 29. There is atheism, idolatry, blasphemy, murder,
adultery, and whatsoever is vile. Possibly none of these appear to
thee in thy heart; but there is more in that unfathomable depth of
wickedness than thou knowest. Thy corrupt heart is like an ant's
nest, on which, while the stone lielh, none of them appear ; but
take off the stone, and stir them up but with the point of a straw,
you will see what a swarm is there, and how lively they be. Just
such a sight would thy heart afford thee, did the Lord but with-
draw the restraint he has upon it, and suffer Satan to stir it up by
temptation.
4. The sin of our nature is, of all sins, the most fixed and abid-
ing. Sinful actions, though the guilt and stain of them may re-
main, yet in themselves they pass away. The drunkard is not
always at his cnps, nor the unclean person always acting lewdness :
but the corruption of nature is an abiding sin ; it remains with men
in its full power, by night and by day; at all times fixed, as with
bands of iron and brass, till their nature is changed by converting
grace ; and it remains even with the godly, until the death of the
body, though not in its reigning power. Pride, envy, covetousness,
and the like, are not always stirring in thee : but the proud, envious,
carnal nature, is still with thee ; even as the clock that is wrong is
not always striking wrong, but the wrong set continues with it with-
out intermission.
5. It is the reigning sin, Rom. vi. 12, " Let not sin, there-
fore, reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the
lusts thereof." There are three things which you may observe in
the corrupt heart : 1. There is in the corrupt nature the corrupt
set of the heart, whereby men are unapt for all good, and fitted
for all evil. This the apostle calls here " sin which reigns." 2.
There are particular lusts, or dispositions of corrupt nature, which
the apostle calls " the lusts thereof ;" such as pride, covetousness.
<S;c. 3. There is one among these, which is, like Saul among the
people, higher by far than the rest, namely, " the sin which doth
so easily beset us," Heb. xii. L This we usually call the " predomi-
nant sin," because it doth, as it were reign over other particular
lusts ; so that other lusts must yield to it. These three are like a
river which divides itself into many streams, whereof one is greater
than the rest : the corruption of nature is the river head, that has
many particular lusts iu which it runs ; but it chiefly disburdens it-
self into what is commonly called one's predominant sin. No all
9G VIEW OF THE CORRUPTION OF NATURE.
of these being fed by the sin of oar nature, it is eviduut that it is the
reigning sin, which never loses its superiority over particular lusts,
"which live and die with it, and by it. But, as in some rivers, the
main stream runs not always in one and the same channel, so par-
ticular ruling sins may be changed, as lust in youth may be suc-
ceeded by covetousness in old age. Now, what does it avail to re-
form in other things, while the reigning sin remains in its full
power? What though some particular lusts be broken ? If sin,
the sin of our nature, keep the throne, it will set up another in its
stead; as when a water-course is stopped in one place, if the foun-
tain is not closed up, it will stream forth another way. Thus some
cast off their prodigality, but covetousness comes up in its stead ;
some cast away their profanity, and the corruption of nature sends
not its main stream that way, as before, but it runs in another chan-
nel, namely, in that of a legal disposition, self-righteousness, or the
like. So that people are ruined, by their not contemplating the sin
of their nature.
6. It is an hereditary evil, Psalm li. 5, " In sin did my mother
conceive me." Particular lusts are not so, but in the virtue of their
cause. A prodigal father may have a frugal son ; but this disease
is necessarily propagated in nature, and therefore hardest to cure.
Surely, then, the word should be given out against this sin, as
against the king of Israel, 1 Kings xxii. 31, " Fight neither with
small nor great, save only with this ;" for this sin being broken, all
other sins are broken with it ; and while it stands entire, there is no
victory.
Hoiv to get a View of the Corruption of Nature.
ly. That you may get a view of the corruption of your nature, I
would recommend to you three things : — 1. Study to know the
spirituality and extent of the law of God, for that is the glass
wherein you may see yourselves. 2. Observe your hearts at all
times, but especially under temptation. Temptation is a fire that
brings up the scum of the vile heart : carefully mark the first
risings of corruption. 3. Go to God, through Jesus Christ, for illu-
mination by his Spirit. Lay out your soul before the Lord, as will-
ing to know the vileness of your nature: say unto him, " That which
I know not, teach thou me." And be willing to take light in from
the word. Believe, and you shall see. It is by the word the Spirit
teacheth ; but without the Spirit's teaching, all other teaching will
be to little purpose. Though the gospel were to shine about you
like the sun at noon-day, and this great truth were ever so plainly
preached, you would never see yourselves aright, until the Spirit of
the Lord light his candle within your breast : the fulness and glory
TliK JMSEnV OF man's NATURAL STATE. 9?
of Christ, and the corruption and vileness of our nature, are never
rightly learned, but where the Spirit of Christ is the teacher.
To shut up this weighty point, let the consideration of what has
been said, commend Christ to you all. You that are brought out
of your natural state of corruption, unto Christ, be humble ; still
come to Christ, and improve your union with him, to the farther
weakening of your natural corruption. Is your nature changed?
It is but in part so. If you are cured, remember the cure is not yet
perfected, you still go halting. Though it were better with you
than it is, the remembrance of what you were by nature should keep
you low. You that are yet in your natural state, take this with
you : believe the corruption of your nature ; and let Christ and his
grace be precious in your eyes. 0 that you would at length be se-
rious about the state of your souls ! What do you intend to do ?
You must die ; you must appear before the judgment-seat of God.
Will you lie down and sleep another night at ease in this case? Do
it not : for, before another day, you may be summoned before God's
dreadful tribunal, in the grave-clothes of your corrupt state; and
your vile souls be cast into the pit of destruction, as a corrupt lump,
to be for ever buried out of God's sight. For I testify unto you all,
there is no peace with God, no pardon, no heaven, for you, in your
natural state : there is but a step between you and eternal destruc-
tion from the presence of the Lord ; if the brittle thread of your
life, which may break with a touch ere you are aware, be broken
while you are in this state, you are ruined for ever, without remedy.
But come speedily to Jesus Christ : he has cleansed souls as vile as
yours; and he will yet "cleanse the blood that he has not cleansed,"
Joel iii. 21. Thus far of the sinfulness of man's natural state.
PART 11.
THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
We were hy nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Ephesians ii. 3.
Having shewn you the sinfulness of man's natural state, I come now
to lay before you the misery of it. A sinful state cannot but be a
miserable state. If sin go before, wrath follows of course. Corrup-
tion and destruction are so knit together, that the Holy Ghost calls
destruction, even eternal destruction, "corruption," Gal. vi. 8. He that
98 THE MTSERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
soweth to his flesli,shall of the flesh reap corruption," that is, ever'.. .
ing destruction; as is clear from its being opposed to life everlasting,
in the following clause. The apostle having shewn the Ephesians
their real state by nature, namely, that they were dead in sins and
trespasses, altogether corrupt; he tells them, in the words of the
text, their relative state, namely, that the pit was dug for them,
while in that state of corruption : being dead in sins, they " were
by nature children of wrath, even as others."
In the words we have four things :
1. The misery of a natural state; it is a state of wrath, as well
as a state of sin. " We were," says the apostle, " children of
wrath," bound over and liable to the wrath of God; under wi-ath in
some measure; and, in wrath, bound over to more, even the full
measure of it, in hell, where the floods of it go over the prisoners
for ever. Thus Saul, in his wrath, adjudging David to die, 1 Sam.
XX. 31 ; and David, in his wrath, passing sentence of death against
the man in the parable, 2 Sam. xii. 5, says, each of them, of his sup-
posed criminal, "He shall surely die;" or, as the words in the first
language are, " He is a son of death." So the natural man is " a
child of wrath, a son of death." He is a malefactor, dead in law,
lying in chains of guilt; a criminal, held fast in his fetters, till the
day of execution; which will not fail to come, unless a pardon be
obtained from his God, who is his judge and his opponent too. By
that means, indeed, children of wrath may become children of the
kingdom. The phrase in the text, however common in the holy lan-
guage, is very significant. And as it is evident that the apostle,
calling natural men the " children of disobedience," verse 2, means
more than that they were disobedient children; for such may the
Lord's own children be : so, to be children of wrath, is more than
simply to be liable to, or under wrath. Jesus Christ was liable to,
and under wrath ; but I doubt whether we have any warrant to say
he was a child of wrath. — The phrase seems to intimate, that men
are, whatever they are in their natural state, under the wrath of
God ; that they are wholly under wrath : wrath is, as it were, woven
into their very nature, and mixes itself with the whole of the man,
who is, if I may so speak, a very lump of wrath, a child of hell, as
the iron in the fire is all fire. For men naturally are children of
wrath ; come forth, so to speak, out of the womb of wrath ; as
Jonah's gourd was the " sou of a night," which we render, " came
up in a night," Jonah iv. 10 ; as if it had come out of the womb of
the night, as we read of the " womb of the morning," Psalm ex. 3.
Thus sparks of fire are called " sons of the burning coal," Job v. 7 ;
Marg. Isa. xxi. 10, " 0 my thrashing, and the corn" or son "of ray
THE MISEKY OP MAN S NATUKAt, STATE. 99
floor," thrashed iu tliu floor of wrath, aud, as it were, brought forth
by it. Thus the natural man' is a " child of wrath ;" it " comes into
his bowels like water, and like oil into his bones. Psalm cix, 18.
For, though Judas was the ouly son of perdition amongst the apos-
tles; yet all men, by nature, are of the same family.
2. Here is the rise of this misery ; men have it by nature. They
owe it to their nature, not to their substance or essence; for that
neither is nor was sin, and therefore cannot make them children of
wrath ; though, for sin, it may be under wrath : not to their nature,
as qualified at man's creation by his Maker; but to their nature, as
A'itiated and corrupted by the fall ; to the vicious quality, or corrup-
tion of their nature, as before noticed, which is their principle of
action, and, ceasing from action, the only principle in an unregene-
rate state. Now, by this nature, men are children of wrath ; as, in
time of pestilential infection, one draws in death with the disease
then ragiug. "Wherefore seeing, from our first being as children of
Adam, we are corrupt children, shapen in iniquity, conceived in sin,
we are also from that moment children of wrath.
3. The universality of this misery. All are by nature children
of wrath, "we," says the apostle, "even as others;" Jews as well
as Gentiles. Those that are now, by grace, tlie children of Grod
were, by nature, in no better case than those that are still in their
natural state.
4. Here is a glorious and happy change intimated, we ivere chil-
dren of wrath, but are not so now ; grace has brought us out of that
state. This the apostle says of himself, and other believers. And
thus, it well becomes the people of God to be often standing on the
shore, and looking back to the Red Sea, or the state of wrath, which
they were once weltering in, even as others.
DocTBiNE, The state of nature is a state of wrath. — Every one,
in a natural unregenerate state, is in a state of wrath. We tire
born children of wrath; and continue so, until we be born again.
Nay, as soon as we are children of Adam, we are children of wrath.
I shall introduce what I am to say on this point, with a few
observations, as to the universality of this state of wrath, which
may serve to prepare the way for the word into your consciences.
Wrath has gone as wide as ever sin went. When angels sinned,
the wrath of God broke in upon them like a flood. " God spared
not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell," 2 Pet. ii. 4.
It was thereby demonstrated, that no natural excellence in the crea-
ture can shield it from the wrath of God, if it once becomes a sin-
ful creature. The finest and nicest piece of the workmanship
of heaven, if once the Creator's image upon it be defaced by sin.
100 TTIK MISERY OF MAn's NATUnAL STATK.
God can and will dash in pieces in liis wrath, unless satisfaction be
made to justice, and that image be restored ; neither of which the
sinner himself can do. Adam sinned ; and the whole lump of man-
kind was leavened, and bound over to the fire of God's wrath. From
the text you may learn, 1. That ignorance of this state, cannot free
men from it. The Gentiles, that knew not God, " were by nature
children of wrath, even as others." A man's house may be on fire,
his wife and children perishing in the flames, while he knows no-
thing of it ; and therefore is not concerned about it. Such is your
case, 0 ye that are ignorant of these things ! "Wrath is silently
sinking into your souls while you are blessing yourselves, saying, —
" We shall have peace." You need not a more certain token that
you are children, of wrath, than that you never saw yourselves such.
You cannot be the children of God, who never yet saw yourselves
the children of the devil. You cannot be in the way to heaven,
who never saw yourselves by nature in the high road to hell. You
are grossly ignorant of your state by nature ; and so ignorant of
God and of Christ, and your need of him, and though you look on
your ignorance as a covert from wrath, yet take it out of the mouth
of God himself, that it will ruin you if it be not removed : Isa.
xsvii. 11, " It is a people of no understanding : — therefore he that
made them will not have mercy on them." See also 2 Thess. i. 8;
Hos. iv. 6. 2. No outward privileges can exempt men from this
state of wrath, for the Jews, the children of the kingdom, God's pe-
culiar people, were " children of wrath, even as others." Though
you be church meirbers, partakers of all church privileges ; though
you be descended of godly i)arents, of great and honourable fami-
lies ; be what you will, you are by nature heirs of hell, children of
wrath. 3. No profession, no attainments in a pi'ofession of religion,
do or can exempt men from this state of wrath. Paul was one of
the strictest set of the Jewish religion, Acts xxvi. 6, yet a child of
wrath, even as others, till he was converted. The close hypocrite,
and the profane, are alike as to their state, however different their
conversation be ; and they will be alike in their fatal end, Psalm
cxxv. 5, " As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the
Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity." 4. Young
ones, who are but setting out in the world, have not that to do to
make themselves children of wrath, by following the graceless mul-
titude : they are children of wrath by nature ; so it is done already.
They were born heirs of hell ; and they will indeed make themselves
more so, if they do not, while they are young, flee from that wrath
to which they are born, by fleeing to Jesus Christ. 5. Whatever
men are now by grace, they were even as others by nature. This
THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE. 101
may be a sad meditation to them tliat have been at ease from their
youth, and have had no changes.
Now these things being premised, I shall, in the first place, shew
what this state of wrath is ; secondly, confirm the doctrine ; and,
thirdly, apply it.
I. I am to shew what the state of wrath is. But who can fully
describe the wrath of an angry God ? None can do it. Yet so
much of it may be discovered, as may serve to convince men of the
absolute necessity of fleeing to Jesus Christ, out of that state of
wrath. Anger, in men, is a passion and commotion of the spirit,
for an injury received; with a desire to resent the same. When it
comes to a heiglit, and is fixed in one's spirit, it is called wrath.
Now there are no passions in God, properly speaking : they are in-
consistent with his absolute unchangeableness, and independency :
therefore Paul and Barnabas, to remove the mistake of the Lycao-
nians, who thought they were gods, tell them, " they were men of
like passions with themselves," Acts xiv. 15. Wrath, when it is at-
tributed to God, must not be considered in respect of the aifection
of wrath, but the eftects thereof. Wrath is a fire in the affections
of men : tormenting the man himself: but there is no perturbation
in God. His wrath does not in the least mar that infinite repose
and happiness which he hath in himself. It is a most pure and un-
disturbed act of his will, producing dreadful effects against the sin-
ner. It is little that we know of the infinite God ; but, condescend-
ing to our weakness, he is pleased to speak of himself to us after
the manner of men. Let us therefore notice man's wrath, but re-
move every thing in our consideration of the wrath of God, that im-
plies imperfection ; and so we may attain to some view of it how-
ever scanty. By this means we are led to consider the wrath of
God against the natural man in these three particulars.
1. There is wrath in the heart of God against him. The Lord ap-
proves him not, but is displeased with him. Every natural man
lies under the displeasure of God ; and that is heavier than moun-
tains of brass. Although he be pleased with himself, and others be
pleased with him too, yet God looks down on him displeased.
1. His person is under God's displeasure; " Thou hatest all work-
ers of iniquity," Psalm v. 5. A godly man's sin is displeasing to
God, yet his person is still "accepted in the Beloved," Eph. i. 6
But "God is angry with the wicked every day," Psalm vii. 11.
There is a fire of wrath burns continually against him in the
heart of God. They are as dogs and swine, most abominable crea-
tures in the sight of God. Though their natural state be gilded over
with a shining profession, yet they are abhorred of God ; and are
102 THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
to him as smoke in his nose, Isa. Ixv. 5, and lukewarm water, to be
spewed out of his mouth, Rev. iii. 16; whited sepulchres, Matt, xxiii.
27 ; a generation of vipers. Matt. xii. 34 ; and a people of his wrath,
Isa. X. 6. 2. He is displeased with all they do : it is impossible for
them to please him, being unbelivers, Heb. xi. 6. He hates their
persons; and so hath no pleasure in, but is displeased with their best
works, Isa. Ixvi. 3, " he that sacrificeth a lamb, is as if he cut off a
dog's neck," &c. Their duty as done by them, is " an abomination
to the Lord," Prov. xv. 8. And as men turn their back on those
with whom they are angry, so when the Lord refuses communion
with the natural man in his duties, it is a plain indication of his
wrath.
2. There is wrath in the word of God against him. "When wrath
is in the heart, it seeks a vent by the lips : so God fights against the
natural man with the sword of his mouth. Rev. ii. 16. The Lord's
word never speaks good of him, but always curseth and condemneth
him. Hence it is, that when he is awakened, the word read or
preached often increases his horror. 1. It condemns all his actions,
together with his corrupt nature. There is nothing he does, but
the law declares it to be sin. It is a rule of perfect obedience, from
which he always, in all things, declines ; and so it rejects every
thing he doth, as sinful. It pronounces his doom, and denounces
God's curse against him. Gal. iii. 10. " For as many as are of the
works of the law are under tlie curse : for it is written. Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in
the book of the law to do them." However well in the world, it
pronounces a wo from heaven against him, Isa. iii. 11. The Bible
is a quiver filled with arrows of wrath against him, ready to be
poured in on his soul. God's threatenings, in his word, hang over
his head as a black cloud, ready to shower down on him every mo-
ment. The word is indeed the saint's security against wrath : but
it binds the natural man's sin and wrath together, as a certain
pledge of his ruin, if he continue in that state. So the conscience
being awakened, and perceiving this tie made by the law, the man
is filled with terrors in his soul.
3. There is wrath in the hand of God, against the natural man.
He is under heavy strokes of wrath already, and is liable to more.
(1.) There is wrath on his body. It is a piece of cursed clay,
which wrath is sinking into by virtue of the threatening of the first
covenant. Gen. ii. 17, " In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou
shalt surely die." There is not a disease or pain that affects him,
but it comes on him with the sting of God's indignation in it. They
are all cords of death, sent before to bind the prisoner.
THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE. 103
(2.) There is wrath upon his soul. 1. He can have no communion
with God ; he is " foolish, and shall not stand in God's sight," Psalra
V. 5. When Adam sinned, God turned him out of paradise : and
natural men are, as Adam left them, banished from the gracious
presence of the Lord ; and can have no access to him in that state.
There is war between heaven and them ; and so all commerce is cut
off, " They are without God in the world," Eph. ii. 12. The sun
is gone down on them, and there is not the least glimpse of favour
towards them from heaven. 2. Hence the soul is left to pine away
in its iniquity : the natural darkness of their minds, the averseuess
to good in their wills, the disorder of their affections, and distemper
of their consciences, and all their natural plagues, are left uj)on
them in a penal way ; and, being so left increase daily. God casts
a portion of this world's goods to them, more or less, as a bone is
thrown to a dog : but alas ! his wrath against them appears, in that
they get no grace. The Physician of souls comes by them, and
goes by them, and cures others on each side of them, while they
are consuming away in their iniquity, and ripening daily for utter
destruction. 3. They lie open to fearful additional plagues on their
souls, even in this life. Sometimes they meet with deadening
strokes, silent blows from the hand of an angry God ; arrows of
wrath, that enter into their souls without noise, Isa. vi. 10, "Make
the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut
their eyes, lest they see with their eyes," &c, God strives with
them for a while, and convictions enter their consciences ; but they
rebel against the light ; and by a secret jugdment, they receive a
blow on the head ; so that, from that time, they do as it were live
and rot above ground. Their hearts are deadened ; their affections
withered; their consciences stupified ; and their whole souls blasted;
" cast forth as a branch, and withered," John xv. 6. They are
plagued with judicial blindness. They shut their eyes against the
light; and they are given over to the devil, the god of this
world, to be blinded more, 2 Cor. iv. 4. Yea, " God sends them
strong delusions, that they should believe a lie," 2 Thess. ii.
11. Even conscience, like a false light on the shore, leads thera
upon rocks: by which they are broken in pieces. They harden
themselves against God, and he leaves them to Satan and their
own hearts, whereby they are hardened more and more. They
are often " given up unto vile affections," Horn. i. 26. The reins
are laid on their necks; and they are left to run into all excess, as
their furious lusts drive thera. Sometimes they meet with sharp
fiery strokes, whereby their souls become like mount Sinai, where
nothing is seen but fire and smoke ; nothing heard but the thunder
1U4 THE MISKEY OF MAx's NATURAL STATE.
of God's wrath, and the voice of the trumpet of a broken law,
waxing louder and louder : which makes them, like Pashur, Jer.
XX. 4, " a terror to themselves." God takes the filthy garments of
their sins, which they were wont to sleep in securely ; overlays
them with brimstone, and sets them on fire about their ears : so
they have a hell within them.
(3.) There is wrath on the natural man's enjoyments. Whatever
be wanting in his house, there is one thing that is never wanting
thsre, Prov. iii. 33, " The curse of the Lord is in the house of the
Avicked." Wrath is on all that he has, on the bread that he eats,
the liquor he drinks, the clothes which he wears. " His basket and
store are cursed," Deut. xxviii. 17. Some things fall wrong with
him ; and that comes to pass by virtue of this wrath : other things
go according to his wish, and there is wrath in that too ; for it is a
snare to his soul, Prov. i. 32. " The prosperity of fools shall de-
stroy them." This wrath turns his blessings into curses, Mai. ii. 2,
" I will curse your blessings ; yea, I have cursed them already."
The holy law is " a killing letter to him," 2 Cor. iii. 6. The ministry
of the gospel "a savour of death unto death," chap. ii. 16. In the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper, " he eateth and drinketh damna-
tion to himself," 1 Cor. xi. 29. Nay, more than all that, Christ
himself is to him a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence," 1 Pet.
ii. 8. Thus wrath follows the natural man, as his shadow doth his
body.
(4.) He is under the power of Satan, Acts xxiv. 18. The devil
has overcome him, so he is his by conquest, his lawful captive Isa.
xlix. 24. The natural man is condemned already, John iii. 18, and
therefore under the heavy hand of " him that hath the power of
death, that is, the devil." He keeps his prisoners in the prison of
a natural state, bound hand and foot, Isa. Ixi. 1, laden with divers
lusts, as chains wherewith he holds them fast. Thou needest not,
as many do, call on the devil to take thee ; for he has a fast hold
of thee already, as a child of wrath.
(5.) The natural man hath no security for a moment's safety,
from the wrath of God coming on him to the uttermost. The curse
of the law, denounced against him, has already tied him to the
stake : so that the arrows of justice may pierce his soul ; and, in
him, may meet all the miseries and plagues that flow from the
avenging wrath of God. See how he is set as a mark to the arrows
of wrath, Psalm vii. 11 — 13, " God is angry with the wicked every
day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword ; he hath bent his bow,
and made it ready ; he hath also prepared for him the instruments
of death." Does he lie down to sleep ? There is not a promise
THE MISERY OP MAn's NATURAL STATE. 105
tliat lie knows of, or can kuow, to secure hira that he shall not be in
hell ere he awake. Justice pursues, and cries for vengeance on the
sinner; the law casts the fire-balls of its curses continually upon
hira ; wasted and long-tired patience is that which keeps in his life.
He walks amidst enemies armed against him : his name may be
Magor-missabib, that is, terror round about, Jer. xx. 3. Angels,
devils, men, beasts, stones, heaven and earth, are in readiness, on a
word of command from the Lord, to ruin him.
Thus the natural man lives, but he must die too ; and death is a
dreadful messenger to him. It comes upon him armed with wrath,
and puts three sad charges in his hand. 1. Death charges him to
bid an eternal farewell to all things in this world ; to leave it, and
haste away to another world. Ah, what a dreadful charge must
this be to a child of wrath ! He can have no comfort from heaven,
for God is his enemy : as for the things of the world, and the enjoy-
ment of his lusts, which were the only springs of his comfort, these
are in a moment dried up to him for ever. He is not ready for an-
other world : he was not thinking of removing so soon : or, if he
was, yet he has no portion secured to him in the other world, but
that which he was born to, and was increasing all his days, namely,
a treasure of wrath. But go he must ; his clay god, the world,
must be parted with, and what has he more ? There was never a
glimmering of light, or favour from heaven, to his soul : the wrath
which hung in the threatening, as a cloud like a man's hand, is
darkening the whole heaven above him : if he " look unto the
earth," from whence all his light was wont to come, " behold
trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish ; and he shall be driven
to darkness ;" Isa. viii. 22. 2. Death charges soul and body to
part, till the great day. His soul is required of him, Luke xii. 20.
0 what a miserable parting must this be to a child of wrath ! Care
was indeed taken to provide for the body things necessary for this
life; but, alas ! there is nothing laid up for another life, nothing to
be a seed of a glorious resurrection ; as it lived, so it must die, and
rise again, sinful flesh, fuel fur the fire of God's wrath. As for the
soul, he was never solicitous to provide for it. It lay in the body,
dead to God, and all things truly good ; and so must be carried out
into the pit, in the grave-clothes of its natural state ; for now that
death comes, the companions in sin must part. 3. Death charges
the soul to appear before the tribunal of God, while the body lies
to be carried to tlie grave, Eccl. xii. 7, " The spirit shall return
unto God who gave it." Heb. ix. 27, " It is appointed unto all men
once to die, but after this the judgment." Well were it for the sin-
ful soul, if it might be buried together with the body. But tliat
Vol. YIIL g
106 THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATK.
cannot be ; it must go, and receive its sentence ; and shall be shut
up in the prison of hell, while the cursed body lies imprisoned in
the grave, till the day of the general judgment.
"When the end of the world, as appointed of God, is corao, the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead arise. Then shall the weary
earth, at the command of the Judge, cast forth the bodies, the
cursed bodies, of those that lived and died in their natural state ;
" The sea, death, and hell, shall deliver up their dead," Rev. xx. 13.
Their miserable bodies and souls shall be reunited, and they sum-
moned before the tribunal of Christ. Then shall they receive that
fearful sentence, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting Are,
]>repared for the devil and his angels," Matt. xxv. 41. Whereupon
*' they shall go away into everlasting punishment," ver. 46. They
shall be eternally shut up in hell, never to get the least drop of
comfort, nor the smallest alleviation of their torment. There they
will be punished with the punishment of loss, being excommuni-
cated for ever from the presence of God, his angels, and saints.
All means of grace, all hopes of a delivery, will be for ever cut off
from their eyes. They shall not have a drop of water to cool their
tongues, Luke xvi. 24, 25. They will be punished with a punish-
ment of sense. They must not only depart from God, but depart
into fire ; into everlasting fire ! There the worm that shall gnaw
them will never die ; the fire that will scorch them, shall never be
quenched. God will, through eternity, hold them up with the one
hand, and pour the full vials of wrath into them with the other.
This is that state of wrath natural men live in ; being under much
of the wrath of God, and liable to more. But, for a further view
of it, let us consider the qualities of this wrath : 1. It is irresis-
tible, there is no standing before it; " Who may stand in thy sight,
when once thou art angry ?" Psalm Jxxvi. 7. Can the worm or
the moth defend itself against him that designs to crush it? Can
tlie worm man stand before an angry God ? Foolish man indeed
practically bids a defiance to Heaven ; but the Lord often, even in
this world, opens such sluices of wrath upon them, as all their
might cannot stop : they are carried away thereby, as with a flood !
How much more will it be so in hell ! 2. It is insupportable.
What a man cannot resist, he will try to endure : but. Who shall
dwell in devouring fire? Who shall dwell with everlasting burn-
ings ? God's wrath is a weight that will sink men into the lowest
hell. It is a burdeu which no man can stand under. " A wounded
spirit who can bear ?" Prov. xviii. 14. 3. It is unavoidable to such
as go on impenitently, and die in their sinful course. " He that,
being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be de-
stroyed, and that without remedy," Prov. xxix. 1. We may now
THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE. 107
flee from it, indeed, by fleeing to Jesus Christ : but such as flee
from Christ, will never be able to avoid it. Whither can men flee
from the avenging God ? Where will they find a shelter ? The
hills will not hear them. The mountains will be deaf to their
loudest supplications, when they cry to them to " hide them from
the wrath of the Lamb." 4. It is powerful and fierce wrath, Psalm
xc. 11, " Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according
to thy fear, so is thy wrath." We are apt to fear the wrath of man
more than we ought ; but no man can apprehend the wrath of God
to be more dreadful than it really is : the power of it can never be
known to the utmost ; for it is infinite, and, properly speaking, has
no utmost. How fierce soever it be, either on earth or in hell, God
can still carry it farther. Every thing in God is most perfect in its
kind; and therefore no wra'Ji is so fierce as his. 0 sinner! how
wilt thou be able to endure that wrath, which will tear thee in
pieces, Psalm 1. 22, and grind thee to powder ! Luke xx. 18. The
history of the two she-bears, that tare the children of Bethel, is an
awful one, 2 Kings ii. 23, 24. But the united force of the rage of
lions, leopards, and she-bears bereaved of their whelps, is not sufii-
cient to give us even a faint view of the power of the wrath of God:
Hos. xiii. 7, 8, " Therefore I will be unto them as a lion ; as a leo-
pard by the way will I observe them. I will meet them as a bear
that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their
heart," &c. 5. It is penetrating and piercing wrath. It is burning
wrath, and fiery indignation. There is no pain more exquisite than
that which is caused by fire ; and no fire so piercing as the fire of
God's indignation, that burns unto the lowest hell. Dent, xxxii. 22.
The arrows of men's wrath can pierce flesh, blood, and bones, but
cannot reach the soul ; but the wrath of God will sink into the
soul, and so pierce a man in the most tender pari, like as, when a
person is thunderstruck, oft-times there is not a wound to be seen
in the skin ; yet life is gone, and the bones are melted, as it were :
so God's wrath can penetrate into, and melt a man's soul within
him, when his earthly comforts stand about him entire and un-
touched ; as in Belshazzar's case, Dan. v. 6. 6. It is constant wrath,
running parallel with the man's continuance in an unregenerate
state; constantly attending him from the womb to the grave. There
are few days so dark, but the sun sometimes looketh out from under
the clouds : but the wrath of God is an abiding cloud on the objects
of it, John iii. 36, " The wrath of God abideth on him" that be-
lieveth not. 7- It is eternal. 0, miserable soul ! if thou flee not
from this wrath unto Jesus Christ, though thy misery had a begin-
ning, yet it will never have an end. Should devouring death wholly
G 2
108 THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE,
swallow tliee up, and for ever hold thee fast in the grave, it would
be kind : but thy body must be re-united to thy immortal soul,
and live again, and never die; that thou raayest be ever dying, in
the hands of the living God. Cold death will quench the flame of
man's wrath against us, if nothing else do : but God's wrath, when
it has come on the sinner for millions of ages, will still be the
wrath to come. Matt. iii. 7; 1 Thess. i. 10; as the water of a river
is still coming, how much soever has passed. While God is, he
will pursue the quarrel. 8. However dreadful it is, and though it
be eternal, yet it is most just wrath : it is a clear fire, without the
least smoke of injustice. The sea of wrath, raging with greatest
fury against the sinner, is clear as crystal. The Judge of all the
earth can do no wrong : he knows no transports of passion, for they
are inconsistent with the perfection of his nature. " Is God un-
righteous, who taketh vengeance ? (I speak as a man) God forbid :
for then, how shall God judge the world?" Rom. iii. 5, 6.
II. I shall confirm the doctrine of the State of Wrath. Consider,
1. How peremptory the threatening of the first covenant is : " In
tlie day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die," Gen. ii. 17.
Hereby sin and punishment being connected, the veracity of God
makes the execution of the threatening certain. Now, all men
being by nature under this covenant, the breach of it lays them
under the curse. 2. The justice of God requires that a child of sin
be a child of wrath ; that the law being broken, the sanction thereof
should take place. God, as man's ruler and judge, cannot but do
right. Gen. xviii. 25. Now, it is " a righteous thing with God to
recompense sin" with wrath, 2 Thess. i. 6. He "is of purer eyes
than to behold evil," Hab. i. 13. And " he hates all the workers
of iniquity," Psalm v. 5. 3. The horrors of a natural conscience
prove this. Conscience, in the breasts of men, tells them that they
are sinners, and therefore liable to the wrath of God. Let men, at
any time, soberly commune with themselves, and they will find that
they have the witness in themselves, " knowing the judgment of
God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death,"
Rom. i. 32, 4. The pangs of the new birth, the work of the Spi-
rit on elect souls, in order to their conversion, demonstrate this.
Hereby their natural sinfulness and misery, as liable to the wrath
of God, are plainly taught them, filling their hearts with fear of
that wrath. As it is the Spirit's work to " convince of sin, righte-
ousness, and judgment," John xvi. 8, this testimony must needs be
true ; for the Spirit of truth cannot witness an untruth. But true
believers, being freed from the state of wrath, "receive not the spi-
rit of bondage again to fear, but receive the Spirit of adoption,"
THE MrSEUY OP MAn's NATURAL STATE. 109
Rora. viii. 15. Therefore, if fears of that nature do arise, after the
soul's union with Christ, they come from the saint's own spirit, or
from a worse. 5. The sufferings of Christ plainly prove this doc-
trine. Wherefore was the Son of God a son under wrath, but
because the children of men were children of wrath ? He suffered
the wrath of God ; not for himself, but for those who were liable to
it in their own persons. Nay, this not only shews us to have been
liable to wrath, but also tliat wrath must have a vent, in the
punishment of sin. If this was done in the green tree, what will
become of the dry ? What a miserable case must a sinner be in,
that is out of Christ; that is not vitally united to Christ, and par-
takes not of his Spirit ! God, who spared not his own Son, surely
will not spare such a one.
But the unregenerate man, who has no great value for the honour
of God, will be apt to rise up against this Judge, and in his own
heart condemn his procedure. Nevertheless, the Judge being infi-
nitely just, the sentence must be righteous. Therefore, to stop thy
mouth, 0 proud sinner ! and to still thy clamour against thy righte-
ous Judge, consider, 1. Thou art a sinner by nature; and it is highly
reasonable, that guilt and wrath be as old as sin. Why should not
God begin to vindicate his honour, as soon as vile worms attempt to
impair it? Why shall not a serpent bite the thief, as soon as he
leaps over the hedge ? Why should not the threatening take hold
of the sinner, as soon as he casts away the command ? The poison-
ous nature of the serpent affords a man sufficient ground to kill it, as
soon as ever he can reach it ; and by this time thou raayest be con-
vinced that thy nature is a very compound of enmity against God.
2. Thou hast not only enmity against God in thy nature, but hast
discovered it by actual sins, which are, in his eye, acts of hostility.
Thou hast brought forth thy lusts into the field of battle against thy
sovereign Lord. And because thou art such a criminal, thy con-
demnation is just : for, besides the sin of thy nature, thou hast done
that against Heaven, which if thou hadst done against men, thy life
must have gone for it ; and shall not wrath from Heaven overtake
thee ? 1. Thou art guilty of high treason and rebellion against the
King of heaven. The thought and wish of thy heart, which he
knows as well as the language of thy mouth, has been, " No God,"
Psalm xiv. 1. Thou hast rejected his government, blown the trum-
pet, and set up the standard of rebellion against him, being one of
those that say, " We will not have this man to reign over us," Luke
xix. 14. Thou hast striven against, and quenched his Spirit; prac-
tically disowned his laws proclaimed by his messengers ; stopped
thine ears at their voice, aud sent them away mourning for thy
110 THE AlISEKY OF MAN's NATURAL STATE.
pride. Thou hast conspired with his grand enemy, the devil. Al-
though thou art a servant of the King of glory, daily receiving of
his favours, and living on his bounty, thou art holding a correspond-
ence, and hast contracted a friendship, with his greatest enemy, and
art acting for him against thy Lord; for " the lusts of the devil you
will do," John viii. 44. 2. Thou art a murderer before the Loi'd.
Thou hast laid the stumbling-block of thine iniquity before the
blind world, and hast ruined the souls of others by thy sinful course.
Though thou dost not see now, the time may come when thou shalt
see the blood of thy relations, neighbours, acquaintances, and others
upon thy head, Matth. xviii. 7- " Woe unto the world because of
offences — Woe to that man by whom the offence cometh." Yea,
thou art a self-murderer before God : Prov. viii. 36, " He that sin-
neth against me, wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me, love
death." Ezek. xviii. 31, " Why will ye die ?" The laws of men
mark the self-murderer ; what wonder is it, that the law of Grod is
so severe against soul-murderers ? Is it strange, that they who will
needs depart from God now, cost what it will, should be forced to
depart from him at last, into everlasting fire ? But, what is yet
more criminal, thou art guilty of the murder of the Son of God; for
the Lord will reckon thee amongst those that pierced him. Rev. i.
6. Thou hast rejected him, as the Jews did ; and by rejecting him,
thou hast justified their deed. They indeed did not acknowledge
him to be the Son of God, but thou dost. What they did against
him, was in his state of humiliation ; but thou hast acted against
him, in his state of exaltation. These things will aggravate thy
condemnation. What wonder then, if the voice of the lamb change
to the roaring of the lion, against the traitor and murderer !
Objection. But some will say, " Is there not a vast disproportion
between our sin, and that wrath you talk of?" I answer, "No;
God punisheth no more than the sinner deserves." To rectify your
mistake in this matter, consider, 1. The vast rewards which God has
annexed to obedience. His word is no more full of fiery wrath
against sin, than it is of gracious rewards to the obedience it re-
quires. If heaven be in the promises, it is altogether equal that
hell is in the threatenings. If death were not in the balance with
life, eternal misery with eternal happiness, where would be the pro-
portion ? — Moreover, sin deserves the misery, but our best works do
not deserve the happiness : yet both are set before us ; sin and
misery, holiness and happiness. What reason is there then to com-
plain ? 2. How severe soever the threatenings be, yet all have
enough to do to reach the end of the law. " Fear him," says our
Lord, " which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ;
I
TIIH MISERY Of man's NATURAL STATU, - 111
yea, I say unto you, Fear him," Luke xii. 5. This bespeaks our
dread of divine power and majesty ; yet how few fear him indeed !
The Lord knows the hearts of sinners to be exceedingly intent upon
fulfilling their lusts ; they cleave so fondly to their beloved sins,
that a small force does not sixffice to draw them away from them.
They that travel through deserts, wliere they are in hazard from
wild beasts, have need to carry fire along with them ; and they have
need of a hard wedge that have knotty timber to cleave : so a holy
law must be fenced with dreadful wrath in a world lying in wicked-
ness. But who are they that complain of that wrath as too great,
but those to whom it is too little to draw them off from their sinful
courses ? It was the man who pretended to fear his Lord, because
he was an austere man, that kept his pound laid up in a napkin ;
and so he was condemned out of his own mouth, Luke xix. 20 — 22.
Thou art that man, even thou whose objection I am answering.
How can the wrath which thou art under, and liable to, be too great
when, as yet it is not suflicient to awaken thee to flee from it ? Is
it time to relax the penalties of the law, when men are trampling
the commands of it under foot ? 3. Consider how God dealt with
bis own Son, whom he spared not, Rom. viii. 32. The wrath of God
seized on his soul and body both, and brought him into the dust of
death. That his sufferings were not eternal, flowed from the quality
of the Suft'erer, who was infinite; and therefore able to bear, at onco
the whole load of wrath; and, upon that account, his sufferings were
infinite in value. But as the sufferings of a mere creature cannot be
infinite in value, they must be protracted to an eternity. — And what
confidence can a rebel subject have to quarrel with his part of a
punishment executed on the King's Son ? 4. The sinner doth
against God what he can : " Behold, thou hast done evil things as
thou couldst," Jer. iii. 5. That thou hast not done more, and worse,
thanks to hira who restrained thee ; to the chain by which the wolf
was kept in, not to thyself. No wonder that God shews his power
on the sinner, who puts forth his power against God, as far as it will
reach. The unregenerate man puts no period to his sinful course ;
and would put no bounds to it neither, if he were not restrained by
divine power, for wise ends : therefore it is just that he be for ever
under wrath. 5. It is infinite majesty which sin strikes against ;
and so it is, in some sort, an infinite evil. Sin rises in its demerit,
according to the quality of the party offended. If a man wound his
neighbour, his goods must go for it; but if he wound his prince, his
life must go for that. The infinity of God makes infinite wrath the
just demerit of sin. God is infinitely displeased with sin; and when
lie acts, he must act like himself, and shew his displeasure by pro-
112 THE MISERY OF MAn's NATUUAL STATE.
portionable means. 6. Those who shall lie for ever under this
wrath will be eternally sinning, and therefore must eternally sniFer;
not only in respect of divine judicial procedure, but because sin is
its own punishment, in the same manner as holy obedience is its
own reward.
III. I now proceed to apply this doctrine of the misery of man's
natural state.
Use I. Of information. Is our state by nature a state of wrath ?
Then,
1. Surely we are not born innocent. Those chains of wrath,
which by nature are upon us, shew us to be born criminals. The
swaddling-bands, wherewith infants are bound hand and foot as soon
as they are born, may put us in mind of the cords of wrath, with
which they are held prisoners, as children of wrath.
2. What desperate madness is it, for sinners to go on in their
sinful course ! What is it but to heap coals of fire on thine own
head ! to lay more and more fuel to the fire of wrath ! to " treasure
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath !" Rom ii. 5. Thuu
mayest perish, " when his wrath is kindled but a little," Psalm ii.
12. Why wilt thou increase it yet more ? Thou art already bound
with such cords of death, as cannot easily be loosened ; what need is
there of more ? Stand, careless sinner, and consider this.
3. Thou hast no reason to complain, as long as thou art out
of hell. '* Wherefore doth a living man complain ?" Lam. iii. 39.
If one, who has forfeited his life, be banished from his native
country, and exposed to many hardships ; he may well bear all pa-
tiently, seeing his life is spared. Do you murmur, because you are
under pain and sickness ? Nay, bless God, you are not there where
the worm never dieth. Dost thou grudge, that thou art not in so
good a condition in the world as some of thy neighbours are ? Be
thankful, rather, that you are not in the case of the damned. Is thy
substance gone from thee ? Wonder that the fire of God's wriith hath
not consumed thee. Kiss the rod, 0 sinner ! and acknowledge
mercy ; for God " puuisheth us less than our iniquities deserve,"
Ezra ix. 13.
4. Here is a memorandum, both for poor and rich.
(1.) The poorest, that go from door to door, and have not one
penny left them by their parents, were born to an inheritance.
Their first father Adam left them " children of wrath :" and, con-
tinuing in their natural state, they cannot escape it ; for " this is
the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed
to him by God," Job xx. 29. An heritage that will furnish them
with a habitation, who have not where to lay their head ; they shall
THE MISEKY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE. 113
be "cast iuto outer darkness," Matt. xxv. 30, for to them "is re-
served the blackness of darkness for ever," Jude, ver. 13, where
their bed shall be sorrow ; " they shall lie down in sorrow," Isa. 1.
11 ; their food shall be judgment, for God will " feed them with
judgment," Ezek xsxiv. 16; and their drink shall be the red wine
of God's wrath, "the dregs whereof all the wicked of the earth shall
wring out, and drink them," Psalm Ixxv. 8. I know that those who
are destitute of worldly goods, and withal void of the knowledge and
grace of God, who therefore may be called the devil's poor, will bo
apt to say here, " We hope God will make us suffer all our misery
in this world, and that we shall be happy in the next ;" as if their
miserable outward condition, in time, would secure their happiness
ill eternity. A gross and fatal mistake! there is another inheritance
which they have, namely, "Lies, vanity, and things wherein there is
uo profit," Jer. xvi. 19. But, " the hail shall sweep away the re-
fuge of lies," Isa. xxviii. 17. Dost thou think, 0 sinner, that God,
who commands judges on earth " not to respect the person of the
poor in judgment," Levit. xix. 15, will pervert judgment for thee ?
Nay, know for certain, that however miserable thou art here, thou
shalt be eternally miserable hereafter, if thou livest and diest in thy
natural state.
(2.) Many that have enough in the world, have far more than they
know of. Thou hadst, it may be, 0 unregenerate man ! an estate, a
good portion, a large stock, left thee by thy father; thou hast improved
it, and the sun of prosperity shines upon thee ; so that thou canst say,
with Esau, Gen. xxxiii. 9, "I have enough." But know, thou hast more
than all that, an inheritance which thou dost not think ot : thou art a
child of wrath, an heir of hell. That is an heritage which will abide
with thee amidst all the changes in the world, as long as thou contin-
uest in an unregenerate state. "When thou shalt leave thy substance to
others, this will go along with thee into another world. It is no
wonder a slaughter ox is fed to the full, and is not set to work as
others are. Job xxi. 30, " The wicked is reserved to the day of
destruction ; they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath."
Well then, " Rejoice, let thine heart cheer thee, walk in the ways
of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes." Live above reproofs
and warning from the word of God; sh>iw thyself a man of a fine
spirit, by casting off all tVar of God; mock at seriousness; live like
thyself, " a child of wrath," " an heir of hell :" " But know thou, that
for all these things God will bring thee into judgment," Eccl. xi. 9.
Assure yourself, thy " breaking shall come suddenly at an instant,"
Isa. XXX. 13. " For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is
the laughter of a fool," Eccl. vii. 6. The fair blaze, and the
114 THE MISEKY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
great noise which they make, are quickly gone : so shall thy mirth
be. Then that wrath, that is now silently sinking into thy soul,
shall make a fearful hissing.
5. "Wo to him, that, like Moab, " hath been at ease from his
youth, Jer. xlviii. 11, and never saw the black cloud of wrath hang-
ing over his head. There are many who " have no changes, there-
fore they fear not God," Psalm Iv. 19. They have lived in a good
belief, as they call it, all their days ; that is, they never had power
to believe an ill report of their soul's state. Many have come by
their religion too easily : and as it came lightly to them, so it will
go from them, when the trial comes. Do ye think men flee from
wrath in a morning dream ? Or will they flee from the wrath they
never saw pursuing them ?
6. Think it not strange, if yon see one in great distress about his
soul's condition, who was wont to be as jovial, and as little con-
cerned for salvation as any of his neighbours. Can one get a right
view of himself, as in a state of wrath, and not be pierced with sor-
rows, terrors, and anxiety ? When a weight quite above a man's
strength, lies upon him, and he is alone, he can neither stir hand
nor foot ; but when one comes to lift it off him, he will struggle to
get from under it. Thunder-claps of wrath from the word of God,
conveyed to the soul by tha Spirit of the Lord, will surely keep a
man awake.
7. It is no wonder that wrath comes upon churches and nations,
and upon us in this land, and that infants and children smart under
it. Most of the society are yet children of wrath ; few are fleeing
from it, or taking the way to prevent it : but people of all ranks
are helping it on. The Jews rejected Christ ; and their children
have been smarting under wrath these eighteen hundred years.
God grant that the bad entertainment given to Christ and his
gospel, by this generation, be not pursued with wrath on the suc-
ceeding one.
Use II. Of Exhortation. Here, 1. I shall drop a word to those
who are yet in an unregenerate state. 2. To those who are brought
out of it. 3. To all equally.
1. To you that are yet in an unregenerate state, I would sound
the alarm, and warn you to see to yourselves, while there is yet
hope. 0 you children of wrath take no rest in this dismal state ;
but flee to Christ, the only refuge ; haste and make your escape
thither. The state of wrath is too hot a climate for you to live in,
Micah. ii. 10, " Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your rest." 0
sinner, knowest thou where thou art ? Dost thou not see thy dan-
ger ? The curse has entered into thy soul : wrath is thy covering ;
TIIK MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATK. 115
the heavens are growing blacker and blacker above thy head; the
earth is weary of thee, the pit is opening her mouth for thee, and
should the thread of thy life be cut this moment, thou art thence-
forth past all hope for ever. Sirs, if we saw you putting a cup of
poison to yonr mouth, we should flee to you and snatch it out of
your hands. If we saw the house on fire about you, while you were
fast asleep in it, we would run to you, and drag you out of it. But
alas ! you are in ten thousand times greater hazard : yet we can do
no more than tell you your danger ; invite, exhort, and beseech you
to look to yourselves : and lament your stupidity and obstinacy,
when we cannot prevail with you to take warning. If there were
no hope of your recovery, we should be silent, and would not tor-
ment you before the time: but though you be lost and undone, there
is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Wherefore, I cry unto you,
in the name of the Lord, and in the words of the prophet, Zech. is.
12. " Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope." Flee to
Jesus Christ out of this your natural state.
Motive 1. While you are in this state, you must stand or fall ac-
cording to the law, or covenant of works. If you understood this
aright, it would strike through your breasts as a thousand darts.
One had better be a slave to the Turks, condemned to the galleys,
or under Egyptian bondage, than be under the covenant of works
now. All mankind were brought under it in Adam, as we heard
before ; and thou, in thy unregenerate state, art still where Adam
left thee. It is true, there is another covenant brought in : but
what is that to thee, who art not brought into it ? Thou must needs
be under one of the two covenants ; either under the law, or under
grace. That thon art not under grace, the dominion of sin over
thee manifestly proves : therefore thou art under the law, Rom. vi.
14. Do not think God has laid aside the first covenant, Matth. v.
17, 18; Gal. iii. 10. No, he will "magnify the law, and make it
honourable." It is broken indeed on thy part; but it is absurd to
think, that therefore your obligation is dissolved. Nay, thou must
stand and fall by it, till thou canst produce thy discharge from God
himself, who is the party in that covenant ; and this thou canst not
pretend to, seeing thou art not in Christ.
Now, to give you a view of your misery, in this respect, consider
these following things : 1. Hereby you are bound over to death, in
virtue of the threatening of death in the covenant. Gen. ii. 17.
The condition being broken you fall under the penalty. So it
concludes you under wrath. 2. There is no salvation for you
under this covenant, but on a condition impossible to be performed
by you. The justice of God must be satisfied for the wrong which
116 THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
you have done already. God has written this truth in characters
of the blood of his own Son. Tea, and you must perfectly obey
the law for the time to come. So says the law, Gal. iii. 12,
" The man that doth them, shall live in them." Come then, 0 sin-
ner ! see if thou canst make a ladder, whereby thou mayest reach
the throne of God: stretch forth thine arms, and try if thou canst
fly on the wings of the wind, catch hold of the clouds, and pierce
through these visible heavens : and then either climb over, or break
through, the jasper walls of the city above. These things thou
mayest do, as well as be able to reach heaven in thy natural state.
under this covenant. 3. There is no pardon under this covenant.
Pardon is the benefit of another covenant, with which thou hast
nothing to do, Acts xiii. 39, " By him, all that believe are justified
from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of
Closes." As for thee, thou art in the hands of a merciless creditor,
who will take thee by the throat, saying, " Pay what thou owest ;"
and cast thee into prison, there to remain till thou hast paid the
utmost farthing : unless thou be so wise as to get a surety in time,
who is able to answer for all thy debt, and get up thy discharge.
This Jesus Christ alone can do. Thou abidest under this covenant,
and pleadest mercy ; but what is thy plea founded on ? There is
not one promise of mercy or pardon in that covenant. Dost thou
plead mercy for mercy's sake ? Jnstice will step in between it and
thee, and plead God's covenant threatening, which he cannot deny.
4. There is no place for repentance in this covenant, so as the sinner
can be helped by it. For as soon as ever thou sinnest, the law lays
its curse on thee, which is a dead weight thou canst by no means
throw off; no, not though thine "head were waters, and thine eyes
a fountain of tears, to weep day and night" for thy sin. That is
what the law cannot do, in that it is " weak through the flesh,"
Rom. vii. 3. You are another profane Esau, that has sold the
blessing ; and there is no place for repentance, though you seek it
carefully with tears, while under the covenant. 5. There is no ac-
ceptance of the will for the deed under this covenant, which was
not made for good will, but good works. The mistake in this point
ruins many. They are not in Christ, but stand under the first co-
venant ; and yet they will plead this privilege. This is just like a
man having made a feast for those of his own family, and when they
sit down at table, another man's servant, that has run away from
his master, presumptuously comes forward and sits down among
them: would not the master of the feast give such a stranger- that
check, "Friend, how comest thou in hither?" and since he is none
of his family, commanded him to he gone quickly. Though a mas-
THE JirSEKY OF JXAls's XATUEAL STATE. 117
ter accept the good-will of his owu child for the deed, can a hired
servant expect that privilege ? 6. You have nothing to do with
Christ while under that covenant. By the law of God, a woman
cannot be married to two husbands at once : either death or divorce
must dissolve the first marriage, ere she can marry anothei'. So we
must first be dead to the law, ere we can be married to Christ, Rom.
vii. 4. The law is the first husband ; Jesus Christ, who raises the
dead, marries the widow, that was heartbroken, and slain by the first
husband. But while the soul is in the house with the first husband,
it cannot plead a marriage relation to Christ ; nor the benefits of a
marriage covenant, which is not yet entered into, Gal. v. 4, " Christ
is become of no eff'ect to you; whosoever of you are justified by
the law, ye are fallen from grace." Peace, pardon, and such
like benefits, are all benefits of the covenant of grace. You must
not think to stand oflf from Christ, and the marriage covenant with
him, and yet plead these benefits, any more than one man's wife
can plead the benefit of a contract of marriage past between an-
other man and his wife. 7- See the bill of exclusion, passed in
the court of Heaven, against all under the covenant of works,
Gal. iv. 30, " The son of the bond-woman shall not be heir." Com-
pare ver. 24. Heirs of wrath must not be heirs of glory. Whom
the first covenant hath power to exclude out of heaven, the second
covenant cannot bring into it.
Objection. Then it is impossible for us to be saved. Aiis. It is so
while you are in that state ; but if you would be out of that dread-
ful condition hasten out of that state. If a murderer be under sen-
tence of death, so long as he lives within the kingdom, the laws
will reach his life ; but if he can make his escape, and get over
the sea, into the dominions of another prince, our laws cannot reach
him there. This is what we would have you to do ; flee out of the
kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of God's dear Son ; out of
the dominion of the law, into the dominion of grace : then all the
curses of the law, or covenant of works, shall never be able to reach
you.
Motive 2. 0 ye children of wrath, your state is wretched, for you
have lost God, and that is an unspeakable loss. You are with-
out God in the world, Eph. ii. 12. Whatever you may call
yours, you cannot call God yours. If we look to the earth, per-
haps you can tell us, that land, that house, or that herd of cattle,
is yours. But let us look upward to heaven ; is that God, that
grace, that glory, yours ? Truly, you have neither part no lot
in this matt?r. When Nebuchadnezzar talks of cities and king-
doms, 0 how big does he speak ! " Great Babylon, that I have
118 THE MISERY OF SIAn's NATURAL STATE.
built — my power — my majesty;" but be tells a poor tale, when be
comes to speak of God, saying, " Your God," Dan. ii. 47, and
iv. 30. Alas, sinner I whatever thou hast, God is gone from thee.
0 the misery of a godless soul ! Hast thou lost God ? Then, 1.
The sap and substance of all thou hast in the world is gone. The
godless man, have what he will, is one that hath not. Matt. xxv.
29. I defy the unregenerate man to attain to soul satisfaction,
•whatever he possesseth, since God is not his God. All his days
be eats in darkness : in every condition there is a secret dissatis-
faction haunts his heart, like a ghost : the soul wants something
though perhaps it knows not what; and so it will be always, till the
soul return to God, the fountain of satisfaction. 2. Thou canst do
nothing to purpose for thyself; for God is gone, his soul is departed
from thee, Jer. vi. 8, like a leg out of joint hanging by, whereof a
man has no use, as the word there used signifies. Losing God, thou
hast lost the fountain of good ; and so all grace, all goodness, all
the saving influences of his Spirit. What canst thou do then ?
^Vhat fruit canst thou bring forth, more than a branch cut off from
the stock ? John xv. 5. Thou art become unprofitable, ivom. iii. 12,
as a filthy rotten thing, fit only fcr the dunghill. 3. Death has
come up into thy windows, yea, and has settled on thy face ; for God,
in whose favour life is, Psalm xxx. 5, is gone from thee, and so the
life of thy soul is departed. What a loathsome lump is the body,
■when the soul is gone ! Far more loathsome is thy soul in this case.
Thou art dead while thou livest. Do not deny it, seeing thy speech
is laid, thine eyes closed, and all spiritual motion in thee ceased.
Thy true friends who see thy case, lament, because thou art gone
into the land of silence. 4. Thou hast not a steady friend amongst
all the creatures of God ; for now that thou hast lost the master's
favour, all the family is set against thee. Conscience is thine
enemy : the word never speaks good of thee : God's people loathe
so far as they see what thou art. Psalm xv. 4. The beasts and
stones of the field are banded together against thee, Job v. 23 ;
Hos. ii. 18. Thy meat, drink, and clothes, grudge being serviceable
to the wretch that has lost God, and abnseth them to his dishonour.
The earth groans under thee; yea, " the whole creation groaneth,
and travaileth in pain together," because of thee, and such as thou
art, Rom. viii. 22. Heaven will have nothing to do with thee ; for
" there shall in no wise enter into it, any thing that defileth," Rev.
xxi. 27. Only "hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee
at thy coming," Isa. xiv. 9. 5. Thy hell is begun already. What
makes hell, but exclusion from the presence of God? "Depart
from me, ye cursed." You are gone from God already, with the
I
THE MISERY OF MAN's NATURAL STATE. 119
curse upon you. That which is now your choice, shall be your
punishJSent at length, if you turn not. As a gracious state is a
state of glory in the bud ; so a graceless state is hell in the bud,
which, if it continue, will come at length to perfection.
Motive 3. Consider the dreadful instances of the wrath of Grod ;
and let them serve to awaken thee to flee out of this state. Consider
1. How it is fallen on men. Even in this world, many have been
set up as monuments of Divine vengeance, that others might fear.
Wrath has swept away multitudes, who have fallen together by the
hand of an angry God. Consider how the Lord "spared not the
old world — bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly :
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned
them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that
after should live ungodly," 2 Pet. ii. 5, 6. But it is yet more dread-
ful to think of that weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, amongst
those who in hell lift up their eyes, but cannot get a drop of wa-
ter to cool their tongues. Believe these things and be warned by
them, lest destruction come upon thee, for a warning to others.
2. Consider how wrath fell upon the fallen angels, whose case is
absolutely hopeless. Tiiey were the first that ventured to break the
hedge of the Divine law; and God set them up for monuments of
his wrath against sin. They once " left their own habitation,"
and were never allowed to look in again at the hole of the door;
but they are " reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto
the judgment of the great day," Jude ver. 6. 3. Behold how an
angry God dealt with his own Son, standing in the room of elect sin-
ners, Rom. viii. 32, " God spared not his Son." Sparing mercy might
have been expected, if any at all. If any person could have ob-
tained it, surely his own Son would have got it : but he spared him
not. The Father's delight is made a man of sorrows : he who is
the wisdom of God, becomes sore amazed, ready to faint away in a
fit of horror. The weight of this wrath makes him sweat great
drops of blood. By the fierceness of this fire, his heart was like
wax melted in the midst of his bowels. Behold, here, how severe
God is against sin! The sun was struck blind with this terrible
sight, rocks were rent, graves opened ; death, as it were, in the
excess of astonishment, letting its prisoners slip away. "What is a
deluge, a shower of fire and brimstone, on the people of Sodom, the
terrible noise of a dissolving world, the whole fabric of heaven and
earth disuniting at once, and angels cast down from heaven into the
bottomless pit ! What are all these, I say, in comparison with this,
God in human nature suffering ! groaning ! dying upon a cross !
Infinite holiness did it, to make sin look like itself, that is, infi-
120 THE MISERY OF MAn's NATURAL STATE.
nitely odious. And will men live at ease, while exposed to tins
wrath ? "
Motive 4. Consider what a God he is with whom thou hast to do,
and whose wrath thou art liable unto. He is the God of infinite
knowledge and wisdom; so that none of thy sins, however secret,
can be hid from him. He infallibly finds out all means, whereby
wrath may be executed, toward the satisfying of justice. He is of
infinite power, and so can do what he will against the sinner. How
heavy must the strokes of wrath be, which are laid on by an omni-
potent hand ! Infinite power can make the sinner prisoner, even
when he is in his greatest rage against Heaven. It can bring again
the several parcels of dust out of the grave, put them together again,
re-unite the soul and body, summon them before the tribunal, hurry
them away to the pit, and hold them up with the one hand, through
eternity, while they are lashed with the other. He is infinitely
just, and therefore must punish : it were acting contrary to his
nature to suffer the sinner to escape wrath. Hence the executing
of this wrath is pleasing to him : for though the Lord hath no de-
light in the death of a sinner, as it is the destruction of his own
creature, yet he delights in it, as it is the execution of justice.
" Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an
horrible tempest." Mark the reason ; " For the righteous Lord
loveth righteousness," Psalm xi. 6, 7, " I will cause my fury to rest
upon them, and I will be comforted," Ezek. v. 13. " I also will
laugh at your calamity," Prov. i. 26. Finally, He lives for ever, to
pursue the quarrel. Let us therefore conclude, " It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Be awakened then, 0 young sinner ! be awakened, 0 old sinner !
who are yet in the state you were born in ! Your security is none
of God's allowance ; it is the sleep of death ; rise out of it, ere the
pit close its mouth upon you. It is true, you may put on a breast-
plate of iron, make your brow brass, and your heart as an adamant;
and who can help it? But God will break that brazen brow, and
make that adamantine heart at last to fly into a thousand pieces.
You may, if you will labour to put these things out of your heads,
that you may sleep in fancied safety, though in a state of wrath.
You may run away, with the arrows sticking in your consciences, to
your labour, to work them away ; or to your beds, to sleep them
out ; or to company, to sport and laugh them away : but convictions,
so stifled, will have a fearful resurrection ; and the day is coming,
unless thou takest warning in time, when the arrows of wrath shall
so stick in thy soul, as thou shalt never be able to pluck them out
through the ages of eternity.
THE MISERY OF MAN's NATURAIj STATE. 121
But if any desire to flee from the wrath to come, and, for that end
to know what course to take, I offer them these few advices ; and
implore and beseech them, as they love their own souls, to fall in
with them. 1. Retire to some secret place and there meditate on
this your misery. Believe it, and fix your thoughts on it. Let each
put the question to himself. How can I live in this state ? How can
I die iu it ? How shall I rise again, and stand before the tribunal
of God in it ? 2. Consider seriously the sin of your nature, heart,
and life. A proper sight of wrath flows from a deep sense of sin.
They who see themselves exceedingly sinful, will find no great
difficulty to peiceive themselves to be heirs of wrath. 3. La-
bour to justify God in this matter. To quarrel with God about it,
and to rage like a wild bull in a net, will but fix you the more in
it. Humiliation of soul before the Lord is necessary for an escape.
God will not sell deliverance, but freely gives it to those who see
themselves altogether unworthy of his favour. 4. Turn your eyes,
0 prisoners of hope, towards the Lord Jesus Christ ; and embrace
him, as he oftereth himself in the gospel. " There is no salvation in
any other," Acts iv. 12. God is a consuming fire ; you are children
of wrath : if the Mediator interpose not between him and you, you
are undone for ever. If you would be safe, come under his shadow:
one drop of that wrath cannot fall there, for he " delivereth us from
the wrath to come," 1 Thess. i. 10. Accept of him in this covenant,
wherein he offereth himself to thee ; so thou shalt, as the captive
woman, redeem thy life, by marrying the conqueror. His blood
will quench that fire of wrath which burns against thee : in the
white raiment of his righteousness thou wilt be safe ; for no storm
of wrath can pierce it.
2. I shall drop a few words to the saints.
(1.) " Remember — that at that time," namely, when you were in
your natural state, " ye were without Christ — having no hope, and
without God in the world." Call to mind the state you were in for-
merly ; and review the misery of it. There are five memorials
which I may thence give in to the whole assembly of the saints, who
are no more children of wrath, but " heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ," though as yet in their minority. 1. Remember, that
in the day our Lord first took you by the hand, you were in no bet-
ter a condition than others. 0 ! what moved him to take you when
he passed by your neighbours ? he found you children of wrath,
even as others : but he did not leave you so. He came into the
common prison, wlicre you lay in fetters, even as others : from
among the multitude of condemned malefactors, he picked you out,
commanded your fetters to be taken off, put a pardon in your hand,
Vol. VIIL h
122 THE MISERY OF MAn's KATUKAL STATE.
and brought you into the glorious liberty of the children of God,
•while he left others in the devil's fetters. 2. Remember there was
uothing in you to engage him to love you, in the day he appeared
for your deliverance. You were children of wrath, even as others ;
fit for hell, and altogether unfit for heaven : yet the King brought
you into the palace ; the King's Son made love to you, a condemned
criminal, and espoused you to himself, on the day in which you might
have been led forth to execution. "Even so, Father, for so it seem-
eth good in thy sight," Matth. xi. 26. 3. Remember, you were fitter
to be loathed than loved in that day. Wonder, that when he saw you
in your blood, he looked not at yon with abhorrence, and passed by.
Wonder, that ever such a time could be a time of love, Ezek. xvi. 8,
4. Remember, you are decked with borrowed feathers. It is his come-
liness which is upon you, ver. 14. It was he that took off your pri-
son garments, and clothed you with robes of righteousness, garments
of salvation ; garments wherewith you are arrayed as the lilies,
which toil not, neither do they spin. He took the chains from oft'
your arms, the rope from about your neck ; put you in such a dress,
as you might be fit for the court of heaven, even to eat at the King's
table. 5. Remember your faults this day, as Pharaoh's butler, who
had forgotten Joseph. Mind how you have forgotten, and how un-
kindly you have treated, him who remembered you in your low
estate. Is this your kindness to your friend .^ In the day of your
deliverance, did you think you could have thus requited him, your
Lord ?
(2.) Pity the children of wrath, the world that lies in wickedness.
Can you be unconcerned for them, you who were once in the same
condition ? You have got ashore, indeed, but your companions are
yet in hazard of perishing ; and will not you aff'ord them all possi-
ble help for their deliverance ? What they are, you formerly were.
This may draw pity from you, and engage you to use all means for
their recovery. See Titus iii. 1 — 3.
(3.) Admire that matchless love which brought you out of the
state of wrath. Christ's love was active love ; he brought thy soul
from the pit of corruption ! — It was no easy work to purchase the
life of the condemned sinner ; but he gave his life for thy life. He
gave his precious blood to quench the flame of wrath, which other-
wise would have consumed thee. Men get the best view of the stars
from the bottom of a deep pit; from this pit of misery, into which
thou wast cast by the fall of the first Adam, thou mayest get the
best view of the Sun of Righteousness, in all his dimensions. He is
the second Adam, who took thee out of the horrible pit, and out of
the miry clay. How broad was that love, which covered such a
THV: MISERY OF MAN S NATUKAL STATE. 123
multitude of sins ! Behold the length of it, reaching from everlast-
ing to everlasting, Psalm ciii. 17. The depth of it, going so low as
to deliver thee from the lowest hell, Psalm Ixxxvi. 13. The height
of it, raising thee up to sit in heavenly places, Eph. ii. 6.
(4.) Be humble, carry low sails, walk softly all your years. Be
not proud of your gifts, graces, privileges, or attainments ; but re-
member you were children of wrath, even as others. The peacock
walks slowly, hangs down his starry feathers, while he looks to his
black feet. " Look ye to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged;"
and walk humbly, as it becomes free grace's debtors.
(6.) Be wholly for your Lord. Every wife is obliged to be duti-
ful to her husband ; but double ties lie upon her who was taken
from a prison, or a dunghill. If your Lord has delivered you from
wrath, you ought, on that very account, to be wholly his; to act for
him, to suffer for him, and to do whatever he calls you to. — The
saints have no reason to complain of their lot in the world, what-
ever it be. Well may they bear the cross for Him, by whom the
curse was borne away from them. Well may they bear the wrath
of men in his cause, who has freed them from the wrath of God ;
and cheerfully go to a fire for him, by whom hell-fire is quenched
as to them. Soul and body, and all thou hadst in the w<wld, were
formerly under wrath : he has removed that wrath, shall not all
these be at his service ? That thy soul is not overwhelmed with
the wrath of God, is owing purely to Jesus Christ ; and shall it not
be a temple for his Spirit ? That thy heart is not filled with horror
and despair is owing to Him only ; to whom then should it be de-
voted, but to him alone ? That thine eyes are not blinded with the
smoke of the pit; thy hands not fettered with chains of darkness;
thy tongue is not broiling in the fire of hell ; and thy feet are not
standing in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, — is owing
purely to Jesus Christ ! and shall not these eyes be employed for
him, these hands act for him, this tongue speak for him, and these
feet speedily run his errands ? To him who believes that he was a
child of wrath, even as others, but is now delivered by the blessed
Jesus, nothing will appear too much, to do or sufl"er for his De-
liverer, when he has a fair call to it.
3. To conclude with a word to all. Let no man think lightly of
sin, which lays the sinner open to the wrath of God. Let not the
sin of our nature, which wreathes the yoke of God's wrath so early
about our necks, seem a small thing in our eyes. Fear the Lord
because of his dreadful wrath. Tremble at the thought of sin,
against which God has such fiery indignation. Look on his wrath,
and stand in awe, and sin not. Do you think this is to press you to
h2
124 MAN UNABLE TO RECOVER HI3ISELF.
slavish fear? If it were so, one liad better be a slave to God with
a trembling heart, than a free man to the devil, with a seared con-
science and a heart of adamant. But it is not so ; you may love
him, and thus fear him too ; yea, you ought to do it, though you were
saints of the first magnitude. See Psalm cxix. 120 ; Matt. x. 28 ;
Luke xii. 5; Heb. xii. 28, 29. Although you have passed the
gulph of wrath, being in Jesus Christ, yet it is but reasonable that
your hearts should shiver when you look back to it. Your sin still
deserves wrath, even as the sins of others ; and it would be terrible
to be in a fiery furnace, although by a miracle we were so protected
against it, as that it could not harm us.
PART III.
man's utter inability to RECOVER HIMSELF.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. — Rojians v. 6.
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
him. — John v. 44.
We have now had a view of the total corruption of man's nature,
and that load of wrath which lies on him, that gulf of misery into
Avhich he is plunged in his natural state. But there is one part of
his misery that deserves particular consideration ; namely, his utter
inability to recover himself; the knowledge of which is necessary
for the due humiliation of a sinner. "What I design here, is only
to propose a few things, whereby to convince the unregenerate man
of this his inability; that he may see an absolute need of Christ
and of the power of his grace.
As a man that is fallen into a pit cannot be supposed to help him-
self out of it, but by one of two ways ; either by doing all himself
alone, or taking hold of, and improving, the help offered him by
others : so an unconverted man cannot be supposed to help himself
out of his natural state, but either in the way of the law, or cove-
nant of works, by doing all himself without Christ; or else in the
way of the Gospel, or covenant of grace, by exerting his own strength
to lay hold upon, and to make use of the help offered him by a
Saviour. But, alas ! the unconverted man is dead in the pit, and
cannot help himself either of these ways; not the first way ; for the
MAN UNABLK TO RECOVER HIMSELF. 125
first text tells us, that when our Lord came to help us, " we wei-e
without strength," unable to recover ourselves. We were un-
godly, therefore under a burden of guilt and wrath ; yet " without
strength," unable to stand under it; and unable to throw it off, or
get from under it : so that all mankind would have undoubtedly
perished, had not "Christ died for the ungodly," and brought help
to those who could never have recovered themselves. But when
Christ comes and offers help to sinners, cannot they take it ? Can-
not they improve help when it comes to their hands? No, the se-
cond text tells, they cannot ; " No man can come unto me,"&c. — that
is, believe in me, John vi. 44, " except the Father draw him." This
is a drawing which enables them to come, who, till then could not
come ; and therefore could not help themselves by improving the
help offered. It is a drawing which is always effectual ; for it can
be no less than " hearing and learning the Father," which, whoever
partakes of, coraeth to Christ, ver. 45. Therefore it is not drawing
in the way of mere moral suasion, which may be, yea, and always
is effectual. But it is drawing by mighty power, Eph. i. 12, abso-
lutely necessary for those who have no power in themselves to come
and take hold of the offered help.
Hearken then, 0 unregenerate man, and be convinced that as
thou art in a most miserable state by nature, so thou art utterly un-
able to recover thyself any way. Thou art ruined; and what way
wilt thou go to work, to recover thyself? Which of the two ways
wilt thou choose ? Wilt thou try it alone ; or wilt thou make use
of help? Wilt thou fall on the way of works, or on the way of
the Gospel ? I know very well that thou wilt not so much as try
the way of the Gospel, till once thou hast found the recovery im-
practicable in the way of the law. Therefore, we shall begin where
corrupt nature teaches men to begin, namely, at the way of the
law of works.
I. Sinner, I would have thee to believe that thy working will ne-
ver effect it. Work, and do thy best ; thou wilt never be able to
work thyself out of this state of corruption and wrath. Thou must
have Christ, else thou wilt perish eternally. It is only " Christ in
you" that can be the hope of glory. But if thou wilt needs try it,
then I must lay before thee, from the unalterable word of the liv-
ing God, two things which thou must do for thyself. If thou canst
do them, it must be yielded, that thou art able to recover thyself;
but if not, then thou canst do nothing this way for thy recovery.
1. "If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments," Matt.
xix. 17. That is, if thou wilt by doing enter into life, then per-
fectly keep the ten commandments; for the object of these words
1'26 lIA>f UNABLE TO RECOVER HlilSELF.
is to beat^down the pride of the man's heart, and to let hira see
an absolute need of a Saviour, from the impossibility of keeping
the law. The answer is given suitably to the address. Our Lord
checks him for his compliment, " Good Master," ver. 16, telling
him, " There is none good but one, that is God," ver. 17- As if he
had said, Tou think yourself a good man, and me another; but
where goodness is spoken of, men and angels may veil their faces
before the good God. As to his question, wherein he discovered his
legal disposition, Christ does not answer him, saying, " Believe and
thou shalt be saved ;" that would not have been so seasonable in
the case of one who thought he could do well enough for himself,
if he but knew " what good he should do;" but, suitable to the hu-
mour the man was in, he bids him " keep the commandments ;"
keep them nicely and accurately, as those that watch malefac-
tors in prison, lest any of thera escape, and their life be taken
for those which escape. See then, 0 unregenerate man, what thou
canst do in this matter ; for if thou wilt recover thyself in this way,
thou must perfectly keep the commandments of God.
(1.) Thy obedience must be perfect, in respect of the principle of
it; that is, thy soul, the principle of action, must be perfectly pure,
and altogether without sin. For the law requires all moral perfec-
tion ; not only actual, but habitual : and so condemns original sin ;
impurity of nature, as well as of actions. Now, if thou canst bring
this to pass, thou wilt be able to answer that question of Solomon,
so as never one of Adam's posterity could yet answer it, " Who can
say, I have made my heart clean ?" Prov. xx. 9. But if thou canst
not, the very want of this perfection is sin, and so lays thee open to
the curse and cuts thee off from life. Yea, it makes all thine ac-
tions, even thy best actions, sinful : " For who can bring a clean
thing out of an unclean ?" Job xiv. 4. And dost thou think by sin
to help thyself out of sin and misery ?
(2.) Thy obedience must also be perfect in parts. It must be as
broad as the whole law of God : if thou lackest one thing, thou art
undone ; for the law denounces the curse on him that continueth
not in every thing written therein, Gal. iii. 10. Thou must give
internal and external obedience to the whole law ; keep all the
commands in heart and life. If thou break any one of them, that
will insure thy ruin. A vain thought, or idle word, will still shut
thee up under the curse.
(3.) It must be perfect in respect of degrees ; as was the obe-
dience of Adam, while he stood in his innocence. This the law re-
quires, and will accept of no less, Matt. xxii. 37, " Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
MAX UNABLE TO KECOVEK HIMSELF. 127
with all thy mind." If one degree of that love, required by the
law, be wanting ; if each part of thy obedience be not brought up
to the greatest height commanded ; that want is a breach of the
law, and so leaves thee still under the curse. A man may bring as
many buckets of water to a house that is on fire, as he is able to
carry ; and yet it may be consumed, and will be so, if he bring not
as many as will quench tlie fire. Jjven so, although thou shouldst
do what thou art able, in keeping the commandments, if thou
fail in the least degree of obedience, which the law enjoins, thou
art certainly ruined for ever ; unless thou take hold of Christ,
renouncing all thy righteousness, as filthy rags. See Kom. x. 5 ;
Gal. iii. 10.
(4.) It must be perpetual, as the man Christ's obedience was,
who always did the things which pleased the Father ; for the tenor
of the law is, " Cursed is he that continueth not in all things writ-
ten in the law to do them." Hence, though Adam's obedience was,
for a while, absolutely perfect ; yet because at length he failed in
one point, namely, in eating the forbidden fruit, he fell under the
curse of the law. If a man were to live a dutiful subject to his
prince, till the close of his days, and then conspire against him, he
must die for his treason. Even so, though thou shouldst, all the
time of thy life, live in perfect obedience to the law of God, and
yet at the hour of death only entertain a vain thought, or pronounce
an idle word, that idle word, or vain thought, would blot out all thy
former righteousness, and ruin thee ; namely, in this way in which
thou art seeking to recover thyself.
Now, such is the obedience which thou must perform, if thou
wouldst recover thyself in the way of the law. — But though thou
wouldst thus obey, the law stakes thee down in the state of wrath,
till another demand of it be satisfied.
2. Thou must pay what thou owest. It is undeniable that thou
art a sinner ; and whatever thou mayest be in time to come, justice
must be satisfied for thy sins already committed. The honour of
the law must be maintained, by thy suft'ering the denounced wrath.
It may be thou hast changed thy course of life, or art now resolved
to do it, and to set about keeping the commands of God : but what
hast thou done, or what wilt thou do, with the old debt ? Your
obedience to God, though it were perfect, is a debt due to him, for
the time wherein it is performed ; and can no more satisfy for
former sins, than a tenant's paying the current year's rent can
satisfy the landlord for all arrears. Can the paying of new debts
acquit a man from old accounts ? Nay, deceive not yourselves ;
you will find these laid up in store with God, and sealed up among
128 MAN UNABLE TO RECOVER HIMSELF.
liis treasures, Deut. xxxii. 34. It remains then, that either tliou
must bear that wrath, to which for thy sin thou art liable, accord-
ing to the law ; or else thou must acknowledge that thou canst not
bear it, and thereupon have recourse to the surety, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let me now ask thee, Art thou able to satisfy the justice
of God? Canst thou pay thy own debt ? Surely not: for, as he
is the infinite God, whom thou hast offended ; the punishment,
being suited to the quality of the oflFeuce, must be infinite. — But thy
punishment, or sufferings for sin, cannot be infinite in value, for
thou art a finite creature : therefore, they must be infinite in dura-
tion or continuance ; that is, they must be eternal. And so all thy
sufferings in this world are but an earnest of what thou must suffer
in the world to come.
Now, sinner, if thou canst answer these demands, thou mayest
recover thyself in the way of the law. But art thou not conscious
of thy inability to do any of these things ; much more to do
them all ? yet if thou do not all, thou dost nothing. Turn then, to
what course of life thou wilt, thou art still in a state of wrath.
Screw up thine obedience to the greatest height thou canst; suffer
what God lays upon thee ; yea, add, if thou wilt, to the burden, and
walk under all without the least impatience : yet all this will not
satisfy the demands of the law ; therefore thou art still a ruined
creature. Alas, sinner ! what art thou doing, while thou strivest
to help thyself, but dost not receive, and uuite with, Jesus Christ ?
Thou art labouring in the fire, wearying thyself for very vanity ;
labouring to enter into heaven, by the door which Adam's sin so
bolted, that neither he, nor any of his lost posterity, can ever enter
by it. Dost thou not see the flaming sword of justice, keeping thee
off from the tree of life ? Dost thou not hear the law denouncing a
curse on thee, for all thou art doing ; even for thy obedience, thy
prayers, thy tears, thy reformation of life, and so on ; because, being
under the law's dominion, thy best works are not so good as it
requires them to be under the pain of the curse ? Believe it, sirs, if
you live and die out of Christ, without being actually united to him
as the second Adam, the life-giving Spirit, and without coming
under the covert of his atoning blood ; though you should do the
utmost that any man can do, in keeping the commands of God, you
can never see the face of God in peace. If you should, from this
moment, bid an eternal farewell to this world's joys, and all the
affairs thereof, and henceforth busy yourselves with nothing but the
salvation of your souls ; if you should go into some wilderness, live
upon the grass of the field, and be companions to dragons and owls ;
if you should retire to some dark cavern of the earth, and weep
MAN UiVABLE TO RECOVER HIMSELF. 129
there for your sins, until yon had wept yourselves blind ; if you
should confess with your tongue, until it cleave to the roof of your
mouth ; pray, till your knees grow hard as horns ; fast, till your
body become like a skeleton ; and, after all this, give it to be
burnt ; the word is gone out of the Lord's mouth in righteousness,
and cannot return, that you shall perish for ever, notwithstanding
all this, as not being in Christ : John xiv. fci, " No man cometh unto
the Father, but by me." Acts iv. 12, " Neither is there salvation
in any other." Mark xvi. 16, " He that believeth not, shall be
damned."
Objection. But God is a merciful God, and he knows that we are
not able to answer these demands ; we hope therefore to be saved,
if we do as well as we can, and keep the commands as well as we
are able. Answer 1. Though thou art able to do many things, thou
art not able to do one thing right : thou canst do nothing acceptable
to God, being out of Christ, John xv. 5, " Without me ye can do
nothing." An unrenewed man, as thou art, can do nothing but sin ;
as we have already proved. Thy best actions are sin, and so they
increase thy debt to justice : how then can it be expected they
should lessen it ? 2. Though God should offer to save men, upon
condition that they did all they could do, in obedience to his com-
mands, yet we have reason to think, that those who should attempt
it, would never be saved : for where is the man that does as well as
he can ? Who sees not many false steps he has made, which he
might have avoided? There are so many things to be done, so
many temptations to carry us out of the road of duty, and our
nature is so very apt to be set on fire of hell, that we surely must
fail, even in some point that is within the compass of our natural
abilities. But, 3. Though thou shouldst do all thou art able to do,
in vain dost thou hope to be saved in that way. What word of
God is this hope of thine founded on ? It is neither founded on
law nor gospel ; therefore it is but a delusion. It is not founded on
the Gospel ; for the Gospel leads the soul out of itself, to Jesus
Christ for all ; and it establishes the law, Rom. iii. 31. Whereas
this hope of yours cannot be established, but on the ruins of the
law, which God will magnify and make honourable. Hence it ap-
pears, that it is not founded on the law neither. When God set
Adam a-working for happiness to himself and his posterity, perfect
obedience was the condition required of him ; and the curse was
denou; ^ed in case of disobedience. Tlie law being broken by him,
he and his posterity were subjected to the penalty for sin commit-
ted ; and withal were still bound to perfect obedience : for it is
absurd to think, that man's sinning, and suffering for his sin, should
130 IIAN UNAULE TO RECOVER HIMSELF.
free him frooi liis duty of obedience to his Creator. When Christ
came in the room of the elect, to purchase their salvation, the terms
were the same. Justice had the elect under arrest : if he is de-
sirous to deliver them, the terms are known. He must satisfy for
their sin, by suffering the punishment due to it; he must do what
they cannot do, namely, obey the law perfectly, and so fulfil all
righteousness. Accordingly, all this he did, and so became " the
end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth," Rom.
X. 4. And dost thou think that God will abate these terms as to
thee, when his own Son got no abatement of them ? Expect it not,
though thou shouldst beg it with tears of blood ; for if they pre-
vailed, they must prevail against the truth, justice, and honour of
God : Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all
things, which are written in the book of the law to do them." Yer,
12, " And the law is not of faith : but, the man that doth them,
shall live in them." It is true, that God is merciful : but cannot he
be merciful, unless he save you in a way that is neither consistent
with his law, nor his Gospel ? Have not his goodness and mercy
sufficiently appeared, in sending the Son of his love, to do " what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh ?" He
has provided help for those who cannot help themselv^es : but thou,
insensible of thine own weakness, must needs think to recover thy-
self by thine own works, while thou art no more able to do it, than
to remove mountains of brass out of their place.
Wherefore I conclude, that thou art utterly unable to recover
thyself, in the way of works, or by the law. 0 that thou wouldst
conclude the same concerning thyself !
II. Let us try next what the sinner can do to recover himself, in
the way of the gospel. It may be thou thinkest, that thou canst not
do all by thyself alone, yet Jesus Christ offering thee help, thou
canst of thyself embrace it, and use it for thy recovery. But, 0
sinner, be convinced of thine absolute need of the grace of Christ :
for truly, there is help offered, but thou canst not accept it: there is
a rope cast out to draw shipwrecked sinners to land, but, alas! they
have no hands to lay hold of it. They are like infants exposed in
the open field, who must starve, though their food be lying by them,
unless some one put it in their mouths. To convince natural men
of this, let it be considered,
1. That although Christ is offered in the gospel, yet they cannot
believe in him. Saving faith is the faith of God's elect ; the special
gift of God to them, wrought in them by his Spirit. Salvation is
offered to them that will believe in Christ, but how can you believe?
John V. 44. It is offered to those that will come to Christ ; but
^tAN UNABLE TO KECOVEU HIMSELF. 131
" no man can come unto him, except the Father draw him." It is
offered to those that will look to him, as lifted on the pole of the
gospel, Isa. xlv. 22 ; but the natural man is spiritually blind, Rev.
iii. 17; and as to the things of the Spirit of God, he cannot know
them, for they are spiritually discerned, 1 Cor. ii. 14. Nay, vvrhoso-
ever will, he is welcome ; let him come. Rev. xxii. 17; but there
must be a day of power on the sinner, before he can be willing.
Psalm ex. 3.
2. Man naturally has nothing wherewithal to improve, for his re-
covery, the help brought in by the gospel. He is cast away in a
state of wrath ; and is bound hand and foot, so that he cannot lay
hold of the cords of love thrown out to him in the gospel. The most
cunning artificer cannot work without tools ; neither can the most
skilful musician play well on an instrument that is out of tune.
How can any one believe, or repent, whose understanding is dark-
ness, Eph. V. 8 ; whose heart is a stony heart, inflexible, insensible,
Ezek. xxxvi. 26 ; whose affections are wholly disordered and dis-
tempered ; who is averse to good, and bent to evil ? The arms of
natural abilities are too short to reach supernatural help : hence
those who most excel in them, are often most estranged from
spiritual things. Matt. xi. 25, " Thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent."
3. Man cannot work a saving change on himself : but so changed
he must be, else he can neither believe nor repent, nor ever see hea-
ven. No action can be without a suitable principle. Believing,
repenting, and the like, are the product of the new nature ; and can
never be produced by the old corrupt nature. Now, what can the
natural man do in this matter ? He must be regenerate ; begotten
again unto a lively hope ; but as the child cannot be active in his
own generation, so a man cannot be active but passive only, in his
own regeneration. The heart is shut against Christ : man cannot
open it, only God can do it by his grace, Acts xvi. 14. He is dead
in sin ; he must be quickened, raised out of his grave ; who can do
this but God himself? Eph. ii. 1 — 5. Nay, he must be "created in
Christ Jesus, unto good works," Eph. ii. 10. These are works of
omnipotence, and can be done by no less a power.
4. Man, in his depraved state, is under an utter inability to do
any thing truly good, as was proved before at large : how then can
he obey the gospel ? His nature is the very reverse of the gospel :
how can he, of himself, fall in with that plan of salvation, and ac-
cept the offered remedy? The corruption of man's nature infallibly
includes his utter inability to recover himself in any way, and
whoso is convinced of the one, must needs admit the other; for they
132 MAX UNABLE TO llECOVER IIIMSET-F.
stand and fall together. Were all the purchase of Christ offered to
the unregenerate man, for one good thought, he cannot command it,
2 Cor, iii. 5, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to think any-
thing as of ourselves." "Were it offered on condition of a good
word, yet " How can ye, being evil, speak good things ? Matt. xii.
35. Nay, were it left to yourselves, to choose what is easiest, Christ
himself tells you, John xv. 5, " Without me, ye can do nothing."
5. The natural man cannot but resist the Lord's offering to help
him; yet that resistance is infallibly overcome in the elect, by con-
verting grace. Can the stony heart but choose to resist the stroke ?
There is not only an inability, but an enmity and obstinacy in
man's will by nature. God knows, 0 natural man, whether thou
knowest it or not, that " thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an
iron sinew, and thy brow brass," Isa. xlviii. 4, and cannot be over-
come, but by him, who hath " broken the gates of brass, and cut the
bars of iron in sunder." Hence, commonly speaking, there is such
hard work in converting a sinner. Sometimes he seems to be caught
in the net of the gospel ; yet quickly he slips away again. The
hook catches hold of him ; but he struggles, till, getting free of it,
he goes away with a bleeding wound. When good hopes are con-
ceived of him, by those that travail in birth for the forming of
Christ in him, there is oft-times nothing brought forth but wind.
The deceitful heart makes many contrivances to avoid a Saviour,
and cheat the man of his eternal happiness. Thus the natural man
lies sunk in a state of sin and wrath, and utterly unable to recover
himself.
Objection 1. If we be under an utter inability to do any good, how
can God require us to do it ? Answer. God making man upright,
Eccl. vii. 29, gave him a power to do every thing that he should re-
quire of him ; this power man lost by his own fault. We were
bound to serve God, and do whatever he commanded us, as being
his creatures ; and also, we were under the superadded tie of a cove-
nant, for that purpose. Now, we having, by our own fault, disabled
ourselves, shall God lose his right of requiring our task, because we
have thrown away the strength he gave us whereby to perform it ?
Has the creditor no right to require payment of his money, because
the debtor has squandered it away, and is not able to pay him ?
Truly, if God can require no more of us than we are able to do, we
need no more to save us from wrath, but to make ourselves unable
for every duty, and to incapacitate ourselves for serving God any
manner of way, as profane men frequently do : and so the deeper a
man is plunged in sin, he will be the more secure from wrath ; for
where God can require no duty of us, we do not sin in omitting it ;
MAK UNABLE TO RECOVKR HIMSELF. 133
and where there is no sin, there can be no wrath. As to what may-
be urged by the unhnrabled soul, against the putting our stock in
Adam's hand, the righteousness of that dispensation was explained
before. But moreover, the unrenewed man is daily throwing away
the very remains of natural abilities, that rational light and strength
which are to be found amongst the ruins of mankind. Nay, farther,
he will not believe his own utter inability to help himself; so that
out of his own mouth, he must be condemned. Even those who
make their natural impotency too good a covert to their sloth, do,
with others, delay the work of turning to God from time to time,
and, under convictions, make large promises of reformation, which
afterwards they never regard, and delay their repentance to a death-
bed, as if they could help themselves in a moment ; which shews
them to be far from a due sense of their natural inability, whatever
they pretend.
Now, if God can require of men the duty they are not able to do,
he can in justice punish them for their not doing it, notwithstanding
their inability. If he has poAver to exact the debt of obedience, he
has also power to cast the insolvent debtor into prison, for his not
paying it. Further, though unregenerate men have no gracious
abilities, yet they want not natural abilities which nevertheless
they will not improve. There are many things they can do,
which they do not; they will not do them, and therefore their dam-
nation will be just. Nay, all their inability to do good is volun-
tary ; they will not come to Christ, John v. 40. They will not
repent, they will die, Ezek. xviii. 31. So they will be justly con-
demned ; because they will neither turn to God, nor come to Christ ;
but love their chains better than their liberty, and darkness rather
than light, John iii. 19.
Objection 2. Why do you then preach Christ to U3; call us to
come to him, to believe, repent, and use the means of salvation ?
Answer. Because it is our duty so to do. It is your duty to accept
of Christ, as he is olfered in the Gospel ; to repent of your sins, and
to be holy in all manner of conversation : these things are com-
manded you of God ; and his command, not your ability, is the
measure of your duty. Moreover, these calls and exhortations are
the means that God is pleased to make use of, for converting his
elect, and working grace in their hearts : to them, " faith cometh by
hearing," Rom. x. 17, while they are as unable to help themselves
as the rest of mankind are. Upon very good grounds may we,
at the command of God, who raiseth the dead, go to their graves,
and cry in his name, " Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from
the dead, and Christ shall give thee light," Eph. v. 14. And seeing
134 MA?f UNABLE TO RECOVER HHrSELF.
the elect are not to be known and distinguished from others before
conversion ; as the sun shines on the blind man's face, and the
rain falls on the rocks as well as on the fruitful plains ; so we
preach Christ to all, and shoot the arrow at a venture, which God
himself directs as he sees fit. ILoreover, these calls and exhorta-
tions are not altogether in vain, even to those who are not con-
verted by them. Such persons may be convinced, though they be
not converted : although they be not sanctified by these means, yet
they may be restrained by them, from running into that excess of
■wickedness, which otherwise they would arrive at. The means of
grace serve, as it were, to enbalm many dead souls, which are never
quickened by them : though they do not restore them to life, yet
they keep them from putrefying, as otherwise they would do. Fi-
nally, Though you cannot recover yourselves, nor take hold of the
saving help offered to you in the Gospel ; yet even by the power of
nature, you may use the outward and ordinary means, whereby Christ
communicates the benefit of redemption to ruined sinners, who are
utterly unable to recover themselves out of the state of sin and
wrath. You may and can, if you please, do many things that would
set you in a fair way for help from the Lord Jesus Christ. You
may go so far on, as not to be far from the kingdom of God, as the
discreet Scribe had done, Mark xii. 34, though, it should seem,
he was destitute of supernatural abilities. Though you cannot cure
yourselves, yet you may come to the pool, where many such dis-
eased persons as you are, have been cured ; though you have none
to put you into it, yet you may lie at the side of it : " Who knows
but the Lord may return, and leave a blessing behind him ?" as
in the case of the impotent man, recorded in John v. 5 — 8. I hope
Satan does not chain you to your houses, nor stake you down in
your fields on the Lord's day ; but you are at liberty and can wait
at the posts of wisdom's doors if yon will. When you come thither
he does not beat drums at your ears, that you cannot hear what is
said ; there is no force upon you, obliging you to apply all you hear
to others ; you may apply to yourselves what belongs to your state
and condition. When you go home, you are not fettered in your
houses, where perhaps no religious discourse is to be heard ; but
vou may retire to some separate place, where you can meditate, and
exercise your consciences with suitable questions upon what you
have heard. You are not possessed with a dumb devil, that you
cannot get your mouths opened in prayer to God. You are not so
driven out of your beds to your worldly business, and from your
worldly business to your beds again, but you might, if you would,
make some prayer to God upon the case of your perishing souls. — •
MAN UNABLK TO KECOVEU IIUrSELF. 135
You may examine yourselves as to tlie state of your souls, in a
solemn manner, as in the presence of God ; you may discern that
you have no grace, and that you are lost and undone without it ;
and you may cry unto God for it. These things are within the
compass of natural abilities, and may be practised where there is no
grace. It must aggravate your guilt, that you will not be at so
much pains about the state and case of your precious souls. If you
do not what you can, you will be condemned, not only for the want
of grace, but for your despising it.
Objection 'S. But all this is needless, seeing we are utterly un-
able to help ourselves out of the state of sin and wrath. Atiswer.
Give not place to that delusion, which puts asunder what God hath
joined, namely, the use of means, and a sense of our own impotency,
If ever the spirit of God graciously influence your souls, you will
become thoroughly sensible of your absolute inability, and yet en-
ter upon a vigorous use of means. You will do for yourselves, as
if you were to do all ; and yet overlook all you do, as if you had
done nothing. Will you do nothing for yourselves, because you
cannot do all ? Lay down no such impious conclusion against your
own souls. Do what you can ; and, it may be, while you are doing
what you can for yourselves, God will do for you what you cannot.
•' TJnderstandest thou what thou readest ?" said Philip to the eunuch ;
" How can I," said he " except some man should guide me ?" Acts
viii. 30, 31. He could not understand the scripture he read, yet he
could read it : he did what he could, he read ; and while he was
reading, God sent him an interpreter. The Israelites were in a
great strait at the Red Sea ; and how could they help themselves,
when on the one hand were mountains, and on the other the enemy
in pursuit ; when Pharaoh and hi? host were behind them, and the
Red Sea before them ? What could they do ? — " Speak unto the
children of Israel," saith the Lord to Moses, " that they go for-
ward," Exod. xiv. 15. For what end should they go forward ? Can
they make a passage to themselves through the sea ? No ; but let
them go forward, saith the Lord : though they cannot turn the
sea to dry land, yet they can go forward to the shore. So they did ;
and when they did what they could, God did for them what they
could not do.
Question. Has God promised to convert and save those who, in
the use of means, do what they can towards their own relief?
Answer. We may not speak wickedly for God : natural men, being
strangers to the covenant of promise, Eph. ii. 12, have no such
promise made to them. Nevertheless they do not act rationally
unless they exert the powers they have, and do what they can
136 MAN UNABLE TO RECOVER HIXSELF,
For, 1. It is possible tliis course may succeed with them. If
you do what you can, it may be, God will do for you what you
cannot do for yourselves. This is sufficient to determine a man in
a matter of the utmost importance, such as this is, Acts viii. 22,
" Pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven
thee." Joel ii. 14, " Who kuoweth if he will return ?" If success
may be, the trial should be. If, in a wreck at sea, all the sailors
and passengers betake themselves each to a broken board for
safety; and one of them should see all the rest perish, notwith-
standing their utmost endeavour to save themselves : yet the very
possibility of escaping by that means, would determine that one still
to do his best with his board. Why then do not you reason with
yourselves, as the four lepers did, who sat at the gate of Samaria ?
2 Kings vii. 3, 4. Why do you not say, " If we sit still," not doing
what we can, "we die;" let us put it to a trial ; if we be saved, "we
shall live;" if not " we shall but die?" 2. It is probable this course
may succeed ; God is good and merciful ; he loves to surprise men
with his grace, and is often " found of them that sought him not,"
Isa. Ixv. 1. If you do this, you are so far in the road of your duty;
and you are using the means, which the Lord is wont to bless,
for men's spiritual recovery : you lay yourselves in the way of
the great Physician ; and so it is probable you may be healed.
Lydia went, with others, to the place " where prayer was wont to be
made ;" and " the Lord opened her heart," Acts xvi. 13, 14. You
plough and sow, though nobody can tell you for certain that you
will get so much as your seed again : you use means for the recovery
of your health, though you are not sure they will succeed. In these
cases probability determines you; and why not in this also? Im-
portunity, we see, does very much with men : therefore pray, medi-
tate, desire help of God ; be much at the throne of grace, supplicat-
ing for grace; and do not faint. Thongli God regard you not, who
in your present state are but one mass of sin, universally depraved,
and vitiated in all the powers of your soul ; yet he may regard
prayer, meditation, and the like means of his own appointment, and
he may bless thera to you. — Wherefore, if you will not do what you
can, you are not only dead, but you declare yourselves unworthy of
eternal life.
To conclude. — Let the saints admire the freedom and power of
grace, which came to them in their helpless condition, made their
chains fall off, the iron gate to open to them ; raised the fallen crea-
tures, and brought them out of the state of sin and wrath, wherein
they would have laiu and perished, had not they been mercifully
visited. Let the natural man be sensible of his utter inability to
MAN UNABLE TO RECOVER HIMSELF. 137
recover himself. Know, that thou art without strength : and canst
not come to Christ, till thou be drawn. Thou art lost, and canst
not help thyself. This may shake the foundation of your hopes, if
you never saw your absolute need of Christ and his grace, but think
to contrive for yourself by your civility, morality, drowsy wishes,
and duties ; and by a faith and repentance, which have sprung out
of your natural powers, without the power and efficacy of the grace
of Christ. 0 be convinced of your absolute need of Christ, and his
overcoming grace ; believe your utter inability to recover yourself;
that so you may bo humbled, shaken out of your self-confidence,
and lie down in dust and ashes, groaning out your miserable case
before the Lord. A proper sense of your natural impotence, the
impotence of depraved human nature, would be a step towards
a delivery.
Thus far of man's natural state, the state of entire depravation.
A^OL. VIII.
STATE III.
THE STATE OF GRACE.
PAET I.
ON REGENERATION.
1 Peter i. 23,
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the
word of God, ivhich liveth and abideth for ever.
We proceed now to the state of grace, the state of begun recovery
of human nature, into which all that shall partake of eternal hap-
piness are translated, sooner or later, while in this world. It is the
result of a gracious change made upon those who shall inherit eter-
nal life : which change may be taken up in these two particulars :
1. In opposition to their natural real state, the state of corruption,
there is a change made upon them in regeneration ; whereby their
nature is changed. 2. In opposition to their natural relative state,
the state of wrath, there is a change made upon them in their union
with the Lord Jesus Christ ; by which they are placed beyond the
reach of condemnation. These, therefore, regeneration and union
with Christ, I desire to treat on as the great and comprehensive
changes on a sinner, bringing him into the state of grace.
The first of these we have in the text ; together with the out-
ward and ordinary means by which it is brought about. The apostle
here, to excite the saints to the study of holiness, and particularly
of brotherly love, puts them in mind of their spiritual original.
He tells them that they were born again ; and that of incorruptible
seed, the word of God, This shows them to be brethren, partakers
of the same new nature : which is the root from which holiness, and
particularly brotherly love, springs. We have been once born sin-
ners : we must be born again, that we may be saints. The simple
word signifies " to be begotten ;" and so it may be read, Matth. xi.
11 ; "to be conceived," Matt. i. 20; and "to be born," Matt. ii. 1.
Accordingly, the compound word, used in the text, may be taken
in its full latitude, the last idea presupposing the two former : so
regeneration is a supernatural real change on the whole man, fitly
compared to the natural birth, as will afterwards appear. The
NATURE OF REGENEUATION . 139
ordinary means of regenaration, called the " seed," whereof the new
creature is formed, is not corrnptible seed. Of such, indeed our
bodies are generated : but the spiritual seed of which the new crea-
ture is generated, is incorruptible; namely, "the word of God,
which liveth and abideth for ever." The sound of the word of God
passeth, even as other sounds do; but the word lasteth, liveth, and
abideth, in respect of its everlasting effects, on all upon whom it
operates. This " word, which by the gospel is preached unto you,"
ver. 25, impregnated by the Spirit of God, is the means of regenera-
tion : and by it dead sinners are raised to life.
Doctrine. All men in the state of grace, are born again. All
gracious persons, namely, such as are in a state of favour with God,
and endowed with gracious qualities and dispositions, are regenerate
persons. In discoursing on this subject, I shall shew. What regene-
ration is ; next. Why it is so called ; and then apply the doctrine.
I. Of the Nature of regeneration.
For the better understanding of the nature of regeneration, take
this along with you, that as there are false conceptions in nature, so
there are also in grace : by these many are deluded, mistaking some
partial changes made upon them, for this great and thorough change.
To remove snch mistakes, let these few things be considered : (1.)
Many call the church their mother, whom God will not own to be his
children. Cant. i. 6. " My mother's children," that is, false breth-
ren, " were angry with me." All that are baptized, are not born
again. Simon was baptized, yet still " in the gall of bitterness, and
in the bond of iniquity," Acts viii. 13, 23. Where Christianity is
the religion of the country, many are called by the name of Christ,
who have no more of him than the name : and no wonder, for the
devil had his goats among Christ's sheep, in those places where but
few professed the Christian religion, 1 John ii. 19, " They went out
from us, but they were not of us." (2.) Good education is not rege-
neration. Education may chain up men's lusts, but cannot change
their hearts. A wolf is still a ravenous beast, though it be in
chains. Joash was very devout during the life of his good tutor
Jehoiada ; but afterwards he quickly shewed what spirit he was of,
by his sudden apostasy, 2 Chron. xxiv. 2 — 18. Good example is of
mighty influence to change tlie outward man : but that change often
goes off, when a man changes his company ; of which the world af-
fords many sad instances. (3.) A turning from open profanity, to
civility and sobriety, falls short of this saving change. Some are,
for a while, very loose, especially in their younger years ; but at
length they reforo', and leave their profane courses. Here is a
change, yet only such as may be found in men utterly void of the
i2
140 KATURE OF REGENERATION.
grace of God, and whose rigliteousness is so far from exceeding, that
it doth not come up to the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.
(4.) One may engage in all the outward duties of religion, and yet
not be born again. Though lead be cast into various shapes, it re-
mains still but a base metal. Men may escape the pollutions of the
world, and yet be but dogs and swine, 2 Pet. ii. 20 — 22. All the
external acts of religion are within the compass of natural abilities.
Yea, hypocrites may have the counterfeit of all the graces of the
Spirit : for we read of " true holiness," Eph. iv. 24 ; and '• faith un-
feigned," 1 Tim. i. 5 ; which shews us that there is counterfeit holi-
ness, and a feigned faith. (5.) Men may advance to a great deal of
strictness in their own way of religion, and yet be strangers to the
new birth. Acts xxvi. 5, " After the most straitest sect of our reli-
gion, I lived a Pharisee." Nature has its own unsanctified strictness
in religion. The Pharisees had so much of it, that they looked on
Christ as little better than a mere libertine. A man whose con-
science has been awakened, and who lives under the felt influence of
the covenant of works, what will he not do that is within the com-
pass of natural abilities ? It is a truth, though it came out of a hell-
ish mouth, that " skin for skin, yea all that a man hath will he give
for his life," Job ii. 4. (6.) A person may have sharp soul-exercises
and pangs, and yet die in the birth. Many " have been in pain,"
that have but, "as it were, brought forth wind." There may be sore
pangs of conscience, which turn to nothing at last. Pharaoh and
Simon Magus had such convictious, as made them to desire the
prayers of others for them. Judas repented himself : and, under
terrors of conscience, gave back his ill-gotten pieces of silver. All
is not gold that glitters. Trees may blossom fairly in the spring, on
which no fruit is to be found in the harvest : and some have sharp
soul-exercises, which are nothing but foretastes of hell.
The new birth, however in appearance hopefully begun, may be
marred two ways. Some have sharp convictions for a while : but
these go off, and they become as careless about their salvation, and
as profane as ever, and usually worse than ever ; " their last state
is worse than their first," Matt. xii. 45. They get awakening grace,
but not converting grace ; and that goes off by degrees, as the light
of the declining day, till it issues in midnight darkness. Others
come forth too soon ; they are born, like Ishmael, before the time of
the promise, Gen. xvi. 2 ; compare Gal. iv. 22, &c. They take up
with a mere law work, and stay not till the time of the promise of
the gospel. They snatch at consolation, not wailing till it be given
them ; and foolishly draw their comfort from the law that wounded
them. They apply the healing plaster to themselves, before their
NATURE OF REGENERATION. 141
wound, is sufficiently searched. The law, that rigorous husband,
severely beats them, and throws in curses and vengeance upon their
souls ; then they fall to reforming, praying, mourning, promising,
and vowing, till this ghost be laid; which done, they fall asleep
again in the arms of the law : but they are never shaken out of
themselves and their own righteousness, nor brought forward to
Jesus Christ. There may be a wonderful moving of the affections,
in souls that are not at all touched with regenerating grace. When
there is no grace, there may, notwithstanding, be a flood of tears, as
in Esau, who " found no place of repentance, though he sought it
carefully with tears," Heb. xii. 17. There may be great flashes of
joy ; as in the hearers of the word, represented in the parable of
the stony ground, who " anon with joy receive it," Matt. xiii. 20.
There may be also great desires after good things, and great delight
in them too; as in those hypocrites described in Isa. Iviii. 2, "Yet
they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways : — they take
delight in approaching to God." — See how high they may sometimes
stand, who yet fall away, Heb. vi. 4 — 6. They may be " enlight-
ened, taste of the heavenly gift," " be partakers of the Holy Ghost,
taste the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come."
Common operations of the divine Spirit, like a land-flood, make a
strange turning of things upside down : but when they are over, all
runs again in the ordinary channel. All these things may be,
where the sanctifying Spirit of Christ never rests upon the soul, but
the stony heart still remains; and in that case these affections
cannot but wither, because they have no root.
But regeneration is a real, thorough change, whereby the man is
made a new creature, 2 Cor. v. 17- The Lord God makes the crea-
ture a new creature, as the goldsmith melts down a vessel of dis-
honour, and makes it a vessel of honour. Man is, in respect of his
spiritual state, altogether disjointed by the fall ; every faculty of
the soul is, as it were, dislocated : in regeneration, the Lord loosens
every joint, and sets it right again. Now this change made in rege-
neration, is,
1. A change of qualities or dispositions': it is not a change of the
substance, but of the qualities of the soul. Vicious qualities are
removed, and the contrary dispositions are brought in, in their
room. "The old man is put oflF," Eph. iv. 22; "the new man is
put on," ver. 24. Man lost none of the rational faculties of his soul
by sin : he had an understanding still, but it was darkened ; he had
still a will, but it was contrary to the will of God. So in regenera-
tion, there is not a new substance created, but new qualities are
infused ; light instead of darkness, righteousness instead of un-
righteousness.
142 NATURE OF REGENERATION.
2. It is a supernatural change ; lie that is born again, is horn of
the Spirit, John iii. 5. Great changes may be made by the power
of nature, especially when assisted by external revelation. Nature
may be so elevated by the common influences of the Spirit, that a
person may thereby be turned into another man, as Saul was,
1 Sam. X. 6, who yet never becomes a new man. But in regenera-
tion, nature itself is changed, and we become partakers of the
divine nature ; and this must needs be a supernatural change. How
can we, who are dead in trespasses and sins, renew ourselves, any
more than a dead man can raise himself out of his grave ? Who
but the sanctifying Spirit of Christ can form Christ in a soul,
changing it into the same image ? Who but the Spirit of sanctifi-
cation can give the new heart ? Well may we say, when we see a
man thus changed, " This is the finger of God !"
3. It is a change into the likeness of God, 2 Cor. iii. 18, " We —
beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image." Every thing generates its like : the child bears the
image of the parent; and they who are born of God, bear God's
image. Man aspiring to be as God, made himself like the devil.
In his natural state he resembles the devil, as a child doth his
father, John viii. 44, " Ye are of your father the devil." But when
this happy change comes, that image of Satan is defaced, and the
image of God is restored. Christ himself, who is the brightness of
his Father's glory, is the pattern after which the new creature is
made, Rom. viii. 29, " For whom he did foi'eknow, he also did pre-
destinate to be conformed to the image of his Son." Hence he is
said to be formed in the regenerate, Gal. iv. 19.
4. It is a universal change; "all things become new," 2 Cor. v.
17. It is a blessed leaven, that leavens the whole lump, the whole
spirit, and soul, and body. Original sin infects the whole man ; and
regenerating grace, which is the cure, goes as far as the disease.
This fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness ; goodness of the mind,
goodness of the will, goodness of the affections, goodness of the
whole man. He gets not only a new head, to know religion, or a
new tongue, to talk of it; but a new heart, to love and embrace it,
in the whole of his conversation. When the Lord opens the sluice
of grace, on the soul's new-birth day, the waters run through the
whole man, to purify and make him fruitful. In those natural
changes spoken of before, there are, as it were, pieces of new cloth
put into an old garment ; new life to an old heart : but the gracious
change is a thorough change ; a change both of heart and life.
Yet, though every part of the man is renewed, there is no part
of him perfectly renewed. As an infant has all the parts of a man
NATURE OF EEGENERATlOy. 143
but none of them come to a perfect growth ; so regeneration brings
a perfection of parts, to be brought forward in the gradual advan-
ces of sanctification, 1 Pet. ii. 2, " As new-born babes, desire the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." Although,
in regeneration, there is heavenly light let into the mind ; yet there
is still some darkness there : though the will is renewed, it is not
perfectly renewed ; there is still some of the old inclination to siu
remaining : and thus it will be, till that which is in part is done
away, and the light of glory come. Adam was created at his full
stature ; but those who are born, must have their time to grow up ;
so those who are born again, come forth into the new world of
grace as new-born babes : Adam being created upright, was at the
same time perfectly righteous, without the least mixture of sinful
imperfection.
6. Nevertheless, it is a lasting change, which never goes off. The
seed is incorruptible, saith the text ; and so is the creature that is
formed of it. The life given in regeneration, whatever decays it
may fall under, can never be utterly lost. " His seed remaineth
in him" who " is born of God," 1 John iii. 9. Though the
branches should be cut down, the root abides in the earth ; and
being watered with the dew of heaven, shall spout again : for " the
root of the righteous shall not be moved," Prov. xii. 3. But to
come to particulars.
1. In regeneration the mind is savingly enlightened. There is
a light let into the understanding ; so that they who were " some
time darkness, are now light in the Lord," Ephes. v. 8. The beams
of the light of life make their way into the dark dungeon of the
heart : then the night is over, and the morning light is come, which
will shine more and more unto the perfect day. Now the man is il-
luminated,
(1.) In the knowledge of God. He has far other thoughts of
God, than ever he had before, Hos. ii. 20, " I will even betrothe
thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord." The
Spirit of the Lord brings him back to this question, " What is
God ?" and catechises him anew upon that grand point, so that he
is made to say, " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear ;
but now mine eye seeth thee," Job xlii. 5. The spotless purity of
God, his exact justice, his all-sufficiency, and other glorious perfec-
tions revealed in his word, are by this new light discovered to the
soul, with a plainness and certainty, which as far exceed the know-
ledge it had of these things before, as ocular demonstration exceeds
common report. For now he sees what he only heard of before.
(2.) He is enlightened in the knowledge of sin. He has different
144 NATURE OF REGENARATION.
thoughts of it tluiu lie used to have. Formerly his sight could not
pierce through the cover Satan laid over it : but now the Spirit of
God removes it, wipes off the paint and varnish ; and so he sees it in
its natural colours, as the worst of evils, exceedingly sinful, Kom.
vii. 13. 0 v/hat deformed monsters do formerly beloved lusts appear !
Were they right eyes, he would pluck them out; were they right
hands, he would consent to their being cut off. He sees how offen-
sive sin is to God, how destructive it is to the soul ; and calls him-
self a fool, for fighting so long against the Lord, and harbouring
that destroyer as a bosom friend.
(3.) He is instructed in the knowledge of himself. Regenerating
grace brings the prodigal to himself, Luke xv. 17, and makes men
full of eyes within, knowing every one the plague of his own heart.
The mind being savingly enlightened, the man sees how desperately
corrupt his nature is ; what enmity against God, and his holy law,
has long lodged there : so that his soul loathes itself. No open se-
pulchre so vile and loathsome, in his eyes, as himself, Ezek. xxxvi.
31, " Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings
that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight."
He is no worse than he was before : but the sun is shining ; and so
those pollutions are seen, which he could not discern, when there was
no dawning in him, as the word is, Isa. viii. 20, while as yet there
was no breaking of the day of grace with him.
(4.) He is enlightened in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 1 Cor.
i. 23, 24, " But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stum-
bling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness : but unto them which
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the
wisdom of God." The truth is, unregenerate men, though capable
of preaching Christ, have not, properly speaking, the knowledge
of him, but only an opinion, a good opinion, of him ; as one has of
many controverted points of doctrine, wherein he is far from cer-
tainty. As when you meet with a stranger on the road, who
behaves himself discretely, you conceive a good opinion of him,
and therefore willingly converse with him : but yet you will not
commit your money to hira ; because, though you have a good
opinion of the man, he is a stranger to you, you do not know him :
so may they think well of Christ ; but they will never commit
themselves to him, seeing they know him not. But saving illumi-
nation carries the soul beyond opinion, to the certain knowledge of
Christ and his excellency, 1 Thess. i. 5, " For our Gospel came not
unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance." The light of grace thus discovers the
suitableness of the mystery of Christ to the divine perfections,
JTATURE OF REWENERATION-. 145
and to the sinner's case. Hence the regenerate admire the glo-
rious plan of salvation, through Christ crucified ; rest their whole
dependence upon it, heartily acquiesce therein ; for whatever he he
to others, lie is to them " Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God." But unrenewed men, not seeing this, are offended in him :
they will not venture their souls in that vessel, but betake them-
selves to the broken boards of their own righteousness. The same
light convincingly discovers a superlative worth, a transcendent
glory and excellence in Christ, which darken all created excellencies
as the rising sun makes the stars hide their heads : it engages the
"merchantman to sell all that he hath, to buy the one pearl of great
price," Matth. xii. 45, 46, makes the soul heartily content to take
Christ for all, and instead of all. An unskilful merchant, to whom
one offers a pearl of great price, for all his petty wares, dares not
venture on the bargain ; for though he thinks that one pearl may be
worth more than all he has, yet he is not sure of it : but when a
jeweller comes to him and assures him it is worth double all his
wares, he then eagerly makes the bargain, and cheerfully parts with
all he has for that pearl. Finally, this illumination in the know-
ledge of Christ, convincingly discovers to men a fulness in him, suf-
ficient for the supply of all their wants, enough to satisfy the bound-
less desires of an immortal soul. And they are persuaded that such
fulness is in him, and that in order to be communicated : they de-
pend upon it as a certain truth ; and therefore their souls take up
their eternal rest in him.
(5.) The man is instructed in the knowledge of the vanity of the
world, Psalm cxix. 96, " I have seen an end of all perfection." Re-
generating grace elevates the soul, translates it into the spiritual
world, from whence this earth cannot but appear a little, yea, a very
little thing ; even as heaven apj)eared before, while the soul was
grovelling in the earth. Grace brings a man into a new world :
where this world is reputed but a stage of vanity, a howling wilder-
ness, a valley of tears. God has hung the sign of vanity at the
door of all created enjoyments : yet how do men throng into the
house, calling and looking for somewhat that is satisfying; even
after it has been a thousand times told them, that there is no such
thing in it, it is not to be got there, Isa. Ivii. 10, " Thou art wearied
in the greatness of thy way : yet saidst thou not, There is no hope."
Why are men so foolish ? The truth of the matter lies here, they
do not see by the light of grace, they do noi spiritually discern
that sign of vanity. They have often indeed made a rational dis-
covery of it : but can that truly wean the heart from the world ?
Nay, no more than painted fire can burn off the prisoner's bands.
146 NATURE OP REftENERATIOTir.
But tlie light of grace, is the light of life, powerful and efficacious.
(6.) To sum up all. In regeneration, the mind is enlightened in
the knowledge of spiritual things, 1 John ii. 20, " Te have an unc-
tion from the Holy One," that is, from Jesus Christ, Rev. iii. 18.
It is an allusion to the sanctuary, whence the holy oil was brought
to anoint the priest, " and ye know all things" necessary to salva-
tion. Though men be not book-learned, if they ai-e born again, they
are Spirit-learned; for all such are taught of God, John vi. 45.
The Spirit of regeneration teaches them what they knew not before
and what they knew by the ear only, he teaches them over again as
by the eye. The light of grace is an overcoming light, determining
men to assent to divine truths on the mere testimony of God. It is
no easy thing for the mind of man to acquiesce in divine revelation.
Many pretend great respect to the Scriptures ; whom, nevertheless,
the clear Scripture testimony will not divorce from their precon-
ceived opinions. But this illumination will make men's minds run,
as willing captives, after Christ's chariot wheels, which they are
ready to allow to drive ov.r, and " cast down" their " imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of
God," 2 Cor. x. 5. It will bring them to " receive the kingdom of
God as a little child," Mark x. 15, who thinks he has sufficient
ground to believe any thiug, if his father do but say it is so.
2. The will is renewed. The Lord takes away the stony heart,
and gives a heart of flesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, and so of stones raiseth
up children to Abraham. Regenerating grace is powerful and effi-
cacious, and gives the will a new turn. It does not indeed force it ;
but sweetly, yet powerfully draws it, so that his people are willing
in the day of his power, Psalm ex. 3. There is heavenly oratory in
the Mediators lips to persuade sinners. Psalm xlv. 2. " Grace is
poured into thy lips." There are cords of a man, and bands of love
in his hands, to draw them after him, Hos. xi. 4. Love makes a
net for elect souls, which will infallibly catch them, and bring them
to land. The cords of Christ's love are strong cords : and they
need to be so, for every sinner is heavier than a mountain of brass ;
and Satan, together with the heart itself, draws the contrary way.
But love is strong as death ; and the Lord's love to the soul he died
for, is the strongest love ; which acts so powerfully, that it must
come off victorious.
(1.) The will is cured of its utter inability to will what is good.
While the opening of the prison to them that are bound, is pro-
claimed in the gospel, the Spirit of God comes and opens the prison
door, goes to the prisoner, and, by the power of his grace, makes his
chains fall off; breaks the bonds of iniquity, wherewith he was held
NATURE OP REGENERATIO>r. 147
in sin, so as he could neither will nor do any thing truly good ;
brings him forth into a large place, " working in him both to will
and to do of his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. Then it is that the
soul, that was fixed to the earth, can move heavenward; the wither-
ed hand is restored, and can be stretched out.
(2.) There is wrought in the will a fixed aversion to evil. In re-
generation, a man gets a new spirit put within him, Ezek. xxxvi.
26 ; and that spirit striveth against the flesh. Gal. v. 17. The sweet
morsel of sin, so greedily swallowed down, he now loathes, and would
fain be rid of it, even as willingly as one who had drunk a cup of
poison would throw it up again. "When the spring is stopped, the
mud lies in the well unmoved ; but when once the spring is cleared,
the waters, springing up, will work the mud away by degrees.
Even so, while a man continues in an unregenerate state, sin lies at
ease in the heart ; but as soon as the Lord strikes the rocky heart
with tlie rod of his strength, in the day of conversion, grace is " in
him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life," John iv. 14,
working away natural corruption, and gradually purifying the
heart, Acts xv. 9. The renewed will riseth up against sin, strikes
at the root thereof, and the branches too. Lusts are now grievous,
and the soul endeavours to starve them ; the corrupt nature is the
source of all evil, and therefore the soul will be often laying it be-
fore the great Physician. 0 what sorrow, shame, and self-loathing
fill the heart, in the day that grace makes its triumphant entrance
into it ! For now the madman is come to himself, and the remem-
brance of his follies cannot but cut him to the heart.
(3.) The will is endowed with an inclination, bent, and propensity
to good. In its depraved state, it lay quite another way, being
prone and bent to evil only : but now, by the operation of the om-
nipotent, all-conquering arm, it is drawn from evil to good, and gets
another turn. As the former was natural, so this is natural too, in
regard to the new nature given in regeneration, which has its holy
strivings, as well as the corrupt nature has its sinful lustings. Gal.
V. 17. The will, as renewed, points towards God and godliness.
When God made man, his will, in respect of its intention, was di-
rected towards God, as his chief end ; in respect of its choice, it
pointed towards that which God willed. When man unmade him-
self, his will was framed to the very reverse hereof: he made him-
self his chief end, and his own will his law. But when man is new
made, in regeneration, grace rectifies this disorder in some measure,
though not perfectly : because we are but renewed in part, while in
this world. It brings back the sinner out of himself, to God, as his
chief end. Psalm Ixxiii. 25, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ?
148 NATURE OF KEGtENERATIOlSr.
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." Phil. i.
21, " For me to live is Christ." It makes him to deny himself, and
whatever way he turns, to point habitually towards God, who is the
centre of the gracious soul, its home, its " dwelling place in all
generations," Psalm xc. 1. By regenerating grace, the will is
brought into a conformity to the will of God. It is conformed to
his preceptive will, being endowed with holy inclinations, agreeable
to every one of his commands. The whole law is impressed on the
gracious soul : every part of it is written on the renewed heart.
Although remaining corruption makes such blots in the writing,
that oft-times the man himself cannot read it, yet he that wrote it
can read it at all times ; it is" never quite blotted out, nor can be.
What he has written, he has written ; and it shall stand : " For
this is the covenant — I will put my laws into their mind, and write
them in their hearts," Heb. viii. 10. It is a covenant of salt, a per-
petual covenant. It is also conformed to his providential will ; so
that the man would no more be master of his own process, nor carve
out his lot for himself. He learns to say, from his heart, " The will
of the Lord be done." " He shall choose our inheritance for us,"
Psalm xlvii. 4. Thus the will is disposed to fall in with those things
which, in its depraved state, it could never be reconciled to.
Particularly, 1. The soul is recouciled to the covenant of peace.
The Lord God proposes a covenant of peace to sinners, a covenant
which he himself has framed, and registered in the Bible : but they
are not pleased with it. Nay, unregenerate hearts cannot be pleased
with it. Were it put into their hands to frame it according to their
minds, they would blot many things out of it which God has put in,
and put in many things which God has kept out. But the renewed
heart is entirely satisfied with the covenant, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, "He
hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things
and sure ; this is all my salvation, and all my desire." Though the
covenant could not be brought down to their depraved will, their
will is, by grace, brought up to the covenant : they are well pleased
with it ; there is nothing in it which they would have out ; nor is
any thing left out of it, which they would have in. — 2. The will is
disposed to receive Christ Jesus the Lord. The soul is content to
submit to him. Regenerating grace undermines, and brings down
the towering imaginations of the heart, raised up against its right-
ful Lord; it breaks the iron sinew, which kept the sinner from
bowing to him ; and disposes him to be no more stiff-necked, but to
yield. He is willing to have on the yoke of Christ's commands, to
take up the cross, and to follow him. He is content to take Christ
on any terms, Psalm ex. 3, " Thy people shall be willing in the day
of thy power."
XATURE OF REGENERATION. 149
Tho mind being savingly enlightened, and the will renewed, the
sinner is thereby determined and enabled to answer the gospel call
So the chief work in regeneration is done ; the fort of the heart is
taken ; there is room made for the Lord Jesus Christ in the inmost
parts of the soul ; the inner door of the will being now opened to
him, as well as the outer door of the understanding. In one word,
Christ is passively received into the heart; he is come into the soul,
by his quickening Spirit, whereby spiritual life is given to the man,
who in himself was dead in sin. His first vital act we may conceive
to be an active receiving of Jesus Christ, discerned in his glorious
excellencies ; that is a believing on him, a closing with him, as dis-
cerned, offered and exhibited in the word of his grace, the glorious
Gospel: the immediate effect of which is union with him, John i.
12, 13, " To as many as received him to them gave he power," or
privilege, "to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name : which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Eph. iii. 17, "That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Christ having taken the
heart by storm, and triumphantly entered into it, in regeneration,
the soul by faith yields itself to him, as it is expressed, 2 Chron.
XXX. 8. Thus, this glorious King who came into the heart, by his
Spirit, dwells in it by faith. The soul being drawn runs ; and being
effectually called, comes.
3. In regeneration there is a happy change made on the affec-
tions ; they are both rectified and regulated.
(1.) This change rectifies the affect^mns, placing them on suitable
objects. 2 Thess. iii. 5, "The Lord direct your hearts into the
love of God." The regenerate man's desires are rectified; they
are set on God himself, and the things above. He, who before cried
with the world, " Who will shew us any good ?" has changed
his note, and says, " Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon
us,"' Psalm iv. 6. Before, he saw no beauty in Christ, for which
he was to be desired ; but now he is all he desires, he is altoge-
ther lovely, Cant. v. 16. The main stream of his desires is turned
to run towards God; for there is the one thing he desires. Psalm
xxvii. 4. He desires to be holy as well as happy ; and rather to
be gracious than great. His hopes, which before were low, and
fastened down to things on earth, are now raised, and set on the
glory which is to be revealed. He entertains the hope of eternal
life, founded on the word of promise, Tit. i. 2. Which hope he has,
as an anchor of the soul, fixing the heart under trials, Ileb vi. 19.
It puts him upon purifying himself, even as God is pure 1 John iii.
3. For he is begotten again unto a lively hope, 1 Pet. i, 3. His
150 MATURE OP REGENEKATIOK.
love is raised, and set on God himself, Psalm xviii. 1 ; on his holy
law, Psalm cxix. 97. Though it strike against his most beloved lust,
he says, " The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and jnst,
and good," Rom. viii. 12. He loves the ordinances of God," Psalm
Ixxxiv. 1, " How amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of hosts !"
Being passed from death unto life, he loves the brethren, 1 John iii.
14; the people of God, as they are called, 1 Pet. ii. 10. He loves
God for himself; and what is God's, for his sake. Yea, as being a
child of God, he loves his own enemies, — His heavenly Father is
compassionate and benevolent : " He maketh his snn to rise on the
evil and on the good ; and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust :" therefore he is in like manner disposed. Matt. v. 44, 4.5.
His hatred is turned against sin, in himself and others, Psalm ci. 3,
" I hate the work of them that turn aside, it shall not cleave to
me." He groans under the body of it, and longs for deliverance,
Rom. vii. 24, " 0 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver rae
from the body of this death ?" His joys and delights are in God
the Lord, in the light of his countenance, in bis law, and in his peo-
ple, because they are like him. Sin is what he chiefly fears : it is a
fountain of sorrow to him now, though formerly a spring of pleasure.
(2.) It regulates the affections placed on suitable objects. Our
afi'ections, when placed on the creature, are naturally exhorbitant :
when we joy in it, we are apt to overjoy ; and when we sorrow, we
are ready to sorrow overmuch : but grace bridles these affections,
clips their wings, and keeps them witliin bounds, that they overflow
not all their banks. It mak^a man " hate his father, and mother,
and wife, and children; yea, and his own life also," comparatively;
that is, to love them less than he loves God, Luke xiv. 26. It also
rectifies lawful affections ; bringing them forth from right princi-
ples, and directing them to right ends. There may be unholy
desires after Christ and his grace; as when men desire Christ, not
from any love to him, but merely out of love to themselves.
" Give us of your oil," said the foolish virgins, " for our lamps are
gone out," Matt. xxv. 8. There may be an unsanctified sorrow for
sin ; as when one sorrows for it, not because it is displeasing to God,
but only because of the wrath annexed to it, as did Pharaoh, Judas,
and others. So a man may love his father and mother from mere
natural principles, without any respect to the command of God
binding him thereto. But grace sanctifies the affections, in such
cases, making them to run in a new channel of love to God, respect
to his commands, and regard to his glory. Again, grace raises the
affections where they are too low. It gives the chief seat in them
to God, and pulls down all other rivals, whethsr persons or things,
NATUUE OF REGENERATION. 151
making them lie at his feet. Psalm Ixxiii. 25, " Whom have I in
heaven but the •? and there is none upon earth that I desire besides
thee." He is loved for himself, and other persons or things for his
sake. What is lovely in them, to the renewed heart, is some ray
of the divine goodness appearing in them : for unto gracious souls
they shine only by borrowed light. This accounts for the saints
loving all men ; and yet hating those that hate God, and contemn-
ing the wicked as vile persons. They hate and contemn them for
their wickedness; there is nothing of God in that, and therefore
nothing lovely nor honourable in it : but they love them for their
commendable qualities or perfections, whether natural or moral ;
because, in whomsoever these are, they are from God, and can be
traced to him as their fountain.
Finally, regenerating grace sets the affections so firmly on God,
that the man is disposed, at God's command, to quit his hold of
every thing else, in order to keep his hold of Christ ; to hate father
and mother, in comparison with Christ, Luke xiv. 26. It makes
even lawful enjoyments, like Joseph's mantle to hang loose about a
man, that he may quit them, when he is in danger of being ensnared
by holding them.
If the stream of our affections were never turned, we are, doubt-
less, going down the stream into the pit. If " the lust of the eye,
the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life," have the throne in our
hearts, which should be possessed by the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost; if we never had so much love to God, as to ourselves; if sin
has been somewhat bitter to us, but never so bitter as suffering,
never so bitter as the pain of being weaned from it ; truly we are
strangers to this saving change. — For grace turns the affections up-
side down, whenever it comes into the heart.
4, The conscience is renewed. As a new light is set up in the
soul, in regeneration, conscience is enlightened, instructed and in-
formed. That candle of the Lord, Prov. xx. 27, is now snuffed and
brightened ; so that it shines, and sends forth its light into the most
retired corners of the heart ; discovering sins which the soul was
not aware of before : and, in a special manner, discovering the cor-
ruption or depravity of nature, that seed and spawn whence all
actual sins proceed. This produces the new complaint, Rom. vii.
24, " 0 wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the
body of this death ?" Conscience, which lay sleeping in the man's
bosom before, is now awakened, and makes its voice to be heard
through the whole soul ; therefore there is no more rest for him
in the sluggard's bed ; he must get up and be doing, arise, " haste,
and escape for his life." It powerfully incites to obedience, even
152 NATURE OJT KEGENERATION'.
in the most spiritual acts, wliicli lie not within the view of the
natural conscience ; and powerfully restrains from sin, even from
those sins which do not lie open to the observation of the world.
It urges the sovereign authority of God, to which the heart is
now reconciled, and which it willingly acknowledges : and so it
eno-ages the man to his duty, whatever be the hazard from the
world ; for it fills the heart so with the fear of God, that the force
of the fear of man is broken. This has engaged many to put their
life in their hand, and follow the cause of religion, which they once
contemned, and resolutely walk in the path they formerly abhorred.
Gal. i. 23, " He which persecuted us in times past, now preacheth
the faith which once he destroyed." Guilt now makes the con-
science smart. It has bitter remorse for sins past, which fills the
soul with anxiety, sorrow, and self-loathing. And every new reflec-
tion on these sins is apt to aff'ect, and make its wounds bleed afresh
with regret. It is made tender, in i>oint of sin and duty, for the
time to come : being once burnt, it dreads the fire, and fears to
break the hedge where it was formerly bit by the serpent. Finally,
the renewed conscience drives the sinner to Jesus Christ, as the only
Physician who can draw out the sting of guilt ; and whose blood
alone can purge the conscience from dead works, Heb. ix. 14, refus-
ino- all ease offered to it from any other hand. This is an evidence
that the conscience is not only fired, as it may be in an uurcgcne-
rate state, but oiled also, with regenerating grace.
5. As the memory wanted not its share of depravity, it is also
bettered by regenerating grace. The memory is weakened, with re-
spect to those things that are not worth their room therein; and men
are taught to forget injuries, and drop their resentments, Matt. v. 44,
45 " Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite-
fully use you — that ye may be," that is, appear to be, " the children
of your Father which is in heaven." It is strengthened for spiritual
things. We have Solomon's receipt for an ill memory, Prov. iii. 1,
" My sou," saith he, " forget not my law." But how shall it be
kept in mind? " Let thine heart keep my commandments." Grace
makes a heart-memory, even where there is no good head-memory,
Psalm cxix. 11, " Thy word have I hid in mine heart." The heart,
truly touched with the powerful sweetness of truth, will help the
memory to retain what is so relished. If divine truths made deeper
impressions on our hearts, they would impress themselves with more
force on our memories. Psalm cxix. 93, " I will never forget thy
precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me." Grace sanctifies
the memory. Many have large, but unsanctified memories, which
serve only to gather knowledge, whereby to aggravate their condera-
NATURE OF REOENERATION. 153
nation : but the renewed memory serves to " remember his com-
mandments to do them," Psalm ciii. 18. It is a sacred store-
liouse, from whence a Christian is furnished in his way to Zion ; for
faith and hope are often supplied out of it, in a dark hour. It is
the storehouse of former experiences ; and these are the believer's
way-marks, by noticing of which he comes to know where he is,
even in a dark time. Psalm xlii. 6, " 0 my God, my soul is cast
down within me : therefore will I remember thee from the land of
Jordan," &c. It also helps the soul to godly sorrow and self-loath-
ing, presenting old guilt anew before the conscience, and making it
bleed afresh, though the sin be already pardoned ; Psalm xxv. 7,
" Remember not the sins of my youth." Where unpardoned guilt
is lying on the sleeping conscience, it is often employed to bring in
a word, which in a moment sets the whole soul on the stir ; as
when " Peter remembered the words of Jesus — he went out and
wept bitterly," Matt. xxvi. 75. The word of God laid up in a
sanctified memory, serves a man to resist temptations, puts the sword
in his hand against his spiritual enemies, and is a light to direct his
steps in the way of religion and righteousness,
6. There is a change made on the body, and the members thereof,
in respect of their use ; they are consecrated to the Lord. Even
" the body is — for the Lord," 1 Cor. vi. 13. It is " the temple of
the Holy Ghost," ver. 19. The members thereof, that were for-
merly " instruments of unrighteousness unto sin," become " instru-
ments of righteousness unto God," Rom. vi. 13, " servants to
righteousness unto holiness," ver. 19. The eye, that conveyed
sinful imaginations into the heart, is under a covenant. Job xxxi. 1,
to do so no more ; but to serve the soul, in viewing the works, and
reading the word, of God. The ear, that had often been death's
porter, to let in sin, is turned to be the gate of life, by which the
word of life enters the soul. The tongue, that set on fire the whole
course of nature, is restored to the office it was designed for by the
Creator ; namely, to be an instrument of glorifying him, and setting
forth his praise. In a word, the whole man is for God, in soul and
body, which by this blessed change are made his.
7. This gracious change shines forth in the conversation. Even
the outward man is renewed. A new heart makes newness of
life. When " the king's daughter is all glorious within, her cloth-
ing is of wrought gold," Psalm xlv. 13. " The single eye" makes
" the whole body full of light," Matt. vi. 22. This change will ap-
pear in every part of a man's conversation ; particularly in the
following things.
(1.) In the change of his company. Formerly, he despised tne
Vol. VIIL k
154 NATURE OF EEGENEEATIOX.
company of the saints, but now they are " the excellent, in whom
is all his delight," Psalm xvi. 3. " I am a companion of all that
fear thee, saith the royal psalmist, Psalm cxix. 63. A renewed
man joins himself with the saints ; for he and they are like-minded,
in that which is their main work and business; they have all one
new nature : they are travelling to Immanuel's land, and converse
together in the language of Canaan. In vain do men pretend to
religion, while ungodly company is their choice ; for " a companion
of fools shall be destroyed," Prov. xiii. 20. Religion will make a
man shy of throwing himself into an ungodly family, or any unne-
cessary familiarity with wicked men ; as one who is healthy will
beware of going into an infected house.
(2.) In his relative capacity, he will be a new man. Grace
makes men gracious in their several relations, and naturally leads
them to the conscientious performance of relative duties. It does
not only make good men and good women, but makes good subjects,
good husbands, good wives, children, servants, and, in a word, good
relatives in the church, commonwealth, and family. It is a just
exception made against the religion of many, namely that they are
bad relatives, they are ill husbands, wives, masters, servants, &c.
How can we prove ourselves to be new creatures, if we be just such
as we were before, in our several relations ? 2 Cor. v. 17, " There-
fore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things
are past away ; behold, all things are become new." Eeal godli-
ness will gain a testimony to a man, from the consciences of his
nearest relations ; though they know more of his sinful infirmities
than others do, as we see in the case, 2 Kings iv. 1, " Thy servant
my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant did fear
the Lord."
(3.) In the way of his following his wordly business, there is a
great change. It appears to be no more his all, as it was before.
Though saints apply themselves to worldly business, as well as
others, yet their hearts are not swallowed up in it. It is evident
that they are carrying on a trade with heaven, as well as a trade
with earth, Phil. iii. 20, " For our conversation is in heaven,"
They go about their employment in the world, as a duty laid upon
them by the Lord of all, doing their lawful business as the will
of God, Eph. vi. 7, working, because he has said, " Thou shalt
not steal."
(4.) Such have a special concern for the advancement of the king-
dom of Christ in the world : they espouse the interests of religion,
and " prefer Jerusalem above their chief joy," Psalm cxxxvii. 6.
How privately soever they live, grace gives them a public spirit.
NATL'UE OP KKGENJEXIATION. 155
will concern itself in the ark and work of God, in the Gospel of
God, and in the people of God, even in those of them whom they
never saw. As children of God, they naturally care for these things.
They have a new concern for the spiritual good of others : no sooner
do they taste of the power of grace themselves, but they are in-
clined to set up to be agents for Christ and holiness in the world;
as appears in the case of the woman of Samaria, who when Christ
had manifested himself to her, '* went her way into the city, and
said unto the men. Come, see a man which told me all things that
ever I did : is not this the Christ ?" John iv. 28, 29. They have
seen and felt the evil of sin, and therefore pity the world lying in
wickedness. They would fain pluck the brands out of the fire, re-
membering that they themselves were plucked out of it. They la-
bour to commend religion to others, both by word and example ; and
I'ather deny themselves the liberty in indifferent things, than, by
the uncharitable use of it, destroy oihers; 1 Cor viii. 13, " Where-
fore, if meat make my brother to offend, 1 will eat no tlesh while
the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."
(5.) In their use of lawful comforts, there is a great change. They
rest not in them, as their end ; but use them as means to help them
in their way. They draw their satisfaction from the higher springs
even while lower springs are running. Thus Hannah having ob-
tained a son, rejoiced not so much in the gift, as in the giver, 1
Sam. ii. 1, " And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoiceth in the
Lord." Yea, when the comforts of life are gone, they can subsist
without them, and " rejoice in the Lord although the fig-tree do not
blossom," Hab. iii. 17, 18. Grace teaches to use the conveniences
of the present life as pilgrims ; and to shew a holy moderation in
all things. The heart, which formally revelled in these things with-
out fear, is now shy of being over much pleased with them. Being
apprehensive of danger, it uses them warily; as the dogs of Egypt
run, while they lap their water out of the river Kile, for fear of
the crocodiles that are in it.
(6.) This change shines forth in the man's performance of reli-
gious duties. He who lived in the neglect of them will do so no
more, if once the grace of God enter into his heart. If a man be
new-born, he will desire the sincere milk of the word, 1 Pet. ii. 2,
3. Whenever the prayerless person gets the Spirit of grace, he
will be in him a Spirit of supplication, Zech. x.ii. 10. It is as na-
tural for one that is born again to pray, as lor the new-born babe
to cry. Acts ix. 11, "Behold, he prayeth !" His heart will be a
temple for God, and his house a church. His devotion, which be-
fore was superficial and formal, is now spiritual and lively; for as
k2
156 NATURE OF REGENERATION.
much as heart and tongue are touched with a live coal from hea-
ven : and he rests not in the mere performance of duties, as care-
ful only to get his task done, but in every duty seeks communion
with God in Christ ; justly considering thera as means appointed of
God for that end, and reckoning himself disappointed if he miss of
it. Thus far of the nature of regeneration.
II. I come to shew why this change is called regeneration a
being born again. It is so called, because of the resemblance be-
tween natural and spiritual generation, which lies in the following
particulars.
1. Natural generation is a mysterious thing : and so is spiritual
generation, John iii. 8, " The wind bloweth inhere it listeth, and
thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh
and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
The work of the Spirit is felt; but his way of working is a mys-
tery we cannot comprehend. A new light is let into the mind, and
the will is renewed ; but how that light is conveyed thither, how
the will is fettered with cords of love, and how the rebel is made
a willing captive, we can no more tell, than we can tell " how the
bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child," Eccl. xi. 5.
As a man hears the sound of the wind, and finds it stirring, but
knows not where it begins, and where it ends; "so is every one
that is born of the Spirit:" he finds the change that is made upon
him ; but how it is produced he knoweth not. One thing he may know
that whereas he was blind, now he seeth : but " the seed of grace"
'* springs and grows up, he knoweth not how," Mark iv. 26, 27.
2. In both, the creature comes to a being it had not before. Tlie
child is not, till it be generate ; and a man has no gracious being,
no being in grace, till he is regenerate. Regeneration is not so much
the curing of a sick man, as " the quickening of a dead man," Eph.
ii. 1 — 5. Man in his depraved state, is a mere nonentity in grace,
and is brought into a new being by the power of Him " who calleth
things that be not as though they were ;" being " created in Jesus
Christ unto good works," Eph. ii. 10. Therefore our Lord Jesus, to
give ground of hope to the Laodiceans, in their wretched and mis-
erable state, proposes himself as " the beginning of the creation of
God," Rev. iii. 14, namely, the active beginning of it ; " for all
things were made by him" at first, John i. 3. From whence they
might gather, that as he made them when they were nothing, he
could make them over again, when worse than nothing ; the same
hand that made them his creatures, could make thera new crea-
tures.
As the child is passive in generation, so is the child of God in
NATURE OF KEGENERATION. 157
regeneration. The one contributes nothing to its own generation ;
neither does the other contribute any thing, by way of efficiency, to
its own regeneration : for though a man may lay himself down at
the pool, yet he hath no hand in moving the water, no power iu
performing the cure. One is born the child of a king, another the
child of a beggar: the child has no hand at all in this difference.
God leaves some iu their depraved state; others he brings into a
state of grace, or regeneracy. If thou be thus honoured, no thanks
to thee; for " who maketh thee to differ from another? and what
hast thou that thou didst not receive ?" 1 Cor. iv. 7-
4. There is a wonderful contexture of parts in both births. Ad-
mirable is the structure of man's body, in which there is such a va-
riety of organs ; nothing wanting, nothing superfluous. The psalm-
ist, considering his own body, looks on it as a piece of marvellous
work ; " I am fearfully and wonderfully made," saith he. Psalm
cxxxix. 14, " and curiously wrought in the lower parts of the
earth," ver. 15 ; that is, in the womb, whei'e I know not how the
bones grow, any more than I know what is doing in the lowest
parts of the earth. In natural generation we are curionsly wrought,
like a piece of needle-work ; as the word imports : even so it is in
regeneration : Psalm xlv. 14, " She shall be brought unto the King
in raiment of needle-work," raiment curiously wrought. It is the
same word iu both texts. What that raiment is, the apostle tells
us, Eph. iv. 24. It is '* the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness." This is the raiment which he
saith, in the same place, we must put on; not excluding the imputed
righteousness of Christ. Both are curiously wrought, as master-
pieces of the manifold wisdom of God. 0 the wonderful contexture
of graces in the new creature ! 0 glorious creature, new-made after
the image of God ! It is grace for grace in Christ, which makes up
this new man, John i. 16 ; even as in bodily generation, the child
has member for member in the parent ; has every member which the
parent has in a certain proportion.
5. All tliis, in both cases, has its rise from that which is in itself
very small and inconsiderable. 0 the power of God, in making
such a creature of the corruptible seed, and much more in bringing
forth the new creature from such small beginnings ! It is as " the
little cloud, like a man's hand," which spread, till " heaven was
black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain," 1 Kings
xviii. 44, 45. A man gets a word at a sermon, which hundreds be-
sides him hear, and let slip: but it remains with him, works in him,
and never leaves him, till the little world is turned upside down by
it ; that is, till he becomes a new man. It is like the vapour that
168 NATUliAL AND SPIRITUAL GENEEATION.
got up into Aliasuerus's head, and cut off sleep from his eyes, Esth.
vi. 1, which proved a spring of such motions as never ceased, until
Mordecai, in royal pomp, was brought on horseback through the
streets, proud Haman trudging at his foot ; the same Haman after-
wards hanged, Mordecai advanced, and the church delivered from
Haman's hellish plot. " The grain of mustard seed becoraeth a
tree," Mat. xiii. 31, 32. God loves to bring great things out of
ssmall beginnings.
6. Natural generation is carried on by degrees. Job x. 10,
" Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like
cheese?" So is regeneration. It is with the soul, ordinarily, in re-
generation, as with the blind man cured by our Lord, who first
" saw men as trees walking," afterward " saw every man clearly,"
Mark viii. 23 — 25. It is true, regeneration being, strictly speaking,
a passage from death to life, the soul is quickened in a moment ;
like as when the embryo is brought to perfection in the womb, the
soul is infused into the lifeless lump. Nevertheless, we may
imagine somewhat like conception in spiritual regeneration, whereby
the soul is prepared for quickening; and the new creature is capable
of growth, 1 Peter ii. 2, and of having life more abundantly, John
X. 10.
7. In both there are new relations. The regenerate may call
God, Father; for they are his children, John i. 12, 13, " begotten of
him," 1 Pet. i. 3. The bride, the Lamb's wife, that is, the church,
is their mother. Gal. iv. 26. They are related, as brethren and
sisters, to angels and glorified saints ; " the family of heaven."
They are of the heavenly stock : the meanest of them, " the base
things of the world," 1 Cor. i. 28, the kinless things, as the word im-
ports, who cannot boast of the blood that runs in their veins, are
yet, by their new birth, near of kin with the excellent in the earth.
8. There is a likeness between the parent and the child. Every
thing that generates, generates its like ; and the regenerate are
" partakers of the divine nature," 2 Peter i. 4. The moral perfec-
tions of the divine nature are, in measure and degree, communicated
to the renewed soul : thus the divine image is restored ; so that, as
the child resembles the father, the new creature resembles God
himself, being holy as he is holy.
9. As there is no birth without pain, both to the mother and to
the child, so there is great pain in bringing forth the new creature.
The children have more or less of these birth-pains, whereby they
are " pricked in their heart," Acts ii. 37. The soul has sore pains
when under conviction and humiliation. "A wounded spirit who
can bear ?" The mother is pained ; " Ziou travails," Isaiah Ixvi. 8.
THE DOCTRIXE APPLIED. 159
She sighs, groans, cries, and has hard labour, in her ministers and
members, to bring forth children to her Lord, Gal. iv. 19, "My little
children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in
you." Never was a mother more feelingly touched with "joy, that
a man child is born into the world," than she is upon the new birth
of her children. But, what is more remarkable than all this, we
read not only of our Lord Jesus Christ's " travail," or toil " of
soul," Isaiah liii. 11, but, what is more directly to our purpose, of
his " pains," or pangs, as of one travailing in childbirth; so the
word used. Acts ii. 24, properly signifies. Well might he call the new
creature, as Rachel called her dear-bought son, Benoni, that is, the
son of my sorrow ; and as she called another, Naphtali, that is, my
wrestling : for the pangs of that travail put him to " strong crying
and tears," Heb. v. 7 ; yea, into an " agony and bloody sweat,"
Luke xxii. 44. And in the end he died of these pangs ; they be-
came to him " the pains of death," Acts ii. 24.
I shall now apply this doctrine.
Use I. By what is said, you may try whether you are in the state
of grace or not. If you are brought out of the state of wrath or
ruin, into the state of grace or salvation, you are new creatures, you
are born again. But you will say, How shall we know whether we
are born again, or not? Answer. Were you to ask me, if the sun
were risen, and how you should know whether it were risen or not ?
I would bid you look up to the heavens, and see it with your eyes.
And, would you know if the light be risen in your hes^rt ? Look
in, and see. Grace is light, and discovers itself. Look into thy
mind, see if it has been illuminated in the knowledge of God. Hast
thou been inwardly taught what God is ? Were thine eyes ever
tnrned inward to see thyself; the sinfulness of thy depraved state,
the corruption of thy nature ; the sins of thy heart and life ? Wast
thou ever led into a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin ? Have
thine eyes seen King Jesus in his beauty ; the manifold wisdom of
God in him, his transcendent excellence, and absolute fulness and
sufficiency, with the vanity and emptiness of all things else ? Next,
What change is there on thy will? Are the fetters taken off,
wherewith it was formerly bound up from moving heavenward?
Has thy will got a new turn ? Dost thou find an aversion to sin,
and an inclination to good, wrought in thy heart ? Is thy soul
turned towards God, as thy chief end ? Is thy will new-moulded
into some measure of conformity to the preceptive and providential
will of God ? Art thou heartily reconciled to the covenant of peace,
and fixedly disposed to the receiving of Christ, as he is offered in
160 THE DOCTRINK APl'LIEr.
the gospel ? And as to a change on your affections, are they recti-
fied, and placed on right objects? Are your desires going out after
God ? Are they to his name, and the remembrance of him ? Isaiah
xxvi. 8. Are your hopes in him ? Is your love set upon him, and
your hatred set against sin ? Does your offending a good God affect
your heart with sorrow, and do you fear sin more than suffering ?
Are your affections regulated ? Are they, with respect to created
comforts, brought down, as being too high ; and with respect to God
in Christ, raised up, as being too low ? Has he the chief seat in
your heart? And are all your lawful worldly comforts and enjoy-
ments laid at his feet ? Has thy conscience been enlightened and
awakened, refusing all ease, but from the application of the blood
of a Redeemer ? Is thy memory sanctified, thy body consecrated to
the service of God ? And art thou now walking in newness of life ?
Thus you may discover whether you are born again or not.
But, for your farther help in this matter, I will discourse a little
of another sign of regeneration, namely, the love of the brethren;
an evidence whereby the weakest and most timorous saints have
often had comfort, when they could have little or no consolation
from other marks proposed to them. This the apostle lays down,
1 John iii. 14, " We know that we have passed from death unto life,
because we love the brethren." It is not to be thought that the
apostle, by the brethren in this place means brethren by a common
relation to the first Adam, but to the second Adam, Christ Jesus ;
because, however true it is, that universal benevolence, a good will
to the whole race of mankind, takes place in the renewed soul, as
being a lively lineament of the divine image, yet the whole context
speaks of those that are " the sons of God," ver, 1,2; " children of
of God," ver. 10 ; " born of God," ver. 9 ; distinguishing between
" the children of God," and " the children of the devil," ver. 10 ;
between those that are " of the devil," ver. 8, 12, and those that are
" of God," ver. 10. The text itself comes in as a reason why we
should not marvel that the world hates the brethren, the children of
God, ver. 13. How can we marvel at it, seeing the love of the bre-
thren is an evidence of one's having passed from death to life ?
Therefore it were absurd to look, for that love amongst the men of
the world, who are dead in trespasses and sins. They cannot love
the brethren ; no wonder, then, that they hate them. Wherefore
it is plain, that by brethren here, are meant brethren by regene-
ration.
Now, in order to set this mark of regeneration in a true light,
consider these three things. 1. This love to the brethren, is a love
to them as such. Then do we love them in the sense of the text,
THB DOCTRINE APl'LIED. 161
wheu tlie grace, or image of God in them, is the chief motive of
our love to them. When we love the godly for their godliness, the
saints for their sanctity or holiness, then we love God in them,
and so may conclude were born of God ; for " every one that
loveth Him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him,"
1 John v. 1. Hypocrites may love saints, on account of civil re-
lations to them : because of their obliging conversation ; for their
being of the same opinion as to outward religious matters ; and on
many other such like accounts, whereby wicked men may be induced
to love the godly. But happy they who love them merely for grace
in them ; for their heaven-born temper and disposition ; who can
pick this pearl even out of infirmities in and about them ; lay hold
of it, and love them for it. 2. It is a love that will be given to all
in whom the grace of God appears. They that love one saint,
because he is a saint, will have " love to all the saints," Eph. i. 15.
They will love all, who, in their view, bear the image of God.
Those that cannot love a gracious person in rags, but confine their
love to those of them who wear gay clothing, have not this love to
the brethren in them. Those who confine their love to a party, to
whom God has not confined his grace, are souls too narrow to be
put among the children. In what points soever men differ from us,
in their judgment or way; yet if they appear to agree with us,
in love to God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and in bearing his
image, we shall love them as brethren, if we are of the heavenly
family. 3. If this love be in us, the more grace any person appears
to be possessed of, he will be the more beloved by us. The more
vehemently the holy fire of grace doth flame in any, the hearts of
true Christians will be the more warmed in love to them. — It is not
with tl "'"ts as with many other men, who make themselves the
standards for others ; and love them so far as they think they are
like themselves. But, if they seem to outshine and darken them,
their love is turned to hatred and envy, and they endeavour to
detract from the due praise of their exemplary piety; because
nothing relisheth with them, in the practice of religion, that goes
beyond their own measure ; what of the life and power of religion
appears in others, serves only to raise the serpentine grudge in
their pharisaical hearts. But as for those who are born again,
their love and affection to the brethren bears proportion to the de-
grees of the divine image they discern in them.
Now, if you would improve these to the knowledge of your state,
I would advise yon, 1. To set apart some time, when you are at
home, for a review of your case, to try your state by what has been
said. Many have comfort and clearness as to their state, at a ser-
162 DOUBTS RESOLVED.
mon, who iu a little time lose it again; because while they hear the
word preached, they make application of it ; but do not consider
these things more deliberately and leisurely when alone. The im-
pression is too sudden and short to give lastiug comfort ; and it is
often so inconsiderate, that it has bad consequences. Therefore set
about this work at home, after earnest and serious prayer to God
for his help in it. Complain not of your want of time while the
night follows the busy day; nor of place, while fields and out-
houses are to be got. 2. Renew your repentance before the Lord.
Guilt lyiilg on the conscience, unrepented of, may darken all your
evidences and marks of grace. It provokes the Spirit of grace to
withdraw ; and when he goes, our light ceases. It is not a fit time
for a saint to read his evidences, when the candle is blown out by
some conscience-wounding guilt. 3. Exert the powers of the new
nature ; let the graces of the divine Spirit discover themselves in
you by action. If you would know whether there is sacred fire in
your breast, or not, you must blow the coal ; for although it exist,
and be a live coal, yet if it be under the ashes, it will give you no
light. Settle in your hearts a firm purpose, through the grace that
is in Christ Jesus, to comply with every known duty, and watch
against every known sin, having readiness of mind to be instructed
in what you know not. If gracious souls would thus manage their
inquiries into their state, it is likely that they would have a com-
fortable issue. And if others would take such a solemn review,
and make trial of their state, impartially examining themselves
before the tribunal of their consciences, they might have a timely
discovery of their own sinfulness ; but the neglect of self-examina-
tion leaves most men under sad delusions as to their state, and
deprives many saints of the comfortable sight of the grace of God
in them.
But that I may aftord some farther help to true Christians in
their inquiries into their state, I shall propose and briefly answer
some cases or doubts, which may possibly hinder some persons from
the comfortable view of their happy state. The children's bread
must not be withheld ; though, while it is held forth to them, the
dogs should snatch at it.
Case 1. " I doubt if I be regenerate, because I know not the pre-
cise time of my conversion ; nor can I trace the particular steps of
the way in which it was brought to pass." Answer. Though it is
very desirable to be able to give an account of the beginning, and
the gradual advances, of the Lord's work upon our souls, as some
saints can distinctly do, the manner of the Spirit's working being
still a mystery, yet this is not necessary to prove the truth of grace.
DOUBTS KESOLVED. 163
Uappy be that can say, in this case, as the blind man in the Gospel,
" One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. As,
when we see flame, we know there is fire, though we know not how
or when it began ; so the truth of grace may be discerned in us,
though we know not how or when it was dropped into our hearts.
It thou canst perceive the happy change which is wrought on thy
soul ; if thou findest thy mind is enlightened, thy will inclined to
comply with the will of God in all things; especially to fall in with
the divine plan of salvation, through a crucified Redeemer; in vain
dost thou trouble thyself, and refuse comfort, because thou knowest
not how and what way it was brought about.
Case 2, " If I were a new creature, sin could not prevail against
me as it doth." Answer. Though we must not lay pillows for hypo-
crites to rest their heads upon, who indulge themselves in their sins,
and make the doctrine of God's grace subservient to their lusts, ly-
ing down contentedly in the bond of iniquity like men that are fond
of golden chains ; yet it must be owned, " the just man falleth seven
times a-day ; and iniquity may prevail against the children of God.
But if thou art groaning under the weight of the body of death, the
corruption of thy nature ; loathing thyself for the sins of thy heart
and life ; striving to mortify thy lusts ; fleeing daily to the blood of
Christ for pardon; and looking to his spirit for sanctification :
though thou raayest be obliged to say with the Psalmist, " Iniqui-
ties prevail against me ;" yet thou mayest add with him, " As for
our transgressions thou shalt purge them away, Psal. Ixv. 3. The
new creature does not yet possess the house alone : it dwells by the
side of an ill neighbour, namely, remaining corruption, the relics of
depraved nature. They struggle together for the mastery : " The
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh," Gal.
v. 17- And sometimes corruption prevails, bringing the child of
God into captivity to the law of sin, Rom. vii. 23. Let not there-
fore the prevailing of corruption make thee, in this case, conclude
thou art none of God's children : but let it humble thee, to be the
more watchful, and to thirst the more intensely after Jesus Christ,
his blood and Spirit ; and that very disposition will evidence a prin-
ciple of grace in thee, which seeks the destruction of sin that pre-
vails so often against thee.
Case 3. " I find the motions of sin in my heart more violent since
the Lord began his work on my soul, than they were before that
time. Can this consist with a change of my nature ?" Answer.
Dreadful is the case of many, who, after God has had a remarkable
dealing with their souls, tending to their reformation, have thrown
off all bonds, and have become grossly and openly immoral and
164 DOUBTS RESOLVED,
profane ; as if the devil had returned into their hearts with seven
spirits worse than himself. All I shall say to such persons is, that
their state is exceedingly dangerous ; they are in danger of sinning
against the Holy Ghost, therefore let thera repent, before it be too
late. But if it be not thus with you ; though corruption is stirring
itself more violently than formerly, as if all the forces of hell were
raised, to hold fast, or bring back, a fugitive ; yet these stirrings
may consist with a change of your nature. "When the restraint of
grace is newly laid upon corruption, it is no wonder if it acts more
vigorously than before, "warring against the law of the mind," Rom.
vii. 23. The motions of sin may really be most violent, when the
new principle is brought in to cast it out. The sun sending its
beams through the window, discovers the motes in the house, and
their motions, which were not seen before ; so the light of grace
may discover the risings and actings of corruption, in another man-
ner than ever the man saw them before, though they really do not
rise nor act more vigorously. Sin is not quite dead in the regene-
rate soul ; it is but dying, and dying a lingering death, being cruci-
fied ; no wonder there are great fightings, when it is sick at the
heart, and death is at the door. Besides, temptations may be more
in number, and stronger, while Satan is striving to bring you back,
who are escaped, than while he only endeavoured to retain you :
" After ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of affliction,"
says the apostle to the Hebrews, chap. x. 32. But " cast not away
your confidence," ver. 35. Remember his " grace is sufiicient for
you, and the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet
shortly." Pharaoh and his Egyptians never made such a formida-
ble appearance against the Israelites, as at the Red Sea, after they
were brought out of Egypt : but then were the pursuers nearest to
a total overthrow, Exod. chap. xiv. Let not this case, therefore,
make you raze the foundations of your trust ; but be ye emptied of
self, and strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, and you
shall come off" victorious.
Case 4. " But when I compare my love to God with my love to
some created enjoyments, I find the pulse of my affections beat
stronger to the creature than to the Creator. How then can I call
him Father ? Nay, alas ! those turnings of heart within me, and
glowings of aff'ection to him, which I had, are gone ; so that I fear
all the love which I ever had to the Lord has been but a fit and
flash of aff'ection, such as hypocrites often have. Answer. It cannot
be denied, that the predominant love of the world is a certain mark
of an unregenerate state, 1 John ii. 15, " If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him." Nevertheless, those
\
DOUBTS RESOLVED. 1G5
are not always the strongest affections which are most violent. A
man's affections may be more moved, on some occasions, by an
object that is little regarded, than by another that is exceedingly
beloved ; even as a little brook sometimes makes more noise than a
great river. The strength of our affections is to be measured by the
firmness and fixedness of the root, not by the violence of their act-
ings. Suppose a person meeting with a friend, who has been long
abroad, finds his affections more vehemently acting towards his friend
on that occasion, than towards his own wife and children ; will he
therefore say, that he loves his friend more than them ? Surely not.
Even so, although the Christian may find himself mora moved in his
love to the creature, than in his love to God ; yet it is not therefore
to be said, that he loves the creature more than God, seeing love to
God is always more firmly rooted in a gracious heart, than love to
any created enjoyment whatever; as appears when competition arises
in such a manner, that the one or other is to be foregone. Would
yon then know your case? Retire into your own hearts, and there
lay the two in the balance, and try which of them weighs down the
other. Ask thyself, as in the sight of God, whether thou wouldst
part with Christ for the creature, or part with the creature for
Christ, if thou wert left to thy choice in the matter ? If you find
your heart disposed to part with what is dearest to you in the world
for Christ at his call, you have no reason to conclude you love the
creature more than God ; but, on the contrary, that you love God
more than the creature, although you do not feel such violent mo-
tions in the love of God, as in the love of some created thing. Matt.
X. 37, " He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy
of me." Luke xiv. 26, '* If any man come to me, and hate not his
father and mother — he cannot be my disciple." From which texts
compared we may infer, that he who hates, that is, is ready to part
with, father and mother for Christ, is, in our Lord's account, one
that loves them less than him, and not one who loves father and
mother more than him. Moreover, you are to consider that there
is a twofold love to Christ. 1. There is a sensible love to him,
which is felt as a dart in the heart, and makes a holy love-sickness
in the soul, arising from want of enjoyment, as in that case of the
spouse, Cant. v. 8, " I charge you, 0 daughters of Jerusalem, if ye
find my beloved, that ye tell him that I am sick of love :" or else
from the fulness of it, as in Cant. ii. 5, " Stay me with flagons, com-
fort me with apples ; for I am sick of love." These glowings of af-
fection are usually wrought in young converts, who are ordinarily
made " to sing in the days of their youth," Hos. ii. 15. "While the
fire-edge is upon the young convert, he looks upon others, reputed
166 DOUBTS KESOLVED.
to be godly, and not finding them in such a temper or disposition
as himself, he is ready to censure them ; and to think there is far
less religion in the world than indeed there is. But when his own
cup comes to settle below the brim, and he finds that in him-
self which made him question the state of others, he is more hum-
bled, and feels more and more the necessity of daily recourse to
the blood of Christ for pardon, and to the Spirit of Christ for
sanctification ; and thus grows downwards in humiliation, self-loath-
ing, and self-denial. 2. There is a rational love to Christ, which,
without these sensible emotions felt in the former case, evidences it-
self by a dutiful regard to the divine authority and command.
When one bears such a love to Christ, though the vehement strings
of affection be wanting, yet he is truly tender of off'ending a gracious
God ; endeavours to walk before him unto all well pleasing; and is
grieved at the heart for what is displeasing unto him, 1 John v. 3,
" For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments."
Now, although that sensible love does not always continue with
you, you have no reason to deem it a hypocritical fit, while the ra-
tional love remains with you ; any more than a loving and faithful
wife needs question her love to her husband, when her fondness
is abated.
Case 5. " The attainments of hypocrites and apostates are a
terror to me, and come like a shaking storm on me, when I am
about to conclude, from the marks of grace, which I seem to find in
myself, that I am in the state of grace." Answer. These things
should indeed stir us up to a most serious and impartial examination
of ourselves ; but ought not to keep us in a continued suspense as
to our state. Sirs, you see the outside of hypocrites, their duties,
their gifts, their tears, and so on, but you see not their inside ; you
do not discern their hearts, the bias of their spirits. Upon what
you see of them, you found a judgment of charity as to their state ;
and you do well to judge charitably in such a case, because you
cannot know the secret springs of their actions : but you are seek-
ing, and ought to have, a judgment of certainty as to your own
state; and therefore are to look into that part of religion; which
none in the world but yourselves can discern in you ; and which you
can as little see in others. A hypocrite's region may appear far
greater than that of a sincere soul : but that which makes the
greatest figure in the eyes of men, is often of least worth before
God. 1 would rather utter one of those groans which the apos-
tle speaks of, Rom. viii. 26, than shed Esau's tears, have Bala-
am's prophetic spirit, or the joy of the stony-ground hearer. " The
fire that shall try every man's work," will try, not of what
DOUBTS EESOLVED. 167
bulk it is, but "of what sort it is," 1 Cor. iii. 13. — Though
you may know what bulk, of religion another has, and that it
be more bulky than your own, yet God doth not regard that;
why theu do you make such a matter of it ? It is impossible
for you, without divine revelation, certainiy to know of what sort
another man's religion is : but you may certainly know what sort
your own is of, without extraordinary revelation ; otherwise the
apostle would not exhort the saints to " give diligence to make their
calling and election sure," 2 Peter i. 10. Therefore the attainments
of hypocrites and apostates should not dsturb you, in your serious
inquiry into your own state. I will tell you two things, wherein
the meanest saints go beyond the most refined hypocrites: 1. In
denying themselves ; renouncing all confidence in themselves, and
their own works ; acquiescing in, being well pleased with, and ven-
turing their souls upon, God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ,
Matt. V. 3, " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven." And chap. xi. 6, " Blessed is he, whosoever shall not
be ofi^ended in me." Phil. iii. 3, " We are the circumcision, which
worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Jesus Christ, and have no
confidence in the flesh." 2. In a real hatred of all sin; being will-
ing to part with every lust, without exception, and to comply with
"every duty which the Lord makes, or shall make known to them.
Psalm csix. 6, " Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect
unto all thy commandments." Try yourselves by these.
Case 6. " I sec myself fall so far short of the saints mentioned in
the Scriptures, and of several excellent persons of my own ac-
quaintance, that, when I look on them, I can hardly look on myself
as one of the same family with them." Answer. It is indeed matter
of humiliation, that we do not get forward to that measure of grace
and holiness which we see is attainable in this life. This should
make us more vigorously press towards the mark : but surely it is
from the devil, that weak Christians make a rack for themselves, of
the attainments of the strong. To yield to the temptation, is as
unreasonable as for a child to dispute away his relation to his fa-
ther, because he is not of the same stature with his elder brethren.
There are saints of several sizes in Christ's family ; some fathers,
some young men, and some little children, 1 John ii. 13, 14.
Case 7- " I never read in the word of God, nor did I ever know
of a child of God, so tempted, and so left of God, as lam; and
therefore, no saiut's case being like mine, I cannot but conclude
that I am none of their number. Answer. This objection arises to
some from their ignorance of the Scriptures, and the experience of
Christians. It is profitable, in this case, to impart the matter to
168 DOUBTS RESOLVED,
some experienced Christian friend, or to some godly minister. This
lias been a blessed means of peace to some persons ; while their
case, which appeared to them to be singular, has been proved to
have been the case of other saints. The Scriptures give instances
of very horrid temptations, wherewith the saints have been as-
saulted. Job was tempted to blaspheme ; this was the great thing
the devil aimed at in the case of that great saint, Job. i. 11, "He
will curse thee to thy face." Chap. it. 9, " Curse God and die."
Asaph was tempted to think it was in vain to be religious, which
was in effect to throw off all religion. Psalm Ixxiii. 13, " Verily I
have cleansed my heart in vain." Tea, Christ himself was tempted
to " cast himself down from a pinnacle of the temple," and to " wor-
ship the devil," Matt. iv. 6 — 9. And many of the children of God
have not only been attacked with, but have actually yielded to very
gross temptation for a time. Peter denied Christ, and cursed and
swore that he knew him not, Mark xiv. 71. Paul, when a persecutor
compelled even saints to blaspheme. Acts xxvi. 10, 11. Many of
the saints can, from their sad experience, bear witness to very gross
temptations, which have astonished their spirits, made their very
flesh to tremble, and sickened their bodies. Satan's fiery darts make
terrible work ; and will cost some pains to quench them, by a vigo-
rous managing of the shield of faith, Eph. vi. 16. Sometimes he'
makes such desparate attacks, that never was one more put to it,
in running to and fro, without intermission, to quench the fire-balls
incessantly thrown into his house by an enemy, designing to burn
the house about him, than the poor tempted saint is, to repel Sata-
nical injections. But these injections, these horrid temptations though
they are a dreadful affliction, they are not the sins of the tempted,
unless they make them heirs by consenting to them. They will be
charged upon the tempter alone, if they be not consented to ; and
will no more be laid to the charge of the tempted party, than a bas-
tard's being laid down at a chaste man's door will fix guilt upon him.
But suppose neither minister nor private Christian, to whom you
go, can tell you of any who has been in your case; yet you ought
not thence to infer that your case is singular, far less to give up
hope : for it is not to be thought, that every godly minister, or pri-
vate Christian, has had experience of all the cases which a child of
God may be in. We need not doubt that some have had distresses
known only to God and their own consciences; and so to others
these distresses are as if they had never been. Yea, and though
the Scriptures contain suitable directions for every case which a
child of God can be in, and these illustrated with a sufficient num-
ber of examples ; yet it is not to be imagined that there are in the
KECBSSITY OP ReOBNERATION". 169
Scriptures perfect instances of every particular case incident to the
saints. Therefore, though you cannot find an instance of your case
in the Scripture, yet bring your case to it, and you shall find suit-
able remedies prescribed there for it. Study rather to make use of
Christ for your case, who has a remedy for all diseases, than to
know if ever any was in your case. Though one should shew
you an instance of your case, in an undoubted saint; yet none
could promise that it would certainly give you ease : for a scrupulous
conscience would readily find out some diflTerence. And if nothing
but a perfect conformity of another's case to yours will satisfy it will
be hard, if not impossible, to satisfy you ; for it is with people's
cases, as with their natural faces : though the faces of all men
are of one make, and some are so very like others, that, at first
view, we are ready to take them for the same ; yet if you view thom
more accurately, you will see something in every face, distinguish-
ing it from all others; though possibly you cannot tell what it is.
Wherefore I conclude, that if you can find in yourselves the marks
of regeneration, proposed to you from the word, you ought to con-
clude you are in the state of grace, though your case were singular,
which is indeed unlikely.
Case 8. *' The afilictions I meet with are strange and unusual. T
doubt if ever a child of God was tried with such dispensations of
providence as I am." Answer. Much of what was said on the pre-
ceding case, may be helpful in this. Holy Job was assaulted with
this temptation, Job v. 1, *' To which of the saints wilt thou turn?"
But he rejected it, and held fast his integrity. The apostle supposes
that Christians may be tempted to *' think it strange concerning the
fiery trial," 1 Pet. iv. 12. But they have need of larger experience
than Solomon's, who will venture to say, " See this is new," Eccl. i. 10.
What though, in respect of the outward dispensations of providence,
" it happen to you according to the work of the wicked ?" yet you
may be just notwithstanding ; according to Solomon's observation,
Eccl. viii. 14. Sometimes we travel in ways where we can neither
perceive the prints of the foot of man or beast ; yet we cannot from
thence conclude that there was never any there before us: so though
thou canst not perceive the footsteps of the flock, in the way of
thine aflliction, thou must not therefore conclude that thou art the
first that ever travelled that road. But what if it were so ? Some
one saint or other must be first, in drinking of each bitter cup the
rest have drunk of. What warrant have you or I to limit the Holy
One of Israel to a trodden path, in his dispensations towards us?
"Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters ; and thy
footsteps are not known," Psalm Ixxvii. 19. If the Lord should
Vol. viii. L
170 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION'.
carry you to heaven by some retired road, so to speak, you would
have no ground of complaint. Learn to allow sovereignty a lati-
tude ; be at your duty ; and let no affliction cast a veil over any
evidences you otherwise have for your being in the state of grace :
for " no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before
him," Eccl. ix. 1.
Use II. You that are strangers to this new birth, be convinced
of the absolute necessity of it. Are all who are in the state of
grace born again ? then you have neither part nor lot in it, who are
not born again. I must tell you in the words of our Lord and Sa-
viour, and 0 that he would speak them to your hearts ! " Yon
must be born again," John iii. 7- For your conviction, consider
these few things.
1. Regeneration is absolutely necessary to qualify you to do any
thing really good and acceptable to God. While you are not born
again, your best works are but glittering sins ; for though the mat-
ter of them is good, they are quite marred in the performance.
Consider, L That without regeneration there is no faith, and " with-
out faith it is impossible to i)lease God," Heb. xi. 6. Faith is a
vital act of the new-born soul. The evangelist, shewing the differ-
ent entertainment which our Lord Jesus had from different persons,
some receiving him, some rejecting him, points at regenerating
grace as the true cause of that difference, without which never any
one would have received him. He tells us, that "as many as re-
ceived him," were those " which were born — of God," John i. 11 —
13. Unregenerate men may presume ; but true faith they cannot
have. Faith is a flower that grows not in the field of nature. As
the tree cannot grow without a root, neither can a man believe with-
out the new nature, whereof the principle of believing is a part. 2.
"Without regeneration a man's works are dead works. As is the
principle, so must the effects be : if the lungs are rotten, the breath
will be unsavoury ; and he who at best is dead in sin, his works at
best will he but dead works. " Unto them that are defiled and un-
believing, is nothing pure — being abominable, and disobedient, and
unto every good work reprobate," Tit. i. 15, 16. Could we say of a
man, that he is more blameless in his life than any other in the
world; that he reduces his body with fasting; and has made his
knees as horns with continual praying ; but he is not born again :
that exception would mar all. As if one should say. There is a well
proportioned body, but the soul is gone ; it is but a dead lump. This
is a melting consideration. Thou dost many things materially good;
but God says, All these things avail not, as long as I see the old
nature reigning in the man. Gal. vi. 15, "For in Jesus Christ
NJ5CK.SSITV OF RliGKNERATIOX. 171
neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircnracisiou, but a
new creature."
If thou art not born again, (1.) All thy reformation is naught in
the sight of God. Thou hast shut the door, but the thief is still
in the house. It may be thou art not what once thou wast ; yet
thou art not what thou must be, if ever thou see heaven ; for " ex-
cept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," John
iii. 3. (2.) Thy prayers are an " abomination to the Lord," Prov.
XV. 8. It may be, others admire thy seriousness ; thou criest as
for thy life ; but God accounts of the opening of thy mouth, as one
would account of the opening of a grave full of rottenness, Rom.
iii. 13, "Their throat is an open sepulchre." Others are af-
fected with thy prayers ; which seem to them, as if they would
rend the heavens; but God accounts them but as the howling of
a dog : " They have not cried unto me with their hearts, Avhen they
howled upon their beds," Hos. vii. 14. Others take thee for a wrest-
ler and prevailer with God ; but he can take no delight in thee nor
thy prayers, Isa. Ixvi. 3, " He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew
a man : he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck ; — he
that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol." Why, because thou
art yet " in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity !" (3.) All
thou hast done for God, and his cause in the world, though it may
be followed with temporal rewards, yet it is lost as to divine accept-
ance. This is clear from the case of Jehu, who was indeed re-
warded with a kingdom, for his executing due vengeance upon the
house of Ahab; as being a work good for the matter of it, because
it was commanded of God, as you may see, 2 Kings ix. 7 ; yet was
he punished for it in his posterity, because he did it not in a right
manner, Hos. i. 4, "I will avenge the blood of Jtzreel upon the
house of Jehu." God looks chieily to the heart: and if so, truly,
though the outward appearance be fairer than that of many others,
yet the hidden man of thy heart is loathsome ; you look well be-
fore men, but are not, as Moses was, fair to God, as the margin has
it, Acts vii. 20. 0 what a difference is there between the charac-
ters of Asa and Amaziah ! " The high places were not removed ;
nevertheless, Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days,"
1 Kings XV. 14. " Amaziah did that which was right in the sight
of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart," 2 Chron. xxv. 2. It may
be thou art zealous against sin in others, and dost admonish them
of their duty, and reprove them for their sin; and they hate thee,
because thou dost thy duty ; but I must tell thee, God hates thee
too, because thou dost it not in a right manner; and that thou
canst never do, whilst thou art not born again. (4.) All thy strug-
l2
172 NECESSITY OP REaENERATION.
gles against sin in tbine own heart and life, are naught. The proud
Pharisee afflicted his body \Fith fasting, and God struck his soul,
in the mean time, with a sentence of condemnation, Luke xviii.
Balaam struggled with his covetous temper, to that degree, that
though he loved the wages of unrighteousness, yet he would not win
them by cursing Israel : but he died the death of the wicked. Numb,
xxxi. 8. All thou dost, while in an unregenerate state, is for thy-
self : therefore it will fare with thee as with a subject, who having
reduced the rebels, jjuts the crown on his own head, and loses all
his good service and his head too.
Objection. " If it be thus with us, then we need never perform any
religious duty at all." Answer. The conclusion is not just. No
inability of thine can excuse from the duty which God's law lays on
thee : and there is less evil in doing thy duty, than there is in the
omission of it. But there is a difference between omitting a duty,
and doing it as thou dost it. A man orders the masons to build
him a house. If they quite neglect the work, that will not be ac-
cepted; if they build on the old rotten foundation, neither will
that please : but they must raze the foundation, and build on firm
ground, " Go thou and do likewise." In the mean time, it is not
in vain even for thee to seek the Lord: for though he regards thee
not, yet he may have respect to his own ordinances, and do thee
good thereby, as was said before.
2. Without regeneration there is no communion with God. There
is a society on earth, whose " fellowship is with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ," 1 John i, 3. But out of that society, all
the unregenerate are excluded; for they are all enemies to God, as
you heard before at large. Now, " can two walk together, except
they be agreed?" Amos iii, 3, They are all unholy: and "what
communion hath light with darkness — Christ with Belial ?" 2 Cor,
vi, 14, 15, They may have a shew and semblance of holiness ; but
they are strangers to true holiness, and therefore " without God in
the world." How sad is it, to be employed in religious duties, yet
to have no fellowship with God in them ! You would not be con-
tent with your meat, unless it nourished you; nor with your clothes,
unless they kept you warm : and how can you satisfy yourselves
with your duties, while you have no communion with God in them ?
3. Regeneration is absolutely necessary to qualify you for hea-
ven. None go to heaven but those who are made meet for it. Col. i,
12. As it was with Solomon's temple, 1 Kings vi. 7, so is it with
the temple above. It is " built of stone made ready before it
is brought thither ;" namely, of " lively stones," 1 Pet. ii. 5, —
•' wrought for the selfsame thing," 2 Cor. v. 5; for they cannot be
NECESSITY OP HEaENERATIOIf. 173
laid in that glorious building just as they come out of the quarry of
depraved nature. Jewels of gold are not meet for swine, and far
less jewels of glory for unrenewed sinners. Beggars, in their rags,
are not fit for kings' houses ; nor sinners to enter into the King's
palace, without the raiment of needlework. Psalm xlv. 14, 15.
What wise man would bring fish out of the water to feed in his
meadows ? or send his oxen to feed in the sea ? Even as little are
the unregenerate fit for heaven, or heaven fit for them. It would
never be relished by them.
The unregenerate would find fault with heaven on several ac-
counts. As, (1.) That it is a strange country. Heaven is the re-
newed man's native country : his Father is in heaven ; his mother
is Jerusalem, which is above, Gral. iv. 26. He is born from above,
John iii. 3. Heaven is his home, 2 Cor. v. 1 ; therefore he looks on
himself as a stranger on this earth, and his heart is homeward, Heb.
xi. 16, " They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly country."
But the unregenerate man is the man of the earth. Psalm x. 18;
written in the earth, Jer. xvii. 13. Now, "Home is home, be it
ever so homely:" therefore he minds earthly things, Phil. iii.
19. There is a peculiar sweetness in our native soil ; and with dif-
ficulty are men drawn to leave it, and dwell in a strange country.
In no case does that prevail more than in this ; for unrenewed men
would quit their pretensions to heaven, were it not that they see
they cannot make a better bargain. (2.) There is nothing in hea-
ven that they delight in, as agreeable to the carnal heart, Rev. xxi,
27, " For there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defil-
eth." When Mahomet gave out a paradise to be a place of sensual
delights, his religion was greedily embraced; for that is the heaven
men naturally choose. If the covetous man could get bags full of
gold there, and the voluptuous man could promise himself his sensual
delights they might be reconciled to heaven, and meetened for it too;
but since it is not so, though they may utter fair words about it,
truly it has little of their hearts. (3.) Every corner there is filled
with that which of all things they have the least liking for ; and
that is holiness, true holiness, perfect holiness. Were one that ab-
hors swine's flesh, bidden to a feast where all the dishes were of that
sort of meat, but variously prepared, he would find fault with every
dish at the table, notwithstanding all the art used to make them
palatable. It is true, there is joy in heaven, but it is holy joy ;
there are pleasures in heaven, but they are holy pleasures ; there
are places in heaven, but it is holy ground, — that holiness which in
every place, and in every thing there, would mar all to the unrege-
nerate. (4.) Were they carried thither, they would not only change
174 NECESSITY OF BEGEyKKATIuX.
their place, which would be a great heart-break, but they would
change their company too. Truly, they would never like the com-
pany there, who care not for communion with God here ; nor value
the fellowship of his people, at least in the vitals of practical godli-
ness. Many, indeed, mix themselves with the godly on earth, to
procure a name to themselves, and to cover the sinfulness of their
hearts ; but that trade cannot be managed there. (5.) They
would never like the employment of heaven, they care so little for
it now. The business of the saints there would be an intolerable
burden to them, seeing it is not agreeable to their nature. To be
taken up in beholding, admiring, and praising him that sits on
the throne, and the Lamb, would be work unsuitable, and therefore
unsavoury to an unrenewed soul. (6.) They would find this fault
with it, that the whole is of everlasting continuance. This would
be a killing ingredient in it to them. How would such as now ac-
count the Sabbath day a burden, brook the celebration of an ever-
lasting Sabbath in the heavens !
4. Regeneration is absolutely necessary to your being admitted
into heaven, John iii. 3. No heaven without it. Though carnal
men could digest all those things which make heaven so unsuitable
for them, yet God will never bring them thither. Therefore born
again you must be, else you shall never see heaven; you shall perish
eternally. For, (1.) There is a bill of exclusion against you in the
court of heaven, and against all of your sort ; " Except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," John iii. 3. Here
is a bar before you, that men and angels cannot remove. To hope
for heaven, in the face of this peremptory sentence, is to hope that
God will recall his word, and sacrifice his truth and faithfulness to
your safety; which is infinitely more than to hope that "the earth
shall be forsaken for you, and the rock removed out of its place."
(2.) There is no holiness without regeneration. It is " the new man
which is created in true holiness," Eph. iv. "24. And no heaven
without holiness; for "without holiness no iran shall see the Lord,"
Heb. xii. 14. "Will the gates of pearl be opened, to let in dogs and
and swine ? No ; their place is without. Rev. xxii, 15. God will
not admit such into the holy place of communion with him here;
and will he admit them into the holiest of all hereafter? Will he
take the children of the devil, and permit them to sit with him in
his throne ? Or, will he bring the unclean into the city, whose
street is pure gold ? Be not deceived ; grace and glory are but two
links of one chain, which God has joined, and no man shall put asun-
der. None are transplanted into the paradise above, but out of the
nursery of grace below. If you be unholy while in this world, you
NECESSITT OF REGENERATION. 175
will be for ever miserable in the world to come. (3.) All the unre-
generate are without Christ, and therefore have no hope while in
that case, Eph, ii. 12. "Will Christ prepare mansions of glory for
those who refuse to receive him into their hearts ? Nay, rather
will he not *' laugh at their calamity," who now " set at nought all
his counsel ?" Prov. i. 25, 26. (4.) There is an infallible connex-
ion between a finally unregenerate state and damnation, arising from
the nature of the things themselves ; and from the decree of heaven
which is fixed and immovable, as mountains of brass, John iii. 3 ;
Rom. viii. 6. " To be carnally minded is death." An unregenerate
state is hell in the bud. It is eternal destruction in embryo, grow-
ing daily, though thou dost not discern it. Death is painted on
many a fair face, in this life. Depraved nature makes men meet to
be partakers of the inheritance of the damned, in utter darkness.
1. The heart of stone within thee, is a sinking weight. As a stone
naturally goes downward, so the hard stony heart tends downward to
the hgjtoraless pit. You are hardened against reproof ; though you
are told your danger, yet you will not see it, you will not believe
it. But remember that the conscience being now seared with a hot
iron, is a sad presage of everlasting burnings. 2. Your unfruitful-
ness under the means of grace, fits you for the axe of God's judg-
ments. Matt. iii. 10, " Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit,
is hewn down, and cast into the fire." The withered branch is fuel
for the fire, John xv. 6. Tremble at this, you despisers of the Gos-
pel : if you be not thereby made meet for heaven, you will be like
the barren ground, bearing briers and thorns, " nigh unto cursing,
whose end is to be burned," Heb. vi. 8. 3. The hellish dispositions
of mind, which discover themselves in profanity of life, fit the guilty
for the regions of horror. A profane life will have a miserable
end. " They which do such things, shall not inherit the kingdom of
God," Gal. V. 19 — 21. Think on this, you prayerless persons, ye
mockers of religion, ye cursers and swearers, ye unclean and unjust
persons, who have not so much as moral honesty to keep you from
lying, cheating, and stealing. What sort of a tree do you think it
is, upon which these fruits grow ? Is it a tree of righteousness,
which the Lord hath planted ? Or is it not such a one as cumbers
the ground, which God will pluck up for fuel to the fire of his
wrath ? 4. Your being dead in sin, makes you meet to be wrapped
in flames of brimstone, as a winding-sheet ; and to be buried in the
bottomless pit, as in a grave. Great was the cry in Egypt, when
the first-born in each family was dead ; but are there not many fa-
milies, where all are dead together ? Nay, many there are who are
twice dead, plucked up by the root. Sometimes in th(;ir life they
176 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION.
have been roused by apprehensions of death, and its conseqnences ;
but now they are so far on in their way to the land of darkness,
that they hardly ever have the least glimmering of light from
heaven. 5. The darkness of your minds presages eternal darkness.
0 the horrid ignorance with which some are plagued ; while others,
who have got some rays of the light of reason in their heads, are
utterly void of spiritual light in their hearts ! If you knew your
case, you would cry out, Oh ! darkness ! darkness ! darkness ! mak-
making way for the blackness of darkness for ever ! The face-
covering is upon you already, as condemned persons ; so near are
you to everlasting darkness. It is only Jesus Christ who can stop
the execution, pull the napkin off the face of the condemned male-
factor, and put a pardon in his hand, Isa. xxv. 7- " He will
destroy, in this mountain, the face of covering cast over all people,"
that is, the face-covering cast over the condemned, as in Haman's
case, Esth. vii. 8. " As the word went out of the king's mouth,
they covered Ilaman's face," 6. The chains of darkness yj« are
bound with in the prison of your depraved state, Isa. Ixi. 1, fits you
to be cast into the burning fiery furnace. Ah, miserable men !
Sometimes their consciences stir within them, and they begin to
think of amending their ways. But alas ! they are in chains, they
cannot do it. They are chained by the heart : their lusts cleave so
fast to them, that they cannot, nay, they will not shake them off.
Thus you see what afiinity there is between an nnregenerate state,
and the state of the damned, the state of absolute and irretrievable
misery. Be convinced, then, that you must be born again ; put a
high value on the new birth, and eagerly desire it.
The text tells yon, that the word is the seed, whereof the new
creature is formed : therefore take heed to it, and entertain it, as
it is yonr life. Apply yourself to the reading of the Scriptures.
You that cannot read, get others to read it to you. "Wait diligently
on the preaching of the word, as by divine appointment the special
mean of conversion ; " for — it pleased God, by the foolishness of
preaching, to save them that believe," 1 Cor. i. 21. Wherefore
cast not yourselves out of Christ's way ; reject not the means of
grace, lest you be found to judge yourselves unworthy of eternal
life. Attend carefully to the word preached. Hear every sermon,
as if you were hearing for eternity ; take heed that the fowls of the
air pick not up this seed from you, as it is sown. " Give thyself
wholly to it," 1 Tim. iv. 15. " Receive it not as the word of men,
but, as it is in truth, the word of God," 1 Thess. ii. 13, Hear it
with application, looking on it as a message sent from heaven, to
you in particular ; though not to you only. Rev. iii. 22. " He that
MYSTICAL UNION BETWEEN" CHRIST AND BELIEVERS. 177
hath au ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
Lay it up in your hearts ; meditate upon it ; and be not as the
unclean beasts, that chew not the cud. But by earnest prayer, beg
that the dew of Heaven may fall on thy heart, that the seed may
spring up there.
More particularly, 1 Receive the testimony of the word of God,
concerning the misery of an unregenerate state, the sinfulness
thereof, and the absolute necessity of regeneration. 2. Receive
its testimony concerning God, what a holy and just One he is.
3. Examine thy ways by it ; namely, the thoughts of thy heart,
the expressions of thy lips, and the tenour of thy life. Look back
through the several periods of thy life ; and see thy sins from the
precepts of the word, and learn, from its threatening, what thou art
liable to on account of these sins. 4. By the help of the same
word of God, view the corruption of thy nature, as in a glass which
manifests our ugly face in a clear manner. Were these things
deet)ly rooted in the heart, they might be the seed of that fear
and sorrow, on account of thy soul's state, which are necessary
to prepare and stir thee up to look after a Saviour. Fix your
thoughts upon him offered to thee in the Gospel, as fully suited
to thy case ; having, by his obedience unto death, perfectly satisfied
the justice of God, and brought in everlasting righteousness. This
may prove the seed of humiliation, desire, hope and faith; and move
thee to stretch out the withered hand unto him, at his own command.
Let these things sink deeply into your hearts, and improve them
diligently. Remember, whatever you are, you must be born again ;
else it had been better for you, that you had never been born.
Wherefore, if any of you shall live and die in an unregenerate state,
you will be inexcusable, having been fairly warned of your danger.
PART II.
MYSTICAL UNION BETWEEN CHRIST AND BELIEVERS.
/ am the vine ye are the branches. — John xv. 5.
Having spoken of the change made by regeneration, on all those who
will inherit eternal life, in opposition to their natural real state, the
state of degeneracy; I proceed to speak of the change made on
them, in their union with the Lord Jesus Christ, in opposition to
their natural relative state, the state of misery. The doctrine of
178 THE MYSTICAL UNIO>r.
tlie saiuts' union with Christ, is very plainly and fully insisted on,
from the beginning to the eighth verse of this chapter ; which is a
part of our Lord's farewell sermon to his disciples. Sorrow had now
filled their hearts ; they were apt to say, Alas ! what will become
of us, when our Master is taken from our head ? Who will then in-
strnct us? Who will solve our doubts? How shall we be supported
under our difficulties and discouragements ? How shall we be able
to live without our wonted communication with him? Therefore our.
Lord Jesus Christ seasonably teaches them the mystery of their
union with him, comparing himself to the vine, and them to the
branches.
He compares, 1. Himself to a vine. " I am the vine." He had
been celebrating, with his disciples, the sacrament of his supper,
that sign and seal of his people's union with him ; and had told
them, " That he would drink no more of the fruit of the vine, till he
should drink it new with them in his Father's kingdom :" and now
he shews himself to be the vine, from whence the wine of their con-
solation should come. The vine has less beauty than many other
trees, but it is exceedingly fruitful ; fitly representing the low con-
dition in which our Lord was in, bringing many sons to glory.
But that which is chiefly aimed at, in his comparing himself to
a vine, is to represent himself as the supporter and nourisher of his
people, in whom they live and bring forth fruit. 2. He compares
them to branches ; ye are the branches of that vine. Te are the
branches knit to, and growing on this stock, drawing all your life
and sap from it. It is a beautiful comparison ; as if he had said, I
am as a vine, you are as the branches of that vine. Now there are
two sorts of branches: 1. Natural branches, which at first spring
out of the stock. These are the branches that are in the tree, and
were never out of it. 2. There are ingrafted branches, which are
branches cut off from the tree that first gave them life, and put into
another, to grow upon it. Thus branches come to be on a tree,
which originally were not on it. The branches mentioned in the
text, are of the latter sort; branches broken oft', as the word in the
original language denotes, namely, from the tree that first gave
them life. None of the children of men are natural branches of the
second Adam, that is, Jesus Christ, the true vine ; they are the na-
tural branches of the first Adam, that degenerate vine : but the elect
are all of them, sooner or later, broken oft' from their natural stock,
and ingrafted into Christ, the true vine.
Doctrine. They who are in the state of grace, are ingrafted in,
and united to, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are taken out of their
natural stock, cut off from it; and are now ingrafted into Christ, as
the new stock.
THE MYSTICAL UNION. 179
In general, for understanding the union between the Lord Jesus
Christ and his elect, who believe in him, and on him, I observe,
1. It is a spiritual union. Man and wife, by their marriage-
union, become one flesh; Christ and true believers, by this union, be-
come one spirit, 1 Cor. vi. 17. As one soul or spirit actuates both
the head and the members in the natural body, so the one Spirit of God
dwells in Christ and the Christian ; for, " if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his his," Rom, viii. 9. Earthly union
is made by contact ; so the stones in a building are united ; but this
is a union of another nature. Were it possible that we could eat
the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, in a corporeal and carnal
manner, it would profit nothing, John vi. 63. It was not Mary's
bearing him in her womb, but her believing on him, that made her a
saint, L: ke xi. 27, 28, " A certain woman — said unto him, Blessed
is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
But he said. Tea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of
God, and keep it."
2. It is a real union. Such is our weakness in our present state,
so much are we sunk in sin, that in our fancy, we are prone to form
an image of every thing proposed to us : and as to whatever is de-
nied us, we are apt to suspect it to be only a fiction. But nothing
is more real than what is spiritual : as approaching nearest to the
nature of him who is the fountain of all reality, namely, God him-
self. We do not see Vt^ith our eyes the union between our own soul
and body ; neither can we represent it to ourselves truly, by im-
agination, as we do sensible things : yet the reality of it is not to
be doubted. Faith is no fancy, but " the substance of things
hoped for," Heb. xi. 1. Neither is the union thereby made between
Christ and believers imaginary, but most real : " For we are mem-
bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones," Eph. v. 30.
2. It is a most close and intimate union. Believers, regenerate
persons, who believe in him, and rely on him, have put on Christ,
Gal. iii. 27. If that be not enough, he is in them, John xvii. 23,
formed in them as the child in the womb, Gal. iv. 19. He is the
foundation, 1 Cor. iii. 11 ; they are the lively stones built upon him,
1 Pet. ii. 5. He is the head and they the[body, Eph. i. 22, 23. Nay,
he liveth in them, as their very souls live in their bodies. Gal. ii.
20. And what is more than all this, they are one in the Father
and the Son, as the Father is in Christ, and Christ in the Father,
John xvii. 21, " That they all may be one; as thou Father art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us."
4. Though it is not a mere legal union, yet it is a union sup-
ported by law. Christ, as the surety, and Christians as the princi-
180 THE MYSTICAL UNION.
pal debtors, are one in the eye of the law. When the elect had
run themselves, with the rest of mankind, in debt to the justice of
God, Christ became surety for them, and paid the debt. When
they believe on him, they are united to him in a spiritual marriage
union ; which takes effect so far, that what he did and suffered for
them is reckoned in law, as if they had done and suffered it them-
selves. Hence, they are said to be crucified with Christ, Gal.
ii. 20 ; buried with him, Col. ii. 12 ; yea, raised up together, namely,
with Christ, " and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus," Eph. ii. 6. In which places, saints on earth, of whom the
apostle there speaks, cannot be said to be sitting, but in the way
of law reckoning.
5. It is an iudissolute union. Once in Christ, ever in him. Hav-
ing taken up his habitation in the heart, he never removes. None
can untie this happy knot. — Who will dissolve this union ? Will
he himself ? No, he will not; we have his word for it; "I will
not turn away from them," Jer. xxxii. 40. But perhaps the sinner
will do this mischief to himself? No, he shall not; " they shall not
depart from me," saith their God. Can devils do it ? No, unless
they be stronger than Christ and his Father too ; " Neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand," saith our Lord, John x. 28.
" And none is able to pluck them out of ray Father's hand," verse
30. But what say you of death, which parts husband and wife ;
yea, separates the soul from the body? Will not death do it?
No : the apostle, Rom. viii. 38, 39, is " persuaded that neither
death," terrible as it is, " nor life," desirable as it is ; " nor" devils,
those evil *' angels, nor" the devil's persecuting agents, though they
be " principalities, nor powers" on earth ; " nor" evil " things pre-
sent," already lying on us ; " nor" evil " things to come" on us ;
"nor" the "height" of worldly felicity; "nor depth" of worldly
misery ; " nor any other creature," good or evil, " shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is Christ Jesus our Lord."
As death separated Christ's soul from his body, but could not se-
parate either his soul or body from his divine nature ; so, though
the saints should be separated from their nearest relations in the
world, and from all their earthly enjoyments ; yea, though their
souls should be separated from their bodies separated in a thousand
pieces, their " bones scattered, as one cutteth or cleaveth wood ;"
yet soul and body shall remain united to the Lord Christ ; for even
in death, "they sleep in Jesus," 1 Thess. iv. 14; and "he keepeth
all their bones," Psalm xxxiv. 20. Union with Christ, is " the
grace wherein we stand," firm and stable, "as Mount Zion, which
cannot be removed."
ADAM OUR NATUKAL STOCK. 181
6. It is a mysterious union. The gospel is a doctrine of mys-
teries. It discovers to us the substantial union of the three persons
in one Godhead, 1 John v. 7, " These three are one ;" the hyposta-
tioal union, of the divine and human natures, in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Tim. iii. 16, " God was manifest in the flesh ;"
and the mystical union, between Christ and believers; "This is a
great mystery" also, Eph. v. 32. 0 what mysteries are here! The
head in heaven, the members on earth, yet really united ! " Christ
in the believer, living in him. walking in him :" and " the believer
dwelling in God, putting on the Lord Jesus, eating his flesh, and
drinking his blood !" This makes the saints a mystery to the world ;
yea, a mystery to themselves.
I come now more particularly to speak of this union with, and
ingrafting into, Jesus Christ.
I. I shall consider the natural stock, which the bi'anches are ta-
ken out of.
II. The supernatural stock they are ingrafted into.
III. "What branches are cut off" the old stock, and put into the
new.
lY. How it is done. And,
V. The benefits flowing from this union and ingrafting.
I. Let us take a view of the stock, which the branches are taken
out of. The two Adams, that is, Adam and Christ, are the two
stocks : for the Scripture speaks of these two, as if there had been
no more men in the world than they, 1 Cor. xv. 45, " The first man
Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quicken-
ing spirit ;" verse 47, " The first man is of the earth earthy : the
second man is the Lord from heaven." And the reason is, there
never were any that were not branches of one of these two ; all men
being either in the one stock or in the other : for in these two sorts
all mankind stand divided, verse 48, " As is the earthy, such are
they also which are earthy ; and as is the heavenly, such are they
also that are heavenly." The first Adam then, is the natural stock:
on this stock are the branches found growing at first, which are
afterwards cut ofi", and ingrafted into Christ. As for the fallen an-
gels, as they had no relation to the first Adam, so they have none
to the second.
There are four things to be remembered here. (1.) That all man-
kind, the man Christ excepted, are naturally branches of the first
Adam, Rom. v. 12, " By one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin : and so death passed upon all men." (2.) The bond
which knit us unto the natural stock, was the covenant of works,
Adam, being our natural root, was made the moral root also, bear-
182 ADAM A DEGENERATE STOCK.
ing all his posterity, as representing them in the covenant of works.
For " by one man's disobedience many were made sinners," Hom. v.
19. It was necessary that there should be a peculiar relation be-
tween that one man and the many, as a foundation for imputing
his sin to them. This relation did not arise from the mere natural
bond between him and us, as a father to his children ; for so we are
related to our immediate parents, whose sins are not thereupon im-
puted to us, as Adam's sin is, but it arose from a moral bond be-
tween Adam and us : the bond of a covenant, which could be no
other than the covenant of works, wherein we are united to him, as
branches to a .stock. Hence Jesus Christ, though a son of Adam,
Luke iii. 23 — 38, was none of these branches ; for as he came not of
Adam, in virtue of the blessing of marriage, which was given before
the fall, Gen. i. 28, " Be fruitful, and multiply," &c. but in virtue
of a special promise made after the fall, Gen, iii. 15, " The seed of
the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," he could not be repre-
sented by Adam in a covenant made before his fall. (3.) As it is
impossible for a branch to be in two stocks at once, so no man can
be at one and the same time, both in the first and second Adam.
(4.) Hence it evidently follows, that all who are not ingrafted in
Jesus Ciirist, are yet branches of the old stock ; and so partake of
the nature of the same. Now, as to the first Adam, our natural
stock, consider,
First, What a stock he was originally. He was a vine of the
Lord's planting, a choice vine, a noble vine, wholly good. There
was a consultation of the Trinity at the planting of this vine, Gen.
i. 26, " Let us make man in our image, after our own likeness."
There was no rottenness at the heart of it. There was sap and
juice enough in it to have nourished all the branches, to bring forth
fruit unto God. My meaning is, Adam was made able perfectly to
keep the commandments of God, which would have procured eternal
life to himself, and to all his posterity; for as all die by Adam's
disobedience, all would have had life by his obedience, if he had
stood. Consider,
Secondly/, What that stock now is. Ah ! most unlike to what it
was when planted by the Author of all good. A blast from hell,
and a bite with the venomous teeth of the old serpent, have made it
a degenerate stock ; a dead stock ; nay, a killing stock.
1. It is a degenerate evil stock. Therefore the Lord God said
to Adam in that dismal day, " Where art thou ?" Gen. iii. 9. In
what condition art thou now ? " How art thou turned into the de-
generate plant of a strange vine unto me !" Or, " Where wast
thou ?" Why not in the place of meeting with me ? Why so long
ADAM A DEGKN URATE STOCK. 183
in coming ? What means this fearful change ; this hiding of thy-
self from me ? Alas ! the stock, is degenerate, quite spoiled, is
become altogether naught, and brings forth wild grapes. Converse
with the devil is preferred to communion with God. Satan is
believed ; and God, who is truth itself, disbelieved. He who was
the friend of God is now in conspiracy against him. Darkness is
come in the place of light ; ignorance prevails in the mind, where
divine knowledge shone ; the will, which was righteous and regular,
is now turned rebel against its Lord : and the whole man is in
dreadful disorder.
Before I go farther, let me stop and observe. Here is a mirror both
for saints and sinners. Sinners, stand here and consider what you
are ; and saints, learn what you once were. Ton, sinners, are
branches of a degenerate stock. Fruit you may bear indeed ; but
now that your vine is the vine of Sodom, your grapes must of course
be grapes of gall, Dent, xxxii. 32. The Scripture speaks of two
sorts of fruit which grow on the branches of the natural stock ; and
it is plain that they are of the nature of their degenerate stock.
(1.) The wild grapes of wickedness, Isa. v. 2. These grow in abun-
dance, by influence from hell. See Gal. v. 19 — 21. At its gates
are all manner of these fruits, both new and old. Storms come
from heaven to check them ; but still they grow. They are struck
at with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God ; conscience
gives them many a secret blow ; yet they thrive. (2.) Fruit to
themselves, Hos. x. 1. What else are all the unrenewed man's acts
of obedience, his reformation, sober deportment, his prayers, and
good works ? They are all done chiefly for himself, not for the
glory of God. These fru.ts are like the apples of Sodom, fair to
look at, but full of ashes when handled and tried. You think you
have not only the leaves of a profession, but the fruits of a holy
practice too ; but if you be not broken off from the old stock,
and ingrafted in Christ Jesus, God accepts not, and regards not
your fruits.
Here I must take occasion to tell you, there are five faults will
be found in heaven with your best fruits. — 1. Their bitterness; your
'* clusters are bitter," Deut. xxxii. 32. There is a spirit of bitter-
ness, wherewith some come before the Lord, in religious duties,
living in malice and envy; and which some professors entertain
against others, because they outshine them in holiness of life, or be-
cause they are not of their opinion. This, wherever it reigns, is a
fearful symptom of an uurcgenerate state. But I do not so much
mean this, as that which is common to all the branches of the old
stock, namely, the leaves of hypocrisy, Luke xii. 1, which sours and
184- ADAM A DEGEJfEUATE STOCK.
imbitters every duty they perform. Wisdom, that is full of good
fruits, is without hypocrisy, James iii. 17- 2. Their ill savour.
Their works are abominable, for they themselves are corrupt, Psalra
xiv. 1. They all savour of the old stock, not of the new. It is the
peculiar privilege of the saints, that they are unto God a sweet
savour of Christ, 2 Cor. ii. 15. The unregenerate man's fruits
savour not of love to Christ, nor of the blood of Christ, nor of
the incense of his intercession, and therefore will never be accepted
in heaven. 3. Their unripeness. Their grape is an unripe grape,
Job XV. 33. There is no influence on them from the Sun of
righteousness to bring them to perfection. They have the shape
of fruit, but no more. The matter of duty is in them, but they
want right principles and ends : their works are not in God,
John iii. 21. Their prayers drop from their lips, before their
hearts are impregnated with the vital sap of the Spirit of suppli-
cation : their tears fall from their eyes before their hearts are truly
softened ; their feet turn to new paths, and their way is altered,
while their nature still is unchanged. 4. Their lightness. Being
weighed in the balances, they are found wanting, Dan. v. 27.
For evidence whereof you may observe that they do riot humble
the soul, but lift it up in pride. The good fruits of holiness
bear down the branches they grow upon, making them to salute
the ground, 1 Cor. xv. 19, " I laboured more abundantly than
they all : yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
But the blasted fruits of unrenewed men's performances, hang
lightly on branches towering up to heaven. Judges xvii. 13, " Now
know I, that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to
my priest." They look indeed too high for God to behold them :
" Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not ?" Isa.
Iviii. 3. The more duties they do, and the better they seem to per-
form them, the less are they humbled, and the more are they lifted
up. This disposition of the sinner is the exact reverse of what is to
be fonnd in the saint. To men, who neither are in Christ, nor are
solicitous to be found in him, their duties are like floating bladders,
wherewith they think to swim ashore to Immanuel's land; but these
must needs break, and they consequently sink ; because they take'not
Christ for the lifter up of their heads, Psalra iii. 3, 5. They are
not all manner of pleasant fruits, Cant. vii. 13. Christ, as a king,
must be served with variety. Where God makes the heart his gar-
den, he plants it as Solomon did his, with trees of all kinds of fruits
Eccl. ii. 5. Accordingly it brings forth the fruit of the Spirit in all
goodness, Eph. v, 9. But the ungodly are not so ; their obedience
is never universal ; there is always some one thing or other excep-
ADAM A KILLING STOCK. 185
ted. In one word, their fruits are fraits of an ill tree, that cannot
be accepted in heaven.
2. Our natural stock is a dead stock, according to the threaten-
ing, Gen. ii. 17, " In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die." Our root is now rottenness, no wonder the blossom goes up
as dust. The stroke has gone to the heart, the sap is let out, and
the tree is withered. The curse of the first covenant, like a hot
thunderbolt from heaven, has lighted on it, and ruined it. It is
cursed now as that fig-tree, Matth. xxi. 19, " Let no fruit grow on
thee henceforward for ever." Now it is good for nothing, but to
cumber the ground, and furnish fuel for Tophet.
Let me enlarge a little here also. Every unrenewed man is a
branch of a dead stock. "When thou seest, 0 sinner, a dead stock
of a tree, exhausted of all its sap, having branches on it in the same
condition, look on it as a lively representation of thy soul's state.
1. Where the stock is dead, the branches must needs be barren.
Alas ! the barrenness of many professors plainly discovers on what
stock they are growing. It is easy to pretend to faith, but " shew
me thy faith without thy works !" if thou canst, James ii. 18, 2. A
dead stock can convey no sap to the branches, to make them bring
forth fruit. The covenant of works was the bond of our union with
the natural stock ; but now it is become weak through the flesh ; that
is, through the degeneracy and depravity of human nature, Rom.
viii, 3. It is strong enough to command, and to bind heavy burdens
on the shoulders of those who are not in Christ, but it aff'ords no
strength to bear them. The sap, that was once in the root, is
now gone : the law, like a merciless creditor, apprehends Adam's
heirs, saying to each, " Pay what thou owest ;" when, alas ! his
effects are riotously spent. 3. All pains and cost are lost on the
tree, whose life is gone. In vain do men labour to get fruit on the
branches, when there is no sap in the root. The gardener's pains
are lost : ministers lose their labour on the branches of the old
stock, while they continue on it. Many sermons are preached to no
purpose; because there is no life to give sensation. Sleeping men
may be awakened; but the dead cannot be raised without a miracle;
even so the dead sinner must remain, if he be not restored to life
by a miracle of grace. The influences of heaven are lost on such a
tree : in vain doth the rain fall upon it ; in vain is it laid open to
the winter cold and frosts. The Lord of the vineyard digs about
many a dead sonl, but it is not bettered. " Bruise the fool in a
mortar, his folly will not depart." Though he meets with many
crosses, yet he retains his lusts : let him be laid on a sick bed, he
will lie there like a sick beast, groaning under his pain, but not
Vol. VIIL m
186 ADAM A KILLINa STOCK.
mourning for, nor turning from, his sin. Let death itself stare him
in the face, he will presumptuously maintain his hope, as if he
would look the grim messenger out of countenance. Sometimes
there are common operations of the divine Spirit performed on him :
he is sent home with a trembling heart, and with arrows of convic-
tion sticking in his soul : but at length he prevails against these
things, and becomes as secure as ever. Summer and winter are
alike to the branches on the dead stock. When others about them
are budding, blossoming, and bringing forth fruit, there is no change
on them : the dead stock has no growing time at all. Perhaps it
may be difficult to know, in the winter, what trees are dead, and
what are alive ; but the spring plainly discovers it. There are
some seasons wherein there is little life to be perceived, even among
saints ; yet times of reviving come at length. But even when " the
vine flourisheth, and the pomegranates bud forth," when saving
grace is discovering itself by its lively actings wherever it is, the
branches on the old stock are still withered. When the dry bones
are coming together, bone to bone amongst saints, the sinner's bones
are still lying about the grave's mouth. They are trees that cum-
ber the ground, ready to be cut down ; and will be cut down for the
fire, if God in mercy prevent it not by cutting them off from that
stock, and ingrafting them into another.
3. Our natural stock is a killing stock. If the stock die, how
can the branches live ? If the sap be gone from the root and heart,
the branches must needs wither. " In Adam all die," 1 Cor. xv.
22. The root died in Paradise, and all the branches in it, and with
it. The root is poisoned, and from thence the branches are infected;
" death is in the pot ;" and all that taste of the pulse, or pottage,
are killed.
Know then, that every natural man is a branch of a killing stock.
Our natural root not only gives us no life, but it has a killing
power, reaching to all the branches thereof. There are four things
which the first Adam conveys to all his branches, and they are
abiding in, and lying on, such of them as are not ingrafted in
Christ. 1. A corrupt nature. He sinned, and his nature was
thereby corrupted and depraved ; and this corruption is conveyed
to all his posterity. He was infected, and the contagion spread it-
self over all his seed. 2. Guilt, that is, an obligation to pnuish-
ment, Rom. v. 12, " By one man siu entered into the world, and
death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned." The threatenings of the law, as cords of death, are
twisted about the branches of the old stock, to draw them over the
hedge into the fire. And till they be cut off from this stock by
CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK. 187
tlie pruning-knife, the sword of vengeance hangs over their heads,
to cut them down. 3. This killing stock transmits the curse into
the branches. The stock, as the stock, (for I speak not of Adam in
his personal and private capacity,) being cursed, so are the branches.
Gal. iii. 10, " For as many as arc of the works of the law, are under
the curse." The curse affects the whole man, and all that belongs
to him, every thing he possesses ; and worketh three ways. 1. As
poison, infecting ; thus their blessings are cursed, Mai. ii. ?,. What-
ever the man enjoys, it can do him no good, but evil, being thus
poisoned by the curse. His prosperity in the world destroys him,
Prov. i. 32. The ministry of the gospel is a savour of death unto
death to him, 2 Cor. ii. 16. His seeming attainments in religion
are cursed to him ; his knowledge serves but to puff him up, and his
duties to keep him back from Christ. 2. It worketh as a moth, con-
suming and wasting by little and little, Hos. v. 12, " Therefore
will I be onto Ephraira as a moth." There is a worm at the
root, consuming them by degrees. Thus the curse pursued Saul,
till it wormed him out of all his enjoyments, and out of the
very shew he had of religion. Sometimes they decay like the
fat of lambs, and melt away as the show in the sunshine. 3.
It acts as a lion rampant, Hos. v. 14, " I will be unto Ephraim
as a lion." The Lord "rains on them snares, fire and brimstone,
and an horrible tempest," in such a manner, that they are hur-
ried away with the stream. He tears their enjoyments from
them in his wrath, persues them with terrors, rends their souls
from their bodies, and throws the dead branch into the fire.
Thus the curse devours like fire, which none can quench. 4. This
killing stock transmits death to the branches upon it. Adam
took the poisonous cup, and drank it off: this occasioned death
to himself and us. We came into the world spiritually dead, there-
by exposed to eternal death, and absolutely liable to temporal
death. This root is to us like the Scythian river, which, they say,
brings forth little bladders every day, out of which come certain
small flies, that are bred in the morning, winged at noon, and dead
at night: a very lively emblem of our mortal state.
Now, sirs, is it not absolutely necessary to be broken off from this
our natural stock ? What will our fair leaves of a profession, or
our fruits of duties, avail, if we be still branches of the degenerate,
dead, and killing stock ? — But, alas ! of the many questions among
us, few are taken up about these, " Whether am I broken off from .
the old stock, or not? Am I ingrafted in Christ, or not?" — Ah!
wherefore all this waste of time ? Why is there so much noise
about religion among many, who can give no good account of their
M 2
188 CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK.
having laid a good foundation, being mere strangers to experimental
religion ? I fear, if God does not in mercy undermine the religion
of many of us, and let us see that we have none at all, our root will
be found rottenness, and our blossom go up as dust, in a dying
hour. Therefore let us look to our state, that we be not found fools
in our latter end.
II. Let us now view the supernatural stock, into which the
branches cut oif from the natural stock are ingrafted. Jesus Christ
is sometimes called " The Branch," Zech. iii. 8. So he is in respect
of his human nature, being a branch, and the top branch, of the
house of David. Sometimes he is called a Root, Isa. xi. 10. We
have both together. Rev. xxi. 16, " I am the root and the offspring
of David ;" David's root as God, and his offspring as man. The
text tells us, that he is the vine, that is, he, as a Mediator, is tho
vine stock, whereof believers are the branches. As the sap comes
from the earth into the root and stock, and from thence is diffused
into the branches ; so, by Christ as Mediator, divine life is con-
veyed from the fountain, unto those who are united to him by faith,
John vi. 57, " As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the
Father ; so, he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." By
Christ as Mediator, not as God only, as some have asserted; nor
yet as man only, as the papists generally hold : but as Mediator,
God and man. Acts xx. 28, " The church of God, which he hath pur-
chased with his own blood." Heb. ix. 14, " Christ, who, through
the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God." The di-
vine and human natures have their distinct actings, yet a joint ope-
ration, in his discharging the office of Mediator. This is illustrated
by the similitude of a fiery sword, which at once cuts and burns :
cutting it burns, and burning it cuts; the steel cuts, and the fire
burns. Wherefore Christ, God-man, is the stock, whereof believers
are the branches: and they are united to a whole Christ. They
are united to him in his human nature, as being " members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones," Eph. v. 30. And they are
united to him in his divine nature ; for so the apostle speaks of this
union. Col. i. 27, " Christ in you, the hope of glory." — Those who
are Christ's, have the Spirit of Christ, Rom. viii. 9 ; and by him
they are united to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost; 1 John iv.
15, " Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God
dwelleth in him, and he in God." Faith, the bond of this union,
receives a whole Christ, God-man, and so unites us to him as such.
Behold here, 0 believers, your high privilege. You were once
branches of a degenerate stock, even as others: but you are, by
grace, become branches of the true vine, John xv. 1. You are cut
CHRIST OUU SUPERNATURAL STOCK. 189
out of a dead and killing stock, and ingrafted in the last Adam,
who was made a quickening spirit, 1 Cor. xv. 45. Your" loss by the
first Adam is made up, with great advantage, by your union with
the second. Adam, at his best estate, was but a shrub, in compari-
son with Christ the tree of life. He was but a servant ; Christ is
the Son, the Heir, and Lord of all things, " the Lord from heaven."
It cannot be denied, that grace was shown in the first covenant: but
it is as far exceeded by the grace of the second covenant, as the twi-
light is by the light of the mid-day.
III. What branches are taken out of the natural stock, and
grafted into this vine ? Answer. These are the elect, and none
other. They, and they only, are grafted into Christ ; and conse-
quently none but they are cut off from the killing stock. For them
alone he intercedes, " That they may be one in him and his Father,"
John xvii. 9 — 23. Faith, the bond of this union, is given to none
else; it is the faith of God's elect, Tit. i. 1. The Lord passes by
many branches growing on the natural stock, and cuts oft' only here
one, and there one, and grafts them into the true vine, according
as free love hath determined. Often does he pitch upon the most
unlikely branch, leaving the top boughs ; passing by the mighty
and the noble, and calling the weak, base, and despised, 1 Cor. i.
26, 27. Tea, he often leaves the fair and smooth, and takes the
rugged and knotty ; " and such were some of you, but ye are
washed," &c. 1 Cor. vi. 11. If we inquire why so? We find no
other reason but because they were chosen in him, Eph. i. 4 ;
" predestinated to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ," ver. 6.
Thus are they gathered together in Christ, while the rest are left
growing on their natural stock, to be afterwards bound up in bun-
dles for the fire. Therefore, to whomsoever the Gospel may come
in vain, it will have a blessed effect on God's elect, Acts xiii. 48, " as
many as were ordained to eternal life, believed." Where the Lord
has much people, the gospel will have much success, sooner or
later. Such as are to be saved, will be added to the mystical body
of Ciirist.
IV. I am now to shew how the branches are cut off from the na-
tural stock, the first Adam, and grafted into the true vine, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Thanks to the Husbandman, not to the branch, that
is cut off from its natural stock, and grafted into a new one. The
sinner, in his coming off from the first stock, is passive, and neither
can nor will come off from it of his own accord, but clings to it, till
almighty power makes him to fall off, John vi. 44, " No man can
come unto me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him."
And chap. v. 40, " Ye will not come to me, that ye might have
190 CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK.
life." The ingrafted branches are " God's husbandry," 1 Cor. iii. 9,
" The planting of the Lord," Isa. Ixi. 3. — The ordinary means he
makes use of, in this work, is the ministry of the word, 1 Cor. iii. 9,
" We are labourers together with God." Eut the efficacy thereof is
wholly from him, whatever the minister's parts or piety be, ver. 7,
" Neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth ;
but God that giveth the increase." The apostles preached to the
Jews, yet the body of that people remained in infidelity, Rom. x. 16,
" Who hath believed our report?" Yea, Christ himself, who spoke
as never man spoke, says concerning the success of his own minis-
try, "I have laboured in vain, 1 have spent my strength for nought,"
Isa. xlix. 4. The branches may be hacked by the preaching of the
word ; but the stroke will never go through, till it is carried home
by the omnipotent arm. However, God's ordinary way is, " by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe," 1 Cor. i. 21.
The cutting of the branch from the natural stock, is performed by
the pruning knife of the law, in the hand of the Spirit of God, Gal.
ii. 19, " For I, through the law, am dead to the law." It is by the
bond of the covenant of works, as I said before, that we are knit to
our natural stock : therefore, as a wife, unwilling to be put away,
pleads and hangs by the marriage tie ; so do men by the covenant
of works. They hold by it, like the man who held the ship with his
hands ; and when one hand was cut oif, held it with the other ; and
when both were cut off, held it with his teeth. This will appear from
a distinct view of the Lord's works on men, in bringing them off
from the old stock ; which I offer in the following particulars : —
1. When the Spirit of the Lord comes to deal with a person, to
bring him to Christ, he finds him in Laodicea's case, in a sound sleep
of security, dreaming of heaven and the favour of God, though full
of sin against the Holy One of Israel, liev. iii. 17, " Thou knowest
not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked." Therefore he darts in some beams of light into the dark
soul ; and lets the man see that he is a lost man, if he turn not ovtr
a new leaf, and betake himself to a new course of life. Thus, by
the Spirit of the Lord acting as a spirit of bondage, there is a crimi-
nal court erected in the man's breast ; where he is an^aigncd,
accused, and condemned for breaking the law of God, " convicted of
sin and judgment," John xvi. 8. And now he can no longer sleep
securely in his former course of life. Tliis is the first stroke which
the branch gets, in order to cutting off.
2. Hereupon the man forsakes his former profane courses, his
lying, swearing. Sabbath-breaking, stealing, and such like practices ;
though they be dear to him as right eyes, he will rather quit them
CIiniST OUU SUPERNATURAL STuCK. 191
tlian ruin his soul. The ship is likely to sink, and therefore he
throws his goods overboard, that he himself may not perish. Now
he begins to bless himself in his heart, and looks joyfully on his evi-
dences for heaven ; thinking himself a better servant to God than
many others, Luke xviii. 11, " God, I thank thee, I am not as other
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers," &c. But he soon gets
another stroke with the axe of the law, shewing him that it is only
he that doeth what is written in the law, that can be saved by it ;
and that his negative holiness is too scanty a covering from the
storm of God's wrath. Thus, although his sins of commission only
were heavy on him before, his sins of omission now crowd into his
thoughts, attended with a train of law curses and vengeance. And
each of the ten commandments discharges thunder-claj)s of wrath
against him for his omission of required duties.
3. Upon this he turns to a positively holy course of life. He not
only is not profane, but he performs religious duties: he prays, seeks
the knowledge of the principles of religion, strictly observes the
Lord's day, and, like Herod, does many things, and hears sermons
gladly. In one word, there is a great conformity, in his outward
conversation, to the letter of both tables of the law. There is a
mighty change in the man, which his neighbours cannot miss taking
notice of. Hence he is cheerfully admitted by the godly into their
society, as a praying person ; and can confer with them about reli-
gious matters, yea, and about soul. exercise, which some are not ac-
quainted with ; and their good opinion of him confirms his good
opinion of himself. This step in religion is fatal to many, who never
get beyond it. But here the Lord gives the elect branch a farther
stroke. Conscience flies in the man's face, for some wrong steps in his
conversation, the neglect of some duty, or commission of some sin,
which is a blot in his conversation; and then the flaming sword of the
law appears again over his head, and the curse rings in his ears,
for that he " continueth not in all things written in the law, to do
them," Gal. iii. 10.
4. On this account, he is obliged to seek another remedy for his
disease. He goes to God, confesses his sin, seeks the pardon of it,
promising to watch against it for the time to come ; and so finds
ease, and thiuks he may very well take it, seeing the scripture saith,
" If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins," 1 John i. 9 ; not considering that he grasps at a privilege,
which is theirs only who are grafted into Christ, and under the
covenant of grace, and which the branches yet growing on the old
stock cannot plead. — And here sometimes there are formal and ex-
press vows made against such and such sins, and binding to such and
192 CHRIST OUR SUPERNNTURAL STOCK.
such duties. Thus many go on all their days, knowing no other reli-
gion, than to perform duties, and to confess, and pray for pardon of
that wherein they fail, promising themselves eternal happiness, though
they are utter strangers to Christ. Here many elect ones have
been cast down wounded, and many reprobrates have been slain,
while the wounds of neither of them have been deep enough to cut
them off from their natural stock. But the Spirit of the Lord gives
yet a deeper stroke to the branch which is to be cut oflF, shewing
him, that, as yet, he is but an outside saint, and discovering to him
the filthy lusts lodged in his heart, which he took no notice of be-
fore, Eom. vii. 9, " When the commandment came, sin revived, and
I died." Then he sees his heart to be full of sinful lusts, covetous-
ness, pride, malice, filthiness and the like. Now, as soon as the
door of the chambers of his imagery is thus opened to him, and he
sees what they do there in the dark, his outside religion is blown
up as insufficient ; and he learns a new lesson in religion, namely,
" That he is not a Jew, who is one outwardly," Rom. ii. 28.
5. Upon this he goes farther, even to inside religion ; sets to work
more vigorously than ever, mourns over the evils of his heart, and
strives to bear down the weeds which he finds growing in that ne-
glected garden. He labours to curb his pride and passion, and to
banish speculative impurities ; prays more fervently, hears atten-
tively, and strives to get his heart afi^ected in every religious duty
he performs; and thus he comes to think himself, not only an out-
side, but an inside Christian. — "Wonder not at this, for there is no-
thing in it beyond the power of nature, or what one may attain to
under a vigorous influence of the covenant of works ; therefore ano-
ther yet deeper stroke is given. The law charges home on the man's
conscience, that he was a transgressor from the womb; that he came
into the world a guilty creature ; and that in the time of his ig-
norance, and even since his eyes were opened, he has been guilty
of many actual sins, either altogether overlooked by him or not suf-
ficiently mourued over, for spiritual sores, not healed by the blood
of Christ, but skinned over some other way, so as to be easily ir-
ritated, and soon to break out again ; therefore the law takes him
by the throat, saying, " Pay what thou owest."
6. Then the sinner says in his heart, " Have patience with me, and
I will pay thee all;" and so falls to work to pacify an offended God,
and to atone for those sins. He renews his repentance, such as it
is; bears patiently the afflictions laid upon him; yea, he afflicts
himself, denies himself the use of his lawful comforts, sighs deeply
mourns bitterly, cries with tears for a pardon, till he has wrought
up his heart to a conceit of having obtained it : having thus done
CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK. 193
penance for wliat is past, he resolves to be a good servant to God, and
to hold on in outward and inward obedience, for the time to come,
— But the stroke must go nearer the heart yet, ere the branch falls oft'.
The Lord discovers to him, in the glass of the law, how he siuneth
in all he does, even when he does the best he can ; and therefore
the dreadful sound returns to his ears, Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is every
oue that continueth not in all things," &c. " When ye fasted and
mourned," saith the Lord, " did ye at all fast unto me, even to me ?"
Will muddy water make clean clothes ? Will you satisfy for one
sin with another? Did not your thoughts wander in such a duty?
Were not your aff'ections flat in another ? Did not your heart give
a sinful look to such an idol ? And did it not rise in a fit of im-
patience under such an afiiiction ? " Should I accept this of your
hands ? Cursed be the deceiver, which sacrificeth to the Lord a cor-
rupt thing," Mai. i. 13, 14. And thus he becomes so far broken
oft", that he sees he is not able to satisfy the demands of the law.
7. Hence, like a broken man, who finds he is not able to pay all
his debt, he goes about to compound with his creditor. And, being
in pursuit of ease and comfort, he does what he can to fulfil the law ;
and wherein he fails, he trusts that God will accept the will for the
deed. Thus doing his duty, and hr , ing a will to do better, he
cheats himself into persuasion of ' .le goodness of his state : and
hereby thousands are ruined. But the elect get another stroke,
which loosens their hold in this case. The doctrine of the law is
borne in on their consciences, demonstrating to thera, that exact
and perfect obedience is required by it, under pain of the curse;
and that it is doing, and not wishing to do, which will avail. Wish-
ing to do bett3r will not answer the law's demands ; and therefore
the curse sounds again, " Cursed is every one that continueth not —
to do them ;" that is, actually to do them. In vain is wishing then.
3. Being broken off from all hopes of compounding with the law,
he falls to borrowing. He sees that all he can do to obey the law,
and all his desires to be and to do better, will not save his soul :
therefore he goes to Christ, entreating, that his righteousness may
make up what is wanting in his own, and cover all the defects of his
doings and sufferings ; that so God, for Christ's sake, may accept
them, and thereupon be reconciled. Thus doing what he can to
fulfil the law, and looking to Christ to make up all his defects, he
comes at length to sleep securely again. Many persons are ruined
this way. This was the error of the Galatians, which Paul, in his
epistle to them, disputes against. But the Spirit of God breaks off
the sinner from this hold also, by bringing home to his conscience
that great truth, Gal. iii. 12, " The law is not of faith, but the man
194 CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK.
that doeth them shall live in theiu." There is uo mixing of the la\f
and faith in this business ; the sinner must hold by one of them,
and let the other go. The way of the law, and the way of faith,
are so far different, that it is not possible for a sinner to walk in the
one, unless he comes off from the other : and if he be for doing, he
must do all alone ; Christ will not do a part for him, if he do not
all. A garment pieced up of sundry sorts of righteousness, is not a
garment meet for the court of heaven. Thus the man is like one in
a dream, who thought he was eating, but being awakened by a
stroke, behold his soul is faint ; his heart sinks in him like a stone,
while he finds that he can neither bear his burden himself alone, nor
can he get help under it.
9. What can he do who must needs pay, and yet has not enough
of his own to bring him out of debt ; nor can borrow so much, and
is ashamed to beg ? — What can such a one do, I say, but sell him-
self, as the man under the law, that was, become poor? Lev. xxv.
47. Therefore the sinner, beat off from so many holds, attempts to
make a bargain with Christ, and to sell himself to the Son of God, if
I may so speak, solemnly promising and vowing, that he will be a
servant to Christ, as long as he lives, if he will save his soul. And
here, the sinner often makes a personal covenant with Christ, re-
signing himself to him on these terms ; yea, and takes the sacra-
ment, to make the bargain sure. Hereupon the man's great care is,
how to obey Christ, keep his commandments, and so fulfil his bar-
gain. In this the soul finds a false, unsound peace, for a while ; till
the Spirit of the Lord gives another stroke, to cut off the man from
this refuge of lies likewise. And that happens in this manner:
when he fails of the duties he engaged to perform, and falls again
into the sin he covenanted against, it is powerfully carried home on
his conscience, that his covenant is broken ; so all his comfort goes,
and terrors afresh seize on his soul, as one that has broken cove-
nant with Christ. Commonly the man to help himself, renews his
covenant, but breaks it again as before. And how is it possible it
should be otherwise, seeing he is still upon the old stock ? Thus
the work of many, all their days, as to their souls, is nothing but a
making and breaking such covenants, over and over again.
Objection. Some perhaps will say, " Wlio liveth, and sinneth not ?
Who is there that faileth not of the duties he has engaged to ? If
you reject this way as unsound, who then can be saved?" Answer.
True believers will be saved, namely, all who do by faith take hold
of God's covenant. But this kind of covenant is men's own cove-
nant, devised of their own heart ; not God's covenant, revealed in
the gospel of his grace : and the making of it is nothing else but
CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK. 195
the making of a covenant of works with Christ, confounding the law
and the Gospel ; a covenant he will never subscribe to, though we
should sign it with our heart's blood. Rom. iv. 14, 16, " For if
they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the pro-
mise made of none effect. — Therefore it is of faith, that it might he
by grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed."
Chap. xi. 6, " And if by grace, then is it no more of works, other-
wise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no
more grace, otherwise work is no more work." God's covenant is
everlasting ; once in and never out of it again ; and the mercies of
it are sure mercies, Isa. Iv. 3. But that covenant of yours is a
tottering covenant, never sure, but broken every day. It is a mere
servile covenant, giving Christ service for salvation; but God's
covenant is a filial covenant, in which the sinner takes Christ, and
his salvation freely offered, and so becomes a son, John i. 12, " But
as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God :" and being become a son, he serves his Father, not that the
inheritance may become his, but because it is his, through Jesus
Christ. See Gal. iv. 24, and onward. To enter into that false
covenant, is to buy from Christ with money ; but to take hold of
God's covenant, is to buy of him without money and without price,
Isa. Iv. 1, that is to say, to beg of him. In that covenant men work
for life ; in God's covenant they come to Christ for life, and work
from life. When a person under that covenant fails in his duty, all
is gone ; the covenant must be made over again. But under God's
covenant, although the man fail in his duty, and for his failure falls
under the discipline of the covenant, and lies under the weight of
it, till such time as he has recourse anew to the blood of Christ for
pardon, and renew his repentance; yet all that he trusted to, for life
and salvation, namely, the righteousness of Clirist, still stands
entire, and the covenant remains firm. See Bora. vii. 24, 25; and
chap. viii. 1.
Now, though some men spend their lives in making and breaking
such covenants of their own, the terror on the breaking of them be
coming weaker and weaker, by degrees, till at last it creates them
little or no uneasiness ; yet the man, in whom the good work is car-
ried on, till it be accomplished in cutting him off from the old stock,
finds these covenants to be as rotten cords, broken at every touch ;
and the terror of God being thereupon redoubled on his spirit and,
the waters at every turn getting in unto his very soul, he is obliged
to cease from catching hold of such covenants and to seek help some
other way.
10. Therefore the man comes at length to beg at Christ's door for
196 cnRTST OUR SUPERXATUEAL STOCK.
mercy ; but yet be is a proud beggar, standing on bis personal worth.
For, as tbe papists have Mediators to plead for them, with the one
only Mediator, so the branches of the old stock have always some-
thing to produce, which they think may commend them to Christ,
and engage him to take their cause in hand. They cannot think of
coming to the spiritual market, without money in their hand. They
are like persons who have once had an estate of their own, but are
reduced to extreme poverty, and forced to beg. "When they come
to beg, they still remember their former character; and though they
have lost their substance : yet they retain much of their former spi-
rit : therefore they cannot think that they ought to be treated as
ordinary beggars, but deserve a particular regard ; and, if that be
not given them, their spirits rise against him to whom they address
themselves for a supply. Thus God gives the unhumbled sinner
many common mercies, and shuts him not up in the pit according to
his deserving ; but all this is nothing in his eyes. He must be set
down at the children's table, otherwise he reckons himself hardly
dealt with, and wronged : for he is not yet brought so low, as to
think God may be justified when he speaks against him, and clear
from all iniquity, when he judgeth hira according to bis real de-
merit. Psalm li. 4. He thinks, perhaps, that, even before he was
enlightened, he was better than many others; he considers his re-
formation of life, his repentance, tbe grief and tears which bis sin
has cost him, his earnest desires after Christ, his prayers and wrest-
lings for mercy ; and uses all these now as bribes for mercy, laying
no small weight upon them in his addresses to the throne of grace.
But here the Spirit of the Lord shoots his arrows quickly into the
man's heart, whereby bis confidence in these things is sunk and des-
troyed ; and, instead of thinking himself better than many, he is
made to see himself worse than any. The faults in bis reformation
of life are discovered; bis repentance appears to him no better than
the repentance of Judas ; his tears like Esau's, and his desires after
Christ to be selfish and loathsome, like those who sought Christ be-
cause of the loaves, John vi. 26. His answer from God seems now
to be, Away, prond beggar, " How shall I put thee among tbe chil-
dren ?" He seems to look sternly on bim, for bis slighting of Jesus
Christ by unbelief, which is a sin be scarcely discerned before. But
now at length he beholds it in its crimson colours, and is pierced to
tbe heart, as with a thousand darts, while he sees how he has been
going on blindly, sinning against tbe remedy of sin, and, in the
whole course of his life, trampling on the blood of tbe Son of God.
And now he is, in bis own eyes, the miserable object of law ven-
geance, yea, and gospel vengeance too.
CHRIST OUK SUPJEJRNATUKAL STOCK. 197
11. The man being thus far humbled, will no more plead, " he is
worthy for whom Christ should do this thing ;" but, on the contrary,
looks on himself as unworthy of Christ, and unworthy of the favour
of God. We may compare him, in this case, to the young man who
followed Christ, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body ;
who, when the young men laid hold of him, left the linen cloth, and
fled from them naked," Mark xiv. 51, 52. Even so the man had
been following Christ, in the thin and cold garment of his own per-
sonal worthiness : but by it, even by it, which he so much trusted
to, the law catches hold of him, to make him prisoner ; and then he
is fain to leave it, and flees away naked — yet not to Christ, but
from him. If you now tell him he is welcome to Christ, if he will
come to him ; he is apt to say, Can such a vile and unworthy wretch
as I, be welcome to the holy Jesus ? If a plaster be applied to his
wounded soul, it will not stick. He says, " depart from me, for I
am a sinful man, 0 Lord," Luke v. 8. No man needs speak to him
of his repentance, for his comfort ; he can quickly espy such faults
in it as makes it naught : nor of his tears ; for he is assured they
have never come into the Lord's bottle. He disputes himself away
from Christ; aud concludes, now that he has been such a slighter of
Christ, and is such an unholy and vile creature, that he cannot, he
will not, he ought not to come to Christ ; and that he must either
be in better case, or else he will never believe. Hence he now
makes the strongest efforts to amend what was amiss in his way
before : he prays more earnestly than ever, mourns more bitter-
ly, strives against sin in heart and life more vigorously, and
watches more diligently, if by any meaus he may at length be
fit to come to Christ. One would think the man is well hum-
bled now : but, ah ! deep pride lurks under the veil of this
seeming humility ; like a kindly branch of the old stock, he ad-
heres still, and will not submit to the righteousness of God, Rom.
X. 3. He will not come to the market of free grace, without money.
He is bidden to the marriage of the King's Son, where the bride-
groom himself furnishes all the guests with wedding garments,
stripping them of their own : but he will not come, because he wants
a wedding garment ; although he is very busy in making one ready.
This is sad work ; and therefore he must have a deeper stroke yet,
else he is ruined. This stroke is given him with the axe of the law,
in its irritating power. Thus the law, girding the soul with cords of
death, and holding it in with the rigorous commands of obedience,
under the pain of the curse ; aud God, in his holy and wise conduct
withdrawing his restraining grace, corruption is irritated, lusts be-
come violent; and the more they are striven against the more they
198 CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK.
rage, like a furious horse checked with the bit. Then corruptions
set up their heads, which he never saw in himself before. Here oft-
times, atheism, blashpemy, and, in one word, horrible things concern-
ing God, terrible thoughts concerning the faith, arise in his breast ;
so that his heart is a very hell within him. Thus, while he is sweep-
ing the house of his heart, not yet watered with gospel grace, those
corruptions which lay quiet before, in neglected corners, fly up and
down in it like dust. He is as one who is mending the bank of a
river, and while he is repairing breaches in it, and strengthening
every part of it, a mighty flood comes down, and overturns his
works, and drives all away before it, both that which was newly
laid, and what was laid before. Read Rom. vii. 8 — 13. This is a
stroke which goes to the heart : and by it, his hope of making him-
self more fit to come to Christ, is cut off.
12. Now the time is come, when the man, between hope and
despair, resolves to go to Christ as he is; and therefore, like a dying
man, stretching himself just before his breath goes out, he rallies
the broken forces of his soul, tries to believe, and in some sort lays
hold on Jesus Christ. And now the branch hangs on the old stock
by one single tack of a natural faith, produced by the natural
vigour of one's own spirit, under a most pressing necessity, Psalm
Ixxviii. 34, 35, " When he slew them, then they sought him, and
they returned and inquired early after God. And they remembered
that God was their rock, and the high God their Redeemer." Hos.
viii. 2, " Israel shall cry unto me. My God, we know thee." But
the Lord, never failing to perfect his work, fetches yet another
stroke, whereby the branch falls quite off. The Spirit of God con-
vincingly discovers to the sinner his utter inability to do any thing
that is good, and so he dieth, Rom. vii. 9. That voice powerfully
strikes through his soul, " How can ye believe ?" John v. 44. Thou
canst no more believe, than thou canst reach up thine hand to hea-
ven, and bring Christ down from thence. Tlius at length he sees,
that he can neither help himself by working, nor by believing ; and
having no more to hang by on the old stock, he therefore falls off.
While he is distressed thus, seeing himself likely to be swept away
with the flood of God's wrath, and yet unable so much as to stretch
forth a hand to lay hold of a twig of the tree of life, growing on
the bank of the river, he is taken up, and ingrafted in the true
vine, the Lord Jesus Christ giving him the Spirit of faith.
By what has been said upon this head, I design not to rack or
distress tender consciences ; for though there are but few such at
this day, yet God forbid that I should offend any of Christ's little
ones. But, alas ! a dead sleep is fallen upon this generation, they
CHRIST Ol'R SLTERNATfRAL STOCK. 199
will not be awakeued, let us go ever so near to the quick : therefore
I fear that there is^ another sort of awakening abiding this sermon-
proof generation, which shall make the ears of them that hear it
tingle. However, I would not have this to be looked upon as the
sovereign God's stinted method of breaking off sinners from the old
stock. But this I maintain as a certain truth, that all who are in
Christ have been broken off from all these several confidences ; and
that they who were never broken off from them, are yet in their
natural stock. Nevertheless, if the house be pulled down, and the
old foundation razed, it is much the same whether it was taken
down stone by stone, or whether it was undermined, and all fell
down together.
Now it is that the branch is ingrafted in Jesus Christ. And as
the law, in the hand of the Spirit of God, was the instrument to cut
off the branch from the natural stock ; so the Gospel, in the hand
of the same Spirit, is the instrument used for ingrafting it into the
supernatural stock, 1 John i. 3. " That which we have seen and
heard, declare we unto yon, that ye also may have fellowship with
us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ." See Isaiah Ixi, 1 — 3. The Gospel is the silver cord
let down from heaven, to draw perishing sinners to land. And
though the preaching of the law prepares the way of the Lord ; yet
it is in the word of the Gospel that Christ and a sinner meet. Now,
as in the natural grafting, the branch being taken up is put into
the stock, and being put into it, becomes one with it, so that they
are united ; even so in the spiritual ingrafting, Christ apprehends
the sinner, and the sinner, being apprehended of Christ, apprehends
him, and so they become one, Phil. iii. 12.
First, Christ apprehends the sinner by his Spirit, and draws him
to himself, 1 Cor. xii, 13, " For by one Spirit we are all baptized
into one body." The same Spirit which is in the Mediator himself,
he communicates to his elect in due time, never to depart from
them, but to abide in them as a principle of life. The soul is
now in the hands of the Lord of life, and possessed by the Spirit of
life ; how can it then but live ? The man gets a ravishing sight of
Christ's excellence in the glass of the gospel : he sees him a full,
suitable, and willing Saviour; and gets a heart to take him for and
instead of all. The Spirit of faith furnishes him feet to come to
Christ, and hands to receive him. "What by nature he could not do,
by grace he can, the Holy Spirit working in him the work of faitli
with power.
Secondly, The sinner, thus apprehended, apprehends Christ by
faith, and is one with the blessed stock, Eph. iii. 17, " That Christ
200 CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK.
may dwell in your hearts by faith." The soul that before tried
many ways of escape, but all in vain, now looks with the eye of
faith, which proves the healing look. As Aaron's rod, laid up
in the tabernacle, budded, and brought forth buds, Numb. xvii. 8;
so the dead breach, apprehended by the Lord of life, put into, and
bound up with the glorious quickening stock, by the Spirit of life
buds forth in actual believing on Jesus Christ, whereby this union
is completed. " We, having the same Spirit of faith — believe,"
2 Cor. iv. 13. Thus the stock and the graft are united, Christ and
the Christian are married, faith being the soul's consent to the
spiritual marriage covenant, which as it is proposed in the gospel to
mankind-sinners indefinitely, so it is demonstrated, attested, and
brought home to the man in particular, by the Holy Spirit : and so
he, being joined to the Lord, is one Spirit with him. Hereby a be-
liever lives in and for Christ, and Christ lives in and for the be-
liever, Gal. ii. 20, " I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless, I live;
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Hos. iii. 3, " Thou shalt not be
for another man, so will I also be for thee." The bonds, then, of
this blessed union are, the Spirit on Christ's part, and faith on the
believer's part.
Now both the souls and bodies of believers are united to Christ.
" He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit," 1 Cor. vi. 17- The
very bodies of believers have this honour put upon them, that they
are " the temple of the Holy Ghost," ver. 19, and " the members of
Christ," ver. 15. "When they sleep in the dust, they sleep in Jesus,
1 Thess. iv. 14 ; and it is in virtue of this union they shall be raised
up out of the dust again, Rom. viii. 11, " He shall quicken your
mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." In token of this
mystical union, the church of believers is called by the name of her
Head and Husband, 1 Cor. xii. 12, " For as the body is one, and
hath many members — so also is Christ."
Use. From what is said, we may draw the following inferences :
1. The preaching of the law is most necessary. He that would
ingraft, must needs use the pruning-knife. — Sinners have many con-
trivances to keep them from Christ ; many things by which they
keep their hold of the natural stock ; therefore they have need to
be closely pursued, and hunted out of their skulking holes, and re-
fuges of lies.
2. Yet it is the Gospel that crowns the work : " The law makes
nothing perfect." The law lays open the wound, but it is the Gos-
pel that heals it. The law " strips a man, wounds him and leaves
him half dead :" the Gospel " binds up his wounds, pouring in wine
and oil," to heal them. By the law we are broken off, but it is by
the Gospel we are taken up and implanted in Christ.
CHniST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK. 201
3. " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his,"
Rom. viii. 9. We are told of a monster in nature, having two bo-
dies differently animated, as appeared from contrary affections at
one and the same time ; but so united, that they were served with
the self-same legs. Even so, however men may cleave to Christ,
" call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the
God of Israel," Isa xlviii. 2, and may be bound up as branches in
him, John xv. 2, by the outward ties of sacraments; yet if the Spi-
rit that dwells iu Christ, dwell not in them, they are not one with
him. There is a great difference between adhesion and ingrafting.
The ivy clasps and twists itself about the oak, but it is not one
with it, for it slill grows on its own root : so, to allude to Isa. iv.
1, many professors "take hold" of Christ, "and eat their own
bread, and wear their own apparel, only they are called by his
name." They stay themselves upon him, but grow upon their own
root : they lake them to support their hopes, but their delights are
elsewhere.
4. The union between Christ and his mystical members is firm
and indissoluble. "Were it so that the believer only apprehended
Christ, but Christ apprehended not him, we could promise little as
the stability of such a union ; it might quickly be dissolved : but as
tlie believer apprehends Christ by faith, so Christ apprehends him
by his Spirit, and none shall pluck him out of his hand. — Did the
child only keep hold of the nurse, it might at length grow weary,
and let go its hold, and so fall away : but if she have her arms
about the child, it is iu no hazard of falling away, even though it be
not actually holding by her. So, whatever sinful intermissions may
happen in the exercise of faith ; yet the union remains sure, by rea-
son of the constant indwelling of the spirit. Blessed Jesus ! " All
his saints are in thy hand," Deut. xxxiii. 3. It is observed by some
that the word Abba, is the same whether you read it forward or
backward : whatever the believer's case be, the Lord is still to him,
Abba, Father.
5. They have an unsafe hold of Christ, whom he has not appre-
hended by his Spirit. There are many half marriages here, where
the soul apprehends Christ, but is not apprehended of him. Hence,
many fall away, and never rise again ; they let go their hold of
Christ ; and when that is gone, all is gone. These are " the
branches in Christ that bear not fruit, which the husbandman
taketh away," John xv. 2. Question. How can tliat be ? Answer.
These branches are set in the stock by a profession, or an unsound
hypocritical faith ; tliey are bound up with it, in the external use
of the sacraments; but the stock and they are never knit; therefore
Vol. viii. n
202 CHRIST OUR SUPERNATURAL STOCK.
they cannot bear fruit. And they need not be cut off, nor broken
off; they are4)y the Husbandman only taken away; or, as the word
primarily signifies, lifted up, and so taken away, because there is
nothing to hold them ; they are indeed bound up with the stock,
but were never united to it.
Question. How shall I know if I am apprehended of Christ ?
Answer. You may be satisfied in this inquiry, if you consider and
apply these two things :
1. When Christ apprehends a man by his Spirit, he is so drawn,
that he comes away to Christ, with his whole heart : for true be-
lieving is believing with all the heart, Acts viii. 37. Our Lord's
followers are like tliose who followed Saul at first, men whose
hearts God has touched, 1 Sam. x. 26, When the Spirit pours in
overcoming grace, they pour out their hearts like water before him,
Psalm Ixii. 8. They flow unto him like a river, Isa. ii. 2, " All
nations shall flow unto it," namely, to the " mountain of the Lord's
house." It denotes not only the abundance of converts, but the
disposition of their souls in coming to Christ ; they come heartily
and freely, as drawn with loving-kindness, Jer, xxxi. 3, " Thy peo-
ple shall be willing in the day of thy power," Psalm ex. 3, that is,
free, ready, open-hearted, giving themselves to thee as free-will of-
fering. Wiien the bridegroom has the bride's heart, it is a right
marriage : but some give their hand to Christ, who give him not
their heart. They that are only driven to Christ by terror, will
surely leave him again when that terror is gone. Terror may break
a heart of stone, but the pieces into which it is broken still continue
to be stone : terrors cannot soften it into a heart of flesh. Yet
terrors may begin the work which love crowns. The strong wind,
and the earthquake, and the fire going b afore ; the still small voice,
in which the Lord is, may come after them. When the blessed
Jesus is seeking sinners to match with him, they are bold and per-
verse : they will not speak with him, till he has wounded them,
made them captives, and bound them with the cords of death.
When this is done, then it is that he comes to them, and wins their
hearts. The Lord tells us, Hos. ii. 16 — 20, that is chosen Israel
shall be married unto himself. But how will the bride's consent be
won ? Why, in the first place, he will bring her into the wilder-
ness, as ho did the people when he brought them out of Egypt, ver.
14. There she will be hardly dealt with, scorched with thirst, and
bitten of serpents : and then he will speak comfortably to her ; or,
as the expression is, he will speak unto her heart. The sinner is
first driven, and then drawn unto Christ. It is with the soul as
with Noah's dove, she was forced back again to the ark, because she
HKXKFITS FUOM UNION WFTII (JIIUIST. 203
could liiid nothing else to rest upon : but wlien she returned, slie
would have rested on the outside of it, if Noah had not " put fuilh liis
hand and pulled her in," Gen. viii. 9. The Lord sends his avengur
of blood in pursuit of the criminal, who with a sad heart leaves his
own city, and with tears in his eyes parts with his old acquaintan-
ces, because he dare not stay with them, and he flees for his life to the
city of refuge. This is not all liis choice, it is forced work ; neces-
sity has now law. But when he comes to the gates, and sees the
beauty of the place, the excellency and loveliness of it charm him ;
and then he enters it with heart and good- will, saying, " This is my
rest, and here I will stay ;" and, as one said in another case, " I
had perished, unless I had perished."
2. "When Christ apprehends a soul, the heart is disengaged from,
and turned against sin. As in cutting off the branch from the old
stock, the great idol self is brought down, the man is powerfully
taught to deny himself ; so, in apprehending the sinner by the
Spirit, that union is dissolved which was between the man and his
lusts, while he was in the flesh, as the apostle expresses it, Rom.
vii. 5. His heart is loosened from them, though formerly as dear
to him as the members of his body ; as his eyes, legs, or arms ; and,
instead of taking pleasure in them as before, he longs to be rid of
them. When the Lord Jesus comes to a soul, in the day of convert-
ing grace, he finds it like Jerusalem, in the day of her nativity,
Ezek. xvi. 4, drawing its fulsome nourishment and satisfaction from
its lusts : but he cuts off this commnnication, that he may impart to
the soul his own consolations, and give it rest in himself. And
thus the Lord wounds the head and heart of sin, and the soul comes
to him, saying, " Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and
things wherein there is no profit," Jer. xvi. 19.
V. I proceed to speak of the benefits flowing to true believers
from their union with Christ. The chief of the particular benefits
which believers have by it, are justification, peace, adoption, sanc-
tificatiou, growth in grace, fruitfulness in good works, acceptance
of these works, establishment in the state of grace, support and
a special conduct of providence about them. As for commu-
nion with Christ, it is such a benefit, as being the immediate con-
sequence of union with him, comprehends all the rest as mediate
ones. For as the branch, immediately upon its union with the
stock, has communion with the stock in all that is in it ; so the
believer, uniting with Christ, has communion with him; in which
he launches forth into an ocean of happiness, is led into a paradise
of pleasures, and has a saving interest in the treasure hid in the
field of the Gospel, the unsearchable riches of Christ. As soon as
n2
204 BENEFITS FROJI UNION WITH CHRIST.
the believer is united to Christ, Christ himself, in whom all fulness
dwells, is his, Cant. iii. 16, " My beloved is mine, and I am his."
And "how shall he not with him freely give us all things ?" Rom.
viii. 32, " Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or
life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours,"
1 Cor. iii. 22. This communion with Christ is the great comprehen-
sive blessing necessarily flowing from our union with him. Let us
now consider the particular benefits flowing from it before men-
tioned.
The first particular benefit that a sinner has by his union with
Christ, is justification; for, being united to Christ, he has commu-
nion with him in his righteousness, 1 Cor. i. 30, " But of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteous-
ness." He stands no more condemned, but justified before God, as
being in Christ, Rom. viii. 1, " There is therefore now no condem-
nation to them which are in Christ Jesus." The branches hereof
are, pardon of sin, and personal acceptance.
1. His sins are pardoned, the guilt of them is removed. The
bond obliging him to pay his debt is cancelled. God the Father
takes the pen, dips it in the blood of his Son, crosses the sinner's
accounts, and blots them out of his debt-book. The sinner out of
Christ is bound over to the wrath of God ; he is under an obligation
in law to go to the prison of hell, and there to lie till he has paid
the utmost farthing. This arises from the terrible sanction with
which the law is guarded, which is no less than death. Gen. ii. 17.
So that the sinner, passing the bounds assigned him, is as Shimei in
another case, a man of death, 1 Kings ii. 42. But now, being united
to Christ, God saith, "Deliver him from going down to the pit; I
have found a ransom," Job xxxiii. 24, The sentence of condemna-
tion is reversed, the believer is absolved, and set beyond the reach
of the condemning law. His sins, which were set before the Lord,
Psalm xc. 8, so that they could not be hid, God now takes and
casts them all behind his back, Isa. xxxviii. 17- Yea, he casts
them into the depths of the sea, Micah vii. 19. What falls into a
brook may be got up again, but what is cast into the sea cannot be
recovered. But there are some shallow places in the sea : true, but
their sins are not cast in there, but into the depths of the sea ; and
the depths of the sea are devouring depths, from whence they shall
never come forth again. But what if they do not sink? He will
cast them in with force, so that they shall go to the ground, and
sink as lead in the mighty waters of the Redeemer's blood. They
are not only forgiven, but forgotten, Jer. xxxi. 34, "I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." And
BENEFITS FKOM UNION WITH CJIKIST. 205
though their after-sins do in themselves deserve eternal wrath, and
do actually make them liable to temporal strokes, and fatherly
chastisements, according to the tenor of the covenant of grace.
Psalm Ixxxix. 30 — 33, yet they can never be actually liable to eter-
nal wrath, or the curse of the law ; for they are dead to the law in
Christ, llom. vii. 4. They can never fall away from their union
with Christ; neither can they be in Christ, and yet under condem-
nation at the same time, Rom. viii. 1, "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." This is an infe-
rence drawn from that doctrine of the believer's being dead to the
law, set forth by the apostle, chap. vii. 1 — 6 ; as is clear from the
second, third, and fourth verses of this eighth chapter. In this
respect the justified man is the blessed man, unto whom the Lord
imputeth not iniquity, Psalm xxxii. 2; as one who has no design to
charge a debt on another, sets it not down in his account-book.
2. The believer is accepted as righteous in Grod's sight, 2 Cor. v.
21. For he is " found in Christ, not having his own righteousness,
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith," Phil. iii. 9. He could never be accepted
of God, as righteous, upon the account of his own righteousness ;
because, at best, it is but imperfect; and all righteousness, properly
so called, which can abide a trial before the throne of God, is per-
fect. The very name of it implies perfection : for unless a work is
perfectly conformable to the law, it is not right, but wrong; and so
cannot make a man righteous before God, whose judgment is accord-
ing to truth. Yet if justice demand a righteousness of one that is
in Christ, upon which he may be accounted righteous before the
Lord, " Surely shall" such a " one say. In the Lord have I righte-
ousness," Isa. xlv. 24. The law is fulfilled, its commands are
obeyed, its sanction is satisfied. The believer's surety has paid the
debt. It was exacted, and he answered for it.
Thus the person united to Christ is justified. You may conceive
of the whole proceeding herein, in this manner. The avenger of
blood pursuing the criminal, Christ, as the Saviour of lost sinners,
doth by the Spirit apprehend him, and draw him to himself; and
he, by faith, lays hold on Christ : so the Lord our righteous-
ness, and the unrighteous creature, unite. From this union with
Christ results a communion with him in his unsearchable riches, and
consequently in his righteousness, that white raiment wliich he has
for clothing of the naked, Rev. iii. 18. Thus the righteousness of
Christ becomes his ; and because it is by his unquestionable title, it
is imputed to him ; it is reckoned his in the judgment of God, whicli
is always according to truth. And so the believing sinner, having
206 BENEFITS FKOJI UKION AVITII CHRIST.
a rigliteousness which fully answers the demands of the law, he is
pardoned and accepted as righteous. See Isa. xlv. 22 — 24; Rom.
iii. 24; and chap. v. 1. Now he is a free man. Who shall lay any
thing to the charge of those whom Grod justifieth ? Can justice lay
any thing to their charge ? No ; for it is satisfied. Can the law ?
No ; for it has obtained all its demands on them in Jesus Christ,
Gral. iii. 20, " I am crucified with Christ." What can the law re-
quire more, after it has wounded their head, poured in wrath ia
full measure into their soul, and cut oif their life, and brought it
into the dust of death, by doing all this to Jesus Christ, who is their
head, Eph. 1. 22 ; their soul. Acts ii. 25 — 27 ; and their life. Col.
iii. 4 ? What is become of the sinner's own handwriting, which
would prove the debt upon him ? Christ has blotted it out, Col. ii.
14. But it may be, justice may get its eye upon it again. No; he
took it out of the way. But O that it had been torn in pieces !
may the sinner say. Yea, so it is; the nails that pierced Christ's
hands and feet are driven through it ; he nailed it. But what if
the torn in pieces be set together again ? They cannot be ; for he
nailed it to his cross, and his cross was buried with him, and will
never rise again, seeing Christ dieth no more. Where is the face-
covering that was upon the condemned man ? Christ has destroyed
it, Isa. XXV. 7. Where is death, that stood before the sinner with
a grim face, and an open mouth, ready to devour him ? Christ has
swallowd it up in victory, ver. 8, Glory, glory, glory to him that
thus " loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood."
The second benefit flowing from the same spring of union with
Christ, and coming by the way of justification, is peace; peace with
God, and peace of conscience, according to the measure of the sense
the justified have of their peace with God, Rom. v. 1. " Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God." Chap. xiv. 17,
" For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness
and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Whereas God was their
enemy before, now he is reconciled to them in Christ: they are in
a covenant of peace with him ; and, as Abraham was, so are
they the friends of God. He is well pleased with them in his be-
loved Son. His word, which spoke terror to them formerly, now
speaks peace, if they rightly understand the language. And there is
love in all dispensations towards them, which makes all work together
for their good. Their consciences are purged of that guilt and filthi-
ness which lay upon them : his conscience-purifying blood streams
through their souls, by virtue of their union with him, Heb. ix. 14,
" How much more shall the blood of Christ — purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God !" The bonds laid on their
BENEFITS FKOM UNION WITH CURIST. 207
consciences by the Spirit 'of God, acting as the Spirit of bondage,
are taken off, never more to be laid on, Rom. viii. 5, "For ye have
not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear." Hereby the con-
science is quieted, as soon as the soul becomes conscious of the ap-
plication of that blood ; which falls out sooner or later, according
to the measure of faith, and as the only wise God sees meet to time
it. Unbelievers may have troubled consciences, which they may get
quieted again : but, alas ! their consciences become peaceable be-
fore they become pure ; so their peace is but the seed of greater
horror and confusion. Carelessness may give ease for a while to a
sick conscience ; men neglecting its wounds, they close again of
their accord, before the impure matter is removed. Many bury
their guilt in the grave of an ill memory : conscience smarts a lit-
tle ; at length the man forgets his sin, and there is an end of it ;
but that is only an ease before death. Business, or the affairs of
life, often give ease in this case. When Cain is banished from the
presence of the Lord, he falls a-building of cities. When the evil
spirit came upon Saul, he calls not for his Bible, nor for the priests
to converse with him ^l?out his case ; but for music, to play it away.
So many, when their consciences begin to be uneasy, they fill their
heads and hands with business, to divert themselves, and to regain
ease at any rate. Yea, some will sin contrary to their convictions,
and so do get some ease to their consciences, as Hazael gave ease
to his master by stifling him. Again the performance of duties may
give some ease to disqutied consciences ; and this is all which legal
professors have recourse to for quieting their consciences. When
conscience is wounded they will pray, confess, mourn, and resolve to
do so no more : and so they become whole again, without an appli-
cation of the blood of Christ by faith. But they whose consciences
are rightly quieted, come for peace and purification to the blood of
sprinkling. Sin leaves a sting behind it, which one time or other
will create them no little pain.
Elihu shews us both the case and cure. Job xxxiii. — Behold the
case which a man may be in, whom God has thoughts of love to.
lie darts convictions into his conscience ; and makes them stick so
fast, that he cannot rid himself of them, ver. 16, " lie openeth the
ears of men, and sealeth their instruction. His very body sick-
ens, ver. 19, " He is chastened also with pain upon his bed,
and the multitude of his bones with strong pain " He loseth his
appetite, ver. 20, " His life abhorreth bread, and his soul dainty
meat." His body pines away, so that there is nothing on him but
skin and bone," ver. 21, " His flesh is consumed away, that it can-
not be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out." Thongh
208 BENEFITS FROM UNION WITH CHRIs^T.
he is not prepared for death, he has no hope of life, ver. 22, " His
soul draweth near unto the grave, and" which is the height of his
misery, " his life to the destroyers ;" he is looking every moment
when devils, these destroyers, t>ev.^ix. 11, these murderers, or man-
slayers, John viii. 44, will come and carry away his soul to hell. O
dreadful case ? Is there any hope for such ? Yes, there is hope.
God will " keep back his soul from the pit," Job xxxiii. 18, although
he bring him forward to the brink of it. Kow, see how the sick
man is cured. The physician's art cannot prevail here : the disease
lies more inward than his medicines can reach. It is soul trouble
that has brought the body into this disorder ; and therefore the re-
medies must be applied to the sick man's soul and conscience. The
physician for this case, must be a spiritual Physician ; the remedies
must be spiritual, a righteousness, a ransom, an atonement. Upon
the application of these, the soul is cured, the conscience is quieted :
and the body recovers, ver. 23 — 26, " If there be a messenger with
him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto man his
uprightness : then he is gracious unto him, and saith. Deliver liim
from going down into the pit, I have found a ransom. His flesh
shall be fresher than a child's, he shall return to the days of his
youth. He shall pray unto God, and he shall be favourable unto
him, and he shall see his face with joy." The proper physician for
this patient is a messenger, an interpreter, ver. 23, that is, as some
expositors, not without ground, understand it, the great physician,
Jesus Christ, whom Job had called his Redeemer, chap. xix. 25.
He is a messenger, the " messenger of the covenant of peace," Mai.
iii. 1, who comes seasonably to the sick man. He is an interpreter,
the great interpreter of God's counsels of love to sinners, Job xxxiii.
23, " One among a thousand," even " the chief among ten thou-
sand," Cant. V. 10. " One chosen out of the people," Psaliri Ixxxix.
19. One to whom " the Lord hath given the tongue of the learned
— to speak a word in season to him that is weary," Isa. 1. 4. It is
he that is with hira, by his Spirit, now, to " convince him of righte-
ousness," John xvi. 8, as he was with him before, to "convince hira
of sin and of judgment." His work now is, to shew unto him his
uprightness, or his righteousness, that is, the interpreter Christ's
righteousness ; which is the only righteousness, arisiug from the
paying of a ransom, and upon which a sinner is delivered from go-
ing down to the pit, ver. 24. Thus Christ is said to declare God's
name, Psalm xxii. 22, and to preach righteousness. Psalm xl. 9.
The phrase is remarkable : it is not to shew unto the man, but unto
man, his righteousness : which not obscurely intimates, that he is
more than a man, who shews or declareth this righteousness. Com-
BENEFITS FROM UNION WITU CIIKIST. 209
pare Amos iv. 13, " He that fornieth the mountains, and createth
the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought." There
seems to be in it a sweet allusion to the first declaration of this
righteousness unto man, or, as the word is, unto Adam, after the
fall, while he lay under terror from apprehensions of the wrath of
God ; which declaration was made by the messenger, the inter-
preter, namely, the eternal Word, the Son of God, called, the voice
of the Lord God, Gen. iii. 8, and by him appearing, probably, in
human shape. Now, while he by his Spirit, is the preacher of
righteousness to the man, it is supposed that the man lays hold on
the offered righteousness ; whereupon the ransom is applied to him,
and he is delivered from going down to the pit; for God hath a ran-
som for him. This is intimated to him by the words, " Deliver
him," Job xxxiii. 24. So his conscience being purified by the blood
of atonement, is pacified, and sweetly quieted. " He shall pray unto
God — and see his face with joy," which before he beheld with hor-
ror, ver. 26 ; that is in New Testament language, " Having an high
priest over the house of God," he shall " draw near with a true
heart, in full assurance of faith, having his heart sprinkled from an
evil conscience," Heb. x. 21, 22. But then, what becomes of the
body, the weak and weary flesh ? Why, " his flesh shall be fresher
tlian a child's, he shall return to the days of his youth," ver. 25.
Yea, " All his bones," which were chastened with strong pain, ver.
19, " shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee?" Psalm xxxv. 10.
A third benefit flowing from union with Christ, is adoption. Be-
lievers, being united to Christ, become children of God, and mem-
bers of the family of heaven. By their union with him, who is the
Son of God by nature, they become the sons of God by grace, John
i. 12. As when a branch is cut off from one tree, and grafted in
the brjlnch of another, the ingrafted branch, by means of its union
with the adopting branch, as some not unfitly have called it, is made
a branch of the same stock with that into which it is ingrafted : so
sinners, being ingrafted into Jesus Christ, whose name is the Branch,
his Father is their Father, his God their God, John xx. 17.
And thus they, who are by nature children of the devil, become
the children of God. They have the Spirit of adoption, Rom,
viii. 15, namely, the Spirit of his Son, which brings them to
God, as children to a Father; to pour out their complaints in
his bosom, and to seek necessary supplies. Gal. iv. 6, " Because ye
are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father." Under all their weaknesses, they have
fatherly pity and compassion shewn them, Psalm ciii. 13, " Like as
a father pitieth his children ; so the Lord pitieth them that fear
210 BKNEl'iTS FROM UNION WXTIl CHKIST.
him." — Although they were but foundlings, found iu a desert land ;
yet now " he keeps them as the apple of his eye," Deut. xxxii. 10.
Whosoever pursues them, they have a refuge, Prov. xiv. 26, *' His
children shall have a place of refuge." In a time of common cala-
mity, they have chambers of protection, where they may be hid until
the indignation is overpast, Isa. xxvi. 20. And he is not only their
refuge for protection, but their portion for provision, in that refuge;
Psalm cxlii, 5, " Thou art my refuge, and my portion in the land of
the living." — They are provided for, for eternity, Heb. xi. 16, " He
hath prepared for them a city." And what he sees they have need
of for time, they shall not want. Matt. vi. 31, 32, "Take no thought,
saying. What shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal
shall we be clothed ? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these things." Seasonable correction is likewise
their privilege as sons : so they are not suffered to pass with their
faults, as others who are not children, but servants of the family,
who at length will be turned out of doors for their miscarriages,
Heb. xii. 7, " If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with
sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? They
are heirs of, and shall inherit the promises, Heb. vi. 12. Nay, they
are heirs of God, who himself is the portion of their inheritance,
Psalm xvi. 5, "and joint-heirs with Christ," Rom. viii. 17- And be-
cause they are the children of the great King, and heirs of glory,
they have angels for their attendants, who are sent forth to minister
for them who shall be heirs of salvation," Heb. i. 14.
A fourth benefit is sanctification, 1 Cor. i. 30, " But of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteous-
ness, and sanctification." — Being united to Christ, they partake of
his Spirit, which is the Spirit of holiness. There is a fulness of the
Spirit in Christ, and it is not like the fulness of a vessel, which only
retains what is poured into it; but it is the fulness of a fountain for
difi'usion and communication, which is always sending forth its
waters, and yet is always full. The Spirit of Christ, that spiritual
sap, which is in the stock, and from thence is communicated to the
branches, is the Spirit of grace, Zech. xii. 10. And where the Spirit
of grace dwells, there will be found a confluence of all graces. Ho-
liness is not one grace only, but all the graces of the Spirit ; it is a
constellation of graces ; it is all the graces in their seed and root.
And as the sap conveyed from the stock into the branch goes througii
it, and through every part of it; so the Spirit of Christ sanctifies the
whole man. The poison of sin was diffused through the whole spirit,
soul, and body of the man ; and sanctifying grace pursues it into
every corner, 1 Thess. v. 23. Every part of the man is sanctified,
BENJiriTS FROM UNION WITH OllUIST. 211
though no part is perfectly so. Tlie truth we are sanctified by is not
held in the head, as in a prison ; but runs, with its sanctifying influ-
ences, through heart and life. There are indeed some graces, in
every believer, which appear as top-branches above the rest : as
meekness in Moses, patience in Job ; but seeing there is in every
child of God, a holy principle going along with the holy law, in all
the parts thereof, loving and approving of it : as it appears from
their universal respect to the commands of God : it is evident that
they are endowed with all the graces of the Spirit ; because there
cannot be less in the effect, than there was in the cause.
Now, this sanctifying Spirit, whereof believers partake, is unto
thera, 1. A spirit of mortification; " through the Spirit they mortify
the deeds of the body," Rom. viii. 13. Sin is crucified in them,
Gal. V. 24. They are planted together, namely, with Christ in the
likeness of his death, which was a lingering death, Rom. vi. 6. Sin
in the saint, though not quite dead, yet is dying. If it were dead,
it would be taken down from the cross, and buried out of his
sight : but it hangs there as yet, working and struggling under its
mortal wounds. As, when a tree has got such a stroke as reaches
the heart of it, all the leaves and branches begin to fade and decay :
so, whtre the sanctifying Spirit comes, and breaks the power of sin,
there is a gradual ceasing from it, and dying to it, in the whole
man ; so that he " no longer lives in the flesh to the lusts of men."
He does not make sin his trade and business ; it is not his great de-
sign to seek himself, and to satisfy his corrupt inclinations : but he
is seeking for Imraanuel's land ; and is walking in the highway to it,
the way which is called the way of holiness: though the wind from
hell, that was on his back before, blows now full in his face, makes his
travelling uneasy, and often drives him oil the highway. 2. This Spirit
is a Spirit of vivification to them; for he is the Spirit of life, and makes
them live unto righteousness, Ezek. xxxvi. 27, "And 1 will put my
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes." Those who
have been "planted together," with Christ, "in the likeness of his
death, shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection," Rom. vi. 5.
\t Christ's resurrection, when his soul was re^united with his body,
every member of that blessed body was enabled again to perform the
actions of life: so the soul, being influenced by the sanctifying Spirit
of Christ, is enabled more and more to perform all the actions of spi-
ritual life. And as the whole of the law, and not some scraps of it only,
is written on the holy heart; so believers are enabled to transcribe
that law, in their conversation. Although they cannot write one
line of it without blots, yet God, for Clirist's sake, accepts of the
performance, in point of sanctification ; they being disciples to his
own Son, and led by his own Spirit.
212 BBNEFITS FUOil UNION WITH CHRIST.
This sanctified Spirit, communicated by the L(ird Jesus to his
members, is the spiritual nourishment the branches have from the
stock into which they are ingrafted; whereby the life of grace, given
them in regeneration, is preserved, continued, and actuated. It is
the nourishment whereby the new creature lives, and is nourished
up towards perfection. Spiritual life needs to be fed, and must
have supply of nourishment : and believers derive the same from
Christ their head, whom the Father has appointed the head of influ-
ence to all his members, Col. ii. 19, " And not holding the head,
from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment
ministered, or supplied," &c. Now this supply is " the supply of
the Spirit of Jesus Christ," Phil. i. 19. The saints feed richly,
*' eating Christ's flesh, and drinking his blood," for their spiritual
nourishment : yet our Lord himself teacheth us, that " it is the Spi-
rit that quickeneth," John vi. 63, even that Spirit who dwells in his
blessed body. The human nature is united to the divine nature, in
the person of the Son, and so like the bowl in Zachariah's candle-
stick, chap. iv. lies at the fountain head, as the glorious means of
conveyance of influences from the fountain of Deity. He receives
not the Spirit by measure, but ever hath a fulness of the Spirit, by
reason of that personal union. Hence believers, being united to the
man Christ, as the seven lamps to the bowl, by their seven pipes,
Zech. iv. 2, his flesh is to them meat indeed, and his blood drink in-
deed : for, feeding on that blessed body, that is, effectually apply-
ing Christ to their souls by faith, they partake more and more of
that Spirit, who dwelleth therein, to their spiritual nourishment.
The holiness of God can never admit of an immediate union with the
sinful creature, nor, consequently, an immediate communion with it:
yet the creature could not live the life of grace without communion
with the fountain of life. Therefore, that the honour of God's holi-
ness and the salvation of sinners might jointly be provided for, the
second person of the glorious trinity took into a personal union with
himself a sinless human nature ; that so this holy, harmless, and
undeflled humanity, might immediately receive a fulness of the Spi-
rit, of which he might communicate to his members, by his divine
power and efficacy. Suppose there were a tree, with its root in the
earth, and its branches reaching to heaven, the vast distance bet-
ween the root and the branches, would not interrupt the communi-
cation between the root and the top branch : even so, the distance
between the man Christ, who is in heaven, and his members, who are
on earth, cannot hinder the communication between them. What
though the parts of mystical Christ, namely the head and the mem-
bers, are not contiguous, us joined together in the way of corporal
BEXEKITS FRO.M UXtON WITH CHRIST. 213
union ; the union is not therefore the less real and cflFectual. Yea,
our Lord himself shews us, that though we eat his flesh in a corpo-
real and carnal manner, yet it would profit nothing, John vi. 63 ;
we should not be one whit the holier thereby. But the members of
Christ on earth, are united to their head in heaven, by the invisible
bond of the self-same Spirit dwelling in both ; in him as the head,
and in them as the members. The wheels in Ezekiel's vision were
not contiguous to the living creatures, yet were united to them by
an invisible bond of one Spirit in both ; so that, " when the living
creatures went, the wheels went by them, and when the living crea-
tures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up,"
Ezek. i. 19; "For," says the prophet, "the Spirit of the living crea-
ture was in the wheels," ver. 20.
Hence we may see the diff"erence between true satisfaction, and that
shadow of it, which is to be found among some strict professors of
Christianity, who yet are not true Christians, are not regenerated
by the Spirit of Christ, and is of the same kind with what has ap-
peared in many sober heathens. True sanctification is the result of
the soul's union with the holy Jesus, the first and immediate recep-
tacle of the sanctifying Spirit ; out of whose fulness his members do
by virtue of their union with him, receive sanctifying influences.
The other is the mere product of the man's own spirit, which, what-
ever it has, or seems to have, of the matter of true holiness, yet does
not arise from the supernatural principles, nor to the high aims and
ends thereof; for, as it comes from self, so it runs out into the dead
sea of belf again ; and lies as wide of true holiness, as nature doth of
grace. They who have this species of holiness, are like common boat-
men, who serve themselves with their own oars : whereas the ship
bound for Immanuel's land, sails by the blowings of the divine
Spirit. How is it possible there should be true satisfaction without
Christ ? Can there be true sanctification without partaking of the
Spirit of holiness? Can we partake of that Spirit, but by Jesus
Christ, " the way, the truth, and the life ?" The falling dew shall as
soon make its way through the flinty rock, as the influences of grace
come from God to sinners, any other way than through him whom
the Father hath appointed the head of influences. Col. i. 19, " For
it pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell :"
and chap. ii. 19, "And not holding the head, from which all
the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered
and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." Hence see
how it comes to pass, that many fall away from their seeming sanc-
tification, and never recover : it is because they are not branches
truly knit to the true vine. Meanwhile others, recover from their
214 BEXEFIT^ FUOAf UXIOX WITH CHRTST.
decays, because of their union with the life-giving stock, by the
quickening Spirit, 1 John li. 19, " They went out from us, but they
were not of us ; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt
have continued with us."
A fifth benefit is growth in grace. " Having nourishment minis-
tered, they increase with the increase of God." Col. ii. 19, " The
righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree : he shall grow like a
cedar in Lebanon," Psalm xcii. 12. Grace is of a growing nature ;
in the way to Zion they go from strength to strength. Though the
holy man be at first a little child in grace, yet at length he becomes
a young mau; a father, 1 John ii. 13. Though he does but creep
in the way to heaven sometimes, yet afterwards he walks, he runs,
he mounts up with wings as eagles, Isa. xl. 31. If a branch grafted
into a stock never grows, it is a plain evidence of its not having knit
with the stock.
But some perhaps may say, " If all true Christians be growing
ones, what shall be said of those who, instead of growing, are going
back ?" I answer, There is a great difference between the Chris-
tians growing simply, and his growing at all times. All true
Christians do grow, but I do not say that they grow at all times.
A tree, that has life and nourishment, grows to its perfection, yet it
is not always growing; it grows not in the winter. Christians also
have their winters, wherein the influences of grace, necessary for
their growth, cease, Cant. v. 2, " I sleep." It is by faith the be-
liever derives gracious influences from Jesus Christ ; as each lam])
in the candlestick received oil from the bowel, by the pipe going
between them, Zech. iv. 2. Now, if that pipe be stoped, if the
saint's faith lie dormant and inactive, then all the rest of the graces
will become dim, and seem ready to be extinguished. In conse-
quence whereof, depraved nature will gather strength, and become
active. "What then will become of the soul ? Why, there is still
one sure ground of hope. The saint's faith is not as the hypocrite's
like a pipe laid short of the fountain, whereby there can be no con-
veyance : it still remains a bond of union between Christ and the
soul ; and therefore, because Christ lives, the believer shall live
also, John xiv. 19. The Lord Jesus " puts in his hand by the hole
of the door," and clears the means of conveyance ; and then in-
fluences for growth flow, and the believer's graces look fresh and
green again, Hos. xiv. 7, "They that dwell under his shadow shall
return : they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine." In
the worst of times, the saints have a principle of growth in them,
1 John iii. 9, " His seed remaineth in him." Therefore, after decays,
they revive again : namely, when the winter is over, and the Sun
BKNEFITS FUO.M UNION WITH CIIUIST. 215
of rigliteousuess retarns to them with his warm iiitliiencos. Mud
thrown into a pool may lie there at ease ; but if it be cast into a
fountain, the spring will at length work it out, and run as clear as
formerly. Secondly, Christians may mistake their growth, and that
two ways. 1. By judging of their case according to their present
feeling. They observe themselves, and cannot perceive themselves
to be growing ; but there is no reason thence to conclude they are
not growing, Mark iv. 27, " The seed springs and grows up, he
knoweth not how." Were a person to fix his eye ever so stedfastly
on a growing tree, he would not see it growing ; but if he compare
the tree as it now is, with what it was some years ago, he will cer-
tainly perceive that it has grown. In like manner may the Chris-
tian know whether he be in a growing or declining state, by com-
paring his present with his former condition. 2. Christians may
mistake their case, by measuring their growth by the advances of
the top only, not of the root. Though a man be not growing taller,
he may be growing stronger. If a tree be uniting with the ground,
fixing itself in the earth, and spreading out its roots, it is certainly
growing, although it be not higher than formerly. So, although a
Christian may want the sweet consolations and flashes of aff"ection
which hfe had ; yet, if he be growing in humility, self-denial, and
sense of needy dependence on Jesus Christ, he is a growing Chris-
tian, Hos. xiv. 5, " I will be as the dew unto Israel, he shall cast
forth his roots as Lebanon."
Question. " But do hypocrites grow at all ? And if so, how shall
we distinguish between their growth, and true Christian growth ?'*
Answer. To the first part of the question, hypocrites do grow. The
tares have their growth, as well as the wheat: the seed that fell
among thorns did spring up, Luke viii. 7. Only it brought no
fruit to perfection, ver. 14. Yea, a true Christian may have a false
growth. James and John seemed to grow in the grace of holy zeal,
when their spirits grew so hot in the cause ot Christ, that they
Avould l.ave tired a whole village, for not receiving their Lord and
Master, Luke ix. 54, " They said. Lord, wilt thou that wo command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias
did?" But it was indeed no such thing; and therefore he turned
and rebuked them, ver. 55, " and said, " Ye know not what manner
of spirit ye are ot." To the second part of the question it is an-
swered, that there is a peculiar beauty in the true Christian growth,
distinguishing it from all false growth : it is universal, regular, pro-
portionable. It is a " growing up into llim in all things, which
is the head," Eph. iv. 15. The growiug Christian grows pro-
portionabiy, in all the parts of the new man. Under the kindly
216 b?;kefits from union with chrtst.
influences of the Sun of righteousness, believers " grow up as calves
of the stall," Mai. iv. 2, You would think it a monstrous growth,
in these creatures, if you saw their heads grow, and not their
bodies; or if you saw one leg grow, and another not; if all the
parts do not grow proportionably. Ay, but such is the growth of
many in religion. They grow like rickety children, who have a big
head, but a slender body ; they get more knowledge into their heads,
but no more holiness into their hearts and lives. They grow very
hot outwardly, but very cold inwardly ; like men in a fit of the
ague. They are more taken op about the externals of religion than
formerly ; yet as great strangers to the power of godliness as ever.
If a garden is watered with the hand, some of the plants will readily
get much, some little, and some no water at all; and therefore
some wither, while others are coming forward ; but after a shower
from the clouds, all come forward together. In like manner, all the
graces of the Spirit grow proportionably, by the special influences
of divine grace. The branches ingrafted in Christ, growing aright,
do grow in all the several ways of growth at once. They grow in-
ward, growing into Christ, Eph. iv. 15, uniting more closely with
him ; and cleaving more firmly to him, as the head of influences,
■which is the spring of all other true Christian growth. They grow
outward in good works, in their life and conversation. They not
only, with Naphtali, give goodly words ; but, like Joseph, they are
fruitful boughs. They grow upward in heavenly-mindedness, and
contempt of the world ; for their conversation is in heaven, Phil. iii.
20. And finally, they grow downward in humility and self-loath-
ing. The branches of the largest growth in Christ, are, in their own
eyes, " less than the least of all saints," Eph. iii. 8 ; " the chief of sin-
ners," 1 Tim. i. 15 ; " more brutish than any man," Prov. xxx. 2.
They see that they can do nothing, no, not so much as " think any
thing, as of themselves," 2 Cor. iii. 5 : that they deserve nothing,
being " not worthy of the least of all the mercies showed unto them,"
Gen. xxxii. 10 ; and that they are nothing, 2 Cor. xii. 11.
A sixth benefit is fruitfulness. The branch ingrafted into Christ
is not barren, but brings forth fruit, John xv. 5, " He that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." For that
very end are souls united to Christ, that they may bring forth fruit
unto God, Rom. vii. 4. They that are barren may be branches in
Christ by profession, but not by real implantation. Whoever are
united to Christ, bring forth the fruit of gospel-obedience and true
holiness. Faith is always followed with good works. The believer
is not only come out of the grave of his natural state ; but he has put
off his grave-clothes, namely, reigning lusts, in which he walked,
I5I'}NEFITS FllOM UNION WITH CIIUIST. 21?
like a ghost; being dead while he lived in them. Col. iii. 7> 8.
For Christ has said of him, as of Lazarus, " Loose him, and let him
go." Now that he has put on Christ, he personates him, so to
speak, as a beggar in borrowed robes represents a king on the stage,
walking as he also walked. Now the fruit of the Spirit in him, is
in all goodness, Eph. v. 9. The fruits of holiness will be found in
the hearts, lips, and lives of those who are united to Christ. The
hidden man of the heart is not only a temple built for God, and
consecrated to him ; but used and employed for him, where love,
fear, trust, and all the other parts of unseen religion, are exercised,
Phil. iii. 3, " For we are the circumcision which worship God in the
Spirit." The heart is no more the devil's common, where thoughts
go free ; for there even vain thoughts are hated, Psalm cxix. 113.
But it is God's enclosure, hedged about as a garden for him, Cant.
iv. 16. It is true, there are weeds of corruption there, because the
ground is not yet perfectly cleared: but the man, in the day of his
new creation, is set to dress it, and keep it. A live coal from the
altar has touched his lips, and they are purified. Psalm xv. 1 — 3,
" Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who shall dwell in thy
holy hill ? He that speaketh the truth in his heart ; he that back-
biteth not with his tongue, nor taketh up a reproach against his
neighbour." There may be, indeed, a smooth tongue, where there is
a false heart. The voice may be Jacob's, while the hand's are
Esau's. But, " if any man among you seem to be religious, and bri-
dleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion
is vain," James i. 26. The power of godliness will rule over the
tongue, though a world of iniquity. If one be a Galilean, his speech
will bewray him ; he will speak, not the language of Ashdod, but
the language of Canaan. He will neither be dumb in religion, nor
will his tongue walk at random, seeing, to the double guard which
nature hath given the tongue, grace hath added a third. The fruits
of holiness will be found in his outward conversation ; for he hath
clean hands, as well as a pure heart, Psalm xxiv. 4. He is a godly
man, and religiously discharges the duties of the first table of the
law ; he is a righteous man, and honestly performs the duties of the
second table. In his conversation he is a good Christian, and a good
neighbour too. He carries it towards God, as if men's eyes were
upon him; and towards men, as believing God's eyes to be upon
him. Those things which (Jod hath joined in his law, he dares not
put asunder in his practice.
Thus the branches in Christ are full of good fruits. And those
fruits are a cluster of vital actions, whereof Jesus Christ is the prin-
ciple and end. The, principle ; for he lives in them, and "the life
Vol. Vin. 0
218 BENEFITS FROM UNION WITH CHRIST.
they live is by faith in the Son of God," Gral. ii. 20, The end; for
they live to him, and " to them to live is Christ," Phil. i. 21.
The duties of religion are in the world, like fatherless children, in
rags ; some will not take them in, because they never loved them
nor their Father ; some take them in, because they may be service-
able to them : but the saints take them in for their Father's sake,
that is for Christ's sake: and they are lovely in their eyes, because
they are like him. 0 ! whence is this new life of the saints ? Surely
it could never have been hammered out of the natural powers
of their souls, by the united force of all created power. In eter-
nal barrenness would they have continued; but that being "married
to Christ, they bring forth fruit unto God," Rom. vii. 4.
If you ask me, " How can your nourishment, growth, and fruit-
fulness be forwarded?" I ofler these few advices : 1. Make sure
work, as to your knitting with the stock by faith unfeigned ; and
beware of hypocrisy : a branch that is not sound at the heart will
certainly wither. The trees of the Lord's planting are trees of
righteousness, Isa. Ixi. 3. So, when others fade, they bring forth
fruit. Hypocrisy is a disease in the vitals of religion, which will
consume all at length. It is a leak in the ship, that will certainly
sink it. Sincerity of grace will make it lasting, be it ever so weak ;
as the smallest twig, that is sound at the heart, will draw nourish-
ment from the stock and grow; wbile the greatest bough that is rotten
can never recover, because it receives no nourishment. 2. Labour
to be stedfast in the truths and way of God. An unsettled and wa-
vering judgment is a great enemy to Christian growth and fruit-
fulness, as the apostle teaches, Eph. iv. 14, 15, " That we henceforth
be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine. But speaking the truth in love, n^ay grow up into
him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." A rolling stone
gathers no moss, and a wavering judgment makes a fruitless life.
Though a tree be never so sound, yet how can it grow, or be fruit-
ful, if you be still removing it out of one soil into another ? 3. En-
deavour to cut off the suckers, as gardeners do, that their trees may
thrive. These are unmortified lusts ; therefore " mortify your mem-
bers that are upon the earth," Col. iii. 5. When the Israelites got
meat to their lusts, they got leanness to their souls. She that has
many hungry children about her hand, and must be still putting
into their mouths, will have much ado to get a bit put into her own.
They must refuse the cravings of inordinate affections, who would
have their souls to prosper. 4. Improve, for these ends, the ordi-
nances of God. It is in the courts of our God where the trees of
righteousness flourish, Psalm xcii. 13. The Avaters of the sanctuary
B.EisrEi rrs khom union with ciiuist. 219
are the means appointed of God, to cause liis people to grow as
willows by the water courses. Therefore drink in with " desire, the
sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby," 1 Pet. ii. 2.
Come to these wells of salvation : not to look at them only, but to
draw water out of them. The sacrament of the Lord's supper is in
a special manner appointed for these ends. It is not only a solemn
public profession, and a seal of our union and communion with
Christ; but it is a means of most intimate communion with him;
and strengthens our union with him, our faith, love, repentance,
and other graces, 1 Cor. x. 16, "The cup of blessing, which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, it is not the communion of the body of Christ?"
And chap. xii. 13, " We have been all made to drink into one Spi-
rit." Give yourselves unto prayer; open your mouths wide, and
he will fill them. — By these means the branches in Christ may be
farther nourished, grow up, and bring forth much fruit.
A seventh benefit is, The acceptance of their fruits of holiness
before the Lord. Though they may be very imperfect, they are ac-
cepted, because they savour of Christ the blessed stock, which the
branches grow upon ; while the fruits of others are rejected of God,
Gen. iv. 4, 5, " And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and his offer-
ing ; but unto Cain and his off'ering he had no respect." Compare
Heb. xi. 3, "By faith, Abel olfered unto God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain." 0 how defective are the saints' duties in the
eye of the law ! The believer himself sees many faults in his best
performances ; yet the Lord graciously receives them. — There is no
grace planted in the heart, but there is a weed of corruption hard
by its side, while the saints are in the lower world. Their very sin-
cerity is not without a mixture of dissimulation or hypocrisy, Gal. ii.
13. Hence there are defects in the exercise of every grace; in the
performance of every duty ; depraved nature always drops something
to stain their best works. There is still a mixture of darkness with
their clearest light. Yet this does not mar their acceptance, Cant,
vi. 10, ""Who is she that looketh forth as the morning?" or, as
the dawning? Behold how Christ's spouse is esteemed and ac-
cepted of her Lord, even when she looks forth as the morning,
whose beauty is mixed with the blackness of the night ! " When
the morning was looking out," as the word is Jud. xix. 26, that is,
" In the dawning of the day," as we read it. So the very dawning
of grace, and good will to Christ, grace peeping out from under a
mass of darkness in believers, is pleasant and acceptable to him, as
the break of day is to the weary traveller. — Though the remains
of unbelief make the hand of faith to shake and tremble ; yet the
o2
220 BENEFITS FROM UNION WITH CIIIUST.
Lord is so well pleased with it, tliat he employs it to carry away
pardons and supplies of grace, from the throne of grace, and the
fountain of grace. His faith was effectual, " who " cried out and
said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief!" Mark
ix. 24. Though the remains of sensual affections make the flame of
their love weak and smoky ; he turns his eyes from the smoke, and
beholds the flame, how fair it is. Cant. iv. 10, "How fair is thy
love, my sister, my spouse !" — " The smell of their" under " gar-
ment" of inherent holiness, as imperfect as it is, "is like the smell
of Lebanon," ver. 11 ; and that because they are covered with their
elder brother's clothes, which makes the sons of God to " smell as a
field which the Lord hath blessed." Their good works are ac-
cepted : their cups of cold water given to a disciple, in the name of
a disciple, shall not want a reward. Though they cannot offer for
the tabernacle, gold, silver, and brass, and onyx stones, let them
come forward with what they have ; if it were but goats' hair, it
shall not be rejected ; if it were but ram's skins, they shall be
kindly accepted; for they are dyed red, dipt by faith in the Media-
tor's blood, and so presented unto God. A very oidinary work
done in faith, and from faith, if it were but the building of a wall
about the holy city, is a great work, Neh. vi. 3. If it were but the
bestowing of a box of ointment on Christ, it shall never be forgot-
ten. Matt. xxvi. 13, Even " a cup of cold water only given to one
of Christ's little ones, in the name of a disciple, shall be rewarded,"
Matt. X. 42. Nay, not a good word for Christ shall drop from their
mouths, but it shall be registered in God's " book of remembrance,"
Mai. iii. 16. Nor shall a tear drop from their eyes for him, but he
will "put it in his bottle," Psalm Ivi. 8. Their will is accepted for
the deed ; their sorrow for the want of will, for the will itself,
2 Cor. viii. 12, " For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath
not." Their groanings, when they cannot well express their desires,
are heard in heaven ; the meaning of those groans is well known
there, and they will be returned like the dove with an olive branch
of peace in her mouth. See Rom. viii. 26, 27. Their mites are
better than other men's talents. Their lisping and broken sentences
are more pleasant to their Father in heaven, than the most fluent
or flourishing speeches of those who are not in Christ. Their voice
is sweet, even when they are ashamed it should be heard ; their
countenance is comely, even when they blush, and draw a veil over
it, Cant. ii. 14. The Mediator takes their petitions, blots out some
parts, rectifies others, and then presents them to the Father, in con-
sequence whereof they pass in the court of heaven.
r.EXEFITS FKOM Ujij^y WITH CHRIST. 221
Every true Christian is a temple to God. If you look for sacri-
fices, they are not wanting there ; they offer the sacrifice of praise,
and do good : with such sacrifices God is well pleased, Heb. xiii. 15,
16. Christ himself is the altar that sanctifies the gift, ver. 10. If
we look for incense, it is there too. The graces of the Spirit are
found in their hearts : and the Spirit of the crucified Christ fires
them, and puts them in exercise ; as the fire was brought from the
altar of burnt-offering, to set the incense in flame : then they mount
heavenward, like pillars of smoke. Cant. iii. 6. But the best of
incense will leave ashes behind it : yes, indeed ; but as the priest
took away the ashes of the incense in a golden dish, and threw
them out; so our great High Priest takes away the ashes and
refuse of all the saint's services, by his mediation in their behalf.
An eighth benefit flowing from union with Christ, is establish-
ment. The Christian cannot fall away, but must persevere unto
the end, John x. 28, " they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of ray hand." Indeed, if a branch do not knit
with the stock, it will fall away when shaking winds arise : but the
branch knit to the stock stands fast whatever wind blows. Some-
times a stormy wind of temptation blows from hell, and shakes the
branches in Christ the true vine : but their union with him is their
security; moved they may be, but removed they never can be. —
The Lord " will with the temptation also make a way of escape,"
1 Cor. X. 13. Calms are never of any continuance ; there is almost
always some wind blowing; and therefore branches are rarely alto-
gether at rest. But sometimes violent winds arise, which threaten
to rend them from ofi" their stock. Even so it is with saints ; they
are daily put to it to keep their ground against temptation : some-
times the wind from hell rises so high, and blows so furiously, that
it makes even top branches to sweep the ground ; yet being knit to
Christ their stock, they get up again, in spite of the most violent
efforts of the prince of the power of the air, P3a,lm xciv. 18, " When
I said, my foot slippeth, thy mercy, 0 Lord, held me up." But
the Christian improves by his trial ; and is so far from being
damaged, that he is benefited by it, as it discovers what hold the
soul has of Christ, and what hold Christ has of the soul. And look,
as the wind in the bellows, which would blow out the candle, blows
up the fire ; even so it often comes to pass, that such temptations
enliven the true Christian, awakening the graces of the Spirit in
him ; and by that means, discover both the reality and the strength
of grace in him. And hence, as Luther, that great man of God,
saith, " One Christian, who hath had experience of temptation, is
worth a thousand others."
222 BENEFITS EKOM UNfON WITH CllinsT.
Sometimes a stormy wind of trouble and persecution from tlie
men of the world, blows upon the vine, that is, mystical Christ ;
but union with the stock is a sufficient security to the branches. In
a time of the church's peace and outward prosperity, while the an-
gels hold the winds that they blow not, there are a great many
branches taken up and put into the stock, which never knit with it,
nor live by it, though they be bound up with it by the bonds of ex-
ternal ordinances. Now, these may stand a while on the stock, and
stand with great ease while the calm lasts ; but when once the storms
arise, and the winds blow, they will begin to fall off one after ano-
ther ; and the higher the wind rises, the greater will the number be
that falls. Tea, some strong boughs of that sort, when they fall,
will, by their weight, carry others of their own kind, quite down to
the earth with them ; and will bruise and press down some true
branches in such a manner, that they would also fall off, were it not for
that fast hold which the stock has of them. Then it is that many
branches which before were high and eminent, are found lying on
the earth withered, and fit to be gathered up and cast into the fire,
Matt. xiii. 6, " When the sun was up, they were scorched : and be-
cause they had no root, they withered away." John xv. 6, " If a
man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and ihey are
burned." But however violently the winds blow, none of the truly
ingrafted branches that are knit with the stock are found missing,
when the storm is changed into a calm, John xvii. 12, " Those that
thou gavest me, I have kept, and none of them is lost." The least
twig growing in Christ shall stand it out, and subsist ; when the
tallest cedars growing on their own root, shall be laid flat on the
ground, Rom. viii. 35, " Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword ?" See ver. 36 — 39. However severe-
ly Israel be " sifted, yet shall not the least grain," or, as it is in the
original language, a little stone, " fall upon the earth," Amos ix. 9.
It is an allusion to the sifting of fine pebble stones from among
heaps of dust and sand: though the sand and dust fall to the ground
be blown away with the wind, and trampled under foot ; yet there
shall not fall on the earth so much as a little stone, such is the ex-
actness of the seive, and the care of the sifter. — There is nothing more
ready to fall on the earth than a stone : yet, if professors of religion
be lively stones, built on Christ the chief corner-stone, although they
be little stones, they shall not fall to the earth, whatever storm beats
upon them. See 1 Pet. ii. 4 — 6. All the good grain in the church
of Christ is of this kind : they are stones, in respect of solidity ;
BENEFITS FROM UNION WITH CllIlIlsT. 223
and lively stones in respect of activity. If men be solid substantial
Christians, they will not be like chaff tossed to and fro with every
wind ; having so much of the liveliness, that they have nothing of
the stone : and if they be lively Christians, whose spirits will stir in
them, as Paul's did, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.
Acts xvii. 16, they will not lie like stones, to be turned over, hither
and thither, cut and carved, according to the lusts of men ; having
so much of the stone, as leaves nothing of liveliness in them.
Our God's house is a great house, wherein are not only vessels of
gold, but also of earth, 2 Tim. ii. 20. — Both these are apt to con-
tract filthiness ; and therefore when God brings trouble upon the
church, ho hath an eye to both. As for the vessels of gold, they
are not destroyed ; but purified by a fiery trial in the furnace of
afiliction, as goldsmiths refine their gold, Isa. i. 25, "And I will turn
ray hand upon thee, and pui'ely purge away thy dross." But des-
truction is to the vessels of earth ; they shall be broken in shivers,
as a potter's vessel, ver. 28, " And the destruction," or breaking " of
the transgressors, and of the sinners, shall be together." It seems
to be an allusion to that law, for breaking the vessels of earth, when
unclean; while vessels of wood, and consequently vessels of gold,
were only to be rinsed. Lev. xv. 12.
A ninth benefit is support. If thou be a branch ingrafted in
Christ, the root beareth thee. The believer leans on Christ, as a
weak woman in a journey leaning upon her beloved husband, Cant,
viii. 5. He stays himself upon him, as a feeble old man stays him-
self on his staff, Isa. 1. 10. He rolls himself on him, as one rolls a
burden he is not able to walk under, off his own back, upon another
who is able to bear it, Psal. xxii. 8, marg. There are many weights
to hang upon and press down the branches in Christ the true vine.
But you know, whatever weights hang on the branches, the stock
bears all ; it bears the branch, and the weight that is upon it too.
1. Christ supports believers in him, under a weight of outward
troubles. That is a large promise, Isa. xliii. 2, " When thou pas-
sest through the waters, I will be with thee : and through the rivers
they shall not overflow theo." See how David was supported under
a heavy load, 1 Sam. xxx. 6. His city Ziglag was burnt, his wives
were taken captives, his men spoke of stoning him : nothing was
left him but his God and his faith ; but by his faith, he encouraged
himself in his God. The Lord comes, and lays his cross on his peo-
ple's shoulders ; it presses them down, and they are likely to sink
under it, and therefore cry, " Master, save us, we perish ;" but
he supports them under their burden ; he bears them up, and they
bear their cross. Thus the Christian, with a weight of outward
224 BENEFITS PROJI UN. OX WITH CHRIST.
troubles upon him, goes lightly uuder his burden, having the
everlasting arras underneath him. The Christian has a spring of
comfort, which he cannot lose ; and therefore never wants some-
thing to support him. If a man have all his riches in money, rob-
bers may take these away ; and then what has he more ? But
though the landed proprietor may be robbed of his money, yet his
lands remain for his support. Those who build their comfort on
worldly goods, may quickly be comfortless ; but those who are
united to Christ shall find comfort, when all the streams of worldly
enjoyments are dried up, Job vi. 13, " Is not my help in me ? and is
wisdom driven quite from me ?" that is, Though my substance is
gone ; though my servants, my children, ray health, and soundness
of body, are all gone ; yet my grace is not gone too. Though the
Sabeaus have driven away ray oxen and asses, and the Chaldeans
have driven away my camels ; they have not driven away my faith,
and my hope too : these are yet in me ; they are not driven from
me ; so that by them I can fetch comfort from heaven, when I can
have none from earth.
2. Christ supports his people under a weight of inward troubles
and discouragements. Many times " heart and flesh fail them;" but
then " God is the strength of their heart," Psalm Ixxxiii. 26. They
may have a weight of guilt pressing them. This is a load that will
make their backs bend, and their spirits sink : but he takes it oflP,
and puts a pardon into their hand, while they cast their burden
upon him. Christ takes the soul, as one marries a widow under a
burden of debt : and so when the creditors come to Christ's spouse,
she carries them to her husband, confesses the debt, declares she is
not able to pay, and lays all upon him. The Christian sometimes,
through carelessness, losses his discharge ; he cannot find it, how-
ever he search for it. The law takes that opportunity, and proceeds
against him for a debt paid already. God hides his face, and the
soul is distressed. Many arrows go through the heart now ; many
long accounts are laid before the man, which he reads and acknow-
ledges. Often does he see the officers coming to apprehend him,
and the prison door open to receive him. What else keeps him
from sinking utterly under discouragements in this case, but the
everlasting arms of a Mediator underneath him, and that he relies
upon the great Surety. Farther, they may have a weight of strong
lusts pressing them. They have a body of death upon them.
Death is a weight that presses the soul out of the body. A leg or
an arm of death, if I may so speak, would be a terrible load. One
lively lust will sometimes lie so heavy on a child of God, that
he can no more remove it than a child could throw a giant from
BENEFITS FKOJI UNIOX WITH CHRIST. 225
off him. How tlieii are tliey supported under a whole body of
death ? Their support is from that root which bears them, from the
everlasting arm that is underneath them, " His grace is sufficient
for them," 2 Cor. xii. 9. The great stay of the believer is not the
grace of God within him; that is a well whose streams sometimes
run dry : but it is the grace of God without him, the grace that is
in Jesus Christ; which is an ever-flowing fountain, to which the be-
liever can never come amiss. For the apostle tells us in the same
verse, it is " the power of Christ." " Most gladly therefore," saith
he, " will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ
may rest upon me," or " tabernacle above me," as the cloud of glory
did on the Israelites, which God spread for a covering, or shelter,
to them in the wilderness. Psalm xv. 39 ; compare Isa. iv. 5, 6. So
that the believer in this combat, like the eagle, first flies aloft by
faith, and then comes down on the prey. Psalm xxxiv. 5, " They
looked to him, and were lightened." Finally, they have a weight
of weakness and wants upon them, but they " cast over that burden
on the Lord," their strength, " and he sustains them," Psalm Iv. 22.
With all their wants and weakness they are cast upon him ; as the
poor, weak, and naked babe coming out of the womb, is cast into
the lap of one appointed to take care of it, Psalra xxii. 10. Though
they be destitute, as a shrub in the wilderness, which the foot of
every beast may tread down, the Lord will regard them, Psalm cii.
17. It is not surprising that the weakest plant should be safe in a
garden : but our Lord Jesus Christ is a hedge for protection to his
weak and destitute ones, even in a wilderness.
Objection. "But if the saints be so supported, how is it that they
fall so often under temptation and discouragements ? Answer. 1.
How low soever they fall at any time they never fall off"; and that
is a great matter. They " are kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation," 1 Pet. i. 5. Hypocrites may fall, so as to fall
off', and fall into the pit, as a bucket falls into a well when the chain
breaks. But, though the child of God may fall, and that so low
that the waters go over his head, yet there is still a bond of union
between Christ and him ; the chain is not broken ; he will not go
to the ground ; he will be drawn up again, Luke xxii. 31, 32, " And
the Lord said, Simon, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that
he may sift you as wheat : but I have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not." 2. The falls of the saints flow from their not im-
proving their union with Christ, their not making use of him by
faith, for staying or bearing them up. Psalm xxvii. 13, " I had
fainted, unless I had believed." While the nurse holds the child in
her arms, it cannot fall to the ground ; yet if the unwary child hold
228 BENEFITS FROM UNION WITH CHRIST.
not by her, it may fall bcackwards in her arms, to its great hurt.
Thus David's fall broke his bones, Psalm ii. 8 .: but it did not break
the bond of union between Christ and him ; the Holy Spirit, the
bond of that union, was not taken from him, ver. 11.
The last benefit I shall name, is, the special care of the Husband-
man, John xvi. 1, 2, " I am the true vine, and my Father is the
husbandman. Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that
it may bring forth more fruit." Believers, by virtue of their union
with Christ, are the objects of God's special care and providence.
Mystical Christ is God's vine ; other societies in the world are but
wild olive trees. The men of the world are but God's out-field ;
the saints are his vineyard, which he has a special propriety in, and
a special concern for, Cant. viii. 12, " My vineyard, which is mine,
is before me." He that slumbers not nor sleeps, is the keeper of
it; he does keep it; lest any hurt it, he will keep it night and day;
he, in whose hand is the dew of heaven, will water it every moment,
Isa. xxvii. 3. He dresses and weeds it, in order to further its
fruitfulness, John xv. 2. He cuts off the luxuriant twigs, that mar
the fruitfulness of the branch. This is done, especially by the
■word, and by cross or afflictions; the saints need the ministry of the
■word, as much as the vineyard needeth one to dress and prune the
vines, 1 Cor. iii. 9, " We are labourers together with God ; ye are
God's husbandry, ye are God's building." And they need the cross
too, 1 Pet. i. 6.
Therefore, if we were to reckon the cross amongst the benefits
flowing to believers from their union with Christ, I judge that we
should not reckon amiss. Sure I am, in their sufferings, they
" suffer with him," Rom. viii. 17. The assurances which they have
of the cross, have rather the nature of a promise, than of a threa-
tening, Psalm Isxxix. 30 — 33, " If his children forsake my law —
then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity
■with stripes Nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly
take from him, nor sufi'er my faithfulness to fail." This looks like
a tutor's engaging to a dying father, to take care of the children
left with him ; and to give them both nurture and admonition for
their good. The covenant of grace truly beats the spears of afl3ic-
tion into pruniug-hooks, to them that are in Christ, Isa. xxviii. 9,
" By this therefore shall tiie iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this
is all the fruit to take away his sin." V\"hy then shonld ■we be
angry with our cross ? why should we be frightened at it ? The
believer must take up his cross, and follow his leader, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He must take up his every-day's cross, Luke ix. 23,
" If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
BENEFITS FROAI UNION WITH CIIUIST. 228
liis cross daily :" Yea, lie must take up holy day's cross too, Lara,
ii. 22, " Thou hast called, as in a solemn day, my terrors round
about." The church of the Jews had of a long time many a pleasant
meeting at the temple, on solemn days, for the worship of God ; but
they got a solemnity of another nature, when God called together,
about the temple and city, the Chaldean army, that burnt the
temple, and laid Jerusalem on heaps. And as the church of God is
yet militant in this lower region, how can it be but the clouds will
return after the rain ? But the cross of Christ, by which appella-
tion the saint's troubles are named, is a kindly name to the believer.
— It is a cross indeed ; not to the believer's graces, but to his cor-
ruptions. The hypocrite's seeming grace may indeed breathe oat
their last on a cross, as those of the stony-ground hearers did, Matt,
xiii. 6, " When the sun" of persecution, ver. 21, " was up, they
were scorched ; and because they had not root, they withered
away ;" but never did one of the real graces in a believer die upon
the cross yet. Nay, as the candle shines brightest in the night, and
the fire burns fiercest in intense frost; so the believers graces are
commonly most vigorous in a time of trouble.
There is a certain pleasure and sweetness in the cross, to those
who have their senses exercised to discern, and to find it out. There
is a certain sweetness in a man's seeing himself upon his trial for
heaven, and standing candidate for glory. There is a pleasure in
travelling over those mountains, where the Christian can see the
prints of Christ's own feet, and the footsteps of the flock, who have
been there before him. How pleasant is it to a saint, in the exer-
cise of grace, to see how a good God crosses his corrupt inclinations,
and prevents his folly ! How sweet is it to behold these thieves
upon the cross ! How refined a pleasure is there in observing how
God draws away provision from unruly lusts, and so pinches them,
that the Christian may get them governed ! Of a truth, there is a
paradise within this thorn-hedge. Many a time the people of God
are in bonds ; which are never loosed, till they are bound with cords
of affliction. God takes them, and throws them into a fiery furnace,
that burns off their bonds ; and then, like the three children, Dan.
iii. 25, they are "loose, walking in the midst of the fire." God
gives his children a potion, with one bitter ingredient : if they will
not work upon them, he will put in a second, a third, and so on, as
there is need, that they may work together for their good, Rom.
viii. 28. With cross winds he hastens them to their labour. They
are often found in such ways, as that the cross is the happiest
thing that they can meet with : and well may they salute it as
David did Abigail, saying, " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
228 DUTY OF SAINTS SO UNITED.
which sent thee this day to meet me," 1 Sam. sxv. 32. "Worldly
things are often such a load to the Christian, that he moves but
very slowly heavenward. God sends a wind of trouble, that blows
the burden off the man's back ; he then walks more speedily on
his way; after God has drawn some gilded earth from him, that was
drawing his heart away from God, Zeph. iii. 12, " I will also leave
in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust
in the name of the Lord." It was an observation of a heathen mo-
ralist, that " no history makes mention of any man, who hath been
made better by riches." I doubt whether our modern histories can
supply the defect of ancient histories in this point. But sure I am,
many have been the worse for riches : thousands have been hugged
to death in the embraces of a smiling world ; and many good men
have got wounds from outward prosperity, that must be cured by the
cross. I remember to have read of one, who having an imposthume
in his breast, had in vain used the help of physicians : but being
wounded with a sword, the imposthume broke ; and his life was
saved by that accident, which threatened immediate death. Often
hath spiritual imposthumes gathered in the breasts of God's people,
in time of outward prosperity, and been thus broken and dispersed
by the cross. It is kindly for believers to be healed by stripes ;
although they are usually so weak as to cry out for fear, at the
sight of the pruning-hook, as if it were the destroying axe ; and to
think that the Lord is coming to kill them, when he is indeed coming
to cure them.
I shall now conclude, addressing myself in a few words, first, to
saints, and next to sinners.
To you that are saints, I say.
First, strive to obtain and keep up actual communion and fellow-
sliip with Jesus Christ; that is, to be still deriving fresh supplies of
grace, from the fountain thereof in him, by faith : and making suit-
able returns of them, in the exercise of grace and holy obedience.
Beware of estrangement between Christ and your souls. If it has
got in already, which seems to be the case of many this day, endea-
vour to get it removed. There are multitudes in the world who
slight Christ, though you should not slight him : many that looked
fair for heaven, have turned their backs upon him. The warm sun
of outward peace and prosperity, has caused some to cast their cloak
of religion from them, who held it fast when the wind of trouble was
blowing upon them : and " Will you also go away ?" John vi. 67-
The basest ingratitude is stamped on your slighting communion with
Christ, Jer. ii. 31, " Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, a land of
darkness ? Wherefore say my people. We are lords, we will come
DUTY OF SAINTS SO UNITED. 229
no more unto thee ?" — Oh ! beloved, " Is this yonr kindness to your
friend ?" It is unbecoming any wife to slight converse with her
husband, but her especially who was taken from a prison or a dung-
hill, as you were, by your Lord. It is not a time for you to be out
of your chambers, Isa. xxvi. 20. They that now are walking most
closely with God, may have enough to do to stand when the trial
comes : how hard will it be for others then, who are like to be sur-
prised with troubles, when guilt is lying on their consciences unre-
moved ! To be awakened out of a sound sleep, and cast into a
raging sea, as Jonah was, will be a fearful trial. To feel trouble
before we see it coming, to be past hope before we have any fear, is
a very sad case. Wherefore break down your idols of jealousy,
mortify those lusts, those irregular appetites and desires, that have
stolen away your hearts, and left you like Samson without his hair,
and say, " I will go and return to ray first husband ; for then was it
better with me than now," Hos. ii. 7-
Secondli/, Walk as becomes those that are united to Christ.
Prove your union with him by " walking as he also walked," 1 John
ii. 6. If you are brought from under the power of darkness, let your
light shine before men. " Shine as lights in the world, holding
forth the word of life;" as the lantern holds the candle, which being
in it, shines through it, Phil. ii. 15, 16. Now that you profess
Christ to be in you, let his image shine forth in your conversation,
and remember that the business of your lives is to prove, by practi-
cal arguments, what you profess.
1. You know the character of a wife : " She that is married,
careth how she may please her husband." — Go you, and do like-
wise; "walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing," Col. i. 10.
This is the great business of life ; you must please him, though it
should displease all the world. What he hates must be hateful to
you, because he hates it. Whatever lusts come to gain your hearts,
deny them, seeing the grace of God has appeared, teaching us so to
do, and you are joined to the Lord. — Let him be a covering to your
eyes; for you have not your choice to make, it is made already; and
you must not dishonour your head. A man takes care of his feet,
because, if ho catch cold there, it flies up to his head. — " Shall I
then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a
harlot ? God forbid," says the apostle, 1 Cor. vi. 14. Wilt thou
take that heart of thine, which is Christ's dwelling-place, and lodge
his enemies there ? Wilt thou take that body, which is his temple
and defile it, by using the members thereof as instruments of sin ?
2. Be careful to bring forth fruit, and much fruit. The branch
well laden with fruit, is the glory of the vine, and of the husbandman
230 Dt'TY OF SAINTS SO UNITED.
too, John XV. 8, " Herein is ray Father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit ; so shall ye be my disciples." A barren tree stands safer in
a wood, than in an orchard ; and branches in Christ, that bring not
forth fruit will be taken away, and cast into the fire.
3. Be heavenly-minded, and maintain a holy contempt of the
world. You are united to Christ ; he is your head and husband,
and is in heaven ; wherefore your hearts should be there also.
Col. iii. 1, " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which
are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Let the
serpent's seed go on their belly, and eat the dust of this earth : but
let the members of Christ be ashamed to bow down, and feed with
them.
4. Live and act dependently, depending by faith on Jesus Christ.
That which grows on its own root, is a tree, not a branch. It is of
the nature of a branch, to depend on the stock for all, and to de-
rive all its sap from thence. Depend on him for life, light, strength,
and all spiritual benefits. Gal. ii. 20, " I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me ; and the life which I live now in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God." For this cause, in the mystical union,
strength is united to weakness, that death and earth may mount up
on borrowed wings. Depend on him for temporal benefits also;
Matt. vi. 11, "Give us this day our daily bread." If we have
trusted him with our eternal concerns, let us be ashamed to distrust
him in the matter of our provision in the world.
5. Be of a meek disposition, and a uniting temper with the fellow
members of Christ's body, as being united to the meek Jesus, the
blesse'd centre of union. — There is a prophecy to this purpose con-
cerning the kingdom of Christ, Isa. xi. 6, "The wolf shall dwell
with the lamb ; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid." It is
an allusion to the beast's in Noah's ark. The beasts of prey that
were wont to kill and devour others, when once they came into the
ark, lay down in peace with them : the lamb was in no hazard from
the wolf there, nor the kid from the leopard. There was a beauti-
ful accomplishment of it in the primitive church, Acts iv. 32, " And
the multitude of them that believed, were of one heart and of one
soul." And this prevails in all the members of Christ, according to
the measure of the grace of God in them. Man is born naked : he
comes naked into this, world, as if God designed him for the picture
of peace ; and surely, when he is born again, he comes not into the
new world of grace with claws to tear, a sword to wound, and a fire
in his hand to burn up his fellow-members in Christ, because they
cannot see with his light. Oh ! it is sad to see Christ's lilies as
thorns in one another's sides, Christ's lambs devouring one another
ADDKESS TO SINNliRS. * 231
like lions, and God's diamonds cutting one another : yet it must be
remembered, that sin is no proper cement for the members of Christ,
though Herod and Pontius Pilate may be made friends that way.
The apostle's rule is plain, Heb. xii. 14, " Follow peace with all
men, and holiness." To follow peace no farther than our humour,
credit, and such like things will allow us, is too short : to pursue it
farther than holiness allows us, that is, conformity to the Divine
will, is too far. Peace is precious, yet it may be bought too dearly :
wherefore we must rather want it, than purchase it at any expense
of truth or holiness. But otherwise it cannot be bought too dearly ;
and it will always be precious in the eyes of the sons of peace.
And now, sinners, what shall I say to you ? I have given you
some view of the privileges of those in the state of grace. You have
seen them afar off; but alas ! they are not yours, because you are
not Christ's. The sinfulness of an unregenerate state is yours ; and
the misery of it is yours also : you have neither part nor lot in this
matter. The guilt of all your sins lies upon you ; you have no part
in the righteousness of Christ. There is no peace to you, no peace
with God, no true peace of conscience ; for you have no saving in-
terest in the great peace -maker. You are none of God's family ;
the adoption we spoke of, belongs not to you. You have no part in
the Spirit of sanctification ; and, in one word, you have no inheri-
tance among them that are sanctified. All I can say to you in this
matter, is, that the case is not desperate, they may yet be yours,
Rev. iii. 20, " Behold, I stand at the door and knock ; if any man
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will
sup with him, and he with me." Heaven is proposing a union with
earth still ; the potter is making suit to his own clay ; and the gates
of the city of refuge are not yet closed. 0 that we could compel
you to come in ! Thus far of the state of grace.
STATE IV.
THE ETERNAL STATE.
PART I.
DEATH.
Job, cliap. xxx. ver. 23.
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed
for all living.
I COME now to discourse of man's eternal state, into which he enters
by death. Of this entrance. Job takes a solemn serious view, in
the words of the text, which contain a general truth, and a particu-
lar application of it. The general truth is supposed ; namely, that
all men must, by death, remove out of this world ; they must die.
But whither must they go ? They must go to the house appointed
for all living; to the grave, that darksome, gloomy, solitary house,
in the land of forgetfulness. Wherever the body is laid up till the
resurrection, thither, as to a dwelling-house, death brings us home.
"While we are in the body, we are but in a lodging-house, in an inn,
on our way homeward. When we come to our grave, we come to
our home, our long home, Eccl. xii. 5. All living must be inhabit-
ants of this house, good and bad, old and young. Man's life is a
stream, running into death's devouring deeps. They who now live
in palaces, must quit them, and go home to this house ; and they
who have not where to lay their heads, shall thus have a house at
length. It is appointed for all, by Him whose counsel shall stand.
This appointment cannot be shifted ; it is a law which mortals cannot
transgress. Job's application of this general truth lo himself, is
expressed in these words; "I know that thou wilt bring me to
death," &c. He knew, that he must meet with death ; that his soul
and body must needs part; that God, who had set the time, would
certainly see it kept. Sometimes Job was inviting death to come to
him, and carry him home to its house ; yea, he was in the hazard
CERTAINTY OF DEATH. 233
of running to it before the time: Job vii. 15, "My soul chooseth
strangling, and death rather than my life." But here he considers
God would bring him to it; yea, bring him back to it, as the word
imports. Whereby he seems to intimate, that we have no life in
this world, but as runaways from death, which stretches out its cold
arms, to receive us from the womb : but though we do then nar-
rowly escape its clutches, we cannot escape long ; we shall be
brought back again to it. Job knew this, he had laid it down as a
certainty, and was looking for it.
Doctrine, All must die. — Although this doctrine be confirmed
by the experience of all former generations, ever since Abel entered
into the house appointed for all living, and though the living know
that they shall die, yet it is needful to discourse of the certainty of
death, that it may be impressed on the mind, and duly considered.
Wherefore consider, 1. There is an unalterable statute of death,"
under which men are concluded. " It is appointed unto men once
to die," Hcb. ix. 27- It is laid up for them, as parents lay up for
their children : they may look for it, and cannot miss it ; seeing
God has designed and reserved it for them. There is no peradven-
ture in it ; " we must needs die," 2 Sam. xiv. 14. Though some
men will not hear of death, yet every man must needs see death,
Psalm Ixxxix. 48. Death is a champion all must grapple with : we
must enter the lists with it, and it will have the mastery, Eccl. viii.
8, " There is no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain the
spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death." They indeed
who are found alive at Christ's coming, shall all be changed, 1 Cor.
XV. 51. But that change will be equivalent to death, will answer
the purposes of it. All other persons must go the common road,
the way of all flesh. 2. Let us consult daily observation. Every
man " seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and brutish person,"
Psalm xlix. 10. There is room enough on this earth for us, not-
withstanding the multitudes that were upon it before us. They are
gone, to make room for us; as we must depart, to make room for
others. It is long since death began to transport men into another
world, and vast multitudes are gone thither already: yet the work
is going on still ; death is carrying off ntw inhabitants daily, to the
house appointed for all living. Who could ever hear the grave
say, It is enough ! Long has it been getting, but still it asketh.
This world is like a great fair or market, where some are coming
in, others going out; while the assembly that is in it is confusion,
and the most part know not wherefore they are come together; or,
like a town situated on the road to a great city, through which some
travellers have passed, some are passing, while others are only com-
VOL. VIII. p
234 man's life is vanity.
ing in, Eccl. i. 4, " One generation passeth away, and another gene-
ration coraeth : but the earth abideth for ever." Death is an inexo-
rable, irresistable messenger, who cannot be diverted from execut-
ing his orders by the force of the mighty, the bribes of the rich, or
the entreaties of the poor. It does not reverence the hoary head,
nor pity the harmless babe. The bold and daring cannot outbrave
it; nor can the faint-hearted obtain a discharge in this war. 3. The
human body consists of perishing materials. Gen. iii. 19, "Dust thou
art, and unto dust thou shalt return." The strongest are but brit-
tle earthen vessels, easily broken in shivers. The soul is but meanly
housed, while in this mortal body, which is not a house of stone,
but a house of clay, the mud walls cannot but moulder away ; espe-
cially seeing the foundation is not on a rock, but in the dust ; they
are crushed before the moth, though this insect be so tender that
the gentle touch of a finger will despatch it. Job iv. 19. These
principles are like gunpowder ; a very small spark lighting on them
will set them on fire, and blow up the house : the stone of a raisin,
or a hair in milk, having choked men, and laid the house of clay in
the dust. If we consider the frame and structure of our bodies,
how fearfully and wonderfully we are made; and on how regular
and exact a motion of the fluids, and balance of humours, our life
depends ; and that death has as many doors to enter in by, as the
body has pores ; and if Ave compare the soul and body together, we
may justly reckon, that there is somewhat more astonishing in our
life, than in our death ; and that it is more strange to see dust
walking up and down on the dust, than lying down in it. Though
the lamp of our life be not violently blown out, yet the flame must
go out at length for want of oil. What are those distempers and
diseases which we are liable to, but death's harbingers, that come to
prepare his way ? They meet us, as soon as we set our foot on
earth, to tell us at our entry, that we do but come into the world to
go out again. Nevertheless, some are snatched away in a moment,
without being warned by sickness or disease. 4. "We have sinful
souls, and therefore have dying bodies : death follows sin, as the
shadow follows the body. The wicked must die, by virtue of the
threatening of the covenant of works. Gen. ii. 17, " In the day that
thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." And the godly must die
too, that as death entered by sin, sin may go out by death. Christ
has taken away the sting of death, as to them ; though he has not
as yet removed death itself. Wherefore, though it fasten on them,
as the viper did on Paul's hand, it shall do them no harm : but be-
cause the leprosy of sin is in the walls of the house, it must be bro-
ken down, and all the materials thereof canned forth. 5. Man's
M.V.V'S lAfU IS VANITY. 235
life ill this world, according to tho Scripture account of it, is but a
few degrees removed from death. The Scripture represents it as a
vain and empty thing, short in its continuance, and swift in its pass-
ing away.
Fb'st, Man's life is a vain and empty thing : while it is, it
vanishes away ; and, lo ! it is not. Job vii. 16, "My days are vani-
ty." If we suspect afflicted Job of partiality in this matter, hear
the wise and prosperous Solomon's character of the days of liis life,
Eccl. vii. 15, " All things have I seen in the days of my vanity,"
that is, my vain days. Moses, who was a very active man, compares
our days to a sleep, Psalm xc. 5, " They are as a sleep," which is not
noticed till it is ended. The resemblance is just : few men have
right apprehensions of life, until death awaken them; then we begin
to know that we were living. " We spend our years as a tale that
is told," ver. 9. When an idle tale is telling it may affect a little ;
but when it is ended, it is remembered no more : and so is a man
forgotten, wlien the fable of his life is ended. It is as a dream, or
vision of the night, in which there is nothiug solid ; when one
awakes, all vanishes ; Job xx. 8, " He shall fly away as a dream,
and shall not be found ; yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of
the night." It is but a vain shew or image ; Psalm xxxix. 6,
" Surely every man walketh in a vain shew." Man, in this world,
is but as it were a walking statue : his life is but an image of life,
there is so much of death in it.
If we look on our life, in the several periods of it, we shall find it
a heap of vanities. " Childhood and youth ai'e vanity," Eccl. xi.
10. We come into the world the most helpless of all animals :
young birds and beasts can do something for themselves, but infant
man is altogether unable to help himself. Our childhood is spent
in pitiful trifling pleasures, which become the scorn of our after
thoughts. Youth is a flower that soon withercth, a blossom that
quickly falls off' ; it is a space of time in which we are rash, foolish,
and inconsiderate, pleasing ourselves with a variety of vanities,
and swimming as it were through a flood of them. But ere we
are aware it is past ; and wo are, in middle age, encompassed
with a thick cloud of cares, through which we must grope ; and
finding ourselves beset with pricking thorns of difficulties, through
them we must force our way, to accomplish the projects and con-
trivances of our riper thoughts. The more we solace ourselves
in any earthly enjoyment we attain to, the more bitterness do
we find in parting with it. Then comes old age, attended with
its own train of infirmities, labour, and sorrow. Psalm xc. 10,
and sets us down next door to the grave. In a word, "All
i>2
25^6 MAJJ'S LIFE IS VANITY.
flesh is like grass," Isa. xl. 6. Every stage or period in life, is
vanity. " Man at his best state," his middle age, when the heat of
youth is spent, and the sorrows of old age have not yet overtaken
him, " is altogether vanity," Psalra xxxis. 5. — Death carries off
some in the bud of childhood, others in the blossom of youth,
and others when they are come to their fruit ; few are left stand-
ing, till, like ripe corn, they forsake the ground : all die one time
or other.
Secondly, Man's life is a short thing; it is not only a vanity, but
a short-lived vanity. Consider, 1 How the life of man is reckoned
in the Scriptures. It was indeed sometimes reckoned by hundreds
of years : but no man ever arrived at a thousand, which yet bears no
proportion to eternity. Now hundreds are brought down to scores ;
threescore and ten, or fourscore, is its utmost length. Psalm, xc. 10.
But few men arrive at that length of life. Death does but rarely
wait, till men be bowing down, by reason of age, to meet the grave.
Yet, as if years were too big a word for such a small thing as the
life of man on earth, we find it counted by months. Job xiv. 5,
" The number of his months are with thee." Our course, like that
of the moon, is run in a little time : we are always waxing or wan-
ing, till we disappear. — But frequently it is reckoned by days ; and
these but few. Job xiv. 1, " Man, that is born of a woman, is of few
days." Nay, it is but one day, in Scripture account ; and that a
hireling's day, who will precisely observe when his day ends, and
give over his work, ver. 6, " Till he shall accomplish as an hireling
his day." — Tea, the Scripture brings it down to the shortest space
of time, and calls it a moment, 2 Cor. iv. 17, " Our light afiliction,"
though it last all our life long, " is but for a moment." Elsewhere
it is brought down yet to a lower pitch, farther than which one can-
not carry it. Psalm xxxix, 5, " Mine age is as nothing before thee."
Agreeably to this, Solomon tells, Eccl. iii. 2, " There is a time to
be born, and a time to die ;" but makes no mention of a time to
live, as if our life were but a skip from the womb to the grave.
2. Consider the various similitudes by which the Scripture represents
the shortness of man's life. Hear Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii. 12,
" Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd's
tent ; I have cut off like a weaver my life." The shepherd's tent
is soon removed ; for the flocks must not feed long in one place ;
such is a man's life on this earth, quickly gone. It is a web which
he is incessantly working ; he is not idle so much as for one
moment : in a short time it is wrought, and then it is cut off.
Every breathing is a thread in this web ; when the last breath is
drawn, the web is woven out; he expires, and then it is cut off, he
man's life is vanity. 237
breathes no more. Man is like grass, and Jike a flower, Isa. xl. 6.
" All flesli," even the strongest and most healthy flesh, " is grass,
and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field." The
grass is flourishing in the morning ; but, being cut down by the
mowers, in the evening it is withered : so man sometimes is walking
up and down at ease in the morning, and in the evening is lying
a corpse, being struck down by a sudden blow, with one or other of
death's weapons. The flower, at best, is but a weak and tender
thing, of short continuance wherever it grows : but observe, man
is not compared to the flower of the garden ; but to the flower of
the field, which the foot of every beast may tread down at any time.
Thus is our life liable to a thousand accidents every day, any of
which may cut us ofi^. But though we should escape all these, yet
at length this grass withercth, this flower fadeth of itself. It
is carried ofif " as the clond is consumed, and vanishetli away," Job
vii. 9. It looks big as the morning cloud, which promises great
things, and raises the expectation of the husbandman ; but the sun
riseth, and the cloud is scattered ; death comes, and man vanisheth.
— The apostle James proposes the question, " What is your life ?"
chapter iv. 14. Hear his answer, " It is even a vapour, that ap-
peareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." It is frail,
uncertain, and lasteth not. It is as smoke, which goes out of
the chimney, as if it would darken the face of the heavens; but
quickly it is scattered, and appears no more : thus goeth man's
life, and " where is he ?" It is wind, Job vii. 7, " 0 remember
that my life is wind." It is but a passing blast, a short puff, " a
wind that passeth away, and cometh not again," Psalm Ixxxviii. 38.
Our breath is in our nostrils, as if it were always upon the wing to
depart; ever passing and repassing, like a traveller, until it go
away, not to return till the heavens be no more.
Thirdly, Man's life is a swift thing ; not only a passing, but a
flying vanity. Have you not observed how swiftly a shadow runs
along the ground, in a cloudy and a windy day, suddenly darkening
the places beautified before with the beams of the sun, but as sud-
denly disappearing ? Such is the life of man on the earth, for " he
floeth as a shadow, and continueth not," Job xiv. 2. A weaver's
shuttle is very swift in its motion; in a moment it is thrown from
one side of the web to the other ; yet " our days are swifter than a
weaver's shuttle," chap. vii. 6. How quickly is man tossed through
time, into eternity ! See how Job describes the swiftness of the
time of life, chap. ix. 25, 26. " Now my days are swifter than a
post ; they flee away, they see no good. They are passed away as
the swift ships ; as the eagle that hasteth to the pray." He com-
238 man's life is vanity.
pares his days with a post, a foot-post ; a runner, who runs speedily
to carry tidings, and will make no stay. But though the post
were like Ahimaaz, who overrun Cushi, our days would be swifter
than he ; for they flee away, like a man fleeing for his life before
the pursuing enemy; he runs with his utmost vigour, yet our days
run as fast as he. But this is not all ; even he who is fleeing for
his life, cannot run always : he must needs sometimes stand still, lie
down, or turn in somewhere, as Sisera did into Jael's tent, to refresh
himself: but our time never halts. Therefore it is compared to
ships, that can sail night and day without intermission, till they
reach their port ; and to swift ships, ships of desire, in which men
quickly arrive at their desired haveu ; or ships of pleasure, that sail
more swiftly than ships of burden. Yet the wind failing, the ship's
course is checked : but our time always runs with a rapid course.
Therefore it is compared to the eagle flying ; not with his ordinary
flight, for that is not sufficient to represent the swiftness of our
days ; but when he flies upon his prey, which is with an extraordi-
nary swiftness. And thus, even thus, our days flee away.
Having thus discoursed of death, let us improve it in discerning
the vanity of the world ; in bearing up, with Christian contentment
and patience under all troubles and difficulties in it ; iu mortifying
our lusts ; in cleaving unto the Lord with full purpose of heart, at
a41 hazards, and in preparing for death's approach.
1. Let us hence, as in a looking-glass, behold the vanity of the
world, and of all those things in it, which men so much value and
esteem ; and therefore set their hearts upon. The rich and the poor
are equally intent upon this world; they bow the knee to it; yet it
is but a clay god : they court the bulky vanity, and run eagerly to
catch this shadow. The rich man is hugged to death in its em-
braces ; and the poor man wearies himself in the fruitless pursuit.
"What wonder if the world's smiles overcome us, when we pursue it
so eagerly, even while it frowns upon us ! But look into the grave,
0 man ! consider and be wise ; listen to the doctrine of death ; and
learn, that, " hold as fast as thou canst, thou shalt be forced to let
go thy hold of the world at length." Though thou load thyself with
the fruits of this earth ; yet all shall fall off" when thou coraest to
creep into thy hole, the house, under ground, appointed for all liv-
ing. When death comes, thou must bid an eternal farewell to thy
enjoyments in this world : thou must leave thy goods to another ;
Luke xii. 20, " And whose shall those things be which thou hast
provided?" Thy portion of these things shall be very little ere
long." If thou lie down on the grass, and stretch thyself at full
length, and observe the print of thy body, when thou risest, thou
DEATH SHOWS THE VANITY OF THE WOULD. 239
mayest see how much of this earth will fall to thy share at last. It
may be thou shalt get a coffin, and a winding-sheet : but thou art
not sure of that; many who have had abundance of wealth, yet
have not had so much when they took up their new house in the
land of silence. But however that be, more you cannot expect. It
was a mortifying lesson, which Saladin, when dying, gave to his
soldiers. He called for his staudard-bearer, and ordered him to
take his winding-sheet upon his pike, and go out to the camp with
it, and tell them that of all his conquests, victories, and triumphs,
he had nothing now left him, but that piece of linen to wrap his
body in for burial. " This world is a false friend," who leaves a
man in time of greatest need, and flees from him when he has most
to do. When thou art lying on a deathbed, all thy friends and re-
lations cannot rescue thee ; ail thy substance cannot ransom thee,
nor procure thee a reprieve for one day ; nay, not for one hour.
Yea, the more thou possessest of this world's goods, thy sorrow at
death is likely to be the greater ; for though one may live more cora-
modiously in a palace than in a cottage, yet he may die more easily
in the cottage, Avliere he has very little to make him fond of life.
2. It may serve as a storehouse for Christian contentment and
patience under worldly losses and crosses. A close application of
the doctrine of death is an excellent remedy against fretting, and
gives some ease to a troubled heart. When Job had sustained very
great losses, he sat down contented, with this meditation. Job i. 21,
" Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return
thither : the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away : blessed be
the name of the Lord." When Providence brings a mortality or
murrian among your cattle, how ready are you to fret and com-
plain ! but the serious consideration of your own death, to which
you have a notable help from such providential occurrences, may
be of use to silence your complaints, and quiet your spirits. Look
to "the house appointed for all living," and learn, 1. "That you
must abide a more severe thrust than the loss of worldly goods."
Do not cry out for a thrust in the leg or arm : for ere long there
will be a long home thrust at the heart. — You may lose your dear-
est relations : the wife may lose her husband, and the husband his
wife ; the parents may lose their dear clildren, and the children
their parents ; but if any of these trials happen to you, remember
yon must lose your own life at last ; and " Wherefore doth a
living man complain?" Lara. iii. 39. It is always profitable to
consider, under affliction, that our case might have been worse
than it is. Whatever is consumed, or taken from us, " It is of
the Lord's mercies that wo" ourselves " are not consumed," ver. 22.
240 DEATH, A STOEJiHOUSE FOE CONTEMrT.
2. " It is but for a short space of time that we are in tliis
world." It is but a little that our necessities require in so short
a space of time : when death comes, we shall stand in need of none
of these things. Why should men rack their heads with cares how
to provide for to-morrow ; while they know not if they shall then
need any thing ? Though a man's provision for his journey be
nearly spent, he is not disquieted, if he think he is near home. Are
you working by candle light, and is there little of your candle left ?
It may be there is as little sand in your glass ; and if so, you have
little use for it. 3. " You have matters of great weight that chal-
lenge your care." Death is at the door, beware you lose not your
souls. If blood break out at one part of the body, they often open
a vein in another part of it, to turn the stream of the blood, and to
stop it. Thus the Spirit of God sometimes cures men of sorrow for
earthly things, by opening the heart-vein to bleed for sin. Did we
pursue heavenly things more vigorously when our affairs in this life
prosper not, we should thereby gain a double advantage : our
worldly sorrow would be diverted, and our best treasure increased.
4. " Crosses of this nature will not last long." The world's smiles
and frowns will quickly be buried together in everlasting forgetful-
ness. Its smiles go away like foam on the water ; and its frowns
are as a passing stitch in a man's side. Time flies away with swift
wings, and carries our earthly comforts, and crosses too, along with
it : neither of them will accompany us into "the house appointed for
all living. " There the wicked cease from troubling ; and there the
weary be at rest. There the prisoners rest together, they hear not
the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there, and the
servant is free from his master," Job iii. 17 — 19. Cast a look into
eternity, and you will see affliction here is but for a moment. The
truth is, our time is so very short, that it will not allow either our
joys or griefs to come to perfection. Wherefore, let them "that
weep be as though they wept not ; and they that rejoice as though
they rejoiced not," &c., 1 Cor. vii. 29 — 31. 5. " Death will put all
men on a level." The king and the beggar must dwell in one
house, when they come to their journey's end ; though their enter-
tainment by the way be very different. " The small and the great
are there," Job iii. 19. We are all in this world as on a stage ; it
is no great matter, whether a man act the part of a prince or a pea-
sant, for when they have acted their parts, they must both get be-
hind the curtain, and appear no more. 6. If thou be not in Christ,
whatever thy afflictions now be, " troubles a thousand times worse,
are abiding thee in another world." Death will turn thy crosses into
pure unmixed curses : and then, how gladly wouldst thou return to
BEATH, A BRIDLE TO CURB OUR LUSTS. 241
thy former afflicted state, and purchase it at any rate, were there any
possibility of such a return. If thou be in Christ, thou mayest well
bear thy cross. Death will put an end to all thy troubles. If a
man on a journey be not well accommodated, where he lodges only
for a night, he will not trouble himself much about the matter; be-
cause he is not to stay there, it is not his home. You are on the
road to eternity ; let it not disquiet you that you meet with some
hardships in the inn of this world, Fret not, because it is not so well
with you as with some others. One man travels with a cane in his
hand; his fellow-traveller, perhaps, has but a common staff or stick:
either of them will serve the turn. It is no great matter which of
them be yours ; both will be laid aside when you come to your
journey's end.
3. It may serve for a bridle, to curb all manner of lusts, particu-
larly those conversant about the body. A serious visit made to
cold death, and that solitary mansion, the grave, might be of good
use to repress them.
(1.) It may be of use to cause men to cease from their inordinate
care for the body ; which is to many the bane of their souls. Often
do these questions, "What shall we eat? what shall we drink ? and
wherewithal shall we be clothed?" leave no room for another of more
importance, namely, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord ?"
The soul is put on the rack, to answer these mean questions in
favour of the body ; while its own eternal interests are neglected.
But ah ! why are men so busy to repair the ruinous cottage ; leaving
the inhabitant to bleed to death of his wounds, unheeded, unregarded?
Why so much care for the body, to the neglect of the concerns of the
immortal soul ? 0 be not so anxious for what can only serve your
bodies ; since, ere long, the clods of cold earth will serve for back
and belly too.
(2.) It may abate your pride on account of bodily endov^ments,
which vain man is apt to glory in. Value not yourselves on the
blossom of youth ; for while you are in your blooming years, you
are but ripening for a grave ; death gives the fatal stroke, without
asking any body's age. Glory not in your strength, it will quickly
he gone : the time will soon be, when you shall not be able to turn
yourselves on a bed ; and you must be carried by your grieving
friends to you rlong home. And what signifies your healthful consti-
tution ? Death doth not always enter in soonest where it begins soon-
est to knock at the door ; but makes as great dispatch with some in
a few hours, as with others in many years. Value not yourselves
on your beauty, which "shall consume in the grave," Psalm xlix. 14.
Remember the change which death makes on the fairest face, Job
242 DEATH, A BRIDLE TO CURB OUR LUSTS.
xiv. 20, "Thou cliangest his countenance, and sendest him away."
Death makes the greatest beauty so loathsome, that it must be buried
out of sight. Could a looking-glass be used in "the house appointed for
all living," it would be a terror to those who now look ofteuer into
their glasses than into their Bibles. And what though the body be
gorgeously arrayed ? The finest clothes are but badges of our sin and
shame; and in a little time will be exchanged for a winding-sheet,
when the body will become a feast to the worms.
(3.) It may be a check upon sensuality and fleshly lusts, 1 Pet.
ii. 11, " I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul." It is hard to cause wet wood
to take fire ; and when the fire doth take hold of it, it is soon ex-
tinguished. Sensuality makes men most unfit for divine communi-
cations, and is an efl'ectual means to quench the Spirit. Intemper-
ance in eating and drinking carries on the ruin of soul and body at
once; and hastens death, while it makes the man most unmeet for it.
Therefore, " Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts
be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and so that day
come upon yon unawares," Luke xxi. 34. But 0 how often is the
soul struck through with a dart, in gratifying the senses ! At these
doors destruction enters in. Therefore Job " made a covenant with
his eyes," chap, xxxi. 1. " The mouth of a strange woman is a deep
pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord, shall fall therein," Prov. xxii.
14. " Let him that standeth, take heed lest he fall," 1 Cor. x. 12.
Beware of lasciviousness ; study modesty in your apparrel, words,
and actions. The ravens of the valley of death, will at length pick
out the wanton eye : the obscene filthy tongue will at length be quiet,
in the land of silence ; and grim death, embracing the body in its
cold arms, will eflTectually allay the heat of all fleshly lusts.
(4.) In a word it may check our earthly-mindedness ; and at once
knock down " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life." Ah ! if we must die why are we thus .? Why so fond of
temporal things ; so anxious to get thera, so eager in the embraces
of them, so mightily touched with the loss of them ? Let me, upon
a view of " the house appointed for all living," address the world-
ling in the words of Solomon. Prov. xxiii. 5, " Wilt thou set thine
eyes upon that which is not ?" For riches certainly make themselves
wings, " they flee away as an eagle towards heaven," Iliches, and all
worldly things are but a fair nothing ; they are that which is not.
They are not what they seera to be : they are but gilded vanitieF,
that deceive the eye. Comparitively, they are not; there is infini-
tely more of nothingness and not being, than of being, or reality,
in the best of them. What is the world and all that is in it, but
DEATH, A SPEING OF CHRISTIAN EESOLUTION. 243
a fashion, or fair shew, such as men make on the stage, a passing
show? 1 Cor. vii. 31. Royal pomp is but gaudy show, or appear-
ance, in God's account, Acts xxv. 23. The best name they get, is
good things : but observe it, they are only the wicked man's good
thiugs, Luke xvi. 25, " Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things," says Abraham, in the parable, to the rich man in hell.
Well may the men of the world call these things their goods ; for
there is no other good in them, about them, nor attending them. —
Now, wilt thou set thine eyes upon empty shadows and faucius?
Wilt thou cause thine eyes to tly on them, as the word is? Shall
men's hearts fly out at their eyes upon them, as a ravenous bird
on its prey ? if they do, let them know, that at length these shall
flee as fast away from them, as their eyes flew upon them : like a
flock of fair- feathered birds, that settle on a fool's ground ; which,
when he runs to catch them as his own, do immediately take wing,
fly away, and sitting down on his neighbour's ground, elude his ex-
pectation, Luke xii. 10, " Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be re-
quired of thee ; then whose shall these things be ?" Though you
do not make wings to them, as many do ; they make themselves
wings, and fly away ; not as a tame house-bird, which may be caught
again ; but as an eagle, which quickly flies out of sight, and cannot
be recalled. Forbear thou then to behold these things. 0 mortal !
there is no good reason to be given why thou shouldest set thine
eyes upon them. This world is a great inn, in the road to eternity,
to which thou art travelling. Thou art attended by those things,
as servants belonging to the inn where thou lodgest : they wait upon
thee while thou art there ; and when thou goest away, they will con-
voy thee to the door. But they are not thine, they will go away
with thee; but return to wait on other strangers, as they did on
thee.
4. It may serve as a spring of Christian resolution, to cleave to
Christ, adhere to his truths, and continue in his ways ; whatever
we may suff'er for so doing. It would much allay the fear of man,
that bringeth a saarc. " Who art thou, that thou shouldst be
afraid of a man that shall die ?" Isa. li, 12. Look on persecutors
as pieces of brittle clay, that shall be dashed in pieces , for then
shall you despise them as foes, that are mortal ; whose terror to
others in the land of the living, shall quickly die with themselves.
The serious consideration of the shortness of our time, and the
certainty of death, will teach us, that all the advantage which wo
can make by our apostacy, in time of trial, is not worth the while ;
it is not worth going out of our way to get it : and what we refuse
to forego for Christ's sake, may be quickly taken from us by
244 DEATH, A SPUR TO PEEPAEE FOR ETERNITY.
death. But we can never lose it so honourably, as for the cause
of Christ, and his gospel : for what glory is it, that you give up
what you have in the world, when God takes it away from you by
death, whether you will or not? This consideration may teach
us to undervalue life itself, and choose to forego it, rather than to
sin. The worst that men can do, is to take away that life, which
we cannot long keep, though all the world should conspire to help
ns to retain the spirit. Tf we refuse to offer it up to God when he
calls for it in defence of his honotir, he can take it from us another
way ; as it fared with him, who could not burn for Christ, but was
afterwards burnt by an accidental fire in his house.
5. It may serve for a spur to incite us to prepare for death.
Consider, 1. Your eternal state will be according to the state in
which yon die : death will open the doors of heaven or hell to you.
As the tree falls, so it shall lie through eternity. If the infant be
dead born, the whole world cannot raise it to life again : and if one
die out of Christ, in an unrcgenerate state, there is no more hope of
him for ever. 2. Seriously consider what it is to go into another
world; a world of spirits, wherewith we are very little acquainted.
How frightful is converse with spirits to poor mortals in this life !
and how dreadful is the case, when men are hurried away into
another world, not knowing but devils may be their companions for
ever! Let us then give all diligence to make and advance our
acquaintance with the Lord of that world. 3. It is but a short time
you have to prepare for death : therefore now or never, seeing the
time assigned for preparation will soon be over. Eccl. ix. 10,
" Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might : for
there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave, whither thou goest." How can we be idle, having so great
a work to do, and so little time to do it in ? But if the time be
short, the work of preparation for death, though hard work, will
not last long. The shadows of the evening makes the labourer
work cheerfully; knowing the time to be at hand, when he will be
called in from his labour. 4. Much of our short time is over
already ; and the youngest of us all cannot assure himself, that
there is as much of his time to come, as is past. Our life in the
world is but a short preface to long eternity; and much of the tale
is told. Oh ! shall we not double our diligence, when so much of
our time is spent, and so little of our great work is done ? 5. The
present time is flying away : and we cannot bring back time past, it
hath taken an eternal farewell of us: there is no kindling the fire
again that is burnt to ashes. The time to come is not ours : and
we have no assurance of a share in it when it comes. We have
THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED. 245
nothing we can call oars, but the present moment; and that is
flying away. How soon our time may be at an end, we know not.
Die we must : but who can tell us when ? If death kept one set
time for all, we were in no hazard of a surprise : but daily observa-
tion shews us, that there is no such thing. Now the flying shadow
of our life allows no time for loitering. The rivers run speedily
into the sea, from whence they came; but not so speedily as man to
dust, from whence he came. The stream of time is the swiftest cur-
rent, and quickly runs out to eternity. 6. If once death carry us
off", there is no coming back to mend our matters, .Job xiv. 14, *' If
a man die, shall he live again ?" Dying is a thing we cannot get a
trial of; it is what we can only do once, Heb. ix. 27, "It is
appointed uuto men once to die." And that which can be but once
done, and yet is of so much importance that our all depends on our
doing it right, we have need to use the utmost diligence that we may
do it well. Therefore prepare for death.
If you who are unregenerate ask me, what you shall do to pre-
pare for death, that you may die safely ; I answer, I have told you
already what must be done. Your nature and state must be
changed: you must be united to Jesus Christ by faith. Till this be
done, you are not capable of other directions, which belongs to a
person's dying comfortably : whereof we may discourse afterwards
in the due place.
PART II.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RIGUTEOUS AND THE WICKED IN THEIR
DEATH.
The wicked is dnven away in his wickediiess : hut the righteous hath
hope in his death. — Prov. xiv. 32.
Tins text looks like the cloud between the Israelites and Egyp-
tians ; having a dark side towards the latter, and a bright side
towards the former. It represents death like Pharaoh's jailor,
bringing the chief bntler and the chief baker out of prison ; the
one to be restored to his office, and the other to be led to execution.
It shews the difference between the godly and ungodly in their
death ; who, as they act a very difi'erent part in life, so, in death,
hare a very diff'erent exit.
246 STATE OF THE WICKED IX DEATU.
As to the death of a wicked man, here is, 1. The manner of his
passing out of the world. He is " driven away ;" namely, in his
death, as is clear from the opposite clause. He is forcibly thrust
out of his place in this world ; driven away as chaff before the wind.
2. The state he passeth away into. He dies also in a hopeless state ;
" but the righteous hath hope in his death ;" which plainly imports
the hopelessness of the wicked in their death. "VThereby is not
meant, that no wicked man shall have any hope at all when he is
dying, but shall die in despair. No : sometimes it is so indeed ; but
frequently it is otherwise ; foolish virgins may, and often do, hope
to the last breath. But the wicked man has no solid hope : as for
the delusive hopes he entertains himself with, death will root them
up, and he shall be for ever irretrievably miserable.
As to the death of a righteous man, he hath hope in his death.
This is ushered in with a " but," importing the removal of these
dreadful circumstances, with which the wicked man is attended, who
is driven away in his wickedness ; but the godly are not so. Not
so, in the manner of their passing out of the world. The righteous
are not driven away as chaff before the wind ; but led away as a
bride to the marriage chamber, carried away by the angels into Ab-
raham's bosom, Luke xvi. 22. Not so as to their state, when passing
out of this life. The righteous man dies, not in a sinful, but in a
holy state. He goes not away in his sin, but out of it. In his life
he was putting off the old man, changing his prison garments ; and
now the remaining rags of them are removed, and he is adorned
with robes of glory. Not in a hopeless, but a hopeful state. He
hath hope in his death ; he has the grace of hope, and the well-
founded expectation of better things than he ever had in this world:
and though the stream of his hope at death may run shallow, yet he
has still so much of it as makes him venture his eternal interests
upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Doctrine 1. The wicked dying, are driven away in their wicked-
ness, and in a hopeless state.
In speaking to this doctrine, I. I shall show how, and in what
sense, the wicked are " driven away in their wickedness" at death.
II. I shall prove the hopelessness of their state at death. And
then apply the whole.
I. How, and in what sense, the wicked are " driven away in their
wickedness." In discoursing of this matter, T shall briefly inquire,
1. "What is meant by their being " driven away." 2. Whence they
shall be dri^-en, and whither. 3. In what respects they may be said
to be driven away " in their wickedness." But before I proceed,
let me remark, that you are mistaken if you think that no persons
STATK OF THE WICKED IX OEATH. 24?
are to be called wicked, bat they who are avowedly vicious and pro-
fane ; as if the devil could dwell in none but those whose name is
Legion, In Scripture account, all who are not righteous, in the
manner hereafter explained, are reckoned wicked. Therefore the
the text divides the whole world into two sorts, " the righteous and
the wicked :" and you will see the same thing in Malachi iii. 18,
" Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the
wicked." Wherefore if you be not righteous, you are wicked. If
you have not an imputed righteousness, and also an implanted
righteousness, or holiness ; if you be yet in your natural state, unre-
generated, not united to Christ by faith ; however moral and blame-
less in the eyes of men your conversation may be, yon are the
wicked who shall be driven away in their wickedness, if death find
you in that state. Xow,
1. As to the meaning of this phrase, " driven away," there are
three things in it; the wicked shall be taken away suddenly, vio-
lently, and irresistibly.
(1.) Unrenewed men shall be taken away suddenly at death.
Not that all wicked men die suddenly ; nor that they are all wicked
that die so ; God forbid ! But, 1. Death commonly comes upon
them unexpectedly, and so surprises them, as the deluge surprised
the old world, though they were forewarned of it long before it
came ; and as travail cometh on a woman with child, with surpris-
ing suddenness, although looked for and expected, 1 Thess. v. 3.
Death seizes them, as a creditor doth his debtor, to hale him to pri-
son. Psalm Iv. 15, and that when they are not aware. Death comes
in, as a thief, at the window, and finds them full of busy thoughts
about this life which that very day perish. 2. Death always seizes
them unprepared for it ; the old house falls down about their ears,
before they have another provided. When death casts them to the
door, they have not where to lay their heads ; unless it be on a bed
of fire and brimstone. The soal and body are as it were hugging
one another in mutual embraces ; when death comes like a whirl-
wind, and separates them. 3. Death hurries them away in a mo-
ment to destruction, and makes a most dismal change : the man for
the most part never knows where he is, till "in hell he lift up his
eyes," Luke xvi. 23. The floods of wrath suddenly overwhelm his
soul ; and ere he is aware, he is plunged into the bottomless pit.
(2.) The unrenewed man is taken away out of the world violently.
Driving is a violent action; he is "chased out of the world," Job
xviii. 18. Fain would he stay, if he could ; but death drags him
away, like a malefactor to the execution. He sought no other por-
tion than the profits and pleasures of this world : he hath no other
248 STATE OF THE WICKED IX DEATH.
he really desires no other : how can he then go away out of it, if he
were not driven ?
Question. " But may not a wicked man be willing to die?" Answer.
He may indeed be willing to die ; but observe it is only in one
of three cases. 1. In a fit of passion, by reason of some trouble
that he is impatient to be rid of. Thus, many persons, when their
passion has got the better of their reason, and when, on that ac-
count they are most unfit to die, will be ready to cry, " 0 to be
gone !" But should their desire be granted, and death come at their
call, they would quickly shew they were not in earnest ; and that,
if they go they must be driven away against their will. 2. When
they are brim-full of despair may they be willing to die. Thus
Saul murdered himself; and Spira wished to be in hell, that he
might know the uttermost of what he believed he was to suff"3r. In
this manner men may seek after death, while it flees from them.
But fearful is the violence these undergo, whom the terrors of God
do thus drive. 3. When they are dreaming of happiness after
death. Foolish virgins, under the power of delusion, as to their
state, may be willing to die, having no fear of lying down in sorrow.
How many are there, who can give no scriptural ground for their
hope, who yet have no bands in their death ! Many are driven to
darkness sleeping : they go off like lambs, who would roar like
lions, did they but know what place they are going to ; though the
chariot in which they are, drive furiously to the depths of hell, yet
they fear not, because they are fast asleep.
(3.) The unregenerate man is taken away irresistably. He must
go, though sorely against his will. Death will take no refusal, nor
admit of any delay ; though the man has not lived half his days,
according to his own computation. If he will not bow, it will break
him. If he will not come forth, it will pull the house down about
his ears ; for there he must not stay. Although the physician
help, friends groan, the wife and children cry, and he himself use
his utmost efforts to retain the spirit, his soul is required of him ;
yield he must, and go where he shall never more see light.
2. Let us consider, whence they are driven, and whither. When
the wicked die, (1.) They are driven out of this world, where they
sinned, into the other world, where they must be judged, and receive
their particular sentences, Heb. ix. 27, " It is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment." They shall no more re-
turn to their beloved earth. Though their hearts are wedded to
their earthly enjoyments, they must leave them, they can carry no-
thing hence. How sorrowful must their departure be, when they
have nothing in view so good as that which they leave behind them!
STATE OF THE WIOKEB IN BEATII. 249
(2.) They are driven out of the society of the saiats on earth, into
the society of the damned in hell, Luke xvi. 22, 23, " The rich man
also died, and was buried. And in hell he lift up his eyes." What
a multitude of the devil's goats do now take place among Christ's
sheep ! but at death they shall be " led forth with the workers of
iniquity," Psalm cxyv. 5. There is a mixed multitude in this world,
but no mixture in the other ; each party is there set by themselves.
Though hypocrites grow here as tares among the wheat, death
will root them up, and they shall be bound in bundles for the
fire. (3.) They are driven out of time into eternity. While time
lasts with them, there is hope ; but when time goes, all hope goes
with it. Precious time is now lavishly spent : it lies so heavy on
the hands of many, that they think themselves obliged to take seve-
ral ways to drive away time. But beware of being at a loss what
to do in life : improve time for eternity, whilst you have it ; for ere
long death will drive it from you, and you from it, so as you shall
never meet again. (4.) They are driven out of their specious pre-
tences to piety. Death strips them of the splendid robes of a fair
profession, with which some of them are adorned ; and turns them
off the stage, in the rags of a wicked heart and life. The word
" hypocrite" properly signifies a stage-player, who appears to be
what indeed he is not. This world is the stage on which these chil-
dren of the devil personate the children of God. Their shew of
religion is the player's coat, under which one must look, who will
judge of them aright. Death turns them out of their coat, and they
appear in their native dress : it unveils them, and takes off their
mask. There are none in the other world, who pretend to be better
than they really are. Depraved nature acts in the regions of horror
undisguised. (5.) They are driven away from all means of grace ;
and are set beyond the line, quite out of all prospect of mercy.
There is no more an opportunity to buy oil for the lamp ; it is gone
out at death, and can never be lighted again. There may be offers
of mercy and peace made, after they are gone; but they are to
others, not to them : there are no such offers in the place to which
they are driven ; these offers are only made in that place from
which they are driven away.
3. In what respects may they be said to be driven away in their
wickedness ? Answer. 1, In respect of their being driven away in
their sinful unconverted state. Having lived enemies to God, they
die in a state of enmity to him : for none are brought into the eter-
nal state of consummate happiness, but by the way of the state of
grace in this life. The child that is dead in the womb, is born dead,
and is cast out of the womb into the grave : so he who is dead while
Vol. VIII. Q
250 STATE OF THE WICKED IN DEATH.
he liveth, or is spiritually dead, is cast forth of the womb of time,
in the same state of death, into the pit of utter misery. 0 miserable
death, to die in the gall of bitterness, and bond of iniquity ! it had
been incomparably better for such as die thus, that they had never
been born. 2. In regard that they die sinning, acting wickedly
against God, in contradiction to the divine law; for they can do
nothing but sin while they live : so death takes them in the very
act of sinning; violently draws them from the embraces of their
lusts, and drives them away to the tribunal, to receive tbeir sen-
tence. It is a remarkable expression. Job xxxvi. 14, " They die in
youth :" the marginal reading is, " their soul dieth in youth ;" their
lusts being lively, their desires vigorous, and expectations big, as is
common in youth. "And their life is among the unclean;" or,
" And the company" or herd " of them" dieth " among the Sodom-
ites," namely, is taken away in the heat of their sin and wicked-
ness, as the men of Sodom were, Gren. xix ; Luke xvii. 28, 29. 3.
As they are driven away, loaded with the guilt of all their sins ;
this is the winding-sheet that shall lie down with them in the dust.
Job XX. 11. Their works follow them into the other world; they
go away with the yoke of their transgressions wreathed about their
necks. Guilt is a bad companion in life, but how terrible will it be
in death ! It lies now, perhaps, like cold brimstone on their be-
numbed consciences : but when death opens the way for sparks of
divine vengeance, like fire, to fall upon it, it will make dreadful
flames in the conscience, in which the soul will be, as it were, wrapt
up for ever. 4. The wicked are driven away in their wickedness,
in so far as they die under the absolute power of their wickedness.
"While there is hope, there is some restraint on the worst of men ;
those moral endoM'menls, which God gives to a number of men, for
the benefit of mankind in this life, are so many restraints upon the
impetuous wickedness of human nature. But all hope being cut off,
and these gifts withdrawn, the wickedness of the wicked will then
arrive at its perfection. As the seeds of grace, sown in the hearts
of the elect, come to their full maturity at death ; so wicked and
hellish dispositions in the reprobate, come then to their highest
pitch. Their prayers to God will then be turned to horrible curses,
and their praises to hideous blasphemies, Matth. xxii. 13, " There
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This gives a dismal, but
correct view of the state of the wicked in another world.
II. I shall discover the hopelessness of the state of unrenenewed
men at death. It appears to be very hopeless, if we consider these
four things.
1. Death cuts oft' their hopes and prospects of peace and pleasure
STATE OF THE WIOKKD IN DEATH. 251
in this life, Luke xii. 19, 20, " Soul, thou hast much goods laid up
for many years ; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But
God said unto him. Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required
of thee : then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?"
They look for great matters in this world, they hope to increase
their wealth, to see their families prosper, and to live at ease ; but
death comes like a stormy wind, and shakes olf all their fond hoj^es,
like green fruit from off a tree, "When he is about to fill his
belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him," Job xx. 23.
He may begin a web of contrivances for advancing his worldly in-
terest ; but before he gets it wrought out, death comes and cuts it
off. " His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth ; in that
very day his thoughts perish," Psalm cxlvi. 4.
2. When death comes, they have no solid ground to hope for eter-
nal happiness. " For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he
hath gained, when God taketh away his soul ?" Job xxvii. 8.
"Whatever hopes they fondly entertain, they are not founded on
God's word, which is the only sure ground of hope ; if they knew
their own case, they would see themselves only happy in a dream.
And indeed what hope can they have ? The law is plain against
them, and condemns them. The curses of it, those cords of death,
are about them already. The Saviour whom they slighted, is now
their Judge ; and their Judge is tlieir enemy. How then can they
hope ? They have bolted the door of mercy against themselves, by
their unbelief. They have despised the remedy, and therefore must
die without mercy. They have no saving interest in Jesus Christ,
the only channel of conveyance, through which mercy flows : and
therefore they can never taste it. The sword of justice guards the
door of mercy, so as none can enter in, but the members of the mys-
tical body of Christ, over whose head is a covert of atoning blood,
tlie Mediator's blood. These indeed may pass without a harm, for
justice has nothing to require of them. But others cannot pass,
since they are not in Christ : death comes to them with the sting in
it, the sting of unpardoned guilt. It is armed against them with all
the force which the sanction of a holy law can give it, 1 Cor. xv,
56, " The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law."
When that law was given on Sinai, " the whole mount quaked
greatly," Exod. xix. 18. When the Redeemer was making satis-
faction for the elect's breaking it, " the earth did quake, and the
rocks rent," Matt, xxvii. 51. What possible ground of hope, then,
is there to the wicked man, when death comes upon him armed witii
the force of this law ? How can he escape that lire, which " burnt
unto the midst of heaven?" Dent. iv. 11. How shall he be able to
q2
252 STATE OF THE- WICKED IX DEATH.
stand in that smoke, that " ascended as the smoke of a furnace ?"
Exod. xix. 11. How will he endure the terrible "thunders and
lightnings," ver. 17, and dwell in " the darkness, clouds, and thick
darkness ?" Deut. iv. 11. All these comparisons heaped together
do but faintly represent the fearful tempest of wrath and indigna-
tion, which shall pursue the wicked to the lowest hell ; and for ever
abide on those who are driven to darkness at death.
4. Death roots up their delusive hopes of eternal happiness ; then
it is that their covenant with death and agreement with hell, is bro-
ken. They are awakened out of their golden dreams, and at length
lift up their eyes; Job viii. 14, " "Whose hope shall be cut off, and
whose trust shall be a spider's web." They trust that all shall be
well with them after death : but their trust is as a web woven out
of their own bowels, with a great deal of art and industry. They
wrap themselves up in their hope, as the spider wraps herself in her
web. But it is a weak and slender defence ; for however it may
withstand the threatenings of the word of God, death, that besom of
destruction, will sweep them and it both away, so as there shall not
be the least shred of it left ; and he, who this moment will not let
his hope go, shall nest moment be utterly hopeless. Death over-
turns the house built on the sand; it leaves no man under the
power of delusion.
4. Death makes their state absolutely and for ever hopeless.
Matters cannot be retrieved and amended after death. For, 1.
Time once gone can never be recalled. If cries or tears, price or
pains, could bring time back again, the wicked man might have
hope in his death. But tears of blood will not prevail ; nor will his
groans for millions of ages cause it to return. The sun will not
stand still for the sluggard to awake and enter on his journey ; and
when once it is gone down, he needs not expect the night to be
turned into day for his sake : he must lodge through the long night
of eternity, where his time left him. 2. There is no returning to
this life, to amend what is amiss ; it is a state of probation and trial,
which terminates at death ; therefore we cannot return to it again ;
it is but once we thus live, and once we die. Death carries the
wicked man to "his own place," Acts i. 25. This life is our work-
ing day. Death closes our day and our work together. "We may
admit the wicked might have some hope in their death, if, after
death has opened their eyes, they could return to life, and have but
the trial of one Sabbath, one offer of Christ, one day, or but one
hour more, to make up their peace with God : but " man lieth down,
and riseth not till the heavens be no more ; they shall not awake,
nor be raised out of their sleep," Job xiv. 12. 3. In the other
CAUTIONS AGAINST FALSE HOPES OF HEAVEN. 253
world, men have no access to get their ruined state and condition
retrieved, though they be ever so desirous of it. " For there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither
thou goest," Eccl. ix. 10. Now a man may flee from the wrath to
come ; he may get into a refuge. But when once death has done its
work, " the door is shut ;" there are no more offers of mercy, no
more pardons : where the tree is fallen, there it must lie.
Let what has been said be carefully pondered ; and that it may
be of use, let me exhort you.
First, To take heed that you entertain no hopes of heaven, but
what are built on a solid foundation: tremble to think what fair
hopes of happiness death sweeps away, like cobwebs ; how the hopes
of many are cut oif, when they seem to themselves to be at the very
threshold of heaven ; how, in the moment they expected to be car-
ried by angels into Abraham's bosom, into the regions of bliss and
peace, they are carried by devils into the society of the damned in
hell, into the place of torment, and regions of horror. I beseech
you to beware, 1. Of a hope built upon ground that was never
cleared. The wise builder digged deep, Luke vi. 48. Were your
hopes of heaven never shaken ; but have you had good hopes all
your days ? Alas for it ! you may see the mystery of your case
explained, Luke xi. 21, "When a strong man armed keepeth his
palace, his goods are at peace. But if they have been shaken, take
heed lest some breaches only have been made in the old building,
which you have got repaired again, by ways and means of your own.
I assure you, that your hope, however fair a building it is, is not fit
to trust to, unless your old hopes have been razed, and you have
built on a foundation quite new. 2. Beware of that hope which
looks bright in the dark, but loses all its lustre when it is set in the
light of God's word, when it is examined and tried by the touch-
stone of divine revelation, John iii. 20, 21, " For every one that
doth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. But he that doth the truth, cometh to the
light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought
in God." That hope, which cannot abide scripture trial, but sinks
when searched into by sacred truth, is a delusion, and not a true
hope : for God's word is always a friend to the graces of God's Spi-
rit, and an enemy to delusion. 3. Beware of that hope, which stands
without being supported by scriptural evidences. Alas ! many are
big with hopes, who cannot give, because they really have not, any
scripture grounds for them. Thou hopest that all will be well with
thee after death : but what word of God is it, on which thou hast
been caused to hope? Psalm cxix. 49. What scriptural evidence hast
254 EXHORTATIOX TO SINGERS,
thou to prove that thy hope is not the hope of the hypocrite ? Wliat
hast thou, after impartial self-examination, as in the sight of God,
found in thyself, which the word of God determines to be a sure
evidence of his right to eternal life, who is possessed of it ? Num-
bers are ruined with such hopes as stand unsupported by scriptural
evidence. Men are fond and tenacious of these hopes ; but death
will throw them down, and leave the self-deceiver hopeless. 4. Be-
ware of that hope of heaven, which doth not prepare and dispose
you for heaven, which never makes your soul more holy, 1 John iii.
3, "Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even
as he is pure." The hope of the most part of men, is rather a hope
to be free from pain and torment in another life, than a hope of
true happiness, the nature whereof is not understood and discerned :
therefore it rests in sloth and indolence, and does not excite to mor-
tification and a heavenly life. So far are they fi'om hoping aright
for heaven, that they must own, if they speak their genuine senti-
ments, removing out of this world into any other place whatever,
is rather their fear than their hope. The glory of the heavenly city
does not at all draw their hearts upwards to it, nor do they lift up
their heads with joy, in the prospect of arriving at it. If they had
the true hope of the marriage day, they would, as the bride, the
" Lamb's wife," be "making themselves ready for it," Rev. xix. 7.
Eut their hopes are produced by their sloth, and their sloth is
nourished by their hopes. Oh, Sirs, as you would not be driven
away helpless in your death, beware of these hopes ! Raze them
now, and build on a new foundation, lest death leave not one stone
of them upon another, and you never be able to hope any more.
Secondly, Hasten, 0 sinners, out of your wickedness, out of your
sinful state, and out of your wicked life, if you woxild not at death
be driven away in your wickedness. Remember the fatal end of
the wicked as the text represents it. I know there is a great dif-
ference in the death of the wicked, as to some circumstances : but
all of them, in their death, agree in this, that they are driven away
in their wickedness. Some of them die resolutely, as if they
scorned to be afraid ; some in raging despair, so filled with horror
that they cry out as if they were already in hell; others in sullen
despondency, oppressed with fears, so that their hearts sink within
them, at the remembrance of misspent time, and the view which they
have of eternity, having neither head nor heart to do anything for
their own relief. And others die stupidly; they live like beasts,
and they die like beasts, without any concern on their spirits, about
their eternal state. They groan under their bodily distress but have
no sense of the danger of their soul. One may, with almost as much
STATE OF TDK GODLY JN DEATH. 255
prospect of success, speak to a stone, as speak to them ; vain is the
attempt to teach them ; nothing that can be said moves them. To
discourse to them, either of the joys of heaven on the torments of
hell, is to plough on a rock, or beat the air. Some die like the
foolish virgins, dreaming of heaven ; their foreheads are steeled
against the fears of hell, with presumptuous hopes of heaven. The
business of those who would be useful to them, is not to answer
doubts about the case of their souls, but to discover to them their
own false hopes. But which way soever the unconverted man dies,
he is "driven away in his wickedness." 0 dreadful case ! Oh, let
the consideration of so horrid a departure out of this world, move
you to flee to Jesus Christ, as the all-sufficient Saviour, an almighty
Redeemer. Let it prevail to drive you out of your wickedness, to
holiness of heart and life. Though you reckon it pleasant to live
in wickedness, yet you cannot but own, it is bitter to die in it. And
if you leave it not in time, you must go on in your wickedness to
hell, the proper place of it, that it may be set there on its own base.
For when you are passing out of this world, all your sins, from the
first to the last of them, will swarm about you, hang upon you, ac-
company you to the other world, and, as so many furies, surround
you there for ever.
Thirdly, 0 be concerned for others, especially for your relations,
that they may not continue in their sinful natural state, but be
brou2:ht into a state of salvation ; kst they be driven away in their
wickedness at death. What would you not do to prevent any of
your friends dying an untimely and violent death ? But, alas ! do
you not see them in hazard of being driven away in their wicked-
ness ? Is not death approaching them, even the youngest of them?
And are they not strangers to true Christianity, remaining in that
•state which they came into the world? Oh ! make haste to pluck
the brand out of the fire, lest it be burned to ashes. The death of
relations often leaves a sting in the hearts of those they leave be-
hind them, because they did not do for their souls as they had op-
portunity ; and because the opjiortunity is for ever taken out of their
hands.
Doctrine II. The state of the godly in death is a hopeful state.
We have seen the dark side of the cloud looking towards ungodly
men, passing out of the world; let us now take a view of the bright
side of it, shinning on the godly, as they enter on their eternal state.
In discoursing on this subject, I shall confirm this doctrine, answer
an objection against it, and then make some practical improvement
of the whole.
For confirmation, let it be observed, that although the passage
206 STATE OF THE GODLY IK DEATH.
out of this world by death has a frightful aspect to poor mortals,
and to miscarry in it mnst needs be of fatal consequence ; yet the
following circumstances make the state of the godly in their death,
happy and hopeful.
1. They hare a trusty good Friend before them in the other world.
Jesus Christ, their best Friend, is Lord of the land to which death
carries them. "When Joseph sent for his father to come down to
him to Egypt, telling him, " God had made him lord over all
Egypt," Gen. xlv. 9, "And Jacob "saw the waggons Joseph had
sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob revived," ver. 27. He resolves
to undertake the journey. I think, when the Lord calls a godly
man out of the world, he sends him such glad tidings, and such a
kind invitation into the other world, that, he has faith to believe
it, his spirit mnst revive, when he sees the waggon of death which
comes to carry hira thither. It is true, indeed, he has a weighty
trial to undergo, — after death the judgment. But the case of the
godly is altogether hopeful ; for the Lord of the land is their hug-
band, and their husband is the judge ; " The Father hath committed
all judgment unto the Son," John v. 22. Surely the case of the wife
is hopeful, when her own husband is her judge, even such a husband
as hates putting away. No husband is so loving and so tender of
his spouse, as the Lord Christ is of his. One would think it would
be a very bad land, which a wife would not willingly go to, where
her husband is the ruler and judge. Moreover, their judge is the
advocate, 1 John ii. 1, " We have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous." Therefore they need not fear their
being put back, and falling into condemnation. What can be more
favourable ? Can they think, that he who x>^eads their cause, will
himself pass sentence against them ? Yet farther, their advocate is
their Redeemer ; they are " redeemed with the precious blood of
Christ," 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. So when he pleads for them, he is plead-
ing his own cause. Though an advocate may be careless of the in-
terest of one who employs hira, yet surely he will do his utmost to
defend his own right, which he has purchased with his money : and
shall not their advocate defend the purchase of his own blood?
But more than all that, their Redeemer is their head, and they are
his members, Eph. v. 23, 30. Though one were so silly as to let his
own purchase go, without standing up to defend his right, yet sorely
he will not part with a limb of his own body. Is not their case
then hopeful in death, who are so closely linked and allied to the
Lord of the other world, who has " the keys of hell and of death ?"
2. They shall have a safe passage to another world. They must
indeed go through "the valley of the shadow of death ;" but though
STATE OF THE GODLY IK DEATH. 257
it be in itself a dark and shady vale, it shall be a valley of hope to
them : they shall not be driven through it, but be as men in perfect
safety, who fear no evil, Psalm xxiii, 4. Why should they thus
fear ? They have the Lord of the land's safe conduct, his pass
sealed with his own blood ; namely, the blessed covenant, which is
the saint's death-bed comfort, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, " Although my house
be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting cove-
nant, ordered in all things and sure : for this is all my salvation,
and all ray desire, although he make it not to grow." "Who then
can harm them ? It is safe riding in Christ's chariot, Cant. iii. 9,
both through life and death. They have good and honourable at-
tendants, a guard, even a guard of angels. These encamp about
them in the time of their life ; and surely will not leave them in the
day of their death. These happy ministering spirits are attendants
on their Lord's bride, and will doubtless convey her safe home to
his house. "When friends in mournful mood stand by the saint's bed-
side, waiting to see him draw his last breath, his soul is waited for
by angels, to be carried into Abraham's bosom, Luke xvi. 22. The
captain of the saint's salvation is the captain of this holy guard : he
was their guide even unto death, and he will be their guide through
it too, Psalm xxiii. 4, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me."
They may, without fear, pass that river, being confident it shall not
overflow them ; and they may walk through that fire, being sure
they shall not be burnt by it.
Death can do them no harm. It cannot even hurt their bodies :
for though it separate the soul from the body, it cannot separate the
body from the Lord Jesus Christ. Even death is to them but sleep
in Jesus, 1 Thess. iv. 14. They continue members of Christ, though
in a grave. Their dust is precious dust ; laid up in the grave as in
their Lord's cabinet. They lie in a grave mellowing, as precious
fruit laid up to be brought forth to him at the resurrection. The
husbandman has corn in his barn, and corn lying in the ground: the
latter is more precious to him than the former, because he looks to
get it returned with increase. Even so the dead bodies of the saints
are valued by their Saviour : they are " sown in corruption," to be
" raised in incorruption" ; " sown in dishonour," to be " raised in
glory," 1 Cor. xv. 42, 43. It cannot hurt their souls. It is with
the souls of the saints at death, as with Paul and his company in
their voyage, whereof we have the history. Acts, chap, xxvii. The
ship was broken to pieces, but the passengers got all safe to land.
"When the dying saint's speech is stopped, his eyes set, and his last
breath drawn, the soul gets safe away into the heavenly paradise,
258 STATE OF THE GODLY IX DEATU.
leaving the body to return to its earth, but in the joyful hope of a
re-union at its glorious resurrection. — But how can death hurt the
godly ? it is a foiled enemy : if it cast them down, it is only that
they may rise more glorious. " Our Saviour Jesus Christ hath abo-
lished death," 2 Tim. i. 10. The soul and life of it is gone: it is but
a walking shade that may fright, but cannot hurt saints : it is only
the shadow of death to them : it is not the thing itself; their dying is
but as dying, or somewhat like dying. The apostle tells us, " It is
Christ that died," Rom. viii. 34. Stephen, the first Christian
martyr, though stoned to death, yet only fell asleep. Acts vii. 60.
Certainly the nature of death is quite changed, with respect to the
saints. It is not to them, what it was to Jesus Christ their head: it
is not the venomed ruining thing, wrapt up in the sanction of
the first covenant. Gen. ii. 17, " In the day thou eatest thereof, thou
shalt surely die." It comes to the godly without a sting: they
may meet it with that salutation, " 0 death, where is thy sting ? Is
this Mara ? Is this bitter death ? It went out full into the world,
when the first Adam opened the door to it, but the second Adam
hath brought it again empty to his own people. I feel a sting, may
the dying saint say : yet it is but a bee sting, stinging only through
the skin : but, 0 death, where is thy sting, thine old sting, the ser-
pent's sting, that stings to the heart and soul ? The sting of death
is sin : but that is taken away. If death arrest the saint, and carry
him before the Judge, to answer for the debt he contracted, the debt
will be found paid by the glorious Surety ; and he has the discharge
to shew. The thorn of guilt is pulled out of the man's conscience ;
and his name is blotted out of the black roll, and written among the
living in Jerusalem. It is true, it is a great journey through the
valley of the shadow of death : but the saint's burden is taken away
from his back, his iniquity is pardoned, he may walk at ease : " No
lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast :" the redeemed may
walk at leisure there, free from all apprehensions of danger.
3. They shall have a joyful entrance into the other world. Their
arrival in the regions of bliss, will be celebrated with rapturous
hymns of praise to their glorious Redeemer. A dying day is a good
day to a godly man. Yea, it is his best day ; it is better to him
than his birth-day, or than the most joyous day which he ever had
on earth. " A good name," says the wise man, is "better than pre-
cious ointment : and the day of death, than the day of one's birth,"
Eccl. vii. 1. The notion of the immortality of the soul, and of fu-
ture happiness, which obtained among some pagan nations, had won-
derful eifects on them. Some of them, when they mourned for the
dead, did it in women's apparel ; that, being moved with the inde-
STATE OF THE GODLY IX DEATH. 259
cency of the garb, they might the sooner lay aside their monrning.
Others buried them without any lamentation or mourning; but had
a sacrifice, and a feast for friends, upon that occasion. Some were
wont to mourn at births, and rejoice at burials. — But the practice of
some Indian nations is yet more strange, where, upon the husband's
decease, his wife, or wives, with a cheerful countenance, enter the
flames prepared for the husband's corpse. But however false notions
of a future state, assisted by pride, affectation of applause, appre-
hensions of difficulties in this life, and such like principles proper to
depraved human nature, may influence rude uncultivated minds,
when strengthened by tlie arts of hell ; 0 what solid joy and conso-
lation may they have, who are true Christians, being in Christ, who
" hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel !" 2
Tim. i. 10. Death is one of those "all things," that " work together
for good to them that love God," Rom. viii. 28. When the body
dies, the soul is perfected : the body of death goes off, at the death
of the body. — What harm did the jailer to Pharaoh's butler, when he
opened the prison door to him, and let him out? Is the bird in worse
case, when at liberty, than when confined in a cage ? Thus, and no
worse, are the souls of the saints treated by death. It comes to the
godly man, as Haman came to Mordecai, with the royal apparel and
the horse, Esther vi. 11. with commission to do them honour, how-
ever awkardly it be performed. I question not but Haman per-
formed the ceremony with a very ill mien, a pale face, a downcast
look, and a cloudy countenance, and like one who came to hang
him, rather than to honour him. But he whom the king delighted
to honour, must be honoured; and Haman, Mordecai's grand enemy,
must be the man employed to put this honour upon him. Glory,
glory, glory, blessing and praise to our Redeemer, our Saviour, our
Mediator, by whose death, grim devouring death is made to do such
a good oflice to those whom it might otherwise have hurried away in
their wickedness, to utter and eternal destruction! A dying day is,
in itself, a joyful day to the godly; it is their redemption day, when
the captives are delivered, when the prisoners are set free. It is the
day of the pilgrims coming home from their pilgrimage; the day in
which the heirs of glory return from their travels, to their own
country, and their Father's house ; and enter into actual possession
of the glorious inheritance. It is their marriage day : now is the
time of espousals ; but then the marriage is consummated, and a
marriage feast begun, which has no end. If so, is not the state of
the godly in death, a hopeful state ?
Objection. "But if the state of the godly in their death be so hope-
ful, how comes it to pass that many of them, when dying, are full of
260 AN OBJECTIOIf AKSWEEED.
fears, and have little hope ?" Answer. It must be owned, that saints
do not all die in one and the same manner ; there is a diversity
among them, as well as among the wicked ; yet the worst case of a
dying saint is indeed a hopeful one. Some die triumphantly, in a
full assurance of faith. 2 Timothy iv. 6 — 8, " The time of my de-
parture is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a
crown of righteousness." They get a taste of the joys of heaven,
while here on earth ; and begin the songs of Zion, while yet in a
strange land. Others die in a solid dependence of faith on their
Lord and Saviour : though they cannot sing triumphantly, yet
they can, and will say confidently, "The Lord is their God." Though
they cannot triumph over death, with old Simeon, having Christ
in his arms, and saying, " Lord now lettest thou thy servant
depart in peace, according to thy word : for mine eyes have seen
thy salvation," Luke ii. 29, 30 ; yet they can say with dying Jacob,
" I have waited for thy salvation, 0 Lord," Gen. xlix. 18. His left
hand is under their head, to support them, though his right hand
doth not embrace them : they firmly believe, though they are not
filled with joy in believing. They can plead the covenant, and hang
by the promise, although their house is not so with God as they
could wish. But the dying day of some saints may be like that
day mentioned in Zechariah xiv. 7, " Not day, nor night." They
may die under great doubts and fears ; setting as it were in a cloud,
and going to heaven in a mist. They may go mourning without the
sun, and never put oflt their spirit of heaven, till death stripes them
of it. They may be carried to heaven through the confines of hell ;
and may be pursued by the devouring lion, even to the very gates
of the new Jerusalem ; and may be compared to a ship almost
■wrecked in sight of the harbour, which yet gets safe into her port,
1 Cor. iii. 15, " If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer
loss : but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." There is
safety amidst their fears, but danger in the strong confidence of the
wicked ; and there is a blessed seed of gladness in their greatest
sorrows : " Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the
upright in heart," Psalm xcvii. 11.
Now, saints are liable to such perplexity in their death, because,
though they are Christians indeed, yet they are men of like passions
with others ; and death is a frightful object in itself, whatever dress
it appears in : the stern countenance with which it looks at mortals,
can hardly fail of causing them to shrink. Moreover, the saints are
of all men the most jealous of themselves. They think of eternity,
and of a tribunal, more deeply than others do ; with them it is a
UNEASINESS OP SAINTS IN VIEW OF DEATH, 261
more serious thing to die, than the rest of mankind are aware of.
They know the deceits of the heart, the subtleties of depraved hu-
man nature, better than others do. Therefore they may have much
to do to keep up hope ou a death-bed ; while others pass off quietly,
like sheep to the slaughter; and the rather, that Satan, who uses
all his art to support the hopes of the hypocrite, will do his utmost
to mar the peace, and increase the fears, of the saints. And finally,
the bad frame of spirit, and ill condition, in which death sometimes
seizes a true Christian, may cause this perplexity. By his being iu
the state of grace, he is indeed always habitually prepared for
death, and his dying safely is ensured : but yet there is more ne-
cessary to his actual preparation and dying comfortably, his spirit
must be iu good condition too.
Wherefore there are three cases, in which death cannot but be
very uncomfortable to a child of God. 1. If it seize him at a time
when the guilt of son^e particular sin, unrepented of, is lying on his
conscience : and death comes on that very account, to take him out
of the land of the living ; as was the case of many of the Corinthian
professors, 1 Cor. xi. 30, " For this cause," namely, of unworthy
communicating, " many are weak and sickly among you, and many
sleep." If a person is surprised with the approach of death, while
lying under the guilt of some unpardoned sin, it cannot but cause a
mighty consternation. 2. When death catches him sleeping. The
midnight cry must be frightful to sleeping virgins. The man who
lies in a ruinous house, and awakes not till the timbers begin to
crack, and the stones to drop down about his ears, may indeed get
out of it safely, but not without fears of being crushed by its fall.
When a Christian has been goiug on in a course of security and
backsliding, and awakens not till death comes to his bedside, it is
no wonder that he gets a fearful awakening. 3. When he has lost
sight of his saving interest in Christ, and cannot produce evidences
of his title to heaven. It is hard to meet death without some evi-
dence of a title to eternal life at hand; hard to go through the
dark valley without the candle of the Lord shinning upon the
head. It is a terrible adventure to launch out into eternity, when
a man can make no better of it than a leap in the dark, not know-
ing where he shall light, whether in heaven or hell.
Nevertheless the state of the saints, in their death, is always in
itself hopeful. The presumptuous hopes of the ungodly, in their
death, cannot make their state hopeful ; neither can the fears of a
saint make his state hopeless: for God judgeth according to the
truth of the thing, not according to men's opinions about it. There-
fore the saints can be no more altogether without hope, than they
262 UNEASINESS OF SAINTS IN VIEW OF DEATII.
can be altogether without faith. Their faith may be very weak,
but it fails not ; and their hope very low, yet they will, and do
hope to the end. Even while the godly seem to be carried away
with the stream of doubts and fears, there remains still as much
hope as determines them to lay hold on the tree of life that grows
on the banks of the river, Jonah ii. 4, " Then I said, I am cast out
of thy sight: yet I will look again toward thy temple."
Use. This speaks comfort to the godly against the fear of death.
A godly man may be called a happy man before his death, because,
whatever befalls him in life, he shall certainly be happy at death.
Ton who are in Christ, who are true Christians, have hope in your
end ; and such a hope as may comfort you against all those fears
which arise from the consideration of a dying hour. This I shall
branch out, in answering some cases briefly :
Case 1. " The prospect of death," will some of tlie saints say,
" is uneasy to me, not knowing what shall become of my family
when I am gone." Answer. The righteous hath hope in his death,
as to his family, as well as himself. Although you have little, for
the present, to live upon ; which has been the condition of many of
Grod's chosen ones, 1 Cor. iv. 11, " We," namely, the apostles,
" both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have
no certain dwelling-place ;" and though you have nothing to leave
them, as was the case of that son of the prophets, who feared the
Lord, and yet died in debt which he was unable to pay, as his poor
widow represents, 2 Kings iv. 2 ; yet you have a good Friend to
leave them to : a covenant God, to whom you may coufldently com-
mit them, Jer. xlix. 11, " Leave thy fatherless children, I will pre-
serve them alive ; and let thy widows trust in me." The world can
bear witness of signal settlements made upon the children of pro-
vidence ; such as by their pious parents have been cast upon Grod's
providential care. It has been often remarked, that they wanted
neither provision nor education. Moses is an eminent instance of
this. He, though he was an outcast infant, Exod. ii. 3, yet became
learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, Acts vii. 22, and became
king in Jeshurun, Dout. xxxiii. 5. 0 ! may we not be ashamed,
that we do not confidently trust him with the concerns of our families,
to whom, as our Saviour and Redeemer, we have committed our
eternal interests ?
Case IL " Death will take us away from our dear friends ; yea,
we shall not see the Lord in the land of the living, in the blessed
ordinances." Answer. It will take you to your best Friend, the
Lord Christ. The friends you leave behind you, if they be indeed
persons of worth, you will meet again, when they come to heaven ;
UNEASINESS OF SAINTS IN VIEW OF DEATH. 263
and you will never be separated any more. If death take you
away from the temple below, it will carry yon to the temple above.
It will indeed take you from the streams, but it will set you down
by the fountain. Tf it put out your candle, it will carry you where
there is no night, where there is an eternal day.
Case III. " I have so much to do, in time of health, to satisfy
myself as to my interest in Christ, about my being a real Christian,
SI regenerate man, that I judge it is almost impossible I should die
comfortably." Answer. If it is thus with you, then double your
diligence to make your calling and election sure. Endeavour to
grow in knowledge, and walk closely with God : be diligent in self-
examination ; and pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit, whereby you
may know the things freely given you of God. If you are enabled,
by the power and Spirit of Christ, thus diligently to prosecute your
spiritual concerns, though the time of your life be neither day nor
night, yet at evening time it may be light. Many weak Christians
indulge doubts and fears about their spiritual state, as if they
placed at least some part of religion in this imprudent practice ;
but towards the end of life, they think and act in another manner.
The traveller, who reckons that he has time to spare, may stand still
debating with himself, whether this or the other be the right way :
but when the sun begins to set, he is forced to lay aside his scruples,
and resolutely to go forward in the road which he judges to be the
right one, lest he lie all night in the open fields. Thus some Chris-
tians, who perplex themselves much, throughout the course of their
lives, with jealous doubts and fears, content themselves when they
come to die, with such evidences of the safety of their state, as they
could not be satisfied with before ; and by disputing less against
themselves, and believing more, court the peace they formerly
rejected, and gain it too.
Case IV. " I am under a sad decay, in respect of my spiritual
condition." Answer. Bodily consumptions may make death easy :
but it is not so in spiritual decays. I will not say, that a godly
man cannot be easy in such a case, when he dies, but I believe it is
rarely so. Ordinarily, I suppose a cry comes to awaken sleeping
virgins, before death comes. Samson is set to grind in the prison,
till his locks grow again. David and Solomon fell under great spi-
ritual decays; but before they died, they recovered their spiritual
strength and vigour. However, bestir yourselves without delay,
to strengthen the things that remain : your fright will be the less,
for being awakened from spiritual sleep before death comes to your
bedside : and you ought to lose no time, seeing you know not how
soon death may seize you.
264: UNEASINESS OF SAINTS IN VIEW OF DEATH.
Case V. " It is terrible to think of the other world, that world
of spirits, which I have so little acquaintance with. — Answer. Thy
best friend is Lord of that other world. Abraham's bosom is kindly-
even to those who never saw his face. After death, thy soul be-
comes capable of converse with the blessed inhabitants of that other
world. The spirits of just men made perfect, wei-e once such as thy
spirit now is. And as for the angels, however superior their nature
in the rank of beings, yet our nature is dignified above theirs,
in the man Christ, and they are all of them thy Lord's servants,
and so thy fellow-servants.
Case VL " The pangs of death are terrible." Answer. Yet not
so terrible as pangs of conscience, caused by a piercing sense of
guilt, and apprehensions of divine wrath, with which I suppose thee
to be not altogether unacquainted. But who would not endure
bodily sickness, that the soul may become sound, and every whit
whole ? Each pang of death will set sin a step nearer the door; and
with the last breath, the body of sin will breathe out its last. The
pains of death will not last long ; and the Lord thy God will not
leave, but support thee under them.
Case YII. " But I am like to be cut off in the midst of my days."
Answer. Do not complain, you will be the sooner at home : you
thereby have the advantage of your fellow-labourers, who were at
work before you in the vineyard. God, in the course of his provi-
dence, hides some of his saints early in the grave, that they may be
taken away from the evil to come. An early removal out of this
world, prevents sin and misery. They have no ground of complaint,
who get the residue of their years in Iramanuel's land. Surely thou
shalt live as long as thou hasf work cut out for thee by the great
Master, to be done for hira in this world : and when tbat is at an
end, it is high time to be gone.
Case YIII. " I am afraid of sudden death." Answer. Thou mayst
indeed die so. Good Eli died suddenly, 1 Sam. iv. 18. Yet death
found hira watching, ver. 14 : " Watch, therefore, for ye know not
what hour the Lord doth come," Matt. xxiv. 42. Be not afraid, it
is an inexpressible comfort, that death, come when it will, can never
catch thee out of Christ; and therefore can never seize thee, as a jailor,
to hurry thee into the prison of hell. Sudden death may hasten
and facilitate thy passage to heaven, but can do thee no prejudice.
Case IX. " I am afraid it will be my lot to die wanting the exer-
cise of reason." Answer. I make no question but a child of God, a
true Christian, may die in this case. But what harm ? There is no
hazard in it, as to his eternal state : a disease at death may divest
him of his reason, but not of his religion. When a man, going a
A
RECONCiLIATION OF SAINTS Tu DEATH. 265
long voyage, has put bis aflfairs iu order, and put all his goods
aboard, he himself may be carried on board the ship sleeping : all
is safe with him, although he knows not where he is, till he awake
in the ship. Even so the godly man, who dies in this case, may die
uncomfortably, but not unsafely.
Case X. " I am naturally timorous, and the very thoughts of
death are terrible to me." Answer. The less you think on death,
the thoughts of it will be the more frightful : make it familiar to you
by frequent meditations upon it, and you may thereby quiet your
fears. Look at the white and bright side of the cloud : take faith's
view of the city that hath foundations : so shall you see hope iu
your death. Be duly aftected with the body of sin and death, the
frequent interruptions of your communion with God, and with the
glory which dwells on the other side of death : this will contribute
much to remove slavish fear.
It is a pity that saints should be so fond of life as they often are :
they ought to be always on good terms with death. When matters
are duly considered, it might be well expected that every child of
God, every regenerate man, should generously profess concerning
this life, what Job did, chap. vii. 16, " I loath it, I would not live
always." In order to gain their hearts to this desirable temper, I
offer the following additional considerations.
1. Consider the sinfulness that attends life in this world. While
you live here, you sin, and see others sinning. You breathe infec-
tious air. You live iu a pest-house. Is it at all strange to loathe
such a life ? 1. Your own plague sores are running on you. Doth
not the sin of your nature make you groan daily ? Are you not sen-
sible, that though the cure is begun, it is far from being perfected ?
Has not the leprosy got into the wall of the house, which cannot bo
removed without pulling it down ? Is not your nature so vitiated,
that no less than the separation of the soul irom the body cau root
out the disease ? Have you not your sores without, as well as your
sickness within? Do you not leave marks of your pollution on
whatever passes through your hands? Are not all your actions
tainted and blemished with defects and imperfections? Who, then,
should be so much in love with life, but such whose sickness is their
health, and who glory iu their shame? 2. The loathsome sores
of others are always before your eyes, go where you will. The fol-
lies and wickedness of men are every where conspicuous, and make
but an unpleasant scene. This sinful world is but an unsightly
company, a disagreeable crowd, in which the most loathsome are the
most numerous. 3. Are not your own sores often breaking out
again after healing ? Frequent relapses may well cause us remit of
Vol. YIII. e
266 HOW TO PREPAHE FOE DEATH.
our fondness for this life. To be ever struggling, and anon fall-
ing into the mire again, makes weary work. Do you never wish for
cold death, thereby effectually to cool the heat of these lusts, which
so often take fire again, even after a flood of godly sorrow has gone
over them? Do not you sometimes infect others, and others infect
you? There is no society in the world, in which every member of
it doth not sometimes lay a stumbling-block before the rest. The
best carry about with them the tinder of a corrupt nature, which
they cannot be rid of while they live, and which is liable to be kin-
dled at all times, and in all places : yea, they are apt to inflame
others, and become the occasions of sinning. Certainly these things
are apt to imbitter this life to the saints.
2. Consider the misery and troubles that attend it. Rest is desirable,
but it is not to be found on this side of the grave. Worldly ti'oubles
attend all men in this life. This world is a sea of trouble, where one
wave rolls upon another. They, who fancy themselves beyond the
reach of trouble, are mistaken : no state, no change of life, is
exempted from it. The crowned head is surrounded by thorny cares.
Honour many times paves the way to deep disgrace : riches, for the
most part, are kept to the hurt of the owners. The fairest rose
wants not prickles ; and the heaviest cross is sometimes wrapt up in
the greatest earthly comfort. Spiritual troubles attend the saints in
this life. They are like travellers journeying in a cloudy night, in
which the moon sometimes breaks out from under one cloud, but
quickly hides her head again under another: no wonder they long to
be at their journey's end. The sudden alterations which the best
frame of spirit is liable to, the perplexing doubts, confounding fears,
short-lived joys, and long-running sori'ows, which have a certain af-
finity with the present life, must needs create in the saints a desire
to be with Christ, which is best of all.
3. Consider the great imperfections attending this life. While
the soul is lodged in this cottage of clay, the necessities of the body
are many : it is always craving. The mud walls must be repaired
and patched up daily, till the clay cottage fall down for good and
all. Eating, drinking, sleeping, and the like, are, in themselves, but
mean employments for a rational creature ; and will be reputed such
by the heaven-born soul. They are badges of imperfection, and, as
such, unpleasant to the mind aspiring unto that life and immortality
which is brought to light through the gospel ; and would be very
grievous, if this state of things were of long continuance. Does not
the gracious soul often find itself yoked with the body, as with
a companion in travel, unable to keep pace with it ? When the
spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. When the soul would mount up-
now TO PREI'ARK FOR DEATH. 2G7
ward, tlie body is a clog upon it, and a stone tied to the foot of a
bird attempting to fly. The truth is, 0 believer, thy soul in this
body is, at best, but like a diamond in a ring, where much of it is
obscured; it is far sunk in the vile clay, till relieved by death.
I conclude this subject with a few directions, how to prepare for
death, so that we may die comfortably. I speak not here of habitual
preparation for death, which a true Christian, in virtue of his gra-
cious state, never wants, from the time he is born again, and united
to Christ; but of actual preparation, or readiness in respect of his
particular case, frame, and disposition of mind and spirit ; the want
of which makes even a saint very unfit to die.
First, Let it be your constant care to keep a clean conscience, " a
conscience void of offence toward God, and toward man," Acts xxiv.
16. Beware of a standing controversy between God and you, on the
account of some iniquity regarded in the heart. When an honest
man is about to leave his country, and not to return, he settles ac-
counts with those he has had dealings with, and lays down methods
for paying his debts in due time, lest he be reckoned a bankrupt,
and attacked by an officer when he is going off. Guilt lying on the
conscience, is a fountain of fears, and will readily sting severely,
when death stares the criminal in the face. Hence it is, that many,
even of God's children, when dying, wish passionately, and desire
eagerly, that they may live to do what they ought to have done be-
fore that time. Wherefore, walk closely with God ; be diligent,
strict, and exact in your course : beware of loose, careless, and ir-
regular conversation ; as you would not lay up for yourselves
anguish and bitterness of spirit, in a dying hour. And because,
through the infirmity cleaving to us, in our present state of imper-
fection, in many things we offend all, renew your repentance daily,
and be ever washing in the Redeemer's blood. As long as you are
in the world, you will need to wash your feet, John xiii. 10, that is,
to make application of the blood of Christ anew, for purging your
consciences from the guilt of daily miscarriages. Let death find you
at the fountain ; and, if so, it will find you ready to answer at its
call.
Secondly, Be always watchful, waiting for your change, "like unto
men that wait for their Lord — that when he cometh and knocketh,
they may open unto him immediately," Luke xii. 36. Beware of
" slumbering and sleeping, while the bridegroom tarries." To be
awakened out of spiritual slumber, by a surprising call to pass into
another world, is a very frightful thing: but he who is daily wail-
ing for the coming of his Lord, will comfortably receive the grim
messenger, while he beholds him ushering in Ilim, of whom he may
r2
268 now TO PEEPARE FOR DEATH.
confidently say, "This is my God, and I have waited for him."
The way to die comfortably, is, to die daily. Be often essaying, as
it were, to die. Bring yourselves familiarly acquainted with death,
by making many visits to the grave, in serious meditations upon it.
This was Job's practice, chap. xvii. 13, 14, " T have made my bed in
the darkness." Go thou and do likewise ; and when death comes,
thou shalt have nothing to do but to lie down. "I have said to cor-
ruption, Thou art my father : to the worm, Thou art my mother and
my sister." Do you say so too; and you will be the fitter to go home
to their house. Be frequently reflecting upon your conduct, and
considering what course of life you wish to be found in, when
death arrests you ; and act accordingly. When you do the duties
of your station in life, or are employed in acts of worship, think with
yourselves, that, it may be, this is the last opportunity; and therefore
do it as if you were never to do more of that kind. When you lie down
at night, compose your spirits, as if you were not to awake till the
heavens be no more. And when you awake in the morning, consi-
der that new day as your last ; and live accordingly. Surely that
night Cometh, of which you will never see the morning; or that
morning, of which you will never see the night. But which of your
mornings or nights will be such, you know not.
Thirdly, Employ yourselves much in weaning your hearts from
the world. The man who is making ready to go abroad, busies him-
self in taking leave of his friends. Let the mantle of earthly enjoy-
ments hang loose about you ; that it may be easily dropped, when
death comes to carry you away into another world. Moderate your
affections towards your lawful comforts of life : let not your hearts
be too much taken with them. The traveller acts unwisely, who
suffers himself to be so allured with the conveniences of the inn
where he lodges, as to make his necessary departure from it griev-
ous. Feed with fear, and walk through the world as pilgrims and
strangers. The same as, when the corn is forsaking the ground,
it is ready for the sickle ; when the fruit is ripe, it falls off the tree
easily; so, when a Christian's heart is truly weaned from the world,
he is prepared for death, and it will be the more easy to him. A
heart disengaged from the world is a heavenly one : we are ready
for heaven when our heart is there before us. Matt. vi. 21.
Fourtlily, Be diligent in gathering and laying up evidences of
your title to heaven, for your support and comfort at the hour of
death. The neglect hereof mars the joy and consolation which
some Christians might otherwise have at their death. Wherefore,
examine yourselves frequently as to your spiritual state ; that evi-
dences which lie hid and unobserved, may be brought to light and
now TO PREPARE FOR DEATH. 269
taken notice of. And if you would manage this work successfully,
make solemn, serious work of it. Set apart some time for it. And,
after earnest prayer to God, through Jesus Ciirist, for the enlight-
ening influences of his Holy Spirit, whereby you are enabled to
understand his own word, and to discern his own work in your
souls ; examine yourselves before the tribunal of your own con-
sciences, that you may judge youi'selves, in this weighty matter.
And, in the firat place, let the marks of a regenerate state be
fixed from the Lord's word : have recourse to some particular text
for that purpose ; such as Prov. viii. 17, " I love them that love
me." Compare Luke xiv. 26, " If any man come to me, and hate
not his father, and mothei', and wife, and children, and brethren,
and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
Psalm cxis. 6, " Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect
unto all thy commandments." Psalm xviii. 23, " I was also upright
before him ; and I kept myself from mine iniquity." Compare
Rom. vii. 22, 23, " For I delight in the law of God, after the inward
man : but I see another law in my members, warring against the
law of my mind." 1 John iii. 3, " Every man that hath this hope in
him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure." Matt. v. 3, " Blessed
are the pure in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Phil,
iii. 3, " For we are the circumcision, which worship," or serve " God
in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in
the fiesh." The sum of the evidence arising from these texts, lies
here : a real Christian ^is one who loves God for himself, as well as
for his benefits ; and that with a supreme love, above all persons,
and all things ; he has an awful and impartial regard to God's com-
mands ; he opposes and wrestles against that sin, which of all others
most easily besets him : he approves and loves the holy law, even in
that very point wherein it strikes against his own beloved lust; his
hope of heaven engages him to the study of universal holiness ; in
which he aims at perfection, though he cannot reach it in this life ;
he serves the Lord, not only in acts of worship, but in the whole of
his conversation, and as to both, is spiritual in the principle, mo-
tives, aims, and ends of his service ; yet he sees nothing in himself
to trust to, before the Lord ; Christ and his fulness are the stay of
his soul; his confidence is cut off from all that is not Christ, or in
Christ, in point of justification or acceptance with God, and in point
of sanctification too. Every one, in whom these characters are
found, has a title to heaven, according to the word. It is con-
venient and profitable to mark such texts, for this special use, as
they occur, while you read the Scriptures, or hear sermons. The
marks of a regenerate state thus fixed, in the next place impartially
270 HOW TO PREPARE FOE DEATH,
search and try yoar own hearts thereby, as in the sight of God, with
deiiendence on him for spiritual discernment, that you may know
whether they be in you or not. When you find them, form the con-
clusion deliberately and distinctly; namely, that therefore you are
regenerated, and have a title to heaven." Thus you may gather
evidences. But be sure to have recourse to God in Christ, by
earnest prayer, for the testimony of the Spirit, whose office it is to
" bear witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God,"
Rom. viii. 16. Moreover, carefully observe the course and method
of providence towards you ; and likewise, how your soul is affected
under the same, in the various steps thereof: compare both with
Scripture doctrines, promises, threatenings, and examples: so shall
you perceive if the Lord deals with you as he uses to do unto those
that love his name, and if you are going forth by the footsteps of
the flock. This may afford you comfortable evidence. Walk ten-
derly and circumspectly, and the Lord will manifest himself to you,
according to his promise, John xiv. 21, " He that hath my com-
mandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me ; and he that
loveth me, shall be loved of my Father ; and I will love him, and
will manifest myself to him." But it is in vain to think of success-
ful self-examination, if you be loose and irregular in your con-
versation.
Lastly, Despatch the work of your day and generation with speed
and diligence. " David, after he had served his own generation by
the will of God, fell on sleep " Acts xiii. 36. God has allotted us
certain pieces of work of this kind, which ought to be despatched
before the time of working be over, Eccl. ix. 10, " Whatsoever thy
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might : for there is no work, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Gal. vi.
10, " As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith." If a pas-
senger, after he is got on shipboard, and the ship is getting under
sail, remember that he has omitted to despatch a piece of necessary
business when he was ashore, it must needs be uneasy to him : even
so, reflection in a dying hour upon neglected seasons, and lost op-
portunities, cannot fail to disquiet a Christian. Wherefore, what-
ever is incumbent upon thee to do for God's honour, and the good of
others, either as the duty of thy station, or by special opportunity
put into thy hand, perform it seasonably, if thou wouldst die com-
fortably.
CBUTAINTY OP THE KESUKRECTION. 271
PART III.
OP THE KESUKRECTION.
Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in
the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth : they that have
done good unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil
unto the resurrection of damnation. — John y. 28, 29.
These words are part of the defence which our Lord Jesus Christ
makes for himself, when persecuted by the Jews, for curing the im-
potent man and ordering him to carry away his bed on the Sabbath ;
and for vindicating his conduct, when accused by them of having
thereby profaned that day. Ou this occasion he professes himself
not only the Lord of the Sabbath, but also Lord of life and death ;
declaring, in the words of the text, the resurrection of the dead to
be brought to pass by his power. This he introduces with these
words, as with a solemn preface, " Marvel not at this," namely, at
this strange discourse of mine : do not wonder to hear me, whose
appearance is so very mean in your eyes, talk at this rate; for the
day is coming, in which the dead shall be raised by my power.
Observe in this text, 1. The doctrine of the resurrection asserted,
" All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth." The dead bodies, which are reduced to dust, shall revive,
and evidence life by hearing and moving. 2. The author of it,
Jesus Christ, " the Son of man," ver. 27. The dead shall hear his
voice, and be raised thereby. 3. The number that shall be raised,
" All that are in the graves," that is, all the dead bodies of men,
howsoever differently disposed of, in different kinds of graves ; or
all the dead, good and bad. They are not all buried in graves, pro-
perly so called : some are burnt to ashes i some drowned, and
buried in the bellies of fishes ; but, wherever the matter or sub-
stance of which the body was composed is to be found, thence they
shall come forth. 4. The great distinction that shall be made be-
tween the godly and the wicked : they shall both rise again in the
resurrection. None of the godly shall be missing; though, perhaps,
they either had no burial, or a very obscure one ; and all the wicked
shall come forth ; their vaulted tombs shall hold them no longer
than the voice is uttered. But the former have a joyful resurrec-
tion to life, whilst the latter have a dreadful resurrection to damna-
tion. 5. The set time of this great event : there is au hour, or cer-
tain fixed period of time, appointed of God for it. We are not told
272 CERTAINTY OP THE UBSURRECTIOK.
•when that hour will be, but that it is coming ; for this, among other
reasons, that we may always be ready.
Doctrine. There shall be a resurrection of the dead. In dis-
coursing of this subject, I shall — 1. Shew the certainty of the resur-
rection. II. I shall inquire into the nature of it. And, Lastly,
make some practical improvement of the whole.
I. In shewing the certainty of the resurrection, I shall evince, 1.
That God can raise the dead. 2. That he will do it; which are the
two grounds or topics laid down by Christ himself, when disputing
with the Sudduces, Matt. xxii. 29, " Jesus answered and said unto
them, Te do err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God."
I. Seeing God is almighty, surely he can raise the dead. We
have instances of this powerful work of God, both in the Old and
New Testament. The son of the widow in Sarepta was raised
from the dead, 1 Kings xvii. 22 ; the Shunammite's son, 2 Kings iv.
35 ; and the man " cast into the sepulchre of Elisha," chap. xiii. 21.
In which we may observe a gradation, the second of these miracu-
lous events being more illustrious than the first, and the third than
the second. The first of these persons was raised when he was but
newly dead; the prophet Elijah, who raised him being present at
his decease. The second, when he had lain dead a considerable
time ; namely, while hit; mother travelled from Shunem, to mount
Carmel, I'eckoned about the distance of sixteen miles, and returned
from thence to her house, with Elisha, who raised him. The last,
not till they were burying him, and the corpse was cast into the
prophet's grave. In like manner, in the New Testament, Jairus's
daughter, Mark v. 41, and Dorcas, Acts ix. 40, were both raised to
life, when lately dead ; the widow's son in Nain, when they were
carrying him out to bury him^ Luke vii. 11 — 15 ; and Lazarus, when
putrid in the grave, John xi. 39 — 44.
Can men make curious glasses out of ashes, and cannot the great
Creator, who made all things of nothing, raise man's body, after it
is reduced into the dust ? If it be objected, " How can men's bodies
be raised up again, after they are reduced to dust, and the ashes of
many generations are mingled together ?" Scripture and reason
furnish the answer, " With men it is impossible, but not with God."
It is absurd for men to deny that God can do a thing, because they
see not how it may be done. How small a portion do we know of
his ways ! How absolutely incapable are we of conceiving dis-
tinctly of the extent of almighty power, and much more of compre-
hending its actings, and method of procedui'e ! I question not, but
many illiterate meif are as great unbelievers as to many chemical
experiments, as some learned men are to the doctrine of the resur-
CEKTAINTT OF THE RESURRECTION. 273
rection : and as these last are ready to deride the former, so, " the
Lord will have them in derision." What a mystery was it to the
Indians, that the Europeans could, by a piece of paper, converse
together at the distance of some hundreds of miles ! How much
were they astonished to see thera, with their guns, produce as it were
thunder and lightning in a moment, and at pleasure kill men afar
off! Shall some men do such things as are wonders in the eyes of
others because they cannot comprehend them, and shall men confine
the infinite power of God within the narrow boundaries of their own
shallow capacities, in a matter no ways contrary to reason ! An
inferior nature has but a very imperfect conception of the power of
a superior. Brutes do not conceive of the actings of reason in men;
and men have but imperfect notions of the power of angels : how
low and inadequate a conception, then, must a finite nature have of
the power of that which is infinite ! Though we cannot conceive how
God acts, yet we ought to believe he can do above what we can
think or conceive.
Wherefore, let the bodies of men be laid in the grave ; let thera
rot there, and be reduced into the most minute particles : or let
them be burnt, and the ashes cast into rivers, or thrown up into the
air, to be scattered by the wind : let the dust of a thousand gene-
rations be mingled, and the steams of the dead bodies wander to
and fro in the air : let birds or wild beasts eat the bodies, or the
fishes of the sea devour them, so that the parts of human bodies,
thus destroyed, pass into substantial parts of birds, beasts or fishes;
and then let our modern Sadducees propose the questions in these
cases, as the ancient Sadducees did in the case of the woman who
had been married to seven husbands successively, Matt. xxii. 28.
We answer, as our blessed Lord and Saviour did, ver. 29, " Ye do
err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." We
believe God to be omniscient and omnipotent ; infinite in knowledge
and in power : and hence, agreeably to the dictates of reason, we
conclude the possibility of the resurrection, even in the cases
supposed.
Material things may change their forms and shapes, may be reduced
to the principles of which they are formed : but they are not
annihilated, or reduced to nothing ; nor can they be so, by any
created power. God is omniscient, his understanding is infinite ;
therefore he knows all things ; what they were at any time, what
they are, and where they are to be found. Though the countryman,
who comes into the apothecary's shop, cannot find out the drug he
wants; yet the apothecary himself knows what he has in his shop,
whence it came, and where it is to be found. And, in a mixture of
274 CERTAINTY OF THE RESUREECTION.
mauy different seeds, the expert gardener can distinguish between
each of them. Why then may not Omniscience distinguish between
dust and dust ? Can he, who knows all things to perfection, be
liable to any mistake about his own creatures ? Whoso believes
an infinite understanding, must needs own, that no mass of dust is so
jumbled together, but God perfectly comprehends, and infallibly
knows, how the most minute particle, and every one of them is to be
matched. Therefore he knows where the particles of each dead body
are; whether in the earth, sea, or air, however they are now scat-
tered.— It is certain the bodies of men, as of all other animals or
living creatures, are in a continual change : they grow and are sus-
tained by daily food ; so small a part whereof becomes nourishment,
that the most part evaporates. It is reckoned that much of the food
evaporates insensibly by perspiration. Yea, the nourishing part of
the food, when assimilated, and thereby become a part of the body,
evaporates by perspiration, though the pores o^ the skin, and is again
supplied by the use of other food : yet the body is still reckoned one
and the same body. Whence we may conclude, that it is not essen-
tial to the resurrection of the body, tliat every particle of the mat-
ter, which at any time was part of a human body, should be restored
to it, when it is raised up from death to life. Were it so, the bodies
of men would become of so huge a size, that they would bear no
resemblance to the persons. It is sufficient to denominate it the
same body that died, when it is risen again, if the body that is
raised be formed in its former proportions, of the same particles of
matter, which at any time were its constituent parts, however it bo
refined : just as we reckon it is the same body that has pined away
by long sickness, which becomes fat and fair again after recovery.
Now, to this infinite understanding join infinite power, whereby
he is able to subdue all things unto himself; and this gloriously
great work appears most reasonable. If Omniscience discover every
little particle of dust, where it is, and how it is to be matched, can-
not Omnipotence bring them, and join them together, in their order ?
Can the watchmaker take up the several pieces of a watch, lying in
a confused heap before him, and set each in its proper place ; and
cannot God put the human body into order, after its dissolution ?
Did he speak his world into being, out of nothing : and can he not
form man's body out of its pre-existent matter ? If he calleth those
things which be not, as though they were, surely he can call things
that are dissolved, to be as they were before the compound was
resolved into its parts and principles. Wherefore, God can raise
the dead. And " Why should it be thought a thing incredible
with you, that God should raise the dead?" Acts xxvi. 8.
CERTAINTY OF THE RESURRECTION. 275
k
2. God will do it. He not only can do it, but he certainly will
do it, because he has said it. Our text is very full to this purpose,
*' All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and
tliey that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
These words relate to, and are an explanation of, that part of
Daniel's prophecy, Dan. xii. 2, "And many of them that sleep in
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some
to shame and everlasting contempt." Which appears to be calcu-
lated to confront the doctrine of the Sadducees ; which the Holy
Ghost knew was to be at a great height in the Jewish church, under
the persecution of Antiochus. — There are many other texts in the
Old and New Testament, that might here be adduced; such as Acts
sxiv. 15, " And have hope towards God, which they themselves
also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of
the just and unjust." And Job xix. 26, 27, " Though after my skin,
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I
shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ;
though my reins be consumed within me." But I need not multiply
testimonies, in a matter so clearly and frequently taught in' sacred
Scripture. Our Lord and Saviour himself proves it, against the
Sadducees, in that remarkable text, Luke xx. 37, 38, " Now that
the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth
the Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob ; for he is not a God of the dead, but of the living ; for all
live unto him." — These holy patriarchs were dead; nevertheless,
the Lord Jehovah is called their God, namely, in virtue of the
covenant of grace, and in the sense thereof; in which sense the
phrase comprehends all blessedness, as that which, by the covenant,
is secured to those who are in it; Heb. xi. 16, " God is not ashamed
to be called their God ; for he has prepared for them a city." He
is not called the God of their souls only; but their God, the God of
their persons, souls, and bodies ; which, by virtue of his truth and
faithfulness, must have its full effect : now, it cannot have its full
effect on the dead, who, inasmuch as they are dead, are far from all
blessedness ; but on the living, who alone are capable of it. There-
fore, since God is still called their God, they are living in respect
of God, " although their bodies are yet in the grave ; for, in respect
of him, who by his power can restore them to life, and in his cove-
nant has declared his will and purpose so to do, and whose promise
* Their souls are actually so, and enjoy communion with him, and with saints and
angels.
276 KATURE OF THE RESURRECTION'.
cannot fail, tliey are all to be reckoned to live ; and, consistent
with the covenant, their death is but a sleep, out of which, in virtue
of the said covenant, securing all blessedness to their persons, their
whole man, they must and shall certainly be awakened. The apostle
Paul proves the resurrection at large, 1 Cor. chap, xv., and shows it
to be a fundamental article, the denial whereof is subversive of
Christianity, ver. 13, 14, " If there be no resurrection of the dead
then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our
preaching vain, and your faith is also vain."
To assist us in conceiving of it, the Scripture gives us types of the
resurrection of the dead ; as the dry bones living, Ezek. chap,
xxxvii ; Jonah's coming out of the whale's belly, Matt. xii. 40. And
nature affords us emblems and resemblances of it ; as the sun's
setting and rising again, night and day, winter and summer, sleeping
and waking ; swallows in winter lying without any appearance of
life, in ruinous buildings and subterraneous caverns, and reviving
again in the spring season ; the seed dying under the clod, and
springing up again : all which, and the like, may justly be admitted
as designed by the God of nature, thtugh not for proofs, yet for me-
morials of the resurrection ; whereof we have assurance from the
Scripture, 1 Cor. xv. 36, " Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not
quickened, except it die."
II. I shall inquire into the nature of the resurrection, shewing, 1.
Who shall be raised ? 2. What shall be raised. 3. How the dead
shall be raised.
1. Who shall be raised? Our text tells us who they are ; namely
" all that are in the graves," that is, all mankind who are dead.
As for those persons who are found alive at the second coming of
Christ, they shall not die, and soon after be raised again ; but such
a change shall suddenly pass upon them as shall be to them instead
of dying and rising again ; so that their bodies shall become like to
those bodies which are raised out of their graves, 1 Cor. xv. 61, 52,
" We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed: in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye." Hence those that are to be judged at
the great day, are distinguished into quick and dead, Acts x. 42.
All the dead shall arise, whether godly or wicked, just or unjust,
Acts xxiv. 15, old or young ; the whole race of mankind, even those
who never saw the sun, Rev. xx. 12, " And I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God." The sea and earth shall give up their
dead without reserve, none shall be kept back.
2: What shall be raised ? The bodies of mankind. A man is
said to die, when the soul is separated from the body, " and returns
unto God who gave it," Eccl. xii. 7. But it is the body only which
NATUKE OP THE RESURRECTIOIT. 277
is laid in the grave, and can be properly said to be raised : where-
fore the resurrection, strictly speaking, applies to the body only.
Moreover, it is tlie same body that dies, which shall rise again. At
the resurrection, men shall not appear with other bodies, as to sub-
stance, than those which they now have, and which are laid down in
the grave ; but with the self-same bodies, endowed with other qua-
lities. The very notion of a resurrection implies this, since nothing
can be said to rise again, but that which falls. But to illustrate it
a little, 1. It is plaiu from Scripture testimony. The apostle as-
serts, that it is " this mortal" which " must put on immortality,"
1 Cor. XV. 53 ; and that Christ ■" shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his glorious body," Phil. iii. 21. Death,
in Scripture language, is a sleep, and the resurrection an awaking
out of that sleep, Job xiv. 12 ; which shews the body rising up, to
be the self-same that died. 2. The equity of the divine procedure,
both with respect to the godly and the wicked, proves this. It is
not reckoned equal among men, that one do the work, and another
get the reward. Though the glorifying of the bodies of the saints
is. not, properly speaking, and in a strict sense, the reward of their
services or sufferings on earth ; yet this is evident, that it is not at
all agreeable to the manner of the divine dispensation, that one
body should serve him, and another be glorified ; that one should
fight, and another receive the crown. How can it be imagined, that
" the temples of the Holy Ghost," as the bodies of believers are
termed, 1 Cor. vi. 19, should always lie in rubbish, and others be
reared up in their stead? that the members of Christ, ver. 15,
should perish utterly, and other bodies come in their room ? Nay,
surely, as the bodies of the saints now bear a part in glorifying
God, and some of them suffer in his cause, so they shall partake of
the glory that is to be revealed. And these bodies of the wicked,
which are laid in the dust, shall be raised again, that the same body
which sinned may suffer. Shall one body sin here, and another
suffer in hell for that sin ? Shall that body which was the soul's
companion in sin, lie for ever hid in the dust ; and another body
which did not act any part in sinning, be its companion in torment ?
No, no; it is that body which now takes up all their thoughts to
provide for its back and belly, that shall be raised up, to suffer
in hell. It is that tongue, which is now the swearing, lying
tongue, that will need water to cool it, in eternal flames. The same
feet that now stand in the way of sinners, and carry men in their
ungodly courses, shall stand in the burning lake. And the same
covetous and lascivious eyes shall receive the fire and smoke of the
pit.
278 NATUKE OP THE RESURRECTION.
3. How shall the dead be raised ? The same Jesus, who was
crucified within the gates of Jerusalem, shall, at the last day, to the
conviction of all, be declared both Lord and Christ : appearing as
Judge of the world, attended with his mighty angels, 2 Thess. i. 7,
" He shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God," 1 Thess. iv. 16, " The
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised, and those who
are alive, changed," 1 Cor, xv. 52. Whether this shout, voice,
and trumpet, denote some audible voice, or only the workings of
Divine power, for the raising of the dead, and other awful pur-
poses of that day, though the former seems probable, I will not
positively determine. There is no question but this coming of
the Judge of the world will be in greater majesty and terror than
we can conceive : yet that awful grandeur, majesty, and state,
which was displayed at the giving of the law, namely, thunders
heard, lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount seen, the
Lord descending in fire, the whole mount quaking greatly, and
the voice of the trumpet waxing louder and louder, Exod. xix.
16 — 19, may help us to form a becoming thought of it. However,
the sound of this trumpet shall be heard all the world over ; it shall
reach to the depths of the sea, and of the earth. At this loud alarm,
bones shall come together, bone to his bone : the scattered dust of
all the dead shall be gathered together, dust to his dust; "neither
shall one thrust another, they shall walk every one in his path ;"
and, meeting together again, shall make up that very same body
which crumbled into dust in the grave. At the same alarming voice
shall every soul come into its own body, never more to be separated.
The dead can stay no longer in their graves, but must bid an eter-
nal farewell to their long homes : they hear His voice, and must
come forth, and receive their final sentence.
Now as there is a great difference between the godly and the
wicked, in their life, and in their death; so will there be also in
their resurrection.
The godly shall be raised out of their graves, by virtue of the
Spirit of Christ, the blessed bond of their union with him, Rom. viii.
11, " He that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your
mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Jesus Christ
arose from the dead, as the " first-fruits of them that slept," 1 Cor.
XV. 20, So they that are Christ's shall follow at his coming, ver.
23. The mystical head having got above the waters of death, he
cannot but bring forth the members after him, in due time.
They shall come forth with inexpressible joy ; for then shall that
passage of Scripture, which, in its immediate scope, respected the
NATURE OF THE RESUEKECTION, 279
Babylonish captivity, be fully accomplished in its most extensive
meaning, Isa. xxvi. 19, " Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust."
As a bi'ide adorned for her husband, goes forth of her bedchamber
unto the marriage : so shall the saints go forth of their graves, unto
the marriage of the Lamb. Joseph had a joyful coming out from
the prison, Daniel from the lion's den, and Jonah from the whale's
belly : yet these are but faint representations of the saint's coming
forth from the grave, at the resurrection. Then shall they sing the
song of Moses and of the Lamb, in highest strains ; death being quite
swallowed up in victory. They had, while in this life, sometimes
sung, by faith the triumphant song over death and the grave, " 0
death, where is thy sting ? 0 grave where is thy victory ?" 1 Cor.
XV. 55. But then they sing the same, from sight and sense ; the
black baud of doubts and fears, which frequently disturbed them,
and disquieted their minds, is for ever dispersed and driven away.
May we not suppose the soul and body of every saint, as in mutual
embraces, to rejoice in each other, and triumph in their happy meet-
ing again ; and the body to address the soul thus ? " 0 my soul,
have we got together again, after so long a sej)aration ! art thou
come back to thine old habitation, never more to remove ! 0 joy-
ful meeting ! how unlike is our present state to what our case
was, when a separation was made between us at death ! Now is
our mourning turned into joy ; the light and gladness sown before,
are now sprung up ; and there is a perpetual spring in Immanuel's
land- Blessed be the day in which T was united to thee; whose
chief care was to get Christ in us the hope of glory, and to make me
a temple for his Holy Spirit. 0 blessed soul, which in the time of
our pilgrimage, kept thine eye to the land then afar off, but now
near at hand ! thou tookest me into secret places, and there madest
me to bow these knees before the Lord, that I might bear a part in
our humiliation before him : and now is the time that I am lifted
up. Thou didst employ this tongue in confessions, petitions, and
thanksgivings, which henceforth shall be employed in praising for
evermore. Thou madest these sometimes weeping eyes, sow that
seed of tears, which is now sprung up in joy that shall never end.
I was happily beat down by thee, and kept in subjection, while
others pampered their flesh, and made their bellies their gods, to
their own destruction : but now I gloriously arise, to take my place
in the mansions of glory, whilst they are dragged out of their graves
to be cast into fiery flames. Now, my soul, thou shalt complain no
more of a sick and pained body; thou shalt be no more clogged with
weak and weary flesh ; I shall now keep pace with thee in the
praises of our God for evermore." And may not the soul say, " 0
280 NATURE OF THE RESURHECTION",
happy day in which I return to dwell in that blessed body, which
was, and is, and will be for ever, a member of Christ, a temple of
the Holy Spirit ! Now I shall be eternally knit to thee : the silver
cord shall never be loosed more : death shall never make another
separation between us. Arise then, my body, and come away ! and
let these eyes, which were wont to weep over my sins, behold with
joy the face of our glorious Redeemer ; lo ! this is our God, and we
have waited for him. Let these ears, which were wont to hear the
word of life in the temi)Ie below, come and hear the hallelujahs in
the temple above. Let these feet, that carried me to the congrega-
tion of saints on earth, take their place among those in heaven.
And let this tongue, which confessed Christ before men, and used to
be still dropping something to his commendation, join the choir of
the upper house, in his praises for evermore. Thou shalt fast no
more, but keep an everlasting feast ; thou shalt weep no more, nei-
ther shall thy countenance be overclouded; but thou shalt shine for
ever, as a star in the firmament. "We took part together in the
fight, come, let us go together to receive and wear the crown."
But on the other hand, the wicked shall be raised by the power
of Christ, as a just Judge, who is to render vengeance to his enemies.
The same divine power which shut up their souls in hell, and
kept their bodies in the grave, as in a prison, shall bring them
forth, that soul and body together may receive the dreadful sen-
tence of eternal damnation, and be shut up together in the prison of
helL
They shall come forth from their graves with unspeakable horror
and consternation. They shall be dragged forth, as so many male-
factors out of a dungeon, to be led to execution ; crying to the
mountains and to the rocks to fall on them, and hide them from the
face of the Lamb. Fearful was the cry in Egypt, the night on
which the destroying angel went through, and slew their first-born.
Dreadful were the shouts, at the earth opening her mouth, and
swallowing up Dathan and Abiram, and all that appertained to
them. What hideous crying then must there be, when at the sound
of the last trumpet, the earth and sea shall open their mouths, and
cast forth all the wicked world, delivering them up to the dreadful
Judge ! How will they cry, roar, and tear themselves ! How will
the jovial companions weep and howl, and curse one another !
How will the earth be filled with their doleful shrieks and lamenta-
tions, while they are pulled out like sheep for the slaughter ! They
who, while they lived in this world, were profane, debauchees,
covetous worldlings, or formal hypocrites, shall then, in anguish of
mind, wring their hands, beat their breasts, and bitterly lament
NATURE OF THE RESUBRECTION. 281
their case, roaring forth their complaints, and calling themselves
beasts, fools, and madmen, for having acted so mad a part in this
life, in not believing what they then heard. They were driven
away in their wickedness, at death : and now all their sins rise with
them; and, like so many serpents, twist themselves about their
wretched souls, and bodies too, which have a frightful meeting,
after a long separation.
Then we may suppose the miserable body thus to accost the soul,
" Hast thou again found rae, 0 mine enemy, my worst enemy, savage
soul, more cruel than a thousand tigers. Cursed be the day that
ever we met. 0 that I had never received sense, life, and motion !
O that I had rather been the body of a toad, or serpent, than thy
body ; for then had I lain still, and had not seen this terrible day ;
If I was to be necessarily thine, 0 that I had been thy ass, or one
of thy dogs, rather than thy body; for then wouldst thou have
taken more true care of me than thou didst ! 0 cruel kindness !
hast thon thus hugged me to death, thus nourished me to the
slaughter ? Is this the effect of thy tenderness for me ? Is this
what I am to reap of thy pains and concern about me ? What do
riches and pleasures avail now, when this fearful reckoning is come !
of which thou hadst fair warning ? 0 cruel grave ! why didst thou
not close thy mouth upon me for ever ? Why didst thou not hold
fast thy prisoner ? "Why hast thou shaken me out, while I lay still
and was at rest ? Cursed soul, wherefore didst thou not abide in
thy place, wrapped up in flames of fire ? Wherefore art thou come
back, to take me also down to the bars of the pit? Thou madest
me an instrument of unrighteousness ; and now I must be thrown
into the fire. This tongue was by thee employed in mocking at re-
ligion, cursing, swearing, lying, backbiting, and boasting ; and with-
held from glorifying God : and now it must not have so much as a
drop of water to cool it in the flames. Thou didst withdraw mine
ears from hearing the sermons which gave warning of this day
Thou foundest ways and means to stop them from attending to sea-
sonable exhortations, admonitions, and reproofs. But why didst
thou not stop them from hearing the sound of this dreadful trumpet?
Why dost thou not rove and fly away on the wings of imagination,
thereby, as it were, transporting me during these frightful transac-
tions ; as thou wast wont to do, when I was set down at sermons,
communions, prayers, and godly conferences; that I might now have
as little sense of the one, as I formerly had of the other ? But ah !
I must burn for ever, for thy love to thy lusts, thy profanity, thy
sensuality, thy unbelief, and hypocrisy." But may not the soul
answer — " Wretched and vile carcase ! I am now driven back into
Vol. VIII. s
282 RAISED BODIES OF THE SAINTS.
thee. 0 that thou hadst lain for ever in thy grave ! Had I not tor-
ment enough before ? Must I be knit to thee again, that, being
joined together as two dry sticks for the fire, the wrath of God may
burn us up ? It was by caring for you, that I lost myself. It was
your back and your belly, and the gratifying of your senses, which
ruined me. How often was I ensnared by your ears ! how often be-
trayed by your eyes ! It was to spare you, that I neglected oppor-
tunities of making peace with God, loitered away Sabbaths, lived in
the neglect of prayer; went to the house of mirth, rather than to
the house of mourning; and that I chose to deny Christ, and forsake
his cause and interest in the world ; and so am fallen a sacrifice to
your cursed ease. "When at any time my conscience began to
awake, and I was setting myself to think of my sins, and the misery
which I have felt since we parted, and now feel, it was you that di-
verted me from these thoughts, and drew me off to make provision
for you. 0 wretched flesh ! by your silken cords of fleshly lusts, I
was drawn to destruction, in defiance of my light and conscience :
but now they are turned into iron chains, with which I am to be held
under wrath for evermore. Ah wretched profits ! ah cursed plea-
sures ! for which I must lie for ever in utter darkness !" — But no
complaints will then avail. 0 that men were wise, that they under-
stood this, that they would consider their latter end !
As to the qualities with which the bodies of the saints shall be
endowed at the resurrection, the apostle tells us, they shall be
raised incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and spiritual, 1 Cor. xv.
42 — 44, " It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption : it is
sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness, it is
raised in power : it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual
body."
1. The bodies of the saints shall be raised incorruptible. They
are now, as the bodies of others, a mass of corruption, full of the
seeds of diseases and death ; and, when dead, become so offensive,
even to their dearest friends, that they must be buried out of their
sight, and cast into the grave : yea, loathsome sores and diseases
make some of them very unsightly, even while alive. But, at the
resurrection, they leave all the seeds of corruption behind them in
the grave ; and rise incorruptible, incapable of the least indisposi-
tion, sickness, or sore, and much more, of dying. External vio-
lences and inward causes of pain, shall for ever cease : they shall
feel it no more : yea, they shall have an everlasting youth and
vigour, being no more subject to the decays which age produced in
this life.
2. They shall be glorioas bodies; not only beautiful, comely, and
HAISED BODIES OF THE SAINTS. 283
well-proportioned, but full of splendour and brightness. The most
beautiful face, and best proportioned body, that now appears in the
world, is not to be named in comparison with the body of the mean-
est saint at the resurrection ; for " then shall the righteous shine
torth as the sun," Matt, xiii, 43. If there was a dazzling glory on
Moses' face, when he came down from the mount ; and if Stephen's
face was " as it had been the face of an angel," when he stood be-
fore the council ; how much more shall the faces of the saints be
beautiful and glorious, full of sweet agreeable majesty, when they
have put off all corruption, and shine as the sun ! But observe, this
beauty of the saints is not restricted to their faces, but diffuses itself
through their whole bodies : for the whole body is raised in glory, and
shall be fashioned like unto their Lord aud Saviour's glorious body,
in whose transfiguration, not only did his face shine as the sun, but
his raiment also was white as the light, Matt. xvii. 2. Whatever
defects or deformities the bodies of the saints had when laid in the
grave, occasioned by accidents in life, or arising from secret causes
in their formation, they shall rise out of the grave free of all these.
But suppose the marks of the Lord Jesus, the scars or prints of the
wounds and bruises which some of the saints received while on earth,
for his sake, should remain in their bodies after the resurrection ;
the same as the print of the nails remained in the Lord Jesus'
body after his resurrection : these marks will rather be badges of
distinction, and add to their glory, than detract from their beauty.
But however that be, surely Isaac's eyes shall not then be dim, nor
will Jacob halt : Leah shall not be tender-eyed, nor Mephibosheth
lame of his legs. For as the goldsmith melts down the old crazy
vessel, and casts it over again in a new mould, bringing it forth with
a new lustre ; so shall the vile body, which lay dissolved in the
grave, come forth at the resurrection, in perfect beauty and comely
proportion.
3. They shall be powerful and strong bodies. The strongest men
on earth, being frail and mortal, may justly be reckoned weak and
feeble ; for their strength, however great, is quickly worn out and
consumed. Many of the saints now have weaker bodies than others;
but " the feeble among them," to allude to Zechariah xii. 8, at that
day shall be *' as David, and the house of David shall be as God."
A grave divine says. That one shall be stronger at the resurrection
than a hundred, yea, than thousands are now. Certainly great, and
vastly great, must the strength of glorified bodies be ; for they shall
bear up under an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. The
mortal body i» not at all adapted to such a state. Do transports of
joy occasion death, as well as excessive grief, and can it bear up
s2
284 RAISED BODIES OF THE SAINTS.
under a weight of glory ? Can it subsist in union with a soul filled
with heaven's rapture ? Surely not. The mortal body would sink
under that load, and such fulness of joy would make the earthen pit-
cher to fly all in pieces.
The Scripture has plainly told us, "That flesh and blood," namely,
in their present frail state, though it were the flesh and blood of a
giant, " cannot inherit the kingdom of God," 1 Cor. xv. 50. How
strong must the bodily eyes be, which, to the soul's eternal comfort,
shall behold the dazzling glory and splendour of the New Jerusalem;
and steadfastly look at the transcendent glory and brightness of the
man Christ, the Lamb, who is the light of that city, the inhabitants
whereof shall shine as the sun ! The Lord of heaven doth now in
mercy " hold back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud
upon it ;" that mortals may not be confounded with the rays of
glory which shine forth from it. Job xxvi. 9. But then the veil shall
be removed, and they made able to behold it, to their unspeakable
joy. How strong must their bodies be, who shall not rest night nor
day, but be, without intermission, for ever employed in the hea-
venly temple, to sing and proclaim the praises of God without wea-
riness, which is a weakness incident to the frail mortal, but not to
the glorified body !
4. They shall be spiritual bodies. Not that they shall be changed
into spirits, but they shall be spiritual as to their spirit-like
qualities and endowments. The body shall be absolutely subservient
to the soul, subject to it, and influenced by it, and therefore no more
a clog to its activity, nor the animal appetites a snare to it. There
will be no need to beat it down, nor to drag it to the service of God.
The soul, in this life is so much influeuced by the body, that, in
Scripture style, it is said to be carnal ; but then the body shall be
spiritual, readily serving the soul in the business of heaven, and in
that only, as if it had no more relation to earth than a spirit. It
will have no further need of the now necessary supports of life,
namely, food, and raiment, and the like. " They shall hunger no
more, neither thirst any more," Rev. vii. 16. " For in the resurrec-
tion, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the
angels of God in heaven." Then shall the saints be strong without
meat or drink, warm without clothes, ever in perfect health without
medicine, and ever fresh and vigorous, though they shall never
sleep, but serve him night and day in his temple, Rev. vii. 15.
They will need none of these things, any more than spirits do.
They will be nimble and active as spirits, and of a most refined
constitution. The body, that is now lumpish and heavy, shall then
be most sprightly. No such thing as melancholy shall be found to
UAISED BOIHES OF THE WICKED. 285
make the heart heavy, and the spirits flag and sink. I shall not
further dip into this matter : the day will declare it.
As to the qualities of the bodies of the wicked at the resurrec-
tion, I find the Scripture speaks but little of tliera. Whatever they
may need, they shall not get a drop of water to cool their tongues,
Luke xvi. 24, 25, Whatever may be said of their weakness, it is
certain they will be continued for ever in life, that they may be
ever dying; they shall bear up, however unwillingly under the
load of God's wrath, and shall not faint away under it. " The
smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. And they
have no rest day nor night." Surely they shall not partake of the
glory and beauty of the saints. All their glory dies with them, and
shall never rise again. Daniel tells us, they shall awake to shame
and everlasting contempt, chap. xii. 2. Shame follows sin, as the
shadow follows the body : but the wicked in this world walk in the
dark, and often under a disguise : nevertheless, when the Judge
comes in flaming fire at the last day, they will be brought to the
light; their mask will be taken oiF, and the shame of their naked-
ness will clearly appear to themselves and others, and fill their
faces with confusion. Their shame will be too deep for blushes :
all faces shall gather blackness at that day, when they shall go
forth from their graves, as malefactors out of their prisons to exe-
cution : for their resurrection is the resurrection of damnation.
The greatest beauties, who now pride themselves in their comeliness
of body, not regarding their deformed souls, will then appear with a
ghastly countenance, a grim and death-like visage. Their looks
will be frightful, and they will be horrible spectacles, coming forth
from their graves, like infernal furies out of the pit. They shall
rise also to everlasting contempt. They shall then be the most con-
temptible creatures, filled with contempt from God, as vessels of
dishonour, whatever honourable employments they had in this
world ; and filled also with contempt from men. They will be most
despicable in the eyes of the saints ; eveu of those saints who gave
them honour here, either for their high station, the gifts of God in
them, or because they were of tiie same human nature with them-
selves. But then their bodies shall be as so many loathsome car-
casses, which they shall go forth and look upon with abhorrence ;
yea, " They shall be an abhorring unto all flesh," Isa. Ixvi. 24.
The word here rendered " an abhorring," is the same which in the
other text is rendered " contempt," and Isaiah and Daniel point at
one and the same thing, namely, the loathsomeness of the wicked at
the resurrection. They will be loathsome in the eyes of one au-
otlier. The unclean wretches were never so lovely to each oilier, as
286 RAISED BODIES OF THE WICKED.
then they will be loathsome ; dear companions in sin will then ab-
hor each other ; and the great and honourable men who were wicked,
shall be no more regarded by their wicked subjects, their servants,
their slaves, than the mire in the streets.
Use I. Of comfort to the people of God. The doctrine of the re-
surrection is a spring of consolation and joy unto yon. Think on it ,
0 believers, when ye are. in the house of mourning, for the loss of
your godly relations or friends, " that ye sorrow not, even as others
which have no hope ;" for you will meet again, 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14.
They are but laid down to rest in their beds for a little while,
Isa. Ivii. 2 ; but in the morning of the resurrection they will awake
again, and come forth out of their graves. The vessel of honour
was but coarse, it had much alloy of base metal in it ; it was too
weak, too dim and inglorious, for the upper house, whatever lustre
it had in the lower one. It was cracked, it was polluted ; and
therefore it must be melted down, to be refined and fashioned
more gloriously. Do but wait a while, and you shall see it come
forth out of the furnace of earth, vying with the stars in bright-
ness ; nay, as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. Have you
laid your infant children in the grave ? You will see them again.
Your God calls himself " the God of your seed ;" which, according
to our Saviour's exposition, secures the glorious resurrection of the
body. Wherefore, let the covenant you embraced comfort your
heart, in the joyful expectation, that, by virtue thereof, you shall
be raised up in glory. Be not discouraged by reason of a weak
and sickly body : there is a day coming, when you shall be
entirely whole. At the resurrection, Timothy shall be no more
liable to his often infirmities ; his body, that was weak and sickly,
even in youth, shall be raised in power : Lazarus was healthy
and sound, his body being raised incorruptible. Although per-
haps, thy weakness will not allow thee now to go one furlong to
meet the Lord in public ordinances, yet the day cometh, when thy
body shall be no more a clog to thee, but thou shalt " meet the Lord
in the air," 1 Thess. iv. 17. It will be with the saints coming up
from the grave, as with the Israelites when they came out of Egypt.
Psalm cv. 37, " There was not one feeble person among their tribes."
Hast thou an uncomely or deformed body ? There is a glory within,
which will then set all right without, according to all the desire of
thine heart. It shall rise a glorious, beautiful, handsome, and well-
proportioned body. Its uncomeliness or deformities may go with it
to the grave, but they shall not come back with it. 0 that those,
who are now so desirous to be beautiful and handsome, would not be
too hasty to eff'ect it with their foolish and sinful arts, but wait and
TERROR TO THE UNREGENERATE. 287
study tlie heavenly art of beautifying the body, by endeavouring now
to become all glorious within, with the graces of God's Spirit ! This
would at length make them admirable and everlasting beauties.
Thou must indeed, 0 believer, grapple with death, and shalt get the
first fall : but thou shalt rise again, and come off victorious at last.
Thou must go down to the grave ; but, though it be thy long home,
it will not be thine everlasting home. Thou wilt not hear the voice
of thy friends there ; but thou shalt hear the voice of CJirist there.
Thou mayest be carried thither with mourning, but thou shalt come
up from it rejoicing. Thy friends, indeed, will leave thee there,
but thy God will not. What God said to Jacob, concerning his going
down to Egypt, Gen. xlvi. 3, 4, he says to thee, on thy going down
to the grave, " Fear not to go down — 1 will go down with thee — and
I will also surely bring thee up again." O solid comfort ! 0 glo-
rious hopes ! " "Wherefore comfort" yourselves, and " one another
with these words," 1 Thess. iv. 18.
Use II. Of terror to all unregenerate men. You who are yet in
your natural state, look at this view of the eternal state ; and con-
sider what will be your part in it, if you be not in time brought
into a state of grace. Think, 0 sinner, on that day when the
trumpet shall sound, at which the bars of the pit .shall be broken
asunder, the doors of the grave shall fly open, the devouring depths
of the sea shall throw up their dead, the earth cast forth hers ; and
death every where, in the excess of astonishment, shall let go its
prisoners ; and thy wretched soul and body shall be re-united, to be
summoned before the tribunal of God. Then, if thou hadst a thou-
sand worlds at thy disposal, thou wouldst gladly give them all away,
on condition that thou mightest lie still in thy grave, with the
hundredth part of that ease, wherewith thou hast sometimes lain at
home on the Lord's day ; or, if that cannot be obtained, that thou
mightest be but a spectator of the transactions of that day ; as thou
hast been at some solemn occasions, aud rich gospel feasts ; or, if
even that is not to be purchased, that a mountain or a rock might
fall on thee, and cover thee from the face of the Lamb. Ah ! how
are men infatuated, thus to trifle away their precious time of life,
in almost as little concern about death, as if they were like the
beasts that perish ; Some will be telling where their corpse must
be laid ; while yet they have not seriously considered, whether
their graves shall be their beds, where they shall awake witli
joy, in the morning of the resurrection ; or their prisons, out of
which they shall be brought to receive the fearful sentence. Re-
member, now is your seed-time ; and as you sow, so shall you reap.
God's seed-time begins at death ; and at the resurrection, the bodies.
288 TERROR TO THE UNREGENERATE:.
of the wicked, that were sown " full of sins, that lie down with
them in the dust," Job xx. 11, shall spring up again, sinful,
wretched, and vile. Your bodies, which are now instruments of sin,
the Lord will lay aside for fire, at death, and bring them forth for
the fire, at the resurrection. That body, which is now employed in
God's service, but is abused by uncleanness and lasciviousness,
will then be brought forth in all its vileness, thenceforth to lodge
with unclean spirits. The body of the drunkard shall then stagger,
by reason of the wine of the wrath of God poured out to him, and
poured into him, without mixture. Those M'ho now please them-
selves in their revellings, will reel to and fro at another rate, when,
instead of their songs and music, they shall hear the sound of the
last trumpet. Many weary their bodies for worldly gain, who will
be loath to distress them for the benefit of their souls ; by labour,
unreasonably hard, they will quite unfit them for the service of
God ; and, when they have done, will reckon it a very good reason
for shifting duty, that they are already tired out with other business ;
but that day cometh, when they will be made to abide a yet greater
distress. Many will go several miles for back and belly, who will
not go half the way for the good of their immortal souls ; many will
be sickly and unable on the Lord's day, who will be tolerably well
all the rest of the week. But when that trumpet sounds, the dead
shall find their feet, and none shall be missing in that congregation.
When the bodies of the saints shine as the sun, frightful will the
looks of their persecutors be. Fearful will their condition be, who
shut up the saints in prison, stigmatized, burnt them to ashes, hanged
them, and stuck up their heads and hands in public places, to frighten
others from the way of righteousness, which they sutfered for. Many
faces, now fair, will then gather blackness. They shall be no more
admired and caressed for that beauty, which has a worm at the root,
that will cause it to issue in loathsomeness and deformity. Ah ! what
is that beauty, under which there lurks a monstrous, deformed, and
graceless heart ? "What, but a sorry paint, a slight varnish ; which
will leave the body so much the more ugly, before that flaming fire,
in which the Judge shall be " revealed from heaven, taking venge-
ance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel ?"
2 Thess. i. 7, 8. They shall be stripped of all their ornaments, and
not have a rag to cover their nakedness : their carcases shall be
an abhorrence to all flesh, and serve as a foil to set oft' the beauty
and glory of the righteous, and make it appear the brighter.
Now is the time to secure, for yourselves, a part in the resurrec-
tion of the just : which if you would do, unite with Jesus Christ by
faith, rising spiritually from sin, and glorifying God with your
OP THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 289
bodies. He is the " resurrection and the life," John xi. 25. If
your bodies be members of Christ, temples of the Holy Ghost, they
shall certainly arise in glory. Get into this ark now, and yon shall
come forth with joy into the new world. Rise from your sins ; cast
away these grave-clothes, putting off these former lusts. How can
any one imagine, that those who continue dead while they live, shall
come forth, at the last day, unto the resurrection of life ? But that
will be the privilege of all those who, having first consecrated their
souls and bodies to the Lord by faith, do glorify him with their
bodies, as well as their souls; living and acting to him, and for him,
yea, and suffering for him too, when he calls them to it.
PART lY.
OF THE GENERAL JUDGMENT.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angeh
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before
him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall
set the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall
the King say unto them on his right hand. Come, ye blessed, 8fG. —
Unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, 8fc. — And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment : but the righteous into
life eternal — Matt. xxv. 31 — 34, 41, 46.
The dead being raised, and those found alive at the coming of the
Judge changed, then follows the general judgment, plainly and
awfully described in this portion of Scripture; in which we shall
take notice of the following particulars : 1. The coming of the
Judge, " When the Son of man shall come in his glory," «&c. The
Judge is Jesus Christ, " the Son of man ;" the same by whose
almighty power, as he is God, the dead will be raised. He is also
called the King, ver. 34, the judging of the world being an act of
the royal Mediator's kingly office. He will come in glory; glorious
in his own person, and having a glorious retinue, even all the holy
angels with him, to minister unto him at this great solemnity. 2.
The mounting the tribunal. He is a King, and therefore it is a
throne, a glorious throne, " He shall sit upon the throne of his
glory," ver. 31. 3. The appearance of the parties. These are, all
290 OF THE GENERAL JUBGMENT.
nations; all and every one, small and great, of whatever nation,
who ever were, are, or shall be on the face of the earth ; all shall
be gathered before hiui, summoned before his tribunal. 4. The
sorting of them. He shall separate the elect sheep and reprobate
goats, setting each party by themselves ; as a shepherd, who feeds
his sheep and goats together all the day, separates them at night,
ver. 32. The godly he will set on his right hand, as the most
honourable place ; the wicked on the left, ver. 33. Yet so as they
shall be both before him, ver. 32. It seems to be an allusion to a
custom in the Jewish courts, in which one sat at the right hand of
the judge, who wrote the sentence'of absolution ; another at the left,
who wrote the sentence of condemnation. 5. The sentencing of the
parties, and that according to their works; the righteous being
absolved, and the wicked condemned, ver. 34 — 41. 6. The execu-
tion of both sentences, in the driving away of the wicked into hell,
and carrying the godly to heaven, ver. 46.
Doctrine. There shall be a general judgment. — This doctrine I
shall, I. Confirm; II. Explain; and then apply.
I. For confirmation of this great truth, that there shall be a gene-
ral judgment.
1. It is evident from plain Scripture testimonies. — The world has
in all ages been told of it. Enoch, before the flood, taught it in his
prophecy, related in Jude, ver. 14, 15, "Behold the Lord cometh
with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all," &c.
Daniel describes it, chap. vii. 9, 10, " I beheld till the thrones were
cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was
white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool : his
throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A
fiery stream issued and came forth from before him : thousand thou-
sands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand
stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened."
The apostle is very express, Acts xvii. 31, " He hath appointed a
day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by
that man whom he hath ordained." See Matt. xvi. 27 ; 2 Cor. v.
10; 2 Thess. i. 7 — 10; Rev. xx. 11—15. God not only said it, but
he has sworn it, Rom. xiv. 10, 11, " We must all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue confess to God." So
that the truth of God is most solemnly pledged for it.
2. The perfect justice and goodness of God, the sovereign ruler
of the world, necessarily require it, inasmuch as they require its
being well with the righteous, and ill with the wicked. Yet we
often see wickedness exalted, while truth and righteousness fall in
OF THE GENERAL JUDGJfENT. 291
the streets ; piety oppressed, while profanity and irreligion triumph.
This is so very common, that every one who sincerely embraces
the way of holiness, must and doth lay his account with the loss of
all he has, which the world can take away from him, Luke xiv. 26,
" If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also,
he cannot be my disciple," But it is inconsistent with the justice
and goodness of God, that the affairs of men should always con-
tinue in the state which they appear in, from one generation to an-
other ; and that every man should not be rewarded according to his
works : and since that is not done in this life, there must be a
judgment to come ; " Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to re-
compense tribulation to them that trouble you ; and to you who are
troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven," 2 Thess. i. 6, 7. There will be a day in which the tables
will be turned ; and the wicked shall be called to an account for
all their sins, and suffer the due punishment of them; and the pious
shall be prosperous : for, as the apostle argues for the happy re-
surrection of the saints, " If in this life only we have hope in Christ
we are of all men most miserable," 1 Cor. xv. 19. It is true, God
sometimes punishes the wicked in this life : that men may know,
" He is a God that judgeth in the earth :" but yet much wickedness
remains unpunished and undiscovered, to be a pledge of the judg-
ment to come. If none of the wicked were punished here, they
would conclude that God had utterly forsaken the earth ; if all of
them were punished in this life, men would be apt to think there
were no after reckoning. Therefore, in the wisdom of God some
are punished now, and some not. Sometimes the Lord smites sin-
ners, in the very act of sin ; to shew unto the world, that he is wit-
ness to all their wickedness, and will call them to an account for
it. Sometimes he delays long ere he strikes, that he may discover
to the world that he forgets not men's ill deeds, though he does not
immediately punish them. Besides all this, the sins of many out-
live them ; and the impure fountain opened by them, runs long after
they are dead and gone. As in the case of Jeroboam, the first king
of the ten tribes, whose sin ran all along unto the end of that un-
happy kingdom, 2 Kings xvii. 22, 23, " The children of Israel walked
in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did ; they departed not from
them ; until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight."
3. The resurrection of Christ is a certain proof, that there shall
be a day of judgment. This argument Paul uses to convince the
Athenians, that Jesus Christ will be the Judge of the world;"
•' Whereof," says he, '* he hath given assurance to all men, in that
292 OF THE GENERAL JUDOMENT.
he hath raised him from the dead," Acts xvii, 38. The Judge is
already named, his patent written and sealed, yea, and read before
all men, in his rising again from the dead. Hereby God has given
assurance of it : by raising Christ from the dead, he has exhibited
his credentials as Judge of the world. When, in the days of his
humiliation, he was cited before a tribunal, arraigned, accused, and
condemned of men ; he plainly told them of this judgment, and that
he himself would be the Judge, Matt. xxvi. 64, " Hereafter shall ye
see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming
in the clouds of heaven." And now that he is raised from the dead,
though condemned as a blasphemer on this very head, is it not an
undeniable proof, from Heaven, of the truth of what he asserted ?
Moreover, this was one of the great ends of Christ's death and re-
surrection ; " For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and re-
vived, that he might be the Lord," that is, " the Lord Judge," as is
evident from the context, " both of the dead and of the living," Rom.
xiv. 9.
4. Every man bears about with him a witness to this within his
own breast, Rom. ii. 15, " Which shew the work of the law written
in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their
thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another."
There is a tribunal erected within every man, where conscience is
accuser, witness, and judge, binding over the sinner to the judgment
of God. This fills the most profligate wretches with horror, and
inwardly stings them, upon the commission of some atrocious crime ;
in effect summoning them to answer for it, before the Judge of the
quick and dead. And thus it does, even when the crime is secret,
and hid from the eyes of the world. It reaches those, whom the
laws of men cannot reach, because of their power or craft. Men
have fled from the judgment of their fellow-creatures ; yet go
where they will, conscience as the supreme Judge's oflicer, still keeps
hold of them, reserving them in its chains, to the judgment of the
great day. And whether they escape punishment from men, or
fall by the hand of public justice, when they perceive death's ap-
proach, they hear from within, of this after reckoning; being con-
strained to hearken thereto, in these the most serious minutes of
their lives. If there be some, in whom nothing of this doth appear,
we have no more ground thence to conclude against it, than we have
to conclude, that because some men do not groan, therefore they
have no paiu ; or that dying is a mere jest, because there have been
some who seemed to make little else of it. A good face may be put
upon an ill conscience; the more hopeless men's case is, they reckon
it more their interest to make no reflections on their state and case.
CHRIST DESCENDING AS JUDGE. 293
But every one, who will consult liiniself seriously, will find in him-
self the witness to the judgmeut to come. Even the heathens
wanted not a notion of it, though mixed with fictions of their own.
Ilence, though some of the Athenians, " when they heard of the re-
surrection of the dead, mocked," yet there is no account of their
mocking, when they heard of the general judgment, Acts xvii.
31, 32.
II. For explanation, the following particulars may serve to give
some view of the transactions of that great day.
1. God shall judge the world by Jesus Christ. " He will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained,"
Acts xvii. 31. The psalmist tells us, that God is judge himself,
Psalm 1. 6. The holy blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost is Judge, in respect to judicial authority, dominion, and
power : but the Son incarnate is the Judge, in respect of dispensa-
tion, and special exercise of that power. The judgment shall be
exercised or performed by him as the royal Mediator ; for he has
delegated power of judgment from the Father, as his servant, " his
King," whom he hath " set upon his holy hill of Zion," Psalm ii. 6,
and to whom he " hath committed all judgment," John v. 22. This
is a part of the Mediator's exaltation, given him in consequence of
his voluntary humiliation, Phil. ii. 8 — 10, " He humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name," that is, power and authority over
all, to-wit, " That at," or in, " the name of Jesus," not the name
Jesus ; that is not the name above every name ; being common to
others, as to Justus, Col. iv. 11; and Joshua, Heb. iv. 8, " every
knee shall bow." This is explained by the apostle himself, of
"standing before the judgment-seat of Christ," Rom. xiv. 10, 11.
So he who was judged and condemned of men, shall be the Judge of
men and angels.
2. Jesus Christ the Judge, descending from heaven into the air,
1 Thess. iv. 16, 17- " He shall come in the clouds of heaven, with
power and great glory," Matt. xxiv. 30. This his coming will
be a mighty surprise lo the world, which will be found in deep se-
curity ; foolish virgins sleeping, and the wise slumbering. There
will then be much luxury and debauchery in the world, little so-
briety and watchfulness ; a great throng business, but. a great
scarcity of faith and holiness. " As it was iu the days of Noah,
so also shall it be in the days of the Son of man. They did eat,
they drank, they married wives, they were given iu marriage, until
the day that Noah entered into the ark : and the flood came, and
294 THE SUMMONS TO JUDGMEN^T.
destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot :
they did eat, they drak, they bought, they sold, they planted,
they builded. — Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son
of man is revealed," Luke xvii. 26 — -30. The coming of the Judge
will surprise some at markets, buying and selling ; others at table,
eating and drinking, and making merry ; others busy with their
new plantings ; some building new houses ; nay, the wedding-day
of some will be their own and the world's judgment-day. But the
Judge Cometh ! the markets are marred ; the buyer throws away
what he has bought ; the sellar casts down his money ; they are
raised from the table, and their mirth is extinguished in a moment ;
though the tree be set in the earth, the gardener cannot stay to cast
the earth about it ; the workmen throw away their tools, when the
house is half built, and the owner regards it no more ; the bride-
groom, bride, and guests, must leave the wedding day, and ap-
pear before the tribunal ; for, " Behold, he cometh with clouds,
and every eye shall see him," Rev. i. 7. He shall come most
gloriously ; for he will " come in the glory of his Father, with the
holy angels," Mark viii. 38. "When he came in the flesh, to die for
sinners, he laid aside the robes of his glory, and was despised and
rejected of men : but when he comes again, to judge the world, such
shall be his visible glory and majesty, that it shall cast an eternal
veil over all earthy glory, and fill his greatest enemies with fear
and dread. Never had prince and potentate in the world such
a glorious train, as will accompany this Judge : all the holy angels
shall come with him, for his honour and service. Then He, who
was led to the cross with a band of soldiers, will be gloriously
attended to the place of judgment, by " not a multitude of the
heavenly host," but the whole host of angels : "all his holy angels,"
says the text.
3. At the coming of the Judge, the summons is given to the par-
ties by the sound of the last trumpet ; at which the dead are raised,
and those found alive are changed ; see 1 Thes. iv. 16, 17- 0 loud
trumpet, that shall be heard at once, in all corners of the earth, and
of the sea ! 0 wonderful voice, that will not only disturb those who
sleep in the dust, but effectually awaken, rouse them out of their
sleep, and raise them from death ! Were trumpets sounding now,
drums beating, furious soldiers crying and killing men ; women and
children running and shrieking, the wounded groaning and dying ;
those who are in the graves would have no more disturbance than if
the world were in most profound peace. Yea, were stormy winds
casting down the lofty oaks, the seas roaring and swallowing up the
ships, the most dreadful thunders going along the heavens, lightnings
THE SUMMONS TO JUDGMENT. 295
every wbere flashing, the earth quaking, trembling, opening, and
swallowing up whole cities, and burying multitudes at once ; the
dead would still enjoy a perfect repose, and sleep soundly in the
dust, though their own dust should be thrown out of its place. But
at the sound of this trumpet, they shall all awake. The morning is
come, they can sleep no longer; the time for the dead to be judged:
they must get out of their graves, and appear before the Judge.
4. The Judge shall sit down on the tribunal ; he shall sit on the
throne of his glory. He stood before a tribunal on earth, and was
condemned as a malefactor : now he shall sit on his own tribunal,
and judge the world. He once hung upon the cross, covered with
shame ; now he shall sit on a throne of glory. What this throne
shall be whether a bright cloud, or what else, I shall not inquire.
Our eyes shall answer to that question at length. John " saw a
great white throne," Rev. xx. 11. " His throne," says Daniel, "was
like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire," chap vii. 9.
Whatever it be, doubtless it will be a throne glorious beyond ex-
pression ; and in comparison with which the most glorious throne
on the earth is but a seat on a dunghill ; and the sight of it will
equally surprise kings who sat on thrones in this life, and beggars
who sat on dunghills. It will be a throne, for stateliness and glory,
suited to the quality of him who shall sit on it. Never had a judge
such a throne, and never had a throne such a judge on it.
Leaving the discovery of the nature of the throne until that day,
it concerns us more nearly to consider what a Judge will sit on it;
a point on which we are not left to uncertain conjectures. The
Judge on the throne will be, (1.) A Judge visible to our bodily eyes,
Rev. i. 7, " Every eye shall see him." When God gave the law on
mount Sinai, the people " saw no similitude, only heard a voice :"
but when he calls the world to an account how they observed his
law, the man Christ being Judge, we shall see our Judge with our
eyes, either to our eternal comfort, or to our eternal confusion, ac-
cording to the entertainment which we give him now. That very
body which was crucified without the gates of Jerusalem, between
two thieves, shall then be seen on the throne, shining in glory.
We now see him symbolically, in the sacrament of his supper ; the
saints see him by the eye of faith ; then all shall see him with those
eyes now in their heads. (2.) A Judge having full authority
and power to render unto every one according to his works, Christ,
as God, hath authority of himself; and as Mediator he hath a judi-
cial power and authority, which his Father has invested him with,
according to the covenant between the Father and the Son for the
redemption of sinners. His divine glory will be light, by which
296 THE SUMMONS TO JUDGMENT.
all men shall see clearly to read his commission for this great and
honourable employment. " All power is given to him in heaven
and in earth," Matt, xxviii. 18. He hath " the keys of hell and
of death," Rev. i. 18. There can be no appeal from his tribunal :
sentence once passed there, must stand for ever ; there is no re-
versing it. All appeals are from an inferior to a superior court :
but when God gives sentence against a man, whore can he find
a higher court to bring his process to? This judgment is the
Mediator's judgment, and therefore the last judgment. If the
Intercessor be against us, who can be for us ? If Christ condemn
us, who will absolve us '? (3.) A Judge of infinite wisdom. His
eyes will pierce into, and clearly discern the most intricate cases.
His omniscience qualifies him for judging the most retired thoughts,
as well as the words and works. The most subtile sinner shall
not be able to deceive him, nor, by any artful management, to
palliate the crime. He is the searcher of hearts, to whom no-
thing can be hid or perplexed; but all things are naked and
open unto his eyes, Heb. iv. 13. (4.) A most just Judge; a Judge
of perfect integrity. He is the righteous Judge, 2 Tim. iv. 8, and
his throne a great white throne. Rev. xx. 11, from whence no
judgment shall proceed, but what is pure and spotless. The
Thebans painted justice blind, and without hands ; because judges
ought not to respect persons, nor take bribes. The Areopagites
judged in the dark ; that they might not regard who spoke, but
what was spoken. With the Judge on his throne, there will be no
respect of persons; he will neither regard the person of the rich,
nor of the poor : but just judgment shall go forth, in every
one's cause. (5.) An omnipotent Judge, able to put his sentence in
■execution. The united force of devils and wicked men will be alto-
gether unable to withstand him. They cannot retard the execution
of the sentence against them one moment ; far loss can they stop it
altogether. " Thousand thousands of angels minister unto him," Dan.
vii. 10. And, by the breath of his mouth, he can drive the cursed
herd whither he pleases.
5. The parties shall appear. These are men and devils. Al-
though the fallen angels were, from the first moment of their sin-
ning, subjected to the wrath of Gad, and were cast down to hell,
and wherever they go they carry their hell about with them ; yet it
is evident that they are reserved unto judgment, 2 Pet. ii. 4,
namely, unto the judgment of the great day, Jude verse 6. Then
they shall be solemnly and publicly judged, 1 Cor. vi. 3, " Know
ye not that we shall judge angels?" At that day they shall answer
for their trade of sinning, and tempting to sin, which they have
THE APPEARAJTCE OF THE PARTIES. 297
been carryin<j on from the beginning. And they shall receive the
dne reward of all the dishonour which they have done to God, and
of all the mischief which they have done to men. Those wicked
spirits now in chains, though not in such strait custody, but that
they go about, like roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour,
shall then receive their final sentence, and be shut up in their den,
in the prison ; where they shall be held in extreme and unspeakable
torment, through all eternity, Ilev. xx. 10. " And the devil, that
deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where
the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and
night for ever and eA'^er." In prospect of which, the devils said to
Christ, "Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ?" Matt,
viii. 29.
But what we are chiefly concerned to take notice of, is the case of
men at that day. All men must appear before this tribunal. All
of each sex, of every age, quality, and condition ; the great and
small, noble and ignoble ; none are excepted. Adam and Eve, with
all their sons and daughters, every one who has had or, to the end of
the world, shall have a living soul united to a body, will make up
this great congregation. Even those who refused to come to the throne
of grace, shall be forced to the bar of justice : for there can be no
hiding from the all-seeing Judge, no flying from him who is present
every where, no resisting of him who is armed with almighty power,
** We must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ," 2 Cor. v.
10. " Before him shall be gathered all nations," says the text.
This is to be done by the ministry of angels. By them shall the
elect be gathered, Mark xiii. 27, " Then shall he send his angels,
and shall gather together his elect from the four winds." And they
also shall gather the reprobate, Matth. xiii. 40, 41, " So shall it be
in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that of-
fend, and them which do iniquity. From all corners of the world
shall the inhabitants thereof be gathered unto the place where he
shall set his throne for judgment.
6. There shall be a separation made between the righteous and
the wicked; the fair company of the elect sheep being set on Christ's
right hand, and the reprobate goats on his left. There is no
necessity to wait for this separation, till the trial is over; since the
parties will rise out of their graves with plain outward marks of
distinction, as was mentioned before. The separation seems to be
eff"ected by that double gathering, before mentioned ; the one of the
elect, Mark xiii. 2 : the other of them that do iniquity, Matt. xiii.
41. The elect being " caught up together in the clouds, meet the
Vol. VIII. T
298 SEPARATION OF RIGHTEOUS AND WICKED.
Lord in tlie air," 1 Thess. iv. 17, and so are set on liis right hand ;
and the reprobate left on the earth, are placed upon the Judge's
left hand Here is now a total separation of two parties, who were
always opposite to each other in their principles, aims, and manner
of life ; who, when together, were a bnrden the one to the other,
under which the one groaned, and the other raged ; but now they
are finally parted, never to come together any more. The righteous
and wicked, like the iron and clay, which could never mix, See
Dan. ii. 41 — 43, are quite separated ; the one being drawn up into
the air, by the attractive virtue of " the stone cut out of the moun-
tain," namely, Jesus Christ ; and the other left upon its earth, to be
trod under foot.
Now let us look to the right hand, and there we shall see a glo-
rious company of saints shining, as so many stars in their orbs ;
and with a cheerful countenance beholding Him who sitteth upon
the throne. Here will be two wonderful sights, which the world
ncA^er saw. 1. A great congregation of saints, in which there will
not be so much as one hypocrite. There was a bloody Cain
in Adam's family ; a cursed Ham in Noah's family, in the ark ; a
treacherous Judas in Christ's own family ; but in that company
there will be none but sealed ones, members of Christ, having all
one Father. This is a sight reserved for that day. 2. All the
godly upon one side. Seldom or never do the saints on earth make
such harmony, but there are some jarring strings among them. It
is not to be expected, that men who see but in part, though they
are all going to one city, should agree as to every step in the way :
no, we must not look for it, in this state of imperfection. But at
that day, Paul and Barnabas shall meet in peace and unity, though
once " the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed
asunder, the one from the other," Acts xv. 39. There shall be no
more divisions, no more separate standing amongst those who be-
longed to Christ. All the godly, of the different parties, shall then
be upon one side ; seeing, whatever were their differences in lesser
things, while in the world, yet even then they met and concerted
all in one Lord Jesus Christ, by a true and lively faith, and
in the one way of holiness, or practical godliness. And vile
hypocrites, of whatever party, shall be led forth with the workers
of iniquity.
Look to the left hand, and there you will see the cursed goats,
all the wicked ones, from Cain to the last ungodly person who
shall be in the world, gathered together into one most miserable con-
gregation. There are many assemblies of the wicked now ; then
there shall be but one. But all of them shall be present there.
TRIAL OF THE PARTIES. 299
brought together, as one herd for the slaughter, bellowing and
roaring, weeping and howling, for the miseries come, and that are
coming on them. And remember, thou shalt not be a mere specta-
tor, to look at these two such different companies; but must thyself
take thy place in one of the two, and shalt share with tlie company,
whatever hand it be on. Those who now abhor no society so much
as that of the saints, would then be glad to be allowed to get in
among them, though it were but to lie at their feet. But then not
one tare shall be found with the wheat ; He will thoroughly purge
his floor. Many of the right-hand men of this world, will be left-
hand men in that day. Many, who must have the door on the right
hand of those who are better than they, if the righteous be more
excellent than his neighbour, shall then be turned to the left hand,
as most despicable wretches ! 0 how terrible will this separation
be to the ungodly ! How dreadful will this gathering them together
into one company be ! What they will not believe, they will then
see, namely, that but few are saved. They think it enough now to
be neighbour-like, and can securely follow the multitude : but the
multitude on the left hand will yield them no comfort. How will it
sting the ungodly Christian, to see himself set on the same hand
with Turks and Pagans ! How will it gall profane Protestants, to
stand with idolatrous Papists ; praying people, with their profane
neighbours, who mocked at religious exercises; formal professors,
strangers to the new birth and the power of godliness, with persecu-
tors ! Now there are many opposite societies in the world ; but
then all the ungodly shall be in one society. And how dreadful
will the faces of companions in sin be to one another there ! What
doleful shrieks, when the drunkards, who have had many a jovial
day together, shall see one another in the face ; when the husband
and wife, the parents and children, masters and servants, and neigh-
bours, who have been snares and stumbling-blocks to one another, to
the ruin of their own souls and those of their relatives, shall meet
again in that miserable society ! Then there will be curses instead
of salutations ; and tearing of themselves, and raging against one
another, instead of the wonted embraces.
7. The parties shall be tried. Tlie trial cannot be difficult, seeing
the Judge is omniscient, and nothing can be hid from him. But,
that his righteous judgment may be made evident to all, he will set
the hidden things of darkness in the clearest light at that trial,
1 Cor. iv. 5.
Men shall be tried, 1. Upon their works ; for " God shall bring
every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it bo
good, or whether it be evil," Eccl. xii. 14. The Judge will try
t2
300 TRIAL OF THE PARTIES.
every man's conversation, and set his deeds done in the body, with
all the circumstances thereof, in a true light. Then will many
actions, commended and applauded of men, as good and jnst, be dis-
covered to have been evil and abominable in the sight of God ; and
many works, now condemned by the world, will be approved and
commended by the great Judge, as good and just. Secret things
will be brought to light; and what was hid from the view of the
world, shall be laid open. Wickedness, which hath kept its lurking
place in spite of all human search, will then be brought forth to the
glory of God, and the confusion of impenitent sinners, who hid it. —
The world appears now very vile in the eyes of those who are exer-
cised togodiiaess; and it will then appear a thousand times more
vile, when that which is done of men in secret comes to be disco-
vered. Every good action shall then be remembered ; and the hid-
den religion and good works, most industriously concealed by the
saints from the eyes of men, shall no more lie hid : for though the
Lord will not allow men to proclaim every one his own goodness,
yet he himself will do it in due time. 2. Their words shall be
judged. Matt. xii. 37, " For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and
by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Not a word spoken for
God and his cause in the world, from love to himself, shall be for-
gotten. They are all kept in remembrance, and shall be brought
forth as evidences of faith, and of an interest in Christ. Mai. iii.
16, 17, " Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to an-
other, and the Lord hearkened and heard it ; and a book of
remembrance was written before I>im. And they shall be mine,
saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels."
The tongue, which did run at random, shall then confess to God ;
and the speaker shall find it to have been followed, and every
word nottd tl.at dropped from the unsauctifled lips. " Every
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the day of judgment, Mattli. xii. 36. And if they shall give
account of idle words, that is, words spoken to no good purpose,
neither for God's glory, nor their own nor their neighbour's good ;
how much more shall men's wicked words, their sinful oaths, curses,
lies, filthy communications, and bitter words, be called over again
in that day I The tongues of many shall then fall upon them-
selves, and ruin them. 3. Men's thoughts shall be brought into
judgment: the Judge will make manifest the counsels of the hearts,
1 Cor. iv. 5. Thoughts go free from man's judgment, but not
from the judgment of the heart-searching God, who knows men's
thoughts, without the help of signs to discern them by. The secret
springs of men's actions will then be brought to light; and the sins,
I
TRIAL OF THE PARTIES. 301
that never came further than the heart, will then be laid open. 0
what a figure will man's corrupt nature present, when his inside is
turned out, and all his speculative impurities are exposed ! The
rottenness that is within many a whited sepulchre, the speculative
filthiness and wantonness, murder and malignity, now lurking in the
hearts of men, as in the chambers of imagery, will then be dis-
covered, and what good was in the hearts of any shall no more lie
concealed. If it was in their hearts to build a house to the Lord,
they shall hear, that they did well that it was in their heart.
This trial will be righteous and impartial, accurate and searching,
clear and evident. The Judge is the righteous Judge, and he will do
right to every one. He has a just balance for good and evil actions^
and for honest and false hearts. The fig-leaf cover of hypocrisy will
then be blown aside, and the hypocrite's nakedness will appear ; as
when the Lord came to judge Adam and Eve " in the cool," or, as
the word is, " in the wind of the day," Gen. iii. 8. " The fire,"
which tries things most exquisitely, " shall try every man's work, of
what sort it is," 1 Cor. iii. 13. Man's judgment is often perplexed
and confused: but here the whole pi'ocess shall be clear and evident,
as written with a sunbeam. It shall be clear to the Judge, to whom
no case can be intricate ; to the parties, who shall be convinced,
Jude ver. 15. And the multitudes on both sides shall see that the
Judge is clear when he judgeth; for then "the heavens shall declare
his righteousness," in the audience of all the world; and so it shall
be universally known, Psalm 1. 6.
On these accounts it is, that this trial is held out in the Scripture,
under the notion of " opening of books ;" and men are said to be
" judged out of those things written in the books," Rev. xx. 12.
The judge of the world, who infallibly knows all things, has no need
of books to be laid before him, to prevent mistakes in any point of
law or fact; but the expression points at his proceedings as most
nice, accurate, just and well grounded, in every step of thorn. Now,
there are four books that shall be opened in that day.
(1.) The book of God's remembrance, or omniscience, Mai. iii. 16.
This is an exact record of every man's state, thoughts, words, and
deeds, good or evil : it is, as it were, a day-book, in which the Lord
puts down all that passes in men's hearts, lips, and lives; and it is
a reckoning up every day that one lives. In it are recorded men's
sins and good works, secret and open, with all their circumstances.
Here are registered all their privileges, temporal and spiritual mer-
cies, often made ready to their hand ; the checks, admonitions, and
rebukes, given by teachers, neighbours, afflictious, and men's own
consciences; every thing in its due order. — This book will serve
302 TilK BOOKS OPENED.
only as a bill of indictment, in respect of the ungodly ; but it will
be for another use in respect of the godly, namely, for a memorial
of their good. The opening of it is the Judge's bringing to light
what is written in it ; the reading, as it were of the bill and memo-
rial, respectively, in their hearing.
(2.) The book of conscience will be opened, which shall be as a
thousand witnesses to prove the fact, Rom. ii. 15, " Which shew the
work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bear-
ing witness." Conscience is a censor going with every man wher-
ever he goes, taking an account of his deeds done in the body, and,
as it were, noting them in a book. — Much is written in it, which can-
«*»ot be read now ; the writing of conscience being, in many cases,
like to that which is made with the juice of lemons, not to be read
till it is held before the fire ; but then men shall read it clearly and
distinctly ; the fire which is to try every man's work, will make the
book of conscience legible in every point.
Though the book be sealed now, the conscience blind, dumb, and
deaf, the seals will than be broken, and the book opened. There
shall be no more a silent conscience, and far less a seared conscience,
amongst all the ungodly crew : but their conscience shall be most
quick-sighted, and most lively, in that day. None shall then call
good evil, or evil good. Ignorance of what sin is, and what things
are sins, will have no place among them : and the subtle reasonings
of men, in favour of their lusts, will then be for ever baffled by
their own conscience. None shall have the favour, if I may so
speak, of lying under the soft cover of delusion ; but they shall all
be convicted by their conscience. Whether they will or not, they
must look on this book, read, be confounded, and stand speechless,
knowing that nothing is charged upon them by mistake ; since this
is a book which was always in their own custody. Thus shall the
Judge make every man see himself in the glass of his own con-
science, which will make quick work.
(3.) The book of the law shall be opened. This book is the stan-
dard and rule, by which is known what is right, and what is wrong;
as also, what sentence is to be passed accordingly, on those who are
under it. — As to the opening of this book, in a statute, which
shews what is sin, and what is duty; it agrees with the opening of
the book of conscience : lor conscience is set, by the sovereign law-
giver, in every man's breast, to be his private teacher, to shew him
the law ; and his private pastor, to make application of the same ;
and at that day, it will be perfectly fit for its office, so that the
conscience, which is most stupid now, shall then read to the man
most accurate, but dreadful lectures on the law. But what seems
THE BOOKS Ol'ENED. 303
principally pointed at by the opening of this book, is the opening
of that part of it which determines the reward of men's works.
Now the law promises life, upon perfect obedience : but none can
be found on the right hand, or on the left, who will pretend to
that, when once the book of conscience is opened. It threatens
death upon disobedience, and will effectually bring it upon all under
its dominion. — And this part of the book of the law, determining
the reward of men's works, is opened, only to shew what must be
the portion of the ungodly, and that there they may read their sen-
tence, before it is pronounced. But it is not opened for the sentence
of the saints ; for no sentence absolving a sinner could ever be
drawn out of it. The law promises life, not as it is a rule of actions,
but as a covenant of works ; therefore innocent man could not have
demanded life upon his obedience, till the law was reduced into the
form of a covenant ; as was shewn before. But the saints, having
been, in this life, brought under a new covenant, namely, the cove-
nant of grace, were dead to the law as a covenant of works, and it
was dead to them. Wherefore, as they shall not now have any fear
of death from it ; so they can have no hope of life from it, since
" they are not under the law, but under grace," Rom. vi. 14. But,
for their sentence, " another book is opened."
Thus the book of the law is opened, for the sentence against all
those on the left hand : and by it they will clearly see the justice
of the judgment against them, and how the Judge proceeds therein
according to law. Nevertheless, there vrill be this difference, namely
that those who had only the natural law, and lived not under any
special revelation, shall be judged by that law of nature they had
in their hearts ; which law declares " that they which commit such
things," as they will stand convicted of " are worthy of death,"
Rom. i. 32. But those Avho had the written law, to whom the word
of God came, sounding in the visible church, shall be judged by that
written law. So says the apostle, Rom. ii. 12, " For as many as
have sinned without" the written " law, shall also perish without"
the written " law : and as many as have sinned in the law," that is,
under the written law, " shall also be jndged by the" written
" law."
(4.) " Another book" shall be '* opened, which is the book of life,"
Rev. XX. 12. In this the names of all the elect are written, as
Christ said to his disciples, Luke x. 20, " Tour names are written
in heaven." This book contains God's gracious and unchangeable
purpose, to bring all the elect to eternal life ; and that, in order
thereto, they be redeemed by the blood of his Son, effectually called,
justified, adopted, sanctified, and raised up by him at the last day
304 SENTENCE PRONOUNCED ON THE SAINTS.
without sin. It is now lodged in the Mediator's hand, as the book
of " the manner of the kingdom :" and having perfected tlie work
the Father gave him to do, he shall, on the great day, produce and
open the book, and present the persons therein named, " faultless
before the presence of his glory, Jude, verse 24 ; not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing," Eph. v. 27. Not one of those who are
named in the book will be missing. They shall be found qualified,
according to the order of the book, redeemed, called, justified, sanc-
tified, raised up, without spot : what remains then, but, according
to the same book, they obtain the great end, namely, everlasting
life ? This may be gathered from that i)recious promise, Rev. iii. 5,
" He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment,"
being raised ia glory ; " and I will not blot out his name out of the
book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father :" it
shall be, as it were, read out, among the rest of Grod's elect, " and
before his angels." Here is now the ground of the saints' absolu-
tion, the ground of the blessed sentence they shall receive. The
book of life being opened, it will be known to all, who are elected,
and who are not. — Thus far of the trial of the parties.
8. Then shall the Judge pronounce this blessed sentence on the
saints, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre-
pared for you from the foundation of the world," Matt. sxv. 34. It
is most probable, the man Christ will pronounce it with an audible
voice : which not only all the saints, but all the wicked likewise,
shall hear and understand. Who can conceive the inexpressible
joy, with which these happy ones will hear these words ? Who can
imagine that fulness of joy, which will be poured into their hearts,
with these words reaching their ears ? And who can conceive how
much of hell shall break forth into the hearts of all the ungodly
crew, by these words of heaven ? It is certain that this sentence
shall be pronounced, before the sentence of damnation. " Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand. Come, ye blessed,"
&c. Matt. XXV. 34. " Then shall he say also to them on the left
hand, Depart from me, ye cursed," &c. verse 41. There is no need
of this order, that the saints may, without fear, hear the other sen-
tence on the reprobate : they who are raised in glory, caught up to
meet the Lord in the air, presented without spot, and whose souls,
for the far greater part of them, have been so long in heaven before,
shall not be capable of any such fear. But hereby they will be
brought in orderly, to sit in judgment, as Christ's assessors, against
the ungodly ; whose torment will be aggravated by it. It will be a
hell to them to be kept out of hell, till they see the doors of heaven
opened to receive the saints, who once dwelt in the same world with
SENTENCE PRONOUNCED ON THE SAINTS. 305
tlieni ; and perhaps in the same parish, countrj', or town, and sat
under the same ministry with themselves. Thus will they see hea-
ven afar off, to make their hell the hotter : like that unbelieving
lord, 2 Kings vii. 19, 20. They " shall see" the plenty " with their
eyes, but shall not eat thereof." Every word of the blessed sen-
tence shall be like an envenomed arrow shot into their hearts while
they see what they have lost, and from thence gather what they
are to expect.
This sentence passes on the saints, " according to their works,
Rev. XX. 12; but not for their works, nor for their faith, as if eter-
nal life were merited by them. The sentence itself overthrows this
absurd conceit. The kingdom which they are called to, was " pre-
pared for them, from the foundation of the world ;" not left to be
merited by themselves, who were but of yesterday. They inherit it
as sons, but procure it not to themselves as servants do the reward of
their work. They were redeemed by the blood of Christ, and clothed
with his spotless righteousness, which is the proper cause of the
sentence. They were also qualified for heaven, by the sanctifica-
tion of his Spirit; and hence it is "according to their works;" so
that the ungodly world shall see now, that the Judge of the quick
and dead does good to those who were good. Thei'efore it is added
to the sentence, "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat,"
&c., ver. 35, 36 ; which does not denote the ground, but the evidence
of their right to heaven ; as if a judge should say, he absolves a
man pursued for debt, for the witnesses depose that it is paid already.
So the apostle says, 1 Cor. x. 5. " But with many of them God was
not well pleased ; for they were overthrown in the wilderness."
Their overthrow in the wilderness was not the ground of God's dis-
pleasure with them, but it was an evidence of it. And thus our
Lord teaches us the necessary connexion between glory and good
works, namely works evaugellically good; works having a respect
to Jesus Christ, and done out of faith in him, and love to him, with-
out which they will not be regarded in that day. And the saints
will so far be judged according to such works, that the degrees of
glory amongst them shall be according to these works. For it is an
eternal truth, "He that soweth sparingly, shall reap sparingly," 2
Cor. ix. 6.
Thus shall the good works of the godly have a glorious, but a gra-
tuitous reward ; a reward of grace, not of d^bt; which will fill them
with wonoer at the riches of free grace, and at the Lord's conde-
scending to take any notice, especially such public notice, of their
poor worthless works ; which seems to be the import of what they
are said to answer, "saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered?"
306 THE SAINTS SHALL JUDftE THE WORLD.
ver. 37 — 39, And may they not justly wonder to see themselves set
down at the marriage supper of the Lamb, and to hear him acknow-
ledge a dinner or supper, a little meat or drink, such as they had,
which they gave to a hungry member of Christ, for his sake ? 0
plentiful harvest, following upon the seed of good works ! Rivers
of pleasures, in exchange for a cup of cold water, given to a dis-
ciple, in the name of a disciple ! Eternal mansions of glory, in
exchange for a night's lodging given to a saint, who was a stranger !
Everlasting robes of glory, in exchange for a new coat, or, it may
be, an old one, bestowed on some saint, who had not necessary clo-
thing ! A visit to the sick saint, repaid by Christ himself, coming
in the glory of his Father, with all his holy angels ! A visit made
to a poor prisoner for the cause of Christ, repaid with a visit from the
Judge of all, taking away the visitant with him to the palace of heaven,
there to be for ever with himself ! These things will be matter of
everlasting wonder ; and should stir up all, to sow liberally in time,
while seed-time of good works lasts. But it is Christ's stamp on
good works, that puts a value on them, in the eye of our gracious
God ; which seems to be the import of our Lord's reply, ver. 40,
" Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ray
brethren, ye have done it unto me."
9. Now the saints having received their own sentence, " they shall
judge the world," 1 Cor. vi. 2. This was not fulfilled, when the
empire became Christian, and Christians were made magistrates. No,
the psalmist tells us, " This honour have all the saints," Psalm cxlix.
9. And the apostle in the forecited place, adds, "And if the world
shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest mat-
ters?" ver. 3, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" Being
called, they come to receive their kindgdom, in the view of augels and
men : they go as it were, from the bar to the throne, " To him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne," Rev.
iii. 21. They shall not judge the world, in Christ their head, by
way of communion with him, by their works compared with those
of the ungodly, or by vvay of testimony against them ; but they shall
be assesors to Jesus Christ the Judge, giving their voice against
them, consenting to his judgment as just, and saying Amen to the
doom pronounced against all the ungodly: as is said of the saints,
upon the judgment of the great whore, Rev. xix. 1, 2, "Hallelujah
— for true and righteous are his judgments." Thus, the upright
shall have dominion over them, in the morning," of the resurrection.
Psalm xlix. 14. Then, and not till then, shall that be fully accom-
plished, in Psalm cxlix. 6 — 9, " Let the high praises of God be in
their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand: to execute ven-
I
SENTENCK OP DAMNATION ON THE UNGODI-V. 307
geance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people — this hon-
our have all the saints." 0 ! what a strange turn of aftairs will ap-
pear here ! What an astonishing sight will it be, to see wicked men,
formerly their unjust judges, standing as criminals before the saints
whom formerly they condemned as heretics, rebels, and traitors !
To see men of riches and power stand pale-faced, before those
whom they oppressed ! To see the mocker stand trembling before
those whom he mocked ! the worldly wise man, before those whom
he accounted fools ! Then shall the despised faces of the saints be
dreadful faces to the wicked ; and those, who sometimes were the
song of the drunkards, shall then be a terror to them. All wrongs
must be righted at length, and every one set in his proper place.
10. The Judge will pronounce the sentence of damnation on all
the ungodly multitude. " Then shall he say also unto them on the
left hand, depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels," ver. 41. Fearful doom! and that from
the same mouth, from whence proceeded the sentence of absolution
before. It was an aggravation of the misery of the Jews, when their
city was destroyed, that they were ruined by one who was accounted
the darling of the world. 0 what an aggravation of the misery of
the wicked will it be also, that Christ will pronounce this sentence !
To hear the curse from mount Zion, must needs be most terrible.
To be condemned by him, who came to save sinners, must be double
damnation. But thus it will be. The Lamb of God shall roar, as a
lion, against them : he shall excommunicate, and cast them out of
his presence for ever, by a sentence from the throne, saying, " De-
part from me, ye cursed." He shall adjudge them to everlasting
fire, and the society of devils for evermore. And this sentence also
we suppose, will be pronounced with an audible voice, by the man
Christ. And all the saints shall say, " Ilallelujah, true and righte-
ous are his judgments." None were so compassionate as the saints
when on earth, during the time of God's patience. But now that
time is at an end : their compassion for the ungodly is swallowed in
joy in the Mediator's glory, and his executing just judgment, by
which his enemies are made his footstool. Though, when on earth,
the righteous man wept in secret places for their pride, and because
they would not hear ; yet he " shall rejoice when he seeth the ven-
geance : he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked," Psalm
Iviii. 10. No pity shall then be shewn them from their nearest re-
lations. The godly wife shall applaud the justice of the Judge, in
the condemnation of her ungodly husband : the godly husband shall
say Amen to the condemnation of her who lay in his bosom : the
godly parents shall say Hallelujah, at the passing of the sentence
308 SENTENCE OF DAMNATION ON THE UNGODLY.
against their ungodly child: and the godly child shall, from the bot-
tom of his heart, approve the condemnation of his wicked parents,
the father who begat him, and the mother who bore him. The sen-
tence is just ; they are judged " according to their works," Rev. xx.
12.
There is no wrong done them, " For I was an hungered," saith
our Lord, " and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me
no drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me not in ; naked, and ye
clothed me not ; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not," ver.
42, 43. These are not only evidences of their ungodly and cursed
state, but most proper grounds of their condemnation ; for though
good works do not merit salvation, yet evil works merit damnation.
Sins of one kind only, namely, of omission, are here mentioned ; not
that these alone shall be then discovered, for the books lay all open
but because these, though there were no more, are sufficient to con-
demn unpardoned sinners. And if men are condemned for sins of
omission, much more for sins of commission. The omission of works
of charity and mercy, is mentioned in particular, to stop the mouths
of the wicked ; for it is most just that he " have judgment without
mercy, that hath shewed no mercy," James ii. 13. Taking notice of
the omission of acts of charity and mercy towards the distressed
members of Christ, intimates, that it is the judgment of those who
have heard of Christ in the gospel, that is principally intended in
this portion of Scripture ; and that the slighting of Christ will be
the great cause of the ruin of those who hear the gospel : but the
enmity of the hearts of the wicked against Christ himself, is disco-
vered by the entertainment they now give to his members.
In vain will they say, " When saw we thee an hungered, or athirst?"
&c. ver. 44. For the Lord reckons, and will reckon, the world's
unkindness to his people, unkindness to himself; " Inasmuch as ye
did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me," ver. 45.
0 meat and drink unhappily spared, when a member of Christ was
in need of it ! 0 wretched neglect, that the stranger saint was not
taken in ! It had been better for them if they had quitted their
own room, and their own bed, than that he wanted lodging. 0 cur-
sed clothing, may the wicked say, that was in my house, locked up
in my chest, or hanging in ray wardrobe, and was not brought out
to clothe such a one ! 0 that I had strii)ped myself, rather than he
had gone away without clothing ! Cursed business that diverted me
from visiting such a saint ! 0 that I had rather watched whole
nights with him ! Wretch that I was ! Why did I sit at ease in
my house, when he was in prison, and did not visit him ? But now
the tables are turned : Christ's servants shall eat, but I shall bo
SENTENCE OF DAMNATION ON THE UNGODLY. 309
hungry; his servants shall driuk, but I shall be thirsty; they re-
joice, but I am ashamed, Isa. Ixv. 13. They are taken in, but I am
cast out, and bid to depart ; they are clothed with robes of glory,
but I " walk naked, and they see my shame," Rev. xvi. 15. They
are now raised up on high, beyond the reach of sickness or pain ;
but I must now " lie down in sorrow," Isa. 1. 11. Now they will go
to the palace of heaven, but I must go to the prison of hell.
But if our Lord thus resents men's neglecting to help his people
under these, aud the like distresses ; what may they expect who are
the authors and instruments of them ? If they shall be fed with
wrath, who fed them not when they were huugry ; what shall
become of those, who robbed and spoiled them ? What a full cup
of wrath shall be the portion of those, who were so far from giving
them meat or drink when huugry or thirsty, that they made it a
crime for others to entertain them, and made themselves drunken
with their blood ! They must lodge with devils for evermore, who
took not in the Lord's people, when strangers : then, what a lodg-
ing shall those have, who drove them out of their own houses, out of
their native land, and made them strangers ! Men will be con-
demned for not clothing them, when naked : then, how heavy must
the sentence of those be, who have stripped them, and made them
go without clothing! Surely, if not visiting them in sickness, or in
prison, shall be so severely punished ; those shall not escape a most
heavy doom, who have cast them into prisons, and have put them
under such hardships, as have impaired their health, brought sick-
ness on them, and cut short their days in prison, or out of prison.
To put a face upon such wicked practices, men will pretend to
retain an honour for Christ and religion, while they thus treat his
members, walking in his way, and keeping the truth. They are
here represented to say, " When saw we thee an hungered, or
athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not
minister unto thee ?" ver. 44. As if they should say, Our bread,
drink, lodging, clothing, and visits, were indeed refused, but not to
Christ ; but to a set of men of a bad character, men who " turned
the world upside down," Acts xvii. 6; who troubled Israel, 1 Kings
xviii. 7 ; a humorous and fantastic sort of people, having laws di-
verse from all people, factious and rebellious ; they did not keep
the king's laws, and were therefore a dangerous set of men; it was
not for the king's profit to suffer them, Esther iii. 8. But although
men cast iniquity upon the godly, and give them ill names, that
they may treat them as criminals, all these pretences will avail
them nothing, in the great day, before the righteous Judge, nor
before their own consciences, but the real ground of their enmity
310 THE aENERAL CONFLAGRATION.
against the saints will be found, to their own conviction, to be their
enmity against Christ himself. This seems to be the import of the
objection of the damned, ver. 44, and of the answer to it, ver. 45,
" Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not
to me."
11. Sentence being passed on both parties, the full execution of
the same follows, ver. 46, " And these shall go away into ever-
lasting punishment ; but the righteous into life eternal." The con-
demned shall get no reprieve, but go to their place without delay ;
they shall be driven away from the judgment-seat into hell : and
the saints " shall enter into the King's palace," Psalm xlv. 15,
namely, into heaven, the seat of the blessed. But our Lord Christ,
and his glorious company, shall keep the field that day and see tlie
backs of all their enemies ; for the condemned go off first.
In this day of the Lord, the great day, shall be the general con-
flagration ; by which these visible heavens, the earth, and sea, shall
pass away. Not that they shall be annihilated, or reduced to
nothing, that is not the operation of fire ; but they shall be dis-
solved, and purified by that fire, from all the effects of sin, and of
the curse, upon them ; and then renewed, and made more glorious
and stable. Of this conflagration, the apostle Peter speaks, 2 Pet.
iii. 10, " But the day of the Lord will come, as a thief in the night;
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth also, and the
works that are therein, shall be burnt up." See also ver. 7, 12.
And of the renewing of the world, he adds, ver. 13, " Nevertheless
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness."
It seems most agreeable to the Scriptures, and to the nature of
the thing, to conceive this conflagration to follow after the general
judgment ; sentence being passed on both parties before it. And I
judge it probable, that it will fall in with the putting of the sen-
tence in execution against the damned ; so as they shall, according
to their sentence, depart, and the heavens and the earth pass away,
together and at once, at that furious rebuke from the throne, driv-
ing them away, out of the world (in this fire) to the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. Even as, in the deluge,
with which the apostle Peter compares the conflagration, or burning
of the world 2 Pet. iii. 6, 7, the world itself, and the wicked upon
it, perished together ; the same water which destroyed the earth,
sweeping away the inhabitants. For it is not likely that the wicked
shall at all stand on the new earth, " wherein dwelleth righteous-
ness," 2 Pet. iii. 13. And as for this earth, it shall " flee away,"
THE GENERAL CONJPLAGUATION. 311
which seems to denote a very quick despatch, and it shall " flee
from His face, who sits on the throne," Rev. xx. 11, "And I
saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away." The execution of the sentence
on the wicked is also thus expressed ; they " shall be punished with
everlasting destruction from the presence," or " from the face of the
Lord," 2 Thess. i. 9. The original word is the same in both texts,
which, being compared, seem to say, that these creatures, abused
by the wicked, being left to stand, as witnesses against them, in
the judgment, are, after sentence passed on their abusers, made
to pass away with them from the face of the Judge. It is true, the
fleeing away of the earth and the heavens is narrated. Rev. xx. 11,
before the judgment ; but that does not prove its going before the
judgment, any more than the nai'rating of the judgment, ver. 12,
before the resurrection, ver. 13, will prove the judgment to be be-
fore it. Further, it is remarkable, in the execution of the sentence,
Rev. XX. 14, 15, that not only the reprobate are " cast into the
lake," but " death and hell" are cast into it likewise : all effects of
sin and of the curse are removed out of the world, for which very
cause shall the conflagration be, and they are confined to the place
of the damned. Besides all this, it is evident that the end of the
world is by the conflagration : and the apostle tells us, 1 Cor. xv.
24, 25, " Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all
rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath
put all his enemies under his feet." Which last, as it must be done
before the end, so it seems not to be done, but by putting the sen-
tence in execution, passed in the day of judgment, against the
wicked.
Now, if the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, that are set forth
for an example, Jude, ver. 7, was so dreadful, how terrible will that
day be, when the whole world shall be at once in flames ! How will
wretched worldlings look, when their darling world shall be all on
fire ! Then shall strong castles and towering palaces, with all their
rich furniture, go up together in one flame with the lowest cottages.
What heart can fully conceive the terror of that day to the wicked,
when the whole fabric of heaven and earth shall at once be dissolved
by that fire ? when that miserable company shall be driven from the
tribunal to the pit with fire within them, and without on every hand
of them ; and fire awaiting them in the lake ; whither this fire, for
ought that appears, may also follow them.
As for the particular place of this judgment, though some point
us to the valley of Jehoshaphat for it : yet our Lord, who infallibly
312 COMFOKT TO THE SAI>'TS.
knew it, being asked tiie question by his disciples, " Where, Lord ?"
only said, " Wheresoever the body is, thither shall the eagles be
gathered together," Luke xvii. 37- After which answer, it is too
much for men to renew the question. As for the time, when it
shall be, in vain do men search for what the Lord has purposely
kept secret, Acts i. 7, " It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons, which the Father has put in his own power." The apostle
Paul, after having very plainly described the second coming of
Christ, 1 Thess, iv. 16, 17, adds, chap. v. 1, 2, " But of the times
and seasons, brethren, yon have no need that I write unto you : for
yourselves know perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night." Nevertheless, some, in several ages, have made
very bold with the time ; and several particular years, which are
now past, have been given out to the world, for the time of the end,
by men who have pried into the secrets of God. Time has pro-
claimed to the world, their rashness and folly; and it is probable
they will be no more happy in their conjectures, whose determinate
time is yet to come. Let us rest in that " He cometh." God has
k%pt the day hid from us, that we may be every day ready for it,
Matt. XXV. 13, " Watch, therefore ; for ye know neither the day nor
the hour, wherein the Son of man cometh." And let us remember,
that the lust day of our life, will determine our state in the last day
of the world : and as we die, so shall we be judged.
I shall now conclude this subject, with some application of what
has been said.
Use I. Of comfort to all the saints. Here is abundance of con-
solation to all who are in the *tate of grace. Whatever be your
afflictions in the world, this day will make up all your losses
" Though you have lain among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings
of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold,"
Psalm Ixviii. 13. Though the world reproach, judge, and condemn
you, the Judge will at that day absolve you, and bring forth your
righteousness as the light. — The world's fools will then appear to
have been the only wise men who Avere in it. Though the cross be
heavy, you may well bear it, in expectation of the crown of righter-
ousness, which the righteous Judge will then give you. If the world
despise you, and treat you with the utmost contempt, regard it not :
the day cometh wherein you shall sit with Christ in his throne.
Be not discouraged by reason of manifold temptations. But resist
the devil in confidence of a full and complete victory ; for you shall
judge the tempter at last. Though you have hard wrestling now
with the body of sin and death : yet you shall get all your enemies
under your feet at length, and be presented faultless before the pre-
TBRROIl TO UNBELIEVERS. 313
sence of liis glory. Let not tlie terror of that day dispirit you,
when you think upon it ; let those who have slighted the Judge,
and continue enemies to him, and to the way of holiness, droop and
hang down their heads, when they think of his coming : but lift you
up your heads with joy, for the last day will be your best day. The
Judge is your Head and Husband, your Redeemer, and your Advo-
cate. You must appear before the judgment-seat, but you " shall
not come into condemnation," John v. 24. His coming will not be
against you but for you. He came in the flesh, to remove the law-
ful impediments of the spiritual marriage, by his death : he came in
the gospel to you, to espouse you to himself; he will come, at last,
to solemnize the marriage, and take the bride home to his Father's
house. " Even so, come. Lord Jesus."
Use II. Of terror to all unbelievers. This may serve to awaken
a secure generation, a world lying in wickedness, as if they were
never to be called to an account for it ; and slighting the Mediator,
as if he were not to judge them. Ah ! how few have lively impres-
sions of the judgment to come ! Most men live as if what is said of
it from the word were but idle tales. The profane lives of many
speak the thoughts of it to be far from their hearts, and in very
deed make a mock of it before the world, saying, in eftect, " "Where
is the promise of his coming ?" The hypocrisy of others, who blind
the eyes of the world with being a splendid profession, being in ap-
pearance Christ's sheep, while they are indeed the devil's goats,
proves that the great separation of the sheep from the goats is very
little laid to heart. How do many indulge themselves in secret
wickedness, of which they would betashamed before witnesses ; not
considering, that their most secret thoughts and actions will, at that
day, be discovered before the great congregation ! How eagerly are
men's hearts set on the world, as if it were to be their everlasting
habitation ! The solemn assemblies, and public ordinances, wherein
the Judge is upon a transaction of peace with the criminals, are un-
dervalued : many hearts swim like feathers in the waters of the
sanctuary, that sink like stones to the bottom in caies of this life ;
they will be very serious in trifles of this world, and trifle in the
most serious and weighty tl ings of another world : but, 0 consider
the day that is approaching, in which Christ will come to judgment !
the world shall be summoned, by the sound of the last trumpet, to
appear before his tribunal. The Judge will sit on his throne, and
all nations will be summoned before him ; the separation will be
made between the godly and the wicked ; the books opened, and the
dead judged out of them ; one party will be adjudged to everlasting
life, and the other to everlasting fire, according to their works.
Vol. YIII. u
314 EXHORTATION TO PREPARE FOR JUDGMENT.
It would be a siglii., of admirable curiosity, if thon couldst wrap up
thyself in some dark cloud, or hide thyself in the cleft of some high
rock, from whence thou mightst espy wicked kings, princes, judges,
and great ones of the earth, rising out of their marble tombs, and
brought to the bar, to answer for all their cruelty, injustice, op-
pression, profanity, without any marks of distinction, but what their
wickedness puts upon them : profane, unholy, and unfaithful minis-
tert, pursued with the curses of their ruined people, from their graves
to the judgment seat, and charged with the blood of souls, to whom
they gave not faithful warning : mighty men standing trembling be-
fore the Judge unable to recover their wonted boldness, to outwit him
with their subtleties, or defend themselves by their strength : delicate
women cast forth of their graves, as abominable branches, dragged
to the tribunal, to answer for their ungodly lives ; the ignorant,
suddenly taught in the law to their cost ; and the learned declared
before the world, fools and laborious triflers : the athiest convinced,
the hypocrite unmasked ; and the profane at length turned serious
about his eternal state : secret murders, adulteries, thefts, cheats,
and other works of darkness, which defied all human search, dis-
covered and laid open before the world, with their most minute
circumstances: no regard had to the rich, no pity shown to tho
poor : the scales of the world turned ; oppressed and despised piety
set on high, and prosperous wickedness- at last brought low : all not
found in Christ, arraigned, convicted, and condemned, without re-
spect of persons, and driven from the tribunal to the pit; while
those found in him, at that day, being absolved before the world, go
with him into heaven. Nay, hut thou canst not so escape. Who-
ever thou art, not being in Christ, thou must bear a part in this
tragical and alarming scene.
Sinner, that same Lord Christ, whom thou now despisest, whom
thou woundest through the sides of his messengers, and before whom
thou dost prefer thy lusts, will be thy Judge. The neglected Sa-
viour will be a severe Judge. 0 ! what mountain, what rock, wilt
thou get to fall on thee; and hide thee from the face of 11 im who
sits on the throne ? Thou hast now a rock within thee, a heart of
adamant, so that thou canst count the darts of the word as stubble,
and laugh at the shaking of the spear : but that rock will rend at
the sight of the Judge : that hard heart will then break, and thou
wilt weep and wail, when weeping and wailing will be to no
purpose. Death's bands will fall off, the grave will cast thee out;
and the mountains shall skip from thee, and the rocks refuse to
grind thee to powder. Hoav will those cursed eyes abide the sight
of the Judge ? Behold, he comcthj Where is the profane swearer.
EXUOKTATION TO PREPARE FOR JUDGMENT. 315
who tore bis wounds ? The wretched worldling, now abandoned
of his God ? The formal hypocrite, who kissed him and betrayed
him? Tlie despiser of the gospel, who sent hira away in his mes-
sengers groaning, profaned his ordinances, and trampled under foot
his precious blood? 0 murderer, the slain man is thy Judge: there
is he whom thou didst so maltreat. Behold the neglected Lamb of
God appearing as a lion against thee. How will thine heart en-
dure the darts of his fiery looks ? That rocky heart, which now holds
out against him, shall then be blown up ; that face, which refuses
to blush now, shall then gather blackness : arrows of wrath shall
pierce where arrows of conviction cannot enter now. What wilt thou
answer him, when he rises up, and charges thee with thy unbelief
and impenitence ? "Wilt thou say, thou wast uifir warned ? Con-
science Avithin thee will give thee the lie ; the secret groans and
weariness of those who warned thee, will witness the contrary. If
a child or a fool did tell you that your house was on fire, you would
immediately run to quench it : but, in matters of eternal concern,
men will first fill their hearts with prejudices against the messen-
gers, and then cast their message behind their backs. But these
silly excuses and pretences will not avail in the day of the Lord.
How will these cursed ears, now deaf to the call of the gospel,
inviting sinners to come to Christ, hear the fearful sentence, " De-
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels !" No sleepy hearer shall be there ; no man's
heart will then wander; their hearts and eyes will then be fixed on
their misery, which they will not now believe. 0 that we knew, in
this our day, the things that belong to our peace !
Lastly, Be exhorted to believe this great truth ; and believe it so
that you may prepare for the judgment betimes. Set up a secret
tribunal in your own breasts, and often call yourselves to an ac-
count there. Make the Judge your friend in time, by closing with
him in the offer of the gospel ; and give all diligence, that you may
be found in Christ at that day. Cast oflT the works of darkness ;
and live, as believing you are, at all times, and in all places, under
the eye of your Judge, who will bring every work into judgment,
with every secret thing !" Be fruitful in good works, knowing that
as you sow, you shall reap. Study piety towards God, righteous-
ness and charity towards men. Lay up in store plenty of works of
charity and mercy towards those who are in distress, especially such
as are of the household of faith ; that they may be produced, at that
day, as evidences that you belong to Christ. Shut not up your
bowels of mercy, now, towards the needy; lest you then find no
mercy. Take heed, that in all your works you be single and sin-
u2
31G THE SAINTS MADE COMPLETELY HAPPY.
cere ; aiming, in them all. at the glory of the Lord, a testimony of
your love to him, and in obedience to his command. Leave it to
hypocrites, who have their reward, to proclaim every man his own
goodness ; and to sound a trumpet when they do their alms. It is
a base and unchristian spirit, which cannot have satisfaction in a
good work unless it be exposed to the view of others : it is utterly
unworthy of one who believes that the last trumpet shall call toge-
ther the whole world, before whom the Judge himself shall publish
works truly good, how secretly soever they were done. Live in a
believing expectation of the coming of the Lord. Let your loins be
always girt, and your lamps burning; so when he comes, whether in
the last day of your life, or in the last day of the world, ye shall be
able to say with joy, " Lo, this is our God, and we have waited for
him."
PART V.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, yc blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda-
tion of the luorld. — Matt. xxv. 34.
Having, from this portion of Scripture, which the text is a part of,
discoursed of the general judgment ; and being to speak of the
everlasting happiness of the saints, and the everlasting misery of
the wicked, from the respective sentences to be pronounced upon
them in the great day, I shall take them in the order wherein they
lie before us ; and the rather that, as sentence is first passed upon
the righteous, so the execution thereof is first begun, though pro-
bably the other may be fully executed before it is completed.
The words of the text contain the joyful sentence itself, together
with an historical introduction thereto, which gives us an account of
the Judge pronouncing the sentence, " the King," Jesus Christ ;
the parties on whom it is given, " them on his right hand;" and the
time when, " then," as soon as the trial is over. Of these I have
spoken already. It is the sentence itself we are now to consider,
" Come, ye blessed of my Father," &c. Stand back, 0 ye profane
goats ! away all unregenerate souls, not united to Jesus Christ ! this
is not for you. Come, 0 ye saints, brought out of your natural state
into the state of grace ! behold here the state of glory awaiting you.
THE saints' kingly po"\vei:. 317
Here is glory let down to us in words and syllables ; a looking-
glass, in which you may see your everlasting happiness ; a scheme
or draught of Christ's Father's house, wherein there are many
mansions.
This glorious sentence bears two things. 1. The complete happi-
ness to which the saints are adjudged, " the kingdom." 2. Their
solemn admission to it, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit,"
&c. — 1. Their complete happiness is a kingdom. A kingdom is
the top of worldly felicity ; there is nothing on earth greater than a
kingdom : therefore the hidden weight of the glory in heaven is
held forth to us under that notion. But it is not an ordinary king-
dom, it is " the kingdom;" the kingdom of heaven, surpassing all
the kingdoms of the earth in glory, honour, profit, and pleasure, in-
finitely more than they do in these excel the low and inglorious con-
dition of a beggar in rags, and on a dunghill. 2. There is a solemn
admission of the saints into this their kingdom, " Come ye, inherit
the kingdom." In view of angels, men, and devils, they are in-
vested with royalty, and solemnly inaugurated before the whole
world, by Jesus Christ, the heir of all things, who hath " all power
in heaven and in earth." Their right to the kingdom is solemnly
recognised and owned. They are admitted to it as undoubted heirs
of the kingdom, to possess it by inheritance, or lot, as the word pro-
perly signifies, because, of old, inheritances were designed by lot, as
Canaan to Israel, God's " first-born," as they are called, Exod. iv.
22. And because this kingdom is l!ie Father's kingdom, therefore
they are openly acknowledged, in their admission to it, to be the
blessed of Christ's Father : which blessing was given them long be-
fore this sentence, but it is now solemnly recognised and confirmed
to them by the Mediator, in his Father's name. It is observable, he
says not. Ye blessed of the Father, but. Ye blessed of my Father ;
to shew us, that all blessings are derived by us from the Father, the
fountain of blessing, as he is "the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ," through whom we are blessed, Eph. i, 3. And,
finally, they are admitted to this kingdom, as that which was " pre-
pared for them from the foundation of the world," in God's eternal
purpose, before they, or any of them, were ; that all the world may
see eternal life to be the free gift of God.
DocTniNE. The saints shall be made completely happy in the pos-
session of the kingdom of heaven.
Two thing>5 I shall hero inquire into : I. The nature of this king-
dom. II. The admission of the saints thereto. And then I shall
make some practical improvement of the whole.
318 THE SAINTS ENSIGXS OF ROYALTY.
1. As to the nature of the kingdom of heaven, out- knowledge of
it is very imperfect ; for " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre-
pared for them that love him," 1 Cor. ii. 9. As, by familiar resem-
blances, parents instruct their little children concerning things of
which otherwise they can have no tolerable notion ; so our gracious
God, in consideration of our weakness, is pleased to represent to us
heaven's happiness under similitudes taken from earthly things,
glorious in the eyes of men ; since discoveries of the heavenly glory,
divested ot earthly resemblances, would be too bright for our weak
eyes, and we should but lose ourselves in them. "Wherefore now
we can but speak as children of these things, which the day will
fully discover.
The state of glory is represented under the idea of a kingdom ; a
kingdom, among men, being that in which the greatest number of
earthly good things centre. Now, every saint shall, as a king, in-
herit a kingdom. All Christ's subjects shall be kings, each one
with his crown upon his head : not that the great King shall divest
himself of his royalty, but he will make all his children partakers
of his kingdom.
1. The saints shall have kingly power and authority given them.
Our Lord gives not empty titles to his favourites ; he makes them
kino-s indeed. The dominion of the saints will be a dominion far
exceeding that of the greatest monarch who ever was on earth.
They will be absolute masters over sin, which had the dominion over
them. They will have a complete rule over their own spirits ; an
entire management of all their affections and inclinations, which
now create them so much molestation : the tni'bulent root of corrupt
affections shall be for ever expelled out of that kingdom, and never
be able any more to give them the least disturbance. They shall
have power over the nations, the ungodly of all nations, " and shall
rule them with a rod of iron," Rev. ii. 26, 27. The whole world of
the wicked shall be broken before them : " Satan shall be bruised
under their feet," Rom. xvi. 20. He shall never be able to fasten a
temptation on them any more : but he will be judged by them ; and,
in their sight, cast with the reprobate crew into the lake of fire and
brimstone. So shall they rule over their oppressors. Having
fought the good fight, and got the victory, Christ will entertain
them as Joshua did his captains, causing them to " come near, and
put their feet on the necks of kings," John. x. 24.
2. They shall have the ensigns of royalty. For a throne, Christ
will grant them " to sit with him in his throne," Rev. iii. 21. They
will be advanced to the highest honour and dignity that they are
THE SAINTS CLOTUED IN WHITE RAliMENT. 319
capable of; ami in the enjoyment of it, they will have an eter-
nal undisturbed repose, after all the tossings which they met with
in the world, in their way to the throne. For a crown, they shall
" receive a crown of glory, that fadeth not away," 1 Pet. v. 4. Not
a crown of flowers, as subjects, being conquerors or victors, some-
times have got: such a crown quickly fades, but their crown never
fadeth. Not a crown of gold, such as earthly kings wear : even a
crown of gold is often stained, and at best can never make those
who wear it happy. But it shall be " a crown of glory." A crown
of glory is " a crown of life," Rev. iii. 10, that life which knows
no end : a crown which death can never make to fall off one's head.
It must be an abiding crown; for it is a " crown of righteousness,"
2 Tim. iv. 8. It was purchased for them by " Christ's righteous-
ness," which is imputed to them ; they are qualified for it by inhe-
rent righteousness ; God's righteousness, or faithfulness, secures it
to them. They shall have " a sceptre, a rod of iron," Rev. ii. 27,
terrible to all the wicked world. And a sword too, " a two-edged
sword in their hand, to execute vengeance upon the heathen, and
punishments upon the people," Psalm cxlix. 6, 7- They shall have
royal apparel. The royal robes in this kingdom are white robes,
Rev. iii. 4, " They shall walk with me in white." Which, in a very
particular manner, points at the inconceivable glory of the state of
the saints in heaven.
The Lord is pleased often to represent unto us the glorious state
of the saints, by speaking of them as clothed in " white garments."
It is promised to the conqueror, that Le shall be " clothed in white
raiment," Rev. iii. v. The elders about the throne are " clothed in
white raiment," chap. iv. 4. The multitude before the throne are
" clothed with white robes," chap. vii. 9 ; " arrayed in white
robes," ver. 13; " made white in the blood of the Lamb," ver. 14.
I own, the last two testimonies respect the state of the saints
on earth ; yet the terms are borrowed from the state of the church
in heaven. All garments, properly so called, being badges of
sin and shame, shall be laid aside by the saints when they come to
their state of glory. But if we consider on what occasions white
garments were wont to be put on, we shall find much of heaven
under them.
(1.) The Romans, when they made their bond-servants free, gave
them a white garment as a badge of their freedom. So shall the
saints that day receive their white robes ; for it is the day of " the
glorious liberty of the children of God," Rom. viii. 21, the day of
" the redemption of their body," ver. 23. They shall no more see
the house of bondage, nor lie any more among the pots. If we com-
320 THE SAINTS CLOTHED IN WHITi: RAIJIENT.
pare the state of the saints on earth with that of the wicked, it is
indeed a state of freedom, whereas the other is a state of slavery :
but, in comparison with their state in heaven, it is but a servitude.
A saint on earth is indeed a young prince, and heir to the crown ;
but his motto may be, " I serve ;" " for he differeth nothing from a
servant, though he be lord of all," Gal. iv. 1. What are ihe groans
of a saint, the sordid and base work wliich he is sometimes found
employed in, the black and tattered garments which he walks in,
but badgos of this comparative servitude ? But from the day the
saints come to the crown, they receive their complete freedom, and
serve no more. They shall be fully freed from sin, which of all
evils is the worst, both in itself, and in their apprehension too ;
how great then must that freedom be, when these " Egyptians, whom
they see to-day," they "shall see them again no more for ever!"
They shall be free from all temptation to sin : Satan can have no
access to tempt them any more, by himself, or by his agents. A
full answer will then be given to that petition they have so often
repeated, " Lead us not into temptation." No hissing serpent can
come into the paradise above : no snare or trap can be laid there, to
catch the feet of the saints : they may walk there without fear, for
they can be in no hazard : there are no lions' dens, no mountains of
leopards, in the promised land. Nay, they shall be set beyond the
possibility of sinning, for they shall be confirmed in goodness. It
will be the consummate freedom of their will, to be for ever unal-
terably determined to good. And they shall be freed from all the
effects of sin : " There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain," Rev. xxi. 4. What
kingdom is like unto this ? Death makes its way now into a
palace, as easily as into a cottage : sorrow fills the heart of one who
wears a crown on his head : royal robes are no defence against
pain, and crying by reason of pain. But in this kingdom no misery
can have place. All reproaches shall be wiped off; and never shall
a tear drop any more from their eyes. They shall not complain of
desertions again ; the Lord will never hide his face from them :
but the Sun of Righteousness shining upon them in his meridian
brightness, will dispel all clouds, and give them an everlasting day,
without the least mixture of darkness. A deluge of wrath, after a
fearful thunder-clap from the throne, will sweep away the wicked
from before the judgment-seat, into the lake of fire : but they
are, in the first place, like Noah, brought into the ark, and out of
harm's way.
(2.) White raiment hath been a token of purity. Therefore^
" the Lamb's wife is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white," Rev.
/
/
THE SATNTS CLOTHED. IN WHITE RAIMENT. 321
xix, B. And those wlio stood before the throne " washed their
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," chap. vii. 14.
The saints shall then put on the robes of perfect purity, and shine
in spotless holiness, like the sun in his strength, without the least
cloud to intercept his light. Absolute innocence shall then be re-
stored, and every appearance of sin banished far from this kingdom.
The guilt of sin, and the reigning power of it are now taken away
in the saints ; nevertheless, sin dwelleth in them, Rom. vii. 20. But
then it shall be no more in them : the corrupt nature will be quite
removed ; that root of bitterness will be plucked up, and no vestiges
of it left in their souls : their nature shall be altogether pure and
sinless. There shall be no darkness in their minds ; but the un-
derstanding of every saint, when he is come to his kingdom, will
be as a globe of pure and unmixed light. There shall not be the
least aversion to good, nor the least inclination to evil, in their
wills ; but they will be brought to a perfect conformity to the will of
God ; blessed with angelic purity, and fixed therein. Their af-
fections shall not be liable to the least disorder or irregularity ; it
will cost no. trouble to keep them right : they will get such a fixed
habit of purity, as they oan never lose. They will be so refined
from all earthly dross, as never to savour more of any thing but of
heaven. AYere it possible for them to be set again amidst the en-
snaring objects of an evil world, they woi;ld walk among them with-
out the least defilement; as the sun shines on the dunghill, yet is
untainted ; and as the angels preserved their purity in the midst of
Sodom. Their graces shall then be perfected; and all the imperfec-
tion now cleaving to them done away. There will be no more
ground for complaints of weakness of grace : none in that kingdom
shall complain of an ill heart, or a corrupt nature. " It doth not yet
appear what we shall be, but when he shall appear, we shall be like
him," 1 John iii. 2.
(3.) Among the Jews, those who desired to be admitted into the
priestly oflice, being tried, and found to be of the priest's line, and
without blemish, were clothed in white, and enrolled among the
priests. This seems to be alluded to. Rev. iii. 5, " He that over-
cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not
blot out his name out of the book of life." So the saints shall not
be kings only, but priests also ; for they are a " royal priesthood,"
1 Pet. ii. 9. They will be priests upon their thrones. They are ju-
dicially found descended from the Great High Priest of their pro-
fession, begotten of him by his Spirit, of the incorruptible seed of
the word, and without blemish: so the trial being over, they are ad-
mitted to be priests in the temple above, that they may dwell in the
322 CLOTHING OF SAINTS IN WHITE GARMENTS.
house of the Lord for ever. There is nothing upon earth more glo-
rious than a kingdom ; nothing more venerable than the priesthood ;
and both meet together in the glorified state of the saints. " The
general assembly of the first-born," Heb. sii. 23, whose is the
priesthood and the double portion, appearing in their white robes of
glory, will be a reverend and glorious company. That day will shew
them to be the persons whom the Lord has chosen out of all the
tribes of the earth, to be near unto him, and to enter into his tem-
ple, even into his holy place. Their priesthood, begun on earth,
shall be brought to its perfection, when they shall be employed in
offering the sacrifice of praise to God and the Lamb for ever and
ever. They got not their portion in the earth with the rest of the
tribes; but the Lord himself was their portion, and will be their
double portion, through the ages of eternity.
(4.) They were wont to wear while raiment in a time of triumph ;
to which also there seems to be an allusion. Rev. iii. 5, " He
that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment."
And what is heaven but an everlasting triumph ? None get thither
but such as fight, and overcome too. Though Canaan was given to
the Israelites as an inheritance, they were required to conquer it,
ere they could be possessors of it. The saints, in this world, are in
the field of battle ; often in red garments, garments rolled in blood :
but the day approaches, in which they shall " stand before the
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms
in their hands," Rev. vii. 9, having obtained a complete victory
over all their enemies. The palm was used as a sign of victory ;
because that tree, though oppressed with weights, yet yields not, but
rather shooteth upwards. And palm trees were carved on the doors
of the most holy place, 1 Kings vi. 32, which was a special type of
heaven; for heaven is the place which the saints are received into
as conquerors.
Behold the joy and peace of the saints in their white robes ! The
joys arising from the view of past dangers, and of riches and hon-
ours gained at the very door of death, doth most sensibily touch
one's heart : and this will be an ingredient in the everlasting hap-
piness of the saints, which could have had no place in the heaven of
innocent Adam, and his sinless offspring, supposing him to have
stood. Surely the glorified saints will not forget the entertainment
which they met with in the world; it will be to the glory of God to
remember it, and will also heighten their joy. The Sicilian king, by
birth the son of a potter, acted a wise part, in that he would be
served at his table with earthen vessels ; which could not but put
an additional sweetness in his meals, not to be I'elished by one born
CLOTHING OF SAINTS IN WHITE GARMENTS. 323
lieir to the crown. Can ever meat be so sweet to any as to the
huflgry man? Or can any have such a relish of plenty as he who
has been under pinching straits ? The more difficulties the saints
have passed through in their way to heaven, the place will be the
sweeter to them when they come to it. Every happy stroke, struck
in the spiritual warfare, will be a jewel in their crown of glory.
Each victory obtained against sin, Satan, and the world, will raise
their triumphant joy the higher. The remembrance of the cross will
sweeten the crown ; and the remembrance of their travel through
the wilderness, will put an additional verdure on the fields of glory;
while they Avalk through them, looking back on the day when they
went mourning without the sun.
And now that they appear triumphing in white robes, it is a sign
they have obtained an honourable i^eace ; such a peace as their ene-
mies can disturb no more. So every thing peculiarly adapted to their
militant condition is laid aside. The sword is laid down; and they
betake themselves to the pen of a ready writer, to commemorate
the praises of Him by whom they overcame. Public ordinances,
preaching, sacraments, shall be honourably laid aside; there is no
temple tliere. Rev. xxi. 22. On earth these were sweet to them :
but the travellers being all got home, the inns, appointed for their
entertainment by the way, are shut up ; the candles are put out
when the sun is risen ; and the tabernacle used in the wilderness is
folded up, when the temple of glory is come in its room. Many of
the saints' duties will then be laid aside, as one gives his staff out
of his hand, when he is come to the end of his journey. Praying
shall then be turned to praising : and there being no sin to confess,
no wants to seek the supply of, confession and petition shall be
swallowed up in everlasting thanksgiving. There will be no mourn-
ing in heaven. They have sown in tears : the reaping time of joy
is come, and, " God shall wipe all tears from their eyes," Rev.
xxi. 4. No need of mortification there; and self-examination is
then at an end. They will not need to watch any more ; the danger
is over. Patience has had its perfect work, and there is no use for
it there. Faith is turned into sight, and hope is swallowed up in the
ocean of sensible and full enjoyment. All the rebels are subdued, and
the saints quietly sit on their throne ; and so the forces, needful in
the time of the spiritual Avarfare, are disbanded ; and they carry on
their triumph in the profoundest peace,
(5.) "White garments were worn on festival days, in token of joy.
And so shall the saints be clothed in white raiment; for they shall
keep an everlasting Sabbath to the Lord, Ileb. iv. 9, " There re-
maineth therefore a rest," or keeping of a Sabbath, " to the people
324 HEAVEUr REPRESENTED AS A COUNTRY.
of God." The Sabbatli, in the esteem of saints, is the queen of
days : and they shall have an endless Sabbatism in the kingdom of
heaven ; so shall their garments be always white. They will have
an eternal rest, with an uninterrupted joy : for heaven is not a rest-
ing place, where men may sleep out an eternity; there they rest not
day nor night, but their work is their rest, and continual recrea-
tion ; and toil and weariness have no place there. They rest there
in God, who is the centre of their souls. Here they find the com-
pletion, or satisfaction, of all their desires ; having the full enjoy-
ment of God, and uninterrupted communion with him. This is the
point, unto which, till the soul come, it will always be restless: but
that point reached, it rests ; for he is at the last end, and the soul
can go no farther. It cannot understand, will, nor desire more ; but
in him it has what is commensurable to its boundless desires. This
is the happy end of all the labours of the saints ; their toil and sor-
rows issue in a joyful rest. The Chaldeans, measuring the natural
day, put the day first, and the night last : but the Jews counted the
night first, and the day last. Even so the wicked begin with a day
of rest and pleasure, but end with a night of everlasting toil and
sorrow : but God's people have their gloomy night first, and then
comes their day of eternal rest. Which Abraham, in the parable,
observed to the rich man in hell, Luke xvi. 25, " Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tor-
mented."
3. If any inquire where the kingdom of the saints lies ? it is not
in this world; it lies in a better country, "that is, an heavenly,"
Ileb. si. 16, a country better than the best of this world ; namely,
the heavenly Canaan, Imniauuel's land, where nothing is wanting to
complete the happiness of the inhabitants. This is the happy coun-
try ; blessed with a perpetual spring, and which yieldeth all things
for necessity, convenience, and delight. There men shall eat angels'
food ; they shall be entertained with the hidden manna. Rev. ii. 17,
without being set to the painful task of gathering it : they will be
fed to the full, with the product of the land falling into their
mouths, without the least toil to them. That land enjoys everlast-
ing day, for there is "no night there," Rev. xxi. 25. Eternal sun-
shine beautifies this better country, but there is no scorching heat
there. No clouds shall be seen there for ever : yet it is not a land
of drought ; the trees of the Lord's planting are set by the rivers of
water, and shall never want moisture, for they will have an eternal
supply of the Spirit, by Jesus Christ, from his Father. This is the
only country, from whence our Lord came, and whither he is gone
THE ROYAL CITY. 325
again; the country which all the holy patriarchs and prophets had
their eye upon while on earth ; and which all the saints, who have
gone before us, have fought their way to ; and unto which the mar-
tyrs have joyfully swam through a sea of blood. This earth is the
place of the saint's pilgrimage ; that is their country, where they
find their everlasting rest.
4. The royal city, is that great city, the holy Jerusalem, described
at large, Rev. xxi. 10, to the end of the chapter. It is true, some
learned divines place this city in the earth : but the particulars of
this description seem to me to favour those most, who point us to the
other world for it. The saints shall reign in that city, whose wall is
of "jasper," ver. 18 ; and the foundations of the wall garnished with
all manner of precious stones," ver. 19; and "the street of pure
gold," ver. 21. So that their feet shall be set on that which the
men of this world set their hearts upon. This is the city which
God "has prepared for them," Heb. xi. 16; "a city that hath
foundations," ver. 10; "a continuing city," chap. xiii. 14, which
shall stand and flourish, when all the cities of the world are laid in
ashes ; and which shall not be moved, when the foundations of the
world are overturned. It is a city that never changes its inhabi-
tants : none of them shall ever be removed out of it ; for life and
immortality reign there, and no death can enter into it. It is bles-
sed with a perfect and perpetual peace, and can never be in the least
disturbed. Nothing from without can annoy it ; the gates therefore
are not shut at all by day, and there is no night there. Rev. xxi. 25.
There can nothing from within trouble it. No want of provision
there, no scarcity ; no discord among the inhabitants. Whatever
contentions are among the saints now, no vestige of their former
jarrings shall remain there. Love to God, and to one another, shall
be perfected ; and those of them who stood at the greatest distance
here, will joyfully embrace and delight in one another there.
5. The royal palace is Christ's Father's house, in which " are many
mansions," John xiv. 2. There shall the saints dwell for ever.
This is the house prepared for all the heirs of glory, even those of
tiiem who dwell in the meanest cottage now, or have not where to
lay their heads. As the Lord calls his saints to a kingdom, he will
provide them a house suitable to the dignity he puts upon them.
Heaven will be a convenient, spacious, and glorious house, for those
whom the King delights to honour. Never was a house purchased
at so great a rate as this, being the purchase of the Mediator's blood ;
and for no less could it be afforded to them : never was there so
much to do, to fit the inhabitants for a house. The saints were, by
nature utterly unfit for this house, and human art and industry
326 THE PALACE GARDEN.
could not make them meet for it. But the Father gives the designed
inhabitants to the Son, to be by him redeemed : the Son pays the
price of their redemption, even his own precious blood; justice gives
them access to the house ; and the Holy Spirit sanctifies them by his
grace ; that they may be meet to come in thither, where no unclean
thing can enter. And no wonder, for it is the King's palace they
enter into. Psalm xlv. 15; the house of the kingdom, where the
great King keeps his court, where he has set his throne, and shews
forth his glory, in a singular manner, beyond what mortals can
conceive.
6. Paradise is their palace garden. " This day shalt thou be
with me in paradise," said our Saviour to the penitent thief on the
cross, Luke xsiii, 43. Heaven is a paradise for pleasure and de-
light, where there is both wood and water: " A pure river of water
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of
the Lamb ; and on either side of the river, the tree of life, which
bears twelve manner of fruits, and yields her fruits every month,
Rev. xxii. 1, 2. How happy might innocent Adam have been in
the earthly paradise, where there was nothing wanting for use or
delight ! — Eden was the most pleasant spot of the nncorrupted earth
and paradise the most pleasant spot of Eden : but what is earth in
comparison of heaven? The glorified saints are advanced to the
heavenly paradise. There they shall not only see, but " cat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God," Rev. ii.
7. They shall behold the Mediator's glory, and be satisfied with his
goodness. No flaming sword shall be there, to keep the way of that
tree of life ; but they shall freely eat of it, and live for ever. They
shall " drink of the river of pleasures," Psalm sxxvi. 8, the sweet-
est and purest pleasures which Immanuel's land afl'ords, and shall
swim in an ocean of unmixed delight for evermore.
7. They shall have royal treasures, sufficient to support the dig-
nity to which they are advanced. Since the street of the royal city
is pure gold, and the twelve gates thereof are twelve pearls : their
treasure mnst be of that which is better than gold or pearl. It is
an " eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. 0 precious treasure !
a treasure not liable to insensible corruption, by moths or rust; a
treasure which none can steal from them. Matt. vi. 20. Never did
any kingdom aft'ord such a precious treasure, nor a treasure of snch
variety; for "he that overcoraeth, shall inherit all things," Rev.
xxi. 7. No treasures on earth are stored with all things : if they
were all put together in one, there would be far more valuable
things wanting in that one, than found in it. — This then is the pecu-
liar treasure of the kings who inherit the kingdom of heaven. They
SOCIKTY IN HEAVEN. 32?
sliall want nothing tliat may contribute to their full satisfaction.
Now they are rich in hope ; but then they will have their riches in
liand. Now all things are theirs in respect of right; then all shall
be theirs in possession. They may go for ever through Immanuel's
land, and behold the glory and riches thereof, with the satisfying
thought, that all they see is their own. It is a pity those should
ever be uneasy under the want of earthly good things, who may be
sure they shall inherit all things at length.
8. Though there is no material temple therein, no serving of God
in the use af ordinances, as here on earth ; yet, as for this kingdom,
" The Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it,"
Rev. xxi. 22. As the temple was the glory of Canaan, so will the
celestial temple be the glory of heaven. The saints shall be
brought in thither as a royal priesthood, to dwell in the house
of the Lord for ever ; lor Jesus Christ will then make every saint
" a pillar in the temjde of God, and he shall go no more out," Rev.
iii. 12, as the priests and Levites did, in their courses, go out
of the material temple. Tliere the saints shall have the cloud of
glory, the divine presence, with most intimate, uninterrupted com-
munion with God : there they shall have Jesus Christ, as the true ark,
wherein the fiery law shall be for ever hid from their eyes : and the
mercy-seat, from which nothing shall be breathed but everlasting
peace and good will towards them : the cherubim, the society of holy
angels, who shall join with them in eternal admiration of the mys-
tery of Christ : the golden candlestick, with its seven lamps, for
"the glory of God" doth "lighten it, and the Lamb is the light there-
of," Rev. xxi. 23 : the incense altar, in the intercession of Christ,
who " ever liveth to make intercession for them," Jleb. vii. 25, eter-
nally exhibiting the manner of his death and suffering, and effica-
ciously willing for ever, that those whom the Father hath given him,
be with him : and the shewbread table, in the perpetual feast they
shall have together in the enjoyment of God. This leads me more
particularly to consider,
9. The society in this kingdom. What would royal power and
authority, ensigns of royalty, richest treasures, and all otiier advan-
tages of a kingdom, avail, without comfortable society ? Some
crowned heads have had but a wretched life, through the want of it:
their palaces have been unto them as prisons, and their badges of
lionour, as chains on a prisoner : while, hated of all, they had none
they could trust in, or whom they could have comfortable fellowship
with. But the chief part of heaven's happiness lies in the blessed
society which the saints shall have there.
(1.) The society of the saints, among themselves, will be no small
328 SOCIETY IX HEAVEX.
part of heaven's happiness. The communion of saints on earth is
highly prized by all those who are travelling through the world to
Zion ; and companions in sin can never have such true pleasure and
delight in one another, as sometimes the Lord's people have in pray-
ing together, and in conversing about those things which the world
is a stranger to. Here the saints are but few in a company at best:
and some of them are so situated, as that they seem to themselves to
dwell alone having no access to such as they would freely embosom
themselves to, in spiritual matters, they sigh and say, " Wo is me !
for I am as when they have gathered tlie summer-fruits — there is no
cluster to eat — the good man is perished out of the earth," Micah
vii. 1, 2. But in the general assembly of the first born in heaven,
none of all the saints, who ever were or will be on the earth, shall
be missing. They will be all of them together in one place, all pos-
sess one kingdom, and all sit down together to the marriage supper
of the Lamb. Here the best of the saints want not their sinful im-
perfections, making their society less comfortable : but there they
shall be perfect, without " spot or wrinkle, or any such thing," Eph.
v. 27. All natural, as well as sinful imperfections, will be done
away ; they " shall shine as the brightness of the firmament," Dan.
xii. 3.
There we shall see Adam and Eve in the heavenly paradise freely
eating of the tree of life ; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the
holy patriarchs, no more wandering from land to land, but come to
their everlasting rest ; all the prophets feasting their eyes on the
glory of Him, of whose coming they prophesied ; the twelve apos-
tles of the Lamb, sitting on their twelve thrones ; all the holy mar-
tyrs in their long white robes, with their crowns on their heads; the
godly kings advanced to a kingdom which cannot be moved ; and
those that turn many to righteousness, shining as the stars for ever
and ever. There we shall see our godly friends, relations, and ac-
quaintances, pillars in the temple of God, to go no more out from us.
And it is more than probable, that the saints will know one another
in heaven; at least they will know their friends, relatives, and those
they were acquainted with on earth, and such as have been most
eminent in the Church ; yet that knowledge will be purified from
all earthly thoughts and afi'ections. This seems to be included in
that perfection of happiness to which the saints shall be advanced.
If Adam knew who and what Eve was, at first sight, when the Lord
God brought her to him, Gen. ii. 23, 54, why should one question but
husbands and wives, parents and children, will know each other in
glory? If the Thessalonians, converted by Paul's ministry, shall be
his " crown of rejoicing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at
SOCIETY IN HEAVEN". 329
his coming," 1 Thess. ii. 19, why may we not conclude, that minis-
ters shall know thoir people, and people their ministers, in heaven ?
And if the disciples, on the mount of transfiguration, knew Moses
and Elias, whom they had never seen before, Matth. xvii. 4, we
have reason to think that we shall know them too, and such as them,
when we come to heaven. The communion of saints shall be most
intimate there ; " they shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven," Matt. viii. 11. Lazarus was
carried by the augels into Abraham's bosom, Luke xvi. 23 ; which
denotes most intimate and familiar society. And though diversity
of tongues shall cease. 1 Cor. xiii. 8, I make no question, but there
will be the use of speech in heaven ; and that the saints will glorify
God in their bodies there, as well as in their spirits, speaking forth
his praises with an audible voice. As for the language, we shall
understand what it is, when we come thither. When Paul was
caught up to the third heaven, the seat of the blessed, he heard there
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter, 2 Cor.
xii. 4. Moses and Elias, on the mount with Christ, " talked with
him," Matt. xvii. 3, and " spake of his decease which he should ac-
complish at Jerusalem," Luke ix. 31.
(2.) The saints will have the society of all the holy angels there.
An innumerable company of angels shall be companions to them
in their glorified state. Happy were the shepherds who heard
the song of the heavenly host when Christ was born ! but thrice
happy they, who shall join their voices with them in the choir of
saints and angels in heaven, when he shall be glorified in all who
shall be about him there ! Then shall we be brought acquainted
with those blessed spirits, who never siuned. How bright will these
morning stars shine in the holy place ! they were ministering spirits
to the heirs of salvation : loved them for their Lord and Master's
sake; encamped round about tliem, to preserve them from danger:
how joyfully will they welcome them to their everlasting habitations ;
and rejoice to see them come at length to their kingdom, as the
tutor doth in the prosperity of his pupils ! The saints shall be no
more afraid of them, as at times they were wont to be : they shall
then have put off mortality, and the infirmities of the flesh, and be
themselves as the angels of God, fit to enjoy communion and fellow-
ship with them. And both being brought under one head, the Lord
Jesus Christ, they shall join in the praises of God and of the Lamb,
" saying, with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,"
&c. Rev. V. 11, 12. Whether the angels shall, as some think, assume
ethereal bodies, that they may be seen by the bodily eyes of the
saints, and be in a nearer capacity to converse with them, I know
Vol. Yin. x
330 SOCIETY IN HEAVEN.
not : but, as they want not ways of converse among themselves,* we
have reason to think, that conversation between them and the saints
shall not be for ever blocked up.
(3.) They shall have society with the Lord himself in heaven,
glorious communion with God in Christ, which is the perfection of
happiness. I choose to speak of communion with God and the man
Christ, together ; because, as we derive our grace from the Lamb
so we shall derive our glory from him too, the man Christ being, if
I may be allowed the expression, the centre of the divine glory in hea-
ven, from whence it is diffused unto all the saints. This seems to be
taught us by the Scriptures which express heaven's happiness by
" being with Christ," Luke xxiii. 43, " This day ihou shalt be with
me in paradise." John xvii. 24, " Father, I will that these also,
whom thou hast given me, be with mc," and remarkably to this
purpose is what follows, " that they may behold my glory." 1 Thess.
iv. 17, " So shall we be ever with the Lord," that is, the Lord Christ,
whom we shall meet in the air. This also seems to be the import
of the Scriptures, wherein God and the Lamb, the slain Saviour, are
jointly spoken of, in point of the happiness of the saints in heaven,
Rev. vii. 17, " For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne,
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters :
and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Chap. xxi. 3,
" Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with
them," as in a tabernacle, so the word signifies, that is, in the flesh
of Christ : compare John i. 14 ; and ver. 22, " The Lord God Al-
mighty, and the Lamb are the temple of it." Here lies the chief
happiness of the saints in heaven, without which they never could-
be happy, though lodged in that glorious place, and blessed with the
society of angels there. What I will venture to say of it, shall be
comprised iu three things :
First, The saints in heaven shall have the glorious presence of
God, and of the Lamb : God himself shall be with them. Rev. xxi. 3,
and they shall ever be with the Lord. God is every where present
in respect of his essence : the saints militant have his special gra-
cious presence ; but in heaven they have his glorious presence.
There they are brought near to the throne of the great King, and
stand before him, where he shews his inconceivable glory. There
they have the tabernacle of God, on which the cloud of glory rests,
the all-glorious human nature of Christ, wherein the fulness of the
Godhead dwells ; not vailed, as in the days of his humiliation, but
shining through that blessed flesh, that all his saints may behold
his glory, and making that body more glorious than a thousand
suns: so that the city has no need of the sun, nor of the moon, hut
PRESEXCK OF UOD AJTO THE LA.MB. 331
" the glory of God doth lighten it, and the lamb is the light there-
of," properly " the candle thereof," Rev. xxi. 23, that is, the Lamb
is the luminary or luminous body, which gives light to the city ; as
the sun and moon now give light to the world, or as a candle lightens
a dark room : and the light proceeding from that glorious luminary
of the city, is the glory of Grod. Sometimes on earth that candle burns
very dimly, it was hid under a bushel, in the time of his humiliation ;
only now and then it darted out some rays of this light, which daz-
zled the eyes of the spectators : but now it is set on high, in the
city of God, where it shines, and shall shine for ever, in perfection
of glory. It was sometimes laid aside, as a stone disallowed of the
builders : but now it is and for ever will be, " the light," or
luminary of that city; and that, "like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal," ver. 11.
Who can conceive the happiness of the saints in the presence
chamber of the great King, where he sits in his chair of state, mak-
ing his glory eminently to appear in the man Christ ? His gracious
presence makes a mighty change upon the saints in this world : his
glorious presence in heaven, then, must needs raise their graces to
perfection, and elevate their capacities. The saints experience that
the presence of God, now with them in his grace, can make a little
heaven of a sort of hell. How great then must the glory of heaven
be, by his presence there in his glory ! If a candle, in some sort,
beautifies a cottage or prison, how will the shining sun beautify a
palace or paradise ! The gracious presence of God made a wilder-
ness lightsome to Moses ; the valley of the shadow of death, to
David ; a fiery furnace, to the three children : what a ravishing
beauty then shall arise from the Sun of righteousness, shining in his
meridian brightness on the street of the city paved with pure gold !
This glorious presence of God in heaven, will put a glory on the
saints themselves. The most pleasing garden is devoid of beauty,
when the darkness of the night sits down on it ; but the shining sun
puts a glory on the blackest mountains : so those who are now as
bottles in the smoke, when set in the glorious presence of God, will
be glorious both in soul and body.
Secondly, The saints in heaven shall have the full enjoyment of
God and of the Lamb. This is it that perfectly satisfies the I'a-
tional creature ; and here is the saints' everlasting rest. This will
make up all their wants, and fill tlie desires of their souls, which,
after all here obtained, still cry, " Give, give," not without some
anxiety; because, though they do enjoy God, yet they do not enjoy him
fully. As to the way and manner of this enjoyment, our Lord tells
us, John xvii. 3, " This is life eternal, that they might know thee,
u2
332 FULL ENJOYMENT OF GOD.
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Now
there are two ways, in which a desirahle object is known most per-
fectly and satisfyingly ; the one is by sight, the other by experi-
ence : sight satisfies the understanding, and experience satisfies the
will. Accordingly, one may say, that the saints enjoy God and the
Lamb in heaven, 1. By an intuitive knowledge ; 2. By an experi-
mental knowledge ; both of them perfect, I mean, in respect of the
capacity of the creature ; for otherwise a creature's perfect know-
ledge of an infinite Being is impossible. The saints below enjoy
God, in that knowledge they have of him by report, from his holy
word, which they believe ; they see him likewise darkly in the glass
of ordinances, which do, as it were, represent the Bridegroom's pic-
ture, or shadow, while he is absent : they have also some experi-
mental knowledge of hira ; they taste that God is good, and that
the Lord is gracious. But the saints above shall not need a good
report of the King, they shall see him ; therefore faith ceaseth :
they will behold his own face ; therefore ordinances are no more :
there is no need of a glass. They shall drink, and drink abun-
dantly, of that whereof tliey have tasted ; and so hope ceaseth, for
they are at the utmost bounds of their desires.
(1.) The saints in heaven shall enjoy God and the Lamb, by sight,
and that in a most perfect manner, 1 Cor. xiii. 12, " For now we see
through a glass, darkly; but then face to face." Here our sight is
but mediate, as by a glass, in which we see not things themselves,
but the images of things ! but there we shall have an immedate view
of God and the Lamb. Here our knowledge is but obscure : there
it shall be clear, without the least mixture of darkness. The Lord
now converses with his saints through the lattices of ordinances ;
but then shall they be in the presence chamber with him. There is
a veil now on the glorious face, as to us : but when we come to the
upper house, that veil, through which some rays of beauty are now
darted, will be found entirely taken off ; and then shall glorious ex-
cellencies and perfections, not seen in him by mortals, be clearly
discovered, for we shall see his face, Rev. xxii. 4. The phrase
seems to be borrowed from the honour put on some in the courts of
monarchs, to be attendants on the king's person. We read, Jer.
Hi. 25, of " seven men that were" (Heb. " seers of the king's face,"
that is as we read it,) " near the king's person." 0 unspeakable
glory ! the great king keeps his court in heaven : and the saints
shall all be his courtiers ever near the king's person, seeing his face.
" The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants
shall serve him ; and they shall see his face," Rev. xxii. 3, 4.
They shall see Jesus Christ, God and man with their bodily eyes,
FULL ENJOYMENT OF GOt». 333
as he will never lay aside the human nature. They will behold that
glorious blessed body, which is personally united to the divine na-
ture, and exalted above principalities and powers, and every name
that is named. There we shall see, with our eyes, that very body
which was born of Mary at Bethlehem, and crucified at Jerusalem
between two thieves : the blessed head, that was crowned with
thorns ; the face, that was spit upon ; the hands and feet, that were
nailed to the cross ; all shining with inconceivable glory. The
glory of the man Christ will attract the eyes of all the saints, and
he will be for ever admitted in all them that believe, 2 Thess. i. 10.
Were each star in the heavens shining as the sun in its meridian
brightness, and the light of the sun so increased, as the stars, in
that case, should bear the same proportion to the sun, in point of
light, that they do now; it might possibly be some faint resem-
blance of the glory of the man Christ, in comparison with that of the
saints ; for though the saints " shine forth as the sun," yet not they,
but the Lamb shall be " the light of the city." The wise men fell
down, and worshipped him, when they saw him " a young child,
with Mary his mother in the house." But 0 what a ravishing
sight will it be to see him in his kingdom, on his throne, at the
Father's right hand ! " The Word was made flesh," John i. 14, and
the glory of God shall shine through that flesh, and the joys of
heaven spring out from it, unto the saints, who shall see and enjoy
God in Christ. For since the union between Christ and the saints is
never dissolved, but they continue his members for ever ; and the
members cannot draw their life, but from their head ; seeing that
which is independent on the head, as to vital influence, is no mem-
ber ; therefore Jesus Christ will remain the everlasting bond of
union betwixt God and the saints ; from whence their eternal life
shall spring, John xvii. 2, 3, " Thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God," &c. Yer. 22, 23, " And the glory which thou gavest me,
I have given them, that they may be one, even as we are one : I in
them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one."
Wherefore the immediate enjoyment of God in heaven, is to be un-
derstood in respect of the laying aside of word and sacraments, and
such external means, as we enjoy God by in this world ; but not as
if the saints should then cast off their dependence on their Head for
vital influences: nay, "the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of waters,"
Rev. vii. 17-
Now when we shall behold him, who died for us, that we might
334 FULL ENJOYMENT OF GOD.
live for evermore, whose matchless love made him swim through the
Red Sea of God's wrath, to make a path in the midst of it for us, by
which we might pass safely to Canaan's land ; then we shall see
Avhat a glorious one he was, who suffered all this for us ; what en-
tertainment he had in the upper house; what hallelujahs of angels
could not hinder hira to hear the groans of a perishing multitude on
earth, and to come down for their help; and what glory he laid aside
for us. Then shall we be more " able to comprehend with all saints,
what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height ; and to know
the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge," Eph. iii. 18, 19.
When the saints shall remember, that the waters of wrath which he
was plunged into, are the wells of salvation from whence they draw
all their joy ; that they have got the cup of salvation in exchange
for the cup of wrath his Father gave hira to drink, which his sinless
human nature shivered at; how will their hearts leap within them,
burn with seraphic love, like coals of juniper, and the arch of heaven
ring with their songs of salvation ! The Jews, celebrating the feast
of tabernacles, which was the most joyful of all their feasts, and
lasted seven days, went once every day about the altar, singing ho-
sanna, with their myrtle, palm, and willow branches in their hands,
the two former signs of victory, the last, of chastity, in the mean-
time bending their boughs towards the altar. When the saints are
presented as a chaste virgin to Christ, and as conquerors have got
their palms in their hands, how joyfully will they compass the altar
evermore, and sing their hosannas, or rather their hallelujahs about
it, bending their palms towards it, acknowledging themselves to owe
all unto the Lamb that was slain, and who redeemed them with his
blood ! To this agrees what John saw. Rev. vii. 9, 10, " A great
multitude — stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud
voice, saying. Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne,
and unto the Lamb."
They shall see God, Matt. v. 8. They will be happy in seeing the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, not with their bodily eyes, in respect
of which God is invisible, 1 Tim. i. 17, but with the eyes of their
understanding ; being blessed with the most perfect, full, and clear
knowledge of God, and divine things, which the creature is capable
of. This is called the beatific vision, and is the perfection of under-
standing, the utmost terra thereof. It is but an obscure delineation
of the glory of God, that mortals can have on earth ; a sight, as it
were, of "his back parts," Exod. xxxiii. 23. But there they will
see his face, Rev. xxii. 4. They shall see him in the fulness of his
glory, and behold him fixedly; whereas it is but a passing view they
KULii enjoyjMent of god. 335
can have of him here, Exod. xxxiv. 6. There is a vast difference
between the sight of a king in his undress, quickly passing by us ;
and a fixed leisurely view of him, sitting on his throne in his royal
robes, his crown on his head, and his sceptre in his hand : such a
difference will there be, between the greatest manifestation of God
that ever a saint had on earth, and the display of his glory in
heaven. There the saints shall eternally, without interruption,
feast their eyes upon him, and be ever viewing his glorious perfec-
tions. And as their bodily eyes shall be strengthened, and fitted to
behold the glorious majesty of the man Christ ; as eagles gaze on
the sun, without being blinded thereby ; so their minds shall have
such an elevation, as will fit them to see God in his glory : their ca-
pacities shall be enlarged, according to the measure in which he shall
be pleased to communicate himself unto them, for their complete
happiness.
This blissful sight of God being quite above our present capacities,
Ave must needs be much in the dark about it. But it seeips to be
something else than the sight of that glory, which we shall see with
our bodily eyes, in the saints, and in the man Christ, or any other
splendour or refulgence from the Godhead whatever ; for no created
thing can be our chief good and happiness, nor fully satisfy our
souls ; and it is plain that these things are somewhat different from
God himself. Therefore I conceive, that the souls of the saints shall
see God himself: so the Scriptures teach us, that we shall "see face
to face, and know even as we are known," 1 Cor. xiii. 12; and that
" we shall see him as he is," 1 John iii. 2. Yet the saints can never
have an adequate conception of God : they cannot comprehend
that which is infinite. They may touch the mountain, but cannot
grasp it in their arms. They cannot, with one glance of their eye,
behold what grows on every side : but the divine perfections will be
an unbounded field, in which the glorified shall walk eternally,
seeing more and more of God ; since they can never come to the end
of that which is infinite. They may bring their vessels to this ocean
every moment, and fill them with new waters. — What a ravishing
sight would it be, to see all the perfections, and lovely qualities,
that are scattered here and there among the creatures, gathered to-
gether into one ! But even such a sight would be infinitely below
this blissful sight the saints shall have in heaven. For they shall
see God, in whom all these perfections shall eminently appear infi-
nitely more, whereof there is no vestige to be found in the creatures.
In him shall they see every thing desirable, and nothing but what is
desirable.
Then shall they be perfectly satisfied as to the love of God to-
336 FULL ENJOYMENT OF &0D.
wards them, which they are now ready to question on every tnrn.
They will no more find any ditRculty to persuade themselves of it,
by marks, signs, aad testimonies : they will have an intuitive know-
ledge of it. They shall, with the profoundest reverence be it spoken,
look into the heart of God, and there see the love he bore to them
from all eternity, and the love and goodness he will bear to them
for evermore. The glorified shall have a most clear and distinct
understanding of divine truths, for in his light we shall see light,
Psalm xxxvi. 9. The light of glory will be a complete commentary
on the Bible, and untie all the hard and knotty questions in divinity.
There is no joy on earth, comparable to that which arises from the
discovery of truth, no discovery of truth comparable to the discovery
of Scripture truth, made by the Spirit of the Lord unto the soul.
" I rejoice at thy word," says the psalmist, " as one that findeth
great spoil," Psalm cxix. 162. Yet, while here, it is but an imper-
fect discovery. How ravishing then will it be, to see the opening of
all the treasure hid in that field ! They shall also be led into the
understanding of the works of God. The beauty of the works of
creation and providence will thea be set in due light. Natural
knowledge will be brought to perfection by the light of glory. Tlie
web of providence, concerning the church, and all men whatever,
will then be cut out, and laid before the eyes of the saints : and it
will appear a most beautiful mixture; so as they shall all say toge-
thee, on the view of it, " He hath done all things well." But, in a
special manner, the work of redemption shall be the eternal wonder
of the saints, and they will admire and praise the glorious contriv-
ance for ever. Then shall they get a full view of its suitableness to
the divine perfections, and to the case of sinners ; and clearly read
the covenant that passed between the Father and the Son, from all
eternity, concerning their salvation. Tliey shall for ever wonder
and praise, and praise and wonder, at the mystery of wisdom and
love, goodness and holiness, mercy and justice, appearing in the glo-
rious scheme. Their souls shall be eternally satisfied with the sight
of God himself, of their election by the Father, their redemption by
the Son, and application thereof to them by the Holy Spirit.
(2.) The saints in heaven shall enjoy God in Christ by experi-
mental knowledge, which is, when the object itself is given and pos-
sessed. This is the participation of the divine goodness in full mea-
sure ; which is the perfection of the will, and utmost term thereof.
'■ The Lamb shall lead them unto living fountains of waters," Rev.
vii. 17. These are no other but God himself, " the fountain of living
waters," who will fully and freely communicate himself unto them.
He will pour out of his goodness eternally into their souls : then
FULL ENJOYMENT OF GOD. 33?
shall they have a most lively sensation, in the innermost part of
their souls, of all that goodness they heard of, and believe to be in
him, and of what they shall see in him by the light of glory. This
will be an everlasting practical exposition of that word, which men
and angels cannot sufficiently unfold, to wit, God himself shall —
"be their God," Rev. xxi. 3. God will communicate himself unto
them fully : they will no more be set to taste of the streams of di-
vine goodness in ordinances, as they were wont, but shall drink at
the fountain head. They will be no more entertained with sips and
drops, but filled with all the fulness of God. And this will be the
entertainment of every saint : for, though in created things, what is
given to one is withheld from another ; yet this infinite good can
fully communicate itself to all, and fill all. Those who are heirs of
God, the great heritage, shall then enter into a full possession of
their inheritance : and the Lord will open his treasures of goodness
unto them, that their enjoyment may be full. They shall not be
stinted to any measure : but the enjoyment shall go as far as their
enlarged capacities can reach. As a narrow vessel cannot contain
the ocean, so neither can the finite creature comprehend the infinite
•good : but no measure shall be set to the enjoyment, but what
ariseth from the capacity of the creature. So that, although there
be degrees of glory, yet all shall be filled, and have what they can
hold ; though some will be able to hold more than others. There
will be no want to any of them ; all shall be fully satisfied, and per-
fectly blessed in the full enjoyment of divine goodness, according to
their enlarged capacities: as when bottles of different sizes are filled,
some contain more, others less; yet all of them have what they
can contain. The glorified shall have all in God, for the satisfac-
tion of all their desires. No created thing can aff"ord satisfaction to
all our desires ; clothes may warm us, but they cannot feed us ; the
light is comfortable, but cannot nourish us : but in God we shall
have all our desires, and we shall desire nothing without him.
They shall be the happy ones, that desire nothing but what is truly
desirable ; they shall have all they desire. God will be all in all
to the saints : he will be their life, health, riches, honour, peace, and
all good things. He will communicate himself freely to them : the
door of access to him shall never be shut again for one moment.
They may, when they will, take of the fruits of the tree of life, for
they will find it on each side of the river. Rev. xxii. 2. There will
be no veil between God and them, to be drawn aside ; but his ful-
ness shall never stand open to them. No door to nock at in heaven;
no asking to go before receiving ; the Lord will allow bis people an
unrestrained familiarity with himself there.
338 FALL ENJOYMENT OF GOD.
Now they are ia part made " partakers of the divine nature !"
but then they shall perfectly partake of it ; that is to say, God will
communicate to them his own image, make all his goodness not only
pass before them, but pass into them, and stamp the image of all
his own perfections upon them, so far as the creature is capable of
receiving the same ; from whence shall result a perfect likeness to
him in all things in or about them; which completes the happiness
of the creature. This is what the psalmist seems to have had in
view. Psalm, xvii. 15, " I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy
likeness ;" the perfection of God's image following upon the beatific
vision. And so says John, 1 John iii. 2, " We shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is." Hence there shall be a most close
and intimate union between God and the saints : God shall be in
them, and they in God, in a glorious and most perfect union : for
then shall their dwelling in love be made perfect. " God is love ;
and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him,"
1 John iv. 16. How will the saints be united to God and he
to them, when he shall see nothing in them but his own image ;
when their love shall arrive at its perfection, no nature but the
divine nature being left in them ; and all imperfection being swal-
lowed up in their glorious transformation into the likeness of God|!
Their love to the Lord, being purified from the dross of self-love,
shall be most pure ; so as they shall love nothing but God, and in
God. It shall no more be faint and languishing, but burn like coals
of juniper. It will be a light without darkness, a flaming fire
without smoke. As the live coal, when all the moisture is gone
out of it, is all fire, so will the saints be all love, when they come
to the full enjoyment of God in heaven, by intuitive and experi-
mental knowledge of him, by sight and full participation of the di-
vine goodness.
Thirdly, From this glorious presence and enjoyment shall arise
au unspeakable joy, which the saints shall be filled with. *' In thy
I)resence is fulness of joy," Psalm xvi. 11. The saints sometimes
enjoy God in the world ; but when their eyes are held, so as not to
perceive it, they have not the comfort of the enjoyment : but then,
all mistakes being removed, they shall not only enjoy God, but rest
in the enjoyment with inexpressible delight and satisfaction. The
desire of earthly things causes torment, and the enjoyment of them
often ends in loathing. But though the glorified saints shall ever
desire more and more of God, their desires shall not be mixed with
the least anxiety, since the fulness of the Godhead stands always
open to them ; therefore they shall hunger no more, they shall not
have the least uneasiness in their eternal appetite after the hidden
saints' admission into the kingdoji. 339
maiina ; neither shall continued enjoyment cause loathing ; they
shall never think they have too much ; therefore it is added,
"neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat," Rev. vii. 16.
The enjoyment of God and the Lamb will be ever fresh and new to
them, through the ages of eternity : for they shall drink of living
fountains of waters, where new waters are continually springing up
in abundance, ver. 17. They shall eat of the tree of life, which,
for variety, affords twelve manner of fruits, and these always new
and fresh, for it yields every month. Rev. xxii. 2. Their joy shall
be pure and unmixed, without any dregs of sorrow ; not slight and
momentary, but solid and everlasting, without interruption. They
Avill enter into joy, Matt. xxv. 21, "Enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord." The expression is somewhat unusual, and brings to my
recollection this word of our suffering Redeemer, Mark xiv. 34,
" My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death." His soul was beset
with sorrows, as the word there used will bear ; the floods of sor-
row went round about him, encompassing him on every hand :
wherever he turned his eyes, sorrow was before him; it flowed in
upon him from heaven, earth, and hell, all at once: thus was he
cutered into sorrow, and therefore saith, Psalm Ixix. 2, " I am come
into deep waters, where the floods overflow me." Now, wherefore
all this, but that his own might enter into joy? Joy sometimes
enters into us now, but has much to do to get access, while we are
encompassed with sorrows : but then joy shall not only enter into
us, but we shall enter into it, and swim for ever in an ocean of
joy, where we shall see nothing but joy wherever we turn our
eyes. The presence and enjoyment of God and the Lamb will
satisfy ns with pleasures for evermore : and the glory of our souls
and bodies, arising from thence, will afford us everlasting delight.
The spirit of heaviness, how closely soever it cleaves to any
of the saints now, shall drop off then : their weeping shall be
turned into songs of joy, and bottles of tears shall issue in rivers of
pleasure. Happy they who now sow in tears, which shall spring up
in joy in heaven, and will encircle their heads with a weight of
glory.
Thus far of the society in this kingdom of the saints.
10, In the last place, the kingdom shall endure for ever. As every
thing in it is eternal, so the saints shall have undoubted certainty,
and full assurance, of the eternal duration of the same. This is a
necessary ingredient in perfect happiness ; for the least uncertainty
as to the continuance of any good with one, is not without some
fear, anxiety, and torment; and therefore is utterly inconsistent
with perfect happiness. But the glorified shall never have fear, nor
340 IN WHAT QUALITY INTRODUCED.
cause of fear, of any loss : they shall be " ever with the Lord," 1
Thess. iv. 17. They shall all attain the full persuasion, that noth-
ing shall be able to separate them from the love of God, nor from
the full enjoyment of him for ever. The inheritance " reserved in
heaven is incorruptible ;" it hath no principle of corruption in it-
self, to make it liable to decay, but endures for evermore : it is un-
defiled; nothing from without can mar its beauty, nor is there any
thing in itself to offend those who enjoy it. Therefore it fadeth not
away ; but ever remains in its native lustre, and primitive beauty,
1 Pet. i. 4. Hitherto of the nature of the kingdom of heaven.
II. "We now proceed to speak of the admission of the saints into
this their new kingdom. I shall briefly touch upon two things: 1.
The formal admission, in the call upon them from the Judge to
come into their kingdom. 2. The equality in which they are ad-
mitted and introduced to it,
1. Their admission, the text shews to be, by a voice from the
throne : the King calling to them, from the throne, before angels
and men, to come to their kingdom. Come and Go are but short
words : but they will be such as will aflPord matter of thought to all
mankind, through the ages of eternity ; since everlasting happiness
turns upon one, and everlasting misery on the other.
Now, our Lord bids the worst of sinners, who hear the gospel,
Come ; but the most part will not come unto him. Some few, whose
hearts are touched by his Spirit, embrace the call, and their souls
within them say, " Behold, we come unto thee :" they give them-
selves to the Lord, forsake the world and their lusts for him : they
bear his yoke, and cast it not off", no, not in the heat of the day
when the weight of it, perhaps, makes them sweat the blood out of
their bodies. Behold the fools ! says the carnal world, whither are
they going ? But stay a little, 0 foolish world ! From the same
mouth, whence they had the call they are now following, another
call shall come, that will make amends for all : " Come ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom."
The saints shall find an inexpressible sweetness in this call. Come.
1. Hereby Jesus Christ shews his desire of their society in the up-
per house, that they may be ever with him there. Thus he will
open his heart unto them, as sometimes he did to his Father con-
cerning them, saying, " Father, I will they be with me, where I am,"
John xvii. 24. Now, the travail of his soul stands before the throne
not only the souls, but the bodies, he has redeemed; and they must
come, for he must be completely satisfied. 2. Hereby they are so-
lemnly invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. They were in-
vited to the lower table by the voice of the servants, and the sacred
T\ WHAT QUALITY INTKODUCED. 341
workings of the Spirit within them ; and they came, and did partake
of the feast of divine communications in the lower house : but Jesus
Christ in person shall invite them, before all the world, to the
highest table. 3. By this he admits them into the mansions of
glory. The keys of heaven hang at the girdle of our royal Media-
tor. " All power in heaven" is given to him, Matt, xxvii. 18 : and
none get in thither but whom he admits. When they were living
on earth with the rest of the world, he opened the doors of their
hearts, entered into them, and shut them again ; so as sin could ne-
ver re-enter, to reign there as formerly : now he opens heaven's
doors to them, draws his doves into the ark, and shuts them in ; so
as the law, death, and hell, can never get them out again. The
saints in this life were still labouring to enter into that rest ; but
Satan was always pulling them back, their corruptions always draw-
ing them down ; insomuch that they have sometimes been left to
hang by a hair of promise, if I may be allowed the expression, not
without fear of falling into the lake of fire : but now Christ gives
the word for their admission, they are brought in, and put beyond
all hazard. 4. He speaks to them as the person introducing them
into the kingdom, into the presence-chamber of the great King,
and unto the throne. Jesus Christ is the great Secretary of heaven,
whose office it is to bring the saints into the gracious presence of
God now, and to whom alone it belongs to bring them into the glo-
rious presence of God in heaven. Truly heaven would be a strange
place to them, if Jesus were not there ; but the Son will introduce his
brethren into his Father's kingdom ; they shall go in " with him to
the marriage. Matt. xxv. 10.
2. Let us consider in what quality they are introduced by him,
(1.) He brings them in as the blessed of his Father; so runs the
call from the throne, " Come, ye blessed of my Father," &c. It
is Christ's Father's house they are to come into : therefere he puts
them in mind that they are blessed of the Father ; dear to the Fa-
ther, as well as to himself. This it is that makes heaven home to
them, namely, that it is Christ's Father's house, where they may be
assured of welcome, being married to the Son, and being his Father's
choice for that very end. He bi-ings them in for his Father's sake,
as well as for his own : they are the blessed of his Father ; who, as
he is the fountain of the Deity, is also the fountain of all blessings
conferred on the children of men. They are those whom God loved
from eternity. They were blessed in the eternal purpose of God,
being elected to everlasting life. At the opening of the book of life,
their names were found written therein : so that by bringing them to
the kingdom, he doth but bring them to what the Father, from all
342 IX WHAT QUALITY INTRODUCED.
eternity, designed for them : being saved by the Son, they are saved
according to his, that is, the Father's purpose, 2 Tim. i. 2. They are
those to whom the Father has spoken well. He spoke well to thera
in his word, which must now receive its full accomplishment.
They had his promise of the kingdom, lived and died in the faith of
it; and now they come to receive the thing promised. Unto them he
has done well. A gift is often in Scripture called a blessing ; and
God's blessing is ever real, like Isaac's blessing, by which Jacob
became his heir: they were all by grace justified, sanctified, and
enabled to persevere to the end ; now they are raised up in glory,
and being tried, stand in the judgment : what remains, then, but
that God should crown his own work of grace in them, in giving
them their kingdom, in the full enjoyment of himself for ever ? Fi-
nally they are those whom God has consecrated; the which also is
a Scripture term of blessing, 1 Cor. x. 16. God set them apart for
himself, to be kings and priests unto hira ; and the Mediator intro-
duces them, as such, to their kingdom and priesthood.
(2.) Christ introduces them, as heirs of the kingdom, to the actual
possession of it. " Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom." They
are the children of God by regeneration and adoption ;" And if
children, then heirs, heiTs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,"
Rom. viii. 17. Now is the general assembly of the first-born before
the throne : their minority is overpast ; and the time appointed of
the Father for their receiving their inheritance, is come. The Me-
diator purchased the inheritance for them with his own blood ;
their rights and evidences were drawn long ago, and registered in
the Bible ; nay, they have investment of their inheritance in the
person of Christ, as their proxy, when he ascended into heaven,
" Whither the forerunner is for us entered," Heb. vi. 20. Nothing
remains, but that they enter into personal possession thereof, which
begun at death, is perfected at the last day ; when the saints in
their bodies, as well as their souls, go into their kingdom.
(3.) They are introduced to it as those it was prepared for, from
the foundation of tlie world. The kingdom was prepared for thera
in the eternal purpose of God, before they, or any of them, had a
being ; which shews it to be a gift of free grace to them. It was
from eternity the divine purpose that there should be such a king-
dom for the elect; and that all impediments which might oppose
their access to it, should be removed out of the way : and also, by
the same eternal decree, every one's place in it was determined and
set apart, to be reserved for him, that each of the children coming
home at length into their Father's house, might find his own place
awaiting him, and ready for him ; as at Saul's table, David's place
CLAIM TO THE KINeDOM. 343
was empty, when he was not there to occupy it himself, 1 Sam. xx.
26. And now the appointed time is come, they are brought iu, to
take their several places in glory.
Use. I shall conclude ray discourse on this subject with a word of
application. 1. To all who claim a right to this kingdom. 2. To
those who have indeed a right to it. 3. To those who have no right
thereto.
1. Since it is evident there is no promiscuous admission into the
kingdom of heaven, and none do obtain it but those whose claim to it
is solemnly tried by the great Judge, and, after trial, supported as
good and valid ; it is necessary that all of us partially try and exa-
mine, whether, according to the laws of the kingdom, contained
in the Holy Scriptures, we can verify and make good our claim
to this kingdom. The hopes of heaven, which most men have,
are built on such sandy foundations, as can never abide the trial ;
having no ground whatever but in their own deluded fancy : such
hopes will leave those who entertain them miserably disappointed
at last. Wherefore, it is not only our duty, but our interest, to put
the matter to a fair trial in time. If we find we have no right to
heaven, we are yet in the way ; and what we have not, we may ob-
tain : but if we find we have a right to it, we shall then hav^e the
comfort of a happy prospect into eternity ; which is the greatest
comfort one is capable of in the world. If you inquire, how you
may know whether you have a right to heaven or not, I answer.
You may know that by the state you are now in. If you are yet
in your natural state, you are children of wrath, and not children of
this kingdom ; for that state, to those who live and die in it, issues
in eternal misery. If yon be brought into the state of grace, you
have a just claim to the state of glory; for grace will certainly
issue in glory at length. This kingdom is an inheritance, which
none but the children of God can justly claim. Now, we become
the children of God by regeneration, and union with Christ his Son ;
" And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with
Christ," Rom. viii. 17. These, then, are the great points upon
which our evidences for the state of glory depend. Therefore, I
refer you to what is said on the state of grace, for satisfying you as
to your right to glory.
If you be heirs of glory, " the kingdom of God is within you," by
virtue of your regeneration and union with Christ. 1. The kingdom
of heaven has the throne in thy heart, if thou hast a right to that
kingdom : Christ is in thee, and God is in thee ; and having chosen
him for thy portion, thy soul has taken up its everlasting rest in
him, and gets no true rest but in him ; as the dove, until she came
844 CLAIJt TO THE KIXGDOif.
into the ark. To him the soul habitually inclines, by virtue of the
new nature, the divine nature, which the heirs of glory are par-
takers of, Psalra Ixxiii. 25, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ?
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee." 2. The
laws of heaven are in thy heart, if thou art an heir of heaven, Heb.
viii. 10, " I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in
their hearts." Thy mind is enlightened in the knowledge of the
laws of the kingdom, by the Spirit of the Lord, the instructor of all
the heirs of glory ; for whoever may want instruction, surely an heir
to a crown shall not want it. " It is written in the prophets, And
they shall be all taught of God," John vi. 45. Therefore, though
father and mother leave them early, or be in no concern about their
Christian education, and they be soon put to work for their daily
bread, yet they shall not lack teaching. "Withal, thy heart is
changed, and thou bearest God's image, which consists in " righte-
ousness and true holiness," Eph. iv. 24. Thy soul is reconciled to
the whole law of Grod, and at war with all known sin. In vain do
they pretend to the holy kingdom, who are not holy in heart and
life; for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord," Heb. xii. 14.
If heaven is a rest, it is for spiritual labourers, not for loiterers. If
it is an eternal triumph, they are not in the way to it who avoid the
spiritual warfare, and are in no care to subdue corruption, resist
temptation, and to cut their way to it through the opposition made
by the devil, the world, and the flesh. 3. The treasure in heaven
is the chief in thy esteem and desire ; for it is your treasure, aud
"where yonr treasure is, there will your heart be also," Matt. vi. 21.
If it is not the things that are seen, but the things that are not seen,
which thy heart is in the greatest care and concern to obtain; if
thou art driving a trade with heaven, and thy chief business lies
there; it is a sign that thy treasure is there, for thy heart is there.
But if thou art of those who wonder why so much ado is made about
heaven and eternal life, as if less might serve the turn, thou art
like to have nothing to do with it at all. Carnal men value them-
selves most on their treasures upon earth ; with them, the things
that are not seen are weighed down by the things that are seen,
and no losses so mnch affect them as earthly losses : but the heirs
of the crown of glory value themselves most on their treasures ia
heaven, aud will not put their private estate in the balance with
their kingdom ; nor will the loss of the former go so near their
hearts, as the thoughts of the loss of the latter. Where these first-
fruits of heaven are to be found, the eternal weight of glory will
surely follow after ; while the want of them must be admitted ac-
cording to the word, to be an incontestible evidence of an heir of
wrath.
COMFORT OF THE HEIRS. 345
2. Let the heirs of the kingdom behave themselves suitably to
their character and dignity. Live as having the faith and hope of
this glorious kingdom : let your conversation be in heaven, Phil. iii.
20. Let your souls delight in communion with God while yon are
on earth, since you look for your happiness in communion with him
in heaven. Let your speech and actions savour of heaven ; and in
your manner of life, look like the country to which you are going :
that it may be said of you, as of Gideon's brethren. Judges viii. 18,
" Each one resembled the children of a king." Maintain a holy
contempt of the world, aud of the things of the world. Although
others, whose earthly things are their best things, set their hearts
upon them, yet it becomes you to set your feet on them, since your
best things are above. This world is but the country through which
lies your road to Immanuel's land. Therefore pass through it as pil-
grims and strangers ; and dip not in the encumbrances of it, so as to
retard you in your journey. It is unworthy of one born to a palace,
to set his heart on a cottage, to dwell there ; and of one running for
a prize of gold, to go oiF his way to gather the stones of the brook ;
but much more is it unworthy of an heir of the kingdom of heaven,
to be hid among the stuff of this world, when he should be going on to
receive his crown. The prize set before you challenges your utmost
zeal, activity, and diligence ; and holy courage, resolution, and mag-
nanimity, become those who are to inherit the crown. You cannot
come at it without fighting your way to it, through difficulties from
without and from within : but the kingdom before you is sufficient to
balance them all, though you should be called to resist even unto
blood. Prefer Christ's cross before the world's crown, and want in
the way of duty, before ease and wealth in the way of sin : " Choose
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season," Heb. xi. 25. In a common inn, stran-
gers perhaps fare better than the children ; but here lies the differ-
ence, the children are to pay nothing for what they have got ; but
the strangers get their bill, and must pay completely for all they
have had. Did we consider the after-reckoning of the wicked for
all the smiles of common providence they meet with in the world,
we should not grudge them their good things here, nor take it amiss
that God keeps our best things last. Heaven will make up all
the saints' losses, and there all tears will be wiped away from their
eyes.
It is worth observing, that there is such a variety of Scripture
notions of heaven's happiness, as may suit every afflicted case of the
saints. Are they oppressed ? The day cometh in which they shall
have the dominion. Is their honour laid in the dust ? A throne to
Vol. YIII. y
346 EXUORTATION TO THE HEIRS.
sit upon, a crown on their head, and a sceptre in tlieir hand, will
raise it up again. Are they reduced to poverty ? Heaven is a
treasure. If they be forced to quit their own habitations, yet
Christ's Father's house is ready for them. Are they driven to the
wilderness? There is a city prepared for them. Are they banished
from their native country? They shall inherit a better country.
If they are deprived of public ordinances, the Lord God Almighty,
and the Lamb, are the temple there, whither they are going ; a
temple, the doors of which none can shut. If their life be full of bit-
terness, heaven is a paradise for pleasure. If they groan under
the remains of spiritual bondage, there is a glorious liberty abiding
them. Do their defiled garments make them ashamed? The day
cometh, in which their robes shall be white, pure, and spotless.
The battle against flesh and blood, principalities and powers, is in-
deed sore: but a glorious triumph awaits them. If the toil and
labours of the Christian life be great, there is an everlasting rest
for them in heaven. Are they judged unworthy of the society of
angels in heaven ? Do they complain of frequent interruptions of
their communion with God ? There they shall go no more ont, but
shall see his face for evermore. If they are in darkness here,
eternal light is there. If they grapple with death, there they shall
have everlasting life. And, to sum up all in one word, " He that
overcometh, shall inherit all things," Rev. xxi. 7- He shall have
peace and plenty, profit and pleasure, every thing desirable ; full
satisfaction to his most enlarged desires. Let the expectants of
heaven, then, lift up their heads with joy ; let them gird up their
loins, and so run that they may obtain ; trampling on every thing
that may hinder them in their way to the kingdom. Let them
never account any duty too hard, nor any cross too heavy, nor any
pains too great, so that they may attain the crown of glory.
li. Let those who have no right to the kingdom of heaven, be
stirred up to seek it with all diligence. Now is the time, wherein
the children of wrath may become heirs of glory : when the way to
everlasting happiness is opened, it is no time to sit still and loiter.
Raise up your hearts towards the glory that is to be revealed; and
be not always in search of rest in this perishing earth. What can
all your worldly enjoyments avail you, while you have no solid
ground to expect heaven after this life is gone ? The riches and
honours, profits and pleasures, that must be buried with us, and
cannot accompany us into another world, are but a wretched por-
tion, and will leave men comfortless at length. Ah ! why are men
so eager in their lifetime to receive their good things? Why are
they not rather careful to secure an interest in the kingdom of
OF HELL. 347
heaven, which would never be taken from them, but afford them a
portion to make them happy through the ages of eternity ? If
you desire honour, there you may have the highest honour, which
will last wlien the world's honours are laid in the dust ; if riches,
heaven will yield you a treasure ; and there are pleasures for
evermore. 0 ! be not despisers of the pleasant land, neither judge
yourselves unworthy of eternal life ; close with Christ, as he is
offered to you in the gospel, and yon shall inherit all things.
Walk in the way of holiness, and it will lead you to the kingdom.
Fight against sin and Satan, and you shall receive the crown.
Forsake the world, and the doors of heaven will be opened to
receive you.
PART YI.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, de-part from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and. his angels. —
Matt. xxv. 41.
Were there no other place of eternal lodging but heaven, I should
here have closed my discourse of man's eternal state ; but as in the
olher world there is a prison for the wicked, as well as a palace for
the saints, we must also inquire into that state of everlasting
misery ; which the worst of men may well bear with, without crying,
" Art thou come to torment us before the time ?" since there is yet
access to flee from the wrath to come ; and all that can be said of it
comes short of what the damned will feel ; for " who knoweth the
power of God's anger ?"
The last thing which our Lord did, before he left the earth, was,
** He lifted up his hands, and blessed his disciples," Luke xxiv. 50,
51. But the last thing he will do, before he leaves the throne, is to
curse and condemn his enemies ; as we learn from the text, which
contains the dreadful sentence, wherein the everlasting misery of
the wicked is declared. In which three things may be taken notice
of: 1. The quality of the condemned: "ye cursed." The Judge
finds the curse of the law upon them as transgressors, and sends
them away with it, from his presence, into hell, there to be fully
executed upon them. 2. The punishment which they are adjudged
y2
348 EXPLICATION OF THE TEXT.
to ; and to wliicli they were always bound over by virtue of the
curse. And it is twofold, the punishment of loss, in separation from
God and Christ, " Depart from me ;" and the punishment of sense,
in most exquisite and extreme torments, "Depart from me into fire."
3. The aggravations of their torments. 1. They are ready for them,
they are not to expect a moment's respite. The fire is prepared and
ready to catch hold of those who are thrown into it, 2. They will
have the society of devils in their torments being shut up with them
in hell. They must depart into the same fire, prepared for Beelze-
bub the j)rince of devils, and his angels ; namely, other reprobate
angels who fell with him, and became devils. It is said to be pre-
pared for them ; because they sinned, and were condemned to hell,
before man sinned. This speaks further terror to the damned, that
they must go into the same torments, and place of torment, with the
devil and his angels. They hearkened to his temptations, and they
must partake in his torments : his works they would do, and they
must receive the wages, which is death. In this life they joined
■with devils, in enmity against God and Christ, and the way of holi-
ness ; and in the other, they must lodge with them. Thus all the
goats shall be shut up together ; for that name is common to devils
and wicked men, in Scripture, Lev. xvii. ?> where the word rendered
devils, properly signifies hairy ones, or goats, in the shape of which
creatures, devils delighted much to appear to their worshippers. 3.
The last aggravation of their torment is the eternal duration there-
of ; they must depart into everlasting fire. This is what puts the
top-stone upon their misery, namely, that it shall never have an end.
DocTEiNE, The wicked shall be shut up under the curse of God, in
everlasting misery, with the devils in hell.
After having proved, that there shall be a resurrection of the
body, and a general judgment, I think it not needful to insist on
proving the truth of future punishment. The same conscience
there is in men of a future judgment, bears witness also of the truth
of future punishment. (And that the punishment of the damned
shall not be annihilation, or a reducing them to nothing, will be clear
in the progress of our discourse.) In treating of this awful subject
I shall inquire into these four things : 1. The curse under which the
damned shall be shut up. II. Their misery under that curse. III.
Their society with devils in this miserable state. lY. The eternity
of the whole.
I. As to the curse under which the damned shall be shut up in
hell ; it is the terrible sentence of the law, by which they are bound
over to the wrath of God, as transgressors. This curse does not
first seize them when r^tauding before the tribunal to receive their
THE CURSE OF THE BAMNED. 349
sentence ; but they were born under it, they led their lives under it
in this world, they died under it, rose with it out of their graves ;
and the Judge finding it upon them, sends them away with it into
the pit, where it shall lie on thera through all the ages of eternity.
By nature all men are under the curse ; but it is removed from the
elect, by virtue of their union with Christ. It abides on the rest of
sinful mankind, and by it they are devoted to destruction, separated
to evil, as one describes the curse, from Dent. xxix. 21, " And the
Lord shall separate him unto evil." Thus shall the damned for
ever be persons devoted to destruction ; separate and set apart from
tiie rest of mankind, unto evil, a^ vessels of wrath ; set up as marks
for the arrows of divine wrath ; and made the common receptacle
and shore of vengeance.
This curse hath its first-fruits on earth, which are a pledge of the
whole lump that is to follow. Hence it is, that as temporal and
eternal benefits are bound up together, under the same expressions,
in the promise to the Lord's people, as Isa. xxxv. 10, " And the
ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion," &c. relating
both to return from Babylon, and to the saints' going to their eter-
nal rest in heaven ; even so, temporal and eternal miseries, on the
enemies of God, are sometimes included under one and the same ex-
pression in the threatening, as Isa. xxx. 33, " For Tophet is or-
dained of old ; yea, for the king it is prepared ; he hath made it
deep and large : the pile hereof is fire and much wood ; the breath
of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." Which
relates both to the temporal and eternal destruction of the Assy-
rians, who fell by the hand of tlie angel before Jerusalem. See
also Isa. Ixvi. 24. What is that judicial blindness to which
many are given up, " whom the god of this world hath blinded,"
2 Cor. iv. 4, but the first fruits of hell and of the curse? their
sun is going down at noon-day ; their darkness increasing, as if
it would not stop till it issue in utter darkness. Many a lash
in the dark doth conscience give the wicked, which the world
doth not hear of: and what is that but the never-dying worm
already begun to gnaw them ? And there is not one of these but
they may call it Joseph, for " the Lord shall add another ;" or ra-
ther Gad, for " a troop cometh." These drops of wrath are terrible
forebodings of the full shower which is to follow. Sometimes they
are given up to their vile affections, that they have no more command
over thera, Rom. i. 26. So their lusts grow up more and more to-
wards perfection, if I may so speak.
As in heaven grace comes to its perfection, so in hell sin arrives
at its highest pitch ; and as sin is thus advancing upon the man, ho
350 THE CURSE OF THE DAMNED,
is the nearer aud liker to hell. — There are three things that have a
fearful aspect here. 1. When every thing that might do good to
men's souls, is blasted to them ; so that their blessings are cursed,
Mai. ii. 2 ; sermons, prayers, admonitions, and reproofs, which are
powerful towards others, are quite inefficacious to them. 2. When men
go on in sinning still, in the face of plain rebukes from the Lord, in
ordinances and providences. God meets them with rods in the way
of their sin, as it were striking them back ; yet they rush forward.
What can be more like hell, where the Lord is always smiting
and the damned always sinning against him ? 3. When every thing
in one's lot is turned into fuel to one's lusts. Thus, adversity and
prosperity, poverty and wealth, the want of ordinances and the en-
joyment of them, do all but nourish the corruptions of many. Their
vicious stomachs corrupt whatever they receive, and all does but in-
crease noxious humours.
But the full harvest follows, in that misery which they shall for
ever lie under in hell ; that wrath which, by virtue of the curse,
shall come upon them to the uttermost ; which is the curse fully exe-
cuted. This black cloud opens upon them, and the terrible thunder-
bolt strikes them, by that dreadful voice from the throne, " Depart
from me, ye cursed," &c. Which will give the whole wicked world
a dismal view of what is in the bosom of the curse. It is, L A
voice of extreme indignation and wrath, a furious rebuke from the
Lion of the tribe of Judah. His looks will be most terrible to them;
his eyes will cast flames of fire on them ; and his words will pierce
their hearts, like envenomed arrows. When he will thus speak
them out of his presence for ever, and by his word chase them away
from before the throne, they will see how keenly wrath burns in his
heart against them for their sins. 2. It is a voice of extreme dis-
dain and contempt from the Lord. Time was when they were pitied,
admonished to pity themselves, and to be the Lord's ; yet they des-
pised him, they would none of him : but now they shall be buried
out of his sight, under everlasting contempt. 3. It is a voice of ex-
treme hatred. Hereby the Lord shuts them out of his bowels of
love and mercy. " Depart, ye cursed." I cannot endure to look at
you ; there is not one purpose of good to you in mine heart ; nor
shall you ever hear one word more of hope from me. 4. It is a
voice of eternal rejection from the Lord. He commands them to be
gone, and so casts them off for ever. Thus the doors of heaven arc
shut against them ; the gulf is fixed between them aud it, and they
are driven to the pit. — Now, were they to cry with all possible ear-
nestness, " Lord, Lord, open to us ;" they will hear nothing but,
" Depart, depart ye cursed." Thus shall the damned be shut np un-
der the curse.
TUE AIISEKY OF THE DAMNED IN HKLL. 351
Use 1. Let all those who, being yet in their natural state, are
under the curse, consider this, and flee to Jesns Christ in time, that
they may be delivered from it. How can you sleep in that state,
being under the curse ! Jesus Christ is now saying unto you, " Come
ye cursed, I will take the curse from off you, and give you the bles-
sing." The waters of the sanctuary are now running, to heal the
cursed gi'ound ; take heed to improve them for that end to your own
souls, and fear it as hell, to get no spiritual advantage thereby.
Remember that " the miry places," which are neither sea nor dry
land, a fit emblem of hypocrites, " and the marshes," that neither
breed fishes, nor bear trees, but the waters of the sanctuary leave
them, as they find them, in their barrenness, " shall not be healed ;"
seeing they spurn the only remedy; "they shall be given to salt,"
left under eternal barrenness, set up for the monuments of the wrath
of God, and concluded for ever under the curse, Ezek. xlvii. 11. 2.
Let all cursers consider this, whose mouths are filled with cursing
themselves and others. He who " clothes himself with cursing,"
shall find the curse " come into his bowels like water, and oil into
his bones," Psalm cix. 18, if repentance prevent it not. He shall
get all his imprecations against himself fully answered, in the day
wherein he stands before the tribunal of God : and shall find the
killing weight of the curse of God, which he now makes light of.
II. I proceed to speak of the misery of the damned, under that
curse ; a misery which the tongues of men and angels cannot suffici-
ently express. God always acts like himself: no favours can be
compared to his, and his wrath and terrors are without a parallel.
As the saints in heaven are advanced to the highest pitch of happi-
ness, so the damned in hell arrive at the height of misery. Two
things here I shall soberly inquire into, — the punishment of loss, and
the punishment of sense, in hell. But since these also are such things
as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, we must, as geographers do,
leave a large void for the unknown land, which the day will disco-
ver.
1. The punishment of loss which the damned shall undergo, is se-
paration from the Lord, as we learn from the text, " Depart from me,
ye cursed." This will be a stone upon their grave's mouth, as " the
talent of lead," Zech. v. 7, 8, that will hold them down for ever.
They shall be eternally separated from God and Christ. Christ is
the way to the Father: but the way, as to them, shall be ever-
lastingly blocked up, the bridge shall be drawn, and the great gulf
fixed ; so shall they be shut up in a state of eternal separation from
God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They will be locally sepa-
rated from the man Christ, and shall never come into the seat of the
352 THE PUNISHMTNT OF LOSS IN HELL.
blessed, where lie appears in his glory, but be cast out into utter
darkness. Matt. sxii. 13. They cannot indeed be locally separated
from God, they cannot be in a place where he is not ; since he is,
and will be present every where : " If I make my bed in hell," says
the psalmist, " behold thou art there," Psalm cxxxix. 8. But they
shall be miserable beyond expression, in a relative separation from
God. Though he will be present in the very centre of their souls,
if I may so express it, while they are wrapped up in fiery flames, iu
utter darkness ; it shall only be to feed them with the vinegar of
his wrath, and to punish them with the emanations of his revenging
justice : they shall never more taste of his goodness and bounty, nor
have the least glimpse of hope from him. They will see his heart
to be absolutely alienated from them, and that it cannot be towards
them; that they are the party againsl whom the Lord will have
indignation for ever. They shall be deprived of the glorious pre-
sence aud enjoyment of God : they shall have no part in the beatific
vision ; nor see any thing iu God towards them, but one wave of
wrath rolling after another. This will bring upon them over-
whelming floods of sorrow for evermore. They shall never taste of
the rivers of pleasures which the saints in heaven enjoy ; but shall
have an everlasting winter, aud a perpetual night, because the Sun
of righteousness has departed from them, and so they are left in
utter darkness. So great ai heaven's happiness is, so great will
their loss be : for they cau have none of it for ever.
This separation of the wicked from God will be, 1. An involun-
tary separation. Now they depart from him, they will not come to
him, though they are called and entreated to come : but then they
shall be driven away from him, when they would gladly abide
with him. Although the question " What is thy beloved more than
another beloved ?" is frequent now amongst the despisers of the
gospel, there will be no such question among all the damned ; for
then they will see that man's happiness is only to be found in the
enjoyment of God, and that the loss of him is a loss that can never
be balanced. 2. It will be a total and utter separation. Though
the wicked are, in this life, separated from God, yet there is a kind
of intercourse betwixt them : he gives them many good gifts, and
they give him, at least, some good words ; so that the peace is not
altogether hopeless. But then there shall be a total separation, the
damned being cast into utter darkness, where there will not be the
least gleam of light and favour from the Lord ; which will put an
end unto all their fair words to him. 3. It shall be a final separa-
tion ; they will part with him, never more to meet, being shut up
under everlasting horror and despair. The match between Jesus
THE rUNISIIilENT OF LOSS IN HELL. 353
Christ and uubelievers, which has so often been carried forward,
and put back again, shall then be broken up for ever ; and never
shall one message of favour or good-will go betwixt the parties any
more.
This punishment of loss, in a total and final separation from Grod,
is a misery beyond what mortals can conceive, and which the dread-
ful experience of the damned can only sufficiently unfold. But that
we may have some conception of the horror of it, let these following
things be considered.
(1.) God is the chief good; therefore, to be separated from him,
must be the chief evil. Our native country, our relations, and our
life, are good ; and therefore to be deprived of them we reckon a
great evil ; and the better any thing is, so much the greater evil is
the loss of it. "Wherefore, God being the chief good, and no good
comparable to him, there can be no loss so great as the loss of God.
The full enjoyment of him is the highest pinnacle of happiness the
creature is capable of arriving at : to be fully and finally separated
^frorn him, must then be the lowest step of misery which the rational
creature can be reduced to. To be cast oft' by men, by good men, is
distressing ; what must it then be, to be rejected of God, of goodness
itself?
(2.) God is the fountain of all goodness, from which all goodness
flows unto the creatures, and by whick it is continued in them, and
to them. Whatever goodness or perfection, natural as well as
moral, is in any creature, it is from God, and depends upon him, as
the light is from, and depends on, the sun ; for every created being,
as such, is a dependent one. Wherefore, a total separation from
God, wherein all comfortable communication between God and a
rational creature is absolutely blocked up, must of necessity bring
along with it a total eclipse of all light of comfort and ease what-
ever. If there is but one window, or open place, in a house, and
that be quite shut up, it is evident there can be nothing but dark-
ness in that house. Our Lord tells us. Matt. xix. 17, " There is
none good but one, that is, God." Nothing good or comfortable is
originally from the creature : whatever good or comfortable thing
one finds in one's self, as health of body, peace of mind; whatever
sweetness, rest, pleasure, or delight, one finds in other creatures, as
in meat, drink, arts and sciences ; all these are but some faint rays
of Divine perfections, communicated from God unto the creature,
and depending on a constant influence from him, for their conserva-
tion, which failing, they would immediately be gone ; for it is impos-
sible that any created thing can bo to us more or better, than what
God makes it to be. All the rivulets of comfort we drink of, within
354 THE PUNISHMENT OF LOSS IN HELL.
or without ourselves, come from God as their spring-head ; the
course of which toward us being stopped, of necessity they must all
dry up. So that when God goes, all that is good and cerafortable
goes with him, all ease and quiet of body and mind, Hos. ix. 12,
" Wo also to them, when I depart from them." When the wicked
are totally and finally separated from him, all that is comfortable
in them, or about them, returns to its fountain ; as the light goes
away with the sun, and darkness succeeds in the room thereof.
Thus, in their separation from God, all peace is removed far away
from them, and pain in body and anguish of soul, succeed to it : all
joy goes, and unmixed sorrow settles in them : all quiet and rest
separate from them, and they are filled with horror and rage : hope
flies away, and despair seizes them ; common operations of the
Spirit, which now restrain them, are withdrawn for ever, and sin
comes to its utmost height. Thus we have a dismal view of the
horrible spectacle of sin and misery, which a creature proves, when
totally separated from God, and left to itself; and we may see this
separation to be the very hell of hell.
Being seprated from God, they are deprived of all good. The
good things which they set their hearts upon in this world, are be-
yond their reach there. The covetous man cannot enjoy his wealth
there, nor the ambitious man his honours, nor the sensual man his
pleasures, no, not a drop of water to cool his tongue, Luke xvi. 24,
25. No meat or drink there to strengthen the faint ; no sleep to
refresh the weary : and no music, or pleasant company, to comfort
and cheer up the sorrowful. And as for those good things they de-
spised in the world, they shall never more hear of them, nor see
them. No ofi'er of Christ there, no pardon, no peace; no wells of
salvation in the pit of destruction. In one word, they shall be de-
prived of whatever might comfort them, being totally and finally
separated from God, the fountain of all goodness and comfort.
(3.) Man naturally desires to be happy, being conscious to himself
that he is not self-sufficient : he has ever a desire of something with-
out himself, to make him happy ; and the soul being, by its natural
make and constitution, capable of enjoying God, and nothing else
being commensurable to its desires, it can never have true and solid
rest, till it rests in the enjoyment of God. This desire of happiness
the rational creature can never lay aside, no, not in hell. Now,
while the wicked are on earth, they seek their satisfaction in the
creature : and when one fails, they go to another : thus they spend
their time in the world, deceiving their own souls with vain hopes.
But, in the other world, all comfort in the creatures failing, and the
shadows which they are now pursuing vanished in a moment, they
THE PUNISHMENT OP LOSS IN HELL. 355
sball be totally and finally separated from God, and see they have
thus lost him. So the doors of earth and heaven both are shut
against them at once. This will create them unspeakable anguish,
while they shall live under an eternal gnawing hunger after happi-
ness, which they certainly know shall never be in the least measure
satisfied, all doors being closed on them. Who then can imagine
how this separation from God shall cut the damned to the heart ?
how they will roar and rage under it ? and how it will sting and
gnaw them through the ages of eternity ?
(4.) The damned shall know that some are perfectly happy, in the
enjoyment of that God from whom they themselves are separated;
and this will aggravate the sense of their loss, that they can never
have any share with those happy ones. Being separated from God,
they are separated from the socieiy of the glorified saints and an-
gels. They may see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom,
Luke xvi. 23, but can never come into their company ; being, as un-
clean lepers, thrust out without the camp, and excommunicated from
the presence of the Lord, and of all his holy ones. It is the opinion
of some, that every person in heaven or hell shall hear and see all
that passes in either state. Whatever is to be said of this, we have
ground from the word to conclude, that the damned shall have a
very exquisite knowledge of the happiness of the saints in heaven ;
for what else can be meant of the rich man in hell seeing Lazarus
in Abraham's bosom ? One thing is plain, in this case, that their
own torments will give them such notions of the happiness of the
saints, as a sick man has of health, or a prisoner has of liberty.
And as they cannot fail of reilecting on the happiness of those in
heaven, without any hope of attaining to contentment with their
own lot, so every thought of that happiness will aggravate their
loss. It would be a mighty torment to a hungry man to see others
liberally feasting, while he is so chained up, as not to have one
crumb to stay his gnawing appetite. To bring music and dancing
before a man labouring under extreme pains, would but increase his
anguish : how then will the songs of the blessed, in their enjoyment
of God, make the damned mourn under their separation from him !
(5.) They will remember that time was when they might have
been made partakers of the blessed company of saints, in their
enjoyment of God : and this will aggravate their sense of the loss.
All may remember, that there was once a possibility of it ; that
they were once in the world, in some corners of which the way of
salvation was laid open to men's view ; and may wish they had gone
round the world, till they had found it out. Despisers of the gospel
will remember, with bitterness, that Jesus* Christ, with all his bene-
356 THE PUNISHMENT OF LOSS IN HELL.
fits, was ofi^ered to them : that tliey were exliorted, entreated, and
pressed to accept, but would not ; and that they were warned of the
misery they feel, and exhorted to flee from the wrath to come, but
they would not hearken. The gospel ofi"er slighted will make a hot
hell, and the loss of an offered heaven will be a sinking weight on
the spirits of unbelievers in the pit. Some will remember that there
was a probability of their being eternally happy ; that once they
seemed to stand fair for it, and were not far from the kingdom of
God ; that they had once almost consented to the blessed bargain ;
the pen was in their hand, as it were, to sign the marriage contract
between Christ and their souls ; but unhappily they dropped it, and
turned back from the Lord to their lusts again. Others will remem-
ber, that they thought themselves sure of heaven, but, being blinded
with pride and self-conceit, they were above ordinances, and beyond
instruction, and would not examine their state, which was their
ruin : but then they will in vain wish that they had reputed them-
selves the worst of the congregation, and curse the fond conceit they
had of themselves, and that others had of them too. Thus it will
sting the damned, that they might have escaped this loss.
(6.) They will see the loss to be irrecoverable ; that they must
eternally lie under it, never, never to be repaired. Might the
damned, after millions of ages in hell, regain what they have lost, it
would be some ground of hope; but the prize is gone, and never can
be recovered. There are two things which will pierce them to the
heart : 1. That they never knew the worth of it, till it was irre-
coverably lost. Should a man give away an earthen pot full of gold
for a trifle, not knowing what was in it till it were quite gone from
him, and past recovery, how would this foolish action gall him, upon
the discovery of the riches in it ! Such a one's case may be a faint
resemblance of the case of despisers of the gospel, when in hell they
lift up their eyes, and behold that to their torment, which they will
not see now to their salvation. 2. That they have lost it for dross
and dung ; sold their part of heaven, and not enriched themselves
with the price. They have lost heaven for earthly profits and plea-
sures, and now both are gone together from them. The drunkard's
cups are gone, the covetous man's gain, the voluptuous man's carnal
delights, and the sluggard's ease : nothing is left to comfort them
now. The happiness they lost remains indeed, but they can have no
part in it for ever.
Use. Sinners, be persuaded to come to God through Jesus Christ,
uniting with him through the Mediator ; that you may be preserved
from this fearful separation from him. 0 be afraid to live in a state
of separation from God, lest that which you now make your choice,
THE PUNISHMENT OF LOSS IN HELL. 357
become your eternal pimislinieut hereafter. Do not reject com-
munion with God, cast not oif the communion of saints ; for it will
bo the misery of the damned to be driven out from that communion.
Cease to build up the wall of separation between God and you, by
continuing in your sinful courses; repent rather in time, and so pull
it down ; lest the topstone be laid upon it, and it stand for ever be-
tween you and happiness. Tremble at the thought of rejection and
separation from God. By whomsoever men are rejected upon earth,
they ordinarily find some pity; but, if you be thus separated from God,
you will find all doors shut against you. You will find no pity from any
in heaven ; neither saints nor angels will pity them whom God has ut-
terly cast oft'; none will pity you in hell, where there is no love, but
loathing; all being loathed of God, loathing him, and loathing one an-
other. This is a day of losses and fears. I shew you a loss you would
do well to fear in time; be afraid lest you lose God ; if you do, eternity
will be spent in roaring out lamentations for this loss. 0 horrid
stupidity! Men are in a mighty care and concern to prevent world-
ly losses; but they are in danger of losing the enjoyment of God
for ever and ever ; in danger of losing heaven, the communion of
the blessed, and all good things for soul and body in another world ;
yet as careless in that matter as if they were incapable of thought,
0 compare this day with the day our text aims at. To-day heaven
is opened for those who hitherto have rejected Christ ; and yet
there is room, if they will come : but that day the doors shall be
shut. Now Christ is saying unto you, " Come :" then he will say :
" Depart ;" seeing you would not come when you were invited.
Now pity is shewn ; the Lord pities you, his servants pity you, and
tell you that the pit is before you, and cry to you, that you do your-
selves no harm : but then shall you have no pity from God or man.
2. The damned shall be punished in hell with the punishment of
sense ; they must depart from God into everlasting fire. I am not
disposed to dispute what kind of fire it is into which they shall de-
part, to be tormented for ever, whether a material fire or not : ex-
perience will more than satisfy the curiosity of those who are dis-
posed rather to dispute about it, than to seek how to escape it.
Neither will I meddle with the question. Where is it? It is enough
that the worm that never dieth, and the fire that is never quenched,
will be found somewhere by impenitent sinners. But, first, I shall
prove that, whatever kind of fire it is, it is more vehement and ter-
rible than any fire we on earth are acquainted with. Secondly, I
shall state some of tho properties of these fiery torments.
As to the first of these ; burning is the most terrible punishment,
and brings the most exqusite pain and torment with it. By what
358 THE PUNISHMENT OF SENSE IN HELL.
reward could a man be induced to hold only liis hand in the flame
of a candle but for one hour ? All imaginable pleasures on earth
•will never prevail with the most voluptuous man, to venture to lodge
but one half hour in a burning fiery furnace ; nor would all the
wealth in the world prevail with the most covetous to do it : yet, on
much lower terms do most men, in effect, expose themselves to ever-
lasting fire in hell, which is more vehement and terrible than any
fire we on earth are acquainted with ; as will appear by the follow-
ing considerations.
(1.) As in heaven, grace being brought to its perfection, profit
and pleasure also arrive at their height there ; so sin, being come to
its height in hell, the evil of punishment also arrives at its perfection
there. Wherefore, as the joys of heaven are far greater than any
joys which the saints obtain on earth, so the punishments of hell
mnst be greater than any earthly torments whatever; not only in
respect of the continuance of them, but also in respect of vehemency
and exquisiteness.
(2.) Why are the things of another world represented to us in an
earthly dress, in the word, but because the weakness of our capaci-
ties in such matters, which the Lord is pleased to condescend unto,
requires it; it being always supposed, that the things of the other
world are in their kind more perfect than those by which they are
represented : when heaven is represented to us under the notion of
a city, with gates of pearl, and the street of gold, we expect not to
find gold and pearls there, which are so mightily prized on earth,
but something more excellent than the finest and most precious
things in the world : when, therefore, we hear of hell-fire, it is
necessary we understand by it something more vehement, piercing,
and tormenting, than any fire ever seen by our eyes. And here it
is worth considering, that the torments of hell are held forth under
several other notions than that of fire simply : and the reason of it
is plain ; namely, that hereby what of horror is wanting in one
notion of hell, is supplied by another. Why is heaven's happiness
represented under the various notions of " a treasure, a paradise, a
feast, a rest," &c. but that there is not one of these things sufficient
to express it ? Even so, hell-torments are represented under the
notion of fire, which the damned are cast into. A dreadful repre-
sentation indeed ! yet not sufficient to express the misery of the
state of sinners in them. Wherefore, we hear also of "the second
death," Rev. xx. 6 ; for the damned in hell shall be ever dying : of
the " wine-press of the wrath of God," chap. xiv. 19, wherein they
will be trodden in anger, trampled in the Lord's fury, Isaiah Ixiii.
3 ; pressed, broken, and bruised, without end : " the worm that dieth
THE VUNISIIMENT OF SENSE IN HELL. 3o9
uot," Mark ix. 44, which shall eternally gnaw them : " a bottomless
pit," where they will be ever sinking, Rev. xx. 3. It is not simply
called " a fire," but " the lake of fire and brimstone," ver. 10, " a
lake of fire burning with brimstone," chap. xix. 20 ; than which one
can imagine nothing more dreadful. Yet, because fix*e gives light,
and light, as Solomon observes, Eccles. xi. 7, is sweet, there is no
light there, but darkness, utter darkness, Matt. xxv. 30. For they
must have an everlasting night, since nothing can be there which is
in any measure comfortable or refreshing.
(3.) Our fire cannot aftect a spirit, but by way of sympathy with
the body to which it is united : but hell-fire will not only pierce
into the bodies, but directly into the souls of the damned : for it is
" prepared for the devil and his angels," those wicked spirits, whom
no fire on earth can hurt. Job complains heavily, under the chas-
tisements of God's fatherly hand, saying, " The arrows of the
Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spi-
rit," Job vi. 4. But how will the spirits of the damned be pierced
with the arrows of revenging justice ! how will they be drunk up
with the poison of the curse of these arrows ! how vehement must
that fire be which pierces directly into the soul, and makes an ever-
lasting burning in the spirit, the most lively and tender part of a
man, wherein wounds or pains are most intolerable !
(4.) The preparation of this fire proves the inexpressible vehemency
and dreadfulness of it. The text calls it, " prepared fire, yea, the
prepared fire, by way of eminence. As the three children were uot
cast into ordinary fire, but a fire prepared for a particular purpose
which therefore was exceeding hot, the furnace being heated seven
times more than ordinary, Dan. iii. 19 — 22; so the damned shall
find in hell a prepared fire, the like to which was never prepared by
human art ; it is a fire of God's own preparing, the product of in-
finite wisdom, v/ith a particular purpose, to demonstrate the most
strict and severe divine justice against sin ; which may sufficiently
evidence to us the incouceiveably exquisiteness thereof. God always
acts in a peculiar way, becoming his infinite greatness, whether
for or against the creature : therefore, as the things he has prepared
for them that love him, are great and good beyond expression or
conception, so one may conclude, that the things he has prepared
against those who hate him, are great and terrible beyond what
men can either say or think of them. The pile of Tophct is " fire,
and much wood ;" the coals of that fire are " coals of juniper," a
kind of wood which, set on fire, burns most fiercely. Psalm cxx. 4 ;
" and the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstome, doth
kindle it," Isa. xxx. 33. Fire is more or less violent, according to
360 THE PUXISnMENT or SENSR IN DELL.
the matter of it, and the breath by which it is blown. AtThat heart,
then, can fullj- conceive the horror of coals of juniper, blown up
with the breath of the Lord ? Nay, God himself will be a con-
suming fire, Deut. iv. 24, to the damned ; intimately present, as a
devouring fire, in the souls and bodies. It is a fearful thing to fall
into a fire, or to be shut up in a fiery furnace, on earth ; but the ter-
ror of these vanishes, when we consider, how fearful it is to fall
into the hands of the living God, which is the lot of the damned ;
for " "VTho shall dwell with devouring fire? Who shall dwell
with everlasting burnings ?" Isa. xxxiii. 14.
As to the second i>oint proposed, namely, the properties of the
fiery torments in bell ;
(I.) They will be universal torments, every part of the creature
being tormented in that flame. When one is cast into a fiery fur-
nace, the fire makes its way into the very heart, and leaves no
member untouched : what part, then, can have ease, when the
damned swim in a lake of fire, burning with brimstone ? There
will their bodies be tormented, and scorched for ever. And as
they sinned, so shall they be tormented, in all the parts thereof,
that they shall have no sound side to turn them to ; for what
soundness or ease can be to any part of that body, which being
separated from God, and all refreshment from him, is still in the
pangs of the second death, ever dying, but never dead ? But as the
soul was chief in sinning, it will be chief in sufi'ering too, being filled
quite full of the wrath of a sin-avenging God. The damned shall
be ever under the deepest impressions of God's vindictive justice
against them : and this fire will melt their souls within them, like
was. Who knows the power of that wrath which had such an
eflfect on the Mediator standing in the room of sinners, Psalm
xxii, 14. " My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of
my bowels ?" Their minds shall be filled with the terrible appre-
hensions of God's implacable wrath : and whatever they can think
upon, past, present, or to come, will aggravate their torment
and anguish. Their will shall be crossed in all things for ever-
more : as their will was ever contrary to the will of God's pre-
cepts ; so God, in his dealing with them, in the other world,
shall have war with their will for ever. What they would have,
they shall not in the least obtain : but what they would not,
shall be bouud upon them without remedy. Hence, no pleasant
affection shall ever spring up in their hearts any more : their
love of complacency, joy, and delight, in any object whatever,
shall be plucked up by the root ; and they will be filled with
hatred, fnry, and rage against God, themselves, and their fellow-
THE PUNISHMENT OF SENSE IN HELL. 361
creatures, whether happy iri heaven, or miserable iu hell, as they
themselves are. They will be sunk in sorrow, racked with anxiety,
tilled with horror, galled to the heart with fretting, and continually
darted with despair : which will make them weep, gnash their teeth,
and blaspheme for ever. " Bind him hand and foot, and take him
away, and cast him into utter darkness ; there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth," Matt. xxii. 13. " And there fell upon men a
great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent :
and men blasphemed God because of the hail; for the plague thereof
was exceeding great," Rev. xvi. 21. Conscience will be a worm to
gnaw and prey upon them ; remorse for their sins shall seize them
and torment them for ever, and they shall not be able to shake it
off. as once they did ; for " in hell their worm dieth not," Mark ix.
44, 46. Their memory will serve but to aggravate their torment,
and every new reflection will bring another pang of anguish, Luke
xvi. 25, " But Abraham said," to the rich man in hell, " Son, re-
member that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things."
(2.) The torments in hell are manifold. Put the case that a man
were, at one and the same time, under the violence of the gout, gra-
vel, and whatever diseases and pains have ever met together in
one body ; the torment of such a one would be but light in compa-
rison of the torments of the damned. For, as in hell there is an ab-
sence of all that is good and desirable, so there is the confluence of
all evils there ; since all the effects of sin and of the curse take
their place in it, after the last judgment, Rev. xx. 14, " And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire." There they will find a
prison they can never escape out of; a lake of fire, where they will
be ever swimming and burning ; a pit, whereof they will never find
a bottom. The worm that dieth not, shall feed on them, as oa
bodies which are interred : the fire that is not quenched, shall de-
vour them, as dead bodies which are burned. Their eyes shall be
kept in blackness of darkness, without the least comfortable gleam
of light ; their ears filled with frightful yellings of the infernal
crew. They shall taste nothing but the sharpness of God's wrath,
the dregs of the cup of his fury. The stench of the burning lake of
brimstone will be the smell there ; and they shall feel extreme
pains for evermore.
(3.) They will be most exquisite and vehement torments, caus-
ing " weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth," Matt. xiii. 42, and
xxii. 13. They are represented to us under the notion of pangs in
travail, which are very sharp and exquisite. So says the rich man
in hell, Luke xvi. 24, "I am tormented," to wit, as one in the-pangs
of child-bearing, " in this flame." Ah ! dreadful pangs ! horrible
Vol. YIII. z
362 THE PUNISUilENT OF SENSE IN HELL.
travail, ia which both soul aud body are in pangs together ! help-
less travail, hopeless and endless! The word used for hell, Matt,
V. 22, and in divers other places of the New Testament, properly
denotes the valley of Hinnom ; the name being taken from the val-
ley of the children of Hinnom, in which was Tophet, 2 Kings xxiii.
10, where idolaters offered their children to Moloch. This is said
to have been a great brazen idol, with arms like a man's : which
being heated by fire within it, the child was set in the burning arms
of the idol, and, that the parent might not hear the shrieks of the
child burning to death, they beat drums in the time of the horrible
sacrifice ; whence the place had the name of Tophet. Thus the ex-
quisiteness of the torments in hell are pointed out to us. Some
have endured grievous tortures on earth with surprising obstinacy
and undaunted courage : but men's courage will fail them there,
when they find themselves fallen into the hands of the living God ;
and no escape to be expected for ever. It is true, there will be de-
grees of torments in hell ; " It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sid on, than for Chorazin and Bethsaida," Matt, xi. 21, 22. But the
least load of wrath there, will be unsupportable ; for how can the
heart of the creature endure, or his hands be strong, when God him-
self is a consuming fire to him ? "When the tares are bound in
bundles for the fire, there will be bundles of covetous persons, of
drunkards, profane swearers, unclean persons, formal hypocrites,
unbelievers, and despisers of the gospel, and the like : the several
bundles being cast into hell-fire, some will burn more vehemently
than others, according as their sins have been more heinous than
those of others : a fiercer flame shall seize the bundle of the profane,
than the bundle of unsauctified moralists ; the furnace will be hot-
ter to those who have sinned against light, than to those who lived
in darkness; Luke xii. 47, -IS, "That servant which knew his
Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and
did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few
stripes." But the sentence common to them all. Matt. xiii. 30,
" Bind them in bundles to burn them," spt-aks the great vehemency
and exquisiteness of the lowest degree of torment in hell.
(4.) They will be uninterrupted ; there is no intermission there ;
no ease, no, not for a moment. They " shall be tormented day and
night for ever and ever," Rev. xx. 10, Few are so tossed in this
world, but sometimes they get rest ; but the damned shall get none ;
they took their rest in the time appointed of God for their labour.
Storms are rarely seen, without some space between showers; but
there is no intermission in the storm that falls on the wicked in
THE PUKISIIMENT OF SENSE IK HELL. 363
liell. There, deep will be calling unto deep, and the waves of wrath
continually rolling over them. There, the heavens will be always
black to them, and they shall have a perpetual night, but no rest,
Rev. xiv. 11, " They have no rest day nor night."
(5.) They will be unpitied. The punishments inflicted on the
greatest malefactors on earth, draw forth some compassion from the
spectators ; but the damned shall have none to pity them. God
will not pity them, but laugh at their calamity, Prov. i. 26. The
blessed company in heaven shall rejoice in the execution of God's
righteous judgment, and sing while the smoke riseth up for ever and
ever. Rev. xix. 3, " And again they said, Hallelujah ; and her smoke
rose up for ever and ever." No cotnpassion can be expected from
the devil and his angels, who delight in the ruin of the children of
men, and are and will be for ever void of pity. Neither will one
pity another there, where every one is weeping and gnashing his
teeth, under his own insupportable anguish and pain. There, natu-
ral affection will be extinguished; parents will not love their chil-
dren, nor children their parents ; the mother will not pity the
daughter in these flames, nor will the daughter pity the mother : the
son will shew no regard to his father there, nor the servant to his
master, where every one will be groaning under his own torment.
(6.) To complete their misery, their torments shall be eternal, Rev.
xiv. 11, " And the smoke of their torments ascendeth up for ever
and ever." Ah ! what a frightful case is this, to be tormented in
the whole body and soul, and that not with one kind of torment,
but many ; all of these most exquisite, and all this without any in-
termission, and without pity from any ! What heart can conceive
those things without horror ? Nevertheless, if this most miserable
case were at length to have an end, that would afford some comfort ;
but the torments of the damned will have no end ; of which more
afterwards.
Use. Learn from this, 1. The evil of sin. It is a stream that will
carry down the sinner, till he be swallowed up in the ocean of wrath.
The pleasures of sin are bought too dear, at the rate of everlasting
burnings. "What availed the rich man's purple clothing and sumptu-
ous fare, when in hell he was encircled by purple flames, and could
not have a drop of water to cool his tongue ? Alas ! that men should
indulge themselves in sin which will be such bitterness in the end !
that they should drink so greedily of the poisonous cup, and hug
that serpent in their bosom, that will sting them to the heart. 2.
What a God he is with whom we have to do ? What hatred he
bears to sin, and how severely he punishes it ! Know the Lord to
be most just, as well as most merciful, and think not tliat he is
z 2
364 THE PUNISHMENT OF SENSE IN HELL.
such a one as you are ; away with the fatal mistake ere it be too
late, Psalm. 1. 21, 22, " Thou thooghtest that I was altogether such
an one as thyself; hut I will reprove thee, and set them in order be-
fore thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear
you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." The fire prepared for the
devil and his angels, as dark as it is, will discover God to be a severe
revenger of sin. 3. The absolute necessity of fleeing to the Lord
Jesus Christ by faith ; the same necessity of repentance, and holi-
ness of heart and life. The avenger of blood is pursuing thee, 0
sinner ; haste and escape to the city of refuge. Wash now in the
fountain of the Mediator's blood, that you may not perish in the
lake of fire. Open thy heart to him, lest the pit close its mouth
on thee. Leave thy sins, else they will ruin thee ; kill them, else
they will be thy death for ever.
Let not the terror of hell -fire put thee upon hardening thy heart
more, as it may do, if thou entertain that wicked thought, " There
is no hope," Jer. ii. 25, which, perhaps, is more common among the
liearers of the gospel, than many are aware of. But there is hope
for the worst of sinners, who will come unto Jesus Christ. If there
are no good qualifications in thee, as certainly there can be none in
a natural man, none in any man, but what are received from Christ,
know, that he has not suspended thy welcome on any good qualifica-
tions : do thou take him and his salvation freely ofi'ered unto all to
whom the gospel comes. " Whosoever will, let him take of the
water of life freely," Rev. xxii. 17- " Him that cometh to me, I
will in nowise cast out," John vi. 37. It is true, thou art a sinful
creature, and canst not repent ; thou art unholy, and canst not
make thyself holy : nay, thou hast attempted to repent, to forsake
sin, and to be holy, but still failed of repentance, reformation, and
holiness ; and therefore, " Thou saidst, There is no hope. No, for I
have loved strangers, and after them will I go." Truly no wonder
that the success has not answered thy expectation, since thou hast
always begun thy work amiss. But do thou first of all honour God,
by believing the testimony he has given of his Son, namely, that
eternal life is in him : and honour the Son of God, by believing in
him, that is, embracing and falling in with the free offer of Christ,
and of his salvation from sin and from wrath, made to thee in the
gospel; trusting in him confidently for righteousness to thy justifi-
cation, and also for sanctification ; seeing " of God he is made unto
us" both " righteousness and sanctification," 1 Cor. i. 30. Then, if
thou hast as much credit to give to the word of God, as thou wouldst
allow to the word of an honest man, offering thee a gift, and saying,
Take it, and it is thine ; thou mayst believe, that God is thy God,
SOCIKTY WITH DEVILS. 365
Christ is thine, his salvation is thine, thy sins are pardoned, thou
hast strength in him for repentance and for holiness ; for all these
are made over to thee in the free offer of the gospel. Believing on
the Son of God, thou art justified, the curse is removed. And while
it lies upon thee, how is it possible thou shouldst bring forth the
fruits of holiness ? But, the curse removed, that death which seized
on thee with the first Adam, according to the threatening, Gen. ii. 17,
is taken away. In consequence of which, thou shalt find the bands of
wickedness, now holding thee fast in impenitence, broken asunder, as
the bands of that death ; so as thou wilt be able to repent indeed, from
the heart : thou shalt find the spirit of life returned to thy soul, on
whose departure that death ensued, so as thenceforth thou shalt be
enabled to live unto righteousness. No man's case is so bad, but it
may be mended this way, in time, to be perfectly right in eternity :
and no man's case is so good, but, another way being taken, it will
be ruined for time and eternity too.
III. The damned shall have the society of devils in their misera-
ble state in hell : for they must depart into " fire prepared for the
devil and his angels." 0 horrible company ! 0 frightful associa-
tion ! who would choose to dwell in a palace, haunted with devils ?
To be confined to the most pleasant spot of earth, with the devil and
his infernal furies, would be a most terrible confinement. How
would men's hearts fail them, and their hair stand up, finding them-
selves environed with the hellish crew ! But, ah ! how much more
terrible must it be, to be cast with the devils into one fire, locked
up with them in one dungeon, shut up with them in one pit ! To be
closed up in a den of roaring lions, girded about with serpents, sur-
rounded with venomous asps, and to have the heart eaten out' by
vipers, altogether and at once, is a comparison too low, to shew the
misery of the damned, shut up in hell with the devil and his angels.
They go about now as roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour :
but then they shall be confined in their den with their prey. They
shall be filled with the wrath of God, and receive the full torment,
Matt. viii. 29, which they tremble in expectation of, James ii. 19,
being cast into the fire prepared for them. How will these lions
roar and tear ! how will these serpents hiss ! these dragons cast out
fire ! what horrible anguish will seize the damned, finding them-
selves in the lake of fire, with the devil, who deceived them; drawn
thither with the silken cords of temptation, by these wicked spirits ;
and bound with them in everlasting chains under darkness ! Rev.
XX. 10, " And the devil that deceived them, was cast into the lake
of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
366 HISEUABIiE STATE OF TUE DAMNED.
0 ! that men would consider this in time, renounce the devil and
his lusts, and join themselves to the Lord in faith and holiness.
Why should men choose such company in this world, and delight in
such society, as they would not desire to associate with in the other
world ? Those who like not the company of the saiuts on earth,
will get none of it in eternity ; but, as godless company is their
delight now, they will afterwards get enough of it ; when they have
eternity to pass in the roaring and blaspheming society of devils
and reprobates in hell. — Let those who use to invocate the devil to
take them, soberly consider, that the company so often invited, will
be terrible at last, when come.
lY. And, Lastly, Let us consider the eternity of the whole, the
everlasting continuance of the miserable state of the damned in hell.
1. If I could, I would shew what eternity is; I mean, the crea-
ture's eternity. But who can measure the waters of the ocean ; or
who can tell you the days, years, and ages of eternity, which are in-
finitely more than the drops of the ocean ? None can comprehend
eternity, but the eternal God. Eternity is an ocean, whereof we
shall never see the shore ; it is a deep, where we can find no bot-
tom ; a labyrinth, from whence wa cannot extricate ourselves, and
where we shall ever lose the door. There are two things we may
say of it. 1. It has a beginning. God's eternity has no beginning,
but the creature's has. Once there was no lake of fire ; and those
who have been there for some hundreds of years, were once in time,
as we now are. But, 2. It shall never have an end. The first who
entered into the eternity of wo, is as far from the end of it, as
tlie last who shall go thither will be at his entry. They who have
launched out furthest into that ocean, are as far from land, as they
were the first moment they went into it : and, thousands of ages
after this, they will be as far from it as ever. Wherefore eternity,
which is before us, is a duration that has a beginning, but no end.
It is a beginning without a middle, a beginning without an end.
After millions of years passed in it, still it is a beginning. God's
wrath, in hell, will ever be the wrath 1o come. — But there is no
middle in eternity. When millions of ages are past in eternity,
what is past bears no proportion to what is to come : no, not so
much as one drop of water, falling from the tip of one's finger,
bears to all the waters of the ocean. There is no end of it : while
God is, it shall be. It is an entry without an end to it ; a continual
succession of ages ; a glass always running, which shall never run
out.
Observe the continual succession of hours, days, months, and
years, how one still follows upon another ; and think of eternity,
MISERABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED. 367
wherein there is a continual succession without end. When you go
out at night, and behold the stars of heaven, how they cannot be
numbered for multitude, think of the ages of eternity ; consider
also, there is a certain definite number of stars, but no number of
the ages of eternity. When you see water running, think how vain
a thing it would be to sit down by it, and wait till it should run out,
that you may pass over ; observe how new water still succeeds to
that which passes by you : aud therein you have an image of eter-
nity, which is a river that never dries up. They who wear rings
have an image of eternity on their fingers ; and they who handle the
wheel have an emblem of eternity before them : for to which part
soever of the ring or wheel we look, one will still see another part
beyond it; and on whatever moment of eternity you meditate, there
is still another beyond it. When you are abroad in the fields, and
behold the blades of grass on the earth, which no man can reckon ;
think with yourselves, that, were as many thousands of years to
come, as there are blades of grass on the ground, even those would
have an end at length ; but eternity will have none. When you
look to a mountain, imagine in your hearts, how long would it be,
ere that mountain should be removed, by a little bird coming but
once every thousand years, and carrying away but one grain of the
dust thereof at once : the mountain would at length be removed that
way, and brought to an end ; but eternity will never end. Suppose
this with respect to all the mountains of the earth ; nay, with
respect to the whole globe itself: the grains of dust of which the
whole of it is made up, are not infinite ; and therefore the last grain
would, at length, come to be carried away, as above : yet eternity
would be, in effect, but beginning.
These are some rude draughts of eternity : and now add misery
and wo to this eternity, what tongue can express it? "what heart
can conceive it ? in what balance can that misery aud that wo be
weighed ?
2. Let us take a view of what is eternal, in the state of the
damned in hell. Whatever is included in the fearful torments
of their state, is everlasting : therefore, all the doleful ingredients
of their miserable state will be everlasting ; they will never end.
The text expressly declares the fire, into which they must depart, to
be everlasting fire. And our Lord elsewhere tells us, that in hell,
the fire never shall be quenched, Mark ix. 43 ; with an eye to the
valley of Hinnora, in which, besides the before-mentioned fire, for
burning the children to ]\[olech, there was also another fire burn-
ing continually, to consume the dead carcases and filth of Jerusa-
lem : so the Scripture, representing hell-fire by the fire of that val-
368 MISEUABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED.
ley, speaks it not only to be most exquisite, but also everlasting.
Seeing, then, the damned must depart, as cursed ones, into everlast-
ing fire, it is evident that —
(1.) The damned themselves shall be eternal ; they will have a
being for ever, and will never be substantially destroyed or annihi-
lated. To what end is the fire eternal, if those who are cast into it
be not eternally in it ? It is plain, the everlasting continuance of
the fire is an aggravation of the misery of the damned. But, surely,
if they be annihilated, or substantially destroyed, it would be all one
to them, whether the fire be everlasting or not. Nay, but they de-
part into everlasting fire, to be everlastingly punished in it. Matt.
XXV. 46, " These shall go away into everlasting punishment."
Thus the execution of the sentence is a certain discovery of the
meaning of it. The worm, that dieth not, must have a subject to live
in: they, who shall have no rest, day nor night, Rev. xiv. 11, but shall
be " tormented day and night for ever and ever," chap. xx. 10, will
certainly have a being for ever and ever, and not be brought into a
state of eternal rest in annihilation. Destroyed indeed they shall
be : but their destruction will be an everlasting destruction, 2 Thess.
i. 9 ; a destruction of their well-being, but not of their being.
"What is destroyed, is not therefore annihilated : " Art thou come to
destroy us ?" said the devil unto Jesus Christ, Luke iv. 34. The
devils are afraid of torment, not of annihilation," Matth. viii. 29,
" Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ?" The state
of the damned is indeed a state of death ; but such a death it is, as
is opposite only to a happy life; as is clear from other notions of
their state, which necessarily include eternal existence, — of which
before. As they who are dead in sin, are dead to Gfod and holiness,
yet live to sin ; so dying in hell they live, but separated from Grod,
and his favour, in which is life, Psalm xxx. 5. They shall ever be
under the pangs of death ; ever dying, but never dead, or abso-
lutely void of life. How desirable would such a death be to them !
but it will flee from them for ever. Could each one kill another
there, or could they, with their own hands, tear themselves into life-
less pieces, their misery would quickly be at an end : but there they
must live, who chose death, and refused life ; for there death lives,
and the end ever begins.
(2.) The curse shall lie upon them eternally, as the everlasting
chain, to hold them in the everlasting fire; a chain that shall never
be loosed, being fixed for ever about them, by the dreadful sentence
of the eternal judgment. This chain, which spurns the united force
of devils held fast by it, is too strong to be broken by men, who
MISERABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED. 369
being solemnly anathematized, and devoted to destruction, can never
be recovered to any other use.
(3.) Their punishment shall be eternal ; Matt. xxv. 46, " These
shall go away into everlasting punishment." They will be for
ever separated from God and Christ, and from the society of the
)ly angels and saints ; between whom and them an impassable gulf
will be fixed, Luke xvi. 26, " Between us and you," says Abraham,
in the parable, to the rich man in hell, " there is a great gulf fixed :
so that they which would pass from hence to you, cannot; neither
can they pass to us, that would come from thence." They shall for
ever have the horrible society of the devil and his angels. There
will be no change of company for ever in that region of darkness.
Their torment in the fire will be everlasting : they must live for ever
in it. Several authors, both ancient and modern, tell us of earth-
flax, or salamander's hairs, that cloth made of it, being cast into the
fire, is so far from being burnt or consumed, that it is only made
clean thereby, as other things are by washing. But however that
is, it is certain the damned shall he tormented for ever and ever in
hell-fire, and not substantially destroyed, Rev. xx. 10. And indeed
nothing is annihilated by fire, but only dissolved. Of what nature
soever hell-fire is, no question, the same God, who kept the bodies
of the three children from burning in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery fur-
nace, can also keep the bodies of the damned from any such dissolu-
tion by hell-fire, as may infer privation of life.
(4.) Their knowleclge and sense of their misery shall be eternal,
and they shall assuredly know that it will be eternal. How de-
sirable would it be to them, to have their senses for ever locked up,
and to lose the consciousness of their own misery ! as one may ra-
tionally suppose it to fare at length with some, in the punishment
of death infiicted on them on earth, and as it is with some mad
people ; but that agrees not with the notion of torment for ever and
ever, nor the worm that dieth not. Nay, they will ever have a
lively feeling of their misery, and strongest impressions of the
wrath of God against them. And that dreadful intimation of the
eternity of their punishment, made to them by their Judge, in
their sentence, will fix such impressions of the eternity of their
miserable state upon their minds, as they will never be able to lay
aside ; but will continue with them evermore, to complete their
misery. This will fill them with everlasting despair ; a most tor-
menting passion, which will continually rend their hearts, as it were,
iu a thousand pieces. To see floods of wrath ever coming, and never
to cease ; to be ever in torment, and to know that there shall never,
never be a release, will be the topstone put on the misery of the
370 THE IIISERABLE STATE OF THE DAilNED.
damned. If " hope deferred maketh the heart sick," Prov. xiii. 12,
how killing will be hope rooted up, slain outright, and buried for
ever out of the creature's sight ! This will fill them with hatred and
rage against God, their known irreconcileable enemy ; and under
it, they will roar for ever, like wild bulls in a net, and fill the pit
with blasphemies evermore.
I might here shew the reasonableness of the eternity of the
punishment of the damned: but, having already spoken of it, in vin-
dicating the justice of God, in his subjecting men, in their natural
state, to eternal wrath, I only remind you of three things : 1. The
infinite dignity of the party offended by sin, requires an infinite
punishment to be inflicted for the vindication of his honour ; since
the demerit of sin rises according to the dignity and excellence of
the person against whom it is committed. The party ofi'ended is the
great God, the chief good ; the ofi'ender a vile worm ; in respect of
perfection, infinitely distant from God, to whom he is indebted for
all that he ever had, implying any good or perfection whatever.
This then requires an infinite punishment to be inflicted on the sin-
ner ; which since it cannot in him be infinite in value, must needs
be infinite in duration, that is to say, eternal. Sin is a kind of infi-
nite evil, as it wrongs an infinite God ; and the guilt and defilement
thereof is never taken away, but endures for ever, unless the Lord
himself in mercy remove it. God, who is oflended, is eternal ; his
being never comes to an end : the sinful soul is immortal, and the
man shall live for ever : the sinner being without strength, Rom. v.
6, to expiate his guilt, can never put away the off'ence ; therefore it
ever remains, unless the Lord put it away himself, as in the elect,
by his Sou's blood. Wherefore the party offended, the offender, and
tlie offence, ever remaining, the punishment cannot but be eternal.
2. The sinner would have continued the course of his provocations
against God for ever without end, if God had not put a check to it
by death. As long as they were capable of acting against him in
this world, they did it : and therefore justly will he act against
them, while he is ; that is, for ever. God, who judges of the will,
intents, and inclinations of the heart, may justly do against sinners,
in punishing, as they would have done against him in sinning. 3.
Though I put not the stress of the matter here, yet it is just and
reasonable that the damned sufl'er eternally, since they will sin eter-
nally in hell, gnashing their teeth. Matt. viii. 12, under their pain
in rage, envy, and grudge; compare Acts vii. 54; Psal. cxii. 10;
Luke xiii. 28 ; and blaspheming God there, Rev. xvi. 21, while they
are " driven away in their wickedness," Prov. xiv. 32. That the
wicked be punished for their wickedness, is just, and it is no ways
TUE MISERABLE STATE OF THE DAMNED. 371
iuconsisteiii with justice, that the being of the creature be continued
for ever : wherefore, it is just, that the damned, continuing wicked
eternally, do suffer eternally for their wickedness. The misery,
under which they sin, can neither free them from the debt of obe-
dience, nor excuse their sinning, and make it blameless. The crea-
ture, as a creature, is bound unto obedience to his Creator ; and no
punishment inflicted on him can free him from it, any more than
tlie malefactor's prison, irons, whipping, and the like, set him
at liberty again, to commit the crimes for which he is imprisoned or
whipped. Neither can the torments of the damned excuse, or make
blameless, their horrible sinning under them, any more than exqui-
site pains, inflicted upon men on earth, can excuse their murmuring,
fretting, and blaspheming against God under them. It is not the
wrath of God, but their own wicked nature, that is the true cause of
their sinning under it; for the holy Jesus bore the wrath of God,
Avithout so much as one unbecoming thought of God, and far less
any one unbecoming word.
Use I. Ilere is a measuring reed : 0 that men would apply it. 1.
Apply it to your own time in this world, and you will find your
time to be very short. A prospect of much time to come proves the
ruin of many souls. Men will be reckoning their time by years, like
that rich man, Luke xii. 19, 20, when, it may be, there are not
many hours of it to run. But reckon as you will, laying your time
to the measuring reed of eternity, you will see your age is as no-
thing. What a small and inconsiderable point is sixty, eighty, or
a hundred years, in respect of eternity ! Compared with eternity,
there is a greater disproportion, than between a hair's breadth and
the circumference of the whole earth. Why do we then sleep in
such a short day, while we are in danger of losing rest through the
long night of eternity ? 2. Apply it to your endeavours for salva-
tion, and they will be found very scanty. When men are pressed
to diligence in their salvation work, they are ready to say, " To
what purpose is this waste ?" Alas ! if it were to be judged by our
diligence, what it is that we have in view ; as to the most part of
us, no man could thereby conjecture that we have eternity in view.
If we duly considered eternity, we could not but couclude, that, to
leave no appointed means of God unessayed, till we get our salvation
secured — to refuse rest or comfort in any thing, till we are sheltered
under the wings of the Mediator — to pursue our great interest with
the utmost vigour — to cut oft' lusts dear as right hands and right
eyes — to set our faces resolutely against all difliculties — and fight
our way through all opposition made by the devil, the world, and
the flesh — are, all of them together, little enough for eternity.
372 A BALANCE OF THE SAXCTUART.
Use II. Here is a balance of the sanctuary, by which w^ may un-
derstand the lightness of what is falsely thought weighty ; and the
weight of some things, by many reckoned to be very light.
1. Some things seem very weighty, which, weighed in this ba-
lance, will be found very light. (1.) Weigh the world, and all that
is in it, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, and the whole will be found light in the balance of eternity.
"Weigh herein all worldly profits, gains, and advantages; and you
will quickly see, that a thousand worlds will not be adequate
to the cost of the eternity of wo. " For what is a man profited, if
he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?" Matt. xvi.
26. Weigh the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season, with
the fire that is everlasting, and you shew yourselves to be fools and
madmen, to run the hazard of the one for the other. (2.) Weigh
your afflictions in this balance, and you will find the heaviest of
them very light, in respect of the weight of eternal anguish. Im-
patience under afiflictiou, especially when worldly troubles so imbit-
ter men's spirits, that they cannot relish the glad tidings of the
gospel, speaks great regardlessness of eternity. As a small and in-
considerable loss will be very little at heart with him who sees
himself in danger of losing his whole estate; so troubles in the world
will appear but light to him who has a lively view of eternity.
Such a one will stoop and take up his cross, whatever it be, thinking
it enough to escape eternal wrath. (3.) Weigh the most difficult and
uneasy duties of religion here, and you will no more reckon the
yoke of Christ insupportable. Repentance, and bitter mourning for
sin, on earth, are very light in comparison of eternal weeping, wail-
ing, and gnashing of teeth in hell. To wrestle with God in prayer,
weeping and making supplication for the blessing in time, is far
easier than to lie under the curse through all eternity. Mortifica-
tion of the most beloved lust is a light thing in comparison with the
second death in hell. (4.) Weigh your convictions in this balance.
0! how heavy do those lie upon many, till they get them shaken
oft'! They are not disposed to continue with them, but strive to
get clear of them, as of a mighty burden. But the worm of an ill
conscience will neither die nor sleep in hell, though we may now
lull it asleep for a time. And certainly it is easier to entertain
the sharpest convictions in this life, so that they lead us to Christ,
than to have them fixed for ever in the conscience, and to be in hell
totally and finally separated from him.
2. But, on the other hand, (1.) Weigh sin in this balance; and,
though now it seems but a light thing to you, you will find it a
weight sufficient to turn up an eternal weight of wrath upon you.
EXHORTATION TO FI.EE FROM THE WRATU TO COME. 373
Even idle words, vain thoughts, and unprofitable actions, weighed
in this balance, and considered as following the sinner into eternity,
will each of them be heavier than the sand of the sea; time idly
spent, will make a weary eternity. Now is your seed-time : thoughts,
words, and actions, are the seed sown ; eternity is the harvest.
Though the seed now lies under the clod, disregarded by most men,
even the least grain shall spring up at length ; and the fruit will
be according to the seed. Gal. vi. 3. " For he that soweth to his
flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, that is, destruction ; but he
that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."
— (2.) Weigh in this balance your time and opportunities of grace
and salvation, and you will find them very weighty. Precious time
and seasons of grace. Sabbaths, communions, prayers, sermons, and
the like, are by many, now-a-days, made light of ; but the day is
coming when one of these will be reckoned more valuable than a
thousand worlds, by those who now have the least value for them.
When they are gone for ever, and the loss cannot be retrieved, those
will see the worth of them, who will not now see it.
Use III. and last. Be warned and stirred up to flee from the
wrath to come. Mind eternity, and closely ply the work of your
salvation. What are you doing, while you are not so doing ? Is
heaven a fable, or hell a false alarm ? Must we live eternally, and
shall we be at no more pains to escape everlasting misery ? Will
faint wishes take the kingdom of heaven by force ? And will such
drowsy endeavours, as most men satisfy themselves with, be ac-
counted fleeing from the wrath to come ? You who have already
fled to Christ, rp, and be doing : You who have begun the work, go
on, and loiter not, but " work out your salvation with fear and
trembling," Phil. ii. 12. " Fear him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell," Matt. x. 28. Remember you are not yet
ascended into heaven ; you are but in your middle state. The ever-
lasting arms have drawn you out of the gulf of wrath you were
plunged into, in your natural state ; they are still underneath you,
that you can never fall down into it again : nevertheless, you have
not yet got up to the top of the rock : the deep below you is fright-
ful ; look at it, and hasten your ascent. You who are yet in your
natural state, lift up your eyes and take a view of the eternal state.
Arise, ye profane persons, ye ignorant ones, ye formal hypocrites,
strangers to the power of godliness, flee from the wrath to come.
Let not the young venture to delay a moment longer, nor the old put
off this work any more : " To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts;" lest he swear in his wrath, that you shall never en-
ter into his rest. It is no time to linger in a state of sin, as in Sodom
374: EXHOKTATION TO FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME.
■when fire aud brimstone are coming down on it from the Lord.
Take warning in time. They who are in hell, are not troubled with
such warnings; but are enraged against themselves, because they
slighted the warning when they had it.
Consider, I pray yon, 1. How uneasy it is to lie one whole night
on a soft bed in perfect health, when we fain would have sleep, but
cannot get it, sleep being departed from us. How often should we
in that case, wish for rest ! how full of tossings to and fro ! But
ah ! how dreadful must it be to lie in sorrow, wrapped up in
scorching flames through eternity, in that place where they have no
rest day nor night ! — 2. How terrible would it be, to live under
violent pains of the cholic or gravel, for forty or sixty years together,
without any intermission ! Yet that is but a very small thing com-
pared with eternal separation from God, the worm that never dietli,
and the fire that is never quenched. — 3. Eternity is an awful
thought ; 0 long, long, endless eternity ! But will not every
moment, in eternity of wo, seem a month, and every hour a year,
in that most wretched and desperate condition ? Hence, ever and
ever, as it were, a double eternity. The sick man in the night, tos-
sing to and fro on his bed, says it will never be day; complains,
that his pain ever continues, never, never abates. Are these petty
time-eternities, which men form to themselves, in their own imagi-
nations, so very grievous ? Alas ! then, how grievous, how utterly
insupportable, must a real eternity of wo, and all manner of mise-
ries, be ! — 4. There wiil.be space enough there to reflect on all tlie
ills of our heart and life, which we cannot get time to think of now ;
and to see that all that was said of the impenitent sinner's hazard,
was true, and that the half was not told. There will be space
enough in eternity to carry on delayed repentance, to rue one's
follies when it is too late ; and in a state past remedy, to speak
forth these fruitless wishes, " 0 that I had never been born ! that
the womb had been my grave, and I had never seen the sun ! 0 that I
had taken warning in time, and fled from this wrath, while the door
of mercy was standing open to me ! 0 that I had never heard the
gospel, that I had lived in some corner of the world, where a
Saviour, and the great salvation, were not once named !" But all
in vain. What is done cannot be undone ; the opportunity is lost,
and can never be retrieved ; time is gone, and can never be re-
called. Wherefore, improve time, while you have it, and do not
wilfully ruin yourself, by stopping your ear to the gospel call.
And now, if yon would be saved from the wrath to come, and
never go into this place of torment, take no rest in your natural
state ; believe the sinfulness and misery of it, and labour to get out
EXHORTATION TO FLEE PROM THE WRATH TO COME. 375
of it quickly, fleeing unto Jesus Christ by faith. Sin in you is the
seed of hell : and, if the guilt and reigning power of it be not
removed in time, tliey will bring you to the second death in eternity.
There is no way to get them removed, but by receiving Christ, as
he is offered in the gospel, for justification and sanctification : and
he is now offered to you with all his salvation, Rev. xxii. 12, 17,
" And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give
to every man according as his work shall be. And the Spirit and
the bride say, Come ; and let him that heareth say, Come ; and let
him that is athirst, come. — And whosoever will, let him take of the
water of life freely. Jesus Christ is the Mediator of peace, and the
fountain of holiness : he it is who delivereth us from the wrath to
come. " There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," Rom.
viii. 1. And the terrors of hell, as well as the joys of heaven, are
set before you, to stir you up to a cordial receiving of him, with all
his salvation ; and to incline you unto the way of faith and holiness,
in which alone you can escape the everlasting fire. May the Lord
himself make them eff"ectual to that end !
Thus far of man's eternal state ; which, because it is eternal,
admits no succeeding one for ever.
A VIEW
COVENANT or GRACE,
FROM THE
SACRED RECORDS.
THE PARTIES IN THAT COVENANT, THE MAKING OP
IT, ITS PARTS, CONDITIONARY AND PROMISSORY, AND TUB ADMINISTRA-
TION THEREOF ARE DISTINCTLY CONSIDERED.
TOGETHER WITH
THE TRIAL OP A SAVING PERSONAL
INBEING IN IT, AND THE WAY OF INSTATING SINNERS THEREIN, UNTO
THEIR ETERNAL SALVATION.
TO WHICH IS SUBJOINED
A MEMORIAL CONCERNING PERSONAL AND FAMILY FASTING AND HUMI-
LIATION, PRESENTED TO SAINTS AND SINNERS. ^
2a
ADVERTISEMENT.
This Treatise, and the Memorial adjoined, being posthumous works
of my father's, I thought it necessary to testify to the world, that
they are published as he left them, being printed from his own
Manuscript prepared for the press, without any addition or altera-
tion whatsoever.
THOMAS BOSTON.
A VIEW
THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
Psalm Ixxxix. 3,
1 have made a covenant with my chosen.
1 Cor. XV. 45,
The last Adam luas made a quickening spirit.
As mail's ruin was originally owing to the breaking of the covenant
of works, so his recovery, from the first to the last step thereof, is
owing purely to the fulfilling of the covenant of grace ; which cove-
nant, being that wherein the whole mystery of our salvation lies, I
am to essay the opening of, as the Lord shall be pleased to assist.
And there is the more need of humble dependence on the Father of
lights, through Jesua Christ his Son, for the manifestation of his
Spirit in this matter, that whereas the first covenant is known, in
part, by the light of nature, the knowledge of this second is owing
entirely to revelation.
It was from this covenant the psalmist, in the verse immediately
preceding the first text, took a comfortable view of a glorious build-
ing, infallibly going up in the midst of ruins ; even a building of
mercy: "Fori have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever;" the
ground of which confident assertion is, in our text, pointed out to
be God's covenant with his chosen. From the type of the covenant
of grace, namely, the covenant of royalty made unto David, he saw
a building up of mercy for the royal family of Judah, when they
were brought exceeding low. From the substance of it, he saw a
building of mercy for sinners of mankind, who were laid in ruins by
the breach of the first covenant. This is that new building free
grace set on foot for us; into which they that believe are instantly
thereupon received, and where once received, they shall dwell for
2 A 2
380 VIEW OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
ever; a building of mercy, in wliicli every stone, from the bottom to the
top, from the foundation stone to the cope-stone, is pure mercy, rich
and free mercy to us.
Of this building of mercy I shall drop a few words.
And, 1. The plan of it was drawn from all eternity, in the coun-
cil of the Trinity : for it is according to the eternal purpose pur-
posed in Jesus Christ, Eph. iii. 11. The objects of mercy, the time
and place, the way and means, of conferring it on them, were
designed particularly, before man was miserable, yea, before he was
at all. 2. The builder is God himself, the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, 1 Cor. iii. 9, " Ye are God's building." All hands of the
glorious Trinity are at work in this building. The Father chose the
objects of mercy, and gave them to the Son to be redeemed; the Son
purchased redemption for them ; and the Holy Ghost applies the
purchased redemption unto them. But it is specially attributed to
the Son, on the account of his singular agency in the work : Zech.
vi. 12, "Behold the man whose name is the Branch — He shall
build the temple of the Lord :" ver. 13, " Even He shall build the
temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the glory." 3. The founda-
tion was laid deep in the eternal counsel ; beyond the reach of the
eyes of men or angels. Paul considering it, cries out, " 0 the
depth I" Rom. xi. 33. "For who hath known the mind of the Lord
or who hath been his counsellor?" ver. 34. 4. It is more than five
thousand years since this building rose above ground. And the first
stone of it that appeared, was a promise, a promise of a Saviour,
made in paradise after the fall, Gen. iii 15, namely, that the seed
of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent. Here was
mercy. And mercy was laid upon mercy. Upon promising mercy
was laid quickening mercy, whereby our lost first parents were
enabled to believe the promise ; and upon quickening mercy was
laid pardoning mercy to them; and upon that again sanctifying and
establishing mercy ; and at length glorifying mercy. 5. The cement
is blood ; the blood of Jesus Christ the Mediator, which is the blood
of God, Acts XX. 28. No saving mercy for sinners could consist,
nor could one mercy lie firm upon another in the building, without
being cemented with that precious blood ; but by it the whole build-
ing consists, and stands firm for ever, Heb. ix. 22, 23, and vii. 24,
25. 6. Ever since the time it appeared above ground, it has been
going on. And many hands have been employed, to serve in carry-
inc on the work. In the first ages of the world, patriarchs were
employed in it, such as Adam, Enoch, and Noah ; in the middle
ages, prophets, priests, and Levites ; in these the last ages, the
apostles, and other extraordinary ofliccrs, and ordinary ministers of
VIEW OF THE COVEXA>^T OF ORACE. 381
the gospel. Great lias been the opposition made to the bnildin^
from the beginning, by Satan and his agents, both in the way of
violence and deceit; yet has it all along been going on still. And
now it is come far above mid-height ; it is drawing towards the top,
and the time when the last stone shall be laid thereon ; for it is
evident, we are far advanced in the days of the voice of the seventh
angel, wherein the mystery of God is to be finished, Rev. x. 7. 7,
The cope-stone will be laid on it at the last day : at what time the
promise will receive its full accomplishment, in the complete salva-
tion of all the objects of mercy, then to be advanced unto the mea-
sure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," Eph. iv. 13. In that
day onr Lord Jesus Christ, the great builder, "shall bring forth the
head-stone thereof with shoutings," even the last and crowning
mercy, saying, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And then
shall they dwell in the building of mercy perfected, and sing of
mercies for ever and ever. 8. Lastly, The foundation on which it
stands, is a firm one. It is necessary that it be so : for a building
of mercy to sinners, from a holy just God, is a building of huge
weight, more weighty than the whole fabric of heaven and earth :
and if it should fall, all is ruined a second time, without any more
hope of relief. But it is a sure foundation, being God's everlasting
covenant : " I have made a covenant with my chosen."
In which words, together with the second text, there are four
things to be considered. 1. The foundation on which the building
of mercy stands ; to wit, A covenant. 2. The parties-contractors
in that covenant. 3. The making of it. And, 4, The nature of it.
I. The foundation on which the building of mercy stands, is a
covenant, a divine covenant, a sure one. The first building for
man's happiness was a building of bounty and goodness, but not of
mercy; for man was not in misery when it was a-rearing up. And
it was founded on a covenant too; namely, on the covenant of
works, made with the first Adam : but he broke the covenant, and
the whole building tumbled down in an instant. But this is another
covenant, and of another nature. In the type indeed, and shadow,
it is the covenant of royalty with David, 2 Sam. vii. 11 — 17; which
was a foundation of mercy to his family, securing the continuance
of it, and that as a royal family. Howbeit, in the antitype and
truth, it is the covenant of grace, the covenant of eternal life and
salvation to sinners, the spiritual seed of the head thereof, to be
given them in the way of free grace and mercy, Psalm Ixxxix. 2, 4,
29, 36 ; and in which they are freed from the curse, so that it can-
not reach them, notwithstanding of their failures; but the Lord
382 VIEW OF THE covenant of grace.
deals with tliera as his children still, though offending children, ver.
30 — 33 ; and all by the means of Jesus Christ the Saviour, the
mighty One, ver. 19. This is the foundation of the whole building
of mercy to sinners in their low estate, into which they were brouglit
by Adam's fall. The revelation, promulgation, and offer made unto
the sons of men, of this covenant which lay hid in the depths of the
eternal counsel, is called the gospel ; the glad tidings of a new
covenant for life and salvation to sinners.
II. The parties-contractors in this covenant are, God, and his
chosen, the last Adam : for it is evident from the nature of the
things here spoken of, ver. 3, 4, and from 2 Sam. vii. 8, that these
words, " I have made a covenant with my chosen," are the Lord's
own words. Both heaven and earth were concerned in this cove-
nant; for it was a covenant of peace between them : and accordingly
the interests of both are seen to by the parties-contractors. 1.
On Heaven's side is God himself, the party-proposer of the cove-
nant, " I have made a covenant with my chosen." He was the
offended party, yet the motion for a covenant of peace comes from
him ; a certain indication of the good-will of the whole glorious
Trinity towards the recovery of lost sinners. The God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, beholding a lost
world, his mercy seeks a vent, that it may be shown to the
miserable; but justice stands in the way of the egress and build-
ing of mercy, without there be a covenant whereby it may be
satisfied. Then saith the Father, " The first covenant will not
serve the purpose of mercy ; there must be a new bargain : but the
lost creatures have nothing left, to contract for themselves ; unless
another take the burden upon him for them, there is no remedy in
the case: they cannot choose such an one for themselves; I will
make a choice for them, and make the covenant with my chosen."
2. On man's side, then, is God's chosen, or chosen one ; for the
world is singular. This chosen one, in the type, the covenant of
royalty, is David ; but in the autytipe, the covenant of grace, it
is the Son of God, the last Adam, even Christ the chosen of God,
Luke xxiii. 35. The truth is, such great things are said of the
party with whom this covenant was made, of his seed, and of the
efficacy of this covenant, as can fully agree to none but Christ and
his spiritual seed, vers. 4, 27, 29, 36, 37. The royal family of
Judah, the house of David, never recovered their ancient splen-
dour, after the Babylonish captivity; with a view to which time,
this psalm seems to have been penned. Their kingdom is ex-
tinct many ages ago ; and the grandeur of that family, according to
the flesh, is quite sunk. But the promise made to David in the
TUK INTRODUOTtON AND GENERAL SCHEME. 383
covenant of royalty, still flourishetli, and will flourish for ever in
Jesus Christ, the top-branch of the family of David. How then can
it be, but that, in the perpetual building of mercy, mentioned ver.
2, aud the establishing of David's seed, and building up his throne
to all generations, ver. 4, Christ himself is chiefly aimed at ? And
indeed he only was the mighty One, fit for the vast undertaking in
this covenant, ver. 19 : and him the Father points out to us, as his
elect, or chosen One, Isa. xlii. 1.
III. As to the making of this covenant between the contracting
parties : the Father made it with his own Son, I have made a cove-
nant with my chosen, and that before the world began, Tit. i. 2. By
their mutual agreement thereto, this covenant was completely made
from eternity; even as the covenant of works with the first Adam
was, before we were in being. The original text calls it cutting ofl"
a covenant ; which phi'ase is taken from that ancient usage of cut-
ting off a beast, by cutting it asunder, at the making of a covenant,
Jer. xxxiv. 17. It intimates this covenant to be a covenant by
sacrifice : wherein the party-contractor on man's side was the sac-
rifice, and divine justice the sword that cut it asunder, according to
Zech. xiii. 7, " Awake, 0 sword, against my shepherd, and against
the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts : smite the shep-
herd." And withal it imports the inviolableness and pepetuity of
the covenant made ; no more for ever to be dissolved, than the parts
of the beast cut off" one from the other, to be joined again as
formerly.
IV. For the nature of this covenant ; there are five things belong-
ing thereto which appear from the texts ; namely, 1. The being of a
representation in it. 2. The design for which it was set on foot,
3. That there are in it a condition ; and 4. A promise ; and 5.
Into whose hands the administration of it is put.
1. There is a representation taking place in this covenant. As it
was in the first covenant, so it was likewise in the second ; the
party-contractor and undertaker on man's side, was a representa-
tive, representing and sustaining the persons of others. This ap-
pears, in that the chosen One with whom the covenant was made, is
called the last Adam : for it is plain, he is so called in relation to
the first Adam, who was the figure (or type) of him, Rom. v. 14.
namely, in that like as the first Adam representing his seed in the
covenant of works, brought sin and death on them ; so he repre-
senting his, brings righteousness and life to them ; as the apostle
teacheth at large in that chapter.
2. The design of this covenant was life, the most valuable inte-
rest of mankind. " The last Adam was made a quickening spirit,"
38-1 THE INTRODLXTIOX AND GENERAL SCHEME.
to wit, to give life to liis seed. So it is a covenant of life, as tlie
covenant of Levi, a type thereof, is expressly called, Mai. 11. 5.
The first covenant was a covenant of life too ; but there is this dif-
ference, to wit, that the first was for life in perfection to upright
man having life before ; the second, for life in perfection to sinful
man legally and morally dead. The parties contracted for in this
second covenant, were considered as under the bands of death, abso-
lutely void of life ; and therefore utterly incapable to act for help-
ing themselves. They lay like dry bones scattered about the
grave's mouth, before the parties-contractors ; justice forbidding
to give them life, but upon terms consistent with, and becoming its
honour.
3. The condition of the covenant, the terms of that life, agreed to by
the representative, is implied in that he was the last Adam, namely,
to go through with what the first Adam had stuck in. Adam, in
the covenant of works, stumbled in the course of his obedience, and
fell ; and by his fall was quite disabled to begin it anew : he thereby
came under the penalty of that covenant also, but was utterly un-
able to discharge it. So the last Adam comes in the room of the
first, not as the first Adam stood in his integrity ; for in that case
there was no place for a second Adam ; but as he lay a broken man
under the first bargain. And coming in his room in this case, his
business was to satisfy the demands of the first covenant, in behalf
of his seed. These demands were now run up high, quite beyond
what they were to innocent Adam : the penalty was become payable,
as well as the principal sum. Wherefore the first covenant being
ingrossed in the second, is declared broken ; and the principal and
penalty being summed up together, the clearing of the whole is laid
upon the last or second Adam, as the condition of the second cove-
nant.
4. The promise of the covenant to be, upon that condition, per-
formed by the party-contractor on Heaven's side, is implied in these
words, " I have made a covenant with" (in the original, to) " my
chosen ;" that is, " I have made a covenant, binding and obliging
myself by solemn promise to my chosen One, for such and such be-
nefits, upon tht condition therein stated and agreed to." Compare
the following clause, " I have sworn unto David my servant." The
nature of this promise will be inquired into in the due place.
5. Lastly, The administration of this covenant is put into the
hands of the party-contractor on man's side : " The last Adam was
made a quickening spirit." Each of the contracting parties being
God, it was not possible that either party should fail, or that the
last Adam should break, as the first had done. Wherefore the time
THE INTRODUCTIOX AND GEXERAL SCHEME. S85
of Christ's fulfilling of the condition of the covenant being prefixed
by the Father, God took Christ's single bond for sufficient security,
and thereupon constituted him administrator of the covenant. Those
whom he represented, were considered as being under death, which
in the language of the covenant, is a very extensive term : the Spi-
rit and life were to be purchased by him, and did belong to the pro-
mise of the covenant. So, upon the credit of his fulfilling the con-
dition of the covenant in due time, the fulness of the Spirit, and
eternal life, were lodged in him, to be communicated by him : Rev.
iii. 1, " These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God."
1 John V. 11, " God hath given to ns eternal life : and this life is in
his Son." John svii. 2, " As thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life." Thus was he mads a quick-
ening spirit.
Now the DocTEiifE of these texts thus compared and explained, is,
That the covenant of grace for life and salvation to lost sinners
of mankind, was made with Jesus Christ the last Adam ; and he
constituted administrator of it.
In handling of this weighty subject, I deem it not necessary to
insist to prove that there is a covenant of grace ; the being of which
is obvious from the texts, and many other Scriptures, such as, Isa.
xlii. 6; xlix. 8; and liv. 10; Heb. viii. 6 ; and xiii. 20. But the
following account of it shall be ranged under these six heads : na-
mely,
1. The parties in the covenant of grace.
2. The making of that covenant.
3. The parts of it.
4. The administration of it.
5. The trial of a saving personal inbeing in it.
6. The way of instating sinners personally and savingly in it.
HEAD I.
THE PARTIES IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
In all covenants, of whatsoever nature they be, whether cove-
nants of absolute promise, or conditional ones, there must needs be
distinct parties : for howbeit one may decree, resolve, or purpose
with himself, without another party; yet one's covenanting or bar-
386 THE PARTIES TN THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
gaining, vowing or promising, speaks an obligation thence arising to
another distinct party. Accordingly, in the covenant of grace there
are three parties to be considered; 1. The party-contractor on hea-
ven's side ; 2. The party-contractor on man's side ; and, 3. The
party contracted and undertaken for. Of which in order. And,
r. OP THE PARTY-CONTRACTOR ON HEAVEn's SIDE.
As it was the covenant of works in this point, so it is likewise in
the covenant of grace ; the party upon the one side is God himself,
and he only. There was no need of any other to see to the interests
of heaven in this covenant; and there was no other when it was
made, being made from eternity, before the world began. Tit. i. 2.
This is plain from the words of the covenant, " I will be their God,"
Jer. xxxi. 33.
But whether God is herein to be considered personally or essen-
tially, is not quite so clear. Some divines think, that the Father,
personally considered, namely, as the first person of the glorious
Trinity, is the party-contractor on heaven's side ; others, that God,
essentially considered, that is, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is
that party-contractor. But however we conceive of that matter, we
are assured from the holy oracles, that these three are one God ;
and judge, that, according to the Scripture, it may be safely said,
that God essentially considered, was the party-contractor in the
person of the Father. Hereby it is owned, that the Son and the
Holy Ghost have their part in the covenant, on heaven's side, as the
party offended by man's sin ; and, in the meantime, a peculiar
agency in this great work of power and authority, on that side, is
attributed to the Father ; as there is unto the Son, on man's side.
And that of the party-contractor on heaven's side we may con-
ceive aright in this matter, these two things are, in the first place,
to be taken notice of. 1. He from all eternity decreed the creation
of man after his own image, and the making of the covenant of
works with him, in time. All things brought forth in time, lay
from eternity in the womb of God's decree ; in virtue whereof they
have their being in time : for which cause the decree is said to bring
forth, as a woman doth a child, Zeph. ii. 2. And the creation of
angels and men, with the providence about them, made many lines
in the volume of the sealed book of the decrees. God self-sufficient
needed neither man nor angel : but, for the manifestation of his own
glory, he purposed from eternity to create them ; and moreover,
to enter into such a covenant with man, as one should therein repre-
sent the whole family ; sovereign pleasure meanwhile taking another
OF THE PAIJTY-CONTRACTOll ON IIEAVEn's HW^. 3R7
method with the angelic tribe: but Avithal purposing to give both
the one and the other a sufficient ability to stand in their integrity,
if they would. Thus, from eternity, the covenant of works, in all
the i>arts and appurtenances thereof, was before the eternal mind ;
though being made with a mere man, it could not actually be en-
tered into, till once man was created. But, " Known unto God are
all his works from the beginning of the world," Acts xv. 18. 2. He
decreed also from eternity, ta permit the first man, the representa-
tive of the Avhole family, to fall, and so to break the covenant, and
involve himself, and all his posterity in ruins. It is evident from
the spotless holiness of God, and the nature of the thing, that the
divine permission was not the cause of man's fall ; and from the ne-
cessary dependence of the creature upon the Creator, that without
it, he could not have fallen. But the sovereign Lord of the crea-
tures, permitted the fall of man for his own holy ends, purposing to
bring about good from it.
Now, God, the party contractor on heaven's side in the covenant
of grace, is to be considered in that matter in a threefold view.
1. He is to be considered in it as an offended God ; offended with
all the sins of all mankind, original and actual. Looking upon the
children of men, the whole mass of mankind appeared in the eyes of
his glory corrupt and loathsome, the very reverse of his holiness :
he saw them all gone aside, toget|ier become filty, none doing good,
no not one. Psalm xiv. 2, 3. In the first covenant, God contracted
with man himself as a friend, without the interposition of a Media-
tor : but in the second covenant it was not so, and it could not bo
so ; for in it man was Considered as a fallen creature, a transgressor
of the law, and an enemy to God ; and it is a covenant of reconcilia-
tion, a covenant of peace, for those who had been at war with hea-
ven.
2. But withal God is to be considered herein as a God purpose-
ing and decreeing from eternity to manifest the glory of his free
grace, love, and mercy, in the salvation of some of mankind lost.
Accordingly, we are said to be saved in time, "according to his own
purpose and grace given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began,"
2 Tim. i. 9. Without such a purpose of grace in God, there could
never have been such a covenant of grace. But the sovereign Lord
of the creatures overlooking the fallen angels as to any purpose of
mercy, entertained thoughts of love and peace towards fallen man-
kind, purposing in himself to make some of them everlasting monu-
ments of his free grace and mercy, partakers of life and salvation ;
and so set on foot the covenant of grace.
3. Lastly, Yet we are to consider him also in this matter as a just
388 or THE party-con^tractor on man's side.
God, who cannot but do right, give sin a just reconipence, and mag-
nify his holy law, and make it hononrnble, Gen. xviii. 25; Heb. ii.
2; Isa. xlii. 21. Upon the motion for extending mercy to sinners
of mankind, the justice of God interposeth, pleading that mercy can-
not be shewn them, but upon terms agreeable to law and justice.
And indeed it was neither agreeable to the nature of God, nor to
his truth in his word, to erect a throne of grace on the ruins
of his exact justice, nor to shew mercy in prejudice of it. Now, the
justice of God required, that the law which was violated, should be
fully satisfied and the honour thereof repaired by suffering and obe-
dience : the former such as might satisfy the penal sanction of the
law, and the latter, the commanding part of it. The which being
quite beyond the reach of the sinners themselves, they behoved to
die without mercy, unless another, who could be accepted as a suffi-
cient surety, should undertake for them, as a second Adam, coming
in their room and stead, as they lay ruined by the breach of the
covenant of works.
Thus stood the impediments in the way of mercy to fallen man,
quite insuperable to him, or any of his fellow creatures; and the
coveuaut of grace was made for removing those impediments out of
the way, and that it might be the channel wherein the whole rich
flood of saving mercy might flow freely, for the quickening, purging,
sanctifying, and perfecting of lost sinners of mankind, who were
under the bands of death and the curse, through the breach of the
first covenant by the first Adam.
From what is said on this point, we may draw this inference, to
wit, That the redemption of the soul is precious. The salvation of
lost sinners was a greater work than the making of the world : the
powerful word commanded, and this last was done; but the former
was not to be compassed, but with more ado.
II. OF THE PARTY-CONTRACTOR ON JIAx's SIDE.
We have seen, that upon the one side, in the covenant of grace,
is God himself. Now, upon the other side is Jesus Christ the Son
of God, with his spiritual seed, Tleb. ii. 13, " Behold, I and the
children which God hath given me :" the former, as the party-con-
tractor and undertaker; the latter, as the party contracted and
undertaken for : a good reason for his name " Immanuel, which
being interpreted, is, God with us," Matt. i. 23.
The party-contractor then with God, in the covenant of grace, is
our Lord Jesus Christ. He alone managed the interests of men in
this eternal bargain : for at the making of it none of them were in
0¥ THE PARTy-CONTRACTOR ON MAn's SIDE. 389
being ; nor, if they had been, would they have been capable of
affording any help.
Now, Jesus Christ the party-contractor on man's side, in the cove-
nant of grace, is, according to our texts, to be considered in that
matter as the last or second Adam, head and representative of a
seed, lost sinners of mankind, the party contracted for. And thus
be sisted himself Mediator between an offended just God, and offend-
ing men guilty before him. In which point lay one main difference
betwixt the first Adam and the last Adam : for there is one Media-
tor between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself
a ransom," 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6. And so the covenant of grace, which
could not be made immediately with sinners, was made with Christ
the last Adam, their head and representative, mediating between
God and them ; therefore called Jesus the Mediator of the new
covenant, to whom we come by believing, Heb. xii. 22, 24.
The terra Mediator is not, to my observation, applied in the holy
Scripture to any other except Moses, Gal. iii. 19, " The law was
ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator." And of him. a
typical mediator, it is worth observing, that he was not only an
inter-messenger between God and Israel ; but in God's renewing his
covenant, in a way of reconciliation, after the breaking of the
tables, the covenant was made vFith him, as their head and repre-
sentative, Exod. xxxiv. 27, " And the Lord said unto Moses, Write
thou these words : for after the tenor of these words I have made a
covenant with thee and with Israel." This refersTinto the gracious
answer made to Moses' prayer, ver. 9, " Pardon our iniquity and
onr sin, and take us for thine inheritance." Yer. 10, "And he"
namely, the Lord, "said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all
thy people I will do marvels," &;c. Ver. 28, " And he wrote upon
the tables" to wit, the new ones, " the words of the covenant, the
ten commandments." Now, Moses was alone on the mount with
God during the whole time of this transaction ; and in it the Lord
speaks of him and the people as one, all along.
For clearing of this purpose anent the party-contractor on man's
side, I shall, 1. Evince, that the covenant of grace was made with
Christ as the last Adam, head and representative of a seed ; and, 2.
Shew why it was so made.
First, That the covenant of grace, the second covenant, was made
with Christ as the last or second Adam, head and representative
of a seed, to wit, his spiritual seed, appears from the following
considerations.
1. Covenants typical of the covenant of grace were made or
established with persons representing their respective seed. Thus
390 or THE PArvTY-OONTHAOTOR ON MAN S SIDE.
it was in the typical covenant in our text, the covenant of royalty
made with David, an undoubted type of the covenant of grace. In
it David was God's servant, having a seed comprehended with him
therein, Psalm Ixsxix. 3, 4. He was an eminent type of Christ ;
who is therefore called David, Hos. iii. 5, " Afterwards shall the
cliildren of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David
their king." And the benefits of the covenant of grace are called
the sure mercies of David, Isa. Iv. 3. Thus was it also in the cove-
nant of the day and night, (Jer. xxxiii. 20,) established with Noah
and his sons, representatives of their seed, the new world. Gen. ix.
9, " Behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed
after you." And that this covenant was a type of the covenant
of grace, appears, from its being made upon a sacrifice, chap. viii.
20, 21, 22 ; aud from the sign and token of it, the rainbow, chap. ix.
13, appearing round about the throne. Rev. iv. 3 ; but especially from
the nature and import of it, to wit, that there should not be another
deluge. Gen. ix. 11 ; the substance of which is plainly declared,
Isa. liv. 9, " As I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no
more go over the earth ; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth
with thee, nor rebuke thee." Ver. 10, " For the mountains shall
depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith
the Lord, that hath mercy on thee." And such also was the covenant
of the land of Caaiaau, made with Abraham representing his seed.
Gen. XV. 18, and afterwards confirmed by oath, chap. xxii. 16, 17.
In all which he was an eminent type of Christ, the true Abraham,
father of the multitude of the faithful, who, upon God's call, left
heaven his native country, and came and sojourned among the
cursed race of mankind, and there offered up his own flesh and blood
a sacrifice unto God, and so became the true heir of the world, and
received the promises for his spiritual seed ; the sum whereof is
given by Zacharias in his account of the covenant with Abraham,
Luke i. 72, "To remember his holy covenant:" ver. 73, "The oath
which he sware to our father Abraham," ver. 74, " That he would
grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear," ver. 75, " in holiness and righteous-
ness before him all the days of our life." And finally, thus it was
in the covenant of everlasting priesthood made with Phinehas,
another type of the covenant of grace. In it Phinehas stood a re-
presentative of his seed. Numb. xxv. 13, " And he shall have it, and
his seed after him, even the covenat of an everlasting priesthood ;
because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the
children of Israel." And therein he typified Jesus Christ, repre-
01<' THE PARTY-CONTRACTOR ON MAn's SIDE. 391
senliug his spiritual seed in the covenant of grace : for it is evident,
that it is in Christ, who made the great atonement for sinners, the
everlasting priesthood promised to Phinehas, hath its full accom-
plishment: his spiritual seed partaking of the same in him ; accord-
ing to Psalra ex. 4, " Thou art a priest for ever." Rev. i. 6, " And
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father."
Now, forasmuch as these typical covenants were made or estab-
lished with parties standing therein as public persons, heads, and
representatives of their seed; it natively follows, that the covenant
of grace typified by them, was made with Christ as the head and re-
presentative of his spiritual seed : for whatsoever is attributed to
any person or thing as a type, hath its accomplishment really and
chiefly in the person or thing typified.
2. Our Lord Jesus Christ being, in the phraseology of the Holy
Ghost, the last Adam, the reason hereof cannot be taken from the
nature common to the first Adam and him ; for all mankind partake
of that ; but from their common office of federal headship and re-
presentation, in the respective covenants touching man's eternal
happiness ; the which is peculiar nuto Adam, and the man Christ.
Accordingly, Adam is called the first man, and Christ the second
man, 1 Cor. xv. 47; but Christ is no otherwise the second man,
than as he is the second federal head, or the representative in the
second covenant; as Adam was the first federal head, or the repre-
sentative in the first covenant. Agreeable to which, the apostle re-
presents Adam as the head of the earthy men, and Christ as the
head of the heavenly men, ver. 48 ; the former being those who bear
Adam's image, namely, all his natural seed ; the latter, those who
partake of the image of Christ, namely, his spiritual seed, ver. 49.
All this is confirmed from Adam's being a figure or type of Christ,
which the apostle expressly asserts, Rom. v. 14; and from the pa-
rallel he draws betwixt them two, namely, that as by Adam's cove-
nant-breaking, sin and death came on all that were liis, so by
Christ's covenant-keeping, righteousness and life come to all that
are his, vers. 17, 18, 19. Wherefore, as the first covenant was
made with Adam, as the head and representative of his natural
seed ; so the second covenant was made with Christ, as the head
and representative of his spiritual seed.
3. As the first man was called Adam, that is to say, man ; he
being the head representative of mankiud, the person in whom God
treated with all men, his natural seed in the first coveuant; and, on
the other hand, all men therein represented by him, do, in the lan-
guage of the Holy Ghost, go under the name of Adam, Psalm xxix.
5, 11. " Surely every man" in the original it is, all Adam " is va-
392 OF THE PARTY-CONTRACTOR ON MAn's SIDE.
iiity :" so Christ bears the name of his spiritual seed, and they ou
the other hand bear his name ; a plain evidence of their being one
in the eye of the law, and of God's treating with him as their re-
presentative in the second covenant. Israel is the name of the spi-
ritual seed, Rom. ix. 6; and our Lord Jesus Christ is called by the
same name, Isa. xlix 3. " Thou art my servant, 0 Israel, in whom
I will be glorified ;" as several learned and judicious commentators
do under&tand it ; and is evident from the whole context, vers. 1, 2,
4 — 9. The truth is, Christ is here so called with a peculiar solem-
nity ; for the original text stands precisely thus, " Thou art my ser-
vant; Israel, in whom I will glorify myself:" that is, thou art Is-
rael representative, in whom I will glorify myself, and make all
mine attributes illustrious ; as I was dishonoured, and they darken-
ed, by Israel the collective body of the spiritual seed. And this
leads us to a natural and unstrained interpretation of that pas-
sage. Psalm xxiv. 6. This is the generation of them that seek
him, that seek thy face, 0 Jacob;" that is, in other words, that long
for the appearing (Prov. vii. 15 ; Gen. xxxii. 30.) of the Messias
the Lord whom the old testament church did so seek ; a pledge of
whose coming to his temple. (Mai. iii. L) was the bringing in of the
ark into the tabernacle that David had erected for it, on which oc-
casion that Psalm was penned. Accordingly it follows immediately,
ver. 7, " Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye ever-
lasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." And in
another Psalm penned on the same occasion, and expressly said to
have been delivered on that very day into the hand of Asaph,
1 Chron. xvi. 1, 7, that is the expression found, ver. 11, " Seek his
face continually;" justly to be interpreted, agreeable to the circum-
stances of the main thing which David through the Spirit had in
view that day, namely, the coming of the Messias. Thus, Christ
bears the name of his spiritual seed ; and they, on the other hand,
bear his name too : 1 Cor. xii. 12, " For as the body is one, and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body ; so also is Christ."
4. The promises were made to Christ as the second Adam, the
head and representative of his seed : Gal. iii. 16, " Now to Abra-
ham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to
seeds, as of many ; but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ."
I own, that here, even as in the text immediately before cited, is
meant Christ mystical, the head and members. It is to them that
the promises are here said to be made ; but primarily to the head,
secondarily to the members in him ; even as the promise of life in
the first covenant, was primarily made to Adam as the head, and
OP THE PARTY-CONTRACTOR OS MAN's SIDE. 393
secondarily to all his natural seed iu him. Thus, in the typical co-
venant with Abraham, the promises of the earthly inheritance Avero
I)rimarily made to Abraham himself, and secondarily to his seed
according to the flesh. And even so the promise of the eternal in-
heritance plainly stands made to Christ, Tit. i. 2, " In hope of eter-
nal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world be-
gan ;" when there was none but Christ to whom that promise could
be made personally. Accordingly the covenant is said to be made
with the house of Israel, namely, the Spiritual Israel; yet are the
promises of it directed, not to them, but to another person, Heb.
viii. 10, " I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a peo-
ple." The reason of which plainly appears, in the promises being
made to Christ as their head and representative. Now, forasmuch
as these promises belong to the covenant of grace, which is there-
fore called the covenants of promise, Eph. ii. 12, it is manifest, that
if they were made to Christ as the head and representative of a
seed, the covenant of grace was made with him as such; and he to
whom they were primarily made, was surely the party-contractor
therein.
5. Lastly, This federal headship of Christ, and his representing
his spiritual seed in the covenant of grace, appears from his sureti-
ship in that covenant, the better testament, whereof Jesus was made
a surety, Heb. vii. 22. Now, he became surety for them in the way
of satisfaction for their debt of punishment and obedience ; and
that taking the whole burden on himself, as for persons utterly
unable to answer for themselves. This will afterwards fall in to be
cleared. Meanwhile, such a surety is a true representative of the
party he is surety for, and one person with them in the eye of the
law. Hence, not only is Christ said to have been made sin for us,
2 Cor. V. 21, to have had the iniquity of us all laid on him, Isa. liii.
6, and to have died for us, Rom. v. 8 ; but also we are said to have
been crucified with Christ, Gal. ii. 20, to be made the righteousness
of God in him, 2 Cor. v. 21, yea, to be raised up together, and glo-
rified, being made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Eph. ii. 6, and to be made alive in Christ, as we die in Adam, 1 Cor.
XV. 22. All which necessarily requires this his headship and re-
presentation in the covenant.
And thus it appears, that the second covenant was made with
Christ as the last or second Adam, head and representative of his
spiritual seed.
Secondly, We are to inquire, wherefore the second covenant, the
covenant of grace, was so made ? And this shall be accounted for in
the following particulars.
Vol. VIII. 2 b
394 OF THE PAKTY-CONTRACTOR ON MAN S SIDE.
1. The covenant of grace was made with Christ as the last Adam,
head and representative of his spiritual seed, that infinite love
might have an early vent, even from eternity. The special love of
God to the spiritual seed took vent in the covenant of grace. And
that love and that covenant are of the same eternal date : as the love
was everlasting or eternal, Jer. xxxi. 3, so was the covenant, Heb.
xiii. 20 ; Tit. i. 2. But since the seed are but of yesterday, the
covenant of grace behoved to be like the covenant of works, a yes-
terday's covenant, a time-covenant, if it was not made with Christ
as their representative ; it could not otherwise have been an eternal
covenant. The promise of eternal life, which is undoubtedly a
promise of the covenant of grace, could not otherwise have been of
so ancient a date, as before the world began, as the apostle says it
is, Tit. i. 2. How could an eternal covenant be originally made
with creatures of time, but in their eternal head and representative?
Or how could an eternal covenant be personally made with them,
by way of personal application to them, had it not been from eter-
nity made with another as their head and representative ? But in
this method of infinite wisdom, free love took an early vent ; not
waiting the slow motion of its objects creeping out of the womb of
time, in which many of them lie wrapt up, even to this day. But
as princes sometimes do, by proxy, marry young princesses, before
they are marriageable, or capable to give their consent ; so God, in
his infinite love, married to himself all the spiritual seed, in and by
Jesus Christ as their representative, not only before they were
capable of consenting, but before they were at all. The which they
do afterwards, in their effectual calling, approve of by faith, and
give their consent personally to ; and so they enjoy God as their
God, and God hath them as his people : John xx. 17, " I as-
cend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your
God."
2. Otherwise it could not have been made at all a conditional cove-
nant answering the design of it. This covenant taking place only
upon the breach of the first covenant, the great design of it was,
that dead sinners might have life, as was before observed. Now, in
order to this, a holy just God stood upon conditions, without per-
forming of which that life was not to be given : and they were high
conditions, Psalm xl. 6, " Sacrifice and offering thou didst not
desire." 1 Thess. v. 9, 10, " Jesus Christ, who died for us, that —
we should live." But how could an effectual conditional covenant
for life be made with dead sinners, otherwise than in a representa-
tive ? Dead souls cannot perform any condition for life at all which
can be pleasing to God. They must needs have life before they can
OF TUB PAnTY-COXTUACTOR OX .AfAx's SIDE. 395
do any thiug of that nature, be it never so small a condition :
therefore a conditional covenant for life, could not be made with
sinners in their own persons ; especially considering, that the con-
ditions for life were so high, that man at his best state was not able
to perform them. Wherefore, if such a covenant was made at all,
it behoved to be made with Christ as their representative, Rom.
viii. 3. 4.
3. It was so ordered, to the end it might be unto us poor sinners
a covenant of grace indeed. It is evident from the holy Scriptures,
that this covenant was designed for exalting the free grace of God ;
and that it is so framed, as to be a covenant of pure grace, and not
of works, in respect of us, whatever it was in respect of Christ :
Rom. iv. 16, " Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace."
Eph. ii. 9, " Not of works, lest any man should boast." And at
this rate, indeed, it is a covenant of pure grace ; and all ground of
boasting is taken away from us ; the Lord Jesus Christ himself, as
representative, being sole undertaker and performer of the condi-
tions thereof. But it is not so, if it is made with the sinner him-
self, standing as principal party, contracting with Grod, and under-
taking and performing the conditions of the covenant for life : for
how low soever these conditions, undertaken and wrought by the
sinner in his own person, are supposed to be, the promise of the
covenant is made to them ; and so, according to the Scripture-
reckoning, it is a covenant of works, Rora. iv. 4, " Now to him that
worketh, is "the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt;" and
betwixt Adam's covenant and such a covenant, there is no differ-
ence, but in degree, which leaves it still of the same kind.
4. This method was taken, that the communication of righteous-
ness and life might be in as compendious a way, as the communica-i
tion of sin and death was : " As by one man's disobedience many
were made sinners; so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous," Rom. v. 19. The covenant of works having been made
with Adam, as a representative of his natural seed, upon the break-
ing thereof, sin and death are communicated to them all from him as
a deadly head. This being so, it was not agreeable to the method
of divine procedure with men, to treat with those predestinated
unto salvation severally, as principal parties, each contracting for
himself in the new covenant for life ; but to treat for them all with
one public person, who, through his fulfilling the covenant, should
be a quickening head to them, from whence life might be derived to
them, in as compendious a way, as death was from the first Adam.
For his mercies are above all his other works.
5. L<tstlt/, The covenant of grace was so made, that it might be a
2b2
396 OF THE PA RTY-CONTE ACTOR ON MAx's SIDE.
sure covenant; even to the end the promise might be sure to all the
seed, Rom. iv. 16. The first covenant was made with a mere crea-
ture, as a principal party, and contractor : and though he was a
holy and righteous man, yet was he so fickle and unstable, that he
failed of performing the condition he undertook ; and so the benefit
of the promise was lost : wherefore fallen men were not at all fit to
be principal parties, or parties-contractors, in the new covenant,
wherein the promise was to be sure, and not to miss of an accom-
plishment. They being then wholly a broken company, not to be
trusted in the matter, Jesus Christ the Son of God was constituted
head of the new covenant, to act for, and in name of the spiritual
seed : and that to the end, the covenant being in this manner sure
in point of the fulfilling of the condition, might be also sure in point
of the accomplishment of the promise. And this is the very hinge
of the stability of the covenant of grace, according to the Scripture :
Psalm Ixxxix. 28, " My mercy will I keep for him for evermore,
and my covenant shall stand fast with him." Ver. 22, " The enemy
shall not exact upon him ;" or, as others read it, and I think justly,
*' The enemy shall not beguile him," namely, as he did the first
Adam. The original phrase is elliptical, q. d. The enemy shall not
beguile (his soul, Jer. xxxvii. 9.) in him.
Before I leave this point, I offer the following inferences from it.
Inf. T. The covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace,
are not two distinct covenants, but one and the same covenant. I
know that many divines do express themselves otherwise in this
matter ; and that upon very different views, some of which are no
ways injurious to the doctrine of free grace. But this I take to be
Scripture truth, and a native consequent of the account given of the
covenant of grace in our Larger Catechism, to wit, " That the cove-
nant of grace was made with Christ as the second Adam, and iu
him with all the elect as his seed:" Gal. iii. 16. "Now to Abra-
ham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to
seeds, as of many ; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ,"
Rom. V. 15, to the end. Isa. liii. 10, 11, " "When thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
He shall fee of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied," &c.
So the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace are but
two names of one and tlie same second covenant, under difterent
considerations. By a covenant of redemption is meant a bargain of
buying and selling : and such a covenant it was to Christ only ; for
as much as he alone engaged to pay the price of our redemption,
1 Pet. i. 18, 19. By a covenant of grace, is meant a bargain
PARTIES IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 397
whereby all is to be had freely : and such a covenant it is to us
only, to whom the whole of it is of free grace ; God himself having
provided the ransom, and thereupon made over life and salvation to
us, by free promise, without respect to any work of ours, as the
ground of our right thereto.
To confirm this, consider, (1.) That, in Scripture reckoning, the
covenants for life and happiness to man are but two in number,
whereof the covenant of works is one : Gal. iv. 24, " These are the
two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gcndereth to
bondage," namely, generating bond children, excluded from the in-
heritance, ver. 30. This is a distinguishing character of the cove-
nant of works ; for such are indeed the children of that covenant,
but not the children of the covenant of grace under any dispensa-
tion thereof. These two covenants arc called, the old covenant, and
the new covenant; and the old is called the first, which speaks the
new to be the second : Heb. viii. 13, " In that he saith, A new co-
venant, he hath made the first old." This is agreeable to the two
ways unto life, revealed in the Scripture ; the one by works, the
other by grace, Rom. xi. 6. The one is called the law, the other
grace, chap. vi. 14. The former is the law-covenant with the first
Adam representing all his natural seed ; made first in paradise, and
afterward repeated on Mount Sinai, with the covenant of grace :
the latter is the covenant of grace, made with the second Adam re-
presenting his spiritual seed : 1 Cor. xv. 47, 48. (2.) It is evident,
that the salvation of sinners is by the blood of the covenant, which
is the blood of Christ, Heb. x. 29 ; 1 Cor. xi. 25. And the Scrip-
ture mentions the blood of the covenant four times; but never the
blood of the covenants : therefore the covenant, the blood whereof
the Scripture mentions, and our salvation depends upon, is but one
covenant, and not two. Now, that covenant is Christ's covenant, or
the covenant of redemption : for it was through the blood of it he
was brought again from the dead ; namely, in virtue of the promise
made therein to be fulfilled to him upon his performing the con-
dition thereof, Heb. xiii. 20. And it is also his people's covenant,
or the covenant of grace, Exod. xxiv. 8, " Behold, the blood of the
covenant which the Lord hath made with you." It is expressly
called their covenant, Zech. ix. 11, " As for thee also, by the blood
of till/ covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit,
wherein is no water." The words expressing the party here spoken
to, being of the feminine gender in the first language, make it evi-
dent, that thib is not directed to Christ, but to the church : so the
covenant is proposed as their covenant. And the spiritual prisoners
are delivered, in virtue of this their covenant, w^ich certainly must
398 PARTIES IN THE COVEXANT OF GRACE.
be the covenant of grace. By all wliich it appears, that the cove-
nant of grace is the very same covenant that was made with Christ,
in respect of whom it is called the covenant of redemption.
Inf. 2. Like as all mankind sinned in Adam, so believers obeyed
and suffered in Christ the second Adam. For as the covenant of
works being made with Adam as a public person and representa-
tive, all sinned in him, when he broke that covenant; so the cove-
nant of grace being made with Christ, as a public person and repre-
sentative, all believers obeyed and suffered in him, when he so ful-
filled this covenant. This is the doctrine of the apostle, Rom. v. 19,
" As by one man's disobedience many were made sinners : so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Chap. viii. 3,
*' God sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for
sin condemned sin in the flesh ;" ver. 4, " That the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us." 2 Cor. v. 21, " That we might be
made the righteousness of God in him." Gal. ii. 20, " I am crucified
with Christ." And it affords a solid answer for believers, unto the
law's demand of obedience and suffering for life and salvation.
3. Believers are justified immediately, by the righteousness of
Christ, without any righteousness of their own intervening ; even
as all men are condemned, upon Adam's sin, before they have done
any good or evil in their own persons : Rom. v. IB, " As by the
offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even
so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life." And thus believers are righteous before God
with the self same righteousness which was wrought by Jesus Christ,
in his fulfilling the covenant. The which righteousness is not
imputed to them in its effects only ; so as their faith, repentance,
and sincere obedience, are therefore accepted as their evangelical
righteousness, on which they are justified : but it is imputed to
them in itself, even as Adam's sin was.
4. The covenant of grace is absolute, and not conditional to us.
For being made with Christ, as representative of his seed, all the
conditions of it were laid on him, and fulfilled by him. Wherefore
all that remains of it to be accomplished, is, the fulfilling of the pro-
mises unto him and his spiritual seed ; even as it would have been
in the case of the first covenant, if once the first Adam had fulfilled
the condition thereof.
5. The covenant of grace is a contrivance of infinite wisdom and
love, worthy to be embraced by poor sinners, as well ordered in all
things and sure, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. 0 admirable contrivance of help
for a desperate case! "Wonderful contrivance of a covenant of God
with them who were incapable of standing in the presence of his holi-
OF THE PARTY CONTRACTED AND UNDERTAKEN FOE. 399
ness, or of performing the least condition for life and salvation! A
new bargain for tlie relief of lost sinners made on the highest terms
with those who were not able to come up to the lowest terms ! Infinite
wisdom found out the way, to wit, by a representative. The love of
the Father engaged him to propose the representation ; and the love
of the Son engaged him to accept of it. Thus God had one, with
whom he might contract with the safety of his honour ; and who
was able to fulfil the covenant, to the reparation of the injuries
done to his glory : and sinners also had one able to act for them,
and to purchase salvation for them at the hand of a holy just
God. So a sure covenant was made, and a firm foundation laid,
upon which God laid the weight of his honour, and on which sinners
may safely lay their whole weight : " Therefore thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I lay in Zion a sure foundation : he that believeth,
shall not make haste," Isa. xxviii. 16 ; " shall not be ashamed,"
Rom. ix. 33.
6. Lastly, The way to enter personally into the covenant of grace
so as to partake of the benefits thereof, unto salvation, is, to unite
with Christ the head of the covenant by faith. Being thus ingrafted
into him, ye shall partake of all that happiness which is secured to
Christ mystical, in the everlasting covenant : even as through your
becoming children of Adam, by natural generation, ye are person-
ally entered into the first covenant, so as to fall under that sin and
death which passed upon all men, by the breach thereof, Rom. v.
12.
III. OF THE PARTY CONTRACTED AND UNDERTAKEN FOR.
As the party contractor and undertaker on man's side, in the
covenant of grace, was a representative ; so the party contracted
and undertaken for, was represented by him. And that these two,
namely, the represented, and those contracted for, are of equal lati-
tude, is plain from the nature of the thing : for these whom one re-
presents in a covenant, he contracts for in that covenant ; and those
for whom one contracts in a covenant made with him as representa-
tive, are represented by him in that covenant. Thus it was in
the covenant of the first Adam, who was a figure of Christ the
head of the second covenant. In it, those whom Adam contracted
for, he represented ; and those whom he represented, he contracted
for : he represented his natural seed only, and for them alone he
contracted : therefore those whom the second Adam contracted for,
he represented ; and whom he represented, he contracted for.
Now, the party represented and contracted for, by our Lord Jesus
Christ, in the covenant of grace, was the elect of mankind; being a
400 OF THE PAfiTY CONTRACTED AND UNDERTAKEN FOR.
certain number of mankind, chosen from eternity to everlasting life ;
" children partakers of flesh and blood, which God gave to Christ,"
Heb. ii. 13, 14. In their person he stood, making this covenant
■with his Father ; in their name he acted, striking this bargain with
him, as^a surety to obey the law, and satisfy justice.
And this I shall, in the first place, confirm ; and then shall in-
quire how the elect were considered in this covenant and federal re-
presentation.
First, That the elect were the party represented, or contracted and
undertaken for, in the covenant of grace, appears from the follow-
ing grounds.
1. The party with whom the covenant was made, is in the text
called God's chosen ; as representing and contracting for all the
chosen or elect : even as the first man was called Adam or man, as
representing and contracting for all mankind in his covenant. For,
as the apostle teacheth, Heb. ii. 11, "He — and they — are all of
one ;" not only of one nature, but also of one body, to wit, the elec-
tion ; Christ is the head elect, Isa. xlii. 1, they the body elect, Eph.
V. 23. Therefore they go under one name, principally belonging to
him, and then to them by participation with him. Thus he is also
called Abraham's seed, as representing all the spiritual seed of
Abraham, that is, the elect. Gal. iii. 16, " And to thy seed which is
-Christ;" and the seed of the woman, as opposed to the serpent's
seed ; and under that name also the elect are comprehended ; they,
and they only, being the party betwixt whom and the serpent with
his seed, God puts the enmity, according to the promise. Gen. iii. 15.
2. Those whom Christ represented and contracted for in the co-
venant of grace, are the heavenly men : 1 Cor. xv. 47, 48, " The
first man is of the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from
heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy ; and
as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly." Now,
the heavenly men, belonging to Christ the second man, are none
other but the elect. For they are contra-distinguished to the earthy
men, belonging to the first man; to wit, all mankind taken into the
first covenant in Adam : and therefore they are the elect men, taken
into the second covenant, in the second Adam. Again, the heavenly
men are those who shall bear the image of the heavenly man Christ,
ver. 49 ; and such are the elect, and they alone. And, finally, they
are those to whom Christ is, in respect of efficacy, a quickening spi-
rit : for " as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly."
As Adam's deadly eflicacy goes as wide as his representation did in
the first covenant, reaching all mankind his natural seed, and them
only; so Christ's quickening eflicacy goes as wide as his representa-
THE PARTIES IN THE COA^ENANT OF GRACE. 401
tion did in the second covenant,'reacl)ing all the elect, his spiritual
seed, and them only : and if it did not, some would be deprived of
the benefit which was purchased and paid for, by the surety, iu their
name : the which is not consistent with the justice of God.
3, They whom Christ represented and contracted for in the cove-
nant, are his seed, his spiritual seed: Gal. iii. 16. "Now to Abra-
ham and his seed were the promises made. He saith — and to thy
seed, which is Christ." Psalm Ixxsix. 3, 4, " I have sworn unto
David my servant. Thy seed will I establish for ever." In the
covenants typical of the covenant of grace, the parties represented
were the seed of the representatives they were made with, as was
cleared before : and in the first Adam's covenant, his natural seed
were the represented. Wherefore, in the second Adam's covenant,
his spiritual seed are the represented. Now, Christ's spiritual seed
are the elect, and none other ; for they are those whom he begets
with the word of truth, Jam, i. 18. and are born again (1 Pet. i. 23.)
unto him in their regeneration ; whom therefore he sees as his seed,
with his own image on them, Isa. liii. 10. They are the travail of
his soul, who, sooner or later, are, all of them, justified, ver. 11.
They are the seed that shall serve him. Psalm xxii. 30 ; which shall
be established and endure for ever, namely, in a state of happiness,
Psalm Ixxxix. 4, 29, 36.
4. Lastly, Christ was in the covenant of grace Israel-representa-
tive, according to that text, Isa. xlix. 3, " Thou art my servant, 0
Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Now, Israel the collective
body, is the elect, Rom. ix. 6, " They are not all Israel which are
of Israel :" therefore the elect were the party represented and con-
tracted for in the covenant. So those whom Christ took with him
into the bond of his covenant, are described to be the seed of
Abraham : Heb. ii. 16, " For verily he took not on him the nature of
angels ; but he took on him the seed of Abraham :" or rather as it
is read in the margin of our Bibles, more agreeable to the original,
" He taketh not hold of angels, but, of the seed of Abraham he
taketh hold." The original word signifies, to take hold of a thing
running away, or falling down ; and in the same manner of construc-
tion, it is used of Christ's catching hold of Peter sinking in the
water, Matth. xiv. 31. Fallen angels and men were both run away
from God, and sinking in the sea of his wrath : and Christ with the
bond of the covenant, takes hold of men ; but not of the fallen
angels ; them he leaves to sink unto the bottom. All the seed of
Adam was sinking, as well as the seed of Abraham, which is but a
part of the seed of Adam, even some of all mankind : but Chiist is
not said to have taken hold of the seed of Adam, that is, all man-
402 THE PARTIES IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
kind ; but of the seed of Abraham, that is, all the elect, or the spi-
ritual Israel, called the house of Jacob, Luke i. 33. Accordingly it
is observable, that the first time the covenant of grace was heard in
the world, the discourse was directed to the serpent, by way of
narration. Gen. iii. 14, 15 ; not to Adam, as the first covenant was,
chap. ii. 16, 17, that Adam might know, he was to come in here as
a private person only, and not as a public person with his seed.
And for this cause also, our Lord Jesus is not simply called Adam,
or man ; but the last Adam, and the second man, whose seed dif-
fers from that of the first man, as Abraham's seed from Adam's
seed : but he is simply called Israel, without any epithet at all : and
his seed is plainly determined to be the elect, Isa. xlv. 25, " In the
Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified ;" even as in the first
man all the seed of Adam was condemned, Rom. v. 18. For as the
first man was simply called Adam or man, because, in the first
covenant, he was a corapend of all mankind; he was all men in law-
reckoning, they being all represented by him : so Jesus Christ was
a compend of all Israel, that is, all the elect; he was all Israel in
law-reckoning, they being all represented by him. And thus we have
the true ground of the universality of that expression, Isa. liii. 6.
"The Lord, hath laid on him the iniquity of us all;" i. e. of all Israel
that is to say, all the elect. The which is confirmed by a parallel
text, bearing the type, whereof this hath the antitype, viz. Lev. xvi.
21, "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live-
goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them
upon the head of the goat." For as Israel was a people enter-
tained with types, so they themselves were indeed a typical people.
Secondly, AYe are to inquire, how the elect were considered in
this covenant and federal representation. And therein they came
under a threefold consideration.
1. They were considered as sinners, lost, ruined, and undone in
Adam ; lost sheep of the house of Israel, Matt. xv. 24. In the first
covenant, the whole flock of mankind was put under the hand of
one shepherd, to wit, Adam ; but he, losing himself, lost all the
flock, and was never able to recover so much as one of them again.
God had, from all eternity, put a secret mark on some of them,
whereby he distinguished them from the rest, 2 Tim. ii. 19j "Having
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his." And them also he
saw among others, gone away from their pasture, wandering as
waifs and strays, a prey to every devourer : but, in order to their
being sought out, and returned, and kept in safety for ever, the
new covenant was entered into with another shepherd, even our
THE PARTIES IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 403
Lord Jesus Christ: and they are put under his hand, as the shep-
lierd of Israel. In Adam's representation in the covenant of works,
the party represented was considered as an upright seed, Eccl. vii.
29 : but in Ciirist's representation in the covenant of grace, the
party represented was considered as a corrupt sinful mass, laden
with guilt, under the wrath of God and curse of the law. And who
would have represented such a company, putting himself in their
room and stead ? But free love engaged our Lord Jesus to it. So
the holy one of God represented wretched sinners ; the beloved of
the Father represented the cursed company.
2. They were considered also as utterly unable to help them-
selves, in whole or in part; as being without strength, lloni. v. 6.
They were debtors, but quite unable to pay off one farthing of the
debt : they were criminals, but quite unable to bear their own
punishment, to the satisfaction of justice : had it lain on them to
have paid the debt, or borne the punishment, they behoved to have
sunk under the load for ever. So it was necessary they should have
one to represent them, taking the burden upou him for them all.
3. Lcik-tli/, They were considered withal as the objects of eternal,
sovereign, and free love, given to Christ by his Father. The Father
loved them, John xvii. 23, and therefore gave them to Christ, ver. 6.
The Son loved them, Eph. v. 2 ; and accepting of the gift, repre-
sented them in the covenant, as a father his own children, Isa. ix. 6,
" His name shall be called — The everlasting Father." Compare
Heb. ii. 13, " Behold, I, and the children which God hath given
me." It was owing to this free love, and mere good pleasure, that
they, and not others in the same condemnation, by the breach of the
first covenant, were represented and contracted for by Jesus Christ,
in the second; that their names were put in the eternal contract,
while the names of others were left out. They were his Father's
choice, and his own choice; so he became their representative.
From what is said concerning the party represented and con-
tracted for, we make the following inferences.
Inf. 1. There is a sovereign freedom of the love of God appearing
in the second covenant, the covenant of grace. And it appears espe-
cially in two things, (1.) In that there was a love towards fallen man,
and not towards fallen angels, Tit. iii. 4, whereby it came to pass,
that men, and not devils, were taken hold of, represented, and con-
tracted for, by Jesus Christ, in the covenant, Heb. ii. 16. Doubtless
he could have contracted for the one, as well as for the other : but
sovereignty passed by fallen angels, and caught hold of men; how-
beit the former were, in their own nature, the more worthy and
excellent creatures. But in all the dispensation of grace, there is
404 THE PARTIES IN TUE COVENANT OF GRACE.
no respect to creature-worth ; all is owing to the mere good pleasure
of God, who hath mercy on whom he will have mercy. (2.) It ap-
pears in that there was an electing love of men ; whereby it came
to pass, that some men, and not all men, were represented and con-
tracted for in the covenant. All men were alike by nature ; and
there was nothing in one more than in another, to recommend him :
but free love pitched on objects altogether unlovely ; and sovereign
love pitches on some such objects, passing by others of the same
condition : " Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight,"
Matth. xi. 26. The vessels of honour and the vessels of dishonour,
are both made of the same sinful lump : a mystery that must be
resolved into sovereign will and pleasure, Rom. ix. 21, "Hath not
the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honour, and another unto dishonour ?" But say not, that this
disparageth the federal representation of the second Adam, that he
represented only some of mankind, whereas the first Adam repre-
sented all mankind. For as it is more to be surety for a vast sum,
for one man who neither hath, nor can give any thing at all where-
withal to pay his debt, than to be surety for a hundred such as have
abundance of their own ; so it was more for Jesus Christ to contract
and undertake for one sinner, than for Adam to contract for a righte-
ous world. And still it holds true, that where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound, Rom. v. 20, for it is more by far to save
one than to ruin many. Meanwhile those represented by Christ in
the second covenant, are " a great multitude, which no man could
number," Rev. vii. 9, even as "the stars of heaven," Gen. xv. 5.
Rom. iv. 18.
Inf. 2. There is no universal redemption, nor universal atone-
ment. Jesus Christ died not for all and every individual person of
mankind; but for the elect only. The contrary doctrine may con-
sist with the opinion which holds the covenant of redemption, and
the covenant of grace, to be two distinct covenants ; the former
made with Christ, and the latter with believers ; the condition of
the one undertaken and performed by him, the condition of the
other undertaken and performed by us. Accordingly that opinion
concerning the covenant, is readily embraced by Universalists of
different denominations. But that doctrine is utterly inconsistent
with this account of the covenant, which doth at once overthrow
universal redemption or atonement, together with the federal condi-
tionality of our holiness and good works, in the covenant of grace.
For if the covenant of grace was made with Christ as a representa-
tive, and the elect only were the party represented by him in it ;
then surely the conditions of the covenant, his doing and dying,
OF TUE PAItTY UNDERTAKEN AND CONTUACTED FOK. 40o
were accomplisl.cd for them only; aud he died for no other: as
when one hath entered into a bond of suretyship, his payment of
that bond can never be reckoned a payment of their debt, whose
names were not in the bond, and whom he was not surety for.
Inf. 3. and last, "Whoever they be that reject the covenant of
grace offered to them in the gospel, and so perish ; all God's elect
shall infallibly be entered personally into it, and be saved. Like as
all those whom Adam represented in the covenant of works, have
been, are, or shall be brought personally into that covenant, and
sin and death pass upon them, Rom. v. 12 ; even so all those whom
Christ represented in the covenant of grace, have been, are, or shall
be brought personally into this covenant, and partake of righteous-
ness and life, vers. 18, 19. Our Lord Jesus has fulfilled the condi-
tions of the covenant for them whom he represented ; and it would
neither be suitable to the justice of God, nor to the wisdom of Christ
the party contracting with him, that he should represent, contract,
and fulfil the conditions, for any who shall never enjoy the benefit
of the contract. Wherefore, since there are who, by a purpose of
God that cannot be frustrated, shall, without peradventure, be
brought personally into this covenant ; and ye who hear the gospel,
having the means for compassing that end used towards you, do
stand as fair for it as any ; this may encourage you to come to
Christ, and take hold of the covenant. Bestir yourselves therefore,
0 sinners, to take hold of the covenant of grace, which is > ffered to
you in the gospel: and come ye to Christ by faith, thereby winding
yourselves personally into the bond of this covenant, and the com-
munion thereof.
Objection. " But I fear I am none of those whom Christ repre-
sented in the covenant of grace ; how then can I take hold of it by
believing ?" Answer. Though your name were the first name that
the Lamb wrote down in his book of life ; yet you nor no man can
know, that it is there at all until that you have by believing taken
hold of the covenant, 2 Pet. i. 10, " Make your calling and election
sure;" but first your calling, and then your election. And, on the
other hand, though you were a monster of all manner of wickedness,
and had all the desperate marks of a castaway about you, except
that one only, the sin against the Holy Ghost, you nor no man can
know that you were not represented in the covenant: Matt. xii. 31.
" All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but
the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto
men." Wherefore that matter is an absolute secret to you, which,
in this case, you are not to meddle to determine in : for " the secret
things belong unto the Lord our God : but those things which are
406 THK jiAKryo of tiik covenant of grace.
revealed, belong unto us," Deut. xxis. 29. Neither does your war-
rant to believe and to lay hold on the covenant, any mauner of
way depend on it: for the reprobate have as good and fair a reveal-
ed warrant to believe and take hold of the covenant of grace as the
elect have, else they could not be condemned for unbelief, and not tak-
ing hold of the covenant. Be what you will, since you are certainly a
sinner of mankind, your warrant is uncontestable, according to the
word : " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have
everlasting life," John iii. 16. "This is his commandment, that we
should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ," 1 John iii. 23.
"Wherefore believe ye, and take hold of the covenant for yourselves ;
so shall ye know your election, and your representation in the cove-
nant, by the eftects thereof.
This difficulty cast in the way of a sinner sensible of his need of
Christ, to beat him off from believing on Christ, is a dangerous
device and temptation of the devil. But do you repel it, saying, 0
enemy of my salvation, it is true, I do not know whether Christ
represented me or not, in the eternal covenant; neither am I obliged
nor concerned to know it, in order to my taking hold of that cove-
nant: but one thing I know assuredly, namely, that the covenant,
in the free promise of life and salvation, upon the ground of Christ's
obedience and death allenarly, is held out to me, even to me, to be
believed, trusted to, and rested upon, by me, even by me; and
therefore I will believe, and lay hold on it ; and, upon the infallible
ground of the faithfulness of God in the promise, " Whosoever
believeth, shall not perish, but have everlasting life," I will as-
suredly conclude, that it shall be made out to me.
Question. But are there no marks or signs whereby a poor sin-
ner may know himself to be one of those who were represented by
Christ in the second covenant, and whose names he put in the bond
of suretiship that he gave to his Father from eternity ? Answer.
Yea, there are : but then they are such, as although the having of
them will prove a man to have been represented by Jesus Christ in
the eternal covenant ; yet the want of them will not prove a man
not to have been represented therein, forasmuch as what one has
not now, he may come to have afterwards. And, under this limita-
tion, I offer these two marks of the thing in question.
Mark 1. A deliberate and cordial complacency in the covenant.
As it was with the representative from eternity ; so it is in time, in
that matter, with the represented, when once by grace they become
capable of personal consenting : there is a deliberate and cordial
complacency in the covenant being proposed, Psalm xl. 7, " Then
or TIIK I'.VnTY CONTRACTED AXi) UNDERTAKEN FOR. 407
said I," ver. 8, " tliy law is within ray heart." The children of men
discover themselves to be Adam's natural seed, represented by him
in the covenant of works, by the inclination and bent of their hearts
towards that covenant. There is such a bias to that covenant
hung upon the minds of men naturally, that do and live, or
work and win, is the religion of all natural men, so far as
they have any practical religion at all : and they cannot be
brought off from it but by the power of renewing grace. Even so
the elect of God discover themselves to be Christ's spiritual seed,
represented by him in the covenant of grace, by their deliberate and
cordial complacency in this covenant. The heart touched with
divine grace says of it, " This is all my salvation, and all ray desire,"
2 Sara, xxiii. 5. The new bias hung on their minds by renewing
grace, carries them to a hearty approbation, relish and liking of
the new covenant held forth in the gospel ; they are well pleased
with the parties-contractors, the representative and representation
in it ; the conditions and promises of it ; the administrator, the ad-
ministration, and order thereof. In a word, the covenant is in their
eyes a faultless contrivance ; there is nothing in it they would have
out, and there is nothing out of it they would have in. So there
they cast anchor for their own souls. But it is not so with others :
1 Pet. ii. 7, " Unto you therefore which believe he is precious : but
unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders dis-
allowed, the same is made the head of the corner;" ver. 8, "and a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, ev^en to them which stum-
ble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they were ap-
pointed.
Mark 2. The image of Christ begun to be drawn on the soul, to-
gether with a longing for the perfecting thereof ; 1 Cor. xv. 48.
" As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly." Yer.
49, " And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly." Like as all whom Adam re-
presented, when he entered into the covenant of works in paradise,
do afterwards, every one in his tirae, personate Adam, looking as
like him as ever child was like a father, acting even as he acted, as
I shewed elsewhere : so all whom Christ represented in the covenant
of grace from eternity, do in time put on Christ, Gal. iii. 27, per-
sonating him, and representing him in another sense, namely, bear-
ing his image, and " walking even as he walked," 1 John ii. 6. It
is a promise of the covenant to our Lord Jesus, Isa. liii. 10, " He
shall see his seed," to wit, as one sees a new-born babe. But do not
others so see them too ? Yea, indeed they do. Satan and wicked
men see them, as rebels and traitors do with grudge and hatred see
408 THE MAKING OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
a new-born prince heir to the crown. The godly see thcra, as in
that case the princesses do with a particular satisfaction see their
new-born brother. But our Lord Jesus Christ himself sees thera, as
the king, the father of the babe, does with a peculiar satisfaction
see him as his own son, and his own picture. Meanwhile, as Adam's
children do not open out all at once what of old Adam is in thera,
but by degrees as they grow up ; but they are still longing for the
perfection thereof, when they shall be grown men , so Christ's chil-
dren are but imperfect in this life as in the state of childhood ;
but they are longing to arrive at " perfection, at the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ, the principle of which they have
in thera, Eph. iv. 13.
Thus far of the first head, the parties in the covenant of grace.
HEAD II.
THE MAKING OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
Having considered the parties in the covenant of grace, we come
now to take a view of the making of that covenant betwixt the
parties contracting therein. And here we find ourselves at the
fountain-head of the salvation of lost sinners, the origin and rise of
the glorious plan, laid from eternity in the secret council of the
ever-blessed Trinity, for remedy of man's misery. And this is a
manifold mystery, the several folds of which we are not able fully
to discover. With God it was all one piece, if I may so phrase it ;
for with all things are together and at once ; and not one thing be-
fore, and another after, as with us. Howbeit, we cannot conceive of
it but in parcels ; first one piece of the mystery and then another ;
and that because of the weakness of our capacity, as we are crea-
tures ; and much more, as we are creatures under much spiritual
darkness. "Wherefore we must of necessity address ourselves to the
consideration of it in parcels ; but still remembering, we are in the
eternal mystery, transacted in the eternal decree of the holy Trinity
all at once, by one eternal act of the divine will; in which, never-
theless, we are allowed to conceive a certain order, since otherwise
we cannot take up the mystery.
We have already seen, that the Father, the party-contractor on
Heaven's side, is in that matter to be considered as an offended God ;
but purposing to manifest the glory of his mercy in the salvation of
THE MAKING OF THE OOVKNANT OF GRACE.
409
some of niankiacl lost ; yet witlial as a just God, who cannot but
give sin a just recompense : and also, that Jesus Christ, the party-
contractor on man's side, is to be considered therein as the last or
second Adam, representative of a seed. Wherefore, first of all, we
are to inquire. How Christ the Son of God became second Adam ?
and then, How the covenant was made with him as such ? the for-
mer being as it were pi-elirainary to the latter.
First, How Christ the Son of God became second Adam? This
we may take up in two things.
1. The Father willed and designed, that his own Son, the eternal
Word, should, for the purpose of mercy towards mankind lost, take
on their nature, and become man. He saw that sacrifice and offering
would not answer the case ; the debt was greater than to be paid at
that rate ; the redemption of souls could not be managed but by a
person of infinite dignity : wherefore, having purposed that the
darling attribute of mercy should be illustrated in the case of lost
mankind, he willed the human nature to be united in time to the
divine nature, in the person of the Son.
A.nd hereunto the Son, as the eternal Word, the second person of
the glorious Trinity, having no nearer relation to man than as his
sovereign Lord Creator, readily agreed : Heb. x. 5, " Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me." — Yer.
7, " Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written
of me) to do thy will, 0 God." The eternal Word consented to be
made flesh, that all flesh might not perish : he consented to become
man, to take unto a personal union with himself a human nature,
to wit, a true body and a reasonable soul, according to the eternal
destination of his Father. This was an instance of amazing con-
descension. The highest monarch's consent to lay aside his robes
of majesty, to clothe himself with rags, and become a beggar, is not
to be compared with it. Nay the highest angel's consent to become
a worm, is not to be named in one day with the eternal Son of God,
the Father's e<iual, his consenting to become man : for the distance
between the divine nature and the human is infinite ; whereas the
distance between the angelic nature, and the nature of worms of the
earth, is but finite.
Now, the effect of this was, that hereby the Son of God was
constituted substantial Mediator, or Mediator in respect of na-
ture, between God and man. Being from eternity God equal
with the Father, he so stood related to heaven : and having
from eternity consented to become man, he so stood related to
earth : for though he did not actually take on him the nature
of man until the fulness of time appointed by the Father; yet,
Vol. VIII. 2 c
410 THE MAKING OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
forasmuch as he had from eternity consented to take it on, and
it was impossible that his consent should miss to take effect, he was
recokened in law, to all intents and purposes thereof, as if he had
actually been incarnate. A type of this his substantial mediation
was Jacob's ladder, which was " set upon the earth, and the top of
it reached to heaven," Gen. xxviii. 12. A clear emblem of the
divine and human nature in Christ, through whom, as substantial
Mediator, there was a way opened towards a communication for
peace between heaven and earth. Accordingly our Lord Jesus
applies it to himself : John i. 51, " Hereafter you shall see heaven
open, and the " angels of God ascending and descending npon the
Son of man ;" to wit, as on Jacob's ladder, Gen. xxviii. 12.
2. The Father chose him to be head of the election ; to be the
last Adam, federal head and representative of such as sovereign
pleasure should pitch upon to be vessels of mercy, and inrolled in
the book of life; a head and representative with whom he might
make the new covenant for life and salvation to them.
And to this also he readily agreed, consenting to be the last or
second Adam, head and representative of the election ; to sustain
their persons, and transact in their name: Isa. xliii. 1, "Behold —
mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." Psalm Ixxxx. 19, " I have
exalted one chosen out of the people." 1 Cor. xv. 47, " The second
man is the Lord from heaven." The breach between God and man
was greater than to be done away by a mere intermessenger, who
travelling between parties at variance, reconciles them with bare
words. There could be no covenant of peace betwixt God and sin-
ners without reparation of damages done to the honour of God
through sin, and without honouring of the holy law by an exact obe-
dience : but these things being quite beyond their reach, Christ the
Son of God saith, " Lo, I come ; I am content to take their place,
and put myself in their room as a second Adam."
Now, the effect of this was, that hereby he was constituted last
Adam, or the second man, 1 Cor. xv. 47 ; and official Mediator, or
Mediator in respect of office, between God and man, 1 Tim. ii. 5, 6,
" There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all." Being
called of his Father unto that office, and having embraced the call
thereto, he was invested with the office, and treated with as such,
before the world began, Tit. i. 2. And indeed he, and he only, was
fit for it. The two families of heaven and earth being at war, there
could be no peace between them but through a Mediator. But
where could a mediator be found to interpose between such parties,
who would not either have been too high, or else too low, in respect
THE MAKING OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 411
of one of the parties at variance ? Man or angels would have been
too low, in respect of God ; and an unveiled God would have been
too high, in respect of sinful men, unable to bear intercourse with
such heavenly majesty. "Wherefore the Son of God, that he might
be fit to mediate; as he being God equal with the Father, was high
enough in respect of the party offended ; so he consented to become
low enough in respect of the party offending, by his becoming man.
Secondly, It is to be inquired, How the covenant was made with
Christ as second Adam? And this also may be taken up in two
things.
1. The Father designed a certain number of lost mankind, as it
were by name, to be the constituent members of that body chosen
to life, of which body Christ was the designed head; and he gave
them to him for that end : Phil. iv. 3, " My fellow-labonrers, whose
names are in the book of life." John xvii. 6, "Thine they were,
and thou gavest them me." These were a chosen company, whom
sovereign free grace picked out from among the rest of mankind, on
a purpose of love, and gave to the second Adam for a seed ; on
which account they are said to have been chosen in him, Eph. i. 4 ;
being in the decree of election laid upon him as the foundation-
stone, to be built upon him, and obtain salvation by him, 1 Thess.
V. 9; which decree, as it relates to the members elect, is therefore
called the book of life; being as it were the roll which the Father
gave to the second Adam, the head-elect, containing the names of
those designed to be his seed, to receive life by him.
Now, our Lord Jesus standing as second Adam, head of the elec-
tion, to wit, such as sovereign pleasure should pitch upon to be ves-
sels of mercy, did accept of the gift of the particular persons elected
or chosen by his Father : John xvii. 6, " Thine they were, and
thou gavest them me." Ver. 10, " And thine are mine." Like as
the iirst Adam, in the making of the first cov^enant, stood alone
without actual issue, yet had destinated for him a numerous issue,
to be comprehended with him in that covenant, to wit, all mankind;
the which Adam did at least virtually accept: so a certain number
of lost mankind being elected to life, God, as their original proprie-
tor, gave them to Christ the appointed bead, to be his members, and
comprehended with him in the second covenant, though as yet none
of them were in being; and he accepted of the gift of them, being
well-pleased to take them in particular for his body mystical, for
which he should covenant with his Father. And, in token thereof,
he as it were received and kept as his own the book of life contain-
ing their names, which is therefore called the Lamb's book of life,
Rev. xxi. 27.
2 c 2
412 CHRIST TUE KINSMAN-REDEEMER IN THE COVENANT.
2. The Father proposed to him as second Adam, the new covenant
for life and salvation to them, in the full tenor, promises, and con-
dition thereof; treating in him with all those particular persons of
lost mankind elected unto life, and given to him, even as he treated
with all mankind in Adam in the first covenant. The promises
therein proposed, were indeed great and glorious ; but withal the
condition, or terms, on which they were proposed, were exceeding
high.
Howbeit, as the first Adam, standing as head and representative
of all his natural seed, entered into the first covenant with God,
accepting the promise thereof, upon the terras and condition therein
proposed, which he engaged to fulfil ; so our Lord Jesus standing
as second Adam, head and representative of the particular persons
of lost mankind, by name elected to life, and given to him as his
spiritual seed, entered into the second covenant with his Father ;
accepting the promises thereof, upon the terms and condition therein
proposed ; consenting and engaging to fulfil the same, for them.
And thus the covenant of grace was made, and concluded, betwixt
the Father and Christ the second Adam, from all eternity; being
the second covenant, in respect of order and manifestation to the
world, though it was first in being : 1 Cor. xv. 47, " The second man
is the Lord from heaven." Isa. liii. 10, " "When thou shalt make
his soul an ofi'ering for sin, he shall see his seed." Tit. i. 2, " In
hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the
world began." Psalm xl. 6, " Sacrifice and offering thou didst not
desire, mine ears hast thou opened" — 7, " Then said I, Lo, I come"
— 8, " I delight to do thy will, 0 my God : yea, thy law is within
my heart."
Now, Christ the second Adam, giving this consent, took upon him
a threefold character, of unparallelled weight and importance ; sist-
ing himself, (1.) The Kinsman-redeemer in the covenant, (2.) The
Surety of the covenant, and, (3.) The Priest of the covenant. The
mediation of Christ doth indeed run through the whole of the cove-
nant. And there are several other parts of that mediation, which
respecting the promises of the covenant, do belong to the adminis-
tration thereof. But these I have now mentioned, do respect the
condition of the covenant, and so belong to the making thereof;
under which head we shall consider them in order.
I. CHRIST THE KINSMAN-REDEEMER IN THE COVENANT.
Our Lord Jesus Clirist, the second Adam, giving his consent to the
covenant, as proposed to him by the Father, sisted himself Kinsman-
CHRIST THE KINSMAX-REDEEMER IN THE COVENAKT. 413
redeemer in tlie covenant : Job xix. 25, " I know that my Re-
deemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth."
Under the law, when a man was not able to act for himself, to
assert and use his own right, one that was akin to him, had a right
to act for him, coming in his room, and standing up in his right.
And such a one was called his Goel ; which properly signifies a
Kinsraau-redeemer. Hence that word is sometimes rendered a
kinsman ; as Numb. v. 8, " If the man have no (Goel) kinsman to
recompense the trespass unto." Ruth iii. 12, " I am thy (Goel)
near kinsman : howbeit there is a (Goel) kinsman nearer than I."
Sometimes it is rendered a Redeemer; as Prov. xxiii. 11, "Their
(Goel) Redeemer is mighty." Isa. xlvii. 4, " As for our (Goel) Re-
deemer, the Lord of hosts is his name." One's acting in that
capacity, is called doing the kinsman's part, or redeeming, to wit,
by right of kin, Ruth iii. 13; and iv. 6. Howbeit, such a one
might refuse to do the kinsman's part ; as Ruth's kinsman-redeemer
did, who resigned his right to Boaz, and in token thereof drew off
his own shoe, and gave it him, Ruth iv. 6, 7, 8.
Now, Christ the second Adam saw sinners, his ruined kinsmen
quite unable to act for themselves. Not one of them all was able to
redeem himself, and far less his brother. Withal, the angels, near
akin to them in the rational world, durst not meddle with the re-
demption ; being sure they could not have missed to mar their own
inheritance thereby, nor have delivered their poor kinsmen neither.
If he should have declined it, and drawn off his shoe to them, or to
any other of the whole creation, tbere was none who durst have
ventured to receive it, or his foot in it. "I looked," saith he,
"and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none
to uphold : therefore mine own arm brought salvation," Isa. Ixiii.
5. He took on himself the character of their Kinsman-redeemer ;
and of him as such Job speaks in the forecited passage, which I
conceive to be thus expressed in the original : " I know, my Kins-
man-redeemer liveth : and tlie latter one he shall stand up upon the
dust." In which words Job comforts himself with a view of Christ
as his Kinsman-redeemer living, even in his day, in respect of his
divine nature ; and as the latter or second one, (in opposition to the
former or first, Exod. iv. 8, 9 ; Dent. xxiv. 3, 4.) namely, the latter
or second Adam Redeemer, in opposition to the former or first
Adam destroyer; firmly believing, that the one uniting to himself
a human nature, should as sure stand up upon the dust of the
earth, and do the kinsman's part for him ; as the other, having the
breath of life breathed into his nostrils, stood up upon it, and ruined
all.
414 CHRIST THE KINSJIAX-llEDEEMER IN THE COVENANT.
Now, there were four things the kinsman- redeemer was to do for
his kinsman, unable to act for himself; all which Christ the second
Adam undertook in the covenant.
1. He was to marry the widow of his deceased kinsman, to raise
np seed to his brother. Hereof Boaz was put in mind by Ruth,
chap. iii. 9, " I am Ruth thine handmaid ; spread therefore thy
skirt over thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman." Com-
pare ver. 10 — 13 ; chap. iv. 10 ; and Ezek. xvi. 8. I spread my
skirt over thee — and thou becamest mine." Our nature was in a
comfortable and fruitful condition, while the image of God im-
pressed thereupon in Adam, remained with it ; but that image
being removed, in the spiritual death caused by his sin, there
ensued aii absolute barrenness, as to the fruits of holiness, in
our nature thus left. But our Kinsman-redeemer consented to
marry the widow. Being to take to himself a human nature
he undertook to take on our human nature in particular, taking his
flesh of Adam's family. Thus was it provided, that his body should
not be made of nothing, nor of any thing whatsoever that was not
derived from Adam as its original. It was a low match indeed for
him ; and would have been so, even if the family of Adam had been
in its primitive state and splendour : but now it was considered as
in the depth of poverty and disgrace. Yet, being necessary for our
redemption, he consented thereto, as our Kinsman-redeemer. Ac-
cordingly, in the fulness of time, he was made of a woman, a daugh-
ter of Adam's family, Gal. iv. 4, and so was a son of Adam, Luke
iii. 23 — 38. Thus was a foundation laid for the mystical marriage
of believers with him ; which mystical marriage doth not belong to
the condition and making of the covenant properly so called, but to
the promise and administration of it, being a sinner's personal en-
trance thereinto. And the great end, in subordination to the glory
of God, for which this more intimate union and match with our na-
ture was gone into by our Kinsman-redeemer, was to render it again
fruitful in the fruits of true holiness : and without it our nature had
for ever remained under absolute barrenness in that point, even as
the nature of fallen angels doth.
2. He was to redeem the mortgaged inheritance of his poor kins-
man, Lev. XXV. 25, " If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold
away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem
it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold;" or rather,
" then shall come in his kinsman-redeemer, that is near unto him ;
and he shall redeem that which his brother sold." Our father
Adam waxing poor through the deceitful dealing of tlje tempter
with him, quite sold away the inheritance of eternal life for a raor-
CHKIST THE KINSMAN-JREDEEMEU IN THE COVENANT. 415
sel of forbidden fruit : and his children waxing poorer still,
throngh their own personal fault, had set themselves farther and
farther from it. They could not have raised amongst them all,
what would have redeemed so much as one man's part of it. How-
beit, except it was redeemed, they could never have had access to
it. "Wherefore the second Adam, as Kinsman-redeemer, took the
burden of the redemption on himself, and agreed to pay the price
of that purchase ; " dying for us, that we might live together with
him," 1 Thess. v. 10.
3. He was to ransom his poor kinsman in bondage, paying the
price of his redemption : Lev. xxv. 47, " If thy brother wax
poor, and sell himself," ver. 48, " After that he is sold, he may be
redeemed again ; one of his brethren may redeem him." Ver. 52,
" According unto his years shall he give him again the price of his
redemption." Being sold in the loins of our first father, we were
brought into bondage under the curse of the law. So we are by na-
ture the law's bond-men, and consequently slaves to sin and Satan,
never to have been released without a ransom, the full worth of so
many souls. This ransom was stated in the covenant ; to wit, that
the Kinsman-redeemer should give himself a ransom for his poor
kinsmen : and he agreed to it, for purchasing their liberty, 1 Tim.
ii. 5, 6. The ransom was great, soul for soul, body for body; a per-
son of infinite dignity for his poor kinsmen in bondage. But he
consented to take on him the form of a servant, that he might be
set free ; to have his ear bored at the law's door-post, that they
might be delivered out of their bondage.
4. Lastly, He was to avenge the blood of his slain kinsman on the
slayer : Deut. xix. 12, " The elders of his city shall send and fetch
him thence, and deliver him iuto the hand of the (Goel) avenger of
blood, that he may die." Our Kinsman-redeemer saw all his poor
kindred slain men. And the devil was the murderer, John viii. 44.
He had ministered poison to them in the loins of their first parent ;
yea, he had smitten them to death, killed them with an arrow shot
through the eye. But no avenger of their blood could be found,
till the second Adam, as their Kinsman-redeemer, did, in the second
covenant undertake the avenging of it. Meanwhile, the murderer
had the power of death, Heb. ii. 14 ; and " the sting of death is sin,
and the strength of sin is the law," 1 Cor, xv. 56. Wherefore
there was no disarming and destroying of the muiderer, without
taking the sting out of death which he had the power of. And that
was not to be done, but by removing the guilt of sin, whereby sin-
ners were bound over to death : neither was this to be done, but by
satisfying the law, whose awful sanction of death strongly kept fast
416 CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVENANT.
the guilt of death on the sinners. These^were the iron gates to be
broke through, ere the Kinsman-redeemer, the avenger of blood,
could get at the murderer. But the mighty Redeemer undertook,
by his own death and sufferings, to satisfy the law ; and by that
means to remove the strength of sin ; and by this means again, to
take away the sting of death : and so by his own death to destroy
the murderer that had the power of death; and thus to avenge the
blood of his slain kinsman upon him, Heb, ii. 14. So did Samson,
a type of our Kinsman-Redeemer, avenge Israel of the Philistines
their oppressors, pulling down the house on the Philistines, and
dying himself to destroy them, Judg. xvi.
II. CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVENANT.
Christ the second Adam consenting to the covenant, sisted him-
self also surety of it : Heb. vii. 22, " By so much was Jesus made a
surety of a better testament ;" or rather, as others read it, of a
better covenant. A surety is one who undertakes for another,
obliging himself whether for paying his debt, civil or criminal, or
for his performing a deed. That we may then rightly understand
Christ's suretiship, it is necessary we consider, 1. For whom, 2. For
what he became surety in the covenant.
First, For whom Christ became surety in the covenant. I find
two things advanced on this head, namely, (1.) That he became
surety for God to sinners ; and (2.) Surety for sinners to God. To
the first of these, the Socinians restrain Christ's suretiship, denying
the second ; and so overthrow the foundation of our salvation. But
all orthodox divines agree, in that the second of these is the main
thing in it. Some of them indeed make no difficulty of admitting,
that Christ became surety for God to sinners, as well as surety for
sinners to God, undertaking, on God's part, that all the promises
shall be made good to the seed, even to all that believe. There is
no question, but God's promises are, in respect of his infallible truth
and veracity, most firm and sure in themselves, and cannot miss to
be performed : but we being guilty creatures, are slow of heart to
believe ; and therefore do need what may make them more sure to
us, or assure our hearts they shall be performed to us. And for
this cause he hath given us his word of promise under his hand in
the holy scriptures, and an earnest of the promised inheritance,
Eph. i. 14 ; the seal of the Spirit, ver. 13 ; 2 Cor. 1. 22 : the sacra-
mental seals, Rom. iv. 11 ; yea, and his solemn oath too, in the
matter, to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his
counsel, Heb. vi. 17. And if .Jesus Christ is surety for God to us, it
is no doubt for the same end.
CIIKIST THK SURKTY OF THE GOVENxVNT. 417
But I doubt if the holy scripture calls Clirist a surety in that
sense at all. In the forecited passage, Heb. vii. 22, the only text
wherein Christ is expressly called a surety, it is evident, that his
suretiship therein mentioned, respects his priestly otBfee, wherein he
deals Avith God for us ; ver. 20, " And in as much as not without an
oath he was made priest," 21. ( — " by him that said unto him, The
Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after
the order of Melchisedec)" ver. 22, " By so much was Jesus made
a surety of a better testament." But his suretiship for God to us,
cannot relate to his priestly office, but to his kingly office, in respect
of which all power is given to him iu heaven and in earth ; and
consequently a power to see that all the promises be performed to
liis people. And therefore his suretiship mentioned iu that text, is
for us to God, and not for God to us. It is but in other two texts
only, as far as T have observed, that we read of suretiship relative
to the case between God and a sinner : and in both of them, the
suretiship is not to the sinner, but for him. They are Psalm cxix.
122, " Be surety for thy servant for good;" and Job xvii. 3. " Put
me in a surety with thee." The original phraseology or expression,
is the same in the latter text as in the former ; and the same
in them both, as in the case of Judah's suretiship for Benjamin, to
his father. Gen. xliii. 9 ; and xliv. 32. Now, unless the sacred
oracles go before us, in proposing Christ as a surety for God to us,
I see no reason, why the being of such a thing at all should
be yielded to the adversaries, who make such a pernicious use of it.
As for the comfort that might arise from it to us, the same is fully
secured, in that the whole administration of the covenant is com-
mitted into the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and he is the
Trustee and Testator of the covenant or covenant-benefits ; as shall
be shown in due place.
But, without all peradventure, Christ the Mediator and second
Adam, being surety in the covenant, for sinners to God ; as the
scriptures do abundantly declare : Psalm Ixxxix. 19, " I have laid
help upon one that is mighty." 1 Tim. ii. 5, " One Mediator be-
tween God and men, the man Christ Jesus ;" ver. 6, " Who gave
himself a ransom for all," 2 Coi\ v. 21, " He hath made him to be
sin for us, who knew no sin." Isa. liii. 6, " The Lord hath laid ou
him the iniquity of us all." Gal. iii. 13, " Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." Isa. liii. G,
" He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities." The covenant of grace was made with the spiritual
seed in Christ the second Adam, taking burden for them upon
himself as their surety. And without a surety it could not have
418 CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVENANT.
been made with them. For they were a company of broken
men, owing a thousand times more than they were all worth :
and their word in a new bargain for life and salvation was worth
nothing ; there could be no regard had to it in heaven. There was
neither truth nor ability left them after the first covenant was bro-
ken. Behold their character in point of truth or veracity, Rom. iii.
4, " Let God be true, but every man a liar :" and in point of ability,
chap. v. 6, " When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly." The demands in this covenant were high,
and quite above their ability to answer : and, besides, they them-
selves were false and fickle. They brake their word in the first co-
venant when able to have kept it; how could they be trusted in
this new bargain, when their ability was gone ? So there was an
absolute necessity of a surety for them in it. And Jesus Christ be-
came furety for them ; so the new covenant, on which depends all
their salvation, was made, and made sure.
Solomon tells us. That " he that is surety for a stranger, shall smart
for it: and he that hateth suretiship, is sure," Prov. xi. 15. Our
Lord Jesus knew very well, the burden he took on himself in his
suretiship for sinners ; the character of those whom he became surety
for; and that he could have no relief from them; but his love to
his Father's glory, and the salvation of sinners, engaged him in it,
being perfectly sure to smart for it, as will appear from considering,
Secondly, For what he became surety in the covenant. Sureti-
ship, in respect of the subject-matter of it, is of two sorts. 1. There
is a suretiship for paying one's debt : Prov. xxii. 26, " Be not thou
one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts."
2. A suretiship for one's performing of a deed : chap. xx. 16, '* Take
his garment that is surety for a stranger; and take a pledge of him
for a strange woman ;" that is of him who is surety for her good be-
haviour ; for she will leave them in the lurch.
Now, our Lord's suretiship for sinners was of the first sort.
Christ as the second Adam consenting to the covenant, sisted him-
self surety for the debt of the seed represented by him. Their debt
was by God's eternal fore-knowledge, stated from the broken covenant
of works, in the whole latitude of the demands it had on them ; and
he became surety for it, striking hands with his Father to pay it
completely, And,
1. He became surety for their debt of punishment, which they as
sinners were liable in payment of, as the original phraseth it, 2 Thess.
i. 9. That was the debt owing to the divine justice, for all and
every one of their sins, original or actual. The demerit of their
sins, as offences against an infinite God, was an infinite punishment.
CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVENANT. 419
They were liable to bear the pains of death, in the full latitude
thereof; to suffer the force of revenging wrath, to the complete sa-
tisfaction of infinite justice, and full reparation of God's injured
honour. This was their debt of punishment : a debt which they them-
selves could never have cleared, though paying to the utmost of their
power, through the ages of eternity. But this their debt Christ became
surety for, obliging himself to lay down his life for theirs which was
lost in law : Psalm xl. 6, 7, " Sacrifice and offering thou didst not de-
sire, mine ears hast thou opened — Then said I Lo, I come." John x.
15, " I lay down ray life for the sheep." Ver. 18, " I lay it down
of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take
it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." Here
is a suretiship that never had a match ! David in a transport of
grief for the death of his son Absalom, wishes he had died for him
2 Sam. xviii. 33 ; Reuben will venture the life of his two sons for
Benjamin, Gen. xlii. 37; and Judah will venture his own for him,
chap, xliii. 9, while yet there was hope that all would be safe : but
our Lord Jesus deliberately pledgeth his own life for sinners, when
it was beyond all peradventure, the precious pledge would be lost
in the cause, and that the death he would suffer, would be a thou-
sand deaths in one. Some have offered themselves sureties in ca-
pital causes, and embraced death, for their country or friends : and
" peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But
God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sin-
ners, (and enemies), Christ died for us," Rom. v. 7, 8, 10.
Now, in the second Adam's suretiship for the criminal debt
of his spiritual seed, there was not an ensuring of the payment
thereof one way or other, only; as in simple cautionary: but
there was an exchange of persons in law ; Christ substituting
himself in their room and taking the whole obligation on himself.
This the free grace of God the creditor did admit, when he
might have insisted, that the soul that sinned should die : and, a de-
lay being withal granted as to the time of the payment, God thus ma-
nifested his forbearance, celebrated by the apostle, Rom. iii. 25. And,
in virtue of that substitution, Christ became debtor in law, bound to
pay that debt which he contracted not ; to restore that which he
took not away, Psalm Ixix. 4. For, becoming surety for them, to tlie
end there might be laid a foundation, in law and justice, for exact-
ing their debt of punishment from him, there guilt was transferred
on him, Isa. liii. 6. " The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all."
This was pointed at, in the laying of the hand on the head of the
sacrifices under the law, especially on the head of the scape-goat.
Lev. xvi. 21. " And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of
420 CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVENAXT.
tlie live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children
of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them
npon the head of the goat." All the sins of all the elect were at
once imputed to the surety, and so became his, as his righteousness
becomes ours, namely, in law-reckoniug, 2 Cor. v. 21. "For he hath
made hira to be sin for us who knew no sin ; that we might be made
the righteousness of Grod in hira." And he himself speaks so of
them. Psalm xl. 12. " Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me ;"
a8 several valuable interpreters do understand it, according as the
apostle gives us direction, determining Christ himself to be the
speaker in this Psalm, Heb. x. 5, 6, 7. He was indeed without sin
inherent in him ; but not without sin imputed to hira, till in his re-
surrection he got up his discharge, having cleared the debt by his
death aud sufferings. Then was he justified in the Spirit, 1 Tira. iii.
16, and so shall appear the second tirae, without sin, Heb. ix. 28 ;
the sin which was upon hira, by imputation, the first time he ap-
peared, being done away at his resurrection. This relation of our
sin to Christ, is necessary from the nature of suretiship for debt ; in
which case, no body doubts but the debt becomes the surety's, when
once he hath stricken hands for it. And how else could the law
have justly proceeded against Christ ? How could our punishment
have been, in justice, inflicted on him, if he had not had such a rela-
tion to our sin ? If the law could not charge our sin on hira, in vir-
tue of his own voluntary undertaking, it could have no ground in
justice to inflict our punishment on him.
2. He became surety for their debt of duty or obedience ; the
which also is a debt according to the style of the holy scripture,
Gal. V. 3, "A debter to do the whole law." The law as a covenant
of works, though it was broken by them, and they had incurred the
penalty thereof, yet neither lost its right, nor ceased to exact of
them the obedience which at first it required of man, as the con-
dition of life. They were still bound to perfect obedience, and on
no lower terms could have eternal life, as our Lord taught the lawyer
for his humiliation, Luke x. 28, " Thou hast answered right : this
do, and thou shalt live." The paying of the debt of punishment
might satisfy as to the penalty of the bond ; but there is yet more
behind, for hira who will meddle in the affairs of the broken com-
pany. How shall the principal sum therein contained, be paid ;
namely, the debt of obedience to the law, for life and salvation ?
The honouring of God could not allow the quitting of it : and they
were absolutely unable to pay one mite of it, that would have been
current in heaven ; forasmuch as they were without strength, Rom.
V. 6, and dead in trespasses and sins, Eph. ii. 1, quite as unfit for
CHRIST XUK SUIJKTV OP THE COVENANT. 421
the doing part, as for the suffering part. But Christ became surety
for this debt of theirs too, namely, the debt of obedience to the law
as a covenant, which was, and is the only obedience to it for life ;
obliging himself to clear it by obeying in their room and stead, and
fulfilling what the law could demand of them in this kind : Psalm xl.
7, 8, " Then said I, Lo, I come, I delight to do thy will, 0 my God :
yea, thy law is within my heart." Matth. iii. 15, " Thus it becom-
eth us to fulfil all righteousness." Chap. v. 17, " Think not that I
am come to destroy the law, I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfil."
And here also there was an exchange of persons in law, Christ
substituting himyelf in their room, and taking their obligation on
himself: in virtue of which, he became the law's debtor for that
obedience owing by them ; and this he himself solemnly owned, by
his being circumcised, Luke ii. 21, according to that of the apostle,
Gal. V. 3, " I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that
he is a debtor to do the whole law," For becoming surety for
them in this point also, he transferred on himself their state of ser-
vitude, whereby the law had a right to exact that debt of him,
which they, upon the breach of the covenant of works, were liable
iu payment of.
For clearing of this, it is to be considered, that all mankind was
by the first covenant, the covenant of works, constituted God's hired
servants; and actually entered into that their service, in their head
the first Adam. And in a token hereof, we are all naturally
inclined in that character to deal with God ; though by the fall we
are rendered incapable to perform the duty of it, Luke xv. 19,
" Make me as one of thy hired servants." The work they were to
work, was perfect obedience to the holy law ; the hire they were to
have for their work, was life, Rom. x. 5, " The man that doth those
things, shall live by them." The penalty of breaking away from
tlieir master, was bondage under the curse, Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them." But violating that covenant of hired
service, they brake away from their Lord and Master : so they not
only lost all plea for the hire, but they became bond-men under the
curse ; still obliged to make out their service, and that, furthermore,
in the misery of a state of servitude or bondage. Gal. iv. 24,
" These are the two covenants ; the one from the mount Sinai,
which gendereth to bondage." Their falling under the curse in-
ferred the loss of their liberty, and constituted them bond-men ; as
appears from the nature of the thing, and instances of the cursed iu
other cases, as Gen. ix. 25, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of
422 CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVENAXT.
servants shall he be." Josh. ix. 23, " Now therefore ye" (namely,
the Gibeonites) " are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed
from beiug bond-men." The very ground being cursed, (Gen. iii.
17.) falls under bondage, according to the scripture, Rom. viii. 21.
Now, Christ saw all his spiritual seed in this state of servitude ;
but unable to bear the misery of it, or to fulfil the service : and he
put himself in their room, as they were bond-men ; transferring
their state of servitude on himself, and so sisting himself a bond-
servant for them.
The holy scripture sets this matter in a clear light. That is a
plain testimony unto it, Phil. ii. 6, 7, 8, " Who being in the form
of God — took upon him the form of a servant — and became obe-
dient unto death, even the death of the cross." The form of
a servant which he took upon him, was the form of a bond-
servant. For so the word in the original properly signifies ;
being the same word that is constantly used in that New Tes-
tament phrase, which we read bond or free, or bond and free, 1 Cor.
xii. 13; Gal. iii. 28; Eph. vi. 8; Col. iii. 11; Rev. xiii. 16.
and xix. 18. And the apostle leads us to understand it so here,
telling us, that this great surety-servant became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross. The which kind of death was a
Roman punishment, called by them, the servile punishment, or
punishment of bond-servants ; because it was the death that bond-
men malefactors were ordinarily doomed unto ; freemen seldom, if
ever, according to law. And forasmuch as his being in the form of
God, denotes his being very God, having the very nature or essence
of God ; for the form is that which essentially distinguisheth things,
and makes a thing to be precisely what it is ; and this form is,
according to the apostle, the foundation of his equality with God
his Father, which nothing really different from the divine essence,
can be : therefore his taking upon him the form of a bond-servant,
must necessarily denote his becoming really a bond-servant, as
really as ever man did, who was brought into bondage, or a state of
servitude.
The Father solemnly declares the transferring of our state of
servitude on Christ, speaking to him under the name of Israel, as
was cleared before, Isa. xlix. 3, " Thou art my servant, 0 Israel, in
whom I will be glorified." As if the Father had said to him, " Son,
be it known, it is agreed that I take thee in the room and place of
Israel, the spiritual seed, to perform the service due in virtue of the
broken original contract : Thou in their stead art my servant ; my
bond-servant," as the word is rendered. Lev. xxv. 39, and else-
where : " it is from thy hand I will look for that service." Agree-
CHRIST TUE SURETY OF THE COVENANT. 423
able hereunto is the account we have of our redemption from the
curse, Gal. iii. 13. namely, that it was by Jesus Christ being made a
" curse for us : for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth
on a tree :" the which Christ did, dying on a cross, the capital
punishment of bond-men.
Behold the solemnity of the translation. Psalm xl. 6, " Sacrifice
and offering thou didst not desire, mine ears hast thou opened."
The word here rendered opened, properly signifies digged, as may
be seen in the margin of our Bibles : and so the words are, " Mine
ears thou diggedst through ;" that is, boredst, as it is expressed in
our paraphase of the Psalms in metre, " Mine ears thou bor'd."
This has a manifest view to that law concerning the bond-ser-
vant, Exod. xxi. 6, " Then his master shall bring him unto the
judges ; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door-
post : and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl ;
and he shall serve him for ever;" that is, in the language of
the law, till death. This is confirmed from Hos, iii. 2, " So
T bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver ;" which was
the half of the stated price of a bond-woman, Exod. xxi. 32.
In the original it is, " So I digged her through me;" the same word
being here used by the Holy Ghost, as Psalm xl. 6. It is a preg-
nant word, which is virtually two in signification ; and the sense is,
I bought her, and bored her ear to ray door-post, to be my bond-
woman : according to the law, Dent. xv. 17, " Thou shalt take an
awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be
thy servant for ever: and also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do
likewise." That the boring of her ear as a bond-woman, was no-
ways inconsistent with the prophet's betrothing of her to himself,
Hos. iii. 3, appears from Exod. xxi. 8.
Joseph was an eminent type of Christ, as the Father's servant.
And it is observable, that he was first a bond-servant, and then an
honorary servant. In the former state, being sold for a servant,
Psalm cv. 17, he was a type ofChrist, a bond-servant in his state of
liumiliation ; whose most precious life was accordingly sold by
Judas for thirty pieces of silver, the stated price of the life of a
bond-servant ; Exod. xxi. 32, " If the ox shall push a man-servant;
or maid-servant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of
silver, and the ox shall be stoned." In the latter state, being made
ruler over all the land of Egypt, Psalm cv. 21, 22 ; Gen. xli. 40, he
was a type of Christ, in that most honourable and glorious service
or ministry, which was conferred on him in his state of exaltation,
wherein he was constituted a servant, for whose law the isles shall
wait, Isa. xl. 1, 4; God having given him a name which is above
424 CHRIST THE SURETY OF THE COVEIfAXT.
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, Phil,
ii. 9, 10. This latter service of Christ belongs to the promise of
the covenant : but the former, to wit, the bond-service, being his
snrety-service, belongs to the condition of the covenant. Where-
fore, rising from the dead, having fulfilled the condition of the cove-
nant, paid the debt for which he became surety, and got up the dis-
charge, he put off for ever the form and character of a bond-servant,
" and rose and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and
living," Rom. xiv. 9.
And hence it clearly appears, how the obedience of the man
Christ comes, in virtue of the covenant, to be imputed to believers
for righteousness, as well as his satisfaction by suffering : for that
kind of obedience which he performed as our surety, was no more
due by him, antecedently to his contract of suretiship, than his
satisfaction by suffering. It is true, the human nature of Christ,
being a creature, owed obedience to God in virtue of its creation ;
and must owe it for ever, forasmuch as the creature, as a creature,
is subject to the natural law, the eternal rule of righteousness : but
Christ's putting himself in a state of servitude, taking on him the
form of a boud-servant, and in the capacity of a bond-servant,
performing obedience to the law, as it was stated in the cove-
nant, for life and salvation was entirely voluntary. Obedience
to the natural law was due by the man Christ, by a natural
tie • but obedience to the positive law, binding to be circum-
cised, baptized and the like, which is supposed guilt on the party
subjected thereto, was not due, but by his own voluntary en-
gagement. And the obedience of a son to the natural law, he owed
naturally : but obedience to that or any other law, in the character of
a bond-servant, and thereby to gain eternal life and salvation, he
owed not but by compact. The human nature of Christ had a com-
plete right to eternal life, and was actually possessed thereof in vir-
tue of its union with the divine nature ; so that there was no occa-
sion for him to gain life to himself by his obedience. Wherefore,
Christ's taking on him the form of a bond-servant and in that cha-
racter obeying the law for life and salvation, were a mere voluntary
work of his, as surety for sinners; wherein he did that which he was
no otherwise bound to, than by his own voluntary undertaking.
Now, forasmuch as the obedience of Christ imputed to believers for
righteousness, is his obedience of this kind only; there is a clear
ground for its imputation to them according to the covenant.
And thus we have seen Christ's suretiship in the covenant to be
of a suretiship for paying one's debt ; and what the debt was which
he became suretv for.
CUUIST THK SUEJiTY OF THE COVENANT. 4'i5
If it be inquired, Whether or not Christ's suretiship is also of the
nature of suretiship for one's performing of a deed ? or, Whether
Christ became surety in way of caution to his Father, that the elect
should believe, repent, and perform sincere obedience ? I answer,
Though the elect's believing, repenting, and sincere obedience, are
infallibly secured in the covenant; so that whosoever, being sub-
jects capable of these things, do live and die without thera, shall
undoubtedly perish, and are none of God's elect: yet I judge, that
Christ did not become Surety in the covenant, in way of caution to
his Father, that the elect should perform these deeds, or any other;
and that that way of speaking doth not so well agree with the
scripture-account of the covenant. Because,
1. It doth somewhat obscure the grace, the free grace, of the
covenant ; whereas the covenant is purposely so ordered, as to
manifest it most illustriously, being of faith, that it might be by
grace, Ilom. iv. 16. For such a suretiship, or cautionary for the
elect's performing of these things, must needs belong to the condi-
tion of the covenant, properly so called; as being a deed of the
Mediator, whereby he proraiseth something to God, and engageth
that it shall be performed by them : and so these things performed
by them accordingly, must be a part of the condition of the cove-
nant. But that sinners themselves perform any part of the con-
dition of the covenant, properly so called, cannot be admitted
without prejudice to the grace of the covenant: for so far as we
perform, in our own persons, any part of the condition, the reward
is not of grace, but of debt; for "to him that worketh, is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt," Rom. iv. 4. But the
reward is wholly of grace to us, as it is of debt unto Ciirist; for
" to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness," ver. 5. Chap, xi,
6, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace
is no more grace." Suppose a man is surety for a thousand pounds
for his neighbour, who is thereupon to have a right to a certain
valuable benefit; and that this man absolutely becomes surety for
the whole sum, excepting only an hundred pence; for which hun-
dred pence also he becomes cautioner, that it shall be paid by the
principal : it is evident, that the condition of this bargain is divided
between the surety and the principal, though indeed their shares
are very unequal : but however unequal they are, as far as the hun-
dred pence which the principal pays in his own person, do reach, so
far the benefit is of debt to him. Or put the case, A surety engag-
eth for the whole of the sum payable ; and, besides, is surety o •
the principal's good behaviour; it is evident, th.it in this ca>e tl.e
Vol. YIII. 2 i>
426 CHRIST THR PRIEST OF THE COVENANT.
good behaviour of the principal is a part of the condition of the
bargain, as well as the payment of the money ; since caution for it
is required by him who is to communicate the benefit. At this rate,
the condition is still divided between the surety and principal ; and
the latter performs a part of it as well as the former : and so the
reward is, in part, of debt unto him, as well as to the surety. The
application hereof to the case in hand is obvious. The sum of the
nrntter lies here : If Christ did in the covenant become Surety in
way of caution for his people's performing some deed ; the perform-
ing of the condition of the covenant, properly so called, is divided
betwixt Christ and them, however unequal their shares are: and if
the performing of the condition is divided betwixt Christ and them,
so far as their part of the performance goes, the reward is of debt
to them, which obscures the grace of the covenant.
2. According to the Scripture, the elect's believing, repenting,
and sincere obedience, do belong to the promissory part of the cove-
nant. If we consider them in their original situation, they are
benefits promised in the covenant by God unto Christ the Surety, as
a reward of his fulfilling of the condition of the covenant. And so
they are, by the unchangeable truth of God, and his exact justice,
insured beyond all possibility of failure : Psalm xxii. 27, " All the
ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord." Yer.
30, " A seed shall serve him." Yer. 31, " They shall come, and
shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born."
Psalm ex. 3, " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power."
See Isa. liii. 10. with ver. 1 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27, 31 ; Heb. viii. 10,
11. If it be asked. To whom are these promises made, and the pro-
mises of the like nature through the Bible? it is evident, that seve-
ral of them are made to Christ expressly; and the apostle answers
as to them all. Gal. iii. 16, " To Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. — To thy seed which is Christ." And whereas there
are found promises wherein Christ himself is the undertaker, as
John vi. 37, " All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me ;"
they are not to be taken for Christ's engaging to his Father, as cau-
tioner for a deed to be done by the seed : but therein he speaks to
men, as administrator of the covenant, intrusted with the conferring
on sinners the benefits purchased by his obedience and death, and
made over to him by the promise of the Father : Matt. xi. 27, " All
things are delivered unto me of my Father." Yer. 28, " Come unto
me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest." Luke xxii. 29, " And I appoint [or dispone] unto you a
kingdom, as my Father hath appointed [or disponed] unto me."
Thus far of Christ's suretiship in the covenant.
CHRIST THE PRIKST OF THE COVENANT. 427
III. Christ the priest oe the covenant.
As it was necessary for Christ the second Adam his doing the
part of a Kinsman-redeemer, that he should become Surety in the
covenant ; so it was necessary to his performing of what he became
Surety for, that he should be a Priest. And accordingly, consenting
to the covenant, he became the Priest of the covenant, Heb. ix. 11,
" Christ being co.iie an High Priest of good things to come." A
priest is a public person, who deals with an offended God in the
name of the guilty, for reconciliation by sacrifice, which he oifereth
to God upon an altar, being thereto called of God, that he may be
accepted. So a priest speaks a relation to an altar, an altar to a
sacrifice, and a sacrifice to sin.
Those whom Clirist represented in the covenant being sinners, he
became their Priest, their High Priest, appearing before God in
their name, to make atonement and reconciliation for them : and
this was the great thing that the whole priesthood under the law,
and especially the high priesthood, did typify and point at. Their
nature was the priest's garments he put on, to exercise his priestly
office in ; the same being pure and uudefiled in him : and in their
nature he sustained their persons, representing them before God, as
their great High Priest. A lively type hereof was Aaron's bearing
before the Lord, the names of the children of Israel, the twelve
tribes, upon his two shoulders, in the shoulder-pieces of the ephod ;
these names being engraven on two onyx-stones set therein by
divine appointment, Exod. xxviii. 9, 10, 12 : as also his bearing
them in the breastplate, being engraven on twelve stones set therein,
ver. 15 — 29. Thus Aaron the high-priest was all Israel representa-
tively; an illustrious type of Christ the Priest of the covenant, the
spiritual Israel representative, Isa. xlix. 3.
The necessity of Christ the second Adam his becoming a Priest,
appears in these following things jointly considered.
1. Those whom he represented, were sinners: and there could not
be a new covenant without provision made for removing of their
sin ; and that required a priest. The first covenant was made
without a priest, because then there was no sin to take away ; the
parties therein represented, as well as the representative, were con-
sidered as innocent persons. But the second covenant was a cove-
nant of peace and reconciliation between an offended God and sin-
ners, not to be made but by the mediation of a priest, who should be
able to remove sin, and repair the injured honour of God : Zech. vi. 13
He shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall
2 D 2
428 THK MAKIKG OF THE COVENANT OF GRACJ5.
be between tliem both." And there was none fit to bear that
character but Christ himself. No man was fit to bear it; because
all men were sinners themselves, and such an high priest became us,
as was undefiled, separated from sinners, Heb. vii. 26. It is true,
the elect angels were indeed undefiled ; but yet none of them could
be priest of the covenant ; because,
2. Sin could not be removed v/ithout a sacrifice of sufficient value,
which they were not able to afi^ord. The new covenant behoved to
be a covenant by sacrifice, a covenant written iu blood ; and without
shedding of blood, there was no remission, Heb. ix. 22. Therefore
the typical covenant with Abraham was not made without the so-
lemnity of sacrifice, Gen xv. 9 ; that he might know the covenant to
be a covenant of reconciliation, in which a just God did not shew
his mercy, but in a way consistent with the honour of his justice.
Now the sacrifices of beasts, yea, and whatsoever the creatures could
aiford for sacrifice in this case, were infinitely below the value.
But Jesus Chiist becoming a priest, gave himself a sacrifice to God,
for establishing the covenant; and that sacrifice was for a sweet-
smelling savour, Eph. v. 2, or, as the Old Testament phrase is, a
a savour of rest. Gen. viii. 21, marg. The represented being sinners,
were corrupt and abominable before God; and he as it were smelled
a savour of disquiet from them, they being a smoke in his nose, Isa.
Ixv. 6 ; their sin set his revenging justice and wrath astir. But the
sacrifice of Christ himself, was fit to send forth such a sweet smell-
ing savour unto God, as should quite overcome the abominable
savour rising from them, and lay his revenging justice and wrath to
the most calm and profoundest rest.
The necessity of a sacrifice in the second covenant, arose from the
justice of God requiring the execution of the curse of the broken
first covenant; whereby the sinner should fall a sacrifice for his sin,
according to that. Psalm xciv. 23, " He shall bring upon them their
own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness." It
was an ancient custom in making of covenants, to cut a beast in
twain, and to pass between the parts of it: and that passing between
the parts, respected the falling of the curse of the covenant upon
the breaker : Jer. xxxiv. 18, " And I will give the men that have
transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of
the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the
calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof;" or rather,
more agreeably to the original, " I will make the men that have
transgressed my covenant — the calf which they cut in twain, and
passed between the parts thereof:" that is, I will make them as
that calf which they cut in twain : I will execute the curse on them.
TilE MAKING OF THE COVENANT OJT GKACE. 429
cutting them asunder as covenant-breakers, Matth. xxiv. 51. Now,
the covenant of works being broken, justice required this execution
of the curse of it, in order to the establishing of a new covenant, the
covenant of grace and peace. But had it been executed on sin-
ners themselves, the fire of wrath would have burnt continually on
them ; but never would such a sacrifice have sent forth a savour
smelling so sweet, as to be a savour of rest to revenging justice ;
forasmuch as they were not only mere creatures, whose most exqui-
site suflferiugs could not be a suflicient compensation for the injured
honour of an infinite Grod ; but they were sinful creatures too, who
would still have remained sinful under their sulferings. Wherefore
Jesus Christ, being both separate from sinners, and equal with God,
consented in the covenant to be the sacrifice, on which the curse of
the first covenant might be executed in their room and stead.
This is lively represented in the covenant made with Abraham, in
which he was a type of Christ, Gen. xv. In that covenant God pro-
mised the deliverance of Abraham's seed out of the Egyptian
bondage, and to give them the land of Canaan ; a type of the
deliverance of Christ's spiritual seed from the bondage of sin and
Satan, and of putting them in possession of heaven, vers. 13, 14, 16,
18. Awful was the solemnity used at the making of this covenant.
There were taken a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram, each of them of
three years old ; typifying Christ, who was about three years in his
public ministry, ver. 9. These were each of them, divided in the
midst, hacked asunder by the middle ; which typified the execution
of the curse of the broken first covenenant on Christ our surety and
sacrifice for us, ver. 10. Abraham's driving away the fowls that
came down upon the carcases, typified Christ's victory over the devils
all along during the state of his humiliation, and esijecially his
triumphing over them on the cross, ver. 11. And finally, there was
a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between the
pieces ; which signified the revenging wrath of God seizing on Clirist
the sacrifice, and justice therewith satisfied, ver. 17.
3. No sacrifice could be accepted, but on such an altar as should
sanctify the gift to its necessary value and designed efl^ect, Matth.
xxiii. 19. And who could furnish that but Christ himself, whose
divine nature was the altar from whence the sacrifice of his human
nature derived its value and efficacy as infinite ? Heb. ix. 14, "How
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit, offered up himself without spot to God, purge your conscience
from dead works ?" His' blessed body sulferiug and bleeding to
death on the cross, and his holy soul scorched and melted within
him with the fire of the divine wrath, both in the meantime
430 THE MAKING OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
united to his divine nature, were the sacrifice burning on the altar,
from which God smelled a sweet savour, to the appeasing of his
wrath, and satisfying of his justice fully. Not that Christ was
a sacrifice only while on the cross ; but that his offering of him-
self a sacrifice, which was begun from his incarnation in the womb,
the sacrifice being led on the altar in the first moment thereof; and
was continued through his whole life ; was completed on the cross,
and in the grave : Heb. x. 5, " Wherefore when he conieth into the
world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body
hast thou prepared me :" — ver. 6, " Then said I, lo, I come." Isa.
liii. 2, " When we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should
desire him." Yer. 3, " He is — a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief." 2 Cor. v. 21, " He hath made him to be sin for us."
4. Lastly, Tliere behoved to be a priest to offer this sacrifice, this
valuable sacrifice, unto God upon that altar ; else there could have
been no sacrifice to be accepted, and so no removal of sin, and con-
sequently no new covenant. And since Christ himself was the sa-
crifice, and the altar too, he himself alone could be the priest. And
forasmuch as the weight of the salvation of sinners lay upon his call
to that office, he was made priest of the covenant by the oath of
God, Heb. vii. 20, 21. As he had full power over his own life, to
make himself a sacrifice for others ; so his Father's solemn invest-
ing of him with this office by an oath, gave him access to ofi'er him-
self effectually ; even in such sort as thereby to fulfil the condition
of the condition, and to purchase eternal life for them.
INFERENCES FROM THE SECOND HEAD.
I shall close up this head, of the making of the covenant of grace,
with two inferences from the whole.
Inf. 1. What remains for sinners, that they may be personally
and savingly in covenant with God, is not, as parties contractors
and undertakers, to make a covenant with him for lifs and salva-
tion ; but only, to take hold of God's covenant already made from
eternity, between the Father and Christ the second Adam, and re-
vealed and offered to us in the gospel, Isa. Ivi. 4, 6. I have no de-
sign hereby to disparage our covenants made for national reforma-
tion by our godly progenitors, and commonly called the national
covenant, and solemn league and covenant, on which God set the
seal of his good pleasure in the experience of many. These and the
like are covenants of duties, consequential enough to the taking
hold of God's covenant of grace. Neither would I discourage any
serious souls, from taking hold of God's covenant of grace, for eter-
INFERENCES FROM Tllli; SECOND HEAD. 431
nal life and salvation to themselves, with all the awful solemnity
of the most express words, yea, and of writing and subscribing it
with their hands ; which is commonly called personal covenanting.
But I would have all to beware of a practical corrupting of the co-
venant of grace, by making covenants of their own, upon such and
such terms, which they will fulfil for life and salvation. The carnal
Jews mistaking the design of the giving of the law, did so corrupt
the covenant of grace ; looking for life and salvation, not for the
sake of the promised seed alone, but for their obedience, such as it
was, to the moral and ceremonial laws. And thus many, thinking
that eternal salvation is proposed to them in Ihe word upon the con-
dition of faith, repentance, and sincere obedience to God's law, do
consent to these terms, and solemnly undertake to perform them :
just binding themselves to such and such duties, that God may save
their souls : and so they make their covenant. And while they can
persuade themselves, that they perform their part of the covenant,
they look, for life and salvation thereupon. This doth quite over-
turn the nature of the covenant of grace : for " to him that work-
eth, the reward is not reckoned of grace, but of debt," Rom. iv. 4;
and " if it be of works, then it is no more grace," chap. xi. 6. The
sinfulness of this practice is great, as overlooking Christ, the great
undertaker and party-contractor by the appointment of the Father ;
and putting themselves in his room, to do and work for themselves
for life. And the danger of it must needs be great, as laying a
foundation to bear the weight of their salvation, which divine wis-
dom saw to be quite unable to bear it. The issue whereof must be,
that such covenanters shall lie down in sorrow. So the apostle de-
termines, Gal. V. 4, " Christ is become of no effect unto you, whoso-
ever of you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen from grace."
Our part then, in this case, is only to take hold of God's cove-
nant made already, and offered and exhibited to us in the gospel.
This hold is taken by faith : which is, in Scripture account, the
hand of the soul, John i. 12. So the original expression plainly
carries it, Isa. Ivi. 46, " That fasten in my covenant." In which
phraseology, the correlate word hand (expressed Gen. xxi. 18,) is
understood ; q. d. That fasten (their hand) in my covenant ; that is
to say, " Who by the hand of faith take fast hold of my covenant ;"
as Adonijah did of the horns of the altar, 1 Kings i. 50, wherein the
same manner of expression is used. And this you do by taking hold
of Christ in the free promise of the gospel ; believing that ho is held
forth to you in particular, confiding and trusting in him as your Sa-
viour, for your salvation from sin and wrath, upon the ground of
God's faithfulness in the promise, that wliosoover believeth in him,
432 INFERENCES FKOil THE SECOND HEAD.
shall not perish, but have everlasting life, for he is given for a co-
venant to you, Isa. xlix. 8 ; and to receive hira, is to believe on his
name, John i. 12.
This is our making a covenant with God by sacrifice, which is
mentioned. Psalm 1. 5. The original expression is, That cut my co-
venant upon a sacrifice ; namely, by laying their hands in faith on
the head of the sacrifice, thereupon cut down in their stead : and so
ceremonially transferring their guilt on the sacrifice ; but really
and spiritually, approving of the device of salvation by a crucified
Saviour, and falling in with it as the method of salvation for them.
In this way of covenanting, the free grace of the covenant is pre-
served pure and entire : for " to him that worketh not, but believ-
eth on hira that justifieth tlie ungodly, his faith is counted for
righteousness," Rom. iv. 5. Here the honour of sole undertaker
and party-contractor in the covenant, is, according to the Father's
appointment left to Christ, the One that is mighty, Psalm Ixxxix.
19. Here the second Adam builds the temple, without our laying
one stone therein in our own persons; even as the first Adam laid
it in ruins, without our pulling down one stone of it in our own per-
sons : and Christ bears tlie personal glory of the reparation, even as
Adam the personal blame of the ruin, Zech. vi. 13. And at this
rate the soul doth in time, for her own part, give her solemn appro-
bation of the covenant made from eternity, and a personal consent
to what Christ from everlasting consented to in her name : even as
the princess married by proxy in her childhood, ratifies all when
she is come to age, by receiving her husband. Like as all Adam's
children, as such, taking salvation to heart, and therefore covenant-
ing with God, do in eflPect repeat the covenant of works made with
Adam their representative ; so all the second Adam's seed, as such,
taking salvation to heart, and therefore covenanting with God, do,
in effect repeat the covenant of grace made with Christ their repre-
sentative. In the making of the covenant before the world began,
the Father proposed to Christ as second Adam, their head and re-
presentative, that he should take the burden upon him for them, and
be their Kinsman-redeemer, their Surety for their debt of punishment
and duty, and their Priest ; and Christ consented thereto from eter-
nity. Amen, for my part, says the elect soul in time, in the cove-
nanting day ; it is infinitely well ordered : I am a lost sinner, a
debtor to divine justice, a guilty creature ; he is, with my whole
heart and soul, my Kinsman-redeemer, my Surety, my Priest : my
part of the punishment incurred, and of the duty owing, is a vast
and exceeding great part of that debt; but my soul is well content
with and rests in that method of paying it: 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, " Ho
INFERENCES FUOM THE SECOND ilEAB. 433
hath made with me au everlasting covenant," (Heb. He hath put to
me an everlasting covenant) — " This is all my salvation and all my
desire." The Father s?iid to Christ as their representative, For thy
so doing and suflfering, " I will be tlieir God, and they shall be my
people." Amen, said Christ from eternity, " All mine are thine,"
John xvii. 10. Amen, for my part, says the elect soul in the time
of personal covenanting. This heart of mine must have some God,
I must belong to one or other; and too long have I been for another:
but now, timber of the house, and stones of the wall, bear witness,
my soul is content with, consents to, and rests in this method of dis-
posing of me : namely, that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ be my God in Christ, and I one of his people from henceforth
and for ever.
This manner of covenanting is inconsistent with a purpose or de-
sire of continuing in sin ; even as one's committing himself for cure
into the hands of a physician who cures infallibly, is inconsistent
with a desire to keep his disease hanging about him. Christ being
" made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re-
demption," 1 Cor. i. 30 ; it necessarily carries along with it, a tak-
ing of Christ for a Prophet, and a King, and Lord unto us ; as such
a one doth uecessarily yield himself to the physician's management.
In it one joins himself to Christ as his covenant head, who also is
the Administrator of the covenant ; and so subjects himself to his
teaching and government. And it is such a way of covenanting, as
no profane person, nor hypocrite, continuing so, ever did or can fall
in with. For, (1.) It speaks a heart content to part with all sin,
well pleased with Christ's whole salvation, whereof the principal
part is to save his people from their sins, Matth. i. 21 ; whereas un-
sound covenanters are always offended with some one thing or other
in Christ, chap. xi. 6. (2.) It speaks a soul carried out of all confi-
dence in itself, its own working and doing for life and salvation,
and bottomed only upon Christ's doing and suffering for that end.
And thus, such a covenanter, being poor in spirit, Matth. v. 3, and
rejoicing in Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh, Phil,
iii. 3, is distinguished from the presumptuous hypocrite, whose con-
fidence for life and salvation is ever upon his own doing and work-
ing, either in whole or in part; as also from the despairing unbe-
liever, who hath no confidence, neither in Christ, nor in himself that
he shall have life and salvation, however he may believe firmly that
others shall. So this faith, this covenanting, is quite another thing
than either the false faitli of tlie presumptuous profane, and pre-
sumptuous hypocrite, or the no-faith of the desperate, or the waver-
ing doubter, who can never fix in greater or lesser measure of confi-
434 INrERENCES FKOM THE SECOND HEAD.
deuce in Christ, for salvation to himself; Jam. i. 6, " But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth, is like a wave
of the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed." Yer. 7, " For let not
that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."
If any think this to be an easy way of believing or covenanting,
either they mistake it, or try it not. To believe upon some ground
we see in ourselves, is very natural, but to believe merely upon a
ground in another, namely righteousness in Christ, and faithfulness
in God, while all in ourselves tends to make us dispair, is above the
reach of nature. A conscience thoroughly awakened, will convince
a sinner, that it is a matter of greatest difficulty.
Inf. 2. Justifying faith, though it receives Christ in all his offices,
as Prophet, Priest, and King ; yet as it enters us personally into
the covenant, and justifies, it eyes him in his priestly office particu-
larly ; namely, as the great high priest, who hath made atonement
for sin, by the sacrifice of himself; as the surety, who undertook
and completed the payment of the debt of punishment and duty ;
and as the kinsman redeemer, who having married our nature to the
divine nature in himself, redeemed the mortgaged inheritance with
his own blood, gave himself a ransom for us, to deliver us from our
spiritual bondage, and by his death destroyed him that had the
power of death ; Rom. iii. 25, " Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation, through faith in his blood." Chap. v. 11, " Our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." The
comfort for a wounded conscience, sick with the guilt of .sin, lies
here. This is that office of Christ to which the convinced sinner,
standing trembling before the just Judge of the world, lifts his eyes
and makes his recourse for safety : for there, and only there, can
one see a ransom, a righteousness, an atonement. In his prophetical
and kingly office, he administrates the covenant ; but in his priestly
office, he performed the condition of it. So it is the foundation of the
other two. It was by the sacrifice of himself, that the word and
Spirit of the covenant, whereby he teacheth sinners, were pur-
chased: and thereby also he obtained his kingdom. And his inter-
cession is founded upon his oblation. So his priestly office and that
considered particularly in point of his oflFering his sacrifice, doth, as
the foundation stone, bear the weight of the salvation of sinners,
and of the honour of God and the Mediator therein. Wherefore it
is not strange, that his investiture with the priestly office was con-
firmed by the oath of God ; a solemnity not used in the case of his
prophetical and kingly offices.
And thus far of the making of the covenant.
THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 435
HEAD III.
THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
The parts of the covenant of grace, being the things therein agreed
upon betwixt God and Christ the second Adam, are two, to wit, the
conditionary part, and the promissory part. These comprehend the
whole of the covenant, and of them we shall treat in order.
The first part of the covenant, namely, tlie conditionary part.
The condition of a covenant or bargain, properly and commonly
so called, is, that part of a covenant or bargain, upon the performing
of which one's right to the benefit promised is founded, and his plea
for it is stated, as becoming due to him for his performance, ac-
cording to, and in virtue of the agreement between the parties.
This is a federal condition, a covenant-condition, or the condition of
a covenant; and what all men, in common conversation understand
by a condition of a covenant or bargain. As for instance, the pay-
ing of such a sum of money for such a commodity, according to the
agreement between the parties, in the condition of a covenant of com-
merce, sale, or traffic : the working of such a piece of work, or doing
of such a deed, for such a reward agreed upon by the parties, is the
condition of a covenant of service on hire.
Besides this, there is also what is called a condition of connection or
order in a covenant ; whereby one thing necessarily goes before
another, in the order of the covenant without being the ground upon
which one's right and title to that other thing is founded. As in
the former instances, the buyei''s receiving of the commodity, and
the hireling's receiving of the reward, covenanted or bargained for,
must needs go before their profession or enjoyment of them ; but it
is evident, that that receiving is not the thing uponVhich the buyer's
right and title to the commodity, or the hirling's right and title to
the reward, is founded : therefore, though it may be called a con-
dition of connection in the respective covenants, yet it cannot, in
any propriety of speech, be called the condition of them.
Now, to apply these things to our purpose : in the order of the
covenant of grace, forasmuch as the having of the Spirit must go
before faith, faith before justification, justification before sanctifica-
tion, holiness before heaven's happiness ; these may be called con-
ditions in the covenant of grace, to wit, conditions of certain con-
nection ; and this belongs to the established order of the promises
of the covenant, which are contradistinguished to the condition of
the covenant. Ilowbeit such conditions can in no proper sense be
436 THE PARTS OF TUE COVEXANT OF GRACE.
called the condition or conditions of the covenant of grace, more
than the buyer's receiving of the commodity can be called the con-
dition of the covenant or bargain of sale. But the condition of the
covenant of grace, properly so called, is, Christ in the form of a
bond-servant, as last Adam, Representative, Kinsman-redeemer,
Surety, and Priest, his fulfilling all righteous owing, in virtue of the
broken covenant of works, unto God by his spiritual seed : Matth.
iii. 15, " Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness,"
For cleariug of this purpose, I shall, (1.) Evince this to be the
condition of the covenant ; (2.) Explain and unfold that righteous-
cess, the fulfilling whereof was made the condition of the covenant.
First, To evince that this is the condition of the covenant of grace
consider,
1. Christ's fulfilling all righteousness as second Adam is what the
Father proposed unto him, as the terms on which his seed should be
saved, and upon which he founded his promise of eternal life to be
given them ; and not any work or deed of theirs : Isa. liii. 10,
" When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed." Ver. 11, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall
be satisfied : by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many ; for he shall bear their iniquities." Luke xxii. 20, " This
cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." And
the same is that which Christ as the second Adam did from eter-
nity consent unto, undertake, and bind himself for; and which he
did in time, according to agreement perform. Thus he himself re-
presents it, Matth. iii. 15, " Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righte-
ousness ;" namely, as it becometh a person of honour and credit to
fulfill his bargain. Luke xxiv. 26, " Ought not Christ to have suf-
fered these things?" to wit, as one ought to perform the condition
of a covenant or bargain he has agreed to.
2. This is the only ground of a sinner's right and title to eternal
life ; and upon nothing else can he safely found his plea before the
Lord for life and salvation; Eph. i. 7, " In whom we have redemp-
tion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the
riches of his grace." Phil. iii. 8, 9, " That I may win Christ, and
be found in him, not having mine o^vn righteusness — but — the righte-
ousness which is of God by faith." Surely upon the condition of
the covenant fulfilled, one may found his plea before the Lord for
the benefits promised in the covenant : but no man may found his
plea before the Lord for these on any work or deed of his own what-
soever, no not on faith itself; but only on Christ's fulfilling all
righteousness: therefore no work nor deed of ours whatsoever, no
not faith itself, can be the condition of the covenant of grace pro-
\
THE CONDITIOXAHY PAUT OF THE COVENANT. 437
perly so called ; but only Christ's fulfilling all righteousness. The
sinner standing in the court of conscience, trembling before the Lord,
flees in under the covert of that righteousness fulfilled by the Medi-
ator, and dare oppose nothing but it to the condemning sentence of
the law, giving up with all other pleas for life and salvation. Be-
lieving in Christ is the pleading upon that ground, not the ground
of the sinner's pica: it saith, "My Lord and my God" in the pro-
mise, upon the ground of Christ's fulfilling all righteousness allen-
arly, as the condition of the covenant. If any will make it the
ground of their plea, they must needs produce it as a work of a
law, that is, as a deed done by them, whereby they have fulfilled
and answered a law, and whereupon they crave the benefit promised :
which will, according to the scripture, be found a dangerous adven-
ture, Rora, iii. 20 ; Gal. ii. 16 ; and v. 4.
3. It is by this, and this alone, the salvation of sinners becomes
a debt: therefore this alone is the condition of the covenant. For
the reward is of debt to him, and him only, who fulfills the condition
of a covenant : to him that worketh, not to him that worketh not,
but believeth, Rora. iv. 4, 5. And so it is of debt to Christ alone,
not to us; and therefore it was he that fulfilled the condition of the
crvenant; we fulfil no part of it. This is confirmed from the primi-
tive situation of mankind with reference to eternal life, in the first
Adam's covenant, duly considered. The condition thereof was per-
fect active obedience. And, according to the nature of that cove-
nant, if this obedience had been fulfilled by Adam, eternal life to
him and his would thereupon have become a debt to him. And the
plea of his posterity for life, in that case, would not have been
founded on their personal obedience coming after that fulfilment ;
since it would not have been the performance of the condition, but
the fruit of the promise, of the covenant: but it would have been
founded on that performance of Adam their representative ; foras-
much as, in the case supposed, it would have been the only obedi-
ence whereby the condition of that covenant was fulfilled; and so
they would have obtained life, not for any personal work or deed of
theirs, but for the obedience of the first Adam their representative,
to which God did graciously make the promise of life, in the first
covenant.
4. Faith and obedience are benefits promised in the covenant,
upon the condition of it, as hath been already evinced; and, in
virtue of the promises of the covenant, they are produced in the
elect : therefore they cannot be the condition of the covenant. And
elect infants are saved, though they are neither capable of believing
nor of obeying : howbeit, the condition of the covenant must needs
438 THE CONDITIONAllY PART OF THE COVENANT.
be performed, either by themselves who are saved, or else by another
in their stead. Therefore Christ's fnlfilling all righteousness, Avhich
is the only obedience performed in their stead, must be the alone
proper condition of the covenant.
5. Lastly, The covenant of grace doth so exclude our boasting, as
the covenant of works did not. This is clear from Rom. iii. 27,
•' Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? of
works ? Nay : but by the law of faith." But if any deed or work
of ours be the condition of the covenant of grace, in whole or in
part, our boasting is not excluded, but hath placi therein, as in the
covenant of works ; the difference being at most but in point of
degrees: for, according to the scripture, it is working, or fulfilling
the condition of a covenant, that gives the ground of boasting; for-
asmuch as to him that worketh, the reward is reckoned of debt: and
life being of or by works in the covenant of works, though not in the
way of proper merit, but in the way of paction or compact only, this
gave men the ground of boasting in that covenant, according to the
scripture. Therefore, so far as life and salvation are of or by any
work or deed of ours, as fulfilling the condition of the covenant of
grace, our boasting is not excluded, but hath place therein, as in the
covenant of works. Wherefore, since tlie covenant of grace is so
framed, as to leave no ground for our boasting, no work nor deed of
ours, but Christ's fulfilling all righteousness, even that alone, is the
condition of the covenant of grace : and our life and salvation are
neither of works, nor by works, as fulfilling the condition of the
covenant : Tit. iii. 5, " Not by works of righteousness, which we
have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." Eph. ii. 9,
" Not of works, lest any man should boast."
God forbid we should go about to justle faith and obedience out
of the covenant of grace : those who do so in principle or practice,
will thereby justle themselves out of the kingdom of heaven :
Matt. V. 19, " Whosoever shall break one of these least command-
ments, and shall teach men «o, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven ;" that is, he shall be treated as he treated that
one of these commandments, he shall be judged unworthy of the
fellowship of that kingdom. Faith is necessary savingly to interest
us in Jesus Christ the head of the covenant : and none can attain to
eternal happiness, without actual believing, who are subjects ca-
pable of it; nor can any attain it without the Spirit of faith in-
dwelling in them. Obedience is necessary, as the chief subordinate
end of the covenant, being that whereby God hath his glory he
designed therein : and without obedience begun here, none who arc
subjects capable of it, can see heaven. But withal it is necessary,
THE CONDITIONARY PAUT OF THE COVENANT. 439
that they be kept in the place and station assigned them in the
covenant by the Father and the Sou from eternity. By faith we
personally embrace the cov^enant, consent to, and rest in the condi-
tion of the covenant fulfilled by Christ ; and so are justified and
brought into a state of salvation : John x. 9, "I am the door ; by me
if any man enter in, he shall be saved." Compare John i, 12; and iii.
16; and xiv. 6. By evangelical repentance and gospel-obedience, we
testify our thankfulness to God, and evidence the truth of our faith,
and our being within the covenant: 1 Pet. ii. 9, "Ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people •
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out
of darkness into his marvellous light:" ver. 10, " Which in time pasi
were not a people, but are now the people of God : which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." Compare Rom. vi.
13. and xii. 1, 2 ; 1 Cor. vi. 20.
This the prophet taught the Jewish church of old, Mic. vi. 8, " He
hath shewed thee, 0 man, what is good ; and what doth the Lord re-
quire of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly
with thy God ?" In the sixth verse, a most important question is
put, concerning the acceptance of a sinner with God, how it may be
obtained, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord ?" and several
costly expedients for that purpose are proposed by the sinner, even
to the giving of " the frnit of his body for the sin of his soul," ver.
6, 7. But the prophet answers that question in a word, tacitly
upbraiding them with gross stupidity, in their groping for the wall
in broad day-light, even as in the night : " He hath shewed thee, 0
man, what is good ;" that is, what is goodly, valuable, and accept-
able, in the sight of God, for that purpose, even for a sinner's
obtaining pardon and acceptance with God ; namely, the Messias,
Jesus Christ sacrificed for sinners. This was what God had all
along, by his prophets, and by the whole ceremonial law, pointed
out to them, and set before them, as the good for that purpose, that
they might by faith look thereunto, and be saved, Isa. xlv. 22.
And, in the style of the Holy Ghost, Christ crucified is elsewhere
spoken of under the same notion : 2 Chron. xxx. 18, " The good
Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God."
Orig. " Jehovah the good make atonement for," &c. Psalm Ixxxv.
12, " The Lord shall give that which is good ;" or, shall give the
good. Compare John iv. 10, " If thou knewest tlie gift of God, and
who it is." Isa. Iv. 2, " Eat ye that which is good." Compare
John vi. 55, " My flesh is meat indeed." Job xxxiv. 4, " Let us
know among ourselves what is good." Yer. 5, " For Job hath said,
I am righteous." Now, being thus accepted of God, what doth he
440 THE CONDITIONAllY PART OF THE COVENANT.
require of thee in point of gratitude, but to do justly, as one ac-
cepted not without a righteousness answering the demands of justice
and judgment : and to love mercy, as one who hath obtained mercy ;
and to walk humbly with thy God, as one who is free grace's
debtor? In the same manner of expression doth Moses address
himself to the people secured of the possession of Canaan by the
oath of God, and being just to enter upon it, Deut. x. 11, 12, " And
now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to
fear the Lord thy God," &c. ? namely, in point of gratitude, for his
giving thee that good land.
Inf. From what is said it appears that your life and salvation en-
tirely depend on your special interest in Christ's righteousness. If
ye are possessed of it your salvation is secure ; if not, salvation is
far from you. If you were never so full of your own righteousness,
works, doings, and sufferings, all is but filthy rags in this case, and
cannot give you a right or title to life : and although you can see
nothing of your own in yourselves, which you can lean to before the
Lord, yet if the righteousness of Christ is yours in possession, by
faith, your life and salvation are firm as a rock.
Case. How then shall I know that Christ's righteousness is in-
deed mine in possession ? Answ. The Lord himself gives a distin-
guishing character of such happy possessors, Isa. li. 7, " Hearken
unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is
my law." They that know righteousness, are, in the style of the
Scripture, those whose it is, agreeable to the phrase, Matth. xxv. 12,
" I know you not," q. d. Ye are none of mine, I acknowledge you
not as mine. So this character consists of two parts. (1.) They
are such as acknowledge Christ's righteousness as their only righte-
ousness in the sight of God, and look to it alone for life and salva-
tion, renouncing all their own righteousness : Isa. liii. 11. " By his
knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;" that is by
the knowledge or acknowledgement of him, which is by faith.
(2.) They have the law of God in their hearts. The righteous peo-
ple, righteous by faith, are a holy people. They make conscience of
internal obedience ; for the holy law rules within them, even there
whither no eye reacheth, but the eyes of God and their own con-
sciences. So they are distinguished froni hypocrites, who are "like
unto whited sepulchres, beautiful outward, hut within full of all un-
cleanness." They make conscience of external obedience too ; for
as the candle burning within the lanthorn will shine through it, so
the law of God ruling in the heart, cannot miss to rule in the life
and conversation too : Matth. vi. 22, " If therefore thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light." And so they are
THE COXDITIONARY PART OF THE COVEXANT. 441
distinguished from the profane, whose unholy lives declare them to
have neither part nor lot in this righteousness : Psalm xxiv. 3, 4,
" Who shall stand in his holy place ? He that hath clean hands."
And the law is not only in their minds by its light, to drive them to
obedience ; as in the case of legalists, who work like slaves ; but it
is in their hearts and affections, discovering to their souls the beauty
of holiness ; and so drawing them to all obedience, and causing them
to work like sons to a father. Their hearts are reconciled to the
purity of the holy law, and they delight in it after the inward man>
Rom. vii. 22, and would fain reach a full conformity unto it, saying
from the heart, " 0 that my ways were directed to keep thy sta-
tutes !" Psalm cxix. 5.
Secondly, To unfold that righteousness, the fulfilling of which was
made the condition of the covenant of grace, we shall view it iu
the several parts thereof. That righteousness, forasmuch as it was
to be fulfilled in the room and stead of sinners, was and must be
stated from the law, or broken covenant of works, which they were
lying under; for the law, or broken covenant of works, was so far
from being neglected in the new bargain, that whatsoever it had to
charge upon, or demand of tlie parties contracted for in the new co-
venant, was summed up, and set down therein, to be fully cleared
by Christ their surety contracting for them. Now, stating that
righteousness from thence, it will be found to consist of three parts
malting so many conditionary articles of the covenant of grace : to
wit, holiness of nature, righteousness of life, and satisfaction for sin.
Of the which in order.
ARTICLE I.
HOLINESS OF NATURE.
The law required holiness of nature as a condition of life, inasmuch
as condemning original sin, saying " Thou shalt not covet," it con-
cluded all men to be by nature children of wrath. For God being
essentially holy, holy by necessity of nature, nothing can be so con-
trary to God as an unholy nature ; because, howbeit persons or things
of a like nature may be contrary in some points, yet they can never
be so contrary one to another, as those of quite opposite natures.
But the parties contracted for in the covenant of grace, having their
nature wholly corrupted, and being incapable to purify it, or make
their heart clean, Prov. xx. 9 ; it is evident, they could by no means
answer this demand of the law by themselves. Wherefore, for the
Vol. YIII. 2 e
442 THE CONDITIONARY PART OF THE COVENANT.
satisfaction of the law in this point, it was settled as a conditionary
article of the covenant of grace, " That Christ the second Adam, re-
presenting them, should be a man of a perfectly holy, pure and un-
tainted nature, fully answering for them the holiness and perfec-
tion of nature required by the law." " For such an high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,"
Heb. vii. 16. And this article contains two clauses.
1. " That he, as the second Adam, should be conceived and born
holy, for and instead of them corrupt in their nature, conceived and
born in sin." There was a holy nature given to Adam as the root
of mankind, to be by him kept and transmitted to his posterity, in
the way of natural generation. And upon this ground, the law re-
quires all men to be born holy, pronouncing them unclean and child-
ren of wrath, in the contrary event, Job xiv. 4 ; Eph. ii. 3. But
how could this demand be answered by sinners ? They are born in
sin : they cannot enter again into their mother's womb, and be
born a second time, without sin. No, they cannot : yet the law will
not bate of that demand for life. "Wherefore it is provided, that
Christ, as a public person, representing his spiritual seed, should be
born perfectly holy ; that, whereas they brought a sinful corrupt
nature into the world with them, he should bring a holy human
nature into the world with him. And so he was the last Adam,
1 Cor. XV. 45, holy and undefiled, Heb. viii. 26, " that holy
thing born," Luke i. 35. And the effect thereof with respect to
that law-demand for life is, that all believers are, in law-reckoning,
born holy in the second Adam, even as they were created holy in
the first Adam. Hence they are expressly said to be crucified in him,
Col. ii. 11, which plainly presupposeth their being born in him. And it
is in virtue of their being legally born holy in Christ, when he was
born, that, being united to him in the time of loves, they are really
born again, and at length perfected ; even as in virtue of their
being legally defiled in Adam, when he sinned, they are actually
and really defiled in their own persons, coming into the world : the
holy nature being actually communicated to them from Christ their
spiritual head, in whom they were legally born holy ; even as the
corruption of nature is actually conveyed to them from Adam their
natural head, in whom they sinned in law-reckoning.
2. The other clause is, " That Christ, as the second Adam, should
retain the holiness of nature inviolate unto the end, for them and
in their name." The law, or covenant of works, required, as a con-
dition of life, that the holiness of nature, given to mankind in Adam,
should be preserved pure and incorrupt. But it was lost : and put
the case, that it had been restored, they could not have retained it,
THE CONDITIONARY TART OP THK COVENANT. 443
in their own persons, unstained amidst so many snares. Wherefore,
to satisfy the law-demand in this point, it was provided, that in the
man Christ, as a public person representative of his seed, their na-
ture should be kept perfectly holy unto the end, without the least
stain or defilement : Isa. xlii. 4, " He shall not fail ;" or, " he shall
not wax dim," or wrinkle, as the skin doth when the moisture is ex-
hausted. Therein the first Adam failed. He shone in purity of na-
ture, as he came from the Creator's hand : but he failed, he waxed
dim ; the holiness of his nature being exhausted by sin, all mankind
in him lost their spiritual beauty, and wrinkled. But now that the
second Adam failed not, but preserved the holiness of human nature
in him unstained, not in the least darkened, even to the end of his
life ; the remains of the corruption of nature in believers are not
imputed to them, Rom. iv. 8 ; but as defiled as they are in them-
selves, through those remains cleaving to them, yet in Christ their
beauty is fresh, and not marred in the least, according to that. Cant.
iv. 7, " Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee."
ARTICLE II.
RIGHTEOUSNESS OP LIFE,
This also the law insisted upon as a condition of life ; and justly :
for Grod gave to Adam, and all mankind in him, a law to be obeyed
in all points ; not only in virtue of the tie of natural duty, but in
virtue of the bond of a covenant for life : but it was never fulfilled
by them. The first Adam began indeed the course of obedience ;
but he quickly fell off from it, with all his natural seed in him.
Now, it being inconsistent Avith the honour of the law, that the prize,
to wit, eternal life, should be obtained without the race was run ; it
still insisted, saying, " If thou wilt enter into life, keep the com-
mandments," Matth. xix. 17. Howbeit, we were weak, moveless,
without strength for running that race. Wherefore it was settled
as another conditionary article of the covenant, " That Christ, as a
public person, represented those whom he contracted for, should be-
gin and perfect the course of obedience to the law in righteousness
of life." And accordingly, he became obedient unto death, Phil. ii. 8.
The law, which was the rule of this obedience, exacted of him,
was the same law of the ten commands, that was given to Adam,
and binding on us as under it : for he was made under the law^, to
redeem them that were under the law, Gal. iv. 4, 5. It extended to
all divine institutions which the second Adam found in being, whe-
2 E 2
444 THE CONDITIONARY PAUT OF THE COVENANT.
llier obliging men as meu, or as members of the church of Grod on
earth : even as the rule of the first Adam's obedience, extended to
the positive law tonching the forbidden fruit, which was in being
when he was set to fulfil his covenant-obedience.
That we may the more distinctly comprehend this article, it may
be observed to bear these three things following.
1. " That he, as the second Adam, should obey the whole law, in
the name of those he represented." This was a debt owing by them
all ; and was required of them by the law, as a condition of life :
Gal. iii. 10. " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them." But the ans-
wering of this demand was quite beyond their reach. Man, by the
fall, having lost much of his knowledge of the law, had lost sight of
many of the duties required therein : howbeit, ignorance of the law
excuseth no man. His heart was averse to and enmity against the
law, Rom. viii. 7. And he was without strength to perform the du-
ties therein required of him, chap. v. 6. So that by reason of ignor-
ance, aversion, and impotency in that matter, the obedience of the
whole law was not to be had from them. Wherefore it was pro-
vided, that Christ, as their representative, should give obedience to
the whole law for them ; that both tables of the law, and each com-
mand of each table, should have the due obedience from him ; that
the law being laid before him in its spirituality and full extent, he
should fully answer it, in internal and external obedience, in his
mind, will, and aff*ections, in thought, word, and deed ; that he
should conform himself to the whole natural law, and to all divine
institutions, ceremonial or political, so as to be circumcised, keep
the passover, to be baptized, to be a servant of or subject to rulers,
pay tribute to whom it was due, and the like : in one word, that he
should perform the whole will of God, signified in his law; so that
with the safety of the law's honour, his people might have life.
"What the first Adam failed in, the second Adam was to do. And
this I take to be represented unto us, in the case of the first and
second king of Israel, to wit, Saul and David, Acts xiii. 22. " I
have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart,
which shall fulfil all my will;" Gr. "all my wills." In which there
is a plain view to Saul, who was partial in his obedience to the will
of God, (1 Sam. xv.) and upon that score lost the kingdom for him
and his,
2. "That every part of that obedience should be carried to the
highest pitch and degree." This the law required of them, as a con-
dition of life ; as our Lord himself shewed nnto the lawyer, Luke
X. 27, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
THE PARTS OF THE COVEKANT OF GKACE. 445
with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind ;
and thy neighbour as thyself." Ver. 28, " This do, and thou shalt
live." But it was a demand they could never have answered, since
Adam had squandered away their stock of ability, and left them
without strength. They might as soon have reached up their hands
to the sun in the firmament, so far above, as have attained to the
perfection of obedience demanded of thera by the law. "Wherefore
it was agreed, that Christ should in their name obey the law in
that perfection, being made under the law, as they were under it,
Gral. iv. 4, 5; that every action of his should bear, not only a good-
ness of the matter, but of the manner too, and that in perfection ;
that love to God and man should flame in his holy human soul, to
the utmost pitch required by the law ; and so that debt owing by
his seed, might be cleared by him, acting as a public man in their
name.
3. Lastly, " That all this should be continued to the end, without
the least failure in one jot of parts or degraes of obedience." This
also was a condition of life stated in the fir/jt covenant ; Gal. iii. 10,
" Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are
written in the book of the law to do them." But it was a demand
they could by no means answer ; man's nature being so vitiated by
the fall, that if a thousand hells were lying upon it, the best on
earth could not keep perfectly right one hour. Wherefore it was
agreed, that the second Adam should, in the name of those he re-
presented, continue in all things written in the law to do them, even
to the end; that he should not fail in his begun course of obedience,
but run to the end of the race set before him ; that from the womb
to the grave, his heart and life should shine in perfection of holi-
ness. All which he did accordingly fulfil, being obedient unto death,
Philip, ii. 8.
ARTICLE III.
SATISFACTION FOR SIN.
The former two were in the condition of Adam's covenant : but this
was not in it; for while there was no sin, there was no place for
satisfaction for sin. But tlie new covenant behoved to be settled
on the condition of a satisfaction for sin ; because the broken law
or covenant of works, insisted for it as a condition of life to sinners,
in virtue of its penalty by them incurred. Howbeit, it was quite
beyond their power to answer this demand of the law. If then the
446 THE PARTS or THE COVENAKT OF GRACE.
Mediator will have a seed brought from the state of death, into a
state of life and salvation, he must buy them from the hand of
justice, telling down a price for every soul of them, 1 Cor. vi. 20.
Accordingly, all the sins of every one of them, from the first sin
they should be convinced and born in, to the last sin they should
expire witli, being foreseen of God from eternity, were summed up
as so many breaches of the law or covenant of works: and it was
made another conditionary article of the covenant, " That Christ,
as a public person, should satisfy fully and completely for them
all :" Isa. liii. 6, " The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us
all ; compared with Lev. xvi. 21, " All the iniquities of the chil-
dren of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins."
Now, in this article there were three things established.
First, " That Christ, as a public person, should satisfy for them
by suffering :" Luke xxiv. 26, " Ought not Christ to have suffered?"
Sinners were liable to suffer for the satisfaction of justice : and
nothinc but suffering could be accepted, as a compensation of the
injury done by sin, to the honour of God, in the violating of his
holy law. Thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil,
were at the Mediator's command ; all the silver and gold, and the
precious things of the earth and seas, were at his disposal : but
none of these could be of use in this bargain ; they were all of no
value in a treaty for the redemption of the soul, Mic. vi. 6, 7, 8 ;
1 Pet. i. 18. His own suffering could only avail here. That the
Son of God should suffer, was indeed an amazing proposal ; but it
was necessary, in order to satisfy for our sin.
Secondlu, " That he should suffer the same punishment they
should have suffered in virtue of the penalty of the broken covenant
of works ;" and that was death in its full latitude and extent. This
appears from the penalty of that covenant, from Avhich the debt of
satisfaction was stated, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt
surely die," Gen. ii. 17 ; compared with Christ's dying for, that is,
in the room and stead of sinners, so often mentioned in the Scrip-
tures, Rom. V. 6, 8; 2 Cor. v. 14, 15; 1 Thess. v. 10. And it is
confirmed from that the Scripture teacheth, that the all for whom
Christ died, died in him, 2 Cor. y. 14, " If one died for all, then
were all dead ;" or, then the all died, to wit, in him ; even as they
sinned, and became liable to death, in Adam. So saith the apostle,
" I am crucified with Christ," Gal. ii. 20.
For clearing this purpose, two things are to be distinguished in
that death which was the penalty of the covenant of works. 1.
"What was essential to it, wrapt up in the very nature of the thing
itself called death in the stile of that covenant. And that may be
THE CONDITIONARY PART OP THE COVENANT. 447
compromised in these two : (1.) The curse, (2.) Infinite execution ;
the former making the death legal, the latter making it real and
satisfactory. 2. What was accidental to it, arising, not from the
nature of the thing in itself, but from the nature of the party dying
that death. And this is of two sorts. (1.) There is something
arising from the nature of the dying party, as he is a mere crea-
ture ; such as the eternity of the punishment and despair of life.
(2.) Something arising from the nature of the dying party, as he is
a sinful creature, or subject of inherent sin ; such as the extinction
of the saving relation betwixt God and the soul, the divesting it of
God's image, and the corruption and dissolution of the body.
Now, the essentials of that death we should have suffered in vir-
tue of the penalty of the broken covenant of works, were laid, as a
part of the condition of the covenant of grace, on Jesus Christ, to
be suffered by him, for us. For he was "made a curse for us,"
Gal. iii. 13, and "gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet smelling savour," Eph. v. 2, that is, a sacrifice
equalling the infinite offence arising irom our sin ; whence he is
said, " by one suffering" to have " perfected for ever them that are
sanctified," Heb. x. 14. But the accidentals of that death were no
part of the condition of the covenant laid on him : nor could they
at all have place in him; since he was neither a subject of inherent
sin, nor yet a mere creature. Nevertheless, it was still the same
death that we should have suffered ; forasmuch as the essentials
were the same. Thus the bodies of the saints, which are now weak
and corruptible, shall at the resuri'ectiou be powerful and incorrup-
tible, yet still the same bodies ; since these qualities are but
accidental to a human body. So in the case of clearing of debt,
though, the borrower could not pay it, but in a great quantity
of copper-money, and that advanced by little and little for a
long time : which withal would ruin him : yet, if his rich cau-
tioner should pay all at once, in a little gold; it is evident,
it would be the payment of the same debt, providing only that
it fully equalled the sum borrowed. Nay, confining our view to
death itself, which is the general proper notion of the thing in
question, let us put the case, that two men, equally guilty of the
same crime, are laid under one and the same sentence of death ; and
it is execute on them both : but the one is by a miracle raised to
life again, the other lies and rots in the grave. It is evident in this
case, that the death they died, is the same death, answering the
very same estimate which the law made of the crime ; and that
therefore the death of the former satisfies the law, as well as the
death of the latter, so that it cannot reach his life again for that
crime : howbeit, it is no less evident, that there is a huge difference
448 TnE^COKDlTIONART PART OF THE COVENANT.
between the death of the one and the other, in accidentals, particu-
larly in the duration or continuance of it. Wherefore, we conclude,
that as Christ gave the same active obedience to the law which we
should have given in virtue of the condition of the covenant of
works ; so he suffered the same punishment of death that we should
have suffered in virtue of the penalty of that broken covenant : for-
asmuch as, whatever difference there was in accidentals, the essen-
tials were the same ; it being laid on him, in the new covenant,
to suffer death for us, equalling the infinite offence arising from our
sins, being fully proportionate to the estimate the law and justice of
God had made of our crime.
And thus, according to what is said, two grand points were estab-
lished in the conditionary part of the covenant.
1. "That the curse of the law due to us for our sin, should be
transferred on him as the second Adam, our representative ; whereby
he should instantly be a man dead in law for his seed." Either he
or they behoved to bear the curse : for it is written, " Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things written in the law."
Since God had annexed the threatening of death to his first cove-
nant, saying, " In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die ;" the truth of God secured the curse its taking place, as soon
as sin should enter. Now, they were not able to bear it, without
being ruined thei"eby. But that it might be borne, and they withal
saved, it was provided, that he should be laid under it, in their room
and stead ; that as he was made sin for them, so he should also, in
consequence thereof, be made a curse for them. Gal. iii. 13.
The curse is the sentence of the broken law passed upon a person,
binding him over to the revenging wrath of God, to the full satis-
faction of justice. So that awful and tremendous mystery lies here.
Christ must stand before the tribunal of the holy law, as a sinner ;
answerable for all the sins of all the elect, by virtue of his bond of
suretiship registrate in the records of heaven : and sentence must
pass upon him, adjudging and binding him over to suffer all that re-
venging wrath which their sins deserved. The Lamb of God said,
" Lo, I come :" so it was done, he was made a curse for us. In to-
ken hereof, being convened before the Jewish sanhedrim, he was
judged a blasphemer, and worthy of death ; and compearing before
Pilate the Roman governor, he was by him sentenced to die, and
that upon the cross.
Behold the stupendous result of this awful transaction, the trans-
ferring of the curse on Christ the second Adam ! 1. Hereby he was
made the separated one of the elect society, separated unto evil, as
the immediate effect of the curse is described. Dent. xxix. 21. He
THE PAltTS OF THE COVENAKT. CF GEAOE. 449
was made the devoted head, devoted to pay for all the rest. He
was set up as the mark against which all the arrows of revenging
wrath should be aimed. He was appointed to be the common recep-
tacle of all the floods of vengeance, issuing from incensed justice
towards the whole body of the elect, to swallow them up; here the
current of all these was turned, that they should together flow in
upon him. Hence he cries. Psalm Ixix. 2, " I am come into deep
waters, where the floods overflow me." 2. Hereby he became the
resting-place of revenging justice, where it was to prey, till it should
be satisfied to the full ; Isa. liii. 10, " Thou shalt make his soul an
off'ering for sin." In token hereof, when the officers came to appre-
hend him, he said, " If ye seek me let these go their way." Justice
leaves the chase of the rebel-multitude, seeks him, and him only;
since he was made a curse for them. Thus he was designed to be
the sacrifice for all his seed, which the fire of revenging wrath should
burn up, till it sent forth a sweet-smelling savour, a savour of rest
to the incensed justice of an ofi'ended God.
2. Another grand point established here, was, " That the curse
transferred on him, should be infinitely executed upon him as the
second Adam, our representative ; whereby he should die really for
his seed, to the full compensation of all the injuries done to the hon-
our of an infinite God, by all their sins." Vain is that curse which
takes not effect : as the curse of the holy law was not causeless, so
it could not miss of coming on, in its infinite weight, for the satis-
faction of justice. Now, had it so come on them, they would have
been eternally satisfying, but could never have ended their satisfac-
tion. But coming on him, the church of God was purchased with
his own blood. Acts xx. 28, and " the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin," 1 John i. 7, the infinite dignity of the
person dying, making the execution of the curse on him unto death
to be infinite in value, fully compensating the infinite wrong, accord-
ing to the estimate made of it by law and justice.
And here it was settled and agreed, " That the curse should be
executed on the whole man ;" that being their due ; and therefore
that he should " become poor," and " not have where to lay his head,"
that he should suffer hunger, for want of meat; thirst, for want of
drink : that his name and reputation should be sunk, loaded with
vile reproaches and slanders; his very friends going about to lay
hands upon him as a mad-man ; that he should be accounted a worm
and no man ; a reproach of men, and despised of the people : his
whole lot in the world afflicted, persecuted, and exceeding low ; and
that in end, being stripped of his garments, he should be hung up
naked before the sun, between two malefactors, as if the worst of
the three.
450 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
More particulary, here it was stipulated and agreed to,
1st, " That the corse should be executed on his blessed body ;" for-
asmuch as their bodies were liable to it, as being instruments of sin
and dishonour to God : that he should be hanged on a tree, that all
the world might therein read the anger of God against the break-
ing of the first covenant, by eating of the forbidden tree ; and his
being made a curse for us, since it is written, " Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree ;" that the curse should go over, and death
pass through, every part of that blessed body: that his head should
be disgracefully wounded with a crown of thorns put upon it; his
visage marred more than any man ; his back given to the smiters ;
his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair ; his face not hid from
shame and spitting; his tongue made to cleave to his jaws; his
hands and feet pierced, nailed to a cross ; all his bones drawn out
of joint; his heart like wax, melted in the midst of his bowels; his
blood shed; his strength dried up ; and that in end it should expire
and die, be separate from his soul, pierced with a spear, and laid in
the dust of death.
2dli/, " That it should be executed on his holy soul, in a special
manner ;" forasmuch as their souls were the principal actors in sin :
that he should undergo the wrath of God in it, being all along his
life a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief : and that towards
the latter end, there should be an hour and power of darkness,
wherein the malice of men, the power and rage of devils, should be
jointly engaged against him, making their utmost efforts on him ; and
then the full floods of Heaven's revenging wrath should come rolling in
upon his soul : that they should so overflow it, as to strike him with
sore amazement, fill him with trouble, load him with heaviness, and
overwhelm him with exceeding sorrow : that there should be such a
pressure of divine wrath on his holy soul, as should put him into an
agony, even to his sweating great drops of blood ; and should bring
over it a total eclipse of comfort, and as it were melt it within him ;
that so, while he was dying a bodily death on the cross, he might
die also a spiritual death, such as a most pure and holy soul was
capable of.
Here was the death determined in the covenant, for the second
Adam our representative ; a death in virtue of the curse transferred
on him, long-lasting and exquisite, for the full satisfaction of re-
venging jiistice. (1.) It was long-lasting death. He was a-dying,
in the style of the covenant of works, not only upon the cross, but
all along the time of his life ; the death that was the penalty of that
covenant, working in him from the womb, till it laid him in the
grave. Wherefore he behoved to be conceived of a woman of low
THE PARTS or THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 451
estate ; and born in the stable of an inn, no room for him in the inn
itself; laid in a manger, no cradle to receive him; his infant-blood
shed in his circumcision, as if he had been a sinner; yea, his infant-
life sought by a cruel persecutor, and his mother obliged to run her
country with him, and go to Egypt. Returning, he behoved to live
an obscure life in an obscure place, from which nothing great nor
good was expected, John i. 46 ; and coming out of his obscurity, to
be set up as the object of the world's ill-will and spite, obloquy and
maltreatment, till by the hand of Jew and Gentile he was put to
death on the cross. (2.) It was an exquisite death. No pity, no
sparing in it : but the curse carried it to the highest pitch. No
sparing from an angry Grod, Rom. viii. 32. No sparing from wicked
men let loose on him, pushing him like bulls, roaring on him and
devouring him like lions, and rending him like dogs, when once thefr
hour and power of darkness was come. Psalm xxii. 12, 13, 16. Not
a good word spoken to him in the midst of his torments, by those
that stood by ; but cruelly mocked and insulted by them. Much
less a good deed done him. Not a drink of water allowed him, but
vinegar offered him, in his thirst caused through the fire of divine
wrath drinking up his spirits and moisture. Nay, the very face of
the heavens was lowring on him : the sun must not give him its
light, but wrap up itself from him in darkness ; because " light is
sweet, and it is a pleasant thing to behold the sun."
Lastly, In this article it was established, " That he should suffer
all this voluntarily, submissively, and resignedly, out of regard to
the wronged honour of God." Accordingly, speaking of his life, he
saith, " No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself,"
John X. 18, compare Psalm xl. 6, 7, 8. This the law demanded of
them whom he suffered for, condemning all murmuring and impa-
tience, and binding them to obedience and suffering conjunctly. But
how could they have so borne the load of revenging wrath, who can-
not bear a sharp fit of the gout or gravel, without some degree of
impatience in the eye of the holy law ? Wherefore it was provided,
that Christ, as their representative, should bear their punishment
voluntarily, and with perfect patience and resignation : that he
should go " as a lamb to the slaughter," quietly resigning his human
will to the divine will ; and make his obedience ia his sufferings, as
conspicuous as his sufferings themselves : that, in midst of the ex-
tremity of his torments, he should not entertain the least unbecom-
ing thought of God, but acknowledge him holy in them all. Psalm
xxii. 3 : nor yet the least grudge against his murderers ; in token of
which, he prayed for thera while he was on the cross, saying, " Father
forgive them ; for they know not what they do," Luke xxiii. 34.
Thus far of the conditionary articles.
452 INFEKENCES FROM THE
INFERENCES FROM THE CONDITTONAEY PART OF THE COVENANT.
Thus, as we bave shown, stood the important condition of the
covenant of grace ; and from thence the following inferences are
fairly deducible.
Inf. 1. The redemption of the soul is precious. Ts it not ? Look
to the price of the purchase, the ransom of souls, as stated in the
covenant; the holy birth, righteous life, and satisfactory death of
the Son of God ; and ye must conclude it to be a costly redemption.
Tarn hither your eyes, (1.) Ye who value not your own souls. See
here the worth of those souls ye sell for a thing of nought, for satis-
fying a corrupt passion, a pang of lust of one sort or another.
Costly was the gathering of what ye thus throw away. Ye let them
go at a very low price ; but Christ could not haA^e one of them at
the hand of justice, but at the price of his precious blood. Ye can-
not forego the vanities of a present world for them, nor spend a
serious day or hour about them ; but he, after a life-time of sorrows
underwent a most bitter death for them. What think ye ? "Was
he inconsiderate and too liberal in his making such a bargain for
the redemption of souls? He was infinitely just, who proposed the
condition ; and he was infinitely wise, who went in to it. He was a
Father that exacted this ransom for souls ; and he was his own Son
that paid it. Be ashamed and blush, to make so low an estimate of
those souls, which Heaven set such a high price on. (2.) Ye who
have cheap thoughts of the pardom of sin, and of salvation, correct
your mistake here. You fearlessly run on in sin, thinking all may
soon be set to rights again, with a God forgive me, have mercy on
my soul ; so as you may leap out of Delilah's lap into Abraham's
bosom, 0 fearful infatuation ! Is the mean and low birth, the sor-
rowful life, and the bitter death of Jesus the Son of God, not suffi-
cient to give men a just and honourable notion of the pardon of sin ?
Look into the condition of the covenant for pardon, written in the
blood of the Lamb of God, and learn the value a just God puts upon
his pai'dons and salvation. See, 0 sinner, that it is not words, but
deeds; not promises and resolves to do better, but perfection of
holiness and obedience ; not drawing of sighs and shedding of tears,
but shedding of blood ; and not thy blood neither, but blood of infi-
nite value, that could procure the pardon of sin, and salvation.
And if thou have not upon thee by faith all that righteousness
Christ fulfilled, to be presented unto God for a pardon, thou shalt
never obtain it. Particularly, ye are apt to think light of the sin
CONDITIONARY PAKT OF TUE COVENAKT. 453
ye were born in, and the corruption cleaving to your nature ; but
know, that God does not think light of these. It behoved to be an
article of the covenant, that Christ should be born holy, and retain
the holiness of human nature in him to the end ; else the unholy
birth and corrupt nature we derived from Adam, would have slaked
us all down eternally under the curse. (3.) Ye that have mean
thoughts of the holy law, rectify your dangerous mistake by the
help of this glass. Te make no bones of transgi-essing its com-
mands ; ye neglect and despise its curse : as it is a law, ye shew not
so much regard to it as to the laws of men ; and as it is a covenant,
ye look upon it as out of date, being in no concern how it may be
satisfied for you. Aud shall the honour of the holy law lie in the
dust, in your case ? Rather than it should so lie in the case of
Sodom aud Gomorrah, God would have them laid in ashes with fire
and brimstone. Yea, for vindicating the honour of the law, this
whole world shall be burnt to ashes, and all the unholy cast out
from the presence of the Lord for ever. And in the case of them
that are saved, God would have the curse of the law executed upon
his own Son as their Surety, and the commands of it perfectly
obeyed in all points by him in their name. Sure, if you are pos-
sessed of any share herein, it will be great and honourable in your
sight, as it is in the sight of God.
Inf. 2. The law is no loser, in that life and salvation are be-
stowed on believers in Christ. It is so far from being made void
through faith, that it is established thereby, as the apostle witnes-
seth, Rom. iii. 81. God would never dispense his pardons at the
expence of the honour of his law ; nor declare one righteous, with-
out the righteousness of the law being fulfilled, either by him, or in
hira by another, Rom. viii. 4. Wherefore, life and salvation being
designed for the elect, the law's whole accounts of all it had to
charge on them for life, were taken in; and an infallible method
was laid down for clearing them, the burden of the payment being
transferred on Christ their surety. By this exchange of persons the
law had no loss. Nay, it was more for the honour of the law, that
he was made under it, and satisfied it, in virtue of the claim it had
upon him by the second covenant, than if they, being mere creatures,
had satisfied it in all points. But the truth is, they being sinners,
could never by any means have fully satisfied it; though it had
eternally pursued them and exacted of them, it would never have
had enough from them ; whereas now, by Christ's taking their debt
on him, it was paid to the utmost farthing.
Inf. 3. Faith hath a broad and firm bottom to stand on before
the Lord. The believer hath a strong plea for life and salvation,
454 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GHACE.
which cannot miscarry ; namely, the condition of the covenant ful-
filled by Jesus Christ, even all righteousness : Having therefore,
brethren, boldnesss to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus —
let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith," Heb.
X. 19 — 22. The broken boards of uncovenanted mercy, and men's
own works, which presumption fixeth upon, cannot but fail, since the
law admits no life for a sinner on these grounds. But forasmuch as
there a gift of Christ and his righteousness proclaimed in the gospel
is by the authority of heaven, he who by faith receiveth that gift, and
makes the same his only plea before the Lord, cannot miss of salva-
tion : Eom. V. 17, " They which receive (Gr. the) abundance of grace,
and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ ;" where the abundance mentioned, relates not to different
degrees of the grace or gift, but to the offence, as appears from ver.
20 : As if he had said, " Who receive the grace and gift of righte-
ousness which abound beyond Adam's offence saving them out of the
gulf of ruin it plunged them into." Faith uniting a sinner to Christ
the head of the second covenant, makes him partaker of Christ's
righteousness, as really as ever his covenant-relation to Adam made
him partaker of his guilt. So having all that Christ was, did, or
suffered, for fulfilling the condition of the second covenant, to plead
for life and salvation; it is not possible the claim can miscarry, jus-
tice as well as mercy befriending the plea of faith, as a righteous
thing with God, 2 Thess. i. 6, 7-
Inf. 4. lastly, All who are in Christ the head of the covenant of
grace, and so brought into it personally, are inherently righteous,
or holy. For like as though Adam alone did personally break the
first covenant by the all-ruining offence, yet they to whom his guilt
is imputed, do thereupon become inherently sinful, through the cor-
ruption of nature conveyed to them from him ; so, howbeit, Christ
alone did perform the condition of the second covenant, yet those to
whom his righteousness is imputed, do thereupon become inherently
righteous, through inherent grace communicated to them from him by
the Spirit. So teacheth the apostle in the forecited passage, Rom.
V. 17, " For if by one man's offence, death reigned by one ; much
more they which receive the abundance of grace, and of the gift of
righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." How did
death reign by Adam's offence ? Not only in point of guilt, whereby
his posterity were bound over to destruction; but also in point of
their being dead to all good, dead in trespasses and sins : therefore
the receivers of the gift of righteousness must thereby be brought to
reign in life, not only legally in justification, but also morally in
sanctification, begun here, and perfected hereafter.
THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 465
Accordingly, answerable to the three parts of the condition of the
covenant of grace, undertaken and performed by the second Adam,
to wit, holiness of nature, righteousness of life, and satisfaction for
sId ; there are three characters to be found in all capable subjects,
who being personally brought into the covenant, have the righteous-
ness of Christ upon them, and imputed to them.
Char. 1. They are all born again, and so made partakers of a new
and holy nature : 2 Cor. v. 17, " Therefore," (namely, since he died
for all, ver. 15,) " if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature."
Christ's being born holy, secured a holy new birth to them in him :
so they are all new creatures, " created in Christ Jesus unto good
works," Eph. ii. 10 ; new made in Christ, as sure as they were
marred in Adam. And how can it be otherwise ? Can a man be
ingrafted in the true vine, and not partake of the sap and juice of
the stock, that is, the Spirit and grace of Christ? No, surely : " If
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," Rom.
viii. 9. Or, can the Spirit and grace of Christ be in any, and yet
no change made on their nature, but it still remain unrenewed ?
No, indeed : " If Christ be in you, the body is dead, because of sin ;
but the Spirit is life, because of righteousness," ver. 10. Consider
this, ye avIio pretend to rely on the righteousness of Christ, but are
very easy in this point, whether ye are born again, or not ; whether
there is a holy nature derived from Christ to you, or not. Eelieve
it, sirs, if it be not so, ye have no saving interest, part, nor lot in
Christ's righteousness. Ye may on as good grounds pretend, that
howbeit the guilt of Adam's sin was imputed to you, yet there was
no corrupt nature derived from him to you ; as pretend, that Christ's
righteousness is imputed to you, while yet ye are not born again,
your nature is not changed, by the communication of sanctifying
grace from Christ, unto you. Deceive not yourselves ; ye must be
regenerate, else ye will perish : for " except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God," 1 John iii. 3.
Char. 2. They are all righteous and holy in their lives ; Isa. Ix.
21, " Thy people also shall be all righteous." Chap. Ixii. 12, " And
they shall call them the holy people." How did ungodliness, un-
righteousness, and profanity, enter into the world, the which are
now overflowing all banks ? Was it not by one man, by Adam's
sin, which is imputed to all mankind ? Rom. v. 12. Then be sure,
if the second Adam's righteousness be imputed to you, holiness of
life will come along with it : 1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye are washed, but
ye are sanctified, but ye are justified." Does sauctification then go
before justification ? No : but it hath a necessary dependence on
justification, and evidenceth it to the world, and to one's own con-
456 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
science. Unjustified, unsanctified ; and unsanctified, unjustified.
Did our blessed Saviour come into the world, and in our nature lead
a holy righteous life, that men might live as they list? Nay, quite
the contrary ; even that we being delivered out of the hands of our
enemies, might serve hira without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before him, all the days of our life," Luke i. 74, 75. If then Christ
lived for you, assuredly ye shall live for him. Consider this, ye
who are far from righteousness of life, living in the neglect of the
duties either of the first or second table, or both. Your ungodly
and unrighteous life declares you to be yet in your sins, under the
curse, and far from righteousness imputed. There is indeed a
righteousness of Christ; but alas! it is not upon you : ye are naked
for all it, and stand exposed to revenging wrath.
Char. 3. The old man is crucified in them all : Gal. v. 24, " They
that are Christ's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and
lusts." Therefore I say to you in the words of the apostle, Rom.
viii. 13, " If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye through
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." When
our Saviour hung on the cross, he hung there as representative of all
that are his, with all their sins on him by imputation, that the body
of sin might be destroyed in liis sufferings for it, Rom. vi. 6. He
hung there as the efficient meritorious cause of their mortification,
that by his death they might destroy the power of death in them ;
which appears not in any thing more, than in living lusts preying
on their souls : Hos. xiii. 14, " I will redeem them from death : 0
death, I will be thy plagues." See Tit. ii. 14; Rom. vi. 6, 7; Eph.
v. 25, 26. And he hung there as the exemplary cause of their mor-
tification ; so that all who are his, and have sinned after the simili-
tude of Adam's transgression, are likewise crucified and die to sin,
after the similitude of his crucifixion and death; being crucified
with him. Gal. ii. 20; planted together (with him in the likeness of
his death, Rom. vi. 5; the fellowship of his sufferings making them
conformable unto his death, Phil. iii. 10. Will ye then live after
the flesh, not wrestling against, but fulfilling the lusts thereof; liv-
ing in sin and to sin, instead of being mortified to it ; and yet pre-
tend that the satisfaction of Christ is imputed to you for righteous-
ness ? Truly you may on as good grounds say, that the blood of
Christ shed for you, hath proven ineffectual ; and that he hath so
far missed of his aim and design in suftering for you ; or that he
died for you, that you might live in your sin without danger. These
would make a blasphemous profession. Accordingly, your presump-
tuous sinful life and practice, is a course of practical blasphemy
against the Son of God, making liira the minister of sin ; and evi-
THE PAUTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 457
deiicelh your pretensions to the imputation of his satisfaction to be
altogether vain. Nay, of a truth, if ye have any saving interest in
the death of Christ, your old man is crucified with him, Rora, vi. 6 ;
and ye are dead with him, ver, 8; dead with him to sin, to the world,
and to the law.
(1.) If ye have a saving interest in Christ's death, ye are dead
•with him to sin : Rom. vi. 10, " In that he died, he died unto sin
once." Ver. 11, " Likewise also reckon ye yourselves to be dead
indeed uuto sin." While our Lord Jesus lived in the world, the
sins of all the elect, as to the guilt of them, hung about him, and
made him a " man of sorrows" all along ; when he was upon the
cross, they wrought upon hira most furiously, stinging hira to the
very soul, till they killed him, and got him laid in the grave. Then
they had done their utmost against him, they could do no more. So
dying for sin, he died unto it, he was delivered from it : and in his
resurrection he shook them all off, as Paul shook the viper off his
hand into the fire, and felt no harm ; rising out of the grave, even
as he will appear the second time, without sin. Wherefore, if ye
do indeed know the fellowship of his sufferings, if you really have
fellowship with hira in them, death will have made its way from
Christ the head unto you as his members ; his death unto sin cannot
miss to work your death unto it also. If you are dead indeed with
Christ, as ingrafted into him, sin hath got its death's wounds in you ;
the bond that knit your hearts and your lusts together, is loosed ;
and ye will be shaking off the viperous brood of them into the fire,
in the daily practice of mortification. But if ye are not dead, but
still living unto sin, it is an infallible evidence ye are none of the
members of Christ : Rom. vi. 2, " How shall we that are dead to
sin, live any longer therein ?" Ver. 3, " Know ye not, that so many
of OS as Avere baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his
death .?"
(2.) If ye have a saving interest in Christ's death, ye are dead
with him to the world : Col. iii. 1, " If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above." Ver. 3, " For ye are dead,
and your life is hid with Christ in God." The world hated him,
and used him very unkindly while he was in it; and when he died
he parted with it for good and all, John xvii. 11, "Now I am no
more in the world — I come to thee." The quietest lodging that ever
the world allowed him in it, was a grave : and coming out from
thence, ho never slept another night in it. He tarried indeed forty
days in it after that ; as many days as the Israelites' years in the
wilderness; the former an exemplar, the latter a type of the Chris-
tian life, from conversion till the removal into the other world ;
Vol. VIII. 2 r
458 . INFERENCES FROM THE
nevertheless he was dead to the world still ; he conversed now and
then with his own, but no more with the world. Now, if ye are his,
ye are dead with him unto the world too, in virtue of his death ;
being crucified unto it, Gal. vi. 14. Union with Christ by faith lays
sinners down in death, in Christ's grave ; and so separates between
them and the world for ever : and withal, it raiseth them up again
with Christ into a quite new manner of life ; no more that manner
of life which they lived before their union with him, than that which
Christ lived after his resurrection, was the manner of life he lived
before his death : Rom. vi. 4, " We are buried with him by baptism
into death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
If your title to heaven is indeed settled, by your receiving the
atonement, now is your forty days before your ascension into it ;
now are ye no more of the world, although you be in it : your trea-
sure and heart are no more there. Ye are no more indwellers in it,
as natives : but travelling through it, as " strangers, coming up from
the wilderness, leaning on the beloved," Cant. iii. 5.
(3.) Lastly, If ye have a saving interest in Christ's death, ye are
dead with him to the law also : Gal. ii. 19, " I through the law am
dead to the law." Ver. 20, " I am crucified with Christ." Our Lord
Jesus took on our nature to satisfy the law therein : the whole
course of his life was a course of obedience to it, for life and salva-
tion to us ; and he sufl'ered to satisfy it in what of that kind it had
to demand, for that effect : in a word, he was born to the law, he
lived to the law, and he died to the law ; namely, to clear ac-
counts with it, to satisfy it fully, and get life and salvation for us
with its good leave. He was " made under the law, to redeem them
that were under the law," Gal. iv. 4, 5. And when once it fell
upon him, it never left exacting of him, till it had got the utmost
farthing, and he was quite free with it, as dead to it, Rom. vii. 4.
In token whereof he got up the bond, blotted it out, yea, rent it in
pieces, nailing it to his cross, Col. ii. 14. Now, Christ became
dead to it, dying to it in his death on the cross : so that the holiness
and righteousness of the man Christ did thereafter no more run in
the channel in which it had run before, namely, from the womb to
his grave ; that is to say, it was no more, and shall be no more for
ever, obedience performed to the law for life and salvation ; these
having been completely gained and secured by the obedience he gave
from the womb to the grave. " Wherefore, my brethren," if ye be
his, " ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ,"
which became dead to it on the cross, Rom. vii. 4. As ye will not
be libertines in your life and practice, being dead to sin and the
CONDrTrOXARY TAUT OF THE COVENANT. 459
world with Christ ; so ye will not be legalists in your life and
practice neither, being also dead with him to the law as a covenant
of works. Your obedience will run in another channel than it did
before your union with Christ, even in the channel of the gospel.
Ye will serve in newness of spirit, in faith and love. The frowns
of a merciful Father will be a terror to you to frighten you from sin ;
love and gratitude will prompt you to obedience. The grieving of
the Spirit of a Saviour will be a spring of sorrow to you ; and his
atoning blood and perfect righteousness will be the spring-head of
all your comfort before the Loi'd ; your good works but streams
thereof, as they evidence your saving interest in these, are accepted
through them, and glorify God your Saviour. Ye will not continue
to serve in the oldness of the letter, as before ; at what time the
law was the spring of all the obedience ye performed ; fear of the
punishment of hell for your sins, and hope of the reward of heaven's
happiness for your duties, being the weights that made you go,
though for all them you often stopped ; your sorrows springing from
your ill works, under the influence of the law allenarly ; and your
comforts from your good works, under the same influence ; ye being
alive to the law and dead to Christ. Rom. vii. 6, " But now we
are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held ;
that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of
the letter." If by faith you wholly rely on Christ's righteousness,
the holiness of his nature^ the righteousness of his life, and his satis-
faction for sin, how is it possible but ye must be dead to the law ?
for the law is not of faith, Gal. iii. 12. But if you perform your
obedience for life and salvation, looking for acceptance with God on
the account of your works, you go in a way directly opposite to the
way of faith, and either altogether reject Christ's satisfying of the
law, or else impute imperfection unto his payment of the bond. And
" Christ is become of no eftect unto you, whosoever of you are justi-
fied by the law ; ye are fallen from grace," Gal. v. 4.
Thus far of the first part of the covenant, namely the conditionary
part.
The second part of the covenant, namely, the promissory part.
In every covenant, whether it be a proper or improper covenant,
there is a promise. And in a proper covenant, the promissory part
answers to the conditionary part; being an obligation which the
party-covenanter to whom the condition is performed, comes under
for some benefit to be bestowed in view of the performance of the
condition. This is the promise of a proper covenant, binding on
him who makes it, providing the party contracting with him do his
2f 2
46U THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT uV GfRACE.
part. In every such case, where the thing is lawful and possible, it
binds in point of truth and faithfulness, by virtue of compact : in
some cases it binds also in point of remunerative justice ; to wit,
where the condition performed is properly equivalent to the benefit
promised.
The covenant of grace, made between God and Christ as the head
and representative of his spiritual seed, is a proper covenant. And
in it there is a i^romissory part, answering to the conditionary part
already explained : and it is God's part of the covenant, as the
other was the Mediator's. Thereby God hath obliged himself to
make the benefits therein condescended on forthcoming, upon the
consideration of the performing of the condition. And forasmuch
as the condition performed by Christ, was strictly meritorious of
the benefits promised ; the promises are binding and firm, not only
in respect of the truth and faithfulness, but also of the justice of
God.
Of what weight and importance the promissory part of the co-
venant is, will appear by the following considerations.
1. The covenant hath its name from this part of it, being called
the covenants of promise, Eph. ii. 19,. Covenants, because, though
slill in itself but one covenant, yet from its first promulgation in
paradise, it was often renewed, as to Abraham, Jacob, the Israelites
in the wilderness, and to David : and as oft as it was renewed it
was renewed in a promise. The first covenant had a promise of
life : yet it is not called a covenant of promise : on the contrary,
the law, or that covenant, is opposed to the promise ; though not
in its use, yet in its nature, Gal. iii. 18, " If the inheritance be of
the law, it is no more of promise." For the law's promise of life
was suspended on the condition of works, to be performed by men
themselves : whereas in the second covenant, life and salvation are
promised to sinners freely, for Christ's sake, without respect to any
work of theirs as the condition thereof.
2. The covenant is described to us, by the Holy Ghost, as a
cluster of free promises of grace and glory to poor sinners, in which no
mention is made of any condition : Heb. viii. 10, " This is the co-
venant— I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their
hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a
people." Yer. 11, " And they shall not teach every man his neigh-
bour, and every man his brother, saying. Know the Lord : for all
shall know me, from the least to the greatest." Ver. 12, " For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their ini-
quities will I remember no more." These promises with their condi-
tion, having been proposed to, and accepted by Christ as second
THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 461
Adam, and the condition performed by him ; the covenant comes
natively, in the gospel, to be set before us in them, to be by us
received and embraced in and through Christ, by faith. Thus the
promises are the covenant by way of eminency ; even God's co-
venant, wherein he hath bound himself to perform his part, as the
Mediator hath already performed his. And in this sense, indeed,
the covenant of grace is not conditional, but consists of absolute
promises; that is, promises become absolute, through the condition
thereof actually performed already: but being considered in its full
latitude, and in respect of Christ the covenant, and all the promises
thereof, are properly and strictly conditional.
3. The promises of the covenant are the purchase of the blood of
Christ; the fruit of his fulfilling all righteousness, in his birth, life,
and death. As the curse came by the demerit of Adam's sin ; so the
promises are owing to the merit of Christ's righteousness ; they are
the new testament in his blood, 1 Cor. xi. 25. From the promise of
the bread and water, (Isa. xxsiii. 16.), to the promise of a seat with
him on his throne, (Rev. iii. 21.), they are all the purchase of his
meritorious obedience even to death. Justly are they called exceed-
ing precious promises, 2 Pet. i. 4, as being the price of his blood.
Of what unspeakable weight and importance must they be, that cost
such a price, between the Father and his own Son !
4. The great design and end of the covenant is accomplished in
the performing of the promissory part thereof ; and that is, the
glory of God, and the salvation of sinners. The great glory to God,
and grace to sinners, springing up from the whole of the covenant,
meet together here, namely, in the accomplishment of the promises,
as all the rivers meet together in the sea. The promises were the
great thing the parties-contractors had in view, when they entered
into the covenant : it was room for them the Father sought by his
proposal of the covenant ; and that was what the Son intended to
purchase, by his fulfilling the condition. The condition of the co-
venant is the foundation of the promises ; the promises the glorious
superstructure reared upon that costly foundation. The administra-
tion of the covenant, is subservient to the accomplishment of the
promises. The condition of the covenant was performed on earth,
in the space of about thirty- three years ; the promises have been
a-performing more than five thousand years on earth, and will be
a-perforraing in heaven, through the ages of eternity.
5. The happiness and comfort of all the elect, for time and
eternity, depends upon the promises of the covenant. What keeps
unconverted elect persons from dying in that state, and so dropping
down to hell, but the promises of the covenant ? What makes
462 THE PROMIS.SOHY TAKT UF THE COVENANT.
grace overtake them, when they are fleeing from it, but the promise ?
What preserves grace iu them, like a spark of fire in an ocean, that
it is not extinguished, but the promise ? And what is their security
and comfort in the face of death, but the same promise ? 2 Sam.
xxiii. 5.
6. The glory of the man Christ, as Mediator, depends on the
promise of the covenant. This was the security, in the faith of which
he lived on earth, about the space of thirty-three years, in a very
low condition ; and in end died an ignominious death : Psalm xxii,
4, *' Our fathers trusted in thee : they trusted, and thou didst deliver
them." He paid the price of the redemption of sinners, while as yet
many of the redeemed were not born, nay nor as yet are ; and several
of them imbrewed their hands in his blood : but he rested on the
promise of the covenant. He pleaded it when he was just entering
into the swelling waves of death, where he was, like Jonah, to be
swallowed up. John xvii. 5, " Now, 0 Father, glorify me with thy-
self." And in the faith of the accomplishment of the promise, he
completed his performance of the condition : '' for the joy that was
set before him" in the promise, he " endured the cross, despising the
shame," Heb. xii. 2.
7. Lastly, God hath sworn the promise of the covenant : " I have
made a covenant with my chosen : I have sworn unto David my
servant." The apostle tells us, that " God willing more abundantly
to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,
confirmed it by an oath," Heb. vi. 17- A tender man will not
swear a promise, but in a matter of weight. Of what unspeakable
weight and importance then must the promise of the covenant be,
which the God of truth hath confirmed with his oath ?
Now, for clearing of this part of the covenant, we shall, 1, Con-
sider the promises in general ; and, 2. Take a more particular view
of them.
OF THE PROMISES IN GENERAL.
As to the promises in general, two things are to be inquired into :
1. What are the general kinds of them ? 2. To whom they are made ?
I. As to the general kinds of the promises ; considering the
parties on whom the promises of the covenant of grace have their
direct and immediate effect, they appear to be of two general kinds.
1. Some of them have their direct and immediate eifect on Christ
himself, the head of the covenant ; such as the promise of assistance
in his work, and the promise of a name above every name. So in
the first covenant, there were promises which were to have their
direct and immediate effect, on Adam himself, and looked not, but
THE PROMISSOKY PAUT OF TilE OOVKNANT. 463
mediately and indirectly, to his posterity, such of them, at least,
as should have lived after the complete fulfilling of the condition of
the covenant ; namely, the promises of natural life continued in
vigour and comfort, and of spiritual life in favour and fellowship
with God, during the course of his probationary obedience.
2. Others of them have their direct and immediate effect on
Christ's spiritual seed, comprehended with him in the covenant ;
such as the promises of regeneration, of the new heart, and cleansing
from the defilement of sin. So in the first Adam's covenant, the pro-
mise of life contained a promise of the holy conception and birth of
his natural seed ; in respect of which the promise would have had
its direct and immediate effect, not on Adam himself, but on his
posterity.
II. The next thing to be considered, is, To whom they were made ?
And we may take up this point in two things.
First, The promises of the first sort, namely, those having their
direct and immediate effect on the person of Christ, were made to
Christ himself. Of this no doubt can be moved. And they were
made to him as head of the covenant, the second Adam, the repre-
sentative of his seed. This appears from our text, wlierein he is
called the Chosen, the head-elect, and representative of the election,
David God's servant ; in which capacity, the covenant was cut off,
or made to him, by the Father. It is evident, that all the promises
of assistance in his work, and of his subequent reward, were made
to him in view of his performance of the condition : and therefore
since he performed the condition, as head of the covenant, second
Adam, and representative of his seed, these promises were made to
him in that capacity.
The promises of this kind then were made to Christ only. And
that was the peculiar honour put upon the head of the covenant, in
the promissory part; as it was his peculiar burden to fulfil the
conditionary part. So he hath the name which is above every name,
and is anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. In the
election, whereof he is the head, he shines above the rest, as the sun
in his meridian brightness above the twinkling stars. He is the
Benjamin at God's table with his brethren, whose mess of promises
ill the covenant is five times so much as any of theirs ; the Joseph,
who was separated from his brethren, in fulfilling the condition of
the covenant, and hath a double portion in the promised land made
over to him, as the first-born amongst many brethren.
Nevertheless, as the honour and prosperity of the head redound
to the members, their interest, in respect of their union and com-
munion, being a joint interest ; so the glory and honour settled on
464 THE FROMISSOUY I'AUT OF THE COVENANT.
Christ by promise, are a spring of grace and glory to his members,
an enriching treasure, their glory and crown. He is that head of
gold which puts a glory on the body : and the ointment poured
upon the head, cannot miss to go down to the skirts of his garments.
And hence is, (I.) The continual cry of prayer by the whole com-
pany of the faithful, for the accomplishment of the promises made
to the Mediator, Psalm Ixxii. 15, " Prayer also shall be made for
him continually." It is evident that psalm concerns the Messias.
But piayer made continually for Christ ! how can that be? Why,
till the world's end, that cry in prayer shall never cease among the
faithful, Thy kingdom come, Matth. vi. 10. It began with Adam's
embracing the promise by faith, was carried all along the time of
the Old Testament ; and now it hath been sounding in the New
Testament church more than sixteen hundred years, and shall not
cease until the consummation of all things. (2.) Hence also the joy-
ful acclamations of praise, by the same company, for the accomplish-
ment of promises to the Mediator. Whensoever there appears any
such accomplishment made, it is matter of joy to the church; and
the more there appears of it, the joy is the more increased. Thus
the church hath a song upon the fulfilling of the promise of the
gathering of the nations unto him, Isa. xii. 1 ; of this victory over
Antichrist, Rev. xix. 1 ; of the calling of the Jews, ver. 6. And
when, the end being come, all the promises made to him shall be ac-
complished, that will afford them an everlasting song of praise.
Secondhj, The promises of the other sort, namely, those having
their direct and immediate effect on the elect, are made to Christ
primarily, and to them secondarily : first, to the head ; then, to the
members, through him.
1. The promises having their immediate effect on the elect, are
made to Christ immediately, primarily, and chiefly. God hath in
the covenant promised grace and glory, all that pertains to life and
godliness, unto a select company of mankind : but the promise of
all these was first and chiefly made to Christ their head; so that he
hath not only an interest in these promises, but the chief interest in
them. This appears by several documents from the word of God.
Is*, The apostle testifies, that the promises were made to the seed,
which is Christ, Gal. iii. 16. And the promises he speaks of, are,
promises of the blessings, of the Spirit, ver. 14; of the inheritance,
ver. 18 ; the promises received through faith, ver. 14. Even these
are made to Christ the head of the body. This is confirmed by those
passages which shew God's covenant to be made with Christ, and in
the meantime explain it by a promise of the happiness of his seed.
Psalm Ixxxix. 3, 4 ; ver. 28, and 29, ver. 85, and 36. And what is
THE I'ARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GKAOE. 465
more natural, than to make a promise to a father in favour of his
children ?
2dZj/, Our Lord Jesus is constitute the heir of all things, (Heb. i.
2.), in virtue of the promise of the covenant, " I will make him my
first-born," Psalm Ixxxix. 27. Now, if Christ, as the second Adam,
be heir of all things, by his Father's promise, the promises of all
things are made to him ; and, consequently, the promise of eternal
life, comprehending all happiness to his people, is made to him in
the first place. So Christ is the first and chief heir ; and they are
secondary heirs in and through him. Hence, in view of the great
promise of the covenant, " I will be their God," our Saviour hath
that endearing expression, " I ascend unto my Father and your Fa-
ther, and to ray God and your God," John xx. 17, compare Rom.
17, viii. " And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint-
heirs with Christ."
^dly, As in the covenant of works, God promised life to Adam's
natural seed ; upon condition of his perfect obedience ; which is evi-
dent from death's coming on them by his disobedience : so in the
covenant of grace, he hath promised life to Christ's spiritual seed,
upon condition of his obedience ; for " as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive," 1 Cor. xv. 22. But that promise
of life for Adam's natural seed, was primarily made to Adam him-
self, while as yet none of them were in being; and they were to par-
take of it only through him, to whom it was made as their represen-
tative. Therefore the promise of life to Christ's spiritual seed, was
made chiefly to Christ himself ; and to them only in and through
him. Accordingly we are told, that the prou'ise of eternal life, upon
which the hope of believers is built, was made before the world be-
gan, Tit. i. 2. And to whom could it be then made immediately and
primarily, but to Christ the head of the covenant ?
Lastly, These promises contain a part of the reward made over in
the covenant to Jesus Christ, " who, for the joy that was set before
him, endured the cross," Heb. xii. 2. A great part of which joy lay
here ; " He shall see his seed, the travail of his soul," Isa. liii. 10,
11. All of these promises were the price of his blood to him, the
purchase of his obedience and death ; therefore called the New Tes-
tament in his blood. To whom could the reward be chiefly pro-,
mised, but to him who, performing the condition, wrought the work ?
Unto him therefore it was of debt, namely in virtue of the pro-
mise, which made it due to him upon his performing the condition.
The blessings of the covenant which come on the elect, are certain-
ly to be considered as a reward to Christ, as well as a free gift to
them. And considering them in the first of these views, there is no
466 THE PARTS OF TUB COVENANT OP GRACE,
more absurdity in the promise of the new heart's being made to
Christ, than in a physician's making a promise to a father to cure
his lame child, when he hath given him security for his fees : in
which case, the child cannot look on the promise as made to himself
at all, but secondarily, through his father, who was the party-con-
tractor.
This is a point of considerable weight, and serves both to inform
our minds, and direct our practice; for the following inferences
from it are native.
(1.) The promises of the covenant are not made to the believer's
good works; but to Christ's works, and to the working believer in
him. Unto the believer they are absolutely free, and not of debt ;
and therefore are not made to his works ; for " to him that worketh,
is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt," Rom. iv. 4.
There is indeed a comely order of the promises, whereby the pro-
mise of purity of heart to the elect, goes before the promise of their
seeing God in heaven ; the promise of humiliation, before that of
lifting up ; whereupon it is declared in the administration of the
covenant, that the pure in heart shall see God; that they who hnm-
ble themselves, shall be lifted up : and thus "godliness hath pro-
mise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come," 1 Tim.
iv. 8. But the foundation of all these promises, whether of things
that are our duty, or our privilege, what they all depend upon as
their proper condition, is the obedience of Christ allenarly; they
being all made to him in the first place, the latter as well as the
former.
(2.) The first grace whereby the dead elect are quickened, and
made to believe and unite with Christ, is conveyed to them in the
channel of a promise, as well as the grace following faith : Ezek.
xxxvi. 27, " I will put my Spirit within you." For although in
their natural state they are not capable of a believing pleading of
the promise ; nor have they, at that time, a personal saving interest
in the promises ; yet the Lord Jesus knoweth them that are his, and
for whom the promises were made to him ; and having the admini-
stration of the covenant in his own hand, he cannot fail of seeing to
the accomplishing of them, in the appointed time. Howbeit they,
being dead in trespasses and sins, cannot consult their own interest ;
yet he having the chief interest in the promises, will not neglect his
own cause, but will see them exactly accomplished.
(3.) The way to be personally and savingly interested in the pro-
mises, for time and eternity, is to unite with Christ by faith ; " for
all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen," 2 Cor. i.
20. Would ye fain know how the great and precious promises may
THE I'AnTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 467
become yours ? Why, they are all his ; they are all made to him.
Take him, and they are yours: even as he who marries the heiress,
hath a right to her portion, and all the bills and bonds wherein any
of it is contained.
(4.) When through deadness and darkness of spirit, whether
arising from some conscience-wasting guilt, or otherwise, your faith
of the promise is failed, and you cannot again fasten your gripe
upon it, because you can see no good in you ; embrace Christ again,
and the pi'omise in hira ; notwithstanding of your seen and felt sin-
fulness and utter unworthiness ; and by no means stand off from the
promise until you be in better case; but say with the Psalmist,
" Iniquities prevail against me : as for our transgressions, thou
shalt purge them away," Psalm Ixv. 3. For as the goodness in you
was not the ground of the promise ; so the evil in you doth not
overturn it, and make it of none effect. The foundation of the pro-
mise stands sure in Christ, whatever alterations the frame and case
of a believer's spirit do undergo. It is established as the moon,
(Psalm Ixxxix. 37.)' which is still the same in itself, notwithstand-
ing of the variety of its appearances to our sight, one while waxing,
at another time waning.
(5.) The true way to plead the promises, is to come to God in the
name of Christ, and plead the fulfilling of them to us for his sake :
John xvi. 23, " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he
will give it you," Matt. xxi. 22, "Believing, ye shall receive."
Dan. ix. 17, " 0 our God, — cause thy face to shine upon thy sanc-
tuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake." To ask in Christ's
name, believing, is to present one's self before the Lord, as a mem-
ber of Christ, joined and cleaving to him offered unto us in the gos-
pel ; ai^d for the sake of the head, to implore the free fav^our of the
promise, relying on his merit for obtaining it. This is the import
of that passage. Gen. xii. 3, as it relates to Christ, " In thee shall
all families of the earth," to wit, that shall be blessed, "be blessed;"
or rather, as the original word properly signifies, be made to kneel,
namely, to receive the blessing; all that are blessed, being blessed
in Christ, Eph. i. 3. Compare Phil. ii. 10. This is the method in
which God dispenseth the favours of his promise : 2 Sam. vii. 21,
" For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou
done all these great things." Compare 1 Chron. xvii. 19, " For thy
servant's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all
this greatness ;" i. e. for the sake of the word, thy servant, the Mes-
sias : for as both these passages are a narration of the very same
thing, there is no manner of difference at all between them in the
original, save that where the one hath thy word, the other hath thy
servant.
468 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE,
(6.) Believers may hereby strengthen their faith of the accom-
plishment of the promises to them. Whatever easy work some
have, in maintaining their presumptuous hopes of the mercy of God
to eternal life; while not seeing the heinous nature of their sin,
they build their hopes on something in themselves, rather than upon
the free promise of the covenant in Christ Jesus ; yet unto the seri-
ous godly, no small difficulty in believing doth arise, from the joint
view of the greatness and preciousness of the promises, and the
greatness of their sins and of their unworthiness. Hence they are
ready to say, Can ever such promises be made out to such a one as
I am ? And truly there is nothing in them that can furnish an an-
swer to this grave case. But here is a satisfying answer to it : The
promises are all of them made to Christ chiefly, even to him who
purchased them with his blood; and justice requires that they be
performed to him : and being performed to him, they must needs
have their effect on all his members, for whom, because in them-
selves unworthy, he merited them. So the soul may say. However
unworthy I am, yet He is worthy for whom God should do this.
2. The promises having their immediate effect on the elect, are
made to themselves secondarily, in and through Christ. As he hath
the fundamental and chief interest in them, so they have a derived
interest in them through him. There was from eternity a legal
union between Christ and them in the covenant; whereby their debt
became his, and the promises made to him became theirs. As upon
the one hand, " The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all," Isa.
liii. 6 ; so, on the other hand, " grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world began," 2 Tim. i. 9. In time there is a real mys-
tical union made between him and them, upon his taking possession
of them by his Spirit, and dwelling in them by faith. The former
constituted a right for them unto the promises, in Christ the head ;
the latter vests them with a right thereto, in their own persons,
through him ; as being actual members of his body. In respect of
the one, eternal life is said to be promised, and grace said to be
" given us, before the world began," Tit. i. 2 ; 2 Tim. i. 9 ; in re-
spect of the other, believers are called " the heirs of the promise,"
Heb. vi. 17; " partakers of his promise in Christ," Eph. iii, 6 ; and
the " promise is given to them that believe," Gal. iii. 22.
Thus it appears, that these promises are made to Christ's spiritual
seed, as well as to himself; though primarily to him as the repre-
sentative, on whom the fulfilling of the condition was laid ; and but
secondarily to them as the represented, who were to receive the be-
nefit. And hence ariseth another difference, namely, that, properly
and strictly speaking, the promises were conditional to Christ, but
THE PROMISSORY VART OF THE COVEXAXT. 469
they are absolute and free tons; even as the promise of life, in
the first covenant, was conditional to Adam, which would have
been absolute to his natural seed, the condition once being fulfilled.
Thus Christ's merit and the free grace of God, meet together in the
covenant : justice is fully satisfied, and grace runs freely, in that
channel ; the promises being all purchased at the full rate, but no
part of the price advanced by us. Hence we obtain precious faith,
with all other saving benefits, through the righteousness of God, and
our Saviour Jesus Christ, (or rather, the righteousness of our God
and Saviour Jesus Christ), as the proper condition of them all, 2
Pet. i. 1. And in the meantime, God " blotteth out our transgres-
sions for his own sake," Isa. xliii. 25; and "all things that pertain
unto life and godliness, are given (or gifted) unto us," 2 Pet. i. 8.
OF THE PROMISES PECULIAR TO CHRIST.
Hatino spoken of the promises in general, we come now to take a
more particular view of them ; and first of the promises peculiar to
Christ himself. These are many, but may all be reduced to three
heads ; to wit, the promise of assistance, of acceptance, and of re-
ward of his work.
First, Our Lord Jesus had a promise of assistance in his work :
Psalm Ixxxix. 21, " Mine arm shall strengthen him." Having un-
dertaken the work of our redemption, he had his Father's promise,
that when it came to the setting to, he would strengthen and uphold
him in going through with it, Isa. xlii. 1. — 4. And in the faith of
this covenanted assistance, he went through the hardest pieces
thereof, chap. 1. 6, " I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks
to them that plucked off the hair ; I hid not my face from shame
and spitting." Yer. 7, " For the Lord God will help me." Ac-
cordingly, in his heaviness in the garden, " there appeared an angel
unto him from heaven, strengthening him," Luke xxii. 43. And
this promised assistance was the token of his Father's good plea-
sure in, and liking of the work, while it was a-doing.
Secondly, He had a promise of the acceptance of his work when
once done ; of the acceptance thereof, as a full discharge and per-
formance of the condition of the covenant, intitling him to the pro-
mised reward. Hence in view of the sure performance of his work
the acceptance thereof was, at his baptism, proclaimed by " a voice
from heaven, saying. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased," Matth. iii. 17. And it was renewed at his transfiguration,
a little before his passion, chap. xvii. 5. Unto this promise of ac-
ceptance belongs the promise of his resurrection, and of his justifi-
cation.
47U THE PARTS OF THE COVEKANT OF GKACE.
1. The promise of his resurrection from the dead : Psalm xvi. 10,
" Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thine
holy One to see corruption ;" which is expounded of the resurrec-
tion of Christ, Acts ii. 31. God, by raising Christ from the dead,
did in effect declare his acceptance of the work by him performed.
It evidenced the debt to be fully cleared, that he who laid him up
in the prison of the grave, did bring him out of it again ; sending
his angel to " roll away the stone from the door" of it, and so to dis-
miss him legally. For thus it was agreed in the covenant, that as
Christ should give himself to the death, for the satisfaction of jus-
tice : so the Father should bring him again from the dead, in respect
of that satisfaction made by his blood, Heb. xiii. 20.
2. The promise of his justification : Isa. 1. 8. " He is near that
justifieth me." The accomplishment of which is observed by the
apostle, 1 Tim. iii. 16, " God was manifest in the flesh, justified in
the Spirit." Our Lord Jesus Christ having no personal sins to be
pardoned, needed no personal justification; but as he was the surety
of the elect, and had the iniquities of them all laid on him, it was
provided in the covenant as just, that, the work he had undertaken
being performed, he should have an official justification. Having
paid the debt, be had by promise a full and ample discharge thereof,
under the hand and seal of heaven. And here lies the great secu-
rity of his people against the law's demand of satisfaction from them.
Lastly, He had a promise of a glorious reward to be conferred on
him, as a proper merit of his work done, there was a joy set before
him in the promise, for which he endured the cross, despising the
shame, Heb. xii. 2. Never was there such a work wrought ; and
never was there such a reward promised. Unto it there belongs a
fivefold promise.
1. The promise of a new kind of interest in God, as his God and
and Father : Psalm Ixxxix. 26. " He shall cry unto me, thou art
my Father, my God." Our Lord Jesus had God to his Father, by
eternal birth-right : but there was a new relation constituted be-
tween God and Christ as the second Adam, head of the covenant,
founded upon his undertaking and fulfilling the covenant condition ;
whereby he became heir of God as his heritage, according to that of
the apostle, Rom. viii. 17, " Heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Christ ;" namely, with Christ as the primary heir. For by his obe-
dience unto death, he purchased the enjoyment of God as a God and
Father. I do not say, he purchased it for himself; the man Christ
needed not to do that, forasmuch as he had it, in virtue of the per-
sonal union of the two natures : but he purchased it for sinners, who
had lost all saving interest in God, but could not be happy without
it.
THE PUOMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 471
2. The promise of a glorious exaltation, to be the Father's hono-
rary servant, prime minister of heaven, as great administrator of
the covenant : Isa. Hi. 13, " Behold, my servant shall deal prudent-
ly, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." Chap,
xlix. 8. " I will give thee for a covenant of the people." In fulfil-
ling the condition of the covenant, he took upon him the form of a
bond-servant, and humbled himself even unto the deatli of the cross :
wherefore God also, according to the promise of the covenant, hath
highly exalted him to the prime ministry of heaven, and given him
a name as great administrator of the covenant, which is above every
name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, Phil. ii. 7.
8, 9, 10. The nature, vast extent, and importance of this promise,
will afterwai'ds be unfolded, when we come to treat of the adminis-
tration of the covenant, in virtue thereof put in the Mediator's
hand.
3. The promise of a seed and offspring, numerous as the stars of
heaven : Isa. liii. 10, " He shall see his seed." Gren. xv. 5, " So shall
thy seed be ;" namely, " as the stars of the sky in multitude," Heb.
xi. 12 : even the whole multitude of the elect, all of them to live by
his death, and to bear his image, as a child doth that of his father.
He consented to suffer the pangs of death ; but they were travailing
pains, to issue in a numerous birth. He was as a corn of wheat to
fall into the ground, and die ; but the promise secured to him, on
that condition, his bringing forth much fruit, John xii. 24. It is in
pursuance of the accomplishment of this promise, the gospel con-
tinues to be preached from age to age ; forasmuch as, in virtue
thereof, " as many as are ordained to eternal life, shall believe."
4. The promise of his inheriting all things, as primary heir ; Psalm
Ixxxix. 27, " I will make him my first-born." So the apostle says,
God hath appointed him heir of all things, Heb. i. 2. And Christ
himself declares his being put in possession accordingly, Matt. xi.
27, " All things are delivered unto me of my Father." Thus he
hath by promise suitable treasures for the supporting of the dignity
conferred on him. But of this also more afterwards.
5. Lastly, The promise of victory and dominion over all his, and
his people's enemies : Psalm Ixxxix. 23, " I will beat down his foes
before his face." He was to encounter with Satan, sin, and deatli,
in the quarrel of the designed heirs of glory ; and no sooner was he
engaged against them, but the wicked world of men began a war
with him too : but he had his Father's promise, for victory and
dominion over them all : that, howbeit he should get the first fall,
and die in the battle, yet his death should be the destruction of
Satan's dominion, sin's power, and death's bands over liis people ;
472 THE PROMISSOEY PAET OF THE COVENANT,
and that whosoever should go about to support that tottering inte-
rest, should fall under him: Psalm ex. 1, "The Lord said unto my
Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool."
And thus far of the threefold promise peculiar to Christ himself,
in the covenant.
OF THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE TO THE ELECT, CONSIDERED IN
THREE PERIODS.
The promises common to the elect, made in and through Christ
unto them in the covenant, are also many. A particular enumera-
tion of them I intend not, though every one of them is more pre-
cious than the gold of Ophir : but it would be profitable for serious
Christians, as they read through the Old and New Testament, to
mark them in their bibles, for their spiritual treasure, stored with
such variety, as afi'ords what is suitable for every case they can be
in. They are all comprehended in, and may be reduced unto this
one, to wit, the promise of eternal life : for which the two following
texts may be viewed.
Tit. i. 2, " In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, pro-
raised before the world began."
1 John ii. 25, " And this is the promise that he hath promised us,
even eternal life."
In which words, three things for our purpose offer themselves to
be observed. 1. The great and comprehensive promise of the cove-
nant of grace, the sum of all the promises therein, to sinners;
namely, the promise of life eternal : that is the order of the words
in the original. The covenant is a covenant of life, designed for re-
storing dead sinners to life : and so the promise of it is a promise
of life. And that life is eternal. 2. The date of this promise, be-
fore the world began. "While as yet time was not, and the founda-
tion of the world was not laid, it was made, and eternal life thereby
secured to the elect. 3. The parties concerned in it. The maker
of the promise was God that cannot lie ; whose promise therefore
must needs take effect. And, by special appropriation, it was the
Father : it was he that made it : ver, 24, " Ye also shall continue
in the Son, and in the Father." Ver. 25, " And this is the promise
that he hath promised us," &c. The party it was made to, is,
(1.) and chiefly, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, head of the co-
venant : for there is no necessity to recede from the proper signifi-
tion of the word here used, which is promising, to a catachrestical
THE PROMI.S.SOnY I'AUT OF THE COVENANT. 473
one, to wit, purposing: since the promises were made to Christ,
Gal. iii. 16. And he really was before the world began, and con-
sequently then capable of having a promise made to him. (2.) The
elect in him. He hath promised us, namely, us legally in him be-
fore the world began; that is the elect who apply and plead the
promise then, when they believe.
And hence ariseth this truth, viz. The great and comprehensive
promise to Christ's spiritual seed, in the covenant, is the promise of
life eternal, made from eternity to Christ, and to them in him.
For opening of this promise of the covenant, we shall view it,
(I.) More generally, (2.) More particularly.
I. In the general, it speaks two things, to wit, all true happiness
and the everlastingness of that happiness.
First, It comprehends, as the matter thereof, all true happiness.
For life is used for happiness in the holy language, 1 Sara. xxv. 6.
So John iv. 50. And it is so used in the style of both covenants :
Rom. X. 5, " The man which doth those things, shall live (i. e. be
happy) by them." Hab. ii. 4, "The just shall live (i.e. be happy)
by his faith." The damned have a life in hell that will last for
ever : tut, in the style of the Holy Ghost, they never see life, they
are deprived of eternal life; because their life is not a happy life,
but a miserable one. It is evident from the writings of the pro-
phets and apostles, that the death threatened in the covenant of
works, comprehended all misery, in this world and in the world to
come ; and, consequently, that the life therein promised, compre-
hended all happiness in time and eternity. Forasmuch then as the
life promised in the covenant of grace, was designed for retrieving
the loss sinners sustained by the fall ; it must needs, in its compre-
hension, go as wide as the death which thereby they became liable
unto. From all which we conclude, that God, in promising life
to the elect in Christ, hath promised them all happiness : which
accordingly goes under the name of life simply in the Scripture,
1 John V. 12, " He that hath the Son, hath life." And thus the
covenant-life extends to all welfare of the whole man, and to all the
means by which it is compassed.
1. The covenant-life extends to all welfare of the whole man, soul
and body; the latter as well as the former. And therefore from
the covenant our Lord proves the resurrection of the body, against
the Sadducees, Matth. xxii. 31, 32. Though the soul is the princi-
pal part, it is not the only part, therein provi<lcd for. In virtue of
the covenant, " the body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the
body ;" as well as the soul is for him, and he for it, 1 Cor. vi. 13.
As the body had its share iu the death threatened in the first cove-
VOL. YIII. 2 G
474 THE PAUTM UF THE COVENANT OF ORACE.
nant ; so it hatli, and shall have its share in the life promised in
the second. Since the price of the Redeemer's blood was paid for
the bodies of his people, in his fulfilling the condition of the cove-
nant ; the life secured in the promise must extend to them, as well
as to their souls.
2. It extends to all the means by which that welfare is to be com-
passed, begun, advanced, and perfected : " Whether Paul, or Apol-
los, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or
things to come, all are yours," 1 Cor. iii. 22. For th« securing of
the benefit itself by promise, secures all the means by which it is to
be brought about. Hence the covenant descends even to the bread
and the water, necessary for the support of natural life, Isa.
xxxiii. 16.
Secondly, The promise comprehends the everlastingness of that
happiness. It is not only lifi- that is promised, but life eternal, life
for evermore, Psalm cxxxiii. 3 ; which, from the moment it is given,
shall never be extinguished, through the ages of time and eternity.
In the style of the Scripture, eternal life is not restricted to the
state of glory in heaven. But the life communicated to a sinner, in
the first moment of his union with Christ, is eternal : it is the eter-
nal life promised in the covenant, according to the Scripture, John
iii. 36, " lie that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life." See
chap. v. 24 ; 1 John v. 11, 12. Hence, from the promise of the
covenant, " The just shall live by faith," the apostle proves the per-
severance of the saints, Heb. x. J^8. A plain evidence, that perse-
verance in grace, in this our state of imperfection, is a part of the
eternal life promised in the covenant, as well as heaven's happiness.
And thus the covenant-life extends to that which now is, and that
which is to come, 1 Tim. iv. 8.
1. It extends to the life that now is in the world. And this is
that eternal life begun in the several parts thereof, with respect
both to soul and body. If men measure happiness by the smiles and
frowns of common providence, no man indeed can be counted happy
before death. But the sacred oracles teach us to take our measures
of it another way, to wit, by a personal saving interest in the cove-
nant; and do pionounce them happy, whose God is the Lord, what-
ever be between them and the grave. Psalm cxliv. 15. So there is
promised in the covenant, happiness begun in this life, both as to
soul and body ; the happiness of the way to the kingdom ; salvation
happily begun, and infallibly to be carried on.
2. It extends to the life that is to corae in the other world. And
that is the same eternal life consummated and perfected, in respect
both of soul and body, in heaven. There the promise of the cove-
THE PUOMISSoUY TAKT OF THK COVENANT. 475
nant is to receive its full accomplishment; of which believers now
have the earnest, which is not only a part of the things promised,
but an assurance of the whole.
11, For a more particular view of the promise of eternal life to
the elect, it may be considered in three periods : (1.) Before their
nnion with Christ; (2.) From their union with Christ, until death ;
and, (3.) From death, through eternity. Of the operation of the
promise, in the first and the last of these periods, we know but
little ; and indeed not much of it, in the middle period. For it is
like a river issuing from a hidden spring, and running far under
ground ; then rising above ground, and running on, till it go forth
into the ocean. The hidden spring from whence the promise of eter-
nal life to the elect issueth forth, is God's free grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began, 2 Tim. i. 9. It
runs under ground, undiscernible even to the parties themselves, till
the moment of their union with Christ, in effectual calling; then
rising, it runs on, as it were, above ground, in visible streams, until
death ; and thereafter, it runs full and perspicuous through the ages
of eternity. We shall take a view of the great lines of the pro-
raise, in these its several periods.
PERIOD I.
BEFOIIE UNION WITH CHRIST.
If we consider the promise of eternal life to the elect, as standing
in the covenant, and as accomplished to them, and having its effect
on them, before their union with Christ, we may perceive two great
lines in it: namely, a promise of their preservation, and a promise
of the Spirit. Of which in order.
I. THE PROMISE OF PRESET VATION.
The promise of eternal life to the elect, iu the covenant, compre-
hends a promise of their preservation, till the happy moment of
their spiritual marriage with Jesus Christ, wherein they shall be
settled in a state of grace : Ezek. xvi. 6, " And when I passed by
thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee
when thou wast in thy blood, Live." Heb. " I said to thee. Live
in thy blood ;" as several approven versions do read it. In this
2a 2
476 THE I'AKT.S OF THE COVENANT OF OKACE.
illustrious passage of scripture is shewed, under the similitude of an
exposed or outcast infant, the natural state and wretched condition
in which God found Israel, and finds all the elect ; the former being
a type of the latter. There is a twofold passing by this wretched
out-cast, and these at two very distant times, intimated by the
Holy Ghost. The first, on the day she v^as born and cast out, ver.
4, 5, 6. The second, after she was grown, and become marriage-
able; at what time she was actually married, vers. 7, 8. The for-
mer refers to the time of the elect's coming into the world in their
natural state, not only as born into it, but as beginning to act in it
as rational creatures ; the latter, to the time prefixed in the eternal
purpose, when, by means of the law in the hands of the spirit of
bondage, their breasts, as it were, are fashioned, in the work of con-
viction ; upon which ensues their spiritual marriage with Christ.
But how is the out-cast preserved in the interval, that she perisheth
not in her wretched condition ? Why ; though no hand was laid
upon her, yet a word was spoken, which secured her life in a case
naturally deadly. At the first passing by her, in the day she was *
born and cast out, God said to her, " Live in thy blood :" that is,
" Notwithstanding that thou art lying in the open field, in thy
blood, thy navel not dressed, so that, according to the course of
nature, thy blood and spirits must quickly fail, and this thy birth-
day musl be thy dying-day; yet I say unto thee, Live : thou shalt
not die in that condition, but grow up in it, being preserved till the
happy moment of the designed marriage." And this is the promise
of the elect's preservation in their natural state. And it hath two
great branches ; one respecting their natural life; another respect-
ing their spiritual death. The
First is a promise of the continuation of their natural life, till
such time as they be made partakers of life in Christ Jesus. God
has said it ; they shall live, thougii in the blood of their natural
state. So it is not possible they should die before that time, what-
ever dangers they are brought into; even though a thousand should
fall at their side, and ten thousand at their right hand ; for, by the
promise of the covenant, there is an unseen guard about them, to
defend them. It is in virtue hereof, that all along during the time
they are in that state, they are preserved, whether in the womb, or
coming out of it, or in all the dangers of infancy, childhood, youth,
or whatsoever age they arrive at therein. This is it that, so long
as they are unconverted, doth so often bring them back from the
gates of death ; returning them in safety, when either by diseases,
or other accidents, they are past hope in their own eyes, and in the
eyes of friends and physicians. Though the elect thief was, in his
THE PEOMTSSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 477
natural state, nailed to the cross ; yet death had no power to conic
at him, so as to separate his soul from liis body, till such time as he
was once united to Christ by faith, and made partaker of a new life
in hira. The
Second is a promise of keeping the grave-stone from off them in
their spiritual death. The grave-atono is the sin against tjie Holy
Ghost, the unpardonable sin ; whicli, on whomsoever it is laid,
makes their case, from that moment, irrecoverable, that thenceforth
they can never rise from spiritual death to life : Mark iii. 29, " He
tl:at shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, hath never forgive-
ness." But although the elect in their natural state, being dead in
sin as well as others, may, through the activity of reigning and
raging lusts, so rot in their graves, as to be most abominable in the
eyes of God and all good men; yet, because of the promise of the
covenant, it is not possible that that grave-stone should be laid on
them. There is an invisible guard set on their souls, as well as on
their bodies : and so it is infallibly prevented, as may be learned
from that expression of our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 24, " Insomuch
that (if it were possible) they shall deceive the very elect." While
they are Satan's captives, he may drive them to a prodigious pitch
of wickedness. So did he with Manasseh, and Paul : but, as far as
he had carried them, he could not carry them forward that step.
This promise of the elect's preservation, as it is with the rest
founded on the obedience and death of Christ ; whei'eby eternal life
was purchased for them, and consequently these benefits in particu-
lar, failing which they would be ruined for ever : so it is akin to.
and seems to be grafted upon the promise of assistance made to
Christ in the covenant; by which a divine support was insured to
him, during all the time the sins of the elect, and the wrath of God
for them, should lie upon him. And at this rate, the case of the
head, and of the members, was jointly provided for in the covenant.
II. THE PROMISE OP THE SPIRIT.
The promise of eternal life to the elect, comprehends also a promise
of the Spirit of life to be communicated to them, and eacli one of
them, at the nick of time, prefixed in their cases respectively, in the
eternal council; that is, the time appointed to be the time of love,
the dawning of the day of grace to them, however long and dark
their night may be. This promise is found, Isa. xliv. 3, " 1 will
pour my Spirit upon thy seed." Ezok. xxwi. 27, "I will put my
Spirit within you." The elect of God being, even as the rest of man-
kind, dead in sin, through the breach of the first covLuaut, could not
478 THE I'AKTS OF TIIK CUVKNANT OF GRACE.
be recovered, but through a communication of the Spirit of life to
them : but that Spirit they could not have from an unatoned God.
Wherefore, in the covenant, Christ undertook to fulfil all righteous-
ness in their name, thereby to purchase the Spirit for thera ; upon
which was made the promise of the Spirit, the leading fruit of Christ's
purchase ; called therefore the Father's promise by way of eminen-
cy, Luke xxiv. 49. In token hereof the great outpouring of the
Spirit was at Christ's ascension ; when he, as our great High Priest,
carried in the blood of his sacrifice into the most holy place not
made with hands, Acts ii. For as the fire which was set to the in-
cence on the golden altar, the altar of incense was brought from oif
the brazen altar, the altar of burnt-otferlDg in the court of the tem-
ple ; so the Spirit which causeth dead sinners to live, issueth from
the cross of Christ, who sufi^ered without the gate.
Now, of the promise of the Spirit there are two chief branches ;
namely, the promise of spiritual moral life, and the promise of
faith.
1. The promise of spiritual moral life, in virtue whereof the soul
morally dead in sin, is raised to life again, through the Spirit of life
communicated unto it from heaven. This is the beginning, the very
first of the eternal life itself promised in the covenant. It is the
lighting of the sacred lamp of spiritual life in the soul, which can
never be extinguished again, but burns for evermore thereafter.
This promise we have, Isa. xxvi. 19, " Thy dead men shall live."
And it belongs to the promise of the Spirit ; as appears from Ezek.
xxxvii. 14. " And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live."
The efi'ect of it is the quickening of the dead soul, by the Spirit
of Christ passively received: Eph. ii. 5, " When we were dead in
sins (God, ver. 4.) hath quickened us." This is the same with the
renewing in effectual calling, whereby we are enabled to embrace
Jesus Christ, mentioned in our Shorter Catechism on that question.
And it is fitly called by some divines, the first regeneration, agree-
able to the style of the holy Scripture : John i. 12, " But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name :" ver. 13. " Which were
born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God." Sinners in their natural state lie dead, lifeless, and
moveless ; they can no more believe in Christ, nor repent, than a
dead man can speak or walk : but, in virtue of the promise, the
Spirit of life from Christ Jesus, at the time appointed, enters into
the dead soul, and quickens it ; so that it is no more morally dead,
but alive, having new spiritual powers put into it, tliat were lost
by Adam's fall.
THE TRDMISSoriY I'AUT OF TIIK COVENANT. 479
2. The other chief branch of the promise of tlie Spirit, is the pro-
mise of faith; to wit, that Christ's spiritual seed shall believe in
him, come unto him, and receive him, by faith: Psalm ex. 3, " Thy
people shall be willing in the d;iy of thy power ;" and Psalm xxii.
31, " They shall come." God hath promised, that, upon the shed-
ding of the blood of his Son, for the satisfaction of justice, there
shall spring up in the earth, after that costly watering, a plentiful
seed, to the satisfying of his soul, Isa. liii. 10. And therefore, who-
ever they be that believe not, all those \vho weie represented in the
covenant, shall infallibly be brought to believe, as our Lord himself
upon the credit of this promise, doth declare, John vi. 37, "All that
the Father giveth me, shall come to me." Now, this also belongs
to the promise of the Spirit ; who is therefore called the Spirit of
faith, 2 Cor. iv. 13, as being the principal efficient cause thereof,
Zech. xii. 10.
The effect of this promise is actual believing, produced by the
quickening Spirit in the soul, immediately out of the spiritual life
given to it by the communication of himself thereto : John v. 25,
" The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ;" compared with
chap. i. 12, 13; 2 Cor. iv. 13. As receiving Christ passively, the
sinner that was spiritually dead, is quickened ; so being quickened,
he receives Christ actively. Christ comes into the dead soul by his
Spirit : and so he is passively received ; even as one, having a power
to raise the dead, coming into a house, where there is none but a
dead man ; none to open the door to him, none to desire him to
come in, nor to welcome him. But Christ being thus received, or
come in, the dead soul is quickened, and by faith embraceth him ;
even as the restorer of the dead man to life, would immediately be
embraced by him, and receive a thousand welcomes from him, who
had heard his voice and lived. When Christ, in the womb of his
mother, entered into the house of Zacliarias, and she saluted
Elizabeth the mother of John th.e Baptist, he, the babe in Elizabeth's
womb, leaped as at the entrance of life : so doth the soul, in actual
believing, at Christ's coming into it by his Spirit. As God breathed
into the first man the breath of life, and he became a living soul,
who was before but a lifeless piece of fair earth ; that is, God put a
spirit, a soul, into his body, which immediately showed in the man's
breathing at his nostrils : so Jesus Christ, in the time of loves, puts
his Spirit into the dead soul, which immediately shews itself alive,
by believing, receiving and embracing him, known and discerned in
his transcendent glory. And thus the union betwixt Christ and
the soul is completed ; Christ first ap])rehtndiug tlie soul by his
Spirit ; and then the soul thus apprehended and quickened, appre-
hend lug him again in the promise of the gospel by faith.
480 THE PAUT8 OF THK COVENANT OF OUACE.
Now, tlie promise of the Spirit, in both branches thereof, is
granted upon the promise of a resurrection from the dead, made to
Christ; and it is so interwoven therewith, that there is no separat-
ing of them. The promise of the resurrection, like the oil on
Aaron's head, runs down to the skirts of his garments, in the pro-
mise of quickening his members too. Herein the Scripture is very
plain, Isa. xxvi. 19, "■ Thy dead men shall live, together with my
dead body shall they arise." Epli. ii. 5, " Even when we were dead
in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ." Our Lord Jesus,
in the eternal covenant, became the head of a dead body, to wit, of
the body of elect sinners dead in sin ; and that to the end he might
restore it to life. And being legally united with that body, that so
death might have access to spread itself from it-unto him in due
time, he had the promise of a resurrection, both for himself and his
members, made unto him. The appointed time being come, death
drew together its whole forces, and made an attack upon the head
of the body, which alone remained alive. It stung him to the heart
upon the cross, and laid him too in the dust of death : and so it had
them all dead together, head and members. Thus the condition of
the covenant was fulfilled. Now, the promise comes next, in its
turn to be fulfilled, particularly the promise of a resurrection :
namely, that, death having exhausted all its force and vigour on the
head, he should be raised again from the dead ; and that as death
had spread itself from the members into the head, so life, in its
turn, should spread itself from the head into the members, they to-
gether with his dead body arising. It was in virtue hereof, that the
spirit or soul that animated Christ's body, and which he yielded up
upon the cross, (Matth. xvii. 25,) shewed by his breathing out his
last there, (Luke xxiii. 46, Gr.) was returned again into his blessed
body ; whereupon he came forth out of the grave. And it is in vir-
tue of the same, that the Spirit of life returns into the dead souls
of the elect again ; upon which they live and believe. The time of
the return of the Spirit, both into the head and into the members,
was prefixed in the covenant, respectively ; so that as it was not
possible Christ should be held in the grave after three days; even
so it is not possible that the elect should be held in the bonds of
spiritual death, after the time prefixed for their delivery : Hos.
vi. 2, " After two days will he revive us, in the third day he will
raise us up, and we shall live in his sight."
And thus the promise of eternal life to the elect works in this
dark period of their days ; which dark period ends here. It ap-
pears now, and runs above ground ever after.
I
THE rPvOMISSOKY PART OF THE COVENAMT. 481
PERIOD 11.
FROM UNION WITH CIHilST, UNTIL DEATH.
Considering tlie promise of eternal life to the elect, as it is accom-
plished to, and hath its effect on them, from their union with Christ
until death ; the great lines to be perceived therein, are the pro-
mises, 1. Of justification ; 2. Of a new and saving covenant relation
to God ; 3. Of sanctification ; 4. Of perseverance ; and, 5. Of tem-
poral benefits. Of the which in order.
I. THE PROMISE OF JUSTIFICATION.
The promise of eternal life to the elect, comprehends the promise of
justification, to be conferred on them, and each one of them, being
united to Christ through the Spirit. This is found Isa. liii. 11, "By
his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many," Chap. xlv.
15, " In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified." It is the
leading promise of this period : and the eflfect of the accomplishment
thereof, is, that the soul, legally dead under the sentence'of the law,
or curse of the broken covenant of works, is caused to live again
accordingly ; as it is written, " The just shall live by faith," Rom.
i. 17. And this is the beginning of that life which is received from
Christ by faith, and is mentioned John v. 40, " Ye will not come to
me, that ye might have life." Chap. vi. 57, " He that eateth me,
even he shall live by me." There is a life received from Christ be-
fore faith, whereby one is enabled to believe ; of which we have al-
ready spoken : and there is a life received from Christ through faith,
according to John xx. 31, " That believing ye might have life through
his name." And this last is, according to the Scripture, eternal life
too : chap. v. 24, " He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condem-
nation ; but is passed from death unto life,"
The elect of God, lying under the breach of the first covenant,
were dead in law, as being under the curse. They could not be re-
stored to life in the eye of the law, but upon the fulfilling of the
righteousness of the law ; the which they not being able to do for
themselves, Christ in the covenant undertook to do it for them ; and
thereupon was made the promise of their justification. This promise
taking efl'oct upon their believing, the curse is removed, and they
are actually and pcrsoually justified. Thus they arc restored to life
482 THE I'AllTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
in the eye of the law: which kind of life received by faith, is ever-
lasting ; forasmuch as, according to the covenant, the curse can ne-
ver return upon them, for shorter or longer time : Isa. liv. 9, " As I
have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the
earth ; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee."
Of the promise of justification there are two branches ; namely,
the promise of pardon, and of acceptance.
1. The promise of pardon of sin, whereby the guilt of eternal
wrath is done away : Heb. viii. 12, " Their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more." The sins of the elect being, in the eter-
nal covenant, imputed to, and laid on Christ ; who becoming legally
one with them, transferred their debt on himself, and undertook to
pay the same ; a promise was thereupon made of pardon to them,
and each one of them. Now, as soon as they are mystically and
really united to him by faith, by means of that union they have
communion with him in his righteousness : whereupon his perfect
satisfaction is imputed to them ; and, upon the account of it alone,
and not any deed of theirs whatsoever the free promise is accom-
plished, and the pardon actually bestowed on them, according to the
eternal agreement : Eph. i. 7, " In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of
his grace."
Here is life from the dead ; a pardon put into the hand of the
condemned man, disarming the law of its condemning power, and
death of its sting, as to him : causing him to lift up his head from
off the block, and go away with acclamations of praise of the King's
mercy, and his Sou's merit. And it is eternal life : for all his sins past,
present, and to come, are pardoned, as to the guilt of eternal wrath ;
a formal remission of these of the two former kinds being granted,
and a not imputing of these of the latter sort, as to that guilt, being
secured ; as the apostle teacheth, Rom. iv. 7, " Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." Ver. 8,
" Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." And
God will never revoke his pardons, chap. xi. 29, " For the gifts and
calling of God are without repentance."
2. The other branch of the promise of justification, is the pro-
mise of acceptance of their persons as righteous in the sight of God ;
according to that, Isa. xlii. 21, " The Lord is well pleased for his
righteousness' sake." Compared with Matth. iii. 17, " This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ;" and Eph, i. 6, " He hath
made us accepted in the beloved." A holy righteous God, whose
judgment is according to truth, cannot accept sinners as righteous,
witliout a righteousness, even a perfect righteousness. They that
THE PROJUSSOKY PART OF THE COVKNANT. 483
are truly righteous in law, can never pass for righteous, but
for unrighteous iu the view of his piercing eye : " For in thy
sight," says the Psalmist, Psalm cxliii. 2, "shall no man living be
justified ;" to wit, " by the deeds of the law," or inherent righte-
ousness, which is imperfect, as the apostle expounds it, Rom. iii. 20.
But our Lord Jesus having in the covenant undertaken to fulfill all
righteousness for them, who of themselves could fulfil no righteous-
ness ; a promise was thereupon made, to accept them as righteous
upon the account of his surety-righteousness, which becomes truly
theirs through faith, and that by a double right. (1.) By right of
free gift received : inasmuch as Christ's righteousness being made
over, iu the gospel, as Heaven's free gift to sinners, the gift is by
faith actually claimed and received ; whence it is called the gift of
righteousness, (Rom. v. 17,) revealed unto faith, (chap. i. 17-)
namely, to be believed on, and so received. (2.) By right of com-
munion with Christ : inasmuch as sinners being united with him by
faith, have thereby communion, or a common interest with him in his
righteousness, Phil. iii. 9, " And be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ." Upon these grounds, the holiness of Christ's
nature, the righteousness of his life, and the satisfaction made by
his death and sufterings, being the constituent parts of that righte-
ousness, are, according to truth, imputed to the believer, or legally
reckoned his : and, upon the account thereof precisely, he is ac-
cepted of God as righteous, being " made the righteousness of God
IN uiM," 2 Cor. V. 21 ; the righteousness of God being " upon all that
believe," Rom. iii. 22.
Here is life to the soul, righteousness unto justification of life,
chap. v. 18; an everlasting righteousness, Dan. ix. 24; a garment
that never waxeth old, is never rent, nay, nor sullied ; but always
continues in its original lustre, from the moment that it is put on.
Wherefore the life must needs be eternal, grace must needs reign
through that " righteousness unto eternal life," Rom. v. 21 ; for
being once put on, is never put off again for one moment, in tirae
nor eternity.
Now, the promise of justification, in both branches thereof, is
grafted upon the promise of justification made to Christ. The con-
dition of the covenant being fulfilled, the head is justified, according
to the promise; and then the meml)ers in hira. First, the Mediator
gets up his discharge for the whole debt ; and then they, pleading it
by faith for their own behoof, are discharged in their own persons.
II. THE I'UOMI.SE OF A NEW AND SAVING ('OVENANT-RELATION TO UOI).
The promise of eternal life to the elect, dolli also conii)rohciKl the
484 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
promise of a new and saving covenant-relation to God, which they,
and each one of them, being justified, shall be brought into : Hos.
ii. 23, " I will say to them which were not my people. Thou art my
people ; and they shall say, Thou art my God." Dying both
morally and legally, through the breach of the first covenant, they
fell under a relative death too ; whereby the blessed relation
between God and them was dissolved : and it could not be consti-
tuted again, while they lay under the condemnatory sentence of the
law. But upon Christ's undertaking, in the covenant, to bring in
an everlasting righteousness, the price of the redemption of all sav-
ing benefits, this promise was made. Wherefore they being come
to Christ by faith, united with him, and justified through his righte-
ousness, which they partake of in him ; God meets them there, even
in Christ the appointed meeting-place ; and there, with the safety
of his honour, he takes them by the hand, and joins them again in a
saving relation. Thus they have a relative life, according to that.
Psalm XXX. 5, " In his favour is life." The which life is eternal :
forasmuch as the relation is for ever indissoluble ; the bond of the
second covenant being so much surer than the bond of the first, as
the second Adam's undertaking was surer than the first Adam's.
Now, of this promise there are three chief branches ; namely, the
promise of reconciliation, of adoption, and of God's being their God.
1. The j)romise of reconciliation between God and them: Ezek.
xxxvii. 26, " I will make a covenant of peace with them, it shall be
an everlasting covenant." They were by sin in a state of enmity
with God ; on their part, there was a real enmity against God ; on
God's part, a legal enmity against them, such as a judge hath
against a malefactor, whom notwithstanding he may dearly love.
But Jesus Christ^having undertaken, in the covenant, to expiate
their guilt, by the sacrifice of himself, the Father made a promise
of peace and reconciliation with them thereupon. Hence we are
said to be reconciled to God by the death of his Son, Rom. v. 10 ;
inasmuch as by his death and suflTerings he purchased our reconcili-
ation, which was promised on these terms.
Now, this promise is accomplished to the justified sinner : being
pardoned, he is brought into a state of peace with God, as saith the
apostle, Rom. v. 1, " Being justified by faith, we have peace with
God." God lays down his legal enmity against him, never to be
taken up again. And more than that, he takes him into a bond of
friendship ; so that he is not only at peace with God, but is the
friend of God : James ii. 23, " Abraham believed God, and it was
imputed unto him for righteousness : and he was called the friend
of God."
THE PUOMISSORY PAUT OF THE COVENANT. 485
This promise is grafted upon the promise of acceptance and justi-
fication made to Christ. For his sacrifice being accepted as well
pleasing to God, and he discharged of the debt he became surety
for ; the reconciliation, as well as the pardon, of those united to him
by faith, natively follows thereupon : 2 Cor. v. 19, " God was in
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their tres-
passes unto them." Eph. i. 6, " He hath made us accepted in the
beloved." Ver. 7, " In whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins."
2. Another branch of this promise, is the promise of their adop-
tion into the family of God : Hos. i. 10, " It shall be said unto them
Ye are the sons of the living God." And this is more than the for-
mer; as it is more to be one's son, than to be his friend. We have
before declared, how all mankind was, by the first covenant, consti-
tuted God's hired servants ; and by the breach of that covenant,
bond servants under the cnrse : and how Christ transferred that
state of servitude of his spiritual seed on himself. Now, upon con-
sideration of his taking on him the form of a bond servant for them
the promise of their adoption into the family of God was made. He
■was "made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law
that we might receive the adoption of sons," Gal. iv. 4, 5.
And being justified by faith, and reconciled to God, it is accom-
plished to them : forasmuch as then Christ's service is imputed to
them, and a way is opened withal for their admission into the fa-
mily of God, through their actual reconciliation to him : Rom. v. 1
" Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ." Ver. 2, " by whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand." John i. 12, " As many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God." Then are
they taken as children into the family of heaven : God becomes
their Father in Christ ; and they his sons and daughters, to abide
for ever in his house, John viii. 35. And so they have a right to
all the privileges of that high relation.
Now, this promise is grafted upon the promise made to Christ of
anew kind of interest in God as his Father; according to that,
John XX. 17, " I ascend unto my Father and your Father." For by
the Spirit of adoption we call God our Father, in the right of Jesus
Christ our elder brother, spiritual husband and head.
3. The last branch is the promise of God's being their God : Heb.
viii. 10, " I will be ttheir God." This is more than reconciliation
and adoption : it is the height of the relation to God, which a sinful
creature could be advanced unto. They were by nature without
God, Eph. ii. 12 : but forasmuch as the Son of God did, in the cove-
4:86 THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT.
nant, undertake to give himself for them, iu their nature perfectly
to satisfy the law, in his holy birth, righteous life, and exquisite
death ; a ransom of infinite value, quite beyond all created things
whatsoever, graces, pardons, heavens ; there was made, upon that
consideration, a promise of God's giving himself to them, as the
adequate reward of that service; which being performed by the
Mediator, this reward was purchased for them. Hence God saith to
Abraham, Gen. xv. 1, " I am thy exceeding great reward."
Now, to the believer being justified, reconciled, and adopted into
the family of God, this heritage falls, in accomplishment of this
promise, Rom. viii. 17, " And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God."
Gal. iv. 7, " And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ;"
God himself being the heritage. He becomes their God: they have
a right to him, aud are possessed of him, as their own property ; a
property which the thought of men and angels cannot fully reach
the contents of. Not only are all the works and creatures of God,
in the heavens, earth, and seas, theirs, 1 Cor. iii. 22, " All are
yours;" but himself is theirs : which is more than all that, as the
bridegroom is more than all the marriage-robes, or his large pos-
sessions. All the attributes are theirs ; his infinite wisdom to direct
them, his power to aff'ord them protection, his justice to make all
the benefits purchased by Christ for them forthcoming to them, his
holiness to transform them into the same image, his mercy to pity
and succour them, his grace to deal bountifully with them, his faith-
fulness to fulfil all the promises to them in their time, and his all-
sufficiency to render them completely happy. He is theirs in all
his relations; their Shepherd, Provisor, Protector, King, Husband,
Head, and whatever may contribute to their happiness. All the
persons of the glorious Trinity are theirs : the Father is theirs, the
Son is theirs, and the Holy Spirit is theirs : Isa. liv. 5, " For thy
Maker is thine husband, the Lord of hosts is his name :" (Heb.)
" Thy makers are thine husbands ; Jehovah Sabaoth is his name."
This rich promise is grafted upon the promise made to Christ of
a new kind of interest in God as his God : John xx. 17, " I ascend
to my God and your God." God being the Mediator's God by pur-
chase, he becomes our God in him. Christ having performed the
condition of the covenant, falls heir to the great heritage ; and we
fall to it also in him, being heirs of God, joint-heirs with Christ,
Rom. viii. 17.
III. THE PROMISE OF SANCTIFICATION.
In the promise of eternal life to the elect, is comprehended in like
THli I'AKTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 48?
manner the promise of their snnctification : Ezek. xi. 19, "I will
take the stony lieart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart
of flesh :" ver. 20, " That they may walk in my statutes." See Joel
iii. 17, 21 ; Ileb. viii. 10. Through the breach of the first covenant
they lost the image of God : their whole faculties were so depraved,
that they could neither do, speak, nor think any thing truly good,
and acceptable to God: they were by nature altogether unholy;
unclean, loathsome, and abominable, in their nature, heart, and life.
And it was quite beyond their power to make themselves holy again :
for mending of their nature could not affect it ; it behoved to be re-
newed, Eph. iv. 23. And the curse of the law lying upon them ex-
tinguished all saving relation between God and them ; and so
blocked up all saving communication with heaven : for it barred, in
point of justice, all sanctifying influences from thence; these being
the greatest benefit they were capable of, as assimilating the crea-
ture unto God himself, or rendering it like him. The curse fixed a
gulf betwixt God and them, so that sanctifying influences could not
pass from him unto them ; more than their unholy desires and prayers
could pass from them unto him. So the fallen angels always were
and the damned now are, beyond all possibility of sanctification,
or of receiving sanctifying influences from heaven ; there being no
remedy to remove the curse, neither from the one, nor from the other.
And in this case all Adam's posterity had lain for ever, had not Jesus
Christ, as the head of the elect, undertaken in the second covenant
to remove that bar, to fill up that gulf, and to found a new saving
relation between God and them, through his own obedience ^nd
death. But upon that undertaking of the Mediator, the Father did
by promise insure their sanctification; that Christ's people should
be willing in the day of his power, in the beauties of holiness, Psalm
ex. 3; and that a seed should serve him, Psalm xxii. 30.
And this promise, the promise of sanctification, is indeed the chief
promise of the covenant made to Christ for them : among the rest of
that kind, it shines like the moon among the lesser stars. Sanctifi-
cation is the very chief subordinate end of the covenant of grace,
standing therein next to the glory of God, which is the chief and
nltimate end thereof. The promise of it, is the centre of all the
rest of these promises. All the foregoing promises, the promise of
preservation, the Spirit, the first regeneration or quickening of the
dead soul, faith, justification, the new saving relation to God, recon-
ciliation, adoption, and enjoyment of God as our God, do tend unto
it as their common centre, and stand related to it as means to their
end. They are all accomplished on sinners, on design to make them
holy. And all the subsequent promises, even the promise of glorifi-
488 THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT.
cation itself, are but the same promise of sanctification enlarged and
extended : they are but as so many rays and beams of light, shoot-
ing forth from it as the centre of thera all.
This appears from the scriptural descriptions of the covenant, in
the promissory part thereof respecting the elect : Luke i. 73, " The
oath which he sware to our father Abraham." Ver, 74, " That he
would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hands of our
enemies might serve him without fear," ver. 75, " In holiness and
righteousness before him all the days of our life." Here is the oath
or covenant sworn to Abraham, as a type of Christ ; wherein his
seed's serving the Lord in holiness, is held forth as the chief thing
sworn unto the Mediator by the Father ; and their deliverance from
their enemies, as the means for that end. See Heb. viii. 10, 11, 12,
where God's writing his law in their hearts, is set on the front, as
the first thing in the divine intention, though the last in execution,
as appears by comparing the 10th and 12th verses. This matter is
also evident from the nature of the thing. For the great thing Sa-
tan aimed at in seducing our first parents, was the ruin of the
image of God in them, that so mankind might be no more like God,
but like himself : and the mystery of God, for the recovery of sin-
ners, is then finished, when holiness is brought in tliem to perfection
in heaven, and not till then.
From all which one may plainly perceive, that the sanctification
of all that shall see heaven, is secured in the covenant, upon infalli-
ble grounds, beyond all possibility of failure : and that the unholy
have no saving part nor lot in the covenant ; and that the less holy
any man is, the less is the covenant-promise accomplished to him.
For the sanctification of sinners is the great design of that contriv-
ance : it is that which the Father and the Son, looking therein to
thera, had chiefly in their view : and the promise thereof is the ca-
pital promise of the covenant, respecting them ; being as it were
written in great letters.
Now, at the time appointed for every one in the eternal council,
this promise is accomplished. The siuner being justified by faith,
and taken into a saving relation to God, being reconciled, adopted,
and made an heir of God through Christ, is sanctified. The bar
being removed, the gulf filled up as to him, his saving interest in,
and relation to a holy God being established ; the communication
between heaven and the sinner is opened, and sanctifying influences
flow amain, to the sanctifying of him throughout.
This is, by some divines, called the second regeneration, agreeable
to the Scripture : Tit. ii. 5, " He saved us by the washing of regene-
ration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;" compared with Eph. v.
THE PROMISORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 489
26, " That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of wa-
ter." 2 Cor. V. 17, " If any n^^n he in Christ, he is a new crea-
ture ;" namely, being " created in Christ Jesus unto good works,"
as the apostle himself explains it, Eph. ii, 10. And as in regenera-
tion taken strictly for the quickening of the dead soul, and called the
first regeneration, new vital powers are given ; so in regeneration
taken largely for the forming of the new creature in all its parts
and distinct members, whicli is called the second regeneration, there
are new qualities and habits of grace infused : and it is the same
with the second renewing, mentioned in our Shorter Catechism, on
the head of sanctification, " whereby we are renewed in the whole
man, after the image of God."
The matter lies here. The sinner being by faith united to Christ,
through the communication of the quickening Spirit from Christ
unto him, and thereupon justified, reconciled, adopted, and made an
heir of God ; there is a measure of every grace, even the seeds of
all saving graces, derived from, and communicated out of all-fulness
of grace in the man Christ the head, unto the sinner as a member of
his, by the same Spirit dwelling in the head and members. Hereby
the man is not only a spiritually living creature, but an all-new
creature, sanctified wholly or throughout, I'enewed in the whole
man, after the image of God. For the immediate effect of that com-
munication of grace from Christ, must be the sealing of the person
with the image of Christ ; forasmuch as he receives grace for grace
in Christ, as the wax doih point for point in the seal. So that the
restored image of God is expressed on us immediately from Christ
the second Adam, who is the image of the invisible God : even as
Eve was made after God's image, being made after Adam's, accord-
ing to Gen. ii. 18, " I will make him an help meet for hira ;" marg.
as before him, that is, in his own likeness, as if he sjit for a picture.
Compare 1 Cor. xi. 7, " He," (to wit, the man) " is the image and
glory of God : but the woman is the glory of the man." Ver. 8,
" For the man is not of the woman : but the woman of the man."
And 2 Cor. viii. 23, " Our brethren are the messengers of the
churches, and the glory of Christ." And thus our uniting with
Christ, through the Spirit, by faith, issues in our becoming one
spirit, that is, of the same spiritual holy nature with him ; as really
as Eve was one flesh with Adam, being formed of him, of liis flesh
and of his bones, Gen. ii. 23; to which the apostle alludes, in the
matter of the mystical union between Christ and believers, Eph. v.
30, " For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."
This is the scripture-account of the matter : according to which,
the sanctification of a sinner hath a special relation to Jesus Christ
Vol. viii. 2 u
490 THE PARTS OF THE COVEXANT OF GRACE.
and his Spirit ; depends withal on our relative state in the divine
favour ; and so is no less a mystery than our justification. As the
depravation of human nature hath always been so manifest, that it
could not escape observation in the world ; so, in all ages, men have
been aiming to discover and compass the cure thereof, in a right
use they apprehend they could make of their rational faculties.
The issue whereof hath always been, at best, but an outward show
and semblance of sanctification, going under the name of moral
virtue, having no special relation to Jesus Christ, and his indwelling
Spirit ; but such as it is, made the foundation of men's relative
state in the fovour of God. And since the world by their wisdom
knew not God ; it is not at all strange, the produce of their wisdom,
in the matter of sanctification, or assirailiation to his image, lies so
wide of the true sanctification acceptable to him discovered in his
word. Truly it is there only we can learn the mystery of the sanc-
tification of a sinner. And there it is revealed, that that great
work is wrought by the Spirit, on the souls of men in a state of
union with Jesus Christ, and after believing, Eph. i. 13, " In whom
also AFTER that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit
of promise." It necessarily depends on our union with Christ,
in that we are sanctified in Christ Jesus, as members of his body,
1 Cor. i. 2, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And faith is
the instrumental cause of our sanctification, being, We are sanctified
by faith, Acts xxvi. 18 : for thereby it is, that " of his fulness we
receive grace for grace," (John i. 16.) the which is communicated to
us by his Spirit, who glorifies him, by reforming us after his image,
by means of that communication of grace from Christ unto us : John
xvi. 14, " He shall glorify me : for he shall receive of mine, and
shall shew it unto you." So " beholding as in a glass the glory of
the Lord (Christ), we are changed into the same image, from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord," 2 Cor. iii. 18. Thus
one being in Christ is made a new creature ; forasmuch as he is such
a stock as changes the graft into its own nature ; " Therefore if
any man be in Christ he is a new creature, chap. v. 17, " For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ,"
Gal. iii. 27. It dependeth also upon our justification, and reconci-
liation with God; inasmuch as the blood of Christ, with which we
are sanctified, according to the scripture, (Rev. i. 5 ; 1 Pet. i. 2 ;
1 John i. 7,) is effective of our sanctification, as it is the merito-
rious cause thereof : and so the sanctifying virtue of that precious
blood, proceeds from its atoning virtue ; it sanctifies us, because it
justifies and reconciles us to God ; Heb. ix. 14, " How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered
THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 491
himself without si^ot to God, purge your conscience from dead works
to serve the living God ?" Wherefore, saith the apostle, 1 Thess.
V. 23, " And the very God of peace sanctify you." In like man-
ner, it pre-supposeth our adoption ; inasmuch as it is ui)on our
being adopted into the family of God, that we receive the Spirit of
his Son, conforming us to his image as our elder brother, which is
the very thing wherein our sanctificatiou doth consist : " For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many bre-
thren," Rom. viii. 29. " And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father,"
Gal. iv. 6, " We are changed into the same image, even as by the
Spirit of the Lord," 2 Cor. iii. 18. And it stands in the same re-
lation to God's becoming our God, Ezek. xvi. 8, " I sware unto thee,
and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and
thou becamest mine." Yer. 9, " Then washed I thee with water :
yea, I thoroughly washed away thy blood from thee, and anointed
thee with oil."
But although in this work of sanctificatiou, there is communicated
out of the all-fulness of grace in Christ, a measure, and that a pre-
dominant measure of every grace : yet it is not a full measure of
any grace. Hence it comes to pass, that howbeit we are thereby
renewed in the whole man, yet we are still unrenewed in the whole
man too ; to wit, in respect of two general parts, thence called the
renewed part, and the unrenewed part. For this communication of
grace, being of grace for grace in Christ, we are thereby renewed in
every particular part indeed : but the measure of none of these
graces being full in any soul while here, we are not wholly renewed
in any such part ; but there are remains of corruption still in-
dwelling in every such part, in the mind, will, and aifections, and in
the body by way of communication with the unrenewed part. Thus
two contrary principles, to wit, grace and corruption, are in the
sanctified ; being together in such sort, that in every particular
part where the one is, the other is there also by it : even as in the
twilight, light and darkness are in every part of the hemisphere.
All which the scripture doth abundantly declare. For what we
have of this gracious work upon us, while here, is but in part ; it is
not perfect, 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10. Though there is a new man put on,
there is an old man to be put off, Eph. iv. 22, 24. There is flesh as
well as spirit in the best. Gal. v. 17 ; who therefore do look forth
but as the morning, Cant. vi. 10 ; or as the word properly signifies,
as the dawning : yet, as the dawning differs from dark night, they
difl'cr thereby from the unsauctified, in whom there is no light, Isa.
2 H 2
492 THE PARTS OF THE COVE.VANT OF GRACE.
viii. 20. (Heb, no dawning.) See Rom. vii. 14 — 24. Phil. iii. 21.
Howbeit, forasmuch as it is a predominant measure of every grace
that is thus communicated : this work of sanctification doth issue
in a state of death unto sin, and a state of life unto righteousness.
1. It issueth in a state of death unto sin, or in mortification. For
by means of that communication of grace from Christ the head,
tliough it is not full, the old man of sin gets his deadly wound.
The reigning power of the whole body of sins is destroyed : inas-
much as a reigning principle of grace is thereby set up in the be-
liever ; and that " his seed remaineth in him ; and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God," 1 John iii. 9. " Sin shall not have
dominion over you : for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
And total pollution, or defilement, through sin, is ly the same
means purged off ; inasmuch as the restored image of God makes
one really and personally pure and clean in the sight of God, as far
as it goes : Tit. iii. 5, " He saved us by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Compare Col. iii. 10, " And
have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the
image of him that created him." And thus one is put into a state
of death, in respect of his unrenewed part. Col. iii. 3, " For ye are
dead; Rom. vi. 11, "dead indeed unto sin." The which state of
death is such as a crucified man is in, who being nailed to the cross,
shall never come down till he have breathed out his last; Gal. vi.
14, " The A?orld is crucified unto me, and 1 unto the world." Rom.
vi. 6, " Our old man is crucified with him."
2. It issueth also in a state of life unto righteousness, or in vivifi-
cation. For by means of the same communication of grace from
Christ the head, one is endued with infused habits of grace, the im-
mediate principles of gracious actions : the law is written in his
heart; and his heart is circumcised to love the Lord. And thus he
is put into a state of life unto righteousness, in respect of his re-
newed part ; being " dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vi. 11. So saith the apostle
of himself: Gal. ii. 20, "I am crucified with Christ: Nevertheless
I live." And this state of life is such, as a man is in for the common
actions of life, who is not only quickened, but risen and come forth
of the grave ; Col. ii. 12, " Ye are risen with him, through the
faith of the operation of God." Rom. vi. 4, " That like as Christ
was raised up by the glory of the Father, even so we also should
walk in newness of life." And it is an eternal life ; for the grace
communicated from Christ to the believer, for that effect, " shall be
in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life," John iv. 14.
Now, this death unto sin, and life unto righteousness, spring from
THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 493
our coramnnion with Christ in his death and resurrection. These
last have in them a power and virtue to render his mystical members
conformable to him in them. They have a power and virtue, to
cause in them a dying unto sin, as Christ died for sin, a violent
death, lingering, and painful, yet voluntary ; and a rising from sin
to a new manner of life, continued during their abode in this world,
and perfected in glory ; even as he rose from the dead to a new
manner of life, continued till his ascension : Philip, iii. 10. " That
I may know hira, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellow-
ship of his sufferings, being made conformable uuto his death." Rom.
vi. 4, *' Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death :
that like as Christ was raised up by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life." Ver. 5, " For if we have
been planted together in the likeness of his death : we shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection." Since there is in Adam's sin
and death, a malignant virtue, conforming his natural offspring unto
him therein, to tlieir defilement ; why should it be thought strange,
that there should be such a benign virtue in the death, and resur-
rection of Christ the second Adam, conforming his mystical members
unto him therein, to their sanctification ? for " as ia Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive," 1 Cor. xv. 22. The death
and resurrection of Christ have this virtue, inasmuch as he died and
rose again as a public person, and merited this conformation of his
mystical members to his image, Rom. vi. 4. — 12, Eph. iii. 5. 6.
And they have this effect, as they are applied to us by the Spirit.
For the case of our justification and sanctification, is much like that
of the delivering one who is a prisoner for debt. When the surety's
payment of the debt is legally applied to the prisoner, by the judge
sustaining it as clearing his debt ; in the moment of that application,
the prisoner is legally free ; he is no more a prisoner in point of
right, though still in the prison, until that one sent by the judge,
apply it to him really by opening the prison-doors to hira, and set-
ting him at liberty. Even so the death of Christ, and his resur-
rection, considered as the evidence of his complete satisfaction, being
legally applied by God the Judge, to a sinner, upon his believing ;
they have an immediate effect on him, constituting him in a happy
relative state, in justification, and new relation to God as his Friend,
Father, and God ; so that he is thereby free, even from the dominion
and pollution of sin, in point of right, as well as he is in fact freed
from the guilt of it : he is by that application legally dead unto sin,
and alive unto God : Rom. vi. 10, " For in that he" (to wit, Christ)
" died, he died unto sin once : but in that he liveth, he liveth unto
God." Ver. 11, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead
494 THE PAKTS 01" THE COVEXANT 01' GEACE.
indeed unto sin ; but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Now, the curse which stood as a legal bar to sanctifying influences,
in respect whereof the strength of sin is the law, 1 Cor. xv. 56, being
thus quite removed by the legal application, of the death and resur-
rection of Christ to the believer; the Spirit doth really apply the
same death and resurrection to hiui, conforming him personally
thereto, through the communication of grace to him, out of the ful-
ness of grace in Christ the head ; without which there cannot be any
such conformation, according to the stated method of grace revealed
in the scripture. And thus they have a mediate effect on him, con-
stituting him really and personally holy, in sanctification : Rom. viii.
2, " For the law of the Spirit of life, in Christ Jesus, hath made me
free from the law of sin and death." Col. ii. 12, " Buried with him
in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him." 1 Cor. xii. 13,
" For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body." John
XV. 4, " As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine : no more can ye, except ye abide in me." There was
a double sprinkling of the blood of the sacrifices, called the
blood of the covenant, Exod. xxiv. First, it was sprinkled on the
altar, for atonement and reconciliation with God for Israel, ver. 6.
And next, it was sprinkled on the people, for their purification,
ver. 8 ; its purifying virtue flowing from its atoning virtue. Ac-
cordingly there is a double application or sprinkling of the blood of
Christ, thereby signified: one for our justification and reconciliation
with God ; mentioned Heb. xii. 22, " Ye are come" — Yer. 24, — " to
the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of
Abel," namely, in that it speaks for mercy and pardon, whereas
Abel's spoke for vengeance : and then another, for our sanctification;
mentioned, 1 Pet. i. 2, " Through sanctification of the Spirit unto
obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." And this
is the only true sanctification of a sinner, having a special relation
to Jesus Christ and his Spirit.
Now, the branches of the promise of sanctification are manifold :
for it spreads as wide as the commandments of the holy law, which,
in the station it hath in the gospel-covenant, are all turned into
promises. Thus whereas the command is, "Know the Lord;" the
promise is, " They shall all know me, saith the Lord," Jer. xxxi. 34.
The command is, " Come iinto me," Matt. xi. 28 ; and it is pro-
mised, " They shall come," Psalm xxii. 31. The command is, " Love
the Lord," Psalm xxxi. 23 ; it is promised, " The Lord will circum-
cise thine heart to love the Lord," Deut. xxx. 6. It is the com-
mand, " Fear God," 1 Pet. ii. 17 ; and it is promised, " I will put
my fear in their hearts," Jer. xxxii. 40. We are commanded to be
THE PROMISSORY TART OP THE COVENANT. 495
meek, humble, and lowly, Matt. xi. 29 ; and it is promised, Isa. xi.
6, " The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, — and a little child shall
lead them." And thus it is in all other cases, the whole command-
ments of the law in this station being inlaid with the gospel-pro-
raises, as appears from Heb. viii. 10, " I will put my laws into their
mind, and write them in their hearts : and I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people."
But the chief branches are these two; to wit, the promise of
repentance, and the j)romise of actual grace and strength for all
holy obedience.
1. One chief branch of the promise of sanctification, is the pro-
mise of repentance. Not that legal repentance, which goes before
saving faith, being common to the elect and reprobate ; but that
evangelical repentance, which is described in our catechisms, the
seeds of which are said, in the Larger Catechism, to be put into the
heart in sanctification ; and so follows saving faith and justification,
in the order of nature : Ezek. xxxvi. 31, " Then shall ye remember
your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall
loathe yourselves in your own sight, for yoiar iniquities." Psalm
xxii. 27, " All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto
the Lord." Zech. xii. 10, " They shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him." The whole spiritual
seed were, by means of the breach of the first covenant, lost sheep,
even as others. Adam left them as so many waifs and strays, wan-
dering on the mountains of vanity, ready to become a prey to the
roaring lion, who goes about there, seeking whom he may devour :
Isa. liii. 6, "All we like sheep have gone astray: we have turned
every one to his own way." All of them had lost the way, and
none of them could find it again. They had gone away from God,
and could not return. They had turned to him the back, and not
the face, and had become so inflexible, they could not turn about
to him, and to their duty. They had lost their eyes, and could not
discern the way to return : " to do good they had no knowledge,"
Jer. iv. 22. They had lost the power of their limbs, and could no
more return, though they had known the way, than " the Ethiopian
can change his skin, or the leopard his spots," chap. xiii. 23. And
they had withal lost heart to return : God being to them an un-
atoned God, his face set against them, they could not bear to
approach him. So they never would have turned, although they
had been able ; but each of them would have said, " There is no
hope. No, " for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go,"
Jer. ii. 25. Wherefore, had not the Mediator interposed, they had
wandered endlessly : had not Jesus Christ taken the desperate case
496 THE PAKTS OF TlIK COVENANT OF GRAOiS.
in hand, there had never been a returning sinner of Adam's family,
a true penitent, a heart kindly softened iu sorrow for sin, nor turned
in hatred against sin as sin, more than there is among the fallen
angels. But upon consideration of the second Adam's walking with
God, the whole way of obedience to the law, which they went off
from ; having withal laid on him the iniquities of them all ; there
was made a promise of giving them repentance, that " he should
gather together in one, the children of God that were scattered
abroad," John xi. 52. In performance of which promise, after his
ascension into heaven, it was found, that God had also to the Gen-
tiles granted repentance unto life, Acts xi. 18.
Now, when one is justified by faith, and new-related to God, as
his Friend, Father, and God, he is sanctified, and brought to true
and evangelical repentance, according to this promise. Being come
to Christ by faith, he comes back unto God by him in repentance,
Heb. vii. 25. Whence it is called repentance toward God, which is
the end whereunto faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ is the means.
Acts XX. 21. Then, and not till then, it is, that the heart is set
a-going in true gospel-repentance, pleasing to God, and acceptable
iu his sight ; according to the Scripture : Ezek. xvi. 62, " And I
will establish my covenant with thee." Ver. 63, '-That thou mayest
remember and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more
because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee." Chap. xx.
42, " And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring
you into the land of Israel." Ver. 43, " And there shall ye remem-
ber your ways, — and ye shall loathe yourselves." Chap, xxxvi. 25,
" Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean."
— Yer. 26, " A new heart also will I give you." — Yer. 28, — " And
ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." Yer. 31, " Then
shall ye remember your own evil ways, — and shall loathe your-
selves." For then it is, that the love of God to the soul, which lay
hid before, doth shine forth more or less clear ; and being discerned
by faith accordingly, warms the heart of the sinner with love to God
again, according to that, 1 John iv. 19, " We love him, because he
first loved us." And that love melts it into repentance for sin, as
in the woman who, being forgiven much, loved much : and shewed
her love, by her washing our Saviour's feet with tears, Luke vii. 37,
38, 47. The hard heart is then laid on the soft bed of the love and
free grace of God in Christ ; and the word of the law, inlaid with
the gospel, falls on it, saying, "Break, for the Lord is gracious;"
Joel ii. 13, " Rend your heart, — and turn unto the Lord your God :
for he is gracious and merciful, — and of great kindness." And this,
like a hammer, breaketh the rock in pieces. The party being, as is
THE TKOMISSOKY PART OF THE COVENANT. 497
before declared, renewed in the whole man, put into a state of death
unto sin, and life unto righteousness, the new nature vents itself in
an ingenuous and thorough turning from sin unto God, in heart and
life. By believing the sinner returns unto God as a portion, where-
in to rest : in repenting he returns unto God as a Lord and Master,
whom he is to obey. He turns from sin unto God, coming back as
a runaway servant to his master, returning to his place and duty in
the family. And he returns with blushing and tears. He is filled
with sorrow and shame for offending a good and gracious God. His
heart is turned against sin, in hatred of it : he hates it not only as
a hurtful thing, that would ruin him : but as a filthy and loathsome
thing, that defiles him. He loathes it, as the abominable thing that
God hates ; as the deformity of the soul, the very reverse of the glo-
rious holiness of God expressed in his law. He loathes himself for
it; calls himself fool and beast, for his entertaining it; smites on
his breast, as if he would bruise that breast it was bred in ; and
smites on his thigh, as if he would break the legs that carried him
in the way of it, Luke xv. 20, 21, and xviii. 13; Jer. xxxi. 18, 19.
And he returns with full purpose of, and endeavours after new obe-
dience; with a heart inclined to keep God's statutes always, even
unto the end, Psalm cxix. 33 ; and filled with carefulness in that
point, vehement desire of it, and zeal for it, 2 Cor. vii. 11.
The other chief branch of the promise of sanctification, is, the
promise of actual grace and strength for all holy obedience ; whereby
one may be enabled acceptably to perform obedience, in all and
every act of mortification or dying unto sin, and of living unto
righteousness ; to do every duty that is required of him, and to bear
whatsoever affliction is laid upon him : Psalm xxii. 30, " A seed
shall serve him." Zech. x. 12, " And I will strengthen them in the
Lord, and they shall walk up and down in his name." Hos. xiv. 9,
" The ways of tlie Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them."
Ezek. xxxvi. 27, " And I will cause you to walk in my statutes,
and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." And, Dent, xxx.,
the root-promise of sanctification, in circumcising the heart to love
the Lord, is in the first place proposed, ver. 6 ; and then fol-
low both the branches thereof together, to wit, the promise of re-
pentance, and of actual grace for new obedience, ver. 8, " And thou
shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his com-
mandments." God planted Adam a noble vine, made him as a green
tree full of sap, for bringing forth ail fruits of holiness ; but break-
ing the first covenant, he and all mankind in him withered and died,
under the curse ; upon which ensued an absolute barrenness, that no
fruit of holiness could be expected from them more. But the se-
498 TUE PARTS OF THE COVENAJJT OF GRACE,
cond Adam having engaged to satisfy the law, by bearing the curse ;
there was thereupon made a promise of raising them up again to
walk in newness of life. And it is performed in their habitual sanc-
tification, wrought in them immediately upon their union with
Christ : for though sanctification doth in the order of nature follow
justification, and the new relation to God as a Friend, Father, and
God ; yet in respect of time, it is together and at once with them :
in the same moment that a sinner is justified, he is also sanctified.
But even when we are habitually sanctified, through the habits of
grace infused into us by the Spirit ; we are not of ourselves, that is
to say, merely upon that stock, without new communications of
actual grace by the same Spirit, able to bring forth any fruit of ho-
liness : even of our gracious selves we can do nothing, as our Savi-
our teacheth, John xv. 4, 5. And the apostle professeth, in his own
name, and in the name of all other gracious persons, 2 Cor. iii. 4,
"And such trust have we through Christ to Godward." Ver. 5,
" Not that we are suflicient of ourselves to think any thing as of
ourselves ; but our sufficiency is of God. For," saith he, Philip, ii.
13, " it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do," And
this is no more strange in the dispensation of grace, than that, in
nature, fresh seed sown in good ground, yet cannot spring up, and
bring forth fruit, without warming and moistening influences from
the heavens ; or, that we have a power of natural motion, and yet
cannot actually move a finger, without a common providential influ-
ence of the Spirit of God, in, or by, whom we live and move, Acts
xvii. 28, "Wherefore the promise is extended, as we have said, unto
actual grace and strength for the acts of holy obedience ; and is so
made forthcoming to believers in their actual and progressive sanc-
tification.
And thus such a suflicient i»rovision and allowance of grace is
made in the covenant for believers, as that it is possible for them,
even in this life, to perform obedience to the law of Christ, the ten
commandments, the eternal rule of righteousness, in all the parts
thereof, acceptably : so that there is no corruption so strong, but
one may get it acceptably mortified ; nor does the Lord require any
duty so difficult, but one may get it acceptably done ; nor is there
any trial or affliction so heavy, but one may get it acceptably borne.
If it had not been so, our Lord would not have made doing
whatsoever he commands, the distinguishing mark of his friends,
John XV. 14. The apostle doth indeed deny, that we are sufficient
of ourselves ; but withal he teacheth, that there is a sufficiency for
us of God, 2 Cor. iii. 5. So the Lord himself taught him, in his own
case, chap. xii. 9, " My grace is sufficient for thee." Without it
THE PROMISSORY PART OF TUK COVENANT. 499
were so, Christ's yoke could not be easy, nor his burden light, Matt.
xi. 30. Nay, they would be like the yoke and burden of the law as
a covenant of works, grievous to be borne, chap, xxiii. 4. But his
commandments are not grievous, 1 John v. 3. It was no vain boast-
ing the apostle used, when he said, " I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me," Philip, iv. 13. Nor was Epaphras
out, in supposing that the Colossian believers might " stand com-
plete in all the will of God," Col. iv. 12. David had Grod's own tes-
timony, as to fact in that matter. Acts xiii. 22, " I have found
David, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will."
This bears no prejudice to the doctrine of the imperfection of the
obedience of the saints in this life, maintained by orthodox divines
against the papists and other perfectionists ; which, as it is abun-
dantly evident from the Holy Scriptures, hath also a concurring tes-
timony to the truth thereof, in the breasts of all the serious godly,
to whom it is given by the Spirit to discern the holiness of God, the
spirituality of the law, and the corruption of their own nature.
But I am persuaded, that, through the sleight of Satan, that doc-
trine is, as several other precious truths are, a stone of stumbling to
many, through their not adverting to the provision and allowance
of grace made in this promise of the covenant ; and that by this
means many a poor sinner is snared and ruined, and the hands of
many saints weakened in the practice of holiness ; to the great dis-
advantage of the cause of holiness in the world.
To break that snare, and set this matter in a clear lighi, there
are three things carefully to be distinguished.
1. Distinguish between performing obedience, in all the parts
thereof, and in all the degrees of these parts. The latter indeed no
man can, at any rate, do in this life, James iii. 2 ; Eccl. vii. 20.
But the former every true believer may do, yea, and actually doth,
so far as these parts are known to him, as appears from the texts
above alleged. In confounding of these there lies a snare. " The
best of men," say crafty sinners, " do in many things come short of
the obedience required of them : and but so do we." Now, that the
saints do come short of the degrees of every part of obedience re-
quired of them, is very true : but that they come short of any of
the parts themselves known to them, which is the case of the crafty
sinner seeking shelter for his sin here, is false. And herein the
former do really distinguish themselves from the latter; as David
showed himself of another make than Saul, by his fulfilling all
God's will, in the several parts thereof, which Saul did not. Acts
xiii. 22. It is here as in the case of a family, consisting of pliable
children, and refractory servants. The master of the family pre-
500 THE PAI?TS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
scribes several pieces of work to be done by them all: and his
grown children, who have perfect skill of their business, to do them
all exactly according to his mind; and thus glorified saints obey:
the younger children who are learning to work, do, out of regard to
their father's command, indeed put hand to every one of them, but
they can do none of them exactly ; even so it is with the saints on
earth ; but the refractory servants put hand to some of them, but
quite neglect others of them , and this is the manner of the wicked
and slothful servant, who seeks shelter here for his sloth, and his
partiality in obedience.
2. Distinguish between performing obedience perfectly, and per-
forming it acceptably. No man can perform obedience perfectly in
this life, Philip, iii. 12; but every true believer performs obedience
acceptably : Acts x, 35, " He that feareth him, and worketh righte-
ousness is accepted with him." In confounding these there is a
snare. The crafty sinner saith, " There is none that performs obe-
dience perfectly : and I am sure I do many things, though indeed
not all." Now, that true believers do not perform obedience per-
fectly, is very true ; but that they do not perform it acceptably,
which is the case of the crafty sinner, as not universal, and there-
fore not sincere, in his obedience, is altogether false. They who are
masters know very well how to make this distinction, in their do-
mestic aifairs. If a child, or pliable servant, shew a real good-will
to obey their orders, they will accept of their work, though it is
not done, in every point, as they would have it ; so, if there be first
a willing mind, discovered in sincere endeavours, it is accepted of
God for the sake of Christ, according to that a man hath, 2 Cor. viii.
12. But if a servant shall quite neglect to put hand to a thing
which he is peremptorily ordered to do, because he cannot do it
every way so as the master would have it done ; this is construed
to be a contempt of the master's authority. And what other ac-
count can men imagine will be made in heaven of their conduct, in
instances of plain and unquestionable duty, which they quite ne-
glect ; and of sin, that they indulge themselves in ?
3. Distinguish between ability in ourselves for performing obedi-
ence in all the parts thereof acceptably, and ability for it in Christ
to be fetched in by faith. Neither saints nor sinners have the for-
mer, 2 Cor. iii. 5 ; but all true believers have the latter : they have
such ability in Christ their head. Col. ii. 10, " Ye are complete in
him," Philip iv. 13, " I can do all things (through Christ which
strengtheneth me." And it is in the gospel ofl'ered to all, so that
whosoever will, may have it : Matth. xi. 28, " Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Ver.
THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 501
29," Take my yoke upon you." If a discreet master command his
servant to go and do a particular piece of work, it will not excuse
the servant's neglect, that he wanted instruments necessary for it ;
because he will reckon, that his bidding him do the work, did sup-
pose his allowing him instruments, without which it could not be
done; and that the servant ought to have called for them. But
here lies a ruining snare to many. " We can do nothing of our-
selves," say they : and hereupon the sluggard puts his hand in his
bosom, and does nothing ; but, having laid his head on this soft pil-
low, he sleeps to death on the bed of sloth and carnal ease. 0 that
men would open their eyes, and see through this piece of ruining de-
ceit ! No man shall be able to excuse himself hereby, from the j)er-
forraance of holy obedience in all the parts thereof. Nay, this his
conduct will bring him under a double guilt ; one, of neglecting
what it was his duty to do ; another, of despising the grace oflTered
him, to enable him thereto : and so he will be condemned, not be-
cause he could not obey, but because he would not. God hath never
been a hard master to mankind, reaping where he did not sow ; but
hath always made a suitable allowance of grace and strength to
them for his work. In the covenant of works, only perfect obedience
could be accepted at the hands of the covenant-people ; and there
was a conformable allowance of grace and strength conform, made to
them in it. God made man upright, able to obey the law in perfec-
tion. And the law justly insists for perfection of obedience still,
upon the ground of that provision which was made for it, though it
is now lost ; being that it was lost by man's own fault. In the co-
venant of grace, which is adapted to our fallen state, sincere obedi-
ence maybe accepted, notwithstanding of imperfections attending it.
And accordingly, in it there is made a provision and allowance of
such a sufficieucy of grace and strength, as thereby every piece of
obedience required of the covenant-people may be done, even in this
life ; though not as it should be done, yet so as it may be accepted :
accepted, I say, not for its own sake indeed, nor for the worker's
sake neither ; but for Christ's sake, in whose name it is required to
be done and offered to God, as a spiritual sacrifice, acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 5. This is evident from the forecited
passages, 2 Cor. iii. 5, and xii. 9; Philip, iv. lb. But withal, this
sufficiency of grace and strength for that effect, is not lodged in the
covenant-people themselves ; but in Christ their head, in whom they
have it, as the branches have a sufficiency of sap and juice in the
vine, for their bringing forth fruit in the season : Isa. xlv. 24.
" Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I rigliteousness and
strength." 2 Tim. ii. 1, " Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the
502 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
grace that is in Christ Jesus." And it is fetched into the soul by-
faith, believing the promise : Jer. xvii. 7, " Blessed is the man that
trusteth in the Lord." Yer. 8, " For he shall be as a tree planted
by the waters." Psalm xxviii. 7, " My heart trusted in him, and I
am helped." And so every command of Christ in this covenant,
supposeth an allowance of grace and strength, sufficient for the per-
forming of it in an acceptable manner. Accordingly, the declara-
tion of grace stands on the front of the ten commandments, Exod.
XX. 2, " I am the Lord thy God." Ver. 3, " Thou shalt have no
other gods before me," &c. If the law came to us without the
gospel, we might have some excuse for not doing what we are com-
manded ; yet not so strong, but that it would be overthrown, as in
the case of pagans, Rom. ii. 12. But since, with the commands of
the law requiring obediencej the gospel also comes to us, shewing
how we may be enabled to obey them acceptably, and offering us
that ability in Christ Jesus ; we are inexcusable in that matter :
the plea of the wicked and slothful servant is rejected ; and he is
condemned, not only for not giving obedience, but for refusing grace
and strength offered him, to enable hira thereto.
Wherefore, let us firmly believe this promise of the gospel-
covenant, that we may give obedience to the commands of the law :
for where there is no hope of performing acceptably what is re-
quired, there can be no suitable endeavours after it. If the heart is
hopeless in that matter, the hands will certainly hang down : and
the issue must needs be, either a ceasing from the duty altogether, or
else a very faint promise thereof, unacceptable to God. But the faith
of this promise will remove the cover of sloth, animate to every good
work, and bring in grace and strength for all holy obedience ; " Hav-
ing therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God," 2 Cor. vii. 1.
Since God hath not given to the church the command of sanctifi-
cation to be obeyed, without the promise of sanctification to be
believed; but he that hath said, " Wash ye, make ye clean," hath
said also, " I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean ;" no man hath ground to imagine, that he doth so much as
endeavour to comply with the true design of the command of sancti-
fication, who doth not first believe and embrace the promise of sanc-
tification ; but falls to work with the nitre and soap of his own
faithful endeavours, to wash himself clean. Such a one mistakes
the true intent and import of the command of sanctification, as it
stands in the Bible ; and that as far as the command of a discreet
master would be mistaken by a foolish servant, who being bid to go
THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 603
and dig a parcel of ground, should thereupon fall a digging it with
his nails, never looking after a spade, mattock, or any other instru-
ment proper to dig with.
Now, the promise of sanctification, which its several branches, is
grafted upon the promise of a resurrection made to Christ. For the
condition of the covenant being fulfilled, he as the head was, accord-
ing to the promise, brought again from the dead, and lives unto
God, death having no more dominion over him : and in virtue
hereof again, his members are brought to repentance from dead
works, and unto newness of life. Hence we are said to be begotten
again, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Pet. i. 3 ;
forasmuch as we are raised with him (Col. iii. 1.) unto newness of
life, (Rom. vi. 4, 5.), according to the promise. Is. xxvi. 19, " Thy
dead men shall live, together with ray dead body shall they arise : —
The earth shall cast out the dead ;"namely, in the first place, the
head Christ Jesus, the first-born from the dead. Col. i. 18, and then
his mystical members after him in their order. Compare Hos. vi. 2,
" In the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight."
Thus far of the promise of sanctification. Follows : —
I Y. The promise of perseverance in grace.
The promise of eternal life doth in like manner comprehend the
the perseverance in grace to be conferred on all the covenant-people,
being justified, new-related to God, and sanctified ; so that, being
once brought, into the state of grace, they shall never fall away from
it totally nor finally. This promise we have, Jer. xxxii. 40, " And
I will make an everlasting covenant, with them, that I will not turn
away from them, to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their
hearts, that they shall not depart from me." Here they are secured
on both sides ; that God will never cast them oflP, and that they shall
never desert him. And that this benefit is included in the promise
of eternal life, is clear from the apostle's adducing this last to prove
it, Heb. X. 38, " Now the just shall live by faith." Such is the
malice of Satan, and the advantage he had against the saints in
this life ; so manifold are the snares for them in the present
evil world ; such a tender bud of heaven is the implanted grace
of God in them, and so corrupt, fickle, and inconstant are the
hearts of the best, while here ; that, if their perseverance had not been
secured by promise in the covenant, but made the condition of the
covenant, and left to the management of their own free-will, they
would have had but a sorry restoration of it into the state of grace ;
as much as if they had got a spark of fire to keep alive in the midst
of an ocean. At that rate they might all have perished ; and Jesus
504 THE PAETS OF THE COVEXANT OF GRACE.
Christ, notwithstanding of the shedding of his blood for them, might
have eternally remained a head without members, a king without
subjects. But the glory of Christ, and his salvation of his redeemed,
were not left at such uncertainty. That perseverance which the first
Adam failed of, and was made the condition of the second covenant,
the second Adam did undertake in their name : and thereupon was
made the promise of their perseverance. And he having accordingly
persevered unto the end, in obedience to the law for them, being
obedient even to the death, it was purchased for them. Thus Christ's
perseverance in obedience to the law, till the condition of the co-
venant was perfectly fulfilled, is the grouud in law upon which
the perseverance of the saints is infallibly secured, in virtne of
the faithfulness of God in the promise.
Now, this promise begins to be performed to them, as soon as they
are united unto Christ ; and it goes on all along, until their death,
when they enter into glory : yea, strictly speaking, death is not the
last, but a middle term of their perseverance ; after which it pro-
ceeds far more illustriously than before. Upon their union with the
second Adam, being savingly interested in his obedience whicli he
persevered in unto the end, they are confirmed, that they can no
more fall away : even as the first Adam's natural seed would have
been confirmed, upon his having completed the course of his proba-
tionary obedience, and fulfilling the condition of the covenant of
works. The mystical members of Christ do then obtain the former,
as the reward of his continued obedience ; as in the other supposed
event, Adam's natural seed would have obtained the latter, as the
reward of his continued obedience.
The promise of the perseverance of the saints, seems to be grafted
upon the promise of assistance made to Christ in his work. The
Father promised to him, that he would npbold him, so as he should
not fail, Isa. xlii. 1, 4. The which promise being made to him as a
public person, carries along with it the preservation and support of
his members, in all their temptations, trials, and dangers of perish-
ing ; ensuring the safe conduct, as of the head, so of the mystical
members through this world, till they be out of the reach of danger.
Now, of the promise of perseverance there are two chief branches.
1. A promise of continued influences of grace, to be from time to
time conferred on them, being once brought into a state of grace :
Isa. xxvii. 3, " I will water it every moment." Their stock of inher-
ent grace would soon fail, if they were left to live upon it, without
supply coming in from another hand : of itself it would wither away
and die out, if it were not fed, Luke xxii. 32 ; John xv. 6. Innocent
Adam had a larger stock of inherent grace than any of the saints in
THE PROMISSOIIY PART OF TUE COVENANT. 505
this life, and yet he lost it. But the grace of God in believers can-
not be so lost : for, in virtue of the promise, there are continued inllu-
ences secured for them ; namely, preserving intiuences, whereby
grace given, is kept from dying out, that as they are sanctified by
God the Father so they are preserved in Jesus Christ, Jude 1,
exciting influences, whereby the grace preserved beginning to lan-
guishing, or being brought low by the prevailing of corruption,
and temptation is stirred up and put in exercise again ; and strength-
ening influences, whereby the grace excited, is increased, and gathers
more strength, to the overtopping of corruption, and repelling of
temptation : Hos. xiv. 7, " Tliey shall revive as the corn, and grow
as the vine." Accordingly, their faith is never suff'ered to fail
totally, but is preserved, excited, and strengthened ; and all the
graces with it, and by it. And this is brought to pass, through the
communication of new supplies of grace to them, by the Spirit, from
Christ their head, from which all the body having nourishment
ministered, (namely, through the supply of the Spirit, Piiil. i. 19),
increaseth with the increase of God," Col. ii. 19.
2. The other chief branch of this promise, is a promise of pardon,
continued pardon for the sins of their daily walk ; whereby emer-
gent differences betwixt God and them, come to be done away from
time to time, so that a total rupture is prevented : Jer. xxxiii. 8,
" I will pardon all their iniquities." Howbeit the justified have, as
to their state, no need of a new formal pardon, but only of a mani-
festation of their former pardon ; since the pardon given in justifica-
tion, is never revoked, though by means of their after-sins they
may lose sight of it : yet as to their daily walk, they have great
need of a formal pardon ; forasmuch as they are daily contracting
new guilt : John xiii. 10, " He that is washed, needeth not, save to
wash his feet." For howbeit no sins of the justified can bring any
more under the guilt of eternal wrath; nevertheless they do bring them
under the guilt of fatherly anger, Psalm Ixxxix. 30 — 32. And there-
fore they need to pray every day, '* Our Father, forgive us our debts.''
This pardon is given them, upon their renewed actings of faith in
Jesus Christ, and of repentance towards God; yet not for their be-
lieving and repenting, but for Christ's sake, even as the first pardon
is given, 1 John ii. 1, 2, and i. 7. Applying the blood of Christ
afresh to their souls, they are anew moved to repentance, turning
from their sins with hatred of them, sorrow, shame, and self-lothing
for them. Looking by faith on him whom they have pierced, they
mourn in renewed repentance ; and so receive this pardon. For al-
though repentance doth not go before, but follows after the pardon
of sin in justification ; yet not only faith, but repentance also, goes
Vol. VIII. 2 i
506 THE PARTS OF TUE COVEXANT OF GRACE.
before the pardons given to those already justified : 1 John i. 7, " If
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin." Vers. 9, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful, and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us." Therefore we are
ordered to pray thus, " Our Father, forgive us our debts, as we for-
give our debtors," Matth. vi. 9, 12. ; to teach all the children of God,
that if they would have their Father's forgiveness, they must in the
first place forgive others : which is yet more clearly intimated, Luke
xi. 4, " And forgive us our sins ; for we also forgive every one that
is indebted to us." But the matter is not so stated, with respect to
the pardon of sin in justification ; but that pardon is the spring of
our forgiving others, Matth. xviii. 32, 33. For our hearty and ac-
ceptable forgiving of others, proceeds from true Christian love'to our
neighbour ; and that flows from love to God ; the which is kindled
in our hearts by God's pardoning grace to us, J^uke vii. 47; Eph. iv.
32. The reason of the difterence lies here, the unjustified sinner is
under the guilt of revenging wrath, which seeks not the amendment,
but the destruction of the guilty : wherefore till once it is removed,
there can be no true evangelical repentance, no acceptable amend-
ment, in the sinner ; these being really a restoration of him to life,
incompatible with a legal destination of him to destruction. But
the justified saint is only under the guilt of fatherly anger, which
seeks not the destruction, but the recovery and amendment of the
guilty : and therefore it is not removed until he repent, turning from
his sin unto God in an acceptable manner ; and that is the very
amendment God seeketh in shewing his anger against him, as in the
case of David, and of Peter.
And thus are the saints caused to jjersevere in grace, both real
and relative. The promise of continued influences secures not only
the preservation, but the renewed exercise of their grace, particularly
of their faith and repentance : and the promise of continued pardon
to them believing and rei>enting, secures the removal of the guilt of
fatherly anger. The Spirit of Christ ever dwells iu them, and so
continues an inviolable bond of their union with him ; and dwelling
iu them, he recovers them when they are fallen, stirs up the holy fire
of grace lying hid with ashes of corruption. Then the withered hand
of faith is again stretched out ; and the man believes the promise of
the pardon of guilt of eternal wrath, as to all his sins ; this melts
his heart in kindly repentance ; and so he believes the promise of
continued pardon, as to fatherly anger, with respect to the sins the
causes of God's present controversy with him, and obtains pardon
accordingly. By these means, matters are always kept from coming
to a total rupture.
THK rUOMISSOKY TAUT OF THE COVENANT. 507
V. THE PROMISE OF TEMPORAL BENEFITS.
In the fifth and last place, the promise of eternal life to the elect,
considered in this period, comprehends a promise of temporal bene-
fits to be conferred on them, and every one of them, being united to
Christ ; and that in such measure, as God sees meet for his own glory
and their good. This promise stands imbodied with the spiritual
promises in the covenant, Ezek. xxxvi. 29, "I will also save you
from all your uncleanuesses, and I will call for the corn, and I will
increase it." Hos. ii. 22, " The earth shall hear the corn, and the
wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel." Indeed this is not
the principal thing contained in the promissory part of the covenant :
but it is a necessary addition thereto ; as the present state of the
saints, while in this world, doth require, Matth. vi. 33. And thus
godliness, as the apostle observes, 1 Tim. iv. 8, hath promise of the
life that now is, and of that which is to come,
"When God took man into the first covenant, he made provision in
it for his temporal as well as for his spiritual and eternal welfare.
He gave him a right to, and dominion over the creatures in the
earth, sea, and air ; giving and granting upon him full power, soberly
to use them, and to dispose of them, for God's glory and his own
comfort: and this lordship to be holden of him as sovereign lord of
all, firm and irreversible, by the tenor of that covenant, as long as
he should continue in his obedience ; but to be forfeited to all in-
tents and purposes, in case he should by transgression break the
covenant, Gen. i. 28, and ii. 16, 17- But man continued not in this
honour : he brake God's covenant, and so fell from that his right to,
and dominion over the creatures. By his transgression he forfeited
life itself; and consequently lost his covenant- right to all the means
and comforts of life. And in this condition are all natural men,
with respect to these things. They have no covenant-right to the
means and comforts of life, whatever portion of them they are pos-
sessed of. All the right that they have to them, is a mere provi-
dential, precarious right ; such as a condemned man hath to his food,
during the time his execution is delayed at the pleasure of the prince.
This is a most uncertain and uncomfortable holding: nevertheless
it so far avails, that they are not, properly speaking, violent pos-
sessors of temporal benefits ; having just the same right to them as
to their forfeited life, while it is left them by the disposal of provi-
dence. Wherefore the worst of men may lawfully eat and ''rink,
and take the benefit of other necessaries of life, whatever Sa. nay
suggest to the contrary in the hour of temptation ; yea, they ought
2 I 2
508 TUB PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
to do it, and they sin against God cgregiously if they do it not ; be-
cause he hath said, " thou shalt not kill."
But the second Adam having undertaken to bear the curse, and
to give perfect obedience to the law, in the name of his spiritual
seed ; there was thereupon made a promise of restoring to them the
forfeited life, with all the means thereof; and particularly, a pro-
mise of the good things requisite for the support and comfort of
their temporal life in this world, till at death they be carried home
to heaven. And the performance of this promise to them, is begun
immediately upon their uniting with Christ : then their covenant re-
lation to the first Adam is found to be lawfully dissolved ; the for-
feiture is taken off; and a new covenant right to the creatures is
given them: 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23, "All are yours; and ye are Christ's."
And it goes on, all along till death ; so much of this their stock
being from time to time put into their hands, as the great adminis-
trator sees needful for them. And whether that be little or much,
they do from that moment possess it by a new title : it is theirs by
covenant.
Now, this promise is grafted upon the promise made to Christ of
his inheriting all things. For they that are his, are joint heirs with
him, Tlom. viii. 17, to inherit all things too through him. Rev. xxi.
7. The estate and honour which the first Adam lost for himself and
family, by his disobedience in breaking of the first covenant, was, in
the second covenant, made over by promise to Christ the second
Adam, for him and his, upou the condition of his obedience. The
which obedience being performed the whole ancient estate of the
family was recovered, together with the honours thereunto belong-
ing. The ancient dominion was restored, in the person of Christ as
second Adam : and all his mystical members partake thereof in him.
This the Psalmist teacheth. Psalm viii. 4, " What is man, that thou
art mindful of him ? and the son of man that thou visitest him ?"
Ver. 5, " For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and
hast crowned him with glory and honour." Ver. 6, "Thou madest
him to have dominion over the works of thy hands ; thou hast put
all things under his feet." Ver. 7, " All sheep and oxen, yea, and
the beasts of the field." Ver. 8, " The fowl of the air, and the fish
of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas."
Though there is here a manifest view to the first Adam and all man-
kind in him, as they were happily and honourably stated at their
creation ; yet we are infallibly assured by the apostle, that this pas-
sage is meant of Christ the second Adam. Heb. ii. 6, 7, 8, 9, and
his mystical members in him, ver. 6. Accordingly, Abraham had
the promise, that he should be the heir of the world ; and he had it
THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 509
through the righteousness of faith, i.e. tlie righteousness which faitlr
apprehends, Rom. iv. 13. Now, Abraham was a type of Christ, and
the father of the faithful, who are all blessed as he was. Therefore
this promise was primarily to Christ, through the righteousness by
hira wrought ; secondarily to his members, through the same righte-
ousness apprehended by faith.
This promise of temporal benefits, carries believers' possession
of the same, as far as their need in that kind doth go, Phil. iv. 19.
Of which need, not they themselves, but their Father, is the fit
judge, Matt. vi. 32. Accordingly, there are two chief branches of
the promise, namely, a promise of provision, and a promise of pro-
tection.
1. A promise of provision of good things necessary for this life;
upon which they may confidently trust God for them, whatever
straits they are at any time reduced to : Psalm xsxiv. 10, " The
young lions do lack, and suffer hunger : but they that seek the
Lord, shall not want any good thing." Their meat and drink are
secured for them in the covenant; the which being perceived by
faith, cannot miss to give them a peculiar relish, however mean
their fare be, as to quantity or quality: Isa. xxxiii. 16, "Bread
shall be given him, his water shall be sure." They shall be fed,
though they be not feasted : Psalm xxxvii. 3, " Verily thou shalt
be fed," They shall have enough, they shall be satisfied, Joel ii.
26. And even days of famine shall not mar that, their satisfac-
tion : Psalm xxxvii. 19, " In the days of famine they shall be satis-
fied." And as sleep for their refreshment is necessary too, the
promise bears it also : Prov. iii. 24, " Thou shalt lie down, and thy
sleep shall be sweet." They need clothing ; and provision is made
as to it : Matt. vi. 30, " If God so clothe the grass of the field —
shall he not much more clothe you, 0 ye of little faith?" Having
made them, by covenant, a new grant of life, and of a body, whicii
are more than meat and clothing, he will not refuse them these
lesser things necessary for the support of the greater. Ver. 25, " Is
not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment ?" Thus
our fallen first parents, having believed and embraced the promise
of life, had, with the new grant of life, food and raiment provided
for them, as is particularly taken notice of, Gen. iii. 15, 18, 21.
A blessing also on their labours is pi'omised, and success in their
lawful callings and affairs, Isa. Ixv. 21, 22, 23. In a word, the
covenant bears, that God will withhold no good thing from them
that live uprightly. Psalm Ixxxiv. 11.
2. There is also a promise of protection from the evil things that
concern this life : Psalm xci. 10, " There shall no evil befal thee."
510 THE PARTS OF THE COVEKANT OF GKACE.
Ver, 11, "For lie shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways." Together with the bread and the water
provided by the covenant for them to live on, the munitions of rocks
are secured to them for a place of defence, where they may safely
enjoy them, Isa. xxxiii. 16. The same Lord who is a sun to nourish
them, will be a shield to protect them, Psalm Isxxiv. 11. He will
be a wall of fire round about them, to cherish them, and to keep off,
scare, and fright away all their enemies, Zech. ii. 5. The covenant
yields a broad covert for the safety of believers ; Psalm xci. 4, " He
shall cover thee with his feathers." The covert of the covenant is
stretched out over their bodies; over their health, to preserve it,
while it is necessary for God's honour and their own good, Prov. iii.
7, " Fear the Lord, and depart from evil ;" ver. 8, " It shall be
health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones;" over their lives, as
long as God has any service for them in this world : so in sickness
they are carefully seen to, Psalm xli. 3, " Thou wilt make all his
bed in his sickness ;" their diseases healed, and they recovered,
Psalm ciii. 3, 4. And they are delivered from enemies that seek
their life, Psalm xli. 2. Yea, when death rides in triumph, having
made havoc on all sides of them, as by sword or pestilence, they are
found safe under the covert of the covenant. Psalm xci. 6, 7- This
covert is stretched over their names, credit, and reputation : Job v.
21, " Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue :" either the
tongues of virulent men shall not reach them ; or they shall not be
able to make the dirt to stick on them : or else if they shall be per-
mitted to make it stick for a while, the covert of the covenant shall
wipe all off at length, and their righteousness shall be brought forth
as the light, and their judgment as the noon-day, Psalm xxxvii. 6.
It is stretched over their houses and dwelling-places : Psalm xci.
10, " Neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." It goes
round about their substance, making a hedge about all that they
have. Job i. 10. Yea, and there is a lap of it to cast over their
widows and children, when they are dead and gone : Jer. xlix. 11,
" Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and let
thy widows trust in me."
Thus far of the promise of eternal life, considered in the second
period, to wit, from union with Christ, until death.
PERIOD III.
FROSI DEATH, THROUGH ETERNITY.
It remains that we consider the promise of eternal life to the elect,
THE riJOMISSORY TART OF TUE COVENANT. 511
as it is accomplished to, and hath its effect upon them, from their
death, all along through eternity. And so the great lines of it are
two ; to wit, a promise of victory over death, and a promise of ever-
lasting life in heaven. And these things I shall touch more briefly,
having handled them at large elsewhere.
II. THE PEOillSE OF VICTOllY OVEU DEATH.
The promise of eternal life comprehends a promise of victory
over death, to be conferred on all and every one of the spiritual
seed, in the encounter with that last enemy : Isa. xxv. 8, " He will
swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away
tears from off all faces." After the wearisome march, and the rei-
terated fights of faith they have in their passage through the wil-
derness of this world, they have to pass the Jordan of death, and to
fight the last battle with that enemy. But the victory is secured
on their side by promise ; of which there are two chief branches, to
wit, a promise of disarming death, and a promise of destroying it.
1. There is a promise of disarming death to the dying believer ;
so that it shall at no rate be able to reach him a ruining stroke :
Hos. xiii. 14, " 0 death, I will be thy plagues ;" namely, by taking
the sting quite away, 1 Cor. xv. 55. When sin entered the world,
death followed ; and sin furnished death with an envenomed sting,
wherewith to kill the sinner, both soul and body at once ; the holy
law, with its curse, fixed this sting in death's hand ; having first so
pointed it, that it could not miss of doing execution. But Christ,
the second Adam, having undertaken to bear the curse, and to die
in the room and stead of his people ; there was thereupon made a
promise of disarming death to them : since the Surety suffering the
pains of death armed with its sting, the principal behoved to be
liberate from suffering the same thing over again. And thus the
covenant secures believers from death's harm. Yea, it so alters the
nature thereof, that it makes it a quite new thing to them from
what it was originally. Hence death is found in the inventory of
the saints' treasure, 1 Cor. iii. 22, " Whether life, or death, or
things present, or things to come ; all is yours." Not only is life
theirs by the covenant, but death is theirs too by the same tenor.
And indeed as it is new-framed by the covenant, it is of excellent
use to them, bringing them into a state of perfection, and everlast-
ing rest, Heb. xii. 23; Rev. xiv. 13.
This promise is grafted upon the promise of victory made to
Christ, as appears from the forecited, Isa. xxv. 8. He encountered
death, armed with its sting, on purpose to disarm it to his people ;
512 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
lie received the sting thereof into his own soul and body, that they
might be delivered from it. Wherefore the promise of victory over
death made to him, secures the disarming of it to them. And as
the i^romise makes them safe, in the encounter with that last
enemy : so the lively faith of it may in this case deliver from fear.
2. There is a promise of destroying death to the dead believer,
by a glorious resurrection at the last day ; Hos. xiii. 14, " 0 grave, I
will be thy destruction." When death entered into the world by
sin, then came the grave, as death's attendant, to keep fast his pri-
soners for him, till the general judgment: and thus the grave serves
death, in the case of all who die in a state of enmity with God, But
Christ, the second Adam, having in the second covenant engaged to
go, in the room and stead af his people, death's prisoner, into
the grave, and there to lie till their debt should be fully paid;
there was made thereupon a promise of a glorious resurrection to his
members, whereby they shall be put out of the reach of death for
good and all, at the last day : for " then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory," 1 Cor.
XV. 54; and then shall they triumphantly sing, " 0 death, where is
thy sting '? 0 grave, where is thy victory?" ver. 55. And thus the
covenant secures the forming anew of their dissolved bodies, the re-
turn of their departed souls into them, and their coming forth
of their graves glorious, immortal, and incorruptible. In the faith
of which, the saints may with comfort consider the grave as but a
retiring place, from whence after a while they shall come forth with
unspeakable joy.
This promise is grafted upon the promise of a resurrection made
to Christ, Isa. xxvi. 19, "Thy dead men shall live, together with
my dead body shall they arise." The promise of a resurrection
being made to him as a public person, it must take place also on
his mystical members, whose federal head he was. Hence the
Psalmist says, his flesh should rest in hope, namely, in the grave,
in hope of a glorious resurrection, because the holy one Jesus was
not to see corruption. Psalm xvi. 2, 10, with Acts xiii. 35 ; thereby
teaching, that Christ's resurrection would insure his glorious resur-
rection, as a member of the mystical body by faith. And indeed
there is such a connection between Christ's resurrection and the
happy resurrection of the saints, that they stand and fall to-
gether : 1 Cor. XV. 16, " For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ
raised."
II. TUE PEOMISE OF EVEELASTING LIFE IN HEAVEN.
The promise of eternal life doth, in the last place, comprehend a
THE PROMISSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 513
promise of everlasting life in heaven, to be conferred on all and
every one of the spiritual seed after death : Dan. xii. 2, " And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some
to everlasting life." This was more sparingly revealed under the
Old Testament, than under the Ne^, 2 Tim. i. 10. Yet was it, even
then, so clearly revealed, that all the holy patriarchs lived and
died in the faith of it, Heb. xi. 13 — 16. The fathers before Abra-
ham saw it in the promise of the seed of the woman, which was to
bruise the serpent's head : and from Abraham, they saw it in the
promise of Canaan. But now by the gospel, this life and immor-
tality are set in a full light. By the breach of the first covenant that
life was forfeited, the heavenly paradise lost to Adam and all man-
kind; in token whereof, he was turned out of the earthly paradise.
But the second Adam, having in the second covenant, undertaken the
redemption of the forfeited inheritance, there was a new promise of
it made in favour of his seed : and they are invested with an inde-
feasible right thereto, in the first moment of their union with Christ
by faith ; howbeit they are not instantly put in possession thereof.
And when they do come to the possession, it is not given them all at
once, but at two dift'erenfc periods, in difterent measures; according
to the two chief branches of the promise thereof, namely, a promise
of transporting their souls into heaven at death, and a promise of
transporting them soul and body thither at the last day.
1. There is a promise of transporting their souls separate from
their bodies, into heaven, there to behold and enjoy the face of God.
And it is accomplished to them immediately after their death. It
was most plainly declared and applied by our Saviour to the peni-
tent thief on the cross, Luke xxiii. 43, " To-day shalt thou be with
me in paradise." But it was in the faith of it, that the covenant
was to David, even in the face of death, all his salvation, and all
his desire, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5 ; and that Paul had a desire to depart,
knowing that he was to be with Christ upon his departure, Philip, i.
23. And it is in the faith of the same, that the whole church mili-
tant doth groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed npon with the
house which is from heaven, that is, the heavenly glory, 2 Cor. v.
2. Indeed the curse of the first covenant did, upon the breaking of
that covenant, fall to their lot, as well as to the rest of man-
kind ; and that curse would natively have issued in cutting them
asunder, as covenant-breakers, and appointing them their portion
with the hypocrites ; but that being executed to the full on Christ
their head, to the parting asunder of his holy soul and body, it can
operate no more on them. Wherefore, howbeit others die in virtue
of the curse, separating their souls and bodies, the one to the place
514 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT Or GRACE,
of torment, the other to the grave, till the last day ; yet they do
not so die. Being redeemed from the curse, Gal. iii, 13, they shall
never see snch death, John viii. 51. But they die in conformity
to Christ their head, being predestinate to be conformed to his
image, (Rom. viii. 29), who is the first-born from the dead. Col. i. 18,
and the first fruits of them that sleep, which every man is to follow
in his own order, 1 Cor. xv. 20, 23. That, as in the case of the head,
so in the aase of the members, as death came on by sin, sin may go
off by death. In virtue of their communion with Christ in his death,
the union betwixt their souls and mortal bodies is dissolved ; their
souls dismissed in peace into the heavenly glory, there to remain till
such time as their bodies, laid down in the grave, come, in virtue of
their communion with Christ in his resurrection, to put on incorrup-
tion and immortality.
This promise is grafted upon the promise of acceptance made to
Christ, when he should make his soul an offering for sin. In confi-
dence of which acceptance, dying on the cross he commended his
spirit, or soul, into the hands of his Father, Luke xxii. 46 ; and told
the penitent thief, he was to be that very day in paradise, though
then it was towards the evening of it, ver. 43. The words in which
he commended his soul to his Father, were David's, Psalm xxxi. 5,
" Into thine hand I commit my sj)irit ;" thereby intimating, that the
reception of the souls of his dying people into the hands of the
Father, depends on the reception of his soul into them. For his
soul was, in virtue of the covenant, so received, as a public soul, re-
presenting the souls of the whole seed ; whence David speaking of
Christ, saith, " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell," Psalm, xvi.
10, with Acts ii. 31. Wherefore in the promise of receiving Christ's
soul, was comprehended a promise of receiving the souls of all his
mystical members.
2. There is a promise of transporting them, soul and body, into
heaven, there to be ever with the Lord ; which is to be accom-
plished unto them at the last day : Dan. xii. 2, " And many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Ver. 3, " And
they that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament :
and they that turn many to righteousness," (or rather, they that
do righteously, of the many), " as the stars for ever and ever."
"Whereas the many mentioned, ver. 2, and comprehending all, are
there divided into two sorts, in respect of their future state, in the
event of the resurrection : the happy part, being the first sort of
them, is designed ver. 3, from their present state in this life, the
wise, and they that do righteously; that is, in New Testament Lan-
THE PROJnSSORY PART OF THE COVENANT. 515
guage, the righteous, Matt. xiii. 43, and they that have done good,
John V. 29, in oi>position to the foolish, and they that have done
evil. Those having come forth, unto the resurrection of life, John
V. 29, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the
stars for ever and ever : yea, they shall shine forth as the sun, in
the kingdom of their Father, Matt. xiii. 43. This is the highest
pinnacle of the saints' hopes; wherein they, in their whole man,
shall have the whole of eternal life in its perfection. Man had a
conditional promise hereof, in the covenant of works ; but the con-
dition being broken, the benefit promised was lost ; heaven's gates
were shut against Adam, and all his natural seed. Ilowbeit Christ
the second Adam, having undertaken to fulfil the condition of the
second covenant, which was stated from an exact consideration of
the demands that the broken first covenant had on his spiritual
seed; there was a new promise of it made in their favour; and it
absolute. And to his fulfilling of that condition, both the making
and performing of this promise are owing allenarly. None other's
works but his could ever have availed to reduce the forfeiture, and
purchase a new right : and his works do it so effectually, that they
secure the putting all his seed in actual possession of the purchased
inheritance; so that they shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ,
Rom. V. 17.
This is the promise of the covenant, which is the last of all in
performing ; as being the consummation of all the rest, not to be
accomplished until the mystery of God be finished. The Old Testa-
ment saints died in the faith of it ; and it is not as yet performed to
them : nay, the New Testament saints have died, and still must die,
in the faith of it ; not having it performed to them neither, till it
be at once accomplished to the whole seed together, at the end of
the world. Thus this promise remains to be an unseen object of
faith to the church militant ; and to the church triumphant too,
whose flesh must rest in hope till that day. Psalm xvi. 9. But
because the term prefixed for performing thereof, is, in the depth of
sovereign wisdom, for reasons becoming the divine perfections, set
at such a distance ; there have been some signal pledges given of it,
to confirm the church's faith in the case. Such was the translating
of Enoch, soul and body, into heaven, in the patriarchal period;
Elias, in the time of the law ; aud our blessed Saviour, in the time
of the gospel.
This promise is grafted upon the promise of a glorious exaltation
made to Christ; by which Avas secured to him his ascension, in soul
and body, into heaven, and entering into his glory : Luke xxiv. 26,
" Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into
516 " THE PARTS OF TUE COVEKANT OF GRACE.
liis glory ?" Both these were necessary in respect of the covenant :
his suffering was necessary, in respect of the condition thereof,
which behoved to bo fulfilled by him ; and his entering into his
glory was necessary, in respect of the promise thereof, which be-
hoved to be fulfilled unto him. Now, Christ ascended and entered
into glory, as a public person, as a forerunner entering for us, Heb.
vi. 20. And therefore the promise, in virtue of which he ascended
ani entered into it, comprehends the ascension and glory of all his
mystical members, who are therefore said to sit together in hea-
venly places, in Christ Jesus, Eph. ii. 6. And then, and not till
then, will the promise be perfectly fulfilled to him, when all the
mystical members are personally there, together with their head ;
when the whole seed, perfectly recovered from death, shall reign
there, together with him, in life, for evermore.
And this shall suffice to have been said here of the promise of
eternal life, in the last period thereof.
INFEREKCE FR03I THE PROJIISE OF ETERNAL LIFE.
Thus we have opened the promise of eternal life to the elect, with
the effects thereof on them, in its several periods; to wit, before
their union with Christ : and then, from their union with Christ
until death ; and finally, from their death, through eternity : the
whole springing out of the promises peculiar to Christ himself. For
as these last were fulfilled, in preserving the root of Jesse, notwith-
standing of the various changes that family did undergo, in which
it was often in hazard of extinction, until such time as Christ sprang
out of it, as a root out of a dry ground, Isa. xi. 1, 10 ; and liii. 2 ;
and then, in carrying him up, and carrying him through in his work
notwithstanding of the load of imputed sin that lay upon him, and
the opposition he met with in the world, and the powers of hell, en-
gaged against him, Isa. xlix. 8 ; and 1, 7, 8, 9 ; and finally, in rais-
ing him from the dead, taking him up into heaven, and glorifying
him there for ever and ever, 1 Tim. iii. 16. Even so the promise of
eternal life to the elect, included therein, is fulfilled, in preserving
them in their unconverted state, till such time as they are united
to Christ by faith: and then, in carrying them up, and carrying them
through, iu favour and communion with God, dyring the whole time
of their continuance in this world, notwithstanding of all the oppo-
sition from the devil the world and the flesh : and lastly, in raising
them uj) at the last day, and receiving them soul and body, into hea-
ven, there to be ever with the Lord.
And now, from the whole of what hath been said on that point, we
THE VROJIISSOKY TATiT OF THE COVEVANT. 51?
deduce the following inference, that all the benefits of the covenant
of grace bestowed, or to be bestowed on sinners, are the sure mer-
cies of David, Isa. Iv. 3. This may be taken up in these three things
following : —
1. They are all of them mercies, pure mercies, without respect to
any worthiness in the receivers. They all are free grace gifts ; for
the covenant is to us a covenant of grace, from the first to the last :
Eph. ii. 7, " That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding
riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us, through Christ Jesus."
Yer. 8, " For by grace are ye saved, through faith : and that not of
yourselves : it is the gift of God." The receiving of believers into
glory, is, after all their working, as much of free grace, as is the
quickening of them, when being dead in sin, they could do no good
work at all. They have their faith and their works, their grace and
their glory, their temporal and their eternal good things, all of them
equally of free grace : for they are all secured to them in, and flow
from the promise of the covenant made before the world began; and
are founded on a ground which they had no manner of hand in the
laying of.
2. They all are the mercies of David, that is, of Jesus Christ the
Son of David. His obedience and death are the alone channel
wherein the free grace of the covenant runs, bringing along with it
all those mercies, Eph. ii. 7. It is to the holiness of his nature, the
righteousness of his life, and the satisfaction made by his death,
they are all owing : for upon these alone, and upon nothing in us,
whether before or after conversion, is the promise of eternal life
founded. Our believing through grace, while others continue in un-
belief; our seeing God in glory, while others are cast into outer
darnness ; the bread we eat, and the water we drink, in this life,
together with the hidden manna we shall eat of, and the rivers of
pleasures we shall drink of, in heaven ; are all equally the pur-
chase of our Redeemer's blood.
3. Lastly, They are all of them sure mercies. "What of them the
saints have already got, they could not have missed of ; and what
of them they have not as yet received, is as sure as if they had it in
hand, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, " David perceived that the Lord had con-
firmed him king over Israel ;" and that upon this ground, " for his
kingdom was lift up on high," 1 Chron. xiv. 2. Now, Saul's king-
dom was lift up on high too ; and yet he lost it. But David had his
kingdom by the covenant; Saul, not so: hence the former seeing
the promise begin to be accomplished, rightly concluded, that it
would hold on till it was fully performed ; notwithstanding that the
latter fell from his excellency. Uncovenanted mercies are totering
518 THE PARTS OF THE COVENANT OF ORACE,
mercies ; but the covenant-mercies are sure. Tlie former may flow
plentifully for a while, and yet at length be quite dried up for
ever ; but the spring of the latter being once opened, will flow for
evermore without interruption. The promise is infallibly sure, and
cannot miscarry : it is sure from the nature of God who made it ;
even from his infallible truth, and from his justice too in respect of
Christ, 2 Thess. i. 6, 7.
Thus far of the second part of the covenant, namely, the promis-
sory part.
NO PROPER PENALTY OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
A penalty is no essential part of a proper covenant. It is but
accidental only, arising not from the nature of a covenant, but from
the nature of the covenanters, who being fallible, may break either
the condition, or the promise : in which case a penalty is annexed,
to secure the performance of the condition on the one side, and of
the promise on the other. Wherefore, since the party contracting
on man's side, on whom it lay to perform the condition of this
covenant, was infallible ; as was the party contracting on heaven's
side, on whom it lay to perform the promise of it : there was no
place at all for a penalty thereof, properly so called ; as there was
none in the first covenant, but upon one side. In the second cove-
nant, the Father and the Son absolutely trusted each the other. Upon
the credit of the Son, the Father received all the Old Testament
saints into heaven, before the price of their redemption was paid ;
and upon the credit of the Father, the Son, nearly seventeen hundred
years ago, paid the full price of the redemption of the elect, while
vast multitudes of them were not as yet born into the world, and
many of them are not even to this day.
It is true, the parties contracted for are fallible : but then the
performing of the condition of this covenant, as such, doth in no
case lie upon them ; Christ having taken it entirely on himself, and
accordingly performed it already. While they continue in their
natural state, without Christ, they are personally in the covenant of
works, not in the covenant of grace. And being once become
believers in Christ, the promise of the covenant of grace stands
always entire to them, notwithstanding of all their failures; and
must needs stand so, in virtue of the condition of the covenant
already performed, and judicially sustained, as performed by Jesus
Christ for them. And though they are fallible in respect of their
actions, as long as they are in this world ; yet from the moment of
their union with Christ by faith, they are not fallible in respect of
THE TEOMISSOUY PART OF THE COVENANT. 519
their state : tliey can no more fall fi'om their state of grace, than the
saints in heaven can. Hence, even in their case, there is no place
for the curse, or eternal wrath, the only penalty by which they
should lose their right to the promise of the covenant. They are
indeed liable to God's fatherly anger and chastisements for their
sins : but forasmuch as by these there is no intercision of their
right to the promise ; and that they are not vindictive, but medici-
nal; they canuot be accounted a proper penalty of the covenant of
gi'ace, however they may be improperly so called ; but do really
belong to the promissory part, and administration of the covenant,
Psalm Ixxsix. 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 ; Isa. xxvii. 9 ; Heb. xii. 5, 6, 7.
Where the condition of a covenant is fully performed, and legally
sustained as such, in favour of the party who is to receive the
benefit promised, it is evident there can be no more place for a
proper penalty of the covenant on that side : and so it is here
in the case of believers.
And thus we have dispatched the third head, namely, the parts
of the covenant.
HEAD IV.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OP GRACE.
It remains now to consider the administration of the covenant.
And since the salvation of sinners doth entirely depend on this
covenant; and that all the dispensations of God toward them, for
carrying on and completing that gracious design, are regulated
according to it : and since withal it is in itself the deepest secret,
being a compact entered into betwixt the Father and the Son, before
the world began : it is altogether necessary, that there be an admi-
nistration of it, whereby it may be rendered effectual to the end for
which it was made. And hereof we will have a view, by consider-
ing, 1. The party on whom the administration of the covenant is
devolved ; 2. The object of the administration ; 3. The ends of it ;
and, -1. The nature of it. Of all which in order,
I. CHRIST THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COVENANT.
Such is the nature of the thing, the weight and importance of this
administration, that none who was not fit to be a party-contractor
in the covenant, could be meet to be intrusted therewith. Where-
520 THE PARTS OF THE COVENA^fT OF GRACE.
fore the admiuistration of the covenant was devolved upon no mere
man nor angel, but on the Lord Jesus Christ, the second Adam :
and he hath it by the covenant itself, as a reward of his work. It
was therein made over to him by promise; particularly, by the
promise of a glorious exaltation, to be the Father's honorary ser-
vant, prime minister of heaven, mentioned before, and now to bo
more fully and distinctly unfolded. It was for this cause the last
Adam was made a quickening spirit, as saith the text, 1 Cor. xv.
45, with which we shall compare the promise,
Isa. xlix. 8, " I will — give thee for a covenant of the people."
These are the Father's words to Christ the second Adam, the
great surety-servant, chosen to make reparation of the injury done
to the honour of God by the spiritual Israel, ver. 3 ; the light of the
Gentiles, ver. 6, which is none other but he, Luke ii. 32 ; Acts xiii.
47; whose appearing in the world made the acceptable time, the
day of salvation, as in the preceding part of this 8th verse, com-
pared with 2 Cor. vi. 2. And they are a promise made to him of a
reward of his work, in fulfilling the condition of the covenant by
his obedience and death : for they are immediately subjoined to the
promise of assistance therein ; I will preserve thee, (namely, in the
course of thy obedience, doing and dying, so that thou shalt not be
utterly swallowed up of death, but swim through these deepest
waters safe ashore,) and give thee for a covenant of the people ; or
simply, of people. Not that Christ was never given for a covenant
of the people till he rose from the dead; nay, he was so given
immediately after the fall, Gen. iii. 15 : but that it was always
upon the view, and in consideration of his obedience and death ho
was so given ; and that he was at his resurrection and ascension
solemnly invested with that office.
This giving, according to the scripture-phraseology, imports a
divine constitution or settlement. So it is said, ver. 6, " I will give
thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation
unto the end of the earth ;" i. e. I will constitute or set thee for a
light : even as God set (Heb. gave) the sun and moon in the firma-
ment of the heaven, to give light upon the earth, Gen. i. 17. Thus
the people making or appointing a captain, are said to give a head
or captain, Numb. xiv. 4; Neh. ix. 17- Wherefore, to give Christ
for a covenant of the people, is to constitute or make him the cove-
nant ; whereby the people, any people, Jews or Gentiles, may be-
come God's people, and receive all the benefits of that covenant-
relation to God. This then speaks Jesus Christ to be the ordinance
of God for the reconciliation of sinners to God, and their partaking
of all the benefits of the covenant : even as the sun is the ordinance
CHRIST THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COVENANT. 521
of heaven for light to the world, unto whose light all have free
access; though in the meantime it doth not enlighten the blind, nor
those who will needs live in darkness, because they hate the light.
This honour was secured to him in the promissory part of the cove-
nant, in consideration of his fulfilling the conditionary part thereof.
Now, that Christ is by the authority of heaven constituted or made
the covenant, imports these two things. (1.) He is constituted ad-
ministrator of the covenant : as he had the burden of purchasing
the promised benefits, so he hath the honour of distributing and con-
ferring them on sinners. This meaning of the phrase appears from
the following words, declaring the end of this constitution; to " es-
tablish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;" ver.
9, " That thou niayest say to the prisoners, Go forth." See chap,
xlii. 6, 7. (2.) The whole of the covenant is in him : so that he
that hath Christ, hath the covenant, the whole of the covenant; he
that hath not Christ, hath no saving part or lot in it. This is the
native import of this unusual phrase, occurring only here and chap,
xlii. 6, and is confirmed by the following words, to establish the
earth. A covenant is an establishing thing. When the first cove-
nant was broken, the foundations of the earth were, so to speak,
loosened, that it could no more stand firm, until Christ was given
for a covenant, to establish it again : he bore up the pillars thereof,
in virtue of the new covenant in himself. And if his administra-
tion of the covenant were once at an end on the earth, the earth
will stand no longer, but be reduced to ashes. The saying concern-
ing the sacramental cup, " This cup is the new testament in ray
blood," 1 Cor. xi. 25, is somewhat akin to the expression in the
text, and serves to confirm the sense given of it. For it surely
bears, (1.) That the sacramental cup is the ministration of the New
Testament to believing receivers ; so that receiving the one in faith
they receive the other too. (2.) That the New Testament is in
Christ's blood ; so that their communion of the benefits of the tes-
tament, is by their communion of the blood of Christ, 1 Cor. x. 16.
Now, from these texts compared, it appears. That the adminis-
tration of the covenant of grace is devolved on Jesus Christ the
second Adam, for that end made a quickening spirit, having the
whole of the covenant in him.
This constitution, lodging the administration of the covenant in
the Mediator Christ Jesus, is at once suited to the glory of God,
the case of sinners, and the honour of Christ himself.
1. It is suited to the glory of God the offended party. In the
face of Jesus the administrator, shines forth the glory of the God of
the covenant, 2 Cor. iv. ?• His spotless holiness, and tremendous jus-
VOL. VIII. 2 K
522 THE ADMINISTRATION OF TUE COVENANT OF GRACE.
tice, appear there; together with his matchless love, freest grace,
and tenderest mercy. God is in Christ reconciling the world to
himself, with the safety of his glory; giving forth his peace and
pardons freely, without any merit of the receivers, and yet not with-
out sufficient satisfaction to his justice, and compensation of his in-
jured honour ; as from a throne of grace, stablished upon justice sa-
tisfied, and judgment fully executed, the firm bases thereof.
2. It is suited to the case of sinners, the offending party. In
Christ the administrator of the covenant, they have to do with a God,
whose rays of majesty, that the guilty are not able to behold, are
vailed with the robe of a spotless humanity. An inviting sweetness
appears in the face of the administrator, " full of gj-ace and truth,"
John i. 14. In him they may see their salvation so dear to the God
that made them, that he himself would put on their nature, to estab-
lish, by his own blood, a covenant of peace between heaven and
them. He is true man, of the same family of Adam with themselves ;
unto whom they may confidently draw near, joining themselves
to him as the head of the covenant: and withal, he is the true God,
undoubtedly able to make the covenant effectual for their salvation,
notwithstanding all their unworthiness.
3. It is suited to the honour of Christ himself, the peace-maker,
who hath it as the reward of his work. Joseph, being sold for a
bond-servant, behaved himself with all meekness, patience, faithful-
ness in that low character; the which was afterwards, by all-ruling
providence, abundantly rewarded with honour, in his being ad-
vanced to be the prime minister of the kingdom of Egypt, having
the administration of the whole kingdom committed to him. Psalm
cv. 17 — 22. Herein he was a type of Christ. The Lord Jesus did
voluntarily submit himself to the lowest step of reproach and dis-
grace, taking upon him the form of a bond-servant, and humbling
himself in that form, even unto the death of the cross; and that to
perform the condition of the covenant, for the glory of God, and
the salvation of his people : and therefore he was exalted to the
highest pinnacle of honour, being advanced to the prime ministry
of heaven, having the administration of the covenant put into his
hand, ruling over all under his Father; whereby is given him a
name which is above every name, whether of men or angels, " all
things being put under his feet," Philip, ii. 7, 8, 9 ; Eph. i. 20 — 23.
In respect hereof, he is often called the Father's servant, namely,
his honorary servant: and his honour in that character is often
promised to be made very great, Isa. xlix. 6. and Hi. 13, 14, 15;
Zech. iii. 8, with vi. 12, 13.
And forasmuch as the everlasting covenant will continue to be
CHRIST THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COVENANT. 523
tlie ground and rule of God's dispensations towards his people for
evermore ; by the constitution lodging the administration of the co-
venant in the person of Christ, he is to enjoy that honour and dig-
nity for ever and ever. For "unto the Son he saith, thy throne, 0
God, is for ever and ever," Heb. i. 8. Even of his kingdom which
is given him, that is, his mediatory kingdom and administration
there shall be no end, Luke i. 32, 33. The time comes indeed,
wherein he will " deliver up the kingdom to God even the Father ;
l)resentiug to him at the last day, the whole church, and every mem-
ber thereof, brought by his administration, according to his com-
mission, into a state of perfection. And then cometh the end, 1
Cor. XV. 24, namely, the end of the world, but not the end of his
administration : for being constituted administrator of the covenant,
"there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom; and his
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,"
(as the world shall, 1 Cor. vii. 31), "and his kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed," (as all the four monarchies have been),
Dan. vii. 14.
And thus we have seen Christ to be the party on whom the ad-
ministration of the covenant is devolved.
II. SINNERS OF MANKIND THE OBJECT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF
THE COVENANT.
The object of the administration of the covenant, is, sinners of man-
kind indefinitely : that is to say, Christ is empowered, by commission
from his Father, to administrate the covenant of grace to any of all
mankind, the sinners of the family of Adam without exception : he
is authorized to receive them into the covenant, and to confer on
them all the benefits thereof, to their eternal salvation ; according
to the settled order of the covenant. The election of particular per-
sons is a secret, not to be discovered in the administration of the
covenant, according to the established order thereof, till such time
as the sinner have received the covenant, by coming personally
into it. And the extent of the administration is not founded on
election, but on the sufficiency of Christ's obedience and death for
the salvation of all ; neither is it regulated thereby, but by the ful-
ness of power in heaven and cai'th given to Jesus Christ, as a reward
of his becoming obedient even unto death.
For confirming this truth, let the following things be consi-
dered.
1. The grant which the Father hath made of Christ crucified, as
his ordinance for the salvation of lost sinners of mankind. In the
2 K 2
524 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OP OKACE.
case of the Israelites in the wilderness, bitten by fiery serpents, God
instituted an ordinance for their cure, namely,~a brazen serpent lift-
ed up on a pole ; and made a grant thereof to whosoever would use
it for that purpose, by looking to it. No body whosoever that
needed healing, was excepted : the grant was conceived in the most
ample terras, Numb. xxi. 8, " It shall come to pass, that every one
that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live." So all mankind
being bitten by the old serpent, the devil, and sin, as his deadly
poison, left in them ; God hath appointed Jesus Christ the ordinance
of heaven for their salvation. There is a word of divine appoint-
ment passed upon a crucified Christ, making and constituting him
the ordinance of God for salvation of sinners ; and God hath made
a grant of him as such, to whomsoever of Adam's lost race will make
use of him for that purpose, by believing on him; in the which grant
none of the world of mankind is excepted. All this is clear from
John iii. 14, 15, 16, " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wil-
derness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up : that whosoever
believeth in him, should not perish, but have eternal life. " For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
■whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting
life." Now, the administration of the covenant being settled in pur-
suance of this grant therein made for a reward of the Mediator's
obedience, the object of the former can be no less extensive than
that of the latter.
2. The Mediator's commission for the administration, is conceived
in the most ample terms ; and he is clothed with most ample powers
■with relation to that business. It carries his administering the
covenant, not only to the meek, the poor, the broken-hearted ; but
to the captives, blind, bruised, prisoners, bond-men and broken men,
■who have sold their inheritance and themselves, and can have no
hope of relief but by a jubilee, Luke iv. 18, 19 ; with Isa. Ixi. 1, 2.
What sort of sinners of mankind can one imagine, that will not fall
in under some of these denominations ? Christ is indeed given for
a covenant of people ; not of this or that people, but of people inde-
finitely. " All power is given him in heaven and in earth," Matth.
xxviii. 18. So there are none on earth excepted from his adminis-
tering the covenant to them. He is empowered to save the guilty
law-condemned world, by administering it to them; "For God sent
not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but that the
world through him might be saved," John iii, 17 ; forasmuch as he
is the ordinance of God for taking away the sin of the world, chap.
i. 29 ; though many to whom he ofl^ers the covenant, do refuse it, and
so are not saved eventually. Accordingly, from this fulness of
SINNERS OF MANKIND THE OBJECT OF TUE COVENANT. 625
power he issues forth the general offer of the gospel ; wherein all
without exception are declared welcome to come and suck of the
full breasts of the divine consolations in the covenant : Matth. xi.
27, " All things are delivered unto me of ray Father." Ver. 28,
" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest." Chap, xxviii. 18, " All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth." Ver. 19, " Go ye therefore and teach all na-
tions." Mark xvi. 15, " Preach the gospel to every creature."
3. He executes his commission in an unhampered manner, admi-
nistering the covenant to any sinner of mankind : Prov. viii. 4,
" Unto you, 0 men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man."
The object of his administration is not this or that party of man-
kind, under this or the other denomination ; but men, any men, sons
of men indefinitely. So the gospel, in which he administers the
covenant, is good tidings to all people, Luke ii. 10, a feast made
unto all people, Isa. xxv. 6, though many, not relishing the tidings,
never taste of the faast. Accordingly, he commissioned his apos-
tles for that effect, in terras than which none can imagine more ex-
tensive, Mark xvi. 15, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature." The Jews called man the creature, as
being God's creature by way of eminence : so by every creature is
meant every man. There are in the world, some men, who, by rea-
son of their monstrous wickedness, are like devils ; there are other
men, who, by reason of their savageness seem to differ but little
from brutes : but our Lord saith here in effect, " Be what they will,
if ye can but know them to be men, ask no questions about them on
this head, what sort of men they are : being men, preach the gospel
to them, offer them the covenant; and if they receive it, give them
the seals thereof: my Father made them, I will save them."
4. If we inquire, who they are to whom Christ stands related as a
Saviour ? or, whose Saviour he is, according to the scripture ? we
find, that considered as an actual Saviour, saving actually and even-
tually, he is indeed only Saviour of the body, Eph. v. 23 ; but con-
sidered as an official Saviour, a Saviour by office, he is the Saviour
of the world, 1 John iv. 14 ; Jolin iv. 42. Thus one having a com-
mission to be the physician of a society, is the physician of the whole
society, by office ; and so stands related to every man of them, as
his physician : howbeit, he is not actually a healer to any of them,
but such as employ him. Though some of that society should not
employ him at all, but on every occasion call another physician ; yet
he is still their physician by office : though they should die of their
disease, being averse from calling him ; yet still it is true, that he
was their physician, they might have called liim, and had his reme-
526 TUE ADMINISTRATION OF TUE COVENANT OF GRACE.
dies ; and it was purely their own fault, that they were not healed
by him. Even so our Lord Jesus Christ hath Heaven's patent, con-
stituting him the Saviour of the world ; by the authority of his
Father he is invested with that office : and wheresoever the gospel
comes, his patent fur that effect is intimated, 1 John iv. 14, " And
we have seen and do testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the
Saviour of the world." Wherefore, none of us shall perish for want
of a Saviour. Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world; he is your
Saviour, and my Saviour, be our case what it will : and Grod, in and
liy him, is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe, 1
Tim. iv. 10. Hence Christ's salvation is the common salvation, Jude
3. : and the gospel is the grace of God that bringeth salvation to
all men. Tit. ii. 11, raarg. Christ then stands related as a Saviour
by office to the world of mankind ; he is their Saviour ; and he is so
related to every one of them, as sinners, lost sinners of that society,
1 Tim. i. 15, " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."
Luke xix. 10, " The Son of man is come to seek and to save that
which is lost." Let no man say, " Alas ! I have nothing to do with
Christ, nor he with me; for I am a sinner, a lost sinner," Nay,
upon that very ground there is a relation between him and you.
Since you are a sinner of mankind, Christ is your Saviour : for he is
by office Saviour of the family whereof you are a branch. If you will
employ another than him, or pine away inyour disease, rather than
put yourself in his hand, ye do it upon your peril : but know as-
suredly, that you have a Saviour of your own, chosen of God for you,
whether you employ him or not. He is by his Father's appointment
the physician of souls : ye are the sick ; and the less sensible ye
are, the more dangerously sick ; there is a valuable relation then
betwixt Christ and you, as such, Matth. ix. 11, 12. He is the great
burden-bearer, that gives rest to them that labour and are heavy
laden, Matth. xi. 28 ; Psalm li. 22. Ye labour, spending your labour
for that which satisfied not : and are laden with iniquity, even heavy
laden ; and nothing the less so, that ye are not duly sensible thereof:
there is a relation then betwixt Christ and you, on that very score.
Now, if Christ stands related to the world of mankind-sinners, as
their Saviour, then they are the object of his administration of the
covenant.
5. Lastly, If it were not so, then there would be some excepted
persons of the world of mankind-sinners, for whom there is no war-
rant, more than for devils, to take hold of the covenant, by believing
in Christ : contrary to the constant voice of the gospel, John iii. 16 ;
Mark xvi. 15. For surely they have no warrant to take hold of the
covenant, to whom the Administrator is not empowered to give it.
SlNNEllS OF MANKIND TllK OBJiiGT OF THE COVENANT. 527
Which of the world of mankiud-sinuers can these excepted persons
be ? Not pagans, and other infidels, who hear not the gospel : for
howbeit, in the depth of sovereign wisdom, that warrant is not inti-
mated to them ; yet it doth really extend to them ; as included under
that general term, whosoever, John iii. 16. And if it did not extend
to them, the covenant could not lawfully be preached and offered to
them by ministers of the gospel ; more than a crier could lawfully
go and proclaim and offer the king's indemnity to those who have
no concern in it, but are excepted out of it. The ministerial gospel-
offer is undoubtedly null and void, as far as it exceeds the bounds
of the object of Christ's administration of the covenant ; as being, in
so far, from one or more having no power to make it. Neither are
any who hear the gospel excepted : for the not taking hold of the
covenant by faith in Christ, is the great sin and condemnation of all
who, having the gospel, do so entertain it, Prov. viii. 36 ; John iii.
19 ; Mark xvi. 16. But it could not be the sin of such persons; be-
cause it can never be one's sin, not to do a thing which he hath no
warrant from God to do. Much less are the non-elect excepted :
for at that rate, not only should their unbelief be none of their sin ;
but the elect themselves could never believe, till such time as their
election were, in the first place, revealed to them, which is contrary
to the stated method of grace : for none can believe in Christ, till
once they see their warrarnt ; forasmuch as that warrant is the ground
of faith.
Wherefore we conclude, that sinners of mankind indefinitely are
the object of Christ's administration of the covenant ; that he is em-
powered to administer it to you, and every one of you, whatever
you are, or have been ; and that you must either take hold of the
covenant for life and salvation, or perish as despisers of it, since ye
have heard the gospel.
III. The ends of the administration of the covenant.
The ends of the administration of the covenant, which make the
business of the Administrator as such, are these three : to wit, (1.)
the bringing of sinners into the covenant ; (2.) the management of
them therein, according to it, in this world ; and, (3.) the completing
of their happiness, according to it, in the other world.
1, The bringing of sinners personally and savingly into the cove-
nant, Isa. xlix. 5, " And now, saith the Lord that formed me from
the womb, to be his servant, to bring Jacob again unto him, though
Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord."
Thougli the covenant was concluded from eternity, when we could
neither consent nor dissent ; yet, by the constitution thereof, it is
528 THE AUJIINISTRATIUN OJF THE COVENANT OF GRACE,
provided, that, even to the end of time, any sinner of the race of
Adam, who shall believe, his receiving and embracing the covenant
by faith, shall be as good and valid to enter him into it, a^ if he
had personally subscribed it at the making thereof, John iii. 16.
Thus it is left open to mankind-sinners, that they may come into it,
taking place therein under Christ the head ; and so become personally
confederate with Heaven, to their eternal salvation. And there is
room enough within the compass of the infinite name of the second
Adam, for all of us to subscribe our little names. Wherefore, not-
withstanding of all that have already subscribed, in that name, saying,
" I am the Lord's," i.e. the Lord Christ's, Isa. xliv. 5, since Eve first
set down her name there, by believing the promise first, whereby
she then commenced, and actually was the mother of all living, Gen.
iii. 20 ; yet the voice of the gospel still is, and will be even to
the end, " And yet there is room," Luke xiv. 22. For typifying
which Noah's ark was, by the appointment of Heaven, made all little
rooms. Gen. vi. 14, called in the margin there, nests. Now, the
Mediator is authorised to treat with sinners, rebels to God, and
subjects of Satan's kingdom, to bring them over to Heaven's side
again ; and for that eflect to administer the covenant unto them, to
propose it to them, and gather them into the bond thereof. Where-
fore, having gone forth on that errand, he testifies his earnestness
in the work, Matth. xxiii. 37, " How often would I have gathered
thy children !" and declares himself the door of the sheep, John x.
7,9.
2. The management of them in the covenant, according to it,
during their continuance in this world. When sinners are, by the
Mediator's administration, brought within the bond of the covenant,
they are not thenceforth trusted with the management of themselves
and their stock : but their stock being lodged with him, they are
put under his hand as their sole manager, the chief Shepherd and
Bishop of souls, unto whose oversight the strays once returned are
committed, 1 Pet. ii. 25. Whatever they need, they must receive
from him : he is to dispense all the benefits of the covenant, of
whatever kind, unto them. Are they to be justified? he is to pass
the sentence, " Thy sins be forgiven thee," Matt. ix. 2, 6. Are they
to be brought into a new saving relation to God ? he is to give them
power to become the sons of God, John i. 12. Are they to be sanc-
tified ? he is to wash, sanctify, and cleanse them, John xiii. 8 ; Epb.
V. 26 ; and to give them repentance, as well as forgiveness of sins,
Acts V. 31. Are they to be caused to persevere ? he is to keep
them, and to account for each one of them to his Father, John xvii.
12. Are they to be seen to in all their temporal concerns? the
SINNEKS OP MANKIND THE OBJECT OF THE COVENANT. 529
care of them all lies upon him, 1 Pet. v. 7- He is our Joseph, who
hath all the stores of the covenant in his hand : and of him God
hath said, as Pharaoh said to his famishing people crying unto him
for bread, " Go to Joseph," Gen. xli. 55. Moreover, they must
receive all their orders from him, touching their duty in all points.
They must receive the law at his mouth ; since it is by him God
speaks unto them, according to the constitution of the covenant :
for which cause God hath given a solemn charge to all the covenant-
people, saying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased : hear ye him," Matt. xvii. 5.
3. And lastly, The completing of their happiness, according to the
covenant, in the other world : Eph. v. 27, " That he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any
such thing." It is the comfort of believers, that Jesus Christ admi-
nisters the covenant in this world ; so that whatever part thereof
they may be driven to, they can never be driven to any part unto
which his administration doth not extend. Howbeit, the most glo-
rious part of his administration takes its place in the other world :
for it is in heaven, that the promises of the covenant have their
perfect accomplishment : the which makes heaven home to believers.
" 0 ! but the passage betwixt the two worlds is a dark, dangerous,
and gloomy one ! Who can without horror think of the Jordan of
death, and the darksome region of the grave !" But withal, God's
covenant-people should remember, that their Lord liath business in
that passage, as well as on either side of it. The line of the cove-
nant is drawn through it, making a path by which the redeemed
safely pass. So there also is the scene of Christ's administration of
the covenant; he hath the keys of hell and of death. Rev. i. 18. It
is great weakness, to think that he doth only, as it were, stand on
the other side of the river, directing the believer in his passage, and
ready to receive him when he comes ashore : nay, it lies on him, as
administrator of the covenant, even to go into the water with the
passenger, to take him by the arm, and going between him and the
stream, to break the force thereof unto him, and to bring liim safe
ashore : Psalm xxiii. 4, " Though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me." In
the Israelites passing over to Canaan, the ark went first into Jor-
dan, and was last in coming out, being there till all the people were
passed clean over. Josh. chap. iii. iv. The ark being a type of
Christ, as Canaan was of heaven, this teacheth us, that our Lord
Jesus will have business in the passage between the two worlds, as
long as there is one of his people to pass that way; and that his
administration there will never be at an end, until the last man
530 THE NATUUE OF THE ADMINISTRATION OJF THE COVENANT.
within the bond of the covenant is safely landed on the other side.
This done, he is to administer the covenant to them there also, com-
pleting their happiness by a perfect accomplishment of all the pro-
mises thereof nnto them. As Jesus is the author, so he is the
finisher of our faith, Heb. xii. 2. In which texts there is an allu-
sion to the races famous among the ancient Greeks, wherein there
was one that opened the race, ran it, and went on the head of all
the rest ; another who was set on a throne at the end of the race,
and gave the prize to such as won it. In the spiritual race, Christ
acts both these parts. As performer of the condition of the cove-
nant, in the course of his obedience, wherein he endured the cross,
despising the shame, he is the author of our faith, or the chief
leader, expressly called the forerunner, chap. vi. 20, in bringing
many sons unto glory, going on their head as captain or chief
leader, chap. ii. 10. Then, as administrator of the covenant, he is
the finisher of our faith, or the perfecter that gives the crown to
the runners, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of Grod.
And thus it is his business to put the crown of glory on the heads
of those whom by his grace he hath made conquerors. From his
hand Paul expected it, 2 Tim. iv. 8, " Henceforth there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge," to wit, Chi'ist, the judge of the world, " shall give me at
that day." To him it belongs to grant to the overcomers to sit with
him in his throne, Rev. iii. 21. And therefore I cannot help think-
ing, that the text, Matt. xx. 23, may safely be read without the
supplement, " To sit on ray right hand, and on my left, is not mine
to give, but for whom it is prepared of my Father." So the parti-
cle but is used exceptively, 2 Cor. ii. 5, for save, Mark ix 8. The
fulness of power given to the Mediator, comprehends all power in
heaven, as well as in earth : accordingly he prepares the place for
his several people in his Father's house, having the whole at his
disposal as administrator of the covenant. And he is to administer
the covenant to them, not only at their first entrance into the
regions of bliss, but all along through the ages of eternity, being to
remain the eternal bond of union and mean of communication be-
twixt God and the saints for ever, Heb. vii. 25 ; Rev. vi. 17.
And these are the ends of the administration of the covenant.
Follows,
IV. THE NATURE OF THE ADSIINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT.
The nature of this administration off*ers itself to our view, in the
relations Christ hath to the covenant as he is administrator thereof.
CURIST THE TRUSTEE OF THE COVENANT. 531
We have already seen, how that Cbrist became the Mediator of the
covenant, both substantial and official ; and have observed, that his
official mediation runs through the whole of the covenant ; and we
have taken notice of a threefold relation of his unto it, namely, his
being 1. The Kinsman-redeemer in it; 2. The Surety of it ; and, 3.
The Priest, the sacrificing priest, of it; the which parts of his medi-
ation, respecting the condition of the covenant, do belong to the
making of it. We shall now consider his other relations thereto,
bearing those parts of his mediation, which, respecting the promises
of the covenant, do belong to the administration of it. And they
are these five. i. He is the Trustee of the covenant ; 2. The Tes-
tator of the covenant : 3. The Prophet of the covenant ; 4. The
King of the covenant ; and 5. The Intercessor of the covenant :
each of which is a syllable of the name above every name, given him
of the Father, as the reward of his work. And in viewing these
in order, the nature of the administration of the covenant will
plainly appear.
I. CHRIST THE TRUSTEE OF THE COVENANT.
Our Lord Jesus as administrator, is, in the first place, the Trustee
of the covenant ; having the covenant, and all the benefits thereof,
committed to his trust : Col. i, 19, " For it pleased the Father, that
in l)im should all fulness dwell." This greatest of all trusts, too
great for any mere man or angel, our blessed liedeemer was per-
fectly qualified for ; and so was set over the house of God, the most
precious things thereof being put under his hand. What is sealed
up from the highest angel, he hath access to ; he is trusted to loose
the seals, for he is worthy, Rev. v. 2 — 5, A holy jealous God put
no trust in his servants, and his angels he charged with folly : for
they were fallible; there was a possibility of their betraying their
trust. Job iv. 18. But it pleased him to trust the blessed Jesus,
that in him, as an infallible administrator, all fulness should dwell.
This high trust was a necessary prerequisite of the administra-
tion : and therefore, upon his engagement to fulfil the condition of
the covenant, reputed in heaven as sure as if it had been actually
performed, all the benefits of the covenant were not only made over
to him in point of right, but were delivered over into his hand in
actual possession, that he might dispense them to sinners, according
to the method therein stated and agreed upon : John iii. 35, " The
Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand."
Matth. xi. 27, " All things are delivered unto me of my Father."
Ver. 28, " Come unto me, all yo that labour, and are heavy laden,
532 THE ADMINISTUATION OF THE COVENANT.
and I will give you rest." Hence it was that he entered upon the
administration of the covenant, long before his incarnation ; even
as soon as there was any place for the administering thereof, which
was in paradise after the fall : though the solemnity of his investi-
ture and taking possession, was reserved unto his ascension into hea-
ven, when the man Christ was set at God's right hand, Gen. iii. 8,
15 ; with Psalin Ixviii. 18; Eph. i. 20—22.
Thus the fulness of the covenant is in him : and this trust makes
the unsearchable riches of Christ, not to be particularly inventoried
by us, since they are unsearchable. But, agreeable lo what hath
been said before, we shall, for opening thereof, mark the following
things : —
1. The unseen guard of the covenant is under his hand. There
is given unto him all power over natural and spiritual things, to
manage the same for the preservation, protection, and restraint of
those sometime to be brought into the covenant ; while yet they are
strangers from it, and neither perceive the guard about them, nor
the commander thereof: John v. 22, " The Father — hath committed
all judgment unto the Son." Hos. xi. 3, " I taught Ephraim also to
go, taking them by their arms, but they knew not that I healed
them." Sometimes they are, during their state of blindness, in emi-
nent hazard of their lives, and narrowly escape, before the stream
of strong temptations threatening to carry them quite away ; and
yet the force of these is broken one way or other, and they brought
back from the very brink of ruin ; and they never truly know,
whose debtors they are for these things, nor see the love-design in
them, until converting grace has reached them ; and then they hear
the captain of that guard saying to them, as he said to Cyrus, Isa.
xlv. 5, " I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." So the
mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, for the defence of
Elisha and his servant; while yet the servant saw none for them,
but against them, until the Lord opened his eyes, 2 Kings vi. 17.
2. The quickening Spirit of the covenant is in him, whereby to
quicken dead sinners, and cause them to live. The Spirit of life be-
hoved to be purchased for sinners, otherwise there was no life for
them. Now, the fulness thereof is purchased, and actually lodged
in the Mediator, according to the covenant. Hence Christ propos-
eth himself to dead Sardis, as having the seven spirits of God, Ilev.
iii. 1 ; and saith to the Jews, John v. 25, " The dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God ;" that is, dead souls shall be quickened,
and being quickened, shall believe. The first Adam being made a
living soul, was capable to communicate natural life ; but not being
made a quickening spirit, he could not restore life once lost : but
CHRIST THE TESTATOR OP THE COVENANT. 533
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit, to restore spiritual life
to sinners dead in trespasses and sins. So, in Christ as the Trustee
of the covenant, is the fountain of life. Adam's sin put out the
lights of the whole world ; and his natural offspring were all left by
him as so many blind candles : but the second Adam is made, and
set up, a flaming lamp to light them again; and as many of them as
it toucheth, do instantly flame too : and could they all but touch it,
and none are forbidden, they should all be lighted again, and shine
with the light of spiritual life, partaking of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus.
3. The righteousness of the covenant is in him, whereby to jus-
tify the ungodly that have no righteousness of their own. Hence
his name is, " Tiie Lord our righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 6. Righte-
ousness of man before the Lord was quite worn out : there was
nothing of that kind left upon any of Adam's children, " as it
is written, there is none righteous, no not one," Rom. iii. 10. But
Jesus Christ having, in his birth, life, and death, wrought out the
righteousness of the new covenant, brought it in, and presented it
nnto his Father, Dan. ix. 24, with Lev. xvi. 15. And it was
sustained and accepted as the new-covenant righteousness, for justi-
fying all that believe ; and was lodged with the worker thereof,
intrusted with it as Administrator of the covenant. Hence he is
said to be made unto us righteousness, 1 Cor. i. 30, namely, by
a divine constitution, even as he was made the covenant. And
intimation hereof is made unto sinners in the gospel, for a ground
of faith, Isa. xlv. 24, " Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have
I righteousness," Heb. Only in the Lord (concerning me he hath
said) is righteousness. They ai^e the words of the Lord Jesus
Christ, narrating the divine constitution concerning himself. Com-
pare ver. 23 ; with Rom. xlv. 10, 11. Wherefore, the gospel
is called the ministration of righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 9; and his
ministers, ministers of righteousness, chap. xi. 15 ; he being intrust-
ed with the new covenant righteousness, for to administer it to sin-
ners, unto justification of life, as tlie phrase is, Rom. v. Ifi.
4. The new covenant right to God is in his person as Mediator :
and he is actually possessed of the fulness of the Godhead, as he is
administrator of the covenant, to communicate of that fulness to all
that shall believe, Col. ii. 9, '* For in him dwelleth alj the fulness of
the Godhead bodily." Yer. 10, '* And ye are complete in him,
which is the head." Our Lord Jesus, as the eternal Son of God,
had a natural indefeasible right to the fulness of the Godhead : but
as the second Adam, he took out a new right thereto, purchasing
the same by his obedience and death ; and as such, it is now lodged
53-i THE ADMINISTRATION" OF THE COVEXANT.
with liini, to be communicated by him. And thus the peaee of the
covenant, peace with Grod, is in him, Eph. ii. 14 ; the sonship of the
covenant, the adoption into the family of God, is in him as the first-
born among many brethren, Psalm Ixxxix. 27 ; with John i. 12 ; the
covenant interest in God as one's own God, is in him, John xx. 17.
And to obtain all these in one, let the sinner but receive Christ by
faith, and he hath them ; for they are all under his hand as trustee
of the covenant, yea, in him as the storehouse of the covenant.
5. The covenant fulness of the Spirit of sanctification is in him,
whereby to make sinners holy : Col. i. 19, " It pleased the Father,
that in him should all fulness dwell." John i. 16, " And of his ful-
ness have all we received, and grace for grace." Having purchased
the same with his own blood, it is lodged in him as administrator of
the covenant, in respect of which he is said to be made unto us sanc-
tification, 1 Cor. i. 30. Therefore out of his pierced side came there
forth blood and water ; blood to remove the guilt of sin, water to
wash away the defilement thereof. So he is the fountain opened for
sin and for uncleanness : not a vessel of that water of purification,
which, how full soever, would lack as much as it should communi-
cate ; but a fountain, a living spring of it, to supply the needs of
the unclean, without any lack in itself : " For God giveth not the
Spirit by measure unto him," John iii. 34. Wherefore there is in
him such a fulness of the Spirit of holiness, as is, by the infinite effi-
cacy thereof suflicient to sanctify the whole family of Adam, and
even the worst of them. There is a fulness of all grace in him, to
be communicated for the repairing of the lost image of God in us.
There is grace enough in him to melt the hardest heart into evan-
gelical repentance, Acts v. 31, to mortify the strongest lusts. Gal.
V. 24, and to quicken, and to strengthen unto holy obedience, 2 Tim.
ii. 1.
6. The establishing grace of the covenant is in him, whereby to
cause the most fickle and inconstant, once in him, to persevere unto
the end : Jude, ver. 1, " Tlicm that are sanctified by God the Fa-
ther, and jjreserved in Jesus Christ." He is constituted the head
of influences for all his mystical members, which are to have their
nourishment ministered from him, Col. ii. 19. The giving out of
continued pardons, necessary for them in this their state of imper-
fection, is also in his hand, as the Trustee of the covenant, " exalted
to be a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel,
and forgiveness of sins," Acts v. 31. Thus he is fully furnished for
preserving them in a state of grace, having a fulness of grace in
himself to communicate unto them, suitable to all tlieir exigencies,
whether in respect of the power, or of the guilt of their sin.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT. 535
7. The temporal things of the covenant are all in his liand,
whereby to provide for, and aflford protection to his people, during
their continuance in this world. In the covenant there was made
to him a promise of his inheriting all things, as the first-born of the
family of Heaven ; and in his person as the ftist Adam, the ancient
dominion over the creatures was restored, as we heard before.
Now, as he is the Trustee of the covenant, the heritage of the world,
and all things therein, is actually delivered over into his hand : so
that he is not only Lord of the world in point of right, but in fact ;
having the power of all therein, from the smallest rag for covering
of nakedness, even to the crowns and sceptres. This he himself
witnesseth, Matt, xxviii. 18, " All power is given unto me in hea-
ven and in earth." Chap. xi. 27, "All things are delivered unto
me of my Father." Hence to encourage his impoverished people in
their building of the second temple, he saith, Hag. ii. 8, " The silver
is mine, and the gold is mine," namely, to give them to whom I
will. And that these are Christ's words, appears from ver. 6, com-
pared with Heb. xii. 26. Accordingly, from Psalm xxiv. 1, " The
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof," the apostle clears
believers' right to the creatures, 1 Cor. x. 25, 26. And thus he is
fully furnished for affording all manner of provision to his people,
in temporal things : and all protection from whatever dangers they
can be in while here. The sun, moon, and stars, the earth, sea, and
air, with all that in them is, are under his hand as the Trustee of
the covenant ; and he can dispose of them all for the ends of the
covenant, as the glory of God and the welfare of his people do
require.
8. The covenant-fulness of power over death and the grave is in
his hand, whereby to disarm death of its sting, and bring about a
glorious resurrection. " I," saith he, "have the keys of hell and of
death," Rev. i. 18. Death goes through the world as a mighty con-
queror, whom none is able to resist; the grave follows, and none can
keep back its prey, nor cause it to give it up again. But the Medi-
ator hath an effectual check upon them both. They are not absolute
potentates, as mighty as they are : there is one above them, to whose
orders they must precisely stick. Death may indeed enter in within
the boundaries of the covenant, and carry off the covenant-people as
well as others : but at the border it must drop its sting, and enter
without it ; for the power of death is now in Christ's hand, and he
will not suffer it to enter there with it. And the time cometh
wherein he will say to the grave. Give up : and then the bars
thereof will be broken asunder, the gates thereof fly open, and it
will deliver up to him its lodgers; for he is intrusted as administra-
tor of the covenant, with full power over death and the grave.
536 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT,
9. Lastly, The eternal consummate happiness of the covenant is
in his hand, whereby to render the souls of his people happy imme-
diately after death, and then soul and body together happy at the
last day : for all power in heaven is given him. The Father hath
made him the great repository of eternal life, the fountain from
whence it shall stream forth to all the heirs of life ; and the dis-
pensing of it is intrusted to him : 1 John v. 11, " God hath given to
us eternal life : and this life is in his Son." John xvii. 2, " As thou
hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him." Wherefore his dying people
do in faith commit their souls to him, as Stephen, Acts vii. 59,
" Saying, Lord Jesus, receive ray spirit." And at the last day he
pronounceth the sentence, and solemnly receives them into the king-
dom of heaven, Matth. xxv. 34.
And thus Christ is the Trustee of the covenant.
IT. CHRIST THE TESTATOR OF THE COVENANT.
In the next place, our Lord Jesus is the Testator of the covenant,
as the apostle teacheth, Heb. ix. 15 — 17- By the conditionary part
of the covenant, Grod had a compensation of the wrong done to his
glory by sinners : and by the promissory part, Christ had unsearch-
able riches to communicate unto them, whereby they might be made
happy, and being to die in the cause, according to his covenant, he
timely made his testament, as a deed of conveyance thereof unto
them ; turning the promissory part of the covenant respecting lost
sinners, into a testament in their favour, 1 Cor. xi. 25, " This cup is
the new testament in ray blood."
Hence it appears, that this belongs to the administration of the
covenant, committed unto him, for making sinners partakers of the
covenant-benefits ; yea, and that it is the first and fundamental act
of that his administration, laid as a foundation of all the other acts
thereof, which are but so many means of executing the testament.
Upon the Mediator's undertaking to fulfil the condition of the cove-
nant, the Father made to him a disposition of the covenant-benefits
contained in the promissory part : and the benefits so disponed,
were actually delivered over into his hand, as the appointed trustee
of the covenant, as we have already seen. Now, he having them all
thus in his hand, hath made a disposition of them to poor sinners,
by way of testament, Luke xxii. 29, " And I appoint unto you
a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me." Or, "and I
dispone to you, as my Father disponed to me, a kingdom." The
word here used, signifies to dispone ; and hath in it the notion of a
CHRIST THE TESTATOU OF THE COVENANT. 537
federal or covenant disposition, and a testamentary disposition too.
Of the former sort was the disposition made by the Father to Christ,
namely, a federal disposition ; as being made on a most onerous
cause, a condition properly so called, to wit, his making his soul an
offering for sin : and it can by no means be a testamentary disposi-
tion, since " where a testament is, there must also of necessity be
the death of the testator," Heb. ix. 16 ; the which, it is evident,
could have no place in the case of the Father. Of the latter sort is
the disposition made by Jesus Christ to sinners, namely, a testamen-
tary disposition, which, of its own nature, is a deed or conveyance
of grace and liberality, without conditions properly so called: and
forasmuch as sinners were under an utter disability to perform con-
ditions properly so called, it was therefore necessary for their be-
hoof, to make it a testamentary disposition or testament.
For clearing of the nature of this testament, which is of so great
importance for all to know, who have any concern for their salva-
tion, we shall consider, 1. The making thereof; 2. The legatees;
3. The executor ; and, 4. The legacies.
First, As to the making of Christ's testament, it is first of all to
be observed, that though the covenant was indeed from eternity, the
testament was not so. For Christ made his testament as admini-
strator of the covenant ; which administration he did not enter upon
but in time. He was from eternity the trustee of the covenant,
which grand trust was a necessary prerequisite of his administra-
tion : yet forasmuch as his commencing testator of the covenant was
an act of his administration thereof, there could be no place for it
until there was place for administering the covenant, which there
was not, till once the covenant of works was broken. And hereto
best agreeth the nature of a testament, which is not simply a will,
but a will declared, testified, and signified by word or writ, or some
one or other external sign pleadable by the legatees, in order to their
obtaining of the legacies bequeathed.
Christ'^ testament, which for substance is but one, is yet twofold,
in re.spect of diff"erent circumstance? wherewith it hath been vested ;
namely, the old or first testament, and the new testament, 2 Cor.
iii. 14; Heb. ix. 15.
Christ's old testament is the declaration of the last will of our
dying Saviour, touching his unsearchable riches, confirmed by slain
sacrifices of divine institution, sealed with the seals of circumcision
and the passover, and enduring in the church till the fulness of time,
and the manifestation of himself to Israel in the flesh, Heb. ix. 20 ;
Rom. iv. 11 ; 1 Cor. v. 7 ; Luke xvi. 10. This his testament was ori-
ginally made by word of mouth ; which kind of testament is called
Vol. YIII. 2 l
538 THE ADMINISTEATION OF THE COVENANT,
a nuncupative testament : but it was afterwards committed to
writing ; so that there was not only a word of the testament to be
heard, but a book of the testament to be read, by the legatees, Heb.
ix. 19, 20. And so we have it a written testament, in that part of
the holy scripture called by the name of the Old Testament,
Christ's new testament is the declaration of the same Jast will of
our dying Saviour, touching his unsearchable riches, confirmed by
his own death on the cross, sealed with the seals of baptism and the
Lord's supper, and to continue for evermore, 1 Cor. xi. 23, 24, 25;
Matth. xxviii. 19 ; Heb. vii. 12, 16, 17- This also was originally
made by word of mouth, in the time of his pnblic ministry, wherein
he declared his will anent the great salvation, which, as the apostle
observes, at first began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb. ii. 3. And
it was in like manner afterw^ards committed to writing : and we have
it too a written testament, in that part of the holy scripture called
by the name of the New Testament.
If we look for the original date of Christ's old or first testament,
we find his testament to be of a date as early as the nature of the
thing could bear, being made in paradise, on the day of Adam's
fall, in the cool of the day. Gen. iii. 8, otherwise called the time be-
tween the two evenings, Exod. xii. 6, that is between three and six
o'clock in the afternoon. At the which time, our Lord Jesus did, in
the promise of the seed of the woman to bruse the head of the ser-
pent, which should bruise his heel. Gen. iii. 15, signify his death,
and declare his will for the benefits of his purchase their accruing to
sinners thereby. And that day I judge to have been the sixth day
of the cr£ation, the same day wherein man was created ; reckoning
that the scripture teacheth, that Adam lodged not one night in
honour, as some do, agreeable to the original, read Psalm xlix. 12.
They who cannot think that the events recorded from Gen. iii. 7, to
the end of the third chapter, were crowded within the compass of
one day, may weigh therewith the events relating to the death of
Christ, which are recorded Luke xxii. 66, to the end chap, xxiii.
1,_33; John xix. 1; Matth. xxvii. 27, 28; John xix. 2, 5, 9—15;
Matth. xxvii. 24. All which things were done in the space of half a
day : for Christ was crucified about twelve of the clock, Luke xxxiii.
44—46.
Some, through an unwillingness to think of their death, do put oft'
the making of their testaments unto a death-bed : but so very willing
was Christ, the second Adam, to die for us, that he set his house in
order, and so prepared himself for death, that very day wherein the
first Adam fell. The business of the great King, and the business
of the ruined world of mankind, required haste. The whole fabric
CHRIST THE TESTATOR OP THE COVENANT. 539
of the world was by Adam's fall so unhinged, that it was hastening
to a total dissolution, and mankind about to perish in the ruins ;
till the second Adam went in, and bore up the pillars thereof, in
virtue of his death to establish the earth again. Is. xlis. 8. Where-
fore in paradise he made his testament in a few words, containing a
disposition of the benefits of the covenant, in favour of poor sinners,
Gen. iii. 15, and typically went in under that weight of wrath, which
was pressing down all : and so he established the earth again. In
this form it was, that they of the first ages of the world had the
testament. But it was repeated and renewed to Abraham, to whom
the promises were made, Gal. iii. 16, comprehended under the name
of the covenants or testaments of promise, Eph. ii. 12. As also to
Israel in the wilderness, whom Moses sprinkled with blood, " saying.
This is the blood of the testament," Heb. ix. 19, 20. And this was
Christ's old testament, upon which all that believed, from Adam to
Christ, built their faith, aud hope of obtaining the legacies left
therein ; though it was upwards of four thousand years, from the
first making of the testament, unto the death of the Testator, by
which the new testament was confirmed.
Now, the apostle saith that, " a testament is of force after men
ai'e dead : otherwise it is of no strength at all whilst the testator
liveth," Heb. ix. 7. Was Christ's testament then of no force all
that time ? Yea, it was of force ; and that by means of a pre-con-
firmation, being confirmed before, Gal. iii. 17. The confirmation of
a testament, in the sense of the holy scripture, is by the death of
testator ; as the apostle, in the forecited text, teacheth the Hebrews.
And in scripture-reckoning, there was a twofold death of the Testator
here : one typical, another real. In respect of the former of these
Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev.
xiii. 8, having died typically in the sacrifices then offered. Gen. iii.
21, and thereafter all along under the Old Testament. And by that
death of the Testator was the pre-confirmation of the testament : so
that from the day it was first made, it was of force, for the legatees
obtaining the legacies therein bequeathed ; forasmuch as it was then
also confirmed. Wherefore the apostle observes, that, in full con-
sistency with that known maxim anent testaments, Heb. ix. 17,
above-cited, " Neither the first testament was dedicated without
blood," ver. 18. What the apostle means by the dedication of the
testament, will be plain, if it is considered that what our version of
the Bible calls dedication, is, in the scriptui-e-use of words so ren-
dered therein, nothing else but an entering on, or a first, or new
using of a person or thing, to what they were designed for : inso-
much that the very dedication of the temple was no more but that,
2 L 2
540 THE ADillNISTKATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
as appears by comparing 2 Chron. v. 13 ; cliap. vi. and vii. 1, with
4. 5. Wherefore by the dedication of the testament, must be meant
the legatees beginning to claim and obtain their legacies, upon the
testament. And this, the apostle saith, was not done without the
testament's being confirmed by blood, or death : the which, though
really the blood or death of beasts sacrificed ; yet, according to the
apostle's reasoning, were reckoned the blood or death of the Testator,
they being sacrificed as types of him.
And hence it appears, that whatever have been the different cir-
cumstances wherewith the testament in different periods hath been
vested ; the Old and New Testament, nuncupative and written, are
for substance but the one testament of Jesus Christ the same yester-
day, and to-day, and for ever, Heb. xiii. 8, having tlie same force
and effect for full remission of sin and eternal salvation, legacies
claimed and obtained by faith, in virtue of the testament, Acts xv.
11 ; Rom. iv. 13 : only, what was first declared by word of mouth,
the same was thereafter written. The legacies at first bequeathed
in general comprehensive terms, were afterward particularly nomi-
nated : and in the New Testament they are more clearly expressed
than in the Old. The former was a copy of the testament, fitted for
the times before the testator really died : the latter, fitted for all
times thereafter, to the end of the world ; and therefore no other
copy is to be accepted after it.
Secondly, It is to be inquired. Who are the legatees, the parties
in whose favour the testament was made, and who may, in the me-
thod of the testament, claim and obtain the legacies therein be-
queathed ? Christ's making his testament, being the fundamental
act of his administration of the covenant, as we have already seen ;
the legatees in the testament must needs be the same as the objects
of his administration of the covenant, that is to say, sinners of man-
kind indefinitely : for if Christ is authorized by the Father to admi-
nister the covenant to sinners indefinitely, and hath accordingly made
his testament for that effect ; surely none can be excepted out of the.
testament, that are not excepted out of his administration. There-
fore the apostle lays down, for the foundation of faith, to those who
had even imbrued their hands in the blood of the Lord of glory, their
interest in the promise. Acts ii. 39, "For the promise is unto you,
and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call." To whomsoever then the gospel
comes, we may warrantably say the promise is to you, and to you,
and every one of you ; even the promise of the testament : and ye
have access to claim it by faith, as your own legacy, your own
mercy, Jon. ii. 8. And all the arguments adduced on the head of
CHRIST THE TE.STATOK OF THE COVENANT. 541
the object of Christ's administration, which need not to be repeated
here, do prove this.
And it is most agreeable to the nature of the thing. In Christ's
testament, the legatees are not expressed by their names, as in tes-
taments where the testator hath his children and friends about him,
to whom he leaves his legacies : but it is here as in the case, where-
in some of the children or friends of the testator are not come into
the world at the time of the making of the testament ; who must
therefore have their legacies left to them under some general desig-
nation. Multitudes, multitudes of Christ's legatees were not born
when he died ; and multitudes of them have not to this day seen the
sun : nay, when Christ first made his testament, there were but two
persons in the world. Therefore the legatees have been expressed
in it under a general designation, as those of such a family. Now,
this general designation of the legatees in Christ's testament, is not
actual believers, that is, such as have already believed : for actual
believing is the legatees' claiming of the legacies left them ; where-
by they are put in possession thereof; the which claim must of ne-
cessity have a foundation in the testament prior unto it. And in-
deed the testament is the ground of faith. Therefore it was made
before there was one actual believer in the woi-ld, being made in pa-
radise, and there recited in the hearing of our guilty first parents,
who, upon the hearing of it, Gen. iii. 15, believed, and so were put in
possession of their legacies. And thus will it be to the end of the
world : faith will come by hearing of the testament, Rom. x. 17 ;
Gal. iii. 2. Neither is it the elect : for howbeit in them only is the
testament effectual, yet it is not to tliera only the legacies are left;
they are not the only persons in whose favour the testament was
made. For election being a secret not to be known by us, until
once we believe, cannot be the ground and warrant of believing, or
embracing the testament, and claiming the legacies. Besides, at
that rate, unbelievers continuing so to the end, could not be justly
reckoned refusers and slighters of Christ's testament, as having no
portion nor concern in it, more than fallen angels. But the general
designation of the legatees in Christ's testament, is mankind sinners
indefinitely : to those of the family of Adam are the legacies left,
to be claimed and possessed of them by faith : Prov. viii. 4, " Unto
you, 0 men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man." Rev. xxii.
17, " "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." John
vi. 37, " Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."
Put the case, that a rich man should, for the love and favour he
bears to a particular family, leave his substance to them by testa-
ment, to be divided among them : in this case, it is evident, that
542 TUE ABMINISTUATIOX OF THE COVEJfAJTT.
however numerous that family be, all aud every one of them are this
man's legatees, howbeit their names are not particularly expressed
in the testament ; and they need no more to clear their claim, each
to his share of the legacy, but that they are of that family. And
upon the executors' making lawful intimation to that family, that,
such a testament being made in favour of them, they come, claim,
and get their legacies, in the method of the testament : it is mani-
fest, that all of them, who accordingly come and make their claim,
as members of that family, will obtain a share of the legacy : but in
case there be any of them, who will not come and make any claim
thereto, they will justly lose the benefit thereof, and may die of
want for all the legacy that was left them in that testament. Our
Lord Jesus Christ has made such a testament : the lost family
of Adam, is the family constituted his legatees : and the gospel is the
lawful intimation made to them, to come to the executor and receive
their legacies. All that believe get the legacy ; all unbelievers lose
it, and perish under the want thereof ; and they perish without all
excuse. They cannot pretend, that there was nothing left them by
the testator ; which is the case of the fallen angels : nor yet, that
it was not intimated unto them ; which is the case of those that never
heard the gospel. But they perish, because, howbeit there was
a rich legacy left them, yet they undervalued the testator's kind-
ness, and would never come and claim it by faith. Hence the
benefits of the covenant of grace, even in respect of unbelievers, are
called their own, namely, in virtue of the right they have to them
by the tenor of Christ's testament : Jon, ii. 8, " They that observe
lying vanities, forsake their, own mercy." Accordingly, to the
elder brother in the parable, Luke xv. the father saith, ver. 31,
" Son, all that I have is thine." So chap. xvi. 12, " If ye have not
been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you
that which is your own ?" that is, " the true riches," ver. 11. And
their ruin is lodged at the door of their unbelief, in not coming
to Christ to receive them, John v. 40, " And ye will not come to me,
that ye might have life." Christ's promises in his testament are to
mankind-sinners, as the promise of Canaan was to the Israelites in
Egypt, indefinitely, those not excepted whose carcases fell in the
wilderness, Exod. vi, 6, " Say unto the children of Israel, I am the
Lord." — ver. 8, " And I will bring yon in unto the land concerning
the which I did swear." Thus was there a j)romise left them of
entering into the rest of Canaan : and those who believed it, got the
possession accordingly ; those who believed not, did lose it. And
they fell short of it, not because it was not left to them ; but be-
cause, though it was left to them, as well as to those that entered,
CHRIST THE TESTATOR OF THE COVENANT. 543
yet they believed it not. So says the apostle, " They could not
enter in because of unbelief," Heb. iii. 19. And this was no impu-
tation on the faithfulness of God : for even in promises, as well as
in covenants, there is a necessity of a mutual consent unto the same
thing ; the party to whom the promise is made, his acceptance
thereof being necessary to complete the obligation on the promiser
to make it eifectual : because none making a promise of a benefit to
another, can in reason be thought either to bind himself thereby to
obtrude his benefit on the other against his will ; or yet to give up
with it, as a thing to be abandoned by him at any rate. Now, to
this very purpose the apostle makes use of that case of the Israel-
ites having the promise of Canaan left them, and yet coming short
of it through unbelief, Heb. iv. 1, "Let us therefore fear, lest a
promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should
seem to come short of it." Ver. 2, " For unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them : but the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it."
Compare Exod. vi. 9, " And Moses spake so unto the children of
Israel : but they hearkened not."
Thirdly, It is to be inquired, who is the executor of the testa-
ment ? In testaments among men, the testator and the executor
are always diff"erent persons : and it must needs be so, because the
testator dying cannot live again to see his will executed ; therefore
one or more, who live when he is gone, must be nominated for that
purpose. But here that reason ceaseth. Jesus Christ could well
be the executor of his own testament, and needed not to appoint any
other to see to that matter. He was the Lord of life and death ;
and it was not possible he should be holden of death, Acts ii. 24.
Though he was really to die, to confirm his testament ; yet he was
quickly to rise again, for the eflFectual execution thereof: accord-
ingly the apostle observes, that he was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification," llora. iv. 25. And he
lives for evermore. Even when he was in the grave, he was
capable of executing his testament, being God as well as man, hav-
ing a life which could not be lost, no not for a moment; namely,
the divine life. And the executing of it then, when the human
nature was in the state of death, was much the same as his execut-
ing of it before he had actually assumed the human nature at all.
And that Jesus Christ really is the executor of his own testament,
appears from his being constituted by the Father Administrator of
the covenant, to dispense the benefits thereof as great Steward of
the house of heaven;' and from the acts of his administration,
both in this life, and in that which is to come : for he it is that hath
5-14 THE ADMIJSISTIIATION OF THE COVEXANT.
in liis hand the conferring of grace, both i-eal and relative, on sin-
ners; and the conferring of glory on saints : the which are the exe-
cuting of his testament, as well as the administering of the cove-
nant : the former being subordinated to the latter. Meanwhile it
cannot be refused, that he executes it by his Spirit, and employs
gospel-ministers in the matter. Wherefore, whosoever would have
any saving benefit by Christ's testament, or would partake of the
legacies therein bequeathed, must come to himself to receive them ;
since he is the Executor of his own testament. And therefore the
constant call of the gospel to perishing sinners, is to come to Christ
for life and salvation ; and the complaint on those who forsake their
own mercy, is, that they will not come to him, John v. 40. And the
whole life of believers must be a coming to him, 1 Pet. ii. 4, that is,
a living by faith in him. Gal. ii. 20, whereby they may be daily
receiving of the legacies, according to their exigencies.
Fourthly, In the last place, it is to be inquired. What are the
legacies left in Christ's testament, to poor sinners of mankind, his
only legatees? In the general, there is left to them therein what is
sufficient to make them happy for time and eternity; even all the
benefits of the covenant to be received by faith. These are Christ
himself, and all things in and with him, Rom. viii. 32. And the
general clause of the testament is, " According to your faith be it
unto you," Matt. ix. 29. It being beyond our reach fully to reckon
up the particulars, it shall suflice to point at a few things, as the com-
prehensive legacies, left by Jesus Christ in his testament, to sinners
of mankind indefinitely.
Legacy 1. His own complete righteousness, to cover us before
the Lord ; hence called the gift of righteousness, Rom. v. 17, as
being made over to us in his testament, to be received by faith ; in
which sense it is said to be revealed unto faitli, that is, to bo
believed or trusted on, and so received and put on, chap. i. 17.
Dying persons are wont to leave suits of mourning to their poor
friends : but our dying Saviour left to all his legatees, the garments
of salvation, the robe of righteousness, Isa. Ixi. 10 ; beautiful gar-
ments, chap. lii. 1 ; white raiment. Rev. iii. 18, as a suit of rejoic-
ing: for that, though he was dead, he is alive, and lives for ever-
more. Our father Adam left us naked, to our shame : yet need we
not go naked, nor our shame be seen. For, by the second Adam's
testament, sufficient clothing is left to our father's broken family;
even the robe of his own righteousness: and nothing remains, but
that we receive it as his legacy to us, and put it on. A holy God
cauuot admit us into his presence in our spiritual nakedness : the
law requires us to appear before liim in unspotted holiness of
CIIUIST THE TESTATOR OP THE COVENANT. 545
nature, and perfect righteousuess of life, as the coiulition of life ;
and withal, with a satisfaction to justice, by suffering, because we
have sinned. But how can we make such an appearance before
him ? We can by no means put ourselves in such a condition, by
any thing we can do or suffer. Yet is our case not hopeless. We
have a good friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left us by tes-
tament the holiness of his nature, wherewith he was born ; the
righteousness of his life, even all the good works he wrought in
obedience to the ten commandments, during his life on earth ; and
the satisfaction made by his death, and sufferings from the womb to
the grave : he hath made all these one undivided gift of righteous-
ness, and bequeathed the same to us in his testament, to be received
by faith. By means hereof, the most wretched sinner of us all may
be beautified in the siglit of a holy God, have wherewith to answer
all the demands of the law for life, and obtain a full pardon and
acceptance with God as righteous in his sight. Uow shall we
escape, if, never claiming this legacy, we trample on the Testator's
kindness ?
Legacy 2. His new-covenant interest in God, whereby to render
us happy : Heb. viii. 10, " I will be to them a God." Our father
Adam left his whole family without God in the world, Eph. ii. 12.
This was an unspeakable loss, a ruining loss : all misery in time
and eternity was wrapt up in it. It was a loss that could never
have been compensed : and to us it was irrecoverable. But Jesus
Christ hath recovered for us the lost covenant-interest in God, and
bequeathed it to us in his testament. This is a legacy full beyond
our comprehension. Who can conceive fully what is in that, " I
will be your God ?" Surely all blessedness is in it, for time and
eternity : Psalm cxliv. 15, " Happy is the people whose God is the
Lord." Herein is left you peace, and reconciliation with God, John
xiv. 27; adoption into the family of God, 2 Cor. vi. 16, 17, 18;
yea, that ye shall have God for your own God, your own heritage,
in a joint-heirship with Christ, Rom. viii. 17: all the persons of the
Godhead to be yours ; the Father to be your Father, the Son your
Saviour, the Holy Ghost your Sanctifier : and ull the attributes of
God to be employed for your happiness. Nothing on Christ's part,
nothing on God's part, stands between you and all this : nothing
can make you come short of it but unbelief. That new-covenant
interest in God is purchased by the blood of the everlasting cove-
nant; it is given over unto Jesus as Administrator of the covenant ;
and he again hath made it over to you by testament. And what
remains, but that ye come to the Executor, and x'eceive your legacy,
by faith ? Alas ! that any should be found who have no heart to it.
546 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
Legacy 3. His Spirit of grace, we so much need. Hear the
words of the testament, Prov. i. 23, "Turn you at my reproof:
behold, I will ponr out my Spirit unto you." Christ hath the seven
spirits of God, even a fulness of the Spirit in himself, to communi-
cate ; and hath made over the same, by his testament, to sinners of
Adam's race : withal, as Executor of the testament, he hath made
intimation thereof, declaring himself ready to give the Spirit unto
all that come to him accordingly : John vii. 37, " Jesus stood and
cried, saying. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and di'ink."
Ver. 38, " He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." Yer. 39, " But this
spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him, should
receive." 0 suitable legacy for Adam's children ! Here is life for
us, life for our dead souls : for his Spirit is the Spirit of life, loosing
the bands of sin and death, Rom. viii. 2. How shall dead souls
live ? Our Lord himself answers that question at large, John vi. ;
shewing himself to be the life-giving bread, that giveth life unto the
world, ver. 33 ; that it is by eating this bread souls shall live, ver.
57; that the quickening Spirit is in it, ver. 63 ; and that it is to be
eaten by faith, ver. 35, 63, 64. Whither then should the soul go
for life, but to Christ as executor of his own testament ? ver. 68.
For as we derived death from the first Adam, so we must derive life
from the second Adam, else we cannot have it, ver. 53. Here is re-
generating and sanctifying grace for us, whereby our natures may be
changed, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, the image of God repaired in us, through
grace received, answering to the grace in the man Christ, as the wax
to the seal, John i. 16; for all this worketh the Spirit of Christ in
those who believe, Eph. i. 13. Here is made over to us grace where-
by we may be enabled to true evangelical repentance, Zech. xii. 10 ;
Ezek. xxxvi. 31, to walk in newness of life, ver. 27, and to mortify
the deeds of the body, Rom. viii. 13. Here is bequeathed unto us
enlightening grace, whereby we may discern our duty : for the Spi-
rit is the Spirit of light and direction, John xvi. 13 ; exciting and
strengthening grace, which comes by the supply of the Spirit, Phil.
i. 19; Eph. iii. 16; comforting grace, in all trials and afflictions,
for he is the Comforter abiding for ever where once he comes, John
xiv. 16 ; and establishing grace, whereby the sinner once in Christ,
is for ever kept from falling away, either totally or finally, ver. 17,
1 John ii. 27. In a word, Christ having left us the Spirit of grace
in his testament, all grace suitable to our needs lies open to us.
Wherefore none that hear the gospel remain destitute of grace, but
because they will not come to Christ for it.
Legacy 4. A suitable portion of the good things of this life, as
CHRIST THE TESTATOR OF THE COVENAXT. 547
infinite wisdom sees needful : Psalm xxxvii. 3, " Thou shalt dwell
in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Christ in his testament
has disponed to sinners a kingdom, even the kingdom of God, and
added those things thereunto, Matt. vi. 33. His testament is suited
to all our needs, even in temporal things ; he hath seen to our pro-
vision and protection, according to the promises made thereanent
in the covenant. These promises primarily made to himself in the
eternal covenant, he hath by his testament, as it were, indorsed to
us, to be made forthcoming to all who by faith embrace it, and claim
them upon it. Wherefore believers may go to Christ for their daily
bread, as well as for spiritual benefits ; pleading the testament for
the one, as for the other. And to receive the bread and the water
in virtue of Christ's testament, will be more satisfying to a Chris-
tian in the exercise of faith, than all the fulness of worldly men can
be ; forasmuch as at that rate they have them as the purchase of
the precious blood of the Testator, and his Father's blessing thei'e-
with.
Legacy 5. An unstinged death : John viii. 51, " If a man keep
my saying, he shall never see death." Men in their testaments
make provision for the comfortable life of their legatees ; but they
can leave them nothing to make death safe and comfortable to them.
But in Christ's testament there is special provision for his legatees
in death, as well as in life : and in the faith thereof, the saints have
welcomed the grim messenger, dying comfortably in the faith of
the sealed testament, Heb. xi. 13. Our Lord Jesus being to en-
counter death armed with its sting, and that in its full strength
given it by the broken law, was perfectly sure of the victory : so
making his testament, he left it as a part of his last will, that sin-
ners of Adam's race should be free from the sting of death, through
faith in him. A precious legacy which he could well bequeath, be-
cause purchased by his own death ; and which he can and will make
effectual, since the fulness of power over death and the grave is in
his hand, and he is executor of his own testament. How lament-
able is it, that men knowing they must die, should slight the tes-
tament, and the kindness of their best friend, appearing here, where
none else are capable to help !
Legacy 6. And last. Everlasting life on the other side of death :
John vi. 58, " He that eateth of this bread, shall live for ever."
Christ's testament looks not only to this, but the other world : in it
is provision made not only for time, but for eternity : he hath dis-
poned in it a kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, as an everlasting in-
heritance for the legatees, Luke xxii. 29. This comprehends the
happiness of the soul in its separate state ; the glorious resurrec-
548 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OF GEAC'R.
tion of the body at the last day ; and the complete happiness of soul
and body together, from thenceforth, and for evermore. The im-
portance thereof who can express ? But whatever is in it, it is in
the testament made over to sinners of mankind : and whosoever of
them come to Christ for it, shall, upon the ground of his faithful-
ness, without all peradventure obtain it.
These are the comprehensive legacies of Christ's testament. To
enter more particularly into the detail of them, there would be no
end. Ye have the book of the testament, both old and new, among
your hands : read it diligently ; and that as Christ's testament, as
indeed it is : and in every page ye will perceive of the unsearchable
riches. "Withal remember that it nearly concerns you, and every
one of you, as parties legatees in whose favour it was made : since
ye are men, sons of men, Prov. viii, 4. The testament is lawfully
intimated to you, both by the preaching of the word, and by putting
a copy of it, a Bible, in your hands. And ye are called to come to
Christ, as executor of it, by faith in him, to receive your legacies.
Happy will you be, if ye answer the call. But if ye do not, it will
be " more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than
for you :" for it will aggravate your condemnation, that not only
were all these legacies left you in Christ's testament, but the same
was intimated unto you, and ye were called to come to the executor
to receive them, but ye believed not, ye would not.
Thus far of Christ the Testator of the covenant.
III. CIimST THE PROPHET OF THE COVENANT.
The covenant being an eternal transaction, which no creature had
access to be witness unto ; the being thereof was an absolute secret
to the whole creation : and, in that it was a mystery of the mani-
fold wisdom of God, Eph. iii. 10, no creature was sufficient to unfold
the nature thereof. Upon the which accounts, the apostle calls it
the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which
God ordained before the world, 1 Cor. ii. 7. And thence appears a
necessity of constituting a prophet of this covenant : and that none
but a divine person was fit to be the original prophet thereof; and
this so much the more, that, by reason of the spiritual blindness of
the parties unto whom it was to be revealed, a mere objective reve-
lation could not be sufficient in the case : for " the natural man re-
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness
to him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis-
cerned," ver. 14. Wherefore Jesus Christ was, as administrator of
the covenant, constituted the Prophet thereof; being he of whom, by
CHKIST THE PROPHET OF THE COVENANT. 549
the apostle's testimony, " Moses truly said unto the )"athers, A Pro-
phet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren,
like unto me, Acts iii. 22, And whosoever else were at any time
prophets thereof, he alone was the original prophet of it, John i, 18,
" No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
And in this character Christ was constituted, (1.) The Messenger,
(2.) The Witness, and (3.) The Interpreter of the covenant,
1. In the capacity of Prophet, he was constituted the Messenger
of the covenant, Mai. iii. 1, to bring the good tidings of that treaty
of peace into the world ; and not only so, but, by the authority of
heaven, to proclaim the treaty to sinners, to offer them the benefit
thereof, and to deal with them to accept, by coming into it person-
ally. A covenant surely of unparalleled weight and importance,
that had such a messenger thereof.
2. In the same capacity he was constituted the witness of the co-
venant, Isa. iv. 4, " Behold, I have given him for a witness of the
people." God knew the world to be a guilty world, whose con-
sciences witnessed the demerit of death ; and that therefore they
would be very slow to believe the good news from heaven, touching the
covenant of peace : and for this cause he would give them one compe-
tent to witness the truth thereof; and pitched upon Jesus Christ for
that effect. He was a son of Adam ; so the more fit to attest it unto
men : he was the eternal Son of God ;, and therefore not liable to
error or mistake in his testimony : he was an eye-witness to the
eternal transaction ; and so he could speak on the matter that which
he had seen with his Father, John viii, 38, He came down from
heaven where the covenant was made, unto earth, in favour of which
it was made : wherefore he could witness in the earth what he had
seen in heaven about it, chap, iii. 31, "He that cometh from hea-
ven, is above all." Ver. 32, "And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth." In him we have a twofold witness, whicli is full
evidence in law, He is the amen, the faithful and true witness. Rev.
iii. 14. In him we have the witness of man ; in respect whereof he
is the faithful witness : and the witness of God ; in respect whereof
he is the true witness, even truth itself. Compare John viii. 18,
"I am one that bears witness of myself;" where Christ being
a divine witness, in respect of his Godhead, is said to bear witness
of himself, as a man appearing in the world, revealing the covenant.
And in respect of both these, ho is the Amen, whose witness conffrms
and determines the truth of the law.
3. He is in the same capacity constituted the interpreter of the
covenant, Job xxsiii. 23, to teach it unto men. We are not only
550 THE ADlIINISTRATIOlSr OP THE COVEXATfT OP GRACE.
slow to believe the covenant, but it is hard for us to understand it.
It lies so far beyond the reach of our natural understanding, that
we cannot understand it in a saving manner, unless the Son of God
hath given us an understanding, (a supernatural one), that we may-
know hira that is true, 1 John v. 20. And whosoever shall so un-
derstand it, must be all taught of Grod, John vi. 45, that is, of Jesus
Christ, ver 46. So he is by the Father constituted interpreter, and
great teacher of the mystery of the covenant : and all the children of
the covenant must be his disciples, and learn of him.
Now Christ's administration of the covenant, as the prophet there-
of, may be taken up in these three things following.
1. His intimating and offering the covenant to sinners, by his
word, for bringing them personally into it. This he did from the
time of Adam's fall, is now doing, and will do even unto the end of
time, that the mystery of God shall be finished. He began the Old
Testament dispensation thereof, in person. Appearing in human
shape, with his own mouth he gave the first notice of the covenant
that ever there was in the world, and made the first offer of it
in paradise. Gen. iii. 8, 15. He carried it on by prophets and
ordinary teachers, whom he commissioned for that effect, and fur-
nished with gifts for the work. The former of these he employed to
write in his name, as well as to speak therein, in that matter : and
by both he spoke to sinners, intimating and offering the covenant
unto them, by their means ; whether through the word written or
spoken. And thus he managed that work, to the salvation of those
who believed, in the patriarchal ages before and after the flood; and
all along the time of the Jewish church, from Moses to the end of
that dispensation. Then he also began the New Testament dispen-
sation in his own person. Having by his incarnation become man,
he applied himself to this work. Though he was born " king of the
Jews," Matt. ii. 2, and many of them would have had him to have
mounted their throne, John vi. 15; yet he choosed rather to appear
in the character of a prophet, and betake himself unto the work of
the ministry, for to preach the gospel, and intimate and offer the
covenant to perishing sinners ; and so he was a minister of the cir-
cumcision, Rom. XV. 8. Of him in this capacity particularly, Solo-
mon, that king-preacher, was a type, Eccl. i. 1. And this also he
did, and still doth carry on mediately and by proxy, especially after
his ascension into heaven ; and that partly by his apostles and other
extraordinary officers, whom he employed to write, as well as to
speak, in his name ; and partly by ordinary ministers of the gos-
pel, to be continued in the church to the end of the world, Eph. iv.
11, 12, 13. Thus he is now administering the covenant unto us, by
CHHIST THE PROPHET OF THE COVENANT. 551
putting his written word of the Old and New Testament in our
hands, and sending men in his name to preach the gospel unto us.
By these means he speaks to sinners, intimating and offering them
the covenant : and so he carries on the work, to the salvation of
those that believe, and rendering unbelievers inexcusable, 2 Cor. v.
20 ; Rev. iii. 22 ; Luke x. 16. Wherefore the oifer of the covenant
made to us in the gospel, is bis offer: and though the word is sent
to us by men, they are but his voice in the matter, he is the speak-
er. Then " see that ye refuse not him that speaketh," Heb. xii. 25.
2. His making the intimation and offer of the covenant effectual
to the elect, by the Spirit, 1 Pet. i. 12, " By them that have preached
the gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven."
The great Prophet of the covenant can effectually teach the most
unteachable sinners of mankind ; causing light not only to break
forth in a dark world, by his word, but in dark hearts, by his Spirit :
for the fulness of the Spirit of light is in him, and he hath eye-salve
for the spiritually blind. Rev. iii. 18. He knoweth who are his, in
whose name he contracted with the Father, and received the promise
of the Spirit : and, sooner or latter, he so enliglitens them, that he
rescues them from under the power of their spiritual darkness, and
renders the administration of the covenant effectual to them, how-
ever ineffectual it be to others, Col. i. 13. And this he doth, by
bringing his word to them with power, through the efficacy of his
Sjiirit opening their eyes. In the first place, by his Spirit acting
upon them, as a Spirit of bondage, he sets home on their consciences,
the holy law in the commands and curse thereof, as of divine autho-
rity, and binding on them in particular. Hereby they are convinced of
their sin and misery, seeing their sin as henious in the sight of God, and
his wrath due to them for their sin : they are filled with remorse, terror,
and anxiety ; are made to pant for relief, feel an absolute need of
Christ and his righteousness, and despair of relief by any other way,
Acts ii. 37, and xvi. 29, 30. And then, by the same Spirit acting
within them as a Spirit of life, and communicated unto them from
himself, in the word of the gospel, he sets home on their hearts and
consciences, the glorious gospel in its free promise of life and salva-
tion to sinners through Jesus Christ, as it stands in the holy scrip-
tures ; clearing and demonstrating the same unto them, to be the
infallible word of the eternal God, and his word to them in particu-
lar : 1 Thess. ii. 13, " Ye received it not as the word of men, but
(as it is in truth) the woi'd of God." Chap. i. 5, " For our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy
Ghost, and in much assurance." This demonstration of the Spirit
is that which immediately cleareth to them the ground of their
552 THE ADMlNrSTRATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
believing in particular ; as saith the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5, " My
preaching was — in deniousiration of the Spirit, and of power : that
your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of Grod." And it is an internal attestation of the word of the gos-
pel unto them, distinct from the clearest external or ministerial
attestation of it ; according to the saying of our Saviour, John
XV. 26, " The Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
he shall testtfy of me." Yer. 27, "And ye also shall bear wit-
ness." By the power hereof, getting, by way of spiritual sight,
John vi. 40, a knowledge of Christ in his transcendent glory and
excellency, exhibited to them in the free promise of the gospel,
they are infallibly brought to believe. The Spirit thus applying
the word of the gospel to them, they greedily embrace it, and apply
it to themselves by faith ; as may be seen in these converts. Acts ii.
38, " Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins." Yer.
39, " For the promise is unto you." Yer. 41, " Then they that
gladly received bis word, were baptized."
3. Lastly, His teaching and instructing them by his word and
Spirit, from thenceforth, as children, of the covenant, his own dis-
ciples. The whole j^lan of salvation is laid down in the covenant,
being a mystery of the manifold wisdom of God, whereof there is
still more and more to be learned : and Christ is the great Prophet
to teach it. And " the secret of the Lord is with them that fear
him ; and he will shew them his covenant," Psalm xxv. 14. The
saints, by reason of the remains of darkness in their minds while
here, are apt to lose sight of the parties in the covenant: but
the great prophet is to shew them the Father, and to manifest him-
self unto them, by the Spirit. The condition of the covenant, the
Mediator's own righteousness, the sole ground of all their hopes,
cannot be kept in view, but by means of the light of life from him-
self. And in his light only can they have a believing view of the
promises and privileges of the covenant. The duties of the covenant,
whereof the exceeding broad law of the ten commands is the rule,
are many ; and though they be clear in themselves, yet are they
often so dark and perplexed to us, that we cannot distinguish
between sin and duty : but the children of the covenant have an in-
fallible teacher, whom they may consult in all cases, and of whom
they may learn how to steer iheir course in every point ; and
" the meek will he guide in judgment, the meek will he teach his
way," Psalm xxv. 9.
The darkness brought on mankind by sin, nothing but the grace
of the new covenant can effectually dispel. The true light is
CHRIST THE KING OF THE COVENANT. 553
a benefit of that coveiiant, purchased by the blood of Christ, and
lodged with him among the rest of the benefits of his great trust :
and he hath the dispensing of it, as the great Prophet of the cove-
nant. To him then must we have our recourse for light in all cases,
whether we be under the midnight darkness of a natural state, or
under the twilight-darkness of the present imperfection of a state of
grace : yea, in the mid-day light of glory, the Lamb is the light of
the heavenly city, Rev. xs.i. 23.
And thus Christ is the Prophet of the covenant.
lY, CHEIST THE KING OF THE COVENANT.
The covenant of grace is a matter of so vast importance, both to
the honour of God, and the good of souls; and of such a diffusive
and general concern to mankind, that the administration thereof re-
quired one invested with kingly power and authority for that effect.
And the disposition of the parties, objects of the administration, to-
gether with the nature of the thing itself, which concerns the inner
man chiefly, and the disposal of the choicest of Heaven's favours, at
once laid aside the greatest of men, and the highest of angels, as no
more fit to bear that office, than to produce another world out of
nothing. "Wherefore the Father's choice in that matter natively
fell on his own Son, the Second Adam : and he was made King of
the covenant.
God as Creator of the world, is King of the same, by an original,
underived right : and so he hath the supreme power over it, of which
he can no more divest himself, than of his being. This is the essential
kingdom, common to the three persons in the glorious Godhead, the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
But the kingdom of the covenant, whereof we speak, is a derived,
delegated one, which the Mediator Christ holds of his Father, by the
tenor of the covenant, for the administration thereof ; as is declared,
Psalm, ii. 6, " Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion."
Now, the great design of that administration, is to gather together
sinners of mankind into one body, under the bond of the covenant ;
and to make them happy, in the enjoyment of the privileges thereof,
in grace and glory, the which body, the church, is the kingdom of
the covenant, a kingdom that was to be won, and raised out of the
rebel-world of mankind, lying in wickedness ; and whereof Christ
was, by his Father, constituted the alone King and Head.
lu subserviency to this kingdom, the kingdom of providence
throughout the world was also committed to him, being made the
head over all things to the church, which is his body, Fph, i. 22, 23,
YoL. YIII. 2 m
554 THE ADMINISTEATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
he was appointed to rule, not only over his willing subjects, but in
the midst of his enemies, Psalm ex. 2. The management of the
wheel of providence, throughout the whole world, was put into the
hand of Zion's King, Into the same hand that the Father hath
committed the government of the church, he hath also committed the
government of the world : for there is no exception. "The Father
hath committed all judgment unto the Son," John v. 22, " all power
in heaven and in earth," Matth. xxviii. 18. So he is " Lord of lords,
and King of kings," Rev. xvii. 14, and " by him kings reign — princes
rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth," Prov. viii. 15, 16.
This headship over the world was necessary to his administration of
the covenant, as head of the church ; necessary for compassing the
ends thereof. Being vested therewith, he sets up and pulls down, in
the world, as he sees meet for the great purposes of the covenant :
and of what use this is, in the administration thereof, may be learned
from Isa. xliii. 14, " For your sake" (namely, for the sake of the
church) " I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their
nobles, and the Chaldeans." Ver. 15, " I am — your King." Thus
the King and Head of the church manageth all things by his provi-
dence, as well without as within the church ; though in a very dif-
ferent manner, because in a very different relation, as to his own
people, and to strangers. The which was typified in David, who for
the benefit of his own kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, was made
" the head of the Heathen," Psalm xviii. 43. For David smote the
Philistines, and subdued them, 2 Sam. viii. 1, and the " Moabites."
ver. 2, " and the Syrians," ver 6, " and all they of Edom became
David's servants," ver. 14, " And David reigned over all Israel, and
David executed judgment and justice unto all his people," ver. 15.
Now, the chief acts of Christ's administration of the covenant, as
he is King thereof, are these.
1. His appointing ordinances of his kingdom, both for bring-
ing sinners personally into the covenant, and for confirming and
strengthening the covenanted ; as also officers of his kingdom, to
administer these ordinances in his name and authority. Both the
one and the other were diflPerent, under the Old Testament, and under
the New ; which hath made two different forms of external adminis-
tration of the covenant ; the old, which is passed away, and the new,
that will continue to the end of the world : but both were from the
same authority, and for compassing the same great designs of the
covenant, agreeable to the diflferent times for which they were ap-
pointed ; and are all of them to be found in the scriptures of the Old
and New Testament, the book of the manner of the kingdom. It
was the same Lord Jesus, the angel of the covenant which spake to
CHRIST THE KINtt OF TilE COVENANT. 555
Moses in the mount Sinai, Acts vii. 38, who instituted the new tes-
tament church and ordinances, and " gave some apostles, and some
prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers ; for
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry," Eph. iv.
11. 12. The Saviour, King, and Lawgiver of the church, are one,
Is. xxxiii. 22, " The Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King, he
will save us."
Emitting his royal proclamations into the world, by the hand of
his messengers, in the gospel ; bearing, that whosoever will come
unto him, and unite with him as the head of the covenant, by faith,
shall be readily received into it, and have a right to all the privileges
thereof, in him : Mark xvi. 15, " Go ye unto all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature." Ver. 16, " He that believetli and is
baptized, shall be saved." Therein the covenant is published, and
offered in his name to every sinner of mankind unto whose ears this
voice reacheth : and they are called, commanded, and charged to
come into it, and submit to his royal sceptre. His call and offer is
their warrant to come : his command obligeth them, that they cannot
refuse, but in rebellion and disobedience against liis royal authority.
The promises are set before them indefinitely, that whosoever will,
may, by believing, apply them to themselves. The king's procla-
mation meddles not with the secrets of the eternal election, to reveal
them. But the promises of the covenant, infallibly to be accomplised
in some, are, in Christ's testament, as indorsed to sinners of man-
kind indefinitely, to be fulfilled unto all and every one who shall by
faith embrace them : and the proclamation makes lawful intimation
of the testament, This intimation is the appointed means of be-
getting faith, and of bringing sinners into the covenant thereby ; for
faith Cometh by hearing, Rom. x. 17. And it is made effectual to
some, by the Spirit, through the grace of the covenant secured by
promise for them.
And hence it is, that the covenant being thus administered to all
promiscuously, there is an use of conditional phrases in the admi-
nistration thereof: though in the covenant itself there are no condi-
tions, properly so called, but what were fulfilled by Jesus Christ
in his own person. The word of the covenant coming with
alike warrant to the elect and the non-elect ; to them who certainly
will believe, and to them who will continue in their unbelief; the
administering of it equally to both in the gospel-proclamation, must
needs be by proposing the promises indefinitely as to persons ; the
which must at length be resolved into conditional phrases. So it
is proclaimed in the ears of all, " I will betrothc thee unto me," and
" I will be to them a God." And one believes and applies the
2 M 2
556 THE AKIIINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
same ; and he is thereupon united to Christ, and instated in the co-
venant to all saving purposes : another who hath as good a revealed
warrant to believe as the former, yet believes not ; and so comes
short of the promise. Now, to speak alike to those who will thus
differently entertain the words of the covenant, it follows of course,
to resolve them into such expressions as these, " Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved :" and " He that be-
lieveth shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned."
Meanwhile the covenant itself is a different thing from the form of
the external administration of it.
3. Effectually subduing the elect to himself, through the power of
his Spirit so managing the word, that it operates on them like a
sword, piercing their souls, conquering their natural aversion and
obstinacy, and making them willing to yield, and embrace the cove-
nant. Rev. i. 16, " Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword." "VThat that sword is, and by what a strong arm it is wielded
in this case, may be learned from the apostle calling it " the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of Gcd," Eph, vi. 17; and what
the effect of it is, being managed by that " arm of the Lord re-
vealed," is declared by the Psalmist, Psalm ex. 3, *' Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power;" and by the prophet, Isa.
xliv. 3, " I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed ;" — Ver. 4, " And they
shall spring up." — Yer. 5, " One shall say, I am the Lord's."
Christ communicates to them, and every one of them, at the time
appointed in the eternal counsel, the Spirit and grace of the cove-
nant, therein secured for them by promise : and thereby they are
quickened, enabled, and determined to believe. And whereas he
finds them prisoners of hope, he opens the house of their bondage,
breaking the yoke of sin, death, and the devil, from off their necks,
by his Spirit applying to them his satisfaction. The which has
that mighty effect, inasmuch as then the law hath full satis-
faction as to thera; and the law being satisfied, the strength
of sin is broken, and the strength of sin being broken, the sting
of death is taken away ; and the sting of death being taken
away, the devil loseth his power over them ; and Satan's power
over them being lost, the present evil world, which is his king-
dom, can hold them no longer. Thus are they separated from
the world lying in wickedness, and constituted members of the
kingdom of Christ ; delivered from the power of darkness, and tran-
slated into the kingdom of God's dear Son, Col. i. 13. And from
thenceforth, though they be in the world, yet they are no more of
it ; but strangers and pilgrims in it, true and lively members of the
invisible kingdom of Christ ; a society to which the world is an im-
I
CHRIST THE KING OF THE COVENANT. 55?
placable enemy, John xv. 19, " Ye are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." And
herein Christ doth, in a special manner, shew himself a King mighty
iu battle, by the power of his grace overcoming the most perverse
and rebellious to a cordial submission, and rescuing them from the
bondage and dominion of their enemies.
4. Gathering them and others with them together into a visible
church-state. Gen. xlix. 10, " Unto him shall the gathering of the
people be." Thus is erected the visible church or kingdom of Christ
in the world ; a society separate from the visible kingdom of the
devil, and professing faith in, and obedience to Christ, outwardly
bearing his badge, and the signs of his covenant. Among them is
the ordinary seat of the administration of the covenant, the ordinary
means of salvation, and offers of grace. In their land the voice of
the turtle is heard, and the singing of birds, in the preaching of the
glorious gospel ; while there is a lasting winter over all the world
besides. They have the Bible, and sabbaths, the ministry of the
word, and the holy sacraments. Among them is to be found the
communion of saints, and a church-government, instituted for con-
trolling the unruly, suppressing sin and wickedness, and encou-
raging an orderly walk. And they have the privilege of heaven's
protection ; insomuch that the church shall be defended, and her
enemies so restrained and conquered by her King, that she shall
continue while the world stands, maugre all opposition that hell can
make against her: Matt, xxviii. 20, " Lo I am with you alway even
onto the end of the world."
5. Lastly, Ruling and governing his true and kindly subjects
agreeably unto the covenant, by which his royal prerogative is
stated, and their privileges are secured, Isa. ix. 6, " The govern-
ment shall be upon his shoulder." Of this his government there
are several acts, the chief of which are these following.
1st, He gives them the laws of the covenant; not only intimating
the same unto them externally by his word ; but teaching them in-
ternally by his Spirit, writing them upon the tables of their hearts,
and leaving an indelible copy of them affixed there : Heb. viii. 10,
" I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts."
These laws of the covenant are no other but the laws of the ten
commandments, originally given to Adam in his creation, and at his
transportation into paradise and settlement there, vested with the
form of the covenant of works ; and now unto believers in Christ,
standing without that form, in the covenant of grace as the eternal
rule of righteousness, whereunto they are to be conformed by the
grace of the covenant; the effectuating of which is committed by the
558 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
Father to Jesus Christ as administrator thereof. And accordingly he
carries it on, by his word and Spirit, in a suitableness to their nature
as rational agents, and to their state ; making these laws known
to them, as the rule of life, unto which they stand bound by the
authority, and matchless love of God their Creator and Redeemer ;
and withal inclining their hearts unto the obedience of the same.
2dly, He gives them the rewards of the covenant in the course of
their obedience: Psalm xix. 11, "In keeping of them there is
great reward." He puts his people indeed to work and labour ; but
not to labour in the fire, and for vanity, as the servants of sin do :
they are to work and labour, like the ox treading out the corn,
which was not to be muzzled, but to have access at once to work
and to eat. The service now done to Zion's King, hath a reward
in this life, as well as a reward in the life to come. By the order
of the covenant, there is privilege established to follow duty, as the
reward thereof; the which order is observed by the King in his ad-
ministration. Accordingly, he proposeth the privilege of comfort, to
excite to the duty of mourning. Matt. v. 4, '"Blessed are they that
mourn for they shall be comforted :" the special tokens of heaven's
favour, to excite unto a holy tender walk, John xiv. 21, "He that
hath my commandments, and keepeth them, — shall be loved of ray
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him," In
like manner to excite the same holy obedience, he proposeth the
full reward in the life to come, 1 Cor. ix. 24, " So run that ye may
obtain." Rev. iii. 21, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with me in my throne." And so certainly doth he accomplish the
promise of the reward of both kinds, that his people may be assured
" their labour is not in vain in the Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 51 : for faith-
fulness is the girdle of his loins ; and, in dispensing the privileges
to his people upon the back of their duty, he doth but observe the
stated order of the covenant. Not that the order of the cove-
nant is in every particular first — duty, then privilege : nay, it is
first, privilege; next, duty; then privilege again ; and so forward,
till privilege and duty come both to perfection in heaven, not to be
distinguished more. "Wo to us if it were otherwise ! truly, if it
were otherwise, we could neither be brought into the covenant, nor
kei>t within it in life : for how shall one at first believe, till once
he is privileged with the quickening Spirit ? and how shall a fallen
saint renew his faith and repentance, till once he is privileged with
new influences of grace ? John xv. 5, " Without me ye can do no-
thing." But here lies the matter, the leading privilege bringing in
duty, there follows further privilege on the back of duty, according
to the order of the covenant : and these further privileges are the
CHRIST THE KING OF THE COVENANT. 559
rewards we speak of. And the scripture calls tliem rewards, eveu
in respect of the saints : because they are given to a working saint,
on the back of his work. Howbeit they are as far from the nature
of a reward, strictly and properly so called, the which on the ac-
count of one's work is of debt to him, as the leading privileges are,
that produce the working : but both the one and the other are
equally the reward of Christ's work, in the most strict and proper
notion of reward.
^dly. He ministers unto them the discipline of the covenant, in
case of their disobedience. The discipline of the covenant is fa-
therly chastisement, which their state of imperfection in this life
makes necessary to their welfare : and therefore it is secured for
them in the covenant, Psalm Ixxxix. 30, " If his children forsake
my law :" ver. 32, " Then will I visit their transgression with the
rod." Ver. 33, " Nevertheless" — ver. 34, " My covenant will I not
break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." It belongs
to the promissory part of the covenant, and particularly to the pro-
mise of sanctification : forasmuch as it is not vindictive, but medi-
cinal ; being an appointed means of advancing holiness in them.
He chastens for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holi-
ness, Heb. xii. 10. And thus it serves to purge iniquity, and to
take away sin, Isa. xxvii. 9 ; namely, in that as a fire melting down
the paint and varnish of the defiling objects in the world, in our
sight, and as a looking-glass shewing us our pollution, it occasions
and excites us unto washing in the only laver of the blood of Christ,
by faith. Now, the administering of the discipline of the covenant
is committed unto Zion's King, John v. 22, " The Father hath com-
mitted all judgment unto the Son." Rev. iii. 19, " As many as I
love, I rebuke and chasten." And, as to the nature of it, it com-
prehends all manner of strokes upon their worldly substance, name,
employments, and relations; all manner of bodily afflictions, dis-
eases, and pains, incident to sinful flesh ; even natural death itself,
1 Cor. xi. 30, 32; and generally, all outward strokes which any of
the children of men are liable to, Eccl. ix. 2, "All things come
alike to all." Moreover, it comprehends spiritual strokes, such as
desertion, God's hiding his face from them, withdrawing the light of
his countenance, their losing some measure of their graces and com-
forts, woundings of spirit, horrors of conscience, whereby they may
be brought to the very brink of despair : so that, howbeit the cast-
ing them into hell is not within the compass of the discipline of
the covenant, yet the casting a kind of hell into them, making them
to roar by reason of disquietness of heart, Psalra xxxviii. 1, is within
the compass of it. And, what is worse than any of all these, it
560 THE ADMINISTRATION OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
comprehends their being harassed with horrid temptations, and set
up as marks for Satan's fiery darts, Eph, vi. 16, the hardening of
their hearts, Isa. Ixiii. 17, and their being suffered to fall into one
sin, and that a gross sin too, for the punishment of another, as in
the case of David and Peter. All these things are within the com-
pass of the discipline of the covenant ; and believers are particu-
larly and directly threatened with them, in case of their disobedi-
ence, to move them to beware of it : yea, and they are often
inflicted by Zion's King on his beloved subjects, that, by these
marks of his displeasure against their sin, he may correct them,
make sin bitter to them, and stir them up to repentance and watch-
fulness. And the worst of them all, even the very hardening of
their hearts, and the punishing of one sin with another, are, by the
sovereign grace of the covenant, made effectual for these holy ends :
the which grace opening the heart in renewed repentance, godly
sorrow for sin breaks forth the more forcibly, as waters do which
have been long dammed up. Thus these bitter waters, running in
the channel of the covenant, become healing waters : these sharp
swords are, by the covenant, beaten into ploughshares ; and these
piercing spears into pruning-hooks. Of this discipline of the co-
venant, all the subjects of Christ in this world do partake : and
they must be under it, till they arrive at perfection in the other
world, Heb. xii. 6 — 8.
4ithly, He gives them the pardons of the covenant ; the pardoning
of crimes committed against the laws of God, being one of the royal
prerogatives of Zion's King, whom " God hath exalted to be a Prince
and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of
sins," Acts V. 31. He gives them the first pardon, removing the
guilt of revenging wrath, in their justification ; and he gives them
also the subsequent pardons, removing the guilt of fatherly anger,
upou their renewing the actings of faith and repentance, as was
observed before. The Father having committed all judgment unto
the Son, he hath the dispensing of Heaven's favours, according to
the method and order of the covenant ; and they are not only con-
ferred for his sake, but by his hand.
bthhj, He affords them the defence of the covenant, while in this
life they are amongst their enemies. Psalm Ixxxix. 18, " For the
Lord is our defence ; and the holy One of Israel is our king."
Satan is their enemy, a malicious, subtile, and powerful enemy : but
Christ is their friend, and takes them under his protection. He
loves them dearly, as the purchase of his own blood, the members of
his own mystical body, and bearing his Father's image : he is in-
finitely wise, and can outshoot the devil in his own bow : and he is
CHRIST THE INTERCESSOE OF THE COVENANT. 5G1
the stronger man, who can bind the strong man. The world joins
issue with Satan in opposing them ; but shall not prevail to ruin
them, neither by force nor fraud : for greater is he, than the god of
this world and all his dominion, 1 John iv. 4, " Ye are of God, and
have overcome them : because greater is he that is in you, than he
that is in the world." Their worst enemies are within them, namely,
the remains of corruption, which, in the depth of sovereign wisdom,
are not expelled during this life ; but left for their exercise and
trial, and for the discovery of the power of the grace of their King.
And he manifests his power, in keeping alive in them the spunk of
holy fire, in the midst of an ocean of corruption ; and causing it to
make head against the same, until it quite dry it up : Rom. vii. 24,
" 0 wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of
this death !" Yer. 25, " I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord."
He has all their enemies in chains, that they can act no further ■
against them than he sees meet to permit : and at his pleasure he
restrains them, bounding them by his power, as to the kind, degree,
and continuance of their attacks. Psalm Isxvi. 10, " Tlie remainder
of wrath shalt thou restrain."
Lastly, He authoritatively completes the happiness of the covenant
in them. He purchased it for them as a Priest : he reveals it to
them as a Prophet : but as a King, he doth, in the way of authority,
put them in full possession thereof, Matth. xxv. 34, *' Then shall the
King say unto them on his right hand. Come, ye blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world." And by the same authority he will pass sentence
against his and their enemies, having fully conquered them, ver. 41.
And so he will complete for ever the peace of his covenant-subjects.
Thus far of Christ's administration of the covenant, as he is King
thereof.
Y. CHRIST THE INTERCESSOR OF THE COVENANT.
As for performing the condition of the covjnant, Jesus Christ
became the priest, namely, the sacrificing priest of it, as hath been
said in the due i)lace : so, for the administration of the covenant,
he became the intercessor, namely, the interceding priest of it.
Christ's intercession did not take its place in the making of the
covenant. The love and grace of God made the motion for a new
covenant freely : and the breach betwixt God and sinners was of
another nature, than to be made up by a simple intercession ; the
which might have moved mercy, but could not have satisfied justice,
that, requiring a sacrifice for sin, could not be satisfied by pleading,
562 THE ADMINISTRATION OP THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
but by payiug a ransom : Heb. ix. 22, " Without shedding of blood
is no remission." Neither doth Christ's sacrificing take its place in
the administration of the covenant : there is no need of any new
sacrificing there ; " For by one offering he hath perfected for ever
thera that are sanctified," chap. x. 14. But his sacrificing natively
took its place in the making of the covenant, and fulfilling the con-
dition thereof; and his intercession, in the administration of the
covenant, and fulfilling the promises of it. Accordingly, for the
administration of the covenant, he is the intercessor thereof : Rom.
viii. 34, " It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who
is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us."
And indeed there was need of an intercessor for that effect : since
an infinitely holy Grod, and sinful creatures, could neither come
together into a state of peace, nor continue in it, with the safety of
God's honour, without an intercessor. Wherefore Jesus Christ
being appointed thereto, is, in that character, " entered into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us," Heb. ix. 24, to
manage the business of the covenant for our behoof; willing the
merit of his sacrifice to be applied to all those in whose room and
stead he died, and that for all the intents and purposes of the cove-
nant in their favours, according to the method laid down and stated
therein. And this his intercession is always effectual, as he himself
testifieth, saying unto his Father, John xi. 42, *' I knew that thou
hearest me always. Whence it appears, that the object of it is not
of equal latitude with the object of the administration of the cove-
nant, and of his acting in the other relations belonging to that ad-
ministration ; but that it is restricted unto those whom he, as second
Adam, represented in the eternal transaction. And this is very
agreeable to the nature of the divine contrivance for the salvation
of sinners; in which the eternal purpose hath made a difference of
persons, accoi'ding to sovereign will and pleasure : this being, as it
were, one clause in the constitution of the administration, peculiarly
in favour of the objects of electing love. So the intercessor himself
teacheth us, John xvii. 9, " I pray not for the world, but for them
which thou hast given me :" ver. 20, " For them which shall believe
on me." Ver. 24, " Father, I will that they also whom thou hast
given me, be with me where I am."
Now, Christ administers the covenant as intercessor thereof, these
following ways chiefly.
1. Effectually procuring, by his interest in heaven, the actual
inbringing of his elect, at the time appointed, into a covenant-state
of union, communion, peace, and favour with God : John xvii. 20,
CHRIST THE INTERCESSOR OF THE COVENANT. 563
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word:" ver. 21, "That they all may be
one, as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee ; that they also may
be one in us." They are by nature in a state of enmity with God,
even as others : but through Christ's intercession the peace is made
between Ileaven and them. He purchased it for them by the blood
of his sacrifice ; it was promised to him in the covenant on that
score ; and by his intercession he actually obtains it unto them.
His intercession is the spring that puts all the wheels in motion,
that are set a-going, in the time of loves, for bringing one out of the
state of nature, into a state of grace. Providence manageth favour-
ably towards the conversion of the man ; the word powerfully
affects him, while on others it falls like rain on a rock, running off
as fast as it comes on ; the business of eternal salvation is closely
laid to heart with him ; the law doth its office upon him, and so
doth the gospel also in its turn : and these things cease not, until
he is brought into a new state, and is become a new creature.
Whence did all this take its rise ! Why, the man had an unknown
friend in the court of heaven, who spoke for him to the King : and
all this is the fruit of that intercession made for him.
2. Appearing for them, and in their name taking possession of
heaven, and all the other benefits of the covenant, which they have
a right to, in virtue of their new covenant state : Eph. ii. 6, " And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus." Heb. vi. 20, " Whither the forerunner is
for us entered." That moment wherein a sinner enters into the
covenant by believing, he hath a right to all ; for if children, then
heirs, Rom. viii. 17- Howbeit, in the case of most of the children
of God, the possession seems to be delayed long after that time.
But it is to be considered, that possession may not only be taken by
a man in his own person; but also in the person of another : thus
one may by his attorney lake possession of an estate which he never
saw ; and a minor, by his representative, may be possessed of what
it is not as yet meet to give him into his own hand. So, howbeit,
the believer's possession of all in his own person is indeed delayed :
yet in this respect it is not delayed one moment after his believ-
ing in Jesus Christ : for his intercessor acts for him in the matter.
What should hinder this manner of possession one moment after be-
lieving ? For the covenant of promises is an undoubted right ; the
sinner, though on earth, doth by faith plead it before God in hea-
ven ; and Christ is there, as his representative and intercessor, to
take possession in his name. Wherefore every believer shall justly
reckon himself, though having nothing, yet possessing all things, 2
Cor. vi. 10, and complete in him. Col. ii. 10.
564 THE ADMINISTllATION OF THE COVENANT OV GRACE.
3. Maintaining the peace between God and them while they are
here in this world. Having purchased their peace with heaven, by
the sacrifice of himself, and by his intercession brought them into a
state of peace, he doth not leave it to themselves to maintain it. If
it were so, it would soon be at an end. There are so many failures
on their part, while they are compassed with the body of sin, that
their own consciences have whereof to accuse them every day ; and
the devil is an incessant accuser of the brethren : but Christ inter-
cedes for them, to the preventing always a total rupture betwixt
heaven and them ; however they may for their sins fall under God's
fatherly displeasure : upon the ground of his satisfaction for them,
he answereth all accusations against them, and takes up all emerg-
ing differences between them and their covenanted God : 1 John ii.
1, " If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous:" ver. 2, " And he is the propitiation for our
sins." Hereupon the apostle triumphs over all their accusers, Rom.
viii. 33, " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ?
It is God that justifieth :" ver. 34, " Who is he that condemn-
eth ? It is Christ that died, who also maketh intercession for us."
Wherefore their state of peace with God is inviolably maintained ;
though, for their correction, they may indeed lose the sight and
sense of it for a time. Having once become their friend in Christ,
he may indeed severely chastise them for their faults, but he never
becomes their enemy again, even in the way of legal enmity, far
less in the way of real enmity, Rom. viii. 1 ; Isa. liv. 9.
4. Procuring them access to God, and acceptance with him, not-
withstanding of their imperfections, while in this life. Saints on
earth never want business in the court of heaven. Yet being sin-
ful, they are in themselves unfit to come into the presence of the
King. But the Intercessor of the covenant introduceth them, procur-
ing them access by his interest in the court; " For through him we
have an access by one Spirit unto the Father," Eph. ii. 18. And
by this means they are allowed access with boldness, chap. iii. 12.
He makes their persons accepted, notwithstanding of the sinfulness
cleaving to them : they are accepted in the beloved, chap. i. 6.
And in him they have an altar that sanctifies their gifts, Heb. xiii.
10. So that their spiritual sacrifices, howbeit they want not their
blemishes, yet are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 5.
Their prayers made in faith, though smelling rank of the remains of
the corruption of nature, yet being perfumed by the Intercessor
with the incense of his merit, are accepted in heaven, and have gra-
cious returns made them. Rev. viii. 4. Their doing service, and
their suffering services, which howsoever costly, could not be ac-
TRIAL OF A SAVING PERSONAL INBEING, &C. 665
cepted for their own worth, because imperfect, are through his in-
tercession accepted, as being washed, and made white in the blood
of the Lamb, chap. vii. 14.
5. Lastly, Obtaining their admittance into heaven, in the due
time ; and continuing their state of perfect happiness there for ever
and ever : John xvii. 24, " Father, I will that they also whom thou
hast given me, be with me where I am." Our Lord Jesus Christ
was by his Father constituted a priest for ever, Psalm ex. 4.
Nevertheless, after his having once offered himself a sacrifice on the
cross, he offereth no more sacrifice. Therefore he must be, not a
sacrificing Priest for ever, but an interceding Priest, as the apostle
explains it, Heb. vii. 25, " He ever liveth to make intercession for
them." Now, the spirits of just men being made perfect immediately
after death, there is no more imperfections about their souls morally
considered, Heb. xii. 23 ; and after the resurrection, there will be
no more imperfection about their bodies neither, 1 Cor. xv. 53. The
effect then of Christ's intercession for ever, must be the everlasting
continuation of their happy state ; their Intercessor externally will-
ing the continuance of the same, on the ground of the eternal re-
demption obtained for them, by the sacrifice of himself. The infinite
merit of his sacrifice will be eternally presented before God in the
holy place, while he shall appear there in our nature continually :
and this will be the everlasting security for the continuation of the
saints' happiness. The which happiness issuing from the merit of
his sacrifice as their Priest, will be communicated unto him as their
Prophet and their King : for these his offices will never be laid
aside. As he is a Priest for ever, so of his kingdom there shall be
no end, Luke i. 33, and the Lamb will be the light of the heavenly
city, Rev. xxi. 23 ; the saint's communion with God there, being
still in and through the Mediator, in a manner agreeable to their
state of perfection, chap. vii. 17.
And these are the chief acts of his administration of the covenant,
as Intercessor thereof.
Thus far of the fourth head, namely, the administration of the co-
venant.
HEAD V.
THE TRIAL OF A SAVING PERSONAL INBEING IN THE COVENANT OF
GRACE.
"We have now opened the doctrine of the covenant of grace, in treat-
ing of the parties in it, the making of it, the parts of it, and the
566 TRIAL OF A SAVING PERSONAL INTEREST
administration thereof: it remains to make some practical improve-
ment of the whole, in this and the following head.
If one seriously considers the covenant of grace, as that on which
the salvation of our soul depends, he can hardly miss to put the
question to himself, What interest have I in that covenant ? There
is no question but you have a common interest in it, by which you
are sufficiently warranted to come into it : but that you may have,
and yet porish ; for even " children of the kingdom shall be cast out
into outer darkness," Matt. viii. 12. But the question is. Whether
ye have a saving interest in it, being actually come into it, or not?
The covenant is indeed brought unto you, in the ordinances of the
gospel : but are you brought into the covenant, united with the head
thereof, Christ Jesus? It hath been administered to you: but have
you by faith taken hold of it ? You have received the sacrament
of baptism, the seal of the covenant, in the right of your parents;
but have you personally embraced the covenant in sincerity ? The
two covenants, of works, and of grace, divide the whole world be-
tween them : every man is under one of the two; and no man can be
under both at one and the same time, in respect of his state before
the Lord, Rom. vi. 14. Under the first covenant stands a numerous
party, in the first Adam, head of that broken covenant, deriving
sin, death, and the curso from him : under the second covenant
stands a party, in the second Adam, head of that fulfilled co-
venant, deriving life and salvation from him. These parties will be
judged, each according to the covenant they are under : so the for-
mer will be condemned, in virtue of the curse of the covenant in
which they are ; and the latter will be eternally saved, in virtue of
the promise of life, in the covenant wherein they are. In the mean-
while there is access for those of the first covenant to leave their
party and covenant, and to join the party in the second covenant :
but death will block up that access. Wherefore it is the interest of
the one as well as of the other, to know which party and covenant
they belong to. And for trial hereof, I oflfer the following marks,
signs, or characters of those who are savingly and personally within
the covenant of grace.
I. They are such as have fled for refuge from the covenant of
works ; that have come into the covenant of the second Adam,
as refuges from the covenant of the first Adam. For that is the
character of the heirs of promise, Heb. vi. 17, 18. Though time was
when they lived at ease within the dominion of the covenant of the
law ; yet God hath set fire to their nest there, that they have fouud
themselves unable to dwell any longer within the boundaries of that
covenant. Mount Sinai hath been altogether on a smoke round
IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 567
about them ; and the trumpet of the curse of the law hath waxed
louder and louder, till it made them to hear it on the side of their
righteousness and best works, where they were deafest ; and it hath
caused them exceedingly to fear and quake, as a curse denounced
against them in particular : Ron^. vii. 9, "When the commandment
came, sin revived, and I died." It hath chased them from all the
starting holes about that mountain, and left no place within the
bounds of that covenant safe to them : not only has it chased them
out of their profane courses, but also out of all confidence in their
good works and duties of whatsoever kind ; to flee for their life into
the covenant of free grace, as the slayer into the city of refuge ;
what things were gain to them, counting these loss for Christ, Phil,
iii. 7.
II. They are such as cordially approve of, and acquiesce in the
plan of the covenant, as suited to the honour of God, and to their
case in particular : looking upon it as well ordered in all things, 2
Sam. xxiii. 5. Whosoever duly considers the corruption brought
into man's nature by the fall, will plainly perceive, that the method
of salvation laid down in the covenant of grace, is the very reverse
of the inclination of corrupt human nature : so that nothing less
than the powerful efficacy of divine grace can bring a soul unto a
cordial approbation of it, and acquiescence in it : wherefore our
Lord pronounceth them blessed, whosoever shall not be ofi'ended in
him, Matth. xi. 6. Natural men may indeed shape the covenant, in
their own apprehensions, into such a form, as they may have a very
good liking of it. They may apprehend it as a covenant designed
to make men easy and happy ; while in the meantime it allows
them, at least in some instances, to be unholy : as a covenant wherein
through Christ's means, they may obtain acceptance with God by
their good works, notwithstanding of their ill works. But in all
this they are in love with a creature of their own fancy, not with
God's covenant of grace. Let the covenant be set before them in
the light of the holy scripture, and viewed by them in that light ;
they will be sure to dislike it, and pick holes in it. Let the design
of the covenant be fairly discovered, as being to exalt God's free
grace on the ruins of all excellency left with man ; to make Christ
all, and man nothing in his own salvation ; the proud heart cannot
away with that, cannot submit to the righteousness of God, Rom. x.
3. The efiicacy of it, in working out sin, separating betvreen the
soul and its dearest lusts, once fairly appearing ; natural men flee
from it, as if one cried unto them, There is death in the pot. Let
them seriously enter into the thought, how it is suited to the honour
of God, and the divine perfections ; and how it is suited to their real
568 TRIAL OF A SAYIXG PERSONAL INTEREST
safety before him : and they can not see how it is so. To the Jewish
wisdom it is a stumbling-hlock, a device inconsistent with the divine
perfections : the Grecian learning pronounceth it foolishness, a
method of salvation unsafe to be trusted to : only the eye of faith
discovers it to be the power of God, and the wisdom of God ; safe for
guilty creatures, and honourable for a holy God, 1 Cor. i. 23, 24.
III. Upon the discovery of the covenant to them, as made from
eternity between God and the second Adam, and offered to them in
the gospel ; they will satisfy themselves in their covenanting, with
heaven's draught of it, so far as they understand it ; and they will
not go about to add unto it, nor to diminish from it; but will stand
to the terms of God and Christ's making. Acts ix. 6, " Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do ?" They will put a blank in the Lord's
hand, for their part ; as content if all within the compass of the
covenant, without putting in their exceptions, or desiring amend-
ments and alterations to be made in their favour. They are content
of the laws of the covenant; as well as of the privileges of it; of
the discipline of the covenant, as well as of the rewards of it ; of the
condition of the covenant as fulfilled by Christ alone, as well as of
the promises of it to be fulfilled to them ; and of the promise of
santification, as well as of the promise of justification and glorifica-
tion. Hence the covenant, as revealed in the gospel, is by the
Holy Ghost called a hearing, Isa. liii. 1, marg. that is, a thing
to be heard and received by faith, as a voice is received and heard
by the ear, according to that, chap. Iv. 5, " Hear, and your soul
shall live." It is the natural disposition of mankind, to speak
rather than to hear : for we are more ready to declare our own will
by speaking, than to receive the will of another by hearing. Where-
fore the gospel being the declaration of the will of God for our
salvation, only to be heard and received by faith, and therefore
called the hearing of faith, Gal. iii. 2, there is need of the power of
grace, to subdue the heart to the hearing thereof, and to stop the
mouth from making proposals of our own in that matter.
IV. The love of God in Christ is habitually predominant in them:
Prov. viii. 17, " I iove them that love me." Great was the love to
them appearing in the covenant. The parties-contractors about
them acted therein from a principle of free, and yet greatest love.
From thence sprung the first motion for a covenant of life and sal-
vation unto them : thence it was the Father was content to give his
Son for them ; the Son was well pleased to become man, and suffer
death for them ; the holy Spirit to take them for his habitation, to
quicken, sanctify, and perfect them. The love of God produced the
proposal of the great and precious promises in their favour, upon
IN THE COVKNANT OF GRACE. 569
terms consistent with his justice: Christ as second Adara, out of
love to them, accepted of these terms. And when the eternal
transaction was, in the gospel, by the demonstration of the Spirit,
opened and brought home to their souls ; this love shone forth to
them, so as they believed it. And that believed love of God in
Christ kindled in their souls a superlative love to him again : 1 John
iv. 19, " We love him ; because he first loved us." And therefore,
although that their love is not always alike vigorous, but hath its
waxings and warnings according to the increase and decrease of their
faith ; yet, since their faith never altogether fails, Luke xxii. 32, it
never fails altogether neither, from the moment that it is kindled in
their hearts. And it is an active principle in them, constraining
them to obedience, 2 Cor. v. 14, giving the chief room in their heart
and affection to God in Christ, that their soul saith, " Whom have I
in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire be-
sides thee," Psalm Ixxiii. 25. It makes it to be their greatest care to
please him, and to be accepted of him, 2 Cor. v. 9 ; and their greatest
fear, to stir him up or offend him. Can. iii. 35. It makes duty agree-
able to them, as a matter of choice : 1 John v. 3, " This is the love
of God, that we keep his commandments ; and his commandments
are not grievous." And it renders the remains of sin, the body of
this death, a heavy burden which ihey long to be delievered from,
Rom. vii. 24.
V. Jesus Christ the head of the covenant, is their bead with their
own consent. With heart and good-will they have taken him for
their head, for all the purposes of the covenant ; and they stand to
it, not to alter, if the choice were to make a thousand times. Those
to whom the Father from 'eternity choose Christ for a head, do,
in the day of their conversion, by faith approve the choice, making
it over again personally for themselves ; whence they are said to
appoint themselves one head, Hos. i. 11. And as often as they
reiterate their acts of faith, which they must live by, they do upon
the matter reiterate their choice. Being sensible of what they
suffered by the miscarriage of Adara their first head, Christ is
precious to thera as a second Adam. They come into the covenant,
and abide also in it, under his wings allenarly ; expecting no benefit
of it, nor by it, but through him. And they have taken him as their
head for government, as well as their head for nourishment and
support. They have delivered up themselves unto him, to be ruled
by him, as well as to be saved by him ; to be governed by his laws,
and not by their own lusts, as well as to be saved by his grace, and
not by their own works.
VI. The condition of the covenant fulfilled by Jesus Christ, is the
Vol. VIII. 2 n
570 TRIAL OF A SAVING PERSONAL INBEING
alone ground of their confidence before the Lord, as to acceptance
with him, or any benefit of the covenant they look to partake of. A
crucified Saviour is the foundation laid in Zion, for sinners to build
on : and believing on him is the soul's building upon it, 1 Pet. ii. 6.
If men build on another foundation, they build on the sand, and
their confidence shall be rooted out : if, being driven off from all
ot'ner foundation, they build not on this neither, they must needs
perish as the chaff which the wind driveth away. To believe, or
build on Christ's righteousness by him fulfilled, can import no less
than one's trusting on it for his salvation. "Whether this trust be
strong or weak, it must be : else faith is not, building on Christ is
not ; but the soul is kept in a state of wavering, in opposition to the
staying of it by faith on Christ, Jam. i. 6. Now, he that is within
the covenant, takes Christ's righteousness as his alone ground of
confidence before the Lord: for the covenant shews not, nor allows
any other : nothing save Jesus Christ, and him crucified, 1 Cor. ii.
2. He hath some measure of confidence for life and salvation, upon
that ground ; whereby he is distinguished from the desperate, faith-
less, and unbelieving : and what confidence he hath for life and sal-
vation, he hath upon that ground alone ; whereby he is distinguished
from the presumptuous, formalists, and hypocrites. And both these
things are joined in the believer's character, Philip, iii. 3, "And
rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no " confidence in the flesh."
YIL The promises of the covenant are a satisfying portion to
their hearts. They are indeed sensible tliey have many wants ; but
then they see as much in the covenant as would supply them all ;
that they need not go to another door for supply : they are per-
suaded there is as much water in that well as would quench all their
thirst, if tliey could but get the art of drawing it. Thus the cove-
nant is all their salvation, and all their desire, 2 Sam. xxiii, 5.
This discovery of the covenant is not owing to nature, but to that
grace which shews so much worth in the one pearl, as makes a mau
content to sell all he hath, to gain it, Matth. xiii. 46. But no man
will come into the covenant, until once he get it : for who will join
himself to one in a marriage-covenant, or contract of service, with
whom he cannot see how to live ? Faith discerns in the covenant not
only a refuge, but a portion, Psalm cxlii. 5, else the man would
never come into it. And none who have once got this discovery,
will lemain out of the covenant. Psalm ix. 10, " They that know
thy name, will put their trust in thee." See John iv. 10. If the
worth of the treasure hid in the field of the gospel, be perceived, all
will go for the obtaining thereof, Matth. xiii. 44, 45; all will be
counted loss and dung for the excellency of it, Philip, iii. 8. Cer-
IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 571
lainly the men of the world do not see this in the covenant : it is
but an empty hungry thing in their blinded eyes. The covenant is,
in the gospel, held out to them in the breadth and length thereof :
but it does not take with them : it is far from being all their desire :
after all, as if they had seen nothing that could satisfy, they still
cry, " Who will shew us any good ?" Psalm iv. 6. The truth is, tjie
heart of man can never see enough in the covenant for to rest satis-
fied with, till grace give it a new set, and contract its endless desires :
for that which the unrenewed heart is most set upon, there is no
provision in the covenant for, but against it.
YIII. The Spirit of the covenant is in them : and that is another
spirit than what the men of the world are actuated by. Numb. xiv.
24 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 27, " I will put my Spirit within you." The Spirit of
Christ is the Spirit of the covenant, purchased by the blood of the
covenant, lodged in the fulness thereof in Christ the head of the
covenant, and communicated in some measure to all the covenant-
people. And that Spirit may be known by these three characters
thereof.
1. The Spirit of the covenant is a Spirit of holiness. The great
design of the covenant, next to the glory of God, was the sanctifi-
cation of sinners, Luke i. 74, 75. All the lines of the covenant,
from the first of them unto the last, meet in that as their centre.
There is a display of exact justice, in the condition of the covenant ;
of rich grace and mercy, in the promises of it : of greatest faithfulness
and power, in the administration of it : but holiness goes through
the whole, and every the least part of it. Wherefore it is called
the holy covenant, Dan. xi. 30. Who then can reasonably imagine,
that the unholy are within this covenant ? that the servants of sin,
whether profane, or formalists, strangers to the power of godliness,
whom no bands of holiness will hold, can be within the bond of the
holy covenant ? No, sure they are not ; they have not the Spirit of the
covenant. The Spirit of the covenant makes the covenanted initially
holy ; and to press toward the mark, to wrestle, long, groan, and
pant for the perfection of holiness, Philip, iii. 14. It makes a vein
of holiness run through their whole man ; their whole life ; their
thoughts, their words, their actions ; their dealings with God, and
their dealings with men. The covenant was erected on purpose to
destroy the works of the devil : it was a confederacy entered into by
the Father and the Son, for rooting sin out of the hearts and lives
of the children of Adam ; for restoring the divine image in them ;
and for bringing them again to a perfect conformity to the moral
law of the ten commandments, from which they fell in Adam. For
this end was the condition of it performed, the promises of it made,
2 N 2
572 TRIAL OF A SAVING PERSONAL INBEING
and the adruinistratiou thereof committed to the holy Jesus : 1 John
iii. 8, " For this purpose the Sou of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil." Wherefore, whosoever
partake of the Spirit of the covenant, partake of the Spirit of holi-
ness : Gal. V. 18, " If ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the
law." Ver. 16, " Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust
of the flesh."
2. The Spirit of the covenant is an ingenuous free Spirit, Psalm
li. 12. It is the spirit of sons, not of slaves ; of free men, not of
bond-men, Rom. viii. 15. There is some obedience to the holy law
given by unbelievers, the men of the first covenant, as well as by
believers, the men of the second covenant : and the eyes of the
world can perceive no difference between the obedience of some of
the former sort, and of those of the latter sort ; howbeit there is a
vast difference, which is seen by the all-seeing eye. Are these
within the covenant, praying persons ? So are many, who have no
saving part nor lot in it, Isa. Iviii. 2. Are they men of temperance
and sobriety, justice and honesty, candour and faithfulness, men of
blameless lives ? So are several others besides them, for all that
any man can see, Phil. iii. 6. Thus far they agree. But there is a vast
difference of the spirit they are actuated by, which makes a mighty
odds in the manner and kind of their obedience. Unbelievers are
actuated by a spirit of bondage, suitable to their state of bondage
under the covenant of works. Gal. iv. 24, 25. A slavish fear and a
servile hope are the weights hung upon them by that covenant,
causing them to go : sin is avoided, duty performed, not out of love
to God and holiness, but out of love to themselves. Believers are
actuated by the Spirit of adoption, suitable to their state of adoption,
under the covenant of grace, ver. 26. God is their Father : and
they serve him as sons, not as slaves, Mai. iii. 17- Christ is their
elder brother, who loved them, and gave himself for them: and his
love constrains them, 2 Cor. v. 14. The Holy Spirit dwells in them,
hath quickened them, renewed them, making them partakers of the
divine nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. So sin is avoided as contrary to their
new nature, duty pursued as agreeable to it. Their faith of the
love of God in Christ hath begotten in them love to God again, for
a new principle of obedience, 1 Tim. i, 5. By faith they trust on
Christ, and on him alone for life and salvation : and this at once
undermines in them the slavish fear of hell, and the servile hope of
heaven ; so that these are so far from being their only motives to
obedience, that they cannot be their predominant motives ; nay they
cannot be at all in them, but as enemies to their faith and love,
2 Tim. i. 7; 1 John iv. 18. Yet withal, it is to be remembered,
IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 575
that it is not slavish for saints to fear God's fatherly anger, and
thereby to be stirred up to duty, Psalm cxix. 120; Heb. xi. 7;
nor to hold the way of duty, in hope of the enjoyment of God in
that way, and the tokens of his favour, John xiv. 21, and in the
end pe ect happiness in heaven ; all through Jesus Christ alone,
1 Cor. iv. 58. Our need of these things for incitements to duty, do
indeed argue our childish state, for there will be no need of these
fears and hopes in heaven ; but by no means a slavish state. Nei-
ther is it at all slavisli, to have the heart filled with a reverential
fear and dread of God, upon the consideration of his tremendous
justice, and wrath in hell, against the miserable objects thereof;
and to be stirred up to duty thereby. Matt. x. 28 ; Heb. xii. 28, 29.
To look thereunto, and move away towards God in the way of duty,
with fear and trembling, is very agreeable to the state of those who
have by faith received a kingdom that cannot be moved ; but are
not, yet ascended unto heaven : who are indeed drawn up out of the
fearful depth ; but are not as yet haled up to the top of the rock,
though the strong chain of the covenant is so about them, that
they shall never fall down again. For in heaven the awe and reve-
rence of God, on that score, will be perfect, Isa. vi. 1, 2, 3. But it
is slavish for saints, to fear their being cast into hell for sin ; and
'Servile, to hope their obtaining heaven for their good works. And
yet that slavish fear and servile hope, may creep in upon the chil-
dren of the second covenant, and move them to duty : because their
faith is weak, much of the old Adam remains in them, and it is
not easy for them, though dead to the law in point of privilege, to
be dead to it in i)oint of practice. But these impure mixtures of
selfishness in their duties will be humbling unto them : and they
will loath themselves, for that they act not, in their obedience, with
more of the free spirit and son-like disposition. And their will in
that case is accepted through Christ.
3. The Spirit of the covenant is a Spirit of sympathy regulated
by the covenant. There is a commonness of interest, and thence a
mutual sympathy, among confederates. And this sympathy among
the confederates of Heaven, regards both the head and the people
of the covenant.
(1.) They have a native and kindly sympathy with the God and
head of the covenant. It is true, his essential glory can never be
liable to diminution ; nor can his eternal rest in himself be in the
least disturbed, by whatsoever men or angels may do or suft'er : and
the man Christ is now beyond the reach of suffering. Nevertheless,
his declarative glory in the world hath its times of shining clear,
and of being under a cloud. Now, as he hath a sympathy with
57i TRIAL OF A SAVING PKKSONAL INBEING
them, in all their concerns, their distresses and their enlargements,
their joys and their griefs, Isa. Ixiii. 9 ; Luke xv. 5 ; which is a
very tender sympathy, insomuch that the touching of them is the
touching of the apple of his eye, Zech. ii. 8 : so they also have a
very tender sympathy with him, in the concerns of his glory. They
are glad and rejoice in the prosperity of his kingdom. Acts xi. 23,
24. They pray for it continually. Psalm Ixxii. 15 : and contribute
their endeavours, in their stations to advance it, Phil, i, 21, "For
to me to live is Christ." They have a feeling of the indignities
done to his Majesty, as done to themselves, Psalm Ixix. 9, " The
reproaches of them that reproached thee, are fallen upon me."
And they are mourners for the sins of others, as well as for their
own ; on the account of the dishonour they do to God, because they
keep not his law. Psalm cxix. 136. The children of the covenant
will neither be opposers of the kingdom of Christ, nor will they be
neuters ; but will put their shoulders to the work of their Lord, to
help it forward, according to their vocation : and without such a
public spirit, in greater or lesser measure, no man shall be able to
prove his saving interest in the covenant : for so hath our Lord
himself determined the matter. Matt. xii. 30, " He that is not with
me, is against me : and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth
abroad."
(2.) They have a native and kindly sympathy with the people of
the covenant: for they are members one of another, Eph. iv. 9.5.
The grace of the covenant disposeth men to be loving and beneficial
to mankind, but in a peculiar manner to holy men ; to "do good
unto Jill men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith,"
Gal. vi. 10. The common bond of the covenant engageth them in pe-
culiar love one to another ; even as in that bond they are the common
object of the world's hatred. They bear the same image with Christ
their common head ; and that image will recommend all who bear
it, onto one that is within the covenant himself, so far as he can dis-
cern it. "Wherefore their love is a love to all the saints, Eph. i. 15.
And hence ariseth the sympathy which every true Christian hath
with the church of Christ throughout the world, and with the seve-
ral members thereof known to them ; their joint interest in the co-
venant challengeth it ; for by the covenant there is a near relation
among them ; and from their union under the same head, results
their communion, 1 Cor. xii. 12, 26. Therefore a spirit of selfish-
ness, whereby men's concern is all swallowed up in their own things,
leaving them no sympathy with the church and people of God, is a
shrewd sign of a graceless state. How much more, a spirit of reign-
ing enmity against religion, and the professors thereof: where reli-
IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 575
gion, and what concerns it, make men tlie special objects of their
enmity, spite, and resentment ? An habitual course of this is none
of the spots of God's people ; but it declares men to be of the world,
John XV. 19, " I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you." The Spirit of the covenant will carry men quite
another way; since, taking hold of the covenant, they have em-
barked in the same bottom with those whose head Christ is, and
who have declared war against the devil's kingdom. To them they
will say, " We will go with you ; for we have heard that God is
with you," Zech. viii. 23.
IX. In the last place. The laws of the covenant are in their
hearts, namely, the laws of the ten commandments, the eternal rule
of righteousness, Heb. viii. 10. That law, in all its parts, is a copy
of the divine nature, which in regeneration is transcribed into the
heart of every one brought into the covenant : and the whole of it
is written there, though every part is not written alike clear, nor
any part perfect. As is the image of God restored in us, so is the
law written in our hearts : in sanctification there is a new man
created ; which speaks a perfection of parts, though there is not a
perfection of degrees in these parts, Eph. iv. 24 ; 2 Cor. v. 17 ;
1 Cor. xiii. 12. This may be taken up in these four things : —
1. They approve of the whole law, so far as it is known to them :
Psalm cxix. 128, "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things
to be right." They love God : and every part of the law is a line
of his image : wherefore loving the law as expressing the image of
his holiness, they must needs love the whole law ; since there is no-
thing in it but what is a transcript of that holiness. And as the
head of the covenant is in their eyes altogether lovely. Cant. v. 16,
the laws of the covenant being like him, must be so too. "Why do
not unbelievers love the holy law, but because they do not love a
holy God ? Rom. viii. 7. But believers loving a holy God in Christ,
must love the law also, since in it the image of his holiness is ex-
pressed. The holy law condemns many things in them ; yea, every
thing of theirs, so far as it is morally imperfect : and so they do
themselves, consenting unto the law that it is good, chap. vii. 16.
It condemns every sin ; every one's most beloved sin, the evil he is
most easily led aside into ; and for that very cause the unrenewed
heart hates the law. But the grace of^the covenant makes a man to
leave his complaint on himself ; to approve the law and condemn
his own lust contrary thereto : Rom. vii. 12, " The law is holy ; and
the commandment holy, and jnst, and good." Yer. 14, " But I am
carnal."
2. They have an inclination of heart towards the whole law, so
576 TRIAL OF A SAVIJSG PKKSONAL IXBE1N6, &C.
far as they know it : Psalm cxix. 5, " 0 that my ways were directed
to keep thy statutes !" There is in them a fixed principle, which
lies the same way with the holy law; bending away from what
the law forbids, and towards what the law directs unto. True,
there is a contrary principle in them too, which fights against it ;
but so do they against that contrary principle, breathing, longing
and lusting for the complete victory over it, and for full confor-
mity to the holy la,w, Gal. v. 17. This is a new set of heart given
in the new birth ; exerting itself, not in lazy wishes for conformity
to the law, but in a resolute struggle for it, enduring to the end.
Hence,
3. They will habitually endeavour to conform in their prac-
tice to the whole law, so far as they know : Psalm cxix. 6,
" Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all
thy commandments." If the law is written in one's heart, he
will write it out again in his conversation : and a sanctified heart
will certainly make a holy life ; Matt. vi. 22, " If thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light." Where is the efficacy
of the holy covenant, if men may be within the covenant, and yet live
like those that are without it ? Nay, but to whomsoever the grace
of God hath effectually appeared, it will have taught them eflFectually
to deny ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righte-
ously, and godly in this present world. Tit. ii. 11, 12. If the grace
of the covenant bring you not to duties of piety towards God, you
have no saving part in it. If you are brought unto these, but
withal left at liberty from the duties of righteousness toward
yoar neighbour, that you do not loath, but dare to be unjust in
smaller or greater matters ; you are yet " in the gall of bitterness,
and in the bond of iniquity :" Luke xvi. 11, " If ye have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your
trust the true riches ?" If you are brought forward unto both these,
and yet not sober, but left slaves to your sensual appetites and
fleshly affections, you are no better : for " they that are Christ's,
have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts," Gal. v. 24.
But Avhoso have fled to the covenant of grace in Christ for life and
salvation, and withal are honestly endeavouring conformity to the
whole law in their practice, they, howbeit in many things they miss
their mark, do shew themselves to be within the bond of the holy
covenant, and ought to take the comfort thereof, as the divine
allowance to them : 2 Cor. i. 12, " Our rejoicing is this, the testi-
mony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not
with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our con-
versation in the world."
INSTATING SINNERS IN THE CUVENANT OF GRACE. 577
4. Lastly, Their souls lie opeu to what of the laws of the co-
venant they know not. They are content to know them, desirous
to be taught them, that they may conform unto them : Psalm cxix.
26, " Teach me thy statutes." There are many sins of ours hid
unto us; because there is much of the laws of the covenant we do
not discern. And hypocrites do not desire to know the whole law :
they are willingly ignorant of some things thereof, because they
have no inclination to entertain them. But the sincere, being con-
tent to part with every false way, and to take upon them the whole
yoke of Christ, hating sin as contrary to God's nature and will, and
loving duty as agreeable thereto, do of course lie open to the further
discoveries of sin and duty: they come to the light, John iii. 21.
They say, " That which I see not, teach thou me," Job xxxiv. 32,
" Search me, 0 God, and know my heart : try me, and know my
thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me
in the way everlasting," Psalm cxxxix. 23, 24.
And this much shall suffice to have spoken on the fifth head,
namely, The trial of a saving personal inbeing in the covenant of
grace.
HEAD VI.
THE WA.Y OF INSTATING SINNERS PERSONALLY ANP SAVINGLY IN THE
COVENANT or GRACE.
By the marks and characters given, it appears, that they are but
few who are personally and savingly instated in the covenant
of grace, in comparison of those who are strangers to it : but we
are allowed to offer it to strangers ; to invite and call them who
are without the covenant, to come into it, and so to compel them to
come in, Luke xiv. 23. Here then are the glad tidings of the
gospel : there is a covenant, which was entered into from eternity
between God and Christ the second Adam ; a covenant of grace,
made in favour of sinners of Adam's race, ruined by the breach of
the covenant of works. In it there is full provision for your salva-
tion ; to relieve you from all the ruining effects of the broken first
covenant, and to render you completely happy. The condition of
this covenant is indeed high ; being screwed up to a pitch by the
demands of the law and justice : yet there is nothing on that part
to discourage you from the covenant; for your inability being fore-
seen from eternity, it was laid upon one that is mighty, to perform
it ; and now it is already performed and fulfilled to your hand by
578 SINNEKS INSTATED IN THE COVENANT BY FAITH OK BELIEVING.
that mighty one, Christ Jesus. Only, the promises remain to be ful-
filled. So the burden of the condition is over without you ; and ye
are called to the benefit of the promises. And that ye may have
the more clear access thereto, the administration of the covenant is
put into the hand of the same Christ Jesus ; and he is intrusted
■with all the promises, to fulfil them to sinners. He hath begun to
fulfil them to all who have taken hold of the covenant; and is ready
to fulfil them to all who yet shall take hold thereof. For that end
he hath made his testament of these promises, and constituted sin-
ners of mankind his legatees ; that whosoever of them will, may
come, claim, and take the water of life freely. Rev. xxii. 17. The
whole of the covenant is in him. In him is God, the party-contrac-
tor on heaven's side, 2 Cor. v. 19. He himself is the party-contrac-
tor on man's side : and in him are all believers really, and all the
elect legally and representatively. In him is the condition of the
covenant, and that as fulfilled : he is the Lord our righteousness,
Jer. xxiii. 6. In him are all the promises yea, and amen, 2 Cor.
i. 20, all meeting in him, as lines of a circle in their centre ; and
sure and stedfast, nowise liable to misgive, as did the promise
of the covenant of works in the first Adam. And he as a king
hath emitted his royal proclamations, bearing, that whosoever will
come into him, and unite with him as head of the covenant, shall be
taken into it, and have a right to all the privileges thereof in him,
and through him.
Thus the covenant is brought to you, and set before you in the
gospel ; so that ye must needs be either receivers or refusers of it.
Refuse it not : that is dangerous beyond expression. Take hold of
it; for it is your life. Sinners, ye are under the covenant of works,
where there is no life, no salvation for you : but the door of
the new covenant is opened unto you : come, enter into it without
delay. Flee, and make your escape out of the dominion of the law,
the covenant of works, ye were born under, and are living under :
and that can in no wise be done, but by your accepting and embrac-
ing this covenant offered to you in the gospel ; to the instating of
you personally in it, to all the purposes of life and salvation.
Sinners instated in the covenant by faith or believing.
To clear your way into the covenant, it is necessary to shew, by
what means it is that a sinner embraceth and is instated in it, effec-
tually unto salvation. And this, in one word, is by faith, or believ-
ing on Jesus Christ: Acts xvi. 31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The covenant of grace is held
forth unto you : God saith to every one of you, " I will make an
INSTATING SINNEKS IN THE COVENANT OF GEACE. 579
everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David :"
and to close the bargain with you, and state you personally in it, to
all intents and purposes of salvation, all that is required of you is
to hear, that is, to believe; "Hear, and your soul shall live," Isa.
Iv. 3. He that believeth, is within the covenant of grace personally
and savingly : he that believeth not, is still under the covenant of
works, where the first Adam left him. Faith is the hand whereby
one taketh hold of the covenant, signs it for himself, and closeth the
bargain for his own salvation. It is the mouth whereby sinners
consent to the covenant, that God becomes their God, and they his
people. Although while ye are without the covenant, the working
of perfect obedience under the pain of the curse is required of you ;
and more than that, suffering also, even to the satisfaction of jus-
tice ; and both these, in virtue of the broken firsS covenant : and
when ye are once brought within tlie covenant, obedience to all the
ten commandments, and suffering of the discipline of tlie covenant
in case of your failures, are required of you, in virtue of the new
covenant ye are entered into : yet to enter you into the covenant, and
instate you in it unto salvation, nothing is required of you, but that
ye believe on Christ. Only believe, Mark v. 36, is the constant
doctrine of the gospel in this point. Do what you will, and believe
not, you remain in a state of damnation : whatever is done, or not
done by you, believe, and you are in a state of salvation. If you
should say it with your lips a thousand times over, that you accept
of the covenant; if you should come under the most solemn and
awful bond and engagement to be the Lord's, expressly taking the
same upon you in prayer, or otherwise ; if you should write your
covenant, and subscribe it with your hand ; and should take the sa-
crament of Christ's body and blood upon it, to confirm all : yet if
you do not with the heart believe on Jesus Christ, you embrace not
the covenant, you miss the saving hold of it, and remain without the
saving bond of it. And if you should this moment with the heart
believe on Christ, having no access to speak, pray, write, or com-
municate : yet the moment you believe, you are iiersonally and sav-
ingly instated in the covenant, never to fall out of it through the
ages of eternity; God is your God, and all the promises of the cove-
nant are yours : though you had missed the gripe of the covenant
ten thousand times before : in that case you have it firm and sure :
Mark xvi. 16, " He that believeth and is baptized, shall be caved :
he that believeth not, shall be damned."
And that believing on Christ should be the appointed means of
entering sinners into the covenant of grace, is very agreeable to the
nature and end of that great transaction. The which appears by
these two considerations following.
580 SINNERS INSTATED IN THE COVENANT BY FAITH OK BELIEVING.
1. Hereby the grace of the covenant is preserved entire in the
dispensation of the covenant ; and by that means the promise is
made sure to all the seed, Rom. iv. 16. Faith is contradistinguished
to works, as grace is to debt, chap. iv. 4, 5. If any work or doing
of ours were that upon which we were instated in the covenant, and
got the right in the promises ; then the covenant and benefit thereof
would be of debt to us, contrary to the declared end and design of
that method of salvation, which is to exalt the free grace of God,
and to cut off all boasting from us, Eph. ii. 8, 9. But the nature of
faith's efficacy in the business is adapted to that end and design of
the covenant ; in as much as it is a grace, not giving, but purely re-
ceiving ; taking all freely from Christ, without money, and without
price, laying the stress of the soul's acceptance with Grod wholly on
wliat Christ hath done and suffered ; and entirely renouncing all
doings and sufferings of our own in that point. And thus the pro-
mise is sure to us : for whereas the plea of any work of ours would
be a very uncertain one ; faith's plea is ever sure and stedfast, as
grounded allenarly on what Christ hath wrought.
2. Hereby the sinner's entering into the covenant is by uniting
with Christ the representative, with whom it was made as party-
contractor ; which is the Scipture-account of the matter, John x. 9,
" I am the door : by me if any man enter in, he shall he saved :"
and so the unity of the covenant, and the representation in it, are
preserved. If men entered into the covenant some other way, as by
their accepting properly called terms to them proposed, and promis-
ing for themselves the performance of them : in that case the repre-
sentation in the covenant is marred ; and there would be in effect as
many covenants of grace as there are persons embracing it at differ-
ent times ; at least, Christ's covenant would be one, and ours an-
other distinct therefrom ; the contrary of which is before evinced
from the Scripture. But the covenant of grace being made with
Christ as second Adam, in the name of all such as should be his ; it
plainly follows, that the only way of one's entering personally into
it, must be by becoming his, standing related to the head of the co-
venant as our head : and it is by faith, and no work, nor consent of
ours differing from faith, that we are united to him, and become
members of his body, Eph. iii. 17. How do we all enter personally
into the covenant of works, so as to partake of the curse in it ? Is
it not through our becoming, by natural generation, branches of the
first Adam, the representative in that covenant ? Hereby every
one of us is personally entered, and instated in that covenant, be-
fore we are capable to approve or disapprove of the same, to con-
sent to it, or dissent from it. Even so we enter personally into the
INSTATING SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 581
covenant of grace, so as to partake of the benefits in it, by our be-
coming branches of the second Adam the representative therein :
and that is through faith, in subjects capable of actual believing.
It is by being ingrafted into Christ we come to partake of the cove-
nant and benefits thereof. And hence it is, that infants, not capable
of actual believing, nor of knowing what the covenant is, yet hav-
ing the Spirit of faith, are personally entered into it, and instated
in it ; forasmuch as that Spirit of faith is effectual in them, to a real
uniting them with Christ. Hereunto agrees God's giving Christ for
a covenant; that in him people may have the covenant, and all the
benefits thereof. As God, in making the covenant, took Christ
for all, for the condition, and for the parties to receive the pro-
mises ; he being the second Adam : so sinners, in accepting and era-
bracing of the covenant, are to take him for all ; the whole of the
covenant, the parties and parts of it too being in hira, forasmuch as
he is God as well as man, second Adam.
And thus it appears, that uniting with Christ the head of the co-
venant, is a sinner's formal entering into the covenant : the which
uniting with him being by faith on him, it is evident that it is by
believing on Christ a sinner embraceth, enters into, and is instated
in the covenant unto salvation. Wherefore reach Christ by faith,
and ye reach the covenant : if ye miss him, ye miss the covenant, in
l)oint of life and salvation. But here ariseth a weighty question,
to wit,
Quest. What is that believing, by which one unites with Jesus
Christ, and so enters into the covenant of grace ? Answ. Tho clear-
ing of this point being so necessary to direct sinners in their way
into the covenant, for their eternal salvation ; we shall, for what
now remains, address ourselves to the consideration thereof only.
And to begin with the word, by which the Holy Ghost expresseth
what we call believing, whether in the Old or New Testament;
whosoever shall duly consider the import of it, in the scripture-use
thereof, will find, that it is just trusting, trusting a word, person, or
thing. And hence the scripture-phrases of believing to, and believ-
ing in, that is, trusting to, and trusting in ; the former, phrases,
however unusual with us in conversation, yet ordinary, both in the
Old and New Testament, according to the originals. It is the trust-
ing a word, as to a report, Isa. liii. 1. In his words, Psalm cvi. 12.
It is the trusting a person ; so, in the style of the Holy Ghost, the
Israelites believed in the Lord, and in Moses his servant, Exod. xiv.
31. He believed not in his servants, Job iv. 18, that is, as we read
it, he put no trust in them. And it is the trusting a thing too : so,
in the same style. Job xxxix. 12, " Wilt thou believe in him," to
582 A FAITH OF THE LAW PREPARATORY FOR THE COVENANT.
wit, the unicorn, " that he will bring home thy seed ?" i. e. Wilt
thou trust in him, that he will do it ? Deut. xxviii. 66, " Thou
shalt not believe in thy life ;" that is, as we read it, Thou shalt
have none assurance of thy life ; no trust in it, because no certainty
about it. The phraseology is the same in the New Testament, as
being brought into it from the Old, only in a different language.
And taking the meaning of the Holy Ghost in this matter, from the
words which he teacheth, as we are directed, 1 Cor. ii. 13, we con-
clude, That faith or believing, so expressed by him in the Scripture,
is, in the general, trusting, the trusting of a word, and of a person,
and thing, held forth in that word.
Now, there is a twofold word to be believed or trusted of all those
who would enter into the covenant of grace in a saving manner ;
namely, the word of the law, and the word of the gospel. The be-
lieving of the former is a faith of the law ; the believing of the
latter, a faith of the gospel : of which jn order,
A faith of the Law preparatory for the covenant.
The faith of the law is not indeed saving faith : for the law is the
word and ministration of condemnation, and not of righteousness ;
as speaking nothing of a Saviour, an atonement, or an imputed
righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 9. Nevertheless, it is a necessary ante-
cedent thereof, according to the stated order of the dispensation of
the covenant. The faith of the law is like the hearing of the strong
wind, the feeling of the earthquake, and seeing of the fire ; in which
though the Lord was not, yet they served to prepare for hearkening
to "the still small voice," in which he was, 1 Kings xix. 11, 12.
Accordingly, the faith of the law is the work of the Spirit of God,
as well as the saving faith of the gospel ; though wrought in a dif-
ferent manner. The former he works as a Spirit of bondage, con-
vincing of sin and misery, by the law, Rom. viii. 15, with John xvi. 8.
The latter he works as a quickening Spirit, enlightening the soul in
the knowledge of Christ, by the gospel, 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18.
Whosoever then would enter into the covenant of grace, must in
the first place have a faith of the law : for which cause, it is ne-
cessary, that the law, as well as the gospel be preached unto sinners.
And that faith of the law consists in a belief of these three things.
1. By it a man believes that ho is a sinner. The holy law pror
nounceth him guilty : and he believes the report of the law con-
cerning himself in particular; his heavy and sorrowful heart, by
this faith, echoing to the voice of the law, guilty, guilty ! Rom. iii.
19. The which faith rests not on the testimony of man, whether
spoken or written; but is a divine faith, founded upon the testimony
INSTATING SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 683
of God, in his holy law, demonstrated by the Spirit of bondage, to
be the voice of the eternal God, and the voice of that God to him in
particular. And thus he believes, (1.) That his life and conversa-
tion is sinful, displeasing and hateful in the sight of a holy God,
according to the divine testimony, Rom. iii. 12, " They are all gone
out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none
that doth good, no not one." He is convinced, that he is gone out
of the way of God, and walking in the way of destruction ; that
the number of his errors of omission and commission he cannot un-
derstand ; and that all his righteousness, as well as liis unrighteous-
ness, are as filthy rags before the Lord. (2.) That his heart is full
of mischief and iniquity, according to the divine testimony, Jer.
xvii. 9, " The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked." The law shining into the heart, discovers divers lusts
there, which he little noticed before ; and pressing the unholy heart,
irritates them : and thus such a mystery of iniquity within his
breast opens to his view, as he could never before believe to have
been there. Rom. vii. 3, " I was alive without the law once : but
when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." (3.) That
his nature is quite corrupted, as one dead in trespasses and sins,
according to the divine testimony, Eph. ii. 1. To the verdict of
the law, " Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?" Job
xiv. 4, his soul, by this faith, echoes back, unclean, unclean! "I was
shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." He is
convinced his disease is hereditary and natural : and that therefore
his nature must be renewed : that otherwise, he not only does
no good, but can do no good. In all these respects, he believes him-
self to be an object loathsome in the sight of God ; loathsome in his
nature, heart, and life.
2. By it a man believes, that he is a lost and undone sinner,
under the curse of the law ; liable to vengeance, according to the
divine testimony, Gal. iii. 10, " Cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." He
can no more look upon the curse as some strange thing, belonging
only to some monsters of wickedness, and not to him : for the Spirit
of the Lord, as a Spirit of bondage, applies it closely to him ; as if
he said, thou art the man. And like one under sentence of death
pronounced against him, he groans out his belief of it, under the
pressure thereof, Luke xv. 17, I perish.
3 Lastly, By it a man believes his utter inability to recover him-
self. He believes, that he cannot, by any doings or sufferings of
his, remove the curse of the law from off him ; according to the
divine testimony of our being without strength in that point, Rom.
dSi THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL, I^fSTATlNG IN THE COVENANT.
V. 6 ; nor cliange his own nature, heart, and life, so as to render
thera acceptable to Grod ; according to the infallible testimony, Jer.
xiii. 23, " Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his
spots ? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."
He is, in his own eyes, as in the sight of God, a spiritually dead
man; legally dead, and morally dead, as the apostle testifies of
himself in that case, Rom. vii. 9.
This is the faith of the law. And the eflfect of it is a legal re-
pentance, whereby a sinner is broken and bruised with fear and
terror of the wrath of God ; grieves and sorroweth for sin, as a
ruining and destructive evil ; and therefore really desires to be
freed from it ; despairs of salvation by himself; and seriously looks
out for relief another way, Acts ii. 17, and xvi. 29, 30. Thus the
law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ; and the faith of
the law, makes way for the faith of the gospel. Not that either
this legal faith, or legal repentance, is the condition of our welcome
to Christ and the covenant of grace : our access to Christ and the
covenant is proclaimed free, without any conditions or qualifications
required in us, to warrant us sinners of mankind to believe on Jesus
Christ, as was shown before. But they are necessary to move and
excite us, to make use of our privilege of free access to Christ and
the covenant, insomuch that noue will come to Christ, nor embrace
the covenant, without them in greater or lesser measure. Even as
if a physician should cause proclaim, that he will freely cure all the
sick of such a place, that will employ him : in which case, it is plain,
none will employ him, but such as are sensible of some malady they
labour under ; yet that sense of a malady is not the condition of
their welcome to that physician ; nor is it requisite for his curing
them, but for their employing him.
Now, in calling you to embrace the covenant, ye are called in-
directly, and by consequence, to this faith of the law, namely, to
believe that ye are sinners in life, heart, and nature ; lost and
undone, under the curse ; and utterly unable to recover yourselves.
Yet it is not saving faith, nor doth it instate one in the covenant of
grace ; that is peculiar to another kind of believing : of which in
the next place.
The faith of the gospel, instating in the covenant.
Saving faith, which unites to Christ, is the faith of the gospel. For
the gospel only is the ministration of righteousness 2 Cor. iii. 9. It
is in it that the righteousness, of faith is revealed unto faith, re-
vealed to be believed on, Rom. i. 17. It is the alone word which
gives sinners the notice of a Savionr, of the atoning blood, and the
INSTATING SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 585
new covenant in that blood ; and therefore is the only word by which
saving faith is begotten in the heart of a lost sinner. In the word
of the gospel, the Lord and Saviour Christ, with all his benefits and
covenant, is; and that to be believed on, as appears from Horn x. 6,
7, 8, 9. So that, the word of the gospel, being received by believ-
ing, we have Christ, and his covenant, with all the benefits thereof :
saving faith being indeed the echo of the quickened soul, to the
word of grace that bringeth salvation ; a trusting of the word of the
gospel, and the person, to wit, the Saviour, and the thing, therein
held forth to us, to be believed on for salvation. Mark. i. 15, " Be-
lieve the gospel." Is. liii. 1, " Who hath believed our report?" Gral.
iii. 2, " The hearing of faith." This is that believing, by which we
are united to Christ, entered into the covenant of grace, and instated
therein unto salvation. The which believing may be explained in
four particulars ; (1.) The faith of Christ's sufficiency ; (2.) The faith
of the gospel-offer ; (3.) The faith of our right to Christ ; and, (4.)
The faith of particular trust for salvation. So putting the
Question, What is that believing, by which I, a lost sinner, under
the curse of the law, may unite with Jesus Christ, and so enter into,
and be instated in the covenant of grace, to ray eternal salvation ?
We ANSWER thereto directly in these four particulars, by way of
direction in this momentous point, whereon salvation depends.
1. The faith of Christ's Sufficiency.
In the first place, you are to believe, that there is a fulness of
salvation in Christ for poor sinners. This is the constant report of
the gospel concerning him, Eph. iii, 8, " That I should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." Heb. vii. 25 " He
is able to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him."
In the woi'd of the gospel Christ is held forth as an able Saviour ;
able to save men from their sins, and from the wrath of God. His
merit is a sufficient sconce against the tempest of fiery wrath, which
incensed justice is ready to cause to fly forth against transgressors :
Isa. xxxii. 2, " A man shall be a coeert from the tempest." His Spirit
is sufficient to sanctify the most unholy: 1 Cor. vi. 11, "And such
were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
our God." The righteousness he fulfilled as the condition of the
covenant, is so valuable in itself, and in the eyes of his Father, that
it is sufficient to procure justification, sanctification, and all other
saving benefits to sinners, who in themselves deserve death and dam-
nation : so that they are happy who are in him ; they shall never
perish, but have everlasting life, being eternally secure under the
Vol. VIII. 2 o
586 INSTATING OF SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
covert of his righteousness, as a sufficient defence. Believest thou
this?
This is the general faith of the gospel, which being without particu-
lar application, doth not unite the sinner to Christ, nor enter him into
the covenant; and may be found in reprobates and fallen angels, being
only an assent in general to the truth of the doctrine of the gospel,
Matth. xiii. 20, 31, and viii. 29. But by the nature of the thing, it
is necessarily prerequisite to a faith of particular application : for I
must first believe a saying to be true in itself, before I can trust to
it for my part : I must first believe a thing to be good in itself, be-
fore I can believe that it is good for me.
But where the faith of the gospel is carried forward to uniting
with Christ, the effect of this general faith is very valuable, as well
as necessary. And that is, an high esteem of Christ and his cove-
nant, an ardent desire of union and communion with him, a longing
for his righteousness, as a hungry man longs for meat, or a thirsty
man for drink. The man sees indeed, that he has no special inter-
est in Christ and his righteousness ; but he would fain have it : all
is sapless to him without it ; his soul within him cries, give me
Christ, or else I die : and he is content to part with all for him, and
to take him for all. This is taught us in the parables of the trea-
sure hid in the field, and of the pearl of great price, the finding out
of which moves to sell all, and to buy them, Matth. xiii. 44, 45, 46.
Howbeit this esteem and desire of Christ is different from that
which follors upon the soul's union with Christ, when once faith
hath taken possession of him and his benefits, and hath got a view
of his intrinsic supereminent worth and value : the which is men-
tioned, 1 Pet. ii. 7 ; Psalm Ixxiii. 25. The true spring of all this
esteem and desire, is the principle of self-preservation, and the view
of Christ as suited to that end. The merchant man is seeking
goodly pearls for his own enriching; and seeing that the one pearl
will answer that design, he is restless till he have it. The poor sin-
ner is hotly pursued with the law's curse, which is still ringing
death and damnation in his ears. In the mean time, he gets a dis-
tant view of the city of refuge; and therefore he makes forward to
it with all speed : but what makes him run, but life, life, precious
life, that he may not perish ? Verily, he cannot be expected to act
from a generous principle, before he is united to Christ : John xv.
5, ** Without me ye can do nothing." But let him not fear : he is
welcome to Christ, even coming to him from no higher principle. The
truth is, the Lord Jesus, by his Spirit, sets the principle of self-pre-
servation astir, being a thing in itself good ; and useth it as a mean to
hasten sinners unto him. This is evident from the complaint, John
INSTATINft OF SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 587
V. 40, " And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." Can
one imagine our Lord will reject a sinner coming to him for life,
when he complains that sinners will not come to him for that end ?
II. The faith of the gospel-offer.
In the next place, you must believe, that Jesus Christ, with his
righteousness, and all his salvation, is by himself offered to sinners,
and to you in particular. This is the plain voice of the gospel to
all unto whom it comes, Isa. Iv. 1, *' Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy
and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without
price." Rev. xxii. 17, " Whosoever will, let him take the water of
life freely." Prov. viii. 4, " Unto you, 0 men, I call, and my voice
is to the sons of man." But alas ! few believe it : yea, none will
believe it to purpose till the Spirit of the Lord make it plain to
them, and persuade them by an inward illumination. Many secure
sinners hear the gospel, and are glad of the offer : but they discern
not Christ's voice in it. They hear it not, as the word of the Lord
Christ himself to them ; but as the word of men : hence it hath no
due authority upon their consciences ; so they pass it over lightly.
Thus were his offers of himself entertained, when made by his own
mouth, but he not discerned as the eternal Son of God, and Saviour
of the world. So, in the congregation of Nazareth, all bare him
witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of
his mouth. But they said, is not this Joseph's son ? Luke iv. 22.
And in a little they rose up, and thrust him out of the city, ver. 29.
Again, when the voice of Christ is discerned in the offer by the con-
vinced sinner ; then the sinner is ready to conclude, that it is to
others, but not to him. Unbelief saith, but our bones are dried, and
our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts, Ezek. xxxvii. IL
They cannot believe, that so good news from heaven concerns them,
or that such a word is directed unto them. And thus men not be-
lieving God in the record giveu of his Son, that he is, with all his
salvation, offered to them, do make him a liar, 1 John v. 10.
But where saving faith is a-working, the word of the gospel-offer
is, by the Holy Spirit, applied to the soul in particular with
power, as the word of the Lord himself, and not of men ; whereby
the man is assured, that it is the voice of Christ, and to him in par-
ticular : whereupon he applies it to himself by believing : 1 Thess.
i. 5, " For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in
power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." Chap. ii.
13, " The word of God,* which ye heard of us, ye received it not as
2o2
588 THE FAITH OF OUR RIGHT TO CHRIST.
the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of Grod, which ef-
fectually worketh also in you that believe," This is altogether
necessary ; insomuch that without it there can be no receiving of
Christ, forasmuch as otherwise the soul can see no solid ground and
foundation of faith, for it is evident there can be no receiving
aright, where the sinner doth not believe the offer to be to him
in particular. And here begins the application of faith, an appli-
cation tending to union with Christ.
Wherefore, if you would unite with Christ, and so enter into the
covenant of grace, sist yourselves before the Lord as condemned
sinners, under the curse of his law ; and hear and believe the word
of his gospel, as directed to you condemned and cursed sinners in
particular. So will it come unto you, as the rising sun, to one sit-
ting in darkness, and in the shadow of death ; or as the offer of a
pardon, to one under sentence of death. And let not your heart
misgive you by unbelief ; but firmly believe the offer to be made by
Christ himself unto you, as it is in very deed, Isa. Iv. 3, "Hear, and
your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with
you."
But here it is necessary to remove the following objections.
Objection 1. But Christ is now in heaven, and I hear no voice
from thence : how then can I believe that he himself is offering
himself to me ? Answer. Though Christ is in heaven, yet he is
speaking from heaven to us ; howbeit not by a voice sounding
through the clouds, yet by a voice sounding in the gospel : Heb. xii.
25, " See that ye refuse not him that speaketh — that speaketh from
heaven." And not only is his voice in the word of the gospel, bat
he himself by his Spirit is in it, as the apostle teacheth, Rom. 6, 7,
8. Thence it is, that it is a quickening word to dead souls : John
vi. 63, " The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they
are life." It is the lively seed, whereof the new creature is formed,
1 Pet. i. 23. Jesus Christ did once, by a voice sounding through
the clouds, speak a word of conviction, Acts ix. 4, 5. But even in
that case, the word of the offer of himself was remitted to the
preaching of the gospel by a messenger thereto appointed, ver. 6.
And the voice of Christ sounding in his written word, is more sure
than a voice sounding through the clouds, 2 Pet. i. 18, 19. This
voice in the word is the stated ground of faith, with which faith
must close for salvation : Rom. i. 16, " The gospel of Christ : it is
the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth."
Ver. 17, " For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from
faith to faith." And there is no true saving faith, where it is not
received as the very voice of the Lord himself, 1 Thess. ii. 13.
INSTATING OP SINNEES IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 589
Therefore you must receive the word of the gospel, as the word of
Christ himself, as in very deed it is.
Objection 2. But Christ in the word of the gospel doth not name
me : how then can I believe that he offereth himself, his righteous-
ness and salvation, to me in particular ? Answer. Neither doth
he name you in the word of the law, whether in the commands
thereof, or in the curse thereof. How do you come to believe that
you are a sinner ? Is it not, that, the commands of the law being
directed to all men, you conclude and believe, that, you being
of the number of mankind, they are therefore directed to you in
particular, as well as to others ? And how come you to believe
that you in particular are under the curse of the broken law ? Is
it not, that, since the law denounceth its curse against every one
that, being under it, breaks it, Gral. iii. 10 ; Rom. iii. 19, you
do conclude and believe, that it curseth you, forasmuch as you are
one of these breakers thereof? Now, you have as sufficient ground
to believe that the offer of the gospel is to you in particular ; foras-
much as it is made to all, without exception, unto whom the gospel
comes, Rev. xxii. 17; Isa. Iv. 1. It is ordered to be made to every
creature under heaven, Mark xvi. 15 : and how sinful soever you
are, you are one of these creatures. Christ's voice is unto men,
sons of men : and be what you will, you are one of mankind-sinners :
and therefore the offer is to you in particular, Prov. viii. 4. Ac-
cordingly, we are warranted to apply the general offer to every one
in particular ; and every one is warranted to apply it to himself :
Acts xvi. 31, " Believe on the Lord Jesns Christ, and thou shalt be
saved."
Objection 3. But alas ! I fear I want the qualifications determi-
native of those to whom the gospel offer is particularly directed. I
dread that I have not as yet got a due sense of sin : and our Lord
says expressly, " They that be whole need not a physician, but they
that are sick. 1 am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance," Matth. ix. 12, 13. The gospel-offer runs in these
terms, " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come," Isa. Iv. 1, " Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden," Matth. xi. 28,
" Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," Rev. xxii.
17. But when I view my own condition, I very much fear I have
not as yet reached that thirst after Christ, and that willingness to
take him, which these texts speak of ; and that I cannot be
accounted one truly labouring and heavy laden : how then can I
believe that Christ offers himself to me in particular ? Answer. It
is most certain truth, that, unless you have a due sense of sin, unless
you thirst after Christ and his righteousness, unless you be heavy
) ) TUE FAITH OF UUK RIGHT TO CHKIST.
laden with the felt burden of sin, and willing to take Christ on any
terras, you will never take him by a true faith. Nevertheless,
whatever qualifications yon have, or have not ; yet if you are a
sinner of Adam's race, (and I hope you doubt not that), Christ is
offered to you, together with his righteousness, and all his salva-
tion, Prov. viii. 4; John iii. 16 ; Mark xvi. 15. For howbeit there
are indeed certain qualifications necessary to move you to take
Christ ; yet there are none at all to hamper the gospel-offer : but
Christ is really offered to you, be in what case you will ; so really,
that if you do not believe it, and thereupon receive an offered
Saviour, you will be damned for not believing, Mark xvi. 16.
It is undeniable, the less that sinners are sensible of their sins,
they are the farther from righteousness ; they do the more need
Christ, and are the more to be called to repentance. This is evi-
dent from the whole tenor of the holy Scripture, and from the very
nature of the thing. And therefore it is sinners in the general, and
not sensible sinners only, who are meant, Matth. ix. 12, 13. Even
as it is sick people in general, comprehending even those of them
who are so delirious, as to think nothing ails them, that need a phy-
sician ; and not those sick only, who are sensible of their state and
hazard. This is the plain literal sense of that passage, from which
there is no necessity to depart : and the departing from it is at-
tended with a manifest inconvenience.
Neither is the thirst mentioned, Isa. 1 v. 1, to be restricted to a
gracious thirst, a thirst after Christ and his righteousness. For
some at least of the thirsting ones, to whom the offer is there made,
are " spending money for that which is not bread, and their labour for
that which satisfieth not," vers. 1, 2. But it is evident, that sinners
duly sensible, who are thirsting after Christ and his righteousness,
are not spending their money and labour at that rate ; but, on the
contrary, for that which alone is bread, and satisfieth, namely, Jesus
Christ the true bread which came down from heaven. Wherefore
the thirst there meant, must needs comprehend, yea, and principally
aim at, that thirst after happiness and satisfaction, which being na-
tural, is common to all mankind. Men pained with this thirst do
naturally run, for quenching thereof, to the empty creation, and
their fulsome lusts : and so they " spend money for that which is
not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not ;" finding
nothing there that can satisfy that their appetite or thirst. Now,
to men in this wretched case is the gospel-offer of the waters of life
made : Christ is offered to them, as bread, fatness, what is good,
and will satisfy that their painful thirst, which otherwise will never
be quenched, ibid.
THE INSTATING OP SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 591
And as little is the solemn gospel-offer, Matth. xi. 28, restricted
to a certain set of men endowed with some laudable qualifications
going under the name of labouring, and being heavy laden ; the
which do indeed, denote the restlessness natural to the "sinful soul of
man, spending its labour for that which satisfieth not, Isa. Iv. 2.
Our father Adam left his whole family with a conscience full of
guilt, and a heart full of unsatisfied desires. Thus we naturally
having a restless conscience, and a restless heart, the sonl as natu-
turally falls a labouring for rest to them. And it labours in the
barren region of the fiery law, for a rest to the conscience ; and in
the empty creation, for a rest to the heart. But after all, the con-
science is still heavy laden with guilt, whether it has any lively
feeling thereof, or not; and the heart is still under a load of unsa-
tisfied desires. So neither the one, nor the other, can find rest in-
deed. This is the natural case of all men. And to souls thus
labouring and laden, Jesus Christ calls, that they may come to him,
and he will give them rest; namely, a rest for their consciences,
under the covert of his blood ; and a rest to their hearts, in the en-
joyment of God through him. To this interpretation we are led by
the style of the Scripture, the phraseology of the Holy Ghost, both
in the Old and New Testament ; the which may be viewed in the
following texts compared, to wit, Eccl. x. 15; Hab. ii. 13; Isa.
Iv. 2, and i. 3, 4 ; 2 Tim. iii. 6, 7.
Finally, as for the willingness which you are afraid you are de-
fective in, surely, in all other cases, he that saith, Whosoever will,
let him take such a thing, will, according to the common sense and
understanding of such words amongst mankind, be reckoned to oflTer
that thing unto all, and to exclude none from it ; however it may
bear an intimation, that it is not to be forced on any. Why then
should this manner of speech. Rev. xxii. 17, be thought to limit the
gospel-offer to a certain set of men ?
Wherefore we conclude, that Christ lays no bar in the way of
any of you : do not ye put bars in your own way, and then complain
ye cannot get over them. For, according to the holy Scripture, it is
infallible truth, that Christ is offered to you, and every one of you,
in particular : believe it, else ye make God a liar, 1 John v. 10.
III. The faith of our right to Christ.
Furthermore, you must believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of
the world, and your Saviour in particular, by his Father's appoint-
ment, and his own offer : and that, by the same appointment and
offer, his righteousness, the condition of the covenant, and eternal
life, the promise of the covenant are yours ; yours, I mean not, in
592 THE FAITH OF OUK KIOHT TO CHEIST.
possession, but, in right thereto; so far as that you may lawfully
and warrantably take possession of the same, and nse them as your
own to all intents and purposes of salvation, John iv. 42, " We
know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."
2 Sam. xxii. 3 ; and Luke i. 47, " my Saviour." Do not think this
too much for you : it is no more than what is necessary to sav-
ing faith in Christ. If you believe only, in the general, that
Christ is the Saviour of the world, but believe not that he is your
Saviour in particular ; what do you believe more than devils do ?
They believe him to be Jesus a Saviour, Mark i. 24. If you would
go beyond them, you must believe he is your Saviour; and conse-
quently, that his righteousness and salvation are yours, in the sense
before opened : for where Christ is given, with him are freely given
all things. And pray consider, how can ye take him or receive hira
as your Saviour, if he is not yours indeed ? A man may fraudu-
lently take possession of what he doth not believe to be his by
right : but no man can fairly and honestly claim and take posses-
sion of what he doth not believe to be his own. Certainly, God
must first give Christ us, before we can receive him : for " a man
can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven," John iii.
27. Giving on God's part, and receiving on ours, here, are core-
lates : and the former is the foundation of the latter. Now, God's
gift is sufficient to make a thing ours. Therefore believe firmly,
that Christ is your Saviour in particular ; that his righteousness is
yours, and eternal life yours.
Question. But how can I, a poor sinner, by nature under the
curse, believe that Christ is my Saviour, that his righteousness, and
eternal life, are mine ? Answer. You may firmly believe it, because
you have the word and testimony of the eternal God upon it, in his
holy Gospel. "What is the gospel, which the apostles were sent, in
the name of God, to testify '^t The apostle John declares it, 1 John iv,
14, " We testify, that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of
the world." Is not Jesus Christ then, by office, whatever he is in
the event. Saviour of the world ? and if he is so, and you are one of
that world of mankind, is he not therefore your Saviour ? Why
then will ye not believe it ? God set the sun in the heavens to be a
light to the world : and do not you therefore judge, that you have a
right to the light of that sun, as well as the rest of mankind; and
accordingly use it freely, to work or read by it, as your own by
God's free gift ? Jesus Christ also is the light of the world, John
viii. 12 ; given for a light to the Gentiles, Is. xlix. 6. : and faith
appropriates him, saying, The Lord is ray light, and ray salvation,
Psalm xxvii. 1, Now, you are a member of these societies, to wit,
THE INSTATING OF SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 593
the world, and the Gentiles: therefore he is your light, that is,
given for a light to you. "Will you take Christ's own word upon it?
You have it John vi. 32, " My Father giveth you the true bread
from heaven." If your neighbour give you bread, you'will reckon
his gift thereof sufficient to make it yours ; and so eat of it freely as
your own. If your prince shall give you a house or land, which he
hath an unquestionable right to dispose of, you would reckon them
truly yours by his gift ; and would freely go and dwell in that house,
and possess that land, as your own. How is it then, that when the
Father gives you his Christ, yet you will not believe that he is
yours, nor take possession of him as your own ? Why, the truth of
the matter lies here : you believe your neighbour, you believe your
priuce ; but you believe not your God, in his holy gospel, but make
him a liar, not believing the record that God gave of his Son, 1
John V. 10. But, whether you will believe it or not, it is a truth,
that Christ is your Saviour : and if you will not believe it now, to
your salvation, you will undoubtedly see your mistake hereafter ;
when perishing, you will be convinced that you perish, not because
you had not a Saviour, but because you neglected to make use of
him.
In like manner, the righteousness of Christ is yours, namely, that
which he fulfilled as the condition of the covenant. It is yours by
Heaven's gift, being given you with himself : and therefore it is
called the gift of righteousness, Rom. v. 17. It is a testamentary
gift, made over to you in Christ's testament, wherein sinners of
mankind, without exception, are the legatees, as hath been already
cleared. Eternal life is another such gift or legacy : so it is yours
too. And you have the record, testimony or witness, of God him-
self upon it, that it is given you, 1 John v. 11, "And this is the
record, that God hath given to us eternal life : and this life is in his
Son." Is not God's own record a sufficient ground for believing?
will you venture to disbelieve it on any pretence whatsoever ? Here
you have that record, namely, that God hath given to us eternal life.
It may be you will imagine that it relates only to actual believers
in Christ, or at most to the elect ; and use that for a defence of your
unbelief. But, I pray you, consider it is the ground and warrant
for all to believe on Christ, and to lay hold on eternal life in him ;
being the witness of God, which he hath testified of his Son, to be
received by all to whom the gospel comes, ver. 9 : but that God
hath given eternal life to a certain select set of men, can never, in
reason, be deemed to be a warrant for all men to believe. Moreover,
the great sin of uubelief lies in not believing this record : but it
doth not lie in not believing that God bath given eternal life to
594 THE FAITH OF OUR RIGHT TO CHRIST.
actual believers, or to the elect; for the most desperate unbelievers
believe that, insomuch that their belief of it adds to their torment ;
but it lies in their not believing, that to mankind sinners, and to
themselves in particular, God hath given eternal life. This is what
flies in the face of the gospel of God, which is the proclaimed deed
of the gift and grant of Christ and all his benefits, to sinners of
mankind, declaring the grant thereof to be made them, and calling
them to take possession of the same as their own, Isa. ix. 6, " Unto
us a child is born," (the word signifies presented born, as to his re-
lations having a particular interest in him ; as Machir's children
were presented to Joseph, and laid on liis knees. Gen. 1. 23, and
Ruth's son to Naomi, Ruth. iv. 17.)> " unto us a son is given." John
iii. 16, " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life." 1 Cor. i. 30. Christ Jesns, who of God is made unto
us (namely, by legal destination) wisdom, righteousness, sanctifi-
cation, and redemption.
And thus you see you have an infallible ground for this act of
faith, namely, the testimony of God that cannot lie. Wherefore, as
ever you would be united to Christ, and so instated in the covenant,
believe firmly that Christ is yours, and his righteousness yours, and
eternal life in him yours.
This is a more close application of faith than the former, and
ariseth from it ; for thus one believeth the efficacy of the divine ap-
pointment, and of the gospel-offer. If God appoints Christ a Saviour
to you, with his righteousness and eternal life, and Christ offers
himself to you accordingly ; surely the efi"ect of that appointment
and offer must be, that they are indeed yours, to be used by you, as
your own, for your salvation. If you believe that appointment of
the Father, and the Son's ofi'er, you must needs believe this : for if
they be real, and not ludicrous deeds, they certainly convey to you
a right to Christ, his righteousness and salvation : so that, in virtue
of them, these must be yours, to be warrantably claimed and used
by you as your own, for the purposes of salvation. It is not doubted,
but men's deeds of gift, and their oflfers, real and not ludicrous, do
convey such a right to the parties in favour of whom they are made.
If a friend of yours, having a sum of money lying in a neighbour's
hand, should, especially by a deed in writing under his own hand,
appoint and ordain that sura a gift to you, to relieve you out of a
certain strait ; you would make no question but you might go and
claim it, and take it up : if, having the sum in his own hand, he
should offer it to you, as a gift, you would make no question but
you might take it to you ; and, in both cases, use it as your own by
THE INSTATING OF SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 595
your friend's appointment or offer. And shall not the Father's
ordinances and appointment, and Christ's offer, be as efficacious ?
Why then will you not believe this its efficacy ? why will ye not
believe, that Christ with his righteousness and eternal life are yours ?
Truly, the believing hereof is the very next step to the soul's
uniting with Christ : and therefore it is proposed to the sinner, as
the nearest means to bring him close unto God in Christ, Hos. xiv.
1, " Return unto the Lord thy God," he is thy God, thou hast a right
to him, return, come even to him, take possession of him as thine own
God : Accordingly, the sinner coming unto him by faith, comes on this
very ground, Jer. iii. 22, " Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art
the Lord our God," Yer. 23, " Truly in the Lord our God is the
salvation of Israel." As Hagar's eyes were seasonably opened to
see she had a well by her, when she had given up her son for dead ;
so when the sinner lies in his death 's wounds from the law, in a
work of conviction, the spirit of faith opens his eyes, by means of
the glorious gospel, in a work of saving illumination, so that he sees
he hath a Saviour, a righteousness, and salvation. And then he
presently apprehends or grips the same as his own. Thus the pro-
digal first believed that he had yet a father, and a father's house,
where there is enough and to spare ; and then ariseth and goeth to
him, Luke xv. 17, 18.
Objection 1. If it be true, that Christ is my Saviour, that his
righteousness, and eternal life in him, are mine ; then I may be
easy, I will certainly be saved without any more ado. Answ. That
is but a cavil, best suiting those who, being indifferent about Christ
and salvation, think it not worth their pains seriously to consider
such things. One truly impressed with the matter, and duly consi-
dering, being once brought to believe this, would rather say, " Then,
since Christ is really ray Saviour, his righteousness and eternal life
mine ; I will take him to me, I will receive and rest on him as my
Saviour, I will rely on his righteousness, and look for eternal life in
him : why should I be lost for ever, since I have a full Saviour ?
why should I go naked, since I have a complete righteousness made
over to me by heaven's gift ? why should I die, when I have eternal
life in Christ?" Put the case, you did see a man at the point of
starving for want of bread ; and, out of kindness and pity to him,
you should appoint and ordain meat for him, out of your own store,
for preservation of his life ; and withal should carry it to him, and
set it before him, saying. Ha, there is meat I and my father have or-
dained for you, eat, and welcome. If that man should say, Oh ! I
may not take it, for it is not mine own; would you not tell him,
that your gift, appointment, and offer of it to him, makes it his.
596 THE FAITH OF OUR RIGHT TO CHRIST.
SO that, with a good conscience, he may freely eat it as his own
bread ? But should he then reply, and say, Why then, if it is mine,
without any more ado I am secured from starving ; I need not at
all be at pains to take and eat it ; would you not reckon him either
mad, or but jesting with you, not sensible of his hazard of starving?
The application "is obvious. It is not meat being one's own, so
that he may use it freely as such, that will keep him from starving:
he must take and eat it, and so use it as his own, if he would have
that benefit by it. Even so it is not Christ being yours, with his
righteousness and salvation, that will save you : you must take pos-
session of him, and make use of him as your own, for salvation, if
you would be actually saved by him. There is a wide difference be-
twixt a thing being ours in simple right thereto, and its being ours
in possession. It is in the former way only that Christ is yours be-
fore uniting with him : and if you do not improve that, by receiving
him, and taking possession, you will perish eternally for all it :
Heb. iv. 1, " Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of
entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."
Luke xvi. 12, " If ye have not been faithful in that which is another
man's, who shall give yon that which is your own ?"
Objection 2. But Christ a Saviour, his perfect righteousness, and
eternal life, are things so exceeding great and precious, and I am so
very sinful and unworthy, that it is mighty hard for me to believe
they are mine. Aksw. Yea, here indeed lies a great difficulty of
believing ; when once a sinner's eyes are opened, to see the transcen-
dent excellency of Christ, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and his
own utter unworthiness : a difficulty not to be surmounted, but by
the effectual operation of the Spirit of faith, causing one to believe,
according to the working of his mighty -power, Eph. i. 19, But for
your help consider they are yours by mere free gift; which is so far
from requiring any work in the creature, that it excludes all respect
thereto. Christ himself is the Father's gift to you, John iv. 10, and
vi. 32. His righteousness is a gift too, Rom. v. 17- And so is eter-
nal life in him, 1 John v. 11. Now, what is freer than a gift?
And then, howbeit they are indeed a gift far beyond whatever yon
could have expected, yet they are not too great for an infinite God
to give. In making this gift, he acted not according to the dig-
nity of the party in whose favour it was made ; but according to
himself, his own greatness and majesty. Meanwhile, though the
gift is quite above your dignity, yet it is no more than what your
need required. If less could have answered your necessity, there is
no ground to think, a crucified Christ, the Son of God, would have
been prepared for you. If you do but suppose it, you mar that ex-
THE INSTATING OF SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 59?
pression of matchless love, John iii. 16, " God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son." "Wherefore, argue with your-
self in this manner : " The gift is indeed unspeakable, but no less
can serve my need ; if Christ be not mine, I must perish : since
therefore God hath said it, that he hath given me Christ ; and the
gift is not above him to give, and no less can serve my turn; I must
and will believe that he is mine, with his righteousness and salva-
tion."
IV. The faith of particular trust for salvation.
Finally, Yon must wholly trust on him as your Saviour, and in
his righteousness as made over to you ; and that for his whole sal-
vation to you in particular, upon the ground of God's faithfulness in
his word. And this is that saving faith, or believing on Christ
Jesus, by which a sinner is united to him, and personally entered
within the covenant of grace unto salvation : Acts xvi. 31, " Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Psalm ii. 12,
" Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish : — blessed are all
they that put their trust in him." And Psalm xxxvii. 40, " He
shall save theTr>, because they trust in him." Rom. xv. 12, " In him
shall the Gentiles trust." Compare Isa. xi. 10 ; Rom. i. 17,
" Therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith ;"
or, " Therein is the righteousness of God by faith, revealed unto
faith," to wit, to be believed or trusted on. See Philip, iii. 9 : Gal.
ii. 16, " "We have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be jus-
tified." Acts XV. 11, " We believe, that, through the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved." 1 Thess. ii. 13, " Ye re-
ceived it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of
God." 1 Cor. ii. 5, " That your faith should not stand in the wis-
dom of men, but in the power of God." This, according to the
scripture, is a sinner's receiving and resting upon Christ for salva-
tion, as saving faith is defined in our Catechism : and this is indeed
believing, and nothing but believing, according to the scriptural use
of that word.
1. I say, this is the scriptural receiving and resting on Christ.
It is the receiving of him in sense of the holy Scripture : John i. 12,
" As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name ;" where the re-
ceiving of Christ is exj)lained by believing on his name. God hath
appointed Christ Saviour of the world, and your Saviour. You
hear the same published in the gospel ; and you accordingly believe
that he is your Saviour by his Father's appointment, and his own
598 THE FAITH OF OUR RIGHT TO CHRIST.
offer ; hereupon you trust on him, and on him alone, for salvation,
and all that you need for your salvation. Is not this a receiving of
him for your part in <ihe character of a Saviour, wherein his Father
sent him forth to you ? Is it not a taking of hira to yourself, as
offered to you ? Our Lord complains of the Jews, John v. 43, that
whereas he came in his Father's name, they received him not, to wit,
in the character wherein he was sent, namely, as the Messias, the
Saviour of the world, and their Saviour, trusting in him that he
would save them. This plainly appears to be the meaning, if one
compares herewith the words there immediately following : " If
another shall come in his own name, him will ye receive :" q. d.
Te will believe him to be the Messias, and your Saviour, and trust
on him accordingly, that he will save you ; the which has been often
verified in that unbelieving people. Moreover, this is resting on
Christ in the scripture-sense of that manner of expression : Isa.
xxvi. 3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed
on thee : because he trusteth in thee." And indeed one cannot
devise what way a person can rest on a word, or a soul or spirit can
rest upon a person, but by trusting them, or trusting in or on them.
It is said, 2 Chron xxxii. 8, " The people rested themselves upon
the words of Hezekiah." What way can one imagine they did so,
but by trusting them ? Chap. xiv. 11, " Help us, 0 Lord our God ;
for we rest on thee." How could they do so, but by trusting on him
for their help ?
2. This is believing, in the scriptural use of that word, which, in
our entry on the question under consideration, we established from
the scripture itself. For it is a trusting of, or trusting in a person,
namely, Jesus Christ, and God in him, the personal object of saving
faith. Acts xvi. 31 ; a trusting in a thing, namely, the righteousness
of Christ, the ultimate real object of faith, Rom. i.l7; and a trusting
in a word, namely, the record and testimony of God, the word
of the promise of the gospel, the proximate or nearest real object of
faith, ibid. ; and all this for the great purpose of salvation. And then
it is nothing but such believing : for thus faith is not explained
away into, but is a thing quite distinct from the nature of a work, as
the scripture contradistiuguisheth works to faith.
"Wherefore we conclude, that this trust is that believing on Christ,
by which the soul is united to him, and savingly instated in the
covenant. And for opening of it, we shall take notice of these five
things plainly imported in it.
1. This trust imports, not only a willingness, but a sincere and
honest desire to be delivered from sin and wrath ; a desire to be
sanctified, as well as to be justified ; to be delivered from the reign-
THE INSTATING OF SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE, 599
ing power, pollution, practice, and inbeing of sin, as well as from
the guilt of it ; according to that of the apostle, Rom. vii. 24, 25,
" Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ; I thank God,
through Jesus Christ our Lord." For it is a trusting on Christ, not
for the half of his salvation, to wit, salvation from wrath only,
which is all the trust of many, being by no means desirous to part
with sin ; but for the whole of it, namely, salvation from wrath, and
salvation from sin too. which is the principal part thereof, Matth. i,
21. Now, a man may indeed fear that from one, which he doth not
desire : but no body trusts in one for what he desires not. Faith is
a believing with the heart, Rom. x. 10. The whole salvation of
Christ is the believer's choice ; it is the end he desires to compass :
and the trust of faith is exerted as the means to compass that end.
2. A renouncing of all confidence in all that is not Christ, or in
Christ, as to the matter of salvation particularly. In this trust is
overturned self-confidence, law-confidence, creature-confidence; and
the soul builds on a quite new ground : Phil. iii. 3, " "We rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." Jer. xvi. 19,
" The Gentiles shall come unto thee, and shall say, surely our fathers
have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit." For
it is a trusting wholly on Christ and his righteousness, a trusting, or a
believing with all the heart, Prov. iii. 5 ; Acts viii. 37- At this rate
the believer is carried oiF from the works of the law, to the blood of
Jesus, for his justification ; and carried out of himself too, unto the
Spirit of holiness in Christ, for his sanctificalion : being persuaded,
that no doing nor suff'ering of his own, can procure him the pardon of,
or atone for the least of his guilt ; and that he is not able truly to
mortify one lust, more so as to purge away the guilt of one sin, Matth.
Y. 3 ; Isa. xlv. 24.
3. A hearty approbation of the plan or device of salvation accor-
ding to the covenant, manifested in the gospel, as suited to the di-
vine perfections, and to the case of sinners, and their own in parti-
cular : 1 Cor. i. 23, " We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness ;" ver. 24, " But
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power
of God, and the wisdom of God." Without this, no man knowing
what God is, what sin is, and what is the worth of his own soul,
will ever venture his salvation upon it ; but one's trusting his salva-
tion and his righteousness, speaks him to be well pleased therewith,
as what one may safely trust to, even in the sight of a holy God.
And this is that rejoicing in Christ Jesus, which makes an illustri-
ous mark in the believer's character, Phil. iii. 3.
Withal it bears three things. (1.) An eying of Christ in this
600 THE FAITH OF PARTICULAR TRUST FOR SALVATION.
matter, as a crucified Saviour, who liatli fulfilled all righteousness,
according to the stated condition of the covenant, 1 Cor. ii. 2. It is
not Christ in the eternal glory he had with his Father before the
world was, that faith fixeth its view on, while the soul in this case
stands trembling before a holy Grod ; but Christ the Son of God
made man, come in the flesh, being born holy, leading a life perfect-
ly righteous, and at last dying on the cross, to satisfy the demands
which the law had on poor sinners. It looks unto him lifted up on
the cross, as those who were bitten by the serpents in the wilder-
ness looked unto the brazen serpent lifted up on the pole, Isa. xlv.
22 ; Numb. xxi. 8 ; John iii. 14, 15. Therefore it is called faith in
his blood, Rom. iii. 25, his righteousness, whereof the shedding of
his blood was the completing part, being the spring of the believer's
hope. (2.) A real persuasion of the suflicieucy of Christ's righteous-
ness to save sinners, and us in particular, from sin and wrath ; to
answer for us before a holy just God, in the eye of his holy law ;
and to procure for us eternal holiness and happiness. There is no
saving faith without this : Christ's ability to save must be believed,
and that with application to your own case in particular, Matth. ix.
28, " Believe ye that I am able to do this ?" And in order here-
unto, faith eyes Christ's righteousness as the righteousness of God,
and therefore of infinite value and efficacy, Phil. iii. 9 ; 1 John i. 7.
The reason why the gospel, and no other doctrine whatsoever, is the
power of God unto salvation of sinners, is, because therein is re-
vealed the righteousness of God unto faith, Kom. i. 16, 17, and that
is the only righteousness, suited at once to the divine perfections
and our case. (3.) An acquiescing in that way of salvation, for
ourselves in particular. The believer hath a cordial liking of it,
for the way of his salvation, as perfectly safe, being the power of
God, and the wisdom of God, 1 Cor. i. 24. His soul pronounceth
them safe and happy, that are in it, he desires for his own part to
be found in it ; and is persuaded he would be saved if he were in it.
Thus faith acted in the woman diseased with an issue of blood, Matth.
ix. 21, " She said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I
shall be whole." And thus it acteth in all believers, determining
them to that way, and to that way alone, for their case in particu-
lar. And here unbelievers are always unsettled.
4. A betaking one's self unto Christ and his righteousness alone
for salvation from sin and wrath. This is done by this trusting.
For the sinner believing that Christ is his Saviour, and that his
righteousness is made over to him by free gift ; and withal, that this
his Saviour, with his righteousness, is sufficient to save him from sin
and wrath ; doth accordingly trust on Christ and his righteousness
THE FAITH UF PAr.TICULAP. TEU.ST FOR >ALVA110X. 6Ul
for his own salvation, and so betake himself thereto : even as a beg-
gar once having, and withal believing himself to have riches and
wealth made over to him by a friend, leaves off to beg, and for his
maintenance trusts to that wealth alleuarly ; and thereupon be-
takes himself to it. it is true, that wealth being a corporal thing,
to which there is a bodily motion, the betaking one's self thereto is
not the same thing with the trusting to it ; howbeit the former is a
native consequent of the latter: but Christ and his righteousness, as
revealed unto faith, being things purely spiritual, to which there is
no bodily motion requisite, that we may betake ourselves to them ;
the trusting and betaking one's self thereto, are one and the same.
So by this trust, the soul takes possession of Christ and his righte-
ousness ; and aseth the same as its own, to the purpose of salvation.
By it the sinner betakes himself as a condemned man, unto Jesus
Christ as the propitiatory mercy-seat through his blood, affording
safety to the guilty before a holy God : and by it the sinner betakes
himself as a sick man, unto the same Jesus as the physician of souls
having the fulness of the Spirit of sanctification in him, to be com-
municated. Accordingly faith is called a coming to Christ. John vi.
35; a fleeing for refuge, as one in hazard of his life by a pursuer,
Heb. vi. 18; and is often expressed, as Psalm ii. 12, by a word which
properly signifies, to retii-e as into a shadow, Judg. ix. 15, or as the
chickens do under the wings of the hen, Ruth ii. 12, "The Lord God
of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust ;" properly to
retire. Compare Matth. xxiii. 37, "How often would I have ga-
thered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens
under her wings I"
5. Lasthj, This trust of faith imports an affiance, confidence, or
trust on Christ and his righteousness, that he will save us from sin
and wrath, according to his promise set before us in the gospel ;
" "Whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlast-
ing life." Isa. XXV. 9, " We have waited for him, and he will save
us." Heb. iii. 6, " Whose house are we, if we hold fast the confi-
dence." Isa. 1. 10, "Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and
stay upon his God." And that this trust of faith is thus particu-
lar, is evident also from the nature of the thing. For whosoever
trusts in a person for any thing, hath a persuasion of the same
degree of firmness with the trust, that that person will do that
thing for him. And for a sure token of this, where the party
trusted fails, the party trusting is ashamed and confounded; as
being disappointed in that which he trusted he would do for him.
"VTherefore, since the trust of faith is never disappointed, the scrip-
ture doth therefore assure us, that he that believeth on him shall
Vol. VIII. 2p
602 INSTATING SINNERS IN THE COVENANT OF GRACE.
not be confounded, I Pet. ii. 6. nor ashamed, Rom. x. 11. The
which doth sufficiently intimate, that he that believeth on Jesus
Christ for salvation, doth trust that ho will save him : otherwise
there could be no place for his being confounded or ashamed what-
ever should be the event of his trust. Accordingly the trust of
faith doth, in proportion to the firmness thereof, establish and fix
the heart, Psalm cxii. 7, " His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord :"
and hereof we have a plain instance in Paul's case, 2 Tim. i. 12, " I
am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed," marg. or
trusted. Agreeable hereunto, faith is called in effect a building on
Christ, as upon a foundation that will bear our weight, Isa. xxviii.
16, with 1 Pet. ii. 6. It is called a leaning upon him, Cant. viii. 5 ;
a staying on him, Isa. xxvi. 3 ; a resting or relying on him, 2 Chron.
xiv. 11, and xvi. 8. as upon one that will bear us up; a looking
unto him, Isa. xlv. 22, having our eyes upon him, 2 Chron. xx. 12,
as one from whom we look for life and salvation ; and finally,
believing on him, 1 Pet. ii. 6, as one by whom we shall be saved,
Acts XV. 11.
The sinner being shaken out of all confidence for life and salva-
tion in other things, stays himself by faith on Jesus Christ and his
righteousness; trusting on him, that he shall have life and salvation
through his righteousness. It is true, indeed, this particular trust
and confidence may be assaulted with many doubts and fears : but
these are things that faith hath to conflict with, as its opposites;
and the stronger that faith is, the less they prevail ; the weaker it
is, they prevail the more : Matt. xiv. 31, "0 thou of little faith,
wherefore didst thou doubt?" It is indeed of very different de-
grees in different persons, and in one and the same person at dif-
ferent times : but if you remove all trust and confidence in Christ
for one's own salvation, from faith, the very nature and essence of
it is destroyed. For at that rate, the sinner, whose confidence in
the flesh for his salvation is razed, having no confidence for it in
Christ neither, is left quite unsettled and wavering, like a wave of
the sea, or a reed in the water : and where then is faith's building,
leaning, staying, relying and resting the soul on Christ ? James i.
6, " Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering : for he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed." Ver.
7, " For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of
the Lord." But the believing sinner, finding his confidence in the
flesh razed, doth, by believing, cast the anchor of his trust and con-
fidence on Christ Jesus and his righteousness, confiding and trusting
that he will save him. And however he may indeed waver in that
matter; being tossed with doubts and fears about his salvation,
THE FAITH OF PARTICULAR TRUST FOR SALVATION. G03
weakening the actings of that his confidence ; and sometimes pre-
vailing so far, as to cause an intermitting of the exercise thereof :
yet, even in that case, under all that tossing, he doth not waver like
a wave of the sea, that hath nothing to fix it ; but only like a ship
at anchor. His confidence is never quite rooted out, as to the habit
thereof ; but will again exert itself : and in that respect every
believer, as a real "partaker of Christ, holds the beginning of his
confidence stedfast unto the end," Heb. iii. 14. And this trust and
confidence is what our reformers called assurance, and described
faith by.
Objection 1. Since it is not true of all who hear the gospel, that
they shall be saved ; there cannot be, in the case of every one of
them, a ground on which this particular trust may be warrantably
founded. Answer. All and every one of tliem, notwithstanding
that, have a solid ground for it, even for trusting on Christ and his
righteousness for their own salvation in particular. And that is
the record and testimony of God in his gospel, that " whosoever be-
lieveth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii.
16. The true sense of which, as appears from what is said, is, that
whosoever shall have this trust and confidence in Christ, shall not
be disappointed, but shall certainly be saved. Here then / the
faithfulness of God in his word, for the foundation of this f th of
particular trust : and true faith is always built on that fouij ation.
It is certain indeed, that, in the event, many to whom the gospel
comes will not be saved : but then, it is as certain, that those who
will not be saved, will not believe neither ; that is, they will not
come up to this particular trust and confidence, we have described
from the word, Isa. liii. 1, " Who hath believed our report ? and to
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed ?" Howbeit, at this rate
they have a firm ground of particular confidence. If they will not
believe for all this, their ruin is of themselves, they will perish with-
out excuse : and their unbelief will be the great ground of their
condemnation. Jesus Christ, with his righteousness and salvation,
is so far made theirs, by the Father's appointment, and his own
offer, that they may lawfully and warrantably trust on him as their
Saviour, each one for his own salvation. If they will not believe
it, or not trust on him accordingly ; they do, by their unbelief and
distrust, dishonour the Father and his Son, and most justly perish.
Objection 2. Many trust in Christ as their Saviour, with a par-
ticular confidence that he will save them ; and yet are grossly igno-
rant, profane, or formal hypocrites ; and therefore not true believ-
ers, nor united to Christ. Answer. The apostle speaking of faith
unfeigned, 1 Tim. i. 5, doth suppose that there is a feigned faith.
(i04 ixsTATiNtr six:ners in the c'Ovenaxi op gkack.
And indeed such trusters in Christ have it: but as for this trust
which we have described from the word, it is as certain they have
it not, as it is certain that true faith purifies the heart, Acts xv. 9,
and truly sanctifies, chap. xsvi. 18. As such trusters say, that they
receive Christ, and rest on hira alone for salvation, embrace, accept,
and consent to him in the gospel-offer : even so they say, that they
trust on him. But this trust on him they really have not. For,
first, They trust not on him for his whole salvation ; nay, as for the
chief part thereof, to wit, salvation from sin, they are by no means
reconciled thereto : wherefore it may well be an object of their fears
and aversion ; but it cannot be an object of their trust. Secondly, They
trust uot on hira alone for the salvation they really desire : they do not
trust on him with all their heart; but partly to him, and partly to
their own doings and sufferings, betAvixt which and the Saviour their
heart is divided. This is clear from Matth. v. 3, "Blessed are the
poor iu spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Lastli/, Their
trust is uot grounded on the faithfulness of God in the free promise
of the gospel ; but reared up on some one or other sandy foundation :
Isa. liii. 1, " Who hath believed our report ?" Matth. vii. 26,
" Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the
sand."
And thus have we shown, what is that faith or believing by which
a sinner unites with Jesus Christ, and so enters savingly into the
covenant of grace. Why God hath appointed it to be the means of
union with Christ, may be learned from Rom. iv. 16, "Therefore
it is of faith, that it might be by grace ;" of which before. Here I
shall only observe, that this trusting wholly on Christ and his
righteousness for his whole salvation, is an apt means or instrument
of union, betwixt Christ the party trusted, and the soul trusting on
him; forasmuch as the soul is therein so carried forth unto him,
that from that moment it is thereby, as it were, wholly to stand or
fall with him ; as the superstructure with the foundation ; the leaner
with the leaning-stock ; the thing relying, resting, staying upoil
another thing, with the stay or base on which it is laid. WJiere-
fore, the object of faith being infallible, they that thus trust in the
Lord, shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth
for ever. Psalm cxxv. 1. Thereby they are united to Christ, and
being united to him, are personally instated in the covenant to their
eternal salvation.
PniNTED UY
GEORGE AND llOBEKT KING,
'in, ST. NICHOLAS STaSfiT, iUEKDEEN.
03-03-0532108 ^
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