Looking Unto Jesus, Book 6 · Chapter 3 · Section 9
SECT. IX. Of conforming to Jeſus in that reſpect.
9. LEt us conform to Jeſus in reſpect of his ſufferings and death, looking unto Jeſus is effective of this; objects have an attractive power, that do aſſimulate, or make like unto them. I have read of a woman, that by fixing the ſtrength of her imagination upon a Blackamore on the wall, ſhe brought forth a black and ſwarthy child. And no queſtion but there is a kind of ſpiritual-imaginative of power in faith to be like to Chriſt by looking on Chriſt; come then, and let us look on Chriſt, and conform to Chriſt in this reſpect.
In this particular I ſhall examine theſe Queries: 1. Wherein we muſt conform? 2. What is the cauſe of this conformity? 3. What are the means of this conformity as on our parts?
For the firſt, wherein we muſt conform? I anſwer; we muſt conform to Chriſt in his graces, ſufferings, death.
1. In the graces that moſt eminently ſhined in his bitter paſſion; his life indeed was a gracious life,John 1.16. he was full of grace, And of his fulneſs have all we received, and grace for grace, but his graces ſhined moſt clearly and brightly at his death; as a Lilly amongſt the Thorns ſeems moſt beautiful, ſo his graces in his ſufferings ſhew moſt excellent; I ſhall inſtance in ſome of them: As—
1. His humility was profound; what? that the moſt high God, that the only begotten, and eternal Son of God, ſhould vouchſafe ſo far as to be contemned, and leſs eſteemed than Barabbas a murtherer? that Chriſt ſhould be crucified upon a croſs betwixt two thieves, as if he had been the ring-leader of all malefactors? O what humility was this?
2. His patience was wonderful; in reſpect of this, the Apoſtle Peter ſets Chriſt as a bleſſed example before our eyes; If when ye do well, and ſuffer for it, ye take it patiently, 1 Pet. 2.20, 21, 23.this is acceptable with God, for even hereunto were ye called, becauſe Chriſt alſo ſuffered for us, leaving us an example that ye ſhould follow his ſteps.— Who when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he ſuffered he threatned not, but committed himſelf to him that judgeth righteouſly. O the patience of Chriſt!
1 John 4.10.3. His love was fervent; Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and ſent his Son to be the propitiation for our ſins. This love is an examplar of all love; it is the fire that ſhould kindle all our ſparks; Be ye followers of God (ſaith the Apoſtle) as dear children: Eph. 5.1, 2.and walk in love, as Chriſt alſo hath loved us, and hath given himſelf for us an offering and ſacrifice to God for a ſweet ſmelling ſavour. Some obſerve, that in the Temple there were two Altars, the brazen, and the golden; the brazen Altar was for bloody Sacrifices, the golden Altar was for the offering of Incenſe; now the former was a type of Chriſt's bloody offering upon the croſs, the latter of Chriſt's ſweet interceſſion for us in his glory; in regard of both, the Apoſtle tells that Chriſt gave himſelf both for an offering and ſacrifice of a ſweet ſmelling ſavour unto God. O what love was this!
4. His mercy was abundant; he took upon him all the miſeries and debts of the world, and he made ſatisfaction for them all; he acted our redemption immediately in his own perſon, he would not intruſt it to Angels, but he would come himſelf and ſuffer; nor would he give a low and baſe price for our ſouls, he ſaw the miſery was great, and his mercy ſhould be more great; he would buy us with ſo great a ranſome, as that he might over-buy us, and none might out-bid him in the market of our ſouls; O we under-bid, and under-value the mercy of God, who over-valued us; we will not ſell all to buy him, but he ſold all he had, and himſelf too to buy us; indeed if he had not done it, we had been damned; and to ſave our ſouls, he cared not what he did or ſuffered. O the mercy of Chriſt!
5. His meekneſs was paſſing great; in all the proceſs of his paſſion, he ſhewed not the leaſt paſſion of wrath or anger; he ſuffered himſelf gently and quietly to be carried like a ſheep to the Butchery, and as a Lamb before ſhearer is dumb, ſo opened he not his mouth: a Lamb is a moſt meek and innocent creature,John 1.29. and therefore is Chriſt called the Lamb of God, which taketh away the ſins of the world.— And, he was a brought as a Lamb to the ſlaughter; why, a Lamb goes as quietly to the ſhambles,Iſa. 53.7. as if it were going to the fold, or to the paſture-field where its Dam ſeedeth; and ſo went Chriſt to his Croſs. O the meekneſs of Chriſt!
6. His contempt of the world was to admiration; he tells them,John 18.36. John 6.15. his Kingdom was not of this world. When a Crown was offered him, and forced upon him, he refuſed it; but above all, behold the Bed where the Bridegroom lieth and ſleepeth at noon-day; here's but an hard flock, and narrow room; O bleſſed head of a dear Redeemer! how is it that thou haſt not a pillow where to reſt thy ſelf? He hangs on the Croſs all naked; few Kings do ſo: he hath no Crown for his head, but one of thorns; he hath no delicates, but Gall and Vinegar; he is leaving the world, and he hath no other Legacies to give his friends, but ſpiritual things; Peace I leave with you, John 14.27.my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. He had ſo contemned the world, that he had not a Legacy in all the world to give: Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.
7. His obedience was conſtant: He became obedient unto death, Phil. 2.8. John 5.30.even the death of the Croſs—He ſought not his own will, but the will of him that ſent him. There was a command that the Father laid on Chriſt from all eternity: O my Son, my only begotten Son, thou muſt go down, and leave Heaven, and empty thy ſelf, and die the death, even the death of the Croſs, and go and bring up the fallen ſons of Adam out of Hell. Mankind, like a precious Ring Glory, fell off the Finger of Almighty God, and was broken all in pieces; and thereupon was the command of God, that his Son muſt ſtoop down, though it pain his back; he muſt lift up again the broken Jewel, he muſt reſtore it, and mend it, and ſet it as a Seal on the heart of God; all which the Lord Jeſus did in time; he was obedient till death, and obedient to death, even to the death of the Croſs. Son, thou muſt die, ſaid God; why Father, I will do it, ſaid Chriſt: and accordingly he freely made his Soul an Offering for ſin.
Now in all theſe Graces we muſt conform to Chriſt. Learn of me, Mat. 11.29. Eph. 5.2.for I am meek and lowly.—And, walk in love, as Chriſt alſo hath loved us: It is as if Chriſt had ſaid, mark the ſteps where I have trode, and follow me in humility, in patience, in love, in mercy, in meekneſs, in contempt of the world, in obedience unto death; in theſe, and the like Graces you muſt conform unto Chriſt.
2. We muſt conform to Chriſt in his ſufferings, if he call us to them,Phil. 3.10. this was the Apoſtle's Prayer, that I may know him, and the power of his Reſurrection, and the fellowſhip of his ſufferings; it was his deſire that he might experimentally know what exceeding joy and comfort it was to ſuffer for Chriſt, and with Chriſt. Concerning this, the other Apoſtle ſpeaks alſo, Chriſt ſuffered for us, 1 Pet. 2.21.leaving us an example that we ſhould follow his ſteps. But the Text that ſeems ſo pertinent, and yet ſo difficult, is that of Paul, I now rejoyce in my ſufferings for you, Col. 1.24.and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Chriſt in my fleſh, for his bodies ſake, which is the Church: One would wonder how Paul ſhould fill up that which is behind of the ſufferings of Chriſt; were Chriſt's ſuffeings imperfect? and much Paul add to them? no ſurely? for by one offering Chriſt hath perfected for ever them that are ſanctified. I ſhall not inſiſt on many Commentaries;Heb. 10.14. I ſuppoſe this is the genuine ſenſe and meaning of the Spirit. Now rejoyce I in my ſufferings for you, whereby I fulfil the meaſure of thoſe tribulations which remain yet to be endured of Chriſt in his myſtical body, which I do for the bodies ſake, not to ſatisfie for it, but to confirm it, or ſtrengthen it by my example in the Goſpel of Chriſt. The ſufferings of Chriſt are either perſonal or general; his perſonal ſufferings were thoſe he endured in his own body, as Mediator; which once for ever he finiſhed: his general ſufferings are thoſe which he endures in his myſtical body, which is, the Church; as he is a Member with the reſt; and theſe are the ſufferings Paul ſpeaks of, and which Paul fills up.
But wherein is the conformity betwixt our ſufferings, and the ſufferings of Chriſt? I anſwer, 1. Negatively, 2. Poſitively.
1. Negatively, our ſufferings have no conformity with Chriſt in theſe two things: 1. Not in the Office of Chriſt's ſufferings; for his were meritorious and ſatisfactory, ours only miniſterial, and for edification. 2. Not in the weight and meaſure of Chriſt's ſufferings; for his were bitter, heavy, and woful, ſuch as would have preſſed any other Creature as low as Hell, and have ſwallowed him up for ever; but ours are but in compariſon light and tollerable: There hath no temptation taken you but ſuch as is common to man; 1 Cor. 10.13.for God is faithful, who will not ſuffer you to be tempted above that you are able.
2. Poſitively, our ſufferings muſt have conformity with Chriſt. 1. In the cauſe of them; Chriſt's ſufferings were inſtrumentally from Satan and wicked men; we muſt look to ſuffer by the enemies of Chriſt, if we have any ſhare in Chriſt; the enemy continues ſtill;Gen. 3.15. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy ſeed and her ſeed. This was primarily meant betwixt the Devil and Chriſt; but if we conform to Chriſt, we muſt expect the very ſame conditions. 2. In the manner of undergoing them; we muſt ſuffer with a proportion of that humility, and patience, and love, and meekneſs and obedience which Chriſt ſhewed in his very ſufferings. 3. In reſpect of the iſſue of them; we muſt look upon Chriſt's iſſue, and expect it to be ours: Ought not Chriſt to have ſuffered theſe things, Luke 24.26. Rom. 8.17. 2 Tit. 2.12.and ſo enter into Glory?—And, if ſo be that we ſuffer with Chriſt, we ſhall be glorified together with Chriſt.—If we ſuffer with him, we ſhall alſo reign with him.
By reaſon of this conformity, we have that communion and aſſociation with Chriſt in all theſe particulars; as, 1. We have Chriſt's ſtrength to bear ſufferings 2. His Victories to overcome ſufferings. 3. His Interceſſion to preſerve us from falling away in ſufferings. 4. His Compaſſion to moderate and proportion our ſufferings to the meaſure of ſtrength which he hath given us. 5. His Spirit to draw in the ſame yoke with us, and to hold us under all ſufferings, that we ſink not. 6. His Graces to be more glorious by our ſufferings, as a Torch, when it is ſhaken, ſhines the brighter. 7. His Crown to reward our ſufferings when we ſhall have taſted our meaſure of them. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory.
O my Soul! ſtudy this conformity, and be content with thy portion; yea, comfort thy ſelf in this condition of ſufferings; muſt we not drink of our Saviour's Cup? what, not of our Maſter's own Cup? We read of Godfrey of Bullein, that he would not be crowned in Jeruſalem with a Crown of Gold, where Chriſt was crowned with a Crown of Thorns, becauſe he would not have ſuch a great diſproportion betwixt him and Chriſt: and we read of Origin, that when Alexander Severus the Emperor ſent for him to Rome, and that he might take his choice, whether he would ride thither on a Mule, or in a Chariot, that he refuſed them both, ſaying, he was leſs than his Maſter Chriſt, of whom he never read that he rode but once. O the ſufferings Chriſt endured! he was called a Wine-bibber, a Samaritane, a Devil; he was purſued, entrapped, ſnared,2 Tim. 3.12. ſlain: And ſurely they that will live godly in Chriſt Jeſus, muſt ſuffer perſecution. Never wonder that thou art hated of men, or perſecuted of men; why, I tell thee, if Chriſt himſelf were now amongſt us in the form and faſhion of a ſervant, in that very condition that ſometimes he was, and ſhould convince men of their wickedneſs as ſearchingly as ſometimes he did, I verily think he would be the moſt hated man in all the world. It's plain enough what carnal men would do, by theſe very doings of the carnal Jews.
3. We muſt conform to Chriſt in his death, carrying in us a reſemblance and repreſentation of his death. But what death is this? I anſwer in a word, a death unto ſin; ſo the Apoſtle;Rom. 6.10, 11. Rom. 6.5. in that he died, unto ſin;—likewiſe reckon ye your ſelves to be dead indeed unto ſin. There is a likeneſs betwixt Chriſt's death, and our death, in this reſpect, we are planted together in the likeneſs of his death. True Mortification carries a ſimilitude, a likeneſs, a reſemblance of the death of Chriſt. As for inſtance.
See Mr. Brinſley at large, myſtical implantation. John 10.17, 18 Pſal. 100.3.1. Chriſt's death was a voluntary death. I lay down my life that I may take it again; no man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of my ſelf; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; not all men on earth, nor all Devils in Hell could have enforced Chriſt's death, if he had not pleaſed; his death was a voluntary death, a ſpontaneous act; ſo is our mortification: Thy people ſhall be willing in the day of thy power; many may leave their ſins againſt their wills; but this is not true mortification; it bears not in it the likeneſs of Chriſt's death; for he died willingly: it may be thou haſt a clamorous Conſcience, which continually dogs thee, and therefore thou leaveſt thy ſin; thus Judas came in with his thirty pieces of ſilver,Mat. 27.5. and caſt them down in the Temple at the High Prieſt's feet; but no thanks to Judas, for they were too hot for him to hold; or it may be there is ſome penalty of the Law, or ſome temporal judgment that hangs over thy head, like Democles s ſword, and therefore thou leaveſt thy ſin; thus Ahab for a time acts the part of a penitent, but no thanks to Ahab; for the Prophet had rung him ſuch a peal for his fin, as made both his ears tingle;1 King 21.19. In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, ſhall dogs lick thy blood, even thine; or it may be there is in thee a fear of Hell, in thy apprehenſion death is come, and is ready to carry thee before the dreadful Tribunal of a terrible God, and therefore thou leaveſt thy ſin; thus Sea-men in a ſtreſs, part with their goods, not becauſe they are out of love with them, but becauſe they love their lives better; they ſee plainly that either they muſt part with them, or periſh with them. Now in theſe caſes, thy leaving off ſin, bears no ſimilitude with the death of Chriſt; for his death was voluntary, and true mortification is a voluntary action.
But may there not be ſome reluctancy in this work betwixt the fleſh and the Spirit?Queſt. and if ſo, is it then voluntary? I anſwer,—
Yes, ſuch a reluctancy we find in the humane nature of Chriſt concerning the Cup,Anſw. Mat. 26.39. that it might paſs from him, and yet his death was a true voluntary death. An action is ſaid to be voluntary, or involuntary according to the ſuperior faculties of the Soul, and not according to the inferior; if the reaſonable part be conſenting, the action may be called voluntary, though there be ſome reluctancy in the ſenſitive appetite. Thus in the Chriſtian, in whom there is nature and grace, fleſh and ſpirit, an unregenerate, and a regenerate part, if the ſuperior and better part be willing (I mean adviſedly and deliberately willing, with full conſent of the inward man) though perhaps there may be ſome reluctancy in the fleſh, in the unregenerate part, yet this is ſaid to be a true voluntary act. So then with the mind, I my ſelf ſerve the Law of God, Rom. 7.25, 22, 23.but with my fleſh the Law of ſin.—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. Paul was dead to ſin according to the inward man, the regenerate part, though he found a reluctancy in his outwards members; and therefore his death to ſin carried with it the reſemblance of the death of Chriſt, it was a voluntary death.
2. Chriſt's death was a violent death; he died not naturally, but violently;1 Pet. 3.18. Iſa. 53.7. he was put to death in the fleſh, he was brought as a Lamb to the ſlaughter. So is our mortification, it is voluntary in reſpect of us, but violent in reſpect of ſin; and herein is the life (as I may ſay) of this death: Oh when a man layes violent hands on his ſins; when he cuts them off, being yet in their flower, and ſtrength, and power, and vigor; when he pulls up thoſe weeds before they whither in themſelves, this is true mortification: many have left their ſins, who never mortified them; ſo the aged Adulterer hath left his Luſt, becauſe his body is dead: and hence it is that late repentance in an aged ſinner is ſeldom found true: alas, he dies not to ſin, but his ſin dies to him: I will not ſay but God may call at the eleventh hour, though it be very ſeldom; but in that caſe you had need to be jealous over your ſelves with a godly jealouſie: what, do you find ſome ſins within you to be dead, that were ſometimes alive? O be inquiſitive, impannel a Jury, call a Coroners Inqueſt upon your own ſouls, enquire how they came by their deaths; whether they died a violent or natural death? ſearch what wounds they have received, and whether they were deadly wounds, yea, or no? enquire what weapon it was that ſlew them, whether the Sword of the Spirit, that two-edged Sword, the Word of God? what purpoſes, what reſolutions have been taken up, and levelled againſt them? what prayers and tears have been ſpent upon them? If you find not theſe ſigns, you may g…e in your Verdict, that they died not a violent, but a natural death. And here's a good Caveat for others; Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, Eccleſ. 12.1.while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou ſhalt ſay, I have no pleaſure in them. Oh take heed of reprieving your Luſts! let them not live till to morrow; now bring them forth in the ſight and preſence of God; arraign, condemn, crucifie, mortifie them whiles they might yet live. Surely this is true mortification, when the body of ſin dieth, as Chriſt died, a violent death.
3. Chriſt's Death was a lingring death; he hung divers hours upon the Croſs, From the firſt hour to the ninth hour, ſaith Matthew; (i.e.) from our twelve to three, before he gave up the Ghoſt. So is our mortification a lingring death; ſin is not put to death all at once, but languiſheth by little and little; this is looked upon as one main difference betwixt juſtification and ſanctification; the former is a perfect work, admitting of no degrees, but ſo is not the latt…r; though a Believer is freed perfectly from the guilt of ſin, yet not ſo from the power of it; ſin dwelleth in us, though it hath not altogether a dominion over us;Rom. 7.17. It is no more I that do it, but ſin that dwelleth in me; like a rebellious Tenant, it keeps poſſeſſion in deſpight of the owner, till the houſe be pulled down over his head. True indeed, the body of ſin in a regenerate ſoul hath received its death-wound, and in that reſpect it may be ſaid to be dead, but it is not quite dead; ſtill it ſtirreth and moveth, dying but by degrees: What the Apoſtle ſaith of the renewing of the new man we may ſay of the deſtroying of the old man the inward man is renewed day by day, 2 Cor. 4.16.…nd the old man is deſtroyed d…y by day; or as Paul ſaid of himſelf, in reſpect of his afflictions, we may ſay of a Chriſtian in reſpect of his ſins, I die daily; 1 Cor. 15.31.there is not the moſt ſanctified ſoul upon earth but has ſome remainders of corruption left in it, which God in his wiſe providence permits for the trying, exerciſing, and humbling of our ſouls, and for the making his own rich Graces, in renewing and multiplying pardons, ſo much the more glorious.
Gen. 25.22.And here is a ground of conſolation to a drooping and dejected ſoul; ſuch an one cries out, alas I feel the ſtirring and vigorous actings of ſin, and I am afraid my ſin is not mortified; as Rebekah ſaid, when ſhe felt the Children strugling within her; if it b… ſo, why am I thus? ſo, if ſin be mortified, ſaith the ſoul, why am I thus?—trembling ſoul let not this diſcourage; Jeſus Chriſt was not dead ſo ſoon as he was faſtned to the Croſs: But haſt thou taken the ſame courſe with the body of ſin, that the Jews did with the body of ſin? haſt thou arraigned it, accuſed it, condemned it, and faſtened it to the Croſs? haſt thou arraigned it at the Bar of God's judgment, accuſed it by way of humble and hearty confeſſion, condemned it in paſſing the ſentence of eternal condemnation upon thy ſelf for it, and faſtned it to the Croſs, in beginning the execution of it, in ſetting upon the mortification of it with a ſerious and unfeigned reſolution to uſe all means for its mortifying and killing? why then be not diſheartned; it may be thou feeleſt it ſtirring, and ſtrugling within thee, and ſo will a crucified man do, and yet in the eye of the Law, and in the account of all men that ſee him, he is a dead man; ſurely ſo is the body of ſin, when it is thus crucified; though it ſtill move and ſtir, yet upon a Goſpel-account, and in God's eſtimation, it is no better than dead, and it ſhall certainly die, it ſhall decay and languiſh, and die more and more; is not the promiſe expreſs? He that hath begun the good work, Phil. 1.6.he will perfect it to the day of Jeſus Chriſt. Of this Paul was confident in behalf of his Philippians; and of this let all true Believers reſt confident in reſpect of themſelves. Thus far we ſee wherein we muſt conform to Chriſt, viz. in his Graces, in his Sufferings, and in his Death.
For the Query, what is the cauſe of this conformity? I anſwer, The death of Chriſt is the cauſe of this conformity: And that a fourfold cauſe.—
Eph. 5.25, 26, 27.1. It is a meritorious cauſe; Chriſt's death was of ſo great a price, that it deſerved at God's hands our conformity to Chriſt. Chriſt loved the Church, and gave himſelf for it, that by his death he might ſanctifie it, and cleanſe it:—and preſent it to himſelf a glorious Church, not having ſpot or wrinkle, or any ſuch thing; but that it ſhould be holy and without blemiſh.
1 Pet. 2.21.2. It is an exemplary cauſe: He ſuffered for us, leaving us an example that we ſhould follow his ſteps; he died for us, leaving us an example that we ſhould die to ſin, as he died for ſin, we may obſerve in many particulars (beſides thoſe I have named) a proportion, analogy, and likeneſs betwixt Chriſt's death and ours; Chriſt died as a ſervant, to note that ſin ſhould not rule, or reign over us; Chriſt died as a curſe, to note that we ſhould look upon ſin as a curſed thing; Chriſt was faſt nayled on the Croſs, to note that we ſhould put ſin out of caſe, yea, crucifie the whole body of ſin: Chriſt died not preſently, yet there he hung till he died, to note that we ſhould never give over ſubduing ſin, while it hath any life or working in us.
3. It is an efficient cauſe, it works this conformity by a ſecret virtue iſſuing from it. Thus Chriſtians are ſaid to be engraffed with Chriſt in the likene…s of his death. Rom. 6.5. Phil. 3.10.The word foreign, is of a paſſive ſignification, importing not only a being like, but a being made like, and that by a power and vertue out of our ſelves, ſo the Apoſtle elſewhere interprets, That I may know him—and the fellowſhip of his ſufferings, being made conformable unto his death. Not conforming my ſelf, but being made conformable, by a power out of my ſelf.
But how then is the power of mortification attributed to men? as,Queſt. Col. 3.5. Gal. 5.24. Mortifie ye your members which are upon the earth.—And, They which are Chriſt's have crucified the fleſh.
I anſwer, there is a twofold mortification, the one habitual, the other practical;Anſw. the former conſiſts in a change of the heart, turning the bent and inclination of the heart from all manner of ſin; now this is the only and immediate work of the Spirit of Grace, breathing and working where it will; the latter conſiſts in the exerciſe of putting forth of that inward grace, in the acting of that principle, in reſiſting temptations, in ſuppreſſing inordinate Luſts, in watching againſt ſinful and inordinate acts; now this is the work of a regenerate perſon, himſelf co-operating with the Spirit of God, as a rational inſtrument with the principal Agent, and therefore the Apoſtle joins both together; If ye through the Spirit do mortifie the Deeds of the Body, Rom. 8.13.ye ſhall live.
4. It is an impelling, or a moving cauſe, as all objects are; for objects have an attractive power. Achan ſaw the wedge of Gold, and then coveted it: David ſaw Bathſheba, and then deſired her. As the brazen Serpent did heal thoſe who were bitten by the fiery Serpent, tanquam objectum fidei, meerly by being looked upon, ſo Chriſt crucified doth heal ſin, beget grace, encourage to ſufferings by being looked upon with the eyes of Faith.Heb. 12.1, 2. Wherefore ſeeing we are compaſſed about with ſo great a cloud of witneſſes, let us lay aſide every weight, and the ſin which doth ſo eaſily beſet us, and let us run with patience the race that is ſet before us; looking u…to Jeſus the Author and finiſher of our Faith. The Apoſtle was to encourage the Hebrews to hold on the well-begun profeſſion of Faith in Chriſt; and to that purpoſe he ſets before them two fights to keep them from fainting, 1. A cloud of witneſſes, the Saints in heaven; on which cloud when he had ſtaid their eyes a while, and made them fit for a clearer Object, he ſcatters the cloud, and preſents the Sun of Righteouſneſs, Chriſt himſelf, and he wills them foreign, to turn their eyes from it, to him, looking unto Jeſus, q. d. this ſight is enough to make you run the race, and not to faint; why, Jeſus is gone before you, and will you not follow him? O look unto Jeſus, and the very ſight of him will draw you after him: Chriſt crucified hath an attractive power; And I, if I be lifted up, John 12.32.will draw all men to me.—Thus of the cauſes of our conformity; we ſee how it is wrought.
3. For the laſt Query; what are the means of this conformity as on our part? I anſwer.
1. Go to the Croſs of Jeſus Chriſt. It is not all our purpoſes, reſolutions, promiſes, vows, covenants endeavours, without this, that will effect our conformity to Chriſt in his ſufferings and death; no, no, this conformity is a fruit and effect of the death of Chriſt; and therefore whoſoever would have this work wrought in him, let him firſt have recourſe to Chriſt's Croſs: O go we more immediately to the Croſs of Jeſus.
2. Look up to him that hangs upon it, contemplate the death of Jeſus Chriſt, conſider ſeriouſly and ſadly his bitter ſhameful, painful ſufferings: Much hath been ſaid, only here draw it into ſome Epitome: As, 1. Conſider who he was. 2. What he ſuffered. 3. Why he ſuffered. 4. For whom he ſuffered. 5. For what end he ſuffered. 6. With what mind he ſuffered: Every one of theſe will make ſome diſcoveries either of his Graces, or of his gracious actings in our behalf; and who can tell how far this very Look may work on us to change us, and transform us into the very image of Jeſus Chriſt?
3. Let us humbly bewail our defect, exorbitancy, irregularity, and inconformity either to the graces, ſufferings, or death of Chriſt. As thus; Lo here the profound humility, wonderful patience, fervent love, abundant mercy, admirable meekneſs, conſtant obedience of Jeſus Chriſt! Lo here the tortures, torments, agonies, conflicts, extream ſufferings of Chriſt for the ſpiritual, immortal good of the preciou… ſouls of his redeemed ones: Lo here the death of Chriſt, ſee how he bowed the head, and gave up the Ghoſt! why theſe are the particulars to which I ſhould conform: But Oh alas! what a wide, vaſt, utter diſtance, diſproportion is there betwixt me and them? Chriſt in his ſufferings ſhined with graces, his graces appeared in his ſufferings, like ſo many ſtars in a bright winter's night; but how dim are the faint weak Graces in my Soul? Chriſt in his ſufferings endured much for me, I know not how much; by thine unknown ſorrows and ſufferings felt by thee' but not diſtinctly known to us (ſaid the ancient Fathers of the Greek Church, in their Liturgy) have mercy upon us, and ſave us; his ſorrows and ſufferings were ſo great, that ſome think it dangerous to define them; but how poor, how little are my ſufferings for Jeſus Chriſt? I have not yet reſiſted unto blood, and if I had, what were this in compariſon of his extream ſufferings? Chriſt in his ſufferings died; his paſſive obedience was unto death, even to the death of the Croſs: he hung on the Croſs till he bowed his head, and gave up the Ghoſt; Rom. 6.10.he died unto ſin once: But alas! how do I live in that for which he died? To this day my ſin hath not given up the Ghoſt; to this day the death of Chriſt is not the death of my ſin: O my ſin is not yet crucified; the heart-blood of my ſin is not yet let out: Oh wo is me, how unanſwerable am I to Chriſt in all theſe reſpects?
4. Let us quicken, provoke, and rouze up our Souls to this conformity; let us ſet before them exciting Arguments, ex. gr. The greateſt glory that a Chriſtian can attain to in this world, is to have a reſemblance, and likeneſs to Jeſus Chriſt. Again, the more like we are to Chriſt, the more we are in the love of God, and the better he is pleaſed with us: It was his voice concerning his Son, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleaſed; and for his ſake, if we are but like him, he is alſo well pleaſed with us. Again, a likeneſs or reſemblance of Chriſt is that which keeps Chriſt alive in the world: As we ſay of a child that is like his Father, This man cannot die ſo long as his Son is alive: So we may ſay of Chriſtians who reſemble Chriſt, that ſo long as they are in the world, Chriſt cannot die; he lives in them, and he is no otherwiſe alive in this nether world, than in the hearts of Gracious Chriſtians, that carry the picture and reſemblance of him. Again, a likeneſs to Chriſt in his death, will cauſe a likeneſs to Chriſt in his Glory, If we have been planted together in the likeneſs of his death, Rom. 6.5.we ſhall be alſo in the likeneſs of his Reſurrection: As it is betwixt the Graft and the Stock, the Graft ſeeming dead with the Stock in the winter, it revives with it in the Spring; after the Winter's death, it partakes of the Spring's reſurrection; ſo it is betwixt Chriſt and us; if with Chriſt we die to ſin, we ſhall with Chriſt be raiſed to Glory; being conformed to him in his death, we ſhall be alſo in his reſurrection. Thus let us quicken and provoke our ſouls to this conformity.
5. Let us pray to God that he will make us conformable to Jeſus Chriſt. Is it Grace we want? let us beg of him, that of that fulneſs that is in Chriſt, we may in our meaſure receive grace for grace. Is it patience, or joy in ſufferings that we want? let us beg of him, that as he hath promiſed, he will ſend us the comforter, that ſo we may follow Chriſt chearfully from his croſs to his crown, from earth to heaven. Is it mortification our ſouls pant after? this indeed makes us moſt like to Chriſt in his ſufferings and death; why then pray we for this mortification.—
But, how ſhould we pray? I anſwer, 1. Let us plainly acknowledge, and heartily bemoan our ſelves in God's boſom for our ſins, our abominable ſins. 2. Let us confeſs our weakneſs, feebleneſs, and inability in our ſelves to ſubdue our ſins: we have no might (may we ſay) againſt this great company that come againſt us, 2 Chr. 20.12.neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. 3. Let us put up our requeſt, begging help from heaven, let us cry to God that vertue may come out of Chriſt's death to mortifie our Luſts, to heal our Natures, to ſtanch our bloody iſſues; and that the Spirit may come into helps us in theſe works:Rom. 8.13. for by the Spirit do we mortifie the deeds of the body.
4. Let us preſs God with the merits of Chriſt, and with his promiſes through Chriſt; for he hath ſaid, Sin ſhall not have dominion over us; for we are not under the Law, but under Grace: Rom. 6.14. Rom. 8.2.and Paul experienced it, The Law of the Spirit of Life in Chriſt hath freed me from the Law of ſin and death. 5. Let us praiſe God, and thank God for the help already received, if we find that we have gotten ſome power againſt ſin, that we have gotten more ability to oppoſe the luſts of the fleſh, that we are ſeldom overtaken with any breaking forth of it, that we have been able to withſtand ſome notable temptations to it, that the force of it in us is in any meaſure abated, that indeed and in truth vertue is gone out of the death of Chriſt: Oh then return we praiſes to God, let us triumph in God, let us lead our captivity captive, and ſing new ſongs of praiſes unto God, and even ride in triumph over our corruptions, boaſting our ſelves in God, and ſetting up our Banners in the name of the moſt High, and offering up humble and hearty thanks to our Father for the death of Chriſt, and for the merit, vertue, and efficacy of it derived unto us, and beſtowed upon us.
6. Let us frequently return to our looking up unto Jeſus Chriſt, to our believing in Chriſt as he was lifted up. How we are to manage our Faith, to draw down the vertue of Chriſt's death into our ſouls, I have diſcovered before; and let us now be in the practice of thoſe rules; certainly there is a conveyance of an healing, ſtrengthning, quickning vertue flowing into the Soul in the time of its viewing, eying, contemplating, reflecting upon Chriſt crucified, Chriſt lifted up; and this comes from the ſecret preſence of God, bleſſing this our looking upon Chriſt, as the Ordinance by which he hath appointed to make an effectual impreſſion upon the heart. It is not for us curiouſly to enquire, how this ſhould be: Principles (we ſay) are not to be proved; ſave only God hath ſaid it, and experience hath found it out, that when Faith is occaſioned to act on any ſutable ſacred object, God by his Spirit doth not fail to anſwer, in ſuch a caſe he fills the Soul with comfort, bleſſing, vertue; he returns upon the Soul (by, from, and through the actings of Faith) whatſoever by it is looked for. Indeed none knoweth this, but he that feels it; and none feels this that knoweth how to expreſs it; as there is ſomewhat in the fire (heat, warmth and light) which no Painter can expreſs; and as there is ſomewhat in the face (heat, warmth and life) which no Limner can ſet forth; ſo there is ſomewhat flowing into the ſoul, while it is acting faith on the Death of Chriſt, which, for the riſe, or way, or manner of its working, is beyond what tongue can ſpeak, or pen can write, or pencil can delineate. Come then, if we would have grace, endure afflictions, die to ſin, grow in our mortification: let us again and again return to our duty of looking unto Jeſus, or believing in Jeſus, as he was lifted up.
And yet when all is done, let us not think that ſin will die or ceaſe in us altogether; for that is an higher perfection than this life will bear; only in the uſe of the means, and through God's bleſſing, we may expect thus far, that ſin ſhall not reign, it ſhall not wear a Crown, it ſhall not ſit in the Throne, it ſhall hold no Parliaments, it ſhall give no laws within us; we ſhall not ſerve it, but we ſhall die to the dominion of it, by vertue of this Death of Jeſus Chriſt. And this, He grant who died for us; Amen, Amen.
Thus far we have looked on Jeſus as our Jeſus; in his ſufferings and death. Our next work is to look on Jeſus carrying on the great work of our Salvation during the time of his Reſurrection, and abode upon earth, until his Aſcenſion, or taking up to Heaven.
LOOKING UNTO JESUS In his Reſurrection. The Seventh Book. PART VII.
CHAP. I.
Matth. 28.6. He is riſen.—Come ſee the place where the Lord lay.
2 Tim. 2.8. Remember that Jeſus Christ of the ſeed of David, was raiſed from the dead.