Spiritual Bondage and Freedom, Chapter 6
CHAP. VI.
Concerning the Excellency of the perſon by whom this Freedom was performed.
TO the Second, The excellency of this Freedom will appear, if we conſider the excellent perſon by whom it was performed. You have already heard that this Freedom comes by Chriſt, and Chriſt is an excellent perſon indeed, he is excellent in his Names, and excellent in his Natures, and excellent in his Offices; his Life, his Death, his Satisfaction, Righteouſneſs, Interceſſion, are excellent. Beauty, Grace, are in him to perfection; he is ſo excellent that God and all Saints do ſet their beſt love upon him, that all the Riches, Hope and Happineſs of believers are laid up in him. So excellent, that he is the chiefeſt among ten thouſand, the Pearl of great price, in compariſon of whom all things are counted but loſs and dung. But my purpoſe is not here to treat of the excellency of Chriſt at large, (for that would fill up a Volume of it ſelf, there being no Subject of Divinity of a vaſter extent than this is.) But I ſhall confine my thoughts to the conſidering of the excellency of his perſon, a little, as it relates to this Freedom, which we have in hand. He muſt needs be an excellent perſon, in that he performed this Freedom according to theſe twelve following things.
1. In that he did it with ſo much power▪ Pſal. 93. 1. The Lord is cloathed with ſtrength, wherewith he hath girded himſelf. The Lord Jeſus Chriſt bewrayed no weakneſs in his work from the beginning of it to the end. Our help was laid, as God ſaith in the Scripture, upon one that is mighty; he had ſuch an heavy burthen upon him, as was enough to have broken the back of a thouſand Worlds, but he ſtood under it; he could, as it were, ſwim in the whole Sea of his Fathers Wrath; one drop of which no meer man could bear without ſinking. What an excellent perſon muſt this needs be, that could grapple with the Divine Indignation, with red hot Juſtice, with all the Curſe of the Law, with the Powers of darkneſs, and not be daunted! Never was there a work ſo full of difficulty as this was; and yet Chriſt had enough to carry him through it; he met with many Enemies, but he overcame every one of them: Oh the ſtrength that he put forth in the work of our redemption! all the Devils in Hell were reſolved and combined, if it had been poſſible, to have worſted him, and to have ſpoiled the whole deſign of our Salvation, that it ſhould never have come to any thing; and there was not any thing wanting, that they could do to hinder it; but this Lion of the Tribe of Judah was too ſtrong for the roaring Lion, and all his confederates; he wrought out our Freedom notwithſtanding oppoſition on all hands. And from this conſideration let me mind you, That good things muſt be ſet about and carried on with courage; for ſo you ſee Chriſt did what he had to do; difficulty did not diſcourage him. And as this did ſpeak the excellency of Chriſt in his work, ſo it ſpeaks the excellency of a Chriſtian in his work; that's a brave Chriſtian that won't be diſcouraged, that whatever he meets with in the way of Service aad Duty, his heart holds up ſtill. You are like to Chriſt, when 'tis thus with you: I know that you that are the people of God meet with difficulties, you have this and that which is hard to go through; but remember the Captain of your Salvation would not be daunted; take example from him.
Obj. But thou wilt ſay, it may be, But I am not ſo ſtrong as he was; he could come with that Power to his work that I have not.
Anſw. As thou haſt not Chriſts ſtrength, ſo neither haſt thou his work. 'Tis true, thou haſt thy work too, but it is not ſuch work as Chriſt in ſome reſpects had to do; thou never wert, nor ever ſhalt be called to ſuch great things as he was; but then mark, that Power of Chriſt by which he did his work, is alſo in him for the enabling of thee which believeſt to do thy work: So was it promiſed to the Apoſtle Paul, 2 Cor. 12. 9. And he ſaid unto me, My grace is ſufficient for thee: for my ſtrength is made perfect in weakneſs. And becauſe of this, you ſee Paul would be ſo far from being diſcouraged at difficulties, that he would rather glory and take pleaſure in them; Moſt gladly, therefore will I rather glory in mine infirmities, that the Power of Chriſt may reſt upon me.
2. In that he did it with ſo much Faith. What an excellent perſon muſt this needs be, that could go through ſuch a work ſo believingly as Chriſt did, and hold forth his Hope and Confidence in God his Father, notwithſtanding all the hard things he met with in procuring our Freedom? How apt are we, when we are in diſtreſs and under deſertion, (tho all our afflictions and ſufferings are but a Fleabiting in compariſon of what he underwent), to let go our hold of the Promiſes, as you may ſee it even in thoſe who were very eminent for Grace, and had had great experience of the former goodneſs of God to them, Pſal. 77. 7, 8, 9. 1 Sam. 27. 1. But now here is one that had ſuch a Faith, that tho he were in the Red-Sea of his Fathers Wrath, and the deep Waters of his afflictions and ſufferings did not do to him, as the Red Sea, that the Children of Iſrael came to, did to them; the waters of that were divided, and became a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left, ſo that they were in the very midſt of them, as upon dry ground; but the waters of Chriſts afflictions were overflowing, overwhelming Waters, ſuch as plunged and drencht him into the deeps; his Soul was exceeding ſorrowful even unto Death, his very ſweat was like blood; yet, even then he could believe that God was his Father, and that he had an unſpeakeble Love to him. And this Faith of his had no mixture of unbelief, or of ſinful doubting, as ours hath; but 'twas a firm and full Faith, whereby he reſolved for ever to truſt perfectly in God, let him do what he would with him and to him. Take two Scriptures for this among others, Iſa. 50. 7. The Lord will help me, therefore ſhall I not be confounded: therefore have I ſet my face like a flint; and I know that I ſhall not be aſhamed. Mark what Faith he had; he does not ſay now he is looking upon his ſufferings, (for ſo you are to conceive of him in this place) Oh! what ſhall I do, I ſhall never go through theſe Tribulations, I ſhall never be able to drink off this bitter Cup that is prepared for me; but he believes he ſhall, and that his Father would help him; he did not doubt of it: I know it, ſaies he; and in the confidence of this, he doth as it were harden himſelf againſt all the ſufferings of one kind and another, that he was to be called to, which is the meaning of that expreſſion, I have ſet my face like a flint. Another Scripture for the acting of his Faith, even in the ſight, and under the Senſe of the pains of Death, and Hell-torments in his Soul, you have in Pſal. 16. 8, 9, 10, 11. I have ſet the Lord always before me: becauſe he is at my right hand, I ſhall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, &c.
Herein Chriſt is an Example to us, above all the Examples of other believers. No afflictions were like to Chriſts afflictions, and yet no Faith like to his Faith; the Tryals of other believers were very great, ſome of them; as the Tryals of Abraham and David, and their Faith was of a more than ordinary ſtature; but without diſparagement be it ſpoken, even the Faith of Abraham himſelf, was but a poor little weak Faith, in compariſon of this Faith that Chriſt had: All thoſe Worthies which you read of there in Heb. 11. who through Faith obtained a good report; they were Giants in reſpect of us, but they were Babes in reſpect of Chriſt. Now I ſay what an unparalel'd Example is Chriſt to us then, of truſting in God in the worſt condition! It may be you think, I hope I ſhould truſt God, if it were not ſo exceeding ſad with me as 'tis; alas! you cannot think how ſad 'tis with me, nor can I tell how to expreſs my miſery. Well, I am ſure 'tis not ſo ſad with thee as 'twas with Chriſt; and yet he truſted in God; the very enemies of Chriſt could take notice that he did, Pſal. 22. tho they wickedly reproached him for it. And in deed this is the only ſinking thing in affliction, let it be never ſo great, that we cannot truſt God; and to what end hath God made the Promiſes, but that they ſhould be believed? Uſually when you doubt of a Friends helping of you in your ſtraits, 'tis becauſe you had not a Promiſe from him; it may be he put you in ſome hopes that he would help you, but for all that you doubt whether he will or no; but if you have a Promiſe from him, and he be a Friend indeed, and one that uſeth to keep his word, then you conclude upon it, Now I am ſure he will help me, he hath promiſed me faithfully to do it. Thus 'tis now with God, towards you that are his Children; you have got a Promiſe from him, that he will help you in your diſtreſſes; nay not only one, but many: Nay, you have got his Covenant, and his Oath for it. Oh! rely upon him, then, however 'tis or ſhall be with you.
3. In that he did it with ſo much Wiſdom, as one that fully knew and underſtood what he went about in this great undertaking. You ſhall find in Scripture, that his Wiſdom is much taken notice of, in reference to the work of our Redemption. He is called the Wiſdom of God, 1 Cor. 1. 24. and in Col. 2. 3. In whom are hid all the treaſures of wiſdom and knowledg. Mark, not only knowledg, but Wiſdom and Knowledg; and that in ſuch abundance, that he hath a treaſure of them, yea Treaſures, yea and all the Treaſures of them. And you ſhall ſee in the Old Teſtament, when it was propheſied of him that he ſhould come upon this work of giving Freedom and Salvation to us, how his diſcreet and wiſe carrying on of all things about it, is foretold, ſee Iſa. 11. 2, 3. chap. 52. 13. He dealt with ſuch Wiſdom, that he could tell how to deal with God for men, and with men for God; and to diſcharge the three great Offices of a Prophet, Prieſt, and King, with admirable underſtanding; and how to undermine and infatuate all the Policies of the Devil and the World, and to render their deepeſt deſigns againſt his Kingdom and Goſpel void, and of none effect, ſee 1 Cor. 2. 19, 20. and how to carry himſelf ſo wiſely, even amongſt his worſt Enemies, that they could have no juſt occaſion to ſpeak evil of him, tho they watched all that poſſibly could be to get advantages againſt him, both for his Actions, and Speeches, and Doctrine; and therefore what an excellent perſon muſt this needs be? And in this Wiſdom Chriſt doth all things ſtill that are yet to be done; he governs the World in Wiſdom, and as the great and good Shepherd, he feeds his Flock with Knowledg and Underſtanding; as a Paſtor that is after Gods own heart; and one great thing amongſt the reſt that he is made of God to his people, is Wiſdom, 1 Cor. 1. 30. to inſtruct them, and teach them by his Spirit how to behave themſelves as the children of God, and to make them to know the Myſteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to be to them a Counſellor, according to that name which is given him, Iſa. 9. 6. And if his Diſciples are called at any time to bear a Teſtimony for him before the great ones of the World, he hath promiſed to give them a mouth, and wiſdom, which all their adverſaries ſhall not be able to gainſay or reſiſt, Luke 21. 15. And therefore Gods people ſhould learn to carry themſelves wiſely in all their ways and walking, and take heed of doing things raſhly and indiſcreetly, as thoſe that have Wiſdom for their pattern, ſee Eph. 5. 15, 17. See that ye walk circumſpectly, not as fools but as wiſe. Wherefore be ye not unwiſe, but underſtanding what the will of the Lord is. And the Wiſdom that you muſt do all things with, is not a carnal, politick craftineſs; but the Wiſdom which is from above; it muſt be the Scripture-wiſdom and ſpiritual Underſtanding.
4. In that he did it with ſo much Love, Rev. 1. 5. He loved us, and waſhed us from our ſins in his own blood, Gal. 2. 20. He loved me, and gave himſelf for me; and in Tit. 3. 4. when the Apoſtle would briefly ſum up the whole work of Chriſt in giving this Freedom to us, he expreſſes it in theſe words, The kindneſs and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared. While he ſuffered, he was in love with thoſe for whom he ſuffered; when he died, he was in love with thoſe for whom he died; he did not barely do the work it ſelf, but he did it with ſuch affection to poor ſinners, as who ſhould ſay, he would have them ſee and know that they could not have a greater Friend then he was; he bare them upon his heart, while he bare their ſins upon the Croſs. If he had not been an excellent perſon, the dreadful pains and ſufferings that our iniquities had put him to, would have made him for ever to loath us, and not to have endured the ſight of any man more; but his Love to us was neither removed nor abated for any thing that he endured for our ſakes; neither was his Love to his Father in the leaſt diminiſhed by all the grief which he put him to, tho he bruiſed him, and took, as the Scripture ſaith, a kind of pleaſure and delight in the doing of it, Iſa. 53. 10. Juſtice, as it were, requiring at this time that he ſhould afflict him willingly, which he doth not uſe to do, to the Children of Men; yet under all this, Chriſt kept up in perfect Love to God: And this you may obſerve from his manner of ſpeaking to God, when he was juſt ſtepping into his great ſuffering, when his Soul was exceeding ſorrowful, even unto Death, Matth. 26. 28. Yet mark v. 39. and 42. in what a loving way he ſpeaks to him, Father; and oh my Father, let this Cup paſs away from me. And oh what an Example is Chriſt in this to believers, to love the Lord and not to queſtion but that the Lord loves them, what ever he lays upon them! The Lord ſees a great proneneſs in us, to think it is not thus when his hand is heavy upon us, in that he hath left ſuch kind of ſayings as theſe upon record in Scripture; As many as I love, I rebuke and chaſten, and whom the Lord loveth, he chaſteneth; and ſcourgeth every ſon whom he receiveth. We are too ready to meaſure Gods affection to us by proſperity and ſmiles, and when things go as we would have them; but if we would be like to Chriſt, we muſt make account that God can be our Father, tho he beats us, and hides his Face from us.
5. In that he did it with ſo much Patience. 'Tis not to be thought what Chriſt ſuffered in obtaining this Freeeom for us, from God, from Men, from Devils by their Temptations; yet under all, his Spirit was in a compoſed ſtill frame; he had not an hard thought of God for the low condition which he had caſt him into; he had not an unbecoming, repining, diſcontented word dropping from his mouth, Iſa. 53. 7. He was oppreſſed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the ſlaughter, as a ſheep before her ſhearers is dumb, ſo he opened not his mouth. God might do what he would to him, and put as much Gall, and Wormwood, and Wrath into his Cup as he pleaſed, and he would take it off: You may remember 'twas one of his patient Speeches, The Cup which my Father giveth me to drink, ſhall I not drink it? And men, they might ſay and do what they would againſt him, they might mock and revile, and ſcourge, and crucifie him, and he could take all with an inward peaceableneſs; he could meet that Traitor Judas when he was come to betray him, and even then he could call him Friend, Matth. 26. 50. Job, you know, is worthily counted an excellent perſon for his Patience under Afflictions, and ſo he is pointed out to us, in Jam. 5. Ye have heard of the Patience of Job, and yet in Chriſt there are two things to be conſidered, which are far beyond what was in Job. 1. Chriſts Afflictions did out of meaſure exceed what Job was exerciſed with; take all the Sufferings of the Saints in their Bodies and Souls too, and put them into one Scale, and put the Sufferings of Chriſt into the other, theſe will outweigh them as much as a Mountain will outweigh a Mole-hill; the greateſt Suffering-Saints in the Scriptures, ſuch as David, &c. were but Types of Chriſt in his Sufferings; and ſo they had but the ſhadow of ſorrow in reſpect of him, whoſe ſorrows were ſo great, and of ſuch a nature, that he is ſaid to be a man of ſorrows, which is as much as to ſay, he was made up as it were of nothing elſe. 2. Jobs great Patience was mixed with great Impatience; tho he held out in his Tryals to Admiration for a great while, yet afterwards he had his fits of diſtempered paſſion; and he that before had bleſſed God, tho he had ſtript him naked, at laſt opened his mouth and curſed his day. But Chriſt held on in Patience, and held out in Patience; he did not at all ſtain or blemiſh the ſtate of his Humiliation with a ſpot of diſcontent in him; indeed that was done which the Apoſtle James exhorts us to, Patience had its perfect work; when his Sufferings were at the full, his Patience was at the full too; and therefore what an excellent Perſon is Chriſt! and what an excellent Pattern for us! In 1 Pet. 2. 21. the Apoſtle there tell us, that Chriſt ſuffered for us, leaving us an example that we ſhould follow his ſteps. Have we then afflictions upon us in any kind? and doth it ſeem good to the Lord to exerciſe us with troubles without or within, or both? Oh, but let us pray that we may be Patient; however, that we may not reſiſt the Holy Will of God, by unwillingneſs to ſuffer. And I pray conſider this, That tho in ſome reſpects Chriſt had that to quiet and compoſe his Spirits to Patience in his Sufferings, which we have not; yet in other reſpects we have ſomething to be thought upon for the quieting of our Spirits in our Sufferings, which Chriſt had not. There are two things which Chriſt had to quiet him that we have not; as,
1. That no ſuffering of any kind came upon him, but what he foreſaw: this is a great means to keep perſons patient, to foreſee ſuch or ſuch an Affliction; if they be ſurprized with ſome great Calamity on a ſudden, and had no inkling of it before, but it breaks in upon them like the Sea, unexpectedly, then many times there is much impatience mingled with that condition, tho it ſhould not be ſo; but now Jeſus Chriſt knew of his troubles particularly before they came, which we do not; we cannot tell what will befall us between this and Death; what Affliction will meet us ſuch a time, in ſuch a place; as Paul, Acts 20. 22. Not knowing the things that ſhall befall me: he had a general notion about it, as verſ. 23. but particularly he knew not what would befall him; but it was not ſo with Chriſt. See a place where he ſpeaks of his going up to Hieruſalem, (as Paul doth here) and you ſhall find that Chriſt knew what would befall him, Matth. 20. 17, 18, 19. Behold, we go up to Jeruſalem, and the Son of man ſhall be betrayed unto the chief prieſts, and unto the Scribes, and they ſhall condemn him to death: And ſhall deliver him to the Gentiles, to mock, and to ſcourge, and to crucifie him: and the third day he ſhall riſe again. Mark how particularly Chriſt foreſaw things; and no doubt but this was one help to Chriſts Patience, he knew it would be thus.
2. That he had not ſo much as a principle of Impatience within him; there was no tendency in his ſpirit that way; for that's true in this caſe, which he ſaid of himſelf, Joh. 14. 30. The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But now, the Lord knows 'tis not ſo with us, we have corrupt natures that are breeding of diſcontent, and impatience, and very apt upon all occaſions to be breaking out; and we have much to do, the beſt of us; nay, 'tis more than the beſt of us can do without the Grace of God aſſiſting us, to bear any Affliction patiently, we have ſuch ſeeds of ſin within us.
But, as I ſaid, in ſome reſpects we have that to think of, to quiet us in our Sufferings which Chriſt had not; as,
1. That our Afflictions are but ſmall; Chriſt could not ſay ſo of his, he could not call them light Afflictions, as Paul doth his, and ſuch as befall the people of God. No they were great, exceeding great, both for number and for nature: and what ſhall not we be patient under ſmall Afflictions?
2. That whatever we ſuffer, we have deſerved it; this ſhould quiet us. Do we ſuffer? why, have we not ſinned? Lam. 3. 39. Yea, but Chriſt ſuffered, and others deſerved it; he did not come to the Croſs as the Thieves did that were crucified with him: Mark what the good Thief ſaies, Luk. 23. 40, 41.—We receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiſs.
3. That whatever we ſuffer, if we be the people of God, we don't ſuffer with a curſe; we are afflicted, but we are not curſed; ſhould not this quiet us? But there was a curſe upon Chriſt while he ſuffered; He was made a curſe for us, Gal. 3. 13.
6. The excellency of this perſon will further appear, if we conſider with what admirable Humility he did all in this work. Never was there one ſo high in ſome reſpects, and yet ſo low in others. If he would have ſtood upon't, we muſt needs confeſs that he had ſo much worth, and greatneſs, and goodneſs in him, that the beſt upon Earth were not worthy to wait upon him, or to be in his company. See what John the Baptiſt, and the good Centurion, ſpeak in this thing,—Whoſe ſhoes I am not worthy to bear, ſays the firſt, Matth. 3. 11. I am not worthy that thou ſhouldſt come under my roof, ſays the other, chap. 8. 8. Nay, all the Angels of God are commanded to fall down before him, Heb. 1. 6. And yet, oh! how did he abaſe himſelf, tho he were the Son of God, tho he was the head of all principalities and power, tho he had in all things the preheminence; he was too good in ſome ſenſe to appear in ſuch a ſinful World as this is; and if he ſhould have appeared according to his excellency, his Majeſty would have been too bright for the eyes of man to behold him; but when he came to be our Redeemer, he laid his Glory aſide, or rather veiled it under a mean and baſe outward appearance; and he was content for a while to be as it were a Pearl of great price lying upon a Dunghil. I pray will you hearken a little to a few things wherein his great Humility was manifeſted, while he carried on this Freedom of ours; and afterwards I will tell you what you are to do with this famous Example of Chriſts.
1. He humbled himſelf in becoming a Man; you'l quickly ſee what great humiliation here was, if you conſider what he was before: why before he was Man, he was God: (but take heed, do not think that he did ceaſe to be God when he became Man, but he took the humane Nature to the Divine, and ſo both Natures, tho they were, and are, and ſhall be for ever diſtinguiſhed, were united together in one Perſon.) Hence 'tis ſaid, that God was manifeſted in the fleſh; and the word was made fleſh and dwelt among us. Now what an abaſement was here! Men and Angels may and will to all eternity admire it, that God ſhould come into the World in the likeneſs of ſinful fleſh! Beloved, if you ſhould ſee a King upon the Throne eſpouſe a beggar, would you not ſay 'twere an Act of great Humiliation in him? why thus the Lord Jeſus humbled himſelf, and much more, in becoming man; for he was the greateſt King that ever was, and our Nature was the verieſt Beggar that ever was. If you would look upon it a little under the conſideration of a Woman, the better to conceive of things; what a wife was here like to be for Chriſt? As pitiful a Creature as ever eye beheld, Poor, Naked, Loathſom, Wicked, Curſed; 'twas a Nature that looked like the Devil. I pray don't miſtake again; Chriſt did not take the deviliſhneſs of our nature; he kept Free from all the corruptions and pollutions of it; but he came as near to it as poſſible could be without ſin. I know not for my life how to expreſs it better to you than thus, I pray Mark it: He took the Humanity of our nature, but not the Iniquity; the Iniquity of it was imputed to him, but it was not united to him; it was laid upon him, but it was not in him; for he was holy, harmleſs, undefiled, ſeparate from ſinners, Heb. 7. 26. Now that the Divine nature, and our poor beggarly, loſt, undone nature ſhould thus meet together in the Perſon of Chriſt, that he ſhould take this to himſelf for an everlaſting companion: Oh! beloved, 'twas an high Advancement for us, but 'twas an unſpeakable Abaſement in Chriſt. If he ſhould have took the nature of Angels, it would have been a wonderful Humiliation in him; but that he ſhould take the nature of man, of ſinful man; that he ſhould come down from the Throne of his Glory, and embrace, and eſpouſe ſuch a beggar as this was, what an excellent perſon muſt Chriſt needs be for Humility? You ſhall find in Heb. 2. That this is brought in as a great Evidence of his Humility, (of which he is ſpeaking before, that he ſhould be one with us, and make us his brethren, and not be aſhamed to call us ſo, ver. 11.
2. In that he did not onelyonly humble himſelf ſo low as to become a Man, but that he would be of the loweſt rank of men in the World, Phil. 2. 7. He made himſelf of no reputation, and took upon himſelf the form of a ſervant. As he went up and down among men, they that knew not who he was, would have thought he had been ſome poor Servant, he had ſuch a baſe outward appearance; ſo that he took away all occaſion for any bodies asking ſuch queſtions as theſe: When they looked upon him, What gallant Gentleman is that, that goes there? What do you think that brave Suit coſt that he wears? No, I warrant you ſome asked queſtions that were rather contrary to theſe, What poor ſorry man that was? &c. He was not only a Servant to God, for that's an honourable thing; but he was a Servant to men, Luke 22. 27. I am among you as he that ſerveth; he did the greateſt Service for men that ever was, he delivered them out of the greateſt danger, he ſerved them ſo as to ſuffer for them; that's ſuch a notable piece of Service that no man is able to do one for another. If there could be ſuch a thing as that when any of you are to undergo great pains, another ſhould come and bear them for you; or when you are to dye, another ſhould come and dye for you, and ſo you ſhould not dye at all; or if the Wrath of God were ready to fall upon your Souls, another ſhould come and let all fall upon himſelf; what notable Service would this Perſon do you! Now ſuch a Servant to men was Chriſt; if they believe in him, he excuſes them from their eternal pains, and eternal Death, and from Gods eternal Wrath, by ſuffering it for them. And what a Servant to men did he ſhew himſelf in reference to their very Bodies, that he laboured like any Servant in doing good to them that way, in healing the Sick, in opening the Eyes of the Blind, in caſting out Devils! He went about every where, doing good, and healing all manner of diſeaſes among the people; yea, he ſtooped to the meaneſt Offices, Joh. 13. 4, &c. he waſhed the Diſciples feet, which was ſuch a humility in him, that Peter told him flat and plain, he ſhould never do it for him; and no doubt but he wondered that any of the other Diſciples would offer to let him do it to them. Chriſt was fain to bring him off from his peremptorineſs with a rowzing word, If I waſh thee not, thou haſt no part with me, verſ. 8. (Tho Chriſt had a ſpiritual meaning in it): or elſe he would never have yielded to it, he looked upon it as a thing ſo far below Chriſt; but rather than have no part with him, at laſt he did not only ſuffer it, but deſire it.
3. He ſhewed his humility in his ſubmitting himſelf to the Ordinances. Chriſt had no need of them, we muſt wait upon them, becauſe we have ſuch need of them, as much need of them as our Bodies have of Phyſick when they are Sick, and of Food when they are Hungry; but Chriſt he had no ſin in him, nor no grace imperfect, and yet he would come to the Ordinances; he was Circumciſed at eight days; and then when the New-Teſtament Ordinance of Baptiſm was ſet on foot by his forerunner John the Baptiſt, he came and would be Baptized himſelf, tho John wondered at his humility in it. See Matth. 3. 13, 14, 15. and ſo he went into Synagognes, as his manner was on the Sabbath-day, Luk. 4. 16.
4. In having no poſſeſſions in the World, I may ſay concerning Chriſt, in this caſe, as 'tis ſaid God dealt with Abraham about the Land of Canaan, Acts 7. 5. God gave him no inheritance in it, no not ſo much as to ſet his foot on, yet he promiſed that he would give it to him for a poſſeſſion. So you ſhall ſee God hath promiſed to Chriſt, Pſal. 2. 8. that he ſhould have all the World; and yet, when he was in it, he had not ſo much of his own, as to ſet his foot on, after the way of mens having poſſeſſions; he would not, to ſhew his humility. Hence you find him telling the Scribe that ſaid, he would follow him whither ſoever he went; that the Foxes have holes, and the Birds of the Air have neſts; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head, Matth. 8. 20. The Lord Jeſus Chriſt did that which many are afraid of; they are afraid of becoming poor: what! to have nothing, to be brought to nothing! but he became poor, 2 Cor. 8. 9.
5. In his aſſociating himſelf with the meaneſt ſort of perſons. He did not ſeek the acquaintance of the great ones of the World; one of his great acquaintance was John the Baptiſt, a man whoſe Raiment was of Camels hair, and a Leathern Girdle about his Loins; and others that he was moſt intimate with, they were a company of Fiſhermen, and he would eat with Publicans and Sinners, and be very familiar with the poor.
6. In his refuſing the preferments of the World, when they were offered to him. Sometimes he had a very fair occaſion in his way to make himſelf great upon Earth; but he would not cloſe with it; he could as willingly lay a Crown at his foot, as others could deſire to have it upon their heads, Joh. 6. 15. The truth is, he was made a greater King by his Father already, than any upon Earth could make him; he had ſet him as King upon his holy hill of Zion, Pſal. 2. 6. he had made him King in his Church, and King of Saints; but this was an Inviſible and Spiritual Government; the moſt neither knew or believed that he had a Kingdom which was not of this World.
7. In his Subjection to his Parents, of which you read Luke 2. 51. He behaved himſelf in all dutifulneſs towards them, going and coming at their lawful commands, with cheerfulneſs and obedience; he never gave them any juſt cauſe to find fault with him for any unbecoming carriage towards them; he was a Child that carried himſelf better towards his Parents, than his Parents did towards him; they were ſinful Parents, but he was an holy Child, filling up his Relation to them in the fear of God. And therefore you young ones, that have Parents, and carry your ſelves croſly, and ſtubbornly, and diſobediently towards them, tho God hath commanded you to honour your Father and Mother: Where did you learn to be ſo rebellious? are you too good to be ruled, and ordered by your Parents, when Chriſt thought not himſelf too good to be ſubject to his, and yet one of them was but his Father-in-Law, his ſuppoſed Father, as the Scripture calls Joſeph? Luk. 3. 23. Now, you are ready to think here that you may take more liberty. If it were your own natural Father or Mother, thoſe that you had been begotten and born of, then you'l ſay perhaps you would not be ſo ſtout; but Chriſt carried himſelf as dutiful to him that was but his Father-in-Law, as he did to his own Mother that bare him in her Womb; ſuch was his Humility!
8. In his tender condeſcending to the weakeſt in Grace, Matth. 12. 20. He had a company of Diſciples about him, that were but like little Children, in reſpect of ſpiritual ſtature, and ſo he often calls them; and yet, oh, how ſweetly did he condeſcend to them, by inſtructing them in their ignorance, and compaſſionating of them in their weakneſs, and bearing with them in their Infirmities!
9. In his not ſeeking his own commendation for any of the great things which he did or ſuffered, Joh. 5. 41. I receive not honour from men; he could ſpeak with the greateſt Wiſdom, and act with the greateſt Power, and live with the greateſt Holineſs, and ſuffer with the greateſt Patience, and yet nothing puffed him up. I cannot enlarge upon theſe things.
Now that which we are to do with this famous Example of Chriſt, is to learn from it to be humble, Matth. 11. 29. Whatever Mercies, whatever Gifts, whatever Graces, the Lord beſtows upon us, whatever uſe the Lord makes of us in one kind, or other, ſtill to lye low give all the Glory to God, and take none to our ſelves. It is the great ſin of many, that they cannot know a little more than others know, or do a little more than others do, or have a little more than others have, but preſently they are proud of it; and if no body will commend them, they'l commend themſelves. I beſeech you watch much againſt this ſin; Jeſus Chriſt hath made it the great mark of an Hypocrite, Matth. 6. 5. A true Chriſtian ſees ſo many defects in his beſt works, that he deſires rather to be aſhamed of them, than to glory in them.
7. We may conſider the Excellency of his Perſon, (in Relation to this Freedom), in his doing of what he did in it, with ſo much deſire. Beloved, this work did not at all look deſirably in it ſelf; never was there ſuch a black and dreadful face upon any work that ever was undertaken; and yet upon ſome accounts Chriſt deſired it, and deſired it ſo much, that I doubt not to ſay, he did rejoyce in his Spirit, to think that he was the Perſon that was to do it. You know that when there is a motion made, for the carrying on of ſome great deſign, that will be of publick and unſpeakable benefit, tho indeed it will coſt a deal to bring it to paſs, and the Perſon that is engaged in it, whoever he be, muſt be at a vaſt charge before he can finiſh it; why the very motioning of ſuch a thing raiſes our deſire, and we are full of good wiſhes towards it, and all people generally will long, Oh, that it might be carryed on! and they'l ſay 'tis a World of pitties that ſuch a noble deſign ſhould not be put forward; but ſuppoſe that the carrying on of it, ſhould be caſt by Authority upon any of our particular perſons; that the King ſhould ſingle out ſuch a man, whom he ſees to be much taken with the motion, and ſhould ſay, Well, I pitch upon you to be engaged in this buſineſs; truly, then our deſire towards the thing would be much damped, if it be our ſelves that muſt do it; and now we it may be, can rather deſire that the buſineſs ſhould be quite laid aſide, than that it ſhould be carried on by us; that 'tis we that muſt bear the burthen of it, and we that muſt be at the charge; how chill and cold will our affections grow to a work then, tho it be never ſo uſeful! but Jeſus Chriſt deſired that this great and coſtly work of our Redemption ſhould go on, tho the lot fell upon himſelf to do it: You have divers expreſſions in Scripture that ſignifie thus much; I will quote Four amongſt many. One is in Iſa. 53. 11. where what he did in this work, is called the Travel of his Soul; which, as I think, I have formerly hinted, I look upon as not only ſetting out the greatneſs of his Sufferings in it, but alſo the great deſire that he had to go through with it. A ſecond is, Luk. 12. 50. But I have a baptiſm to be baptized with, and how am I ſtraitned till it be accompliſhed! A third is, Joh. 18. 11. ſpeaking of the bitter Cup of his Sufferings, ſhall I not drink it? A fourth is, that in Heb. 10. 9. Lo, I come to do thy will, O God: The very words ſound, as if Chriſts deſire were upon the work; and if you compare it with Pſal. 40. 7, 8. from whence this is quoted, you ſhall ſee that there is no leſs a word put in there, than delight, which muſt needs carry deſire along with it; I delight to do thy will, O my God. Now, what an excellent perſon muſt this needs be, that could come to ſuch a hard, painful, coſtly work, under the weight of which all the Angels in Heaven would have ſunk into nothing, with ſo much deſire!
8. Which will yet further appear, if we conſider, that he ſhould do it with ſo much exactneſs as he did; there are ſome things that when they are done, we uſe to ſay, they are done after a faſhion, meaning, that they are ſorrily done; if another had had it in hand, it would have been another kind of thing. But beloved, this ſame Freedom of ours that Chriſt hath been a performing; oh, 'tis excellently done, moſt admirably done, 'tis the exacteſt, curiouſeſt piece that ever was wrought, 'tis done to the life; Chriſt hath ſhewn himſelf in it, a workman that needeth not to be aſhamed. I remember 'tis ſaid in Exod. 39. 43. That when they into whoſe hearts God had put wiſdom to deviſe curious works for the Tabernacle, brought all to Moſes when they had finiſhed it, Moſes looked upon all their work, and beheld that they had done it as the Lord commanded; Even ſo had they done it, i. e. with that exactneſs; and Moſes bleſſed them: ſo we have great cauſe to bleſs Chriſt, when we look upon this exact work of his, and to ſay, he hath done all things well, very well; there is not the leaſt thing miſſing in it; every way perfect, his work is like himſelf; Chriſt is a none-ſuch, and ſo is his work: View it from the beginning to the end, 'tis all over compleat; let the Saints look upon it, they'l ſay, the like was never ſeen; let Angels look upon it, and they'l ſay ſo too; let God himſelf look upon it, and he will ſay ſo too, and therefore his work is called the pleaſure of the Lord, Iſa. 53. 10. i. e. 'tis ſo done, as that he is well pleaſed with it. From hence we ſhould learn of Chriſt to be no bunglers in our work. Two things there be that Chriſtians ſhould much aim at: 1. To do what they ſhould; that God may not ſet us about ſuch and ſuch work, and we be doing that is contrary; when God bids you ſerve him, take heed, don't go, and inſtead of that, ſin againſt him; don't be about the Devils work, when you ſhould be about the Lords; remember you owe him Service, but you owe the Devil none; 'tis a good queſtion to be often asking your ſelves, Whoſe work am I a doing? 2. To do it as they ſhould, here the Lord knows we come miſerably ſhort; ſometimes we can ſee, through grace, that what we are about is good for the matter; but oh, then for the manner of doing it, how we fail in that! Sirs, where is your exactneſs in duty? You pray, but where is your exactneſs in prayer? You ſing, but where is your exactneſs in ſinging? You hear, but where is your exactneſs in hearing? How much better might every thing be done, than we do it? Eph. 5. 15. See then that you walk circumſpectly. It may be rendred thus out of the Greek: Look how exactly you walk [foreign]; how you come up to the height and fulneſs of duty. A man may be about that which he ſhould, and yet may be doing of it by halves; here may be a fault, and there may be a fault; tho you cannot work ſo faſt as you ſhould, yet be careful to do what you do, well. If you cannot write a faſt hand, yet labour to write a fair hand.
9. Chriſts excellency will appear further in this, That he did it for ſo many; that he could lay down a Ranſome that was ſufficient to Free ſo many; why how many, you'l ſay? that place in Joh. 17. 2. will tell you, to as many as the Father gave him; and they be not a few, conſidered by themſelves, tho they are but a ſmall number compared with them that periſh, Heb. 2. 10. Oh, beloved, there be many that will be the better for Chriſt to all eternity. Oh, that we may be ſome of them; that others may not be made rich by him, and we abide poor; that others may not have Freedom by him, and we remain in Bondage. What a worthy perſon muſt he needs be, that can help, and pardon, and ſanctifie, and ſave more than you or any Arithmetician in the World is able to take the ſum of them! Rev. 7. You have Gods redeemed people ſpoken of, and mark, they are look'd upon under a twofold conſideration. Firſt, as among the Jews, the people of God under the Old Teſtament, and there indeed you have their number brought in v. 4. One hundred forty four Thouſand, which you are not to take, as if it were exactly no more; but it is to ſhew, that in the days of the Old-Teſtament there were not, as indeed it could not be expected, ſo very many ſaved, becauſe the people of God were then confined to one Nation: But afterwards in v. 9. When the Goſpel is ſuppoſed to ſpread among the Gentiles; then their number is ſo great, that it cannot be taken by any man alive. And therefore you that fear God, you ſhall not want good company in Heaven: upon Earth you may; becauſe, perhaps the Saints may now live at ſuch a diſtance from you, that you can have but little of their Society. But in Heaven you'l be all together. 'Tis very true; if there were none but God there, you would do well enough, he will be all in all; and immediate communion with him, will make up a perfect bleſſedneſs, tho you were there with him alone; but you ſhall have God and Angels too, and God and all the Saints too, the whole Hoſt of the redeemed Ones by Chriſt, ſhall meet in one general Aſſembly, and there you ſhall ſee better than now you do, what an excellent Perſon Chriſt is, even upon this Account, that he hath made ſo many holy, and ſo many happy, and that he hath freed poor ſinners by thouſands, and thouſands of thouſands.
10. See the excellency of his Perſon further, In that he did all alone; he diſcharged this great work, and bare this heavy burthen without the help or hand of any Creature in Heaven or Earth, Iſa. 63. 3. I have trodden the wine-preſs alone, and of the people there was none to help me, Heb. 1. 3. he did all by himſelf; the truth is, there was no Creature above or below that could ſtrike one ſtroak in it; the work was of ſuch a nature, that if the beſt of them all had but medled in it, they had ſpoiled it. Angels in Heaven have a great deal of Skill, and Wiſdom, and Power, one of thoſe glorious Spirits can do more then a whole World of men, but if they had all joyned their skill, and their Power together; their Wiſdom would have proved but fooliſhneſs, and their Power but weakneſs in this matter; 'twas a buſineſs too great for any but the Son of God to be the Saviour of one Soul; but when he comes to it, his own arm brought Salvation. And as for any help from man; ſurely, if any body were like to lend him any Aſſiſtance, it muſt have been ſome of the good people that lived in that Generation, when he was in the days of his fleſh; but you know what the Scripture ſaith expreſly about that, that when he was in the very heat and brunt of his work, then all his Diſciples forſook him and fled, Matth. 26. 56. That which I would commend to you from hence, is this, That you would let Chriſt be all alone ſtill, I mean in the point of your Juſtification, he was ſo in the work of your Redemption. Now, as none was joyned with him there, ſo joyn nothing with him here: Sirs, whom do you look to for your Acceptance with God? Why you'l ſay to Chriſt, but is it Chriſt alone? Have you ſet him by himſelf in this thing? Some there be that hope for mercy from God, but they do not look to Chriſt at all; they have this and that of their own, which they hope will do; ſuch honeſt, and ſuch blameleſs, and ſuch righteous perſons as they are, muſt out of all queſtion, be in a good condition: this will prove a Rock to ſplit you on one ſide, to dream of Salvation without Chriſt, Gal. 3. 10. Others there be that look to Chriſt, but not to Chriſt alone. Some thing muſt be mingled with him; they'l do ſomething, and Chriſt muſt make up the reſt; this will prove a Rock to ſplit you on the other ſide. I tell you, your Faith will never be counted for righteouſneſs, if you make theſe wretched mixtures in the buſineſs of your Juſtification: 'Tis to him that worketh not, but believeth in him that juſtifieth the ungodly, that faith is counted for righteouſneſs, Rom. 4. 5.
11. Again, In that he did it at once, Heb. 10. 10. Once for all; when he went about it, he did it, and there was an end of it; he did not come into the World twice for it. He is counted a worthy perſon that can accompliſh a buſineſs of great concernment, tho he makes many a journey to the place where he is to do it; but Chriſt made but one journey from Heaven to Earth, about this work, and he finiſhed it; and therefore he gave up the Ghoſt, with thoſe words in his mouth, It is finiſhed: as if he ſhould ſay, there's nothing left for another time. Learn from hence what great things Chriſt can do in a little while, and wait upon him in the Faith of it. One thing that doth much help to caſt us, and keep us down in our Spirits when we have this and that trouble upon us, is our forgetting how quickly Chriſt can ſpeak to our condition; what a great work was it, when there aroſe ſuch a mighty Tempeſt in the Sea, and the Ship that the Diſciples were in, was covered with Waves, and they were all in danger to ſink preſently, to bring down theſe high Winds, and to lay thoſe hugh Waves! but Chriſt did it in a trice, Matth. 8. 24, 25, 26. Poor Chriſtian! haſt thou a great corruption to be ſubdued? haſt thou a ſtrong temptation to be removed? haſt thou a great ſtrait to be delivered out of? Remember Chriſt can do it at once; it may be thou haſt been hacking, and hewing at ſuch a ſin, or temptation, a hundred, and a hundred times, and trying many means, and all wont do: Why but at once Chriſt can do it; look to him better then thou doſt, if he ſtrike but one ſtroak at a luſt, down 'twill come; but one ſtroak at a temptation, it is gone.
12. Laſtly, The excellency of his perſon appears in this, That he performed this work of our Freedom, with ſo much overplus: According to that Scripture which I have formerly quoted, Rom. 5. 20. Where ſin abounded, grace did much more abound. If you ſhould lay our Bondage in one Scale of the Ballance, and this Freedom by Chriſt in the other, this will weigh that down to the ground. This Offering of Chriſts for the Salvation of Sinners that believe in him, may be alluded to, from that in Exod. 36. where you read that the Children of Iſrael offered ſo much towards the Service of the Tabernacle, that there was fain to be a Proclamation throughout the Camp, that there was brought in more than enough, and they ſhould now hold their hands, verſ. 5, 6, 7. But beloved, Chriſt hath brought in ſuch abundance for our Redemption, that if ever there were need of a Proclamation to ſtop any from doing no more in a good work, 'twas in this caſe; 'tis true that our ſins, and wants, and miſeries, were very great; but this remedy for them, is above them, beyond all expreſſion. I had almoſt ſaid, if it be poſſible for a Soul to be overſaved, Chriſt hath done it. It muſt needs have been a great comfort to believers, when they had thought of this Freedom by Chriſt, if they could but have ſaid this of it, Well, bleſſed be God, there is enough; tho there be nothing over, yet there is nothing wanting; we have not a ſin but he can pardon, we have not a want but he can ſupply; he hath as much as we can need. Oh! but there is much more comfort than ſo, much more cauſe of rejoycing for them; for they may ſay, that 'tis not poſſible for them to take in what he is able to give out. When the prodigal thought of his Fathers houſe, ſaith he, (Luke 15. 17.) There's bread enough and to ſpare: So when you think of Chriſt, you may ſay, There's Freedom enough, and to ſpare. And oh, that God would help you poor ſinners, in the thinking of this, to reflect upon your ſelves, as the Prodigal did upon himſelf, when he ſpake thoſe words, that there was in his Fathers houſe bread enough, and to ſpare; and I periſh with hunger, ſaith he; as if he ſhould ſay, Why then, what do I do here in my undone famiſhed condition? Why don't I go thither? Wretch that I am! is not that a better place for me, than this is? He had, through mercy, ſuch a ſenſe of his preſent condition, that he could not endure to be in it any longer. I will ariſe and go to my Father, &c. verſ. 18. and when he came to him, there he found enough, and to ſpare indeed; there was compaſſion in the Fathers heart, and running towards him when he ſaw him, and falling upon his neck and kiſſing of him; and calling for the beſt Robe, and for the Ring, and the Shooes, and for the fatted Calf to be killed. So Sirs, if you would come to Chriſt once, you would come to one that hath enough, and to ſpare; there wants but one thing, which indeed was that which brought the Prodigal home, and the Lord work it in you: And that is, he was grown ſo hungry that he thought verily he ſhould have periſhed. Oh, that it were but come to this with you, that are yet afar off, that you had ſuch a kind of hunger after Chriſt; and I would make no doubt but you alſo would quickly ſay, I will ariſe and go to him.