Sermons, Sermon 17
SERMON XVII▪
Rom. VIII. 35, &c. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or …amine, or nak…dness, or peril, or sword? &c.
IS this he that so lately cry'd out, O wretched Man that I am! Who shall deliver me? That now triumphs, O happy Man! Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Yes, tis the same. Pained then with the thoughts of that miserable conjunction, with a Body of Death, and so crying out, who will deliver? Who will separate me from that now? Now he hath found a Deliverer to do that for him, to whom he is for ever united, and he glories now in his inseparable Union, and unalterable Love, that none can divide him from; yea, it is through him, that presently after that word of complaint he praises God, and now in him he triumphs. So vast a difference is there betwixt a Christian taken in himself, and in Christ, when he views himself in himself, then nothing but wretched, and wretched, a polluted perishing Wretch; but then he looks again, and sees himself in Christ, and there he's rich, and safe, and happy, he triumphs, and he glories in it above all the painted Prosperities, and against all the hor…id Adversities of the World, he lives in his Christ content and happy, and laughs at all Enemies.
And he extends his triumph, he makes a common good of it to all Believers, speaks it in their name, who shall separate us, and would have them partake of the same confidence, and speak in the same stile with him. It is vain that men fancy these to be expressions of Revelations, or some singularly priviledg'd Assurances, then they would not suit their end, which is clearly and undoubtedly the encouragement of all the Children of God, upon grounds that are peculiar to them from all the rest of the World, but common to them all, in all Ages, and all varieties of condition.
It is true, all of them have not a like clear and firm apprehension of their happy and sure estate, and scarce any of them are alike at all times, yet they have all and always the same right to this estate, and to the comfort of it, and when they stand in a right light to view it, they do see it so, and rejoice in it.
There be indeed some kind of assurances that are more rare and extraordinary, some immediate glances, or co…uscations of the love of God upon the Soul of a Believer; a smile of his Countenance, and this doth exceedingly refresh, yea, ravish the Soul, and enables it mightily for Duties and Sufferings. These he dispenses arbitrarily and freely where and when he will; some weaker Christians sometimes have them, while stronger are strangers to them, the Lord training them to live more contentedly by Faith till the day of Vision come.
And that is the other, the less ex…atical, but the more constant and fixed kind of assurance, the proper assurance of Faith, the Soul by believing cleaves unto God in Christ as he offers himself in the Gospel, and thence is possest with a sweet and calm perswasion of his love, that being the proper work to appropriate him, to make Christ, and in him Eternal Life, ours; so 'tis the proper result and fruit of that its acting, especially when it acts any thing strongly to quiet the Soul in him. Then being Justified by Faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and from that Peace, Joy; yea▪ even glorying in Tribulation, as there follows. And these springing not from an extraordinary sense or view, but from the very innate Vertue of Faith working kindly, and according to its own Nature.
Therefore many Christians do prejudice their own Comfort, and darken their Spirits, by not giving freedom to Faith, to act according to its Nature and proper Principles; they will not believe till they find some evidence, or assurance, which is quite to invert the order of the thing, and to look for Fruit without settling a Root for it to grow from.
Would you take Christ upon the absolute word of promise tendring him to you, and rest on him, so this would ingraft you into life it self, for that he is, and so those Fruits of the Holy Ghost would bud and flourish in your hearts; from that very believing on him, would arise this perswasion, yea, even to a gloriation, and an humble boasting in his love, who shall accuse, who shall condemn, who shall separate.
The undivided Companion, and undoubted Helper and Preserver of this confidence of Faith, is an active love to Christ, a constant study of Holiness, and strife against Sin, which is the grand enemy of Faith, that obstructs the very Vital Spirits of Faith, that makes it sickly and heavy in its actings, and causes the Palsie in the hand of Faith, that it cannot lay so fast hold. Therefore this you would be careful of, yea, know that of necessity it attends Faith, and as Faith grows, Holiness will grow, and Holiness growing will mutually strengthen and establish Faith; the Comforts of the Holy Ghost are holy purifying Comforts, and the more the Soul is purify'd, and made holy, the more is it cleared and enlarged, to receive much of these Comforts. Blessed are the pure heart, they shall see God; Unholiness is as damps and filthy mists in the Soul, it darkens all.
Hence it is evident in what way Christians may and ought to aspire to this Assurance, it is their Portion, and in this way they are to aspire to it, and shall find it, if not presently, yet let them wait and go on in this way, they shall not miscarry.
Again it appears, that this assurance is no enemy to Holy Diligence, nor friend of Carnal Security; on the contrary, it is the only thing that doth eminently ennoble and embolden the Soul for all adventures and services. Base fears and doubtings, wherein some place much of Religion, and many weak Christians seem to be in that mistake, to think it a kind of holy spiritual temper to be questioning and doubting. I say, these base fears can never produce any thing truly generous, no height of obedience, they do nothing but entangle and disable the Soul for every good work, perfect love casts out this fear, and works a sweet unperplexing fear, a holy wariness not to offend, which fears nothing else. And this confidence of Love is the great secret of Comfort, and of Ability to do God service. Nothing makes so strong and healthful a Constitution of Soul as pure Love, it dares submit to God, and resign it self to him, it dare venture it self in his hand, and trust his word, and seeks no more but how to please him. A heart thus composed, goes readily and chearfully unto all services, to do, to suffer, to live, to die, at his pleasure, and firmly stands to this, that nothing can separate it from that which is sufficient to it, which is all its happiness, the love of God in Christ Jesus.
That is indeed his love to us, but so as it includes inseparably the inseparableness of our love to him; for observe the things specify'd as most likely, if any thing, to separate us; Shall tribulation, distress, &c. Now these especially, being endured for his sake, cannot immediately have any likely Visage of altering his love to us, but rather confirm us in it; but these shall not separate us neither, by altering our love to him, by driving us from him, and carrying us into any way of defection, or denial of his Name, and so cut us off from our union with him, and interest in his love; and that is the way wherein the weak Christian will most apprehend the hazard of Separation. Now the Apostle speaks his own sense, and would raise in his Brethren the same confidence as to that danger.
No fear; not one of these things shall be able to carry us away; these mighty Waves shall not unsettle our Faith, nor quench the flame of our Love, we shall be Victors and more, in all, but how? Through him that hath loved us.
This his love makes sure ours, he hath such hold of our hearts as he will not let go, nor suffer us to let go our hold; all is fast by his strength. He will not lose us, nor shall any be able to pluck us out of his hand.
Jesus Christ is the Medium of this love, the middle link that keeps all safe together betwixt God and Man, so close united in his personal Nature, and the persons of men in and by him, to the Father. So here it is first called the love of Christ, and then in the close, the love of God in Christ, the Soul first carry'd to him as nearest, but so carry'd by him into that Primitive Love of God that flows in Christ, and that gave even Christ to us as before. And this is the bottom truth, the firm ground of the Saints perseverance, which men not taking aright, must needs question the matter, yea, may put it out of question upon their suppositions; for if our own purposes and strength were all we had to relie on, alas! how soon were we shaken.
So the love of God in Christ is not only here mentioned as the point of happiness from which we cannot be removed, but as the principle of firmness that makes it self sure of us, and us of it, and will not part with us.
Now it is no pride in a Christian, but the truest humility to triumph and glory in this. This is it that makes all sure; this is the great comfort, and the victory of the Saints.
He that loved us, and bought us so dear, will not lightly slip from us, yea, upon no terms will he let us go, unless some stronger than he is, meet with him, and by force bereave him of us; which we know is impossible. He and his Father, who are one in themselves, and in their strength, and one in this love, are greater and stronger than all; and he that once overcame for us, always overcomes in us.
Thus he lets tentations and tribulations assaule us, and this neither unargues his love, nor endangers his right to us; yea, it doth but give proof and evidence of the Invincible firmness of both. He suffers others to lie soft, and sit warm, and pamper their flesh at leisure, but he hath nobler business for his Champions, his Worthies, and most of all for the stoutest of them, he calls them forth to honourable Services, to the hardest Encounters he sets them on, one to fight with Sickness, another with Poverty, another with Reproaches, and Persecutions, with Prisons, and Irons, and with Death it self; and all this while, loves he the less, or they him? Oh! No, he looks on and rejoices to see them do Valiantly, 'tis the Joy of his heart, no sight on Earth so sweet to him; and 'tis all the while by his subduing, and in his strength, that they hold out in the Conflict, and obtain the Conquest.
And thus they are the more endeared to him by these Services, and these Adventures of love for him, and he still likewise is the more endeared to them; certainly the more any one suffers for Christ, the more he loves Christ, as love doth grow and engage it self by all it does and suffers, and burns hotter by what it encounters and overcomes, as by fewel added to it, as to Jesus Christ by what he suffered for us we are the dearer to him, so he is to us by all we suffer for his sake.
Love grows most by opposition from others whosoever, when it is sure of acceptance, and the correspondence of mutual love in the party loved. Above all this heavenly Divine Love is strong as Death, a vel…ement flame, a flame of God indeed, as the word is, and many waters cannot quench it, not all these that here follow one another, Tribulation, Distress, Persecution, Famine, Nakedness, Peril, Sword, yea, in the midst of these, I say, it grows; the Soul cleaves closer to Christ, the more attempts are made to remove it from him, though killed all the day long. (This passage from the Psalm, is most sit both to testifie, that Persecution is not unusually the lot of the Saints, and to give instance of their firm adherence to God in all troubles, as the Church there professeth, and if the Saints in that dispensation could reckon in such a manner, much more ought Christians, upon a clearer discovery of the Covenant of Grace, and their union with God in Christ.) The Saints are as in a common Butchery in the World, yet not only as Sheep for the Slaughter, but sometimes as Sheep for the Altar, men thinking it as Sacrifice. They that kill you (says our Saviour) shall think they do God service; yet even this pulls not from him, they part with life; Ay, why not, this life is but a death, and he is our life for whom we lose it.
All these do but increase the victories and triumphs of Love, and make it more glorious; as they tell of her multiplying labours to that Champion they are not only Conquerors, but more than Conquerors, by multiply'd Victories, and they gain in them all both more honour, and more strength; they are the fitter for new adventures, and so more than simple Conquerors. We overcome, and are sure not to lose former Conquests, but to add more, and Conquer on to the end, which other Conquerors are not sure of; oftentimes they out-live their own Successes and Renown, and lose on a sudden what they have been gaining a whole life time; not so here. We are secured in the Author of our Victories, 'tis through him that hath loved us, and he cannot grow less, yea, shall still grow greater, till all his Enemies be made his Footstool.
Having given the Challenge, and finding none to answer, and that all, the most apparent, are in a most Rhetorical Accumulation silenced; Tribulation, Distress, Persecution, Famine, Nakedness, Peril, Sword, &c. He goes on confidently in the triumph, and avers his assurance of full and final Victory against all imaginable power of all the Creatures, neither Death nor Life, nor the fear of the most terrible Death; nor the hope, or love of the most desirable life: And in the height of this Courage and Confidence, he supposes impossible Enemies, Angels, Principalities, &c. unless you take it of the Angels of Darkness only, but if it could be possible that the other should offer at such a thing, they would be too weak for it. No sense of any present things, or apprehensions of things to come, not any thing within the vast circle of the World above or below, nor any Creature can do it. Here Sin is not specify'd, because he is speaking of outward oppositions and difficulties expressly, and because that is removed by the former challenge, Who shall accuse? That asserting a free and final acquittance of all sin; a pardon of the curse, which yet will never encourage any of these to sin, that live in the assurance of this love. Oh! no, and these general words do include it too, Nothing present nor to come, &c. So it is carried clear, and is the satisfying comfort of all that Jesus Christ hath drawn after him, and united in his love.
'Tis enough, whatsoever they may be separated from, the things or persons dearest in this World, 'tis no matter, the Jewel is safe, none can take my Christ from me; and I safe in him, as his purchase, none can take me from him. And being still in his love, and through him in the Fathers love, that is sufficient. What can I fear? What can I want? All other hazards signifie nothing; how little value are they of? And for how little a while am I in danger of them? Methinks all should look on a Believer with an emulous eye, and wish his estate more than a Kings.
Alas! poor Creatures, rich men, great men, Princes and Kings; what vain things are they that you embrace and cleave to, whatsoever they be, soon must you part; can you say of any of them, who shall separate us? Storms may arise, and scatter Ships that Sail fairly together in fair weather; thou mayest be removed, by publick Commotions and Calamities, from thy sweet Dwellings, andLinquenda tellus & domus & placeus uxor, &c. Societies, and Estates, &c. You may even live to see, and seek your parting. At last you must part, for you must die; then farewel Parks and Palaces, Gardens and Honours, and even Crowns themselves: then dearest Friends, Children, and Wife, must be parted with▪ And what hast thou left, poor Soul, that hast not Christ, but that which thou wouldst gladly part with and canst not. The condemning guilt of all thy Sins?
But the Soul that is in Christ, when other things are pull'd away, he feels little or nothing, he cleaves to Christ, and these separations pain him not. Yea, when that great Separatist, Death, comes, that breaks all other unions, even that of the Soul and Body, yet so far is it from separating the Believers Soul from its Beloved Lord Jesus, that on the contrary, it carries it into the nearest union with him, and fullest enjoyment of him for …ver.