Precious Faith Considered, Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
Of the ſecond holy fruit of Faith in Juſtification, its growth upon Faith as a fruit thereof; with the manner, continuance, perfection, and various excellencies of the ſame.
THUS much for the firſt fruit of faith, being the ſpiritual ſagacities thereof; whereby it appears, that the believer is the only wiſe man, who hath eyes in his head, whileſt all the reſt of the world, be they what they will in notional knowledge, walk on in darkneſs.
The ſecond holy fruit of faith is Juſtification, which is a very great bleſſing, ſo great that in Luthers phraſe it is articulus ſtantis & cadentis Eccleſiae; and in Chemnitius, arx & propugnaculum religionis Chriſtianae, a bleſſing that is pregnant with many more; which occaſioned a good Divine to ſay, ſin committed is every judgment radically, and pardon of ſin is every mercy radically, you may cut out any bleſſing or comfort out of it; particular mercies are but pardon of ſin ſpecificated and individuated, brought into this or that mercy; of all bleſſings you may ſay, this is pardon of ſin, and that is pardon of ſin. Touching this precious fruit of faith, I ſhall endeavour to ſhew theſe things.
Firſt, That it grows upon faith as a fruit.
Secondly, The manner how it grows there.
Thirdly, The continuance of it.
Fourthly, The perfection of it.
Fifthly, The various excellencies of it.
Firſt, This holy fruit grows upon faith; in the very inſtant of believing a man is juſtified before God. The Antinomians indeed makes as if it came forth much ſooner, even as early as eternity it ſelf, as if it were an immanent eternal act in God. But the error of this opinion may be eaſily made appear: For,
Firſt, An immanent act abides in God, and doth not, as the tranſient, make any change at all in the creature; but in juſtification there is a great change made in man, though not a Phyſical one, ſuch as is made in ſanctification, yet as moral and a relative one: the ſins which before cried at heaven gates for vengeance, are now caſt into the depths of the ſea; the ſoul, which was at the brink of hell, is now in the ſuburbs of heaven; the pure beams of grace breaking forth upon it, the priſon garments of guilt are changed, and the righteouſneſs of God is upon the believer, the blood of the Lamb is upon his conſcience, and the damning deſtroying Law paſſes over him. Again, an immanent act in God is the ſame with Gods eſſence, and not as the tranſient, the ſame with the effect produced. Gods willing is but the divine eſſence, with an habitude to ſuch an object; his decrees are himſelf decreeing, otherwiſe the ſimplicity of his nature would be overthrown: ſuch an immanent act is the decree of juſtification, but juſtification it ſelf is an effect in time, elſe Gods judicial act may be exerciſed about a non-exiſting creature, a non ens may be juſtified, a man that is not may be made righteous, fin may be remitted before it is committed, abſolution may anticipate guilt, and righteouſneſs Law, all which are things hard to be ſwallowed. If any thing in juſtification look like an immanent act, it is either Gods complacential love, or the imputation of righteouſneſs; but that neither of theſe are ſuch, is clear in Scripture, which expreſſes the ſame as things future, he that loveth me ſhall be loved of my father, ſaith our Saviour, Joh. 14.21. righteouſneſs ſhall be imputed to us, if we believe, Rom. 4.24. a ſhall be cannot be put upon an immanent act, futurity cannot be found in eternity.
Secondly, If juſtification were an immanent eternal act, what means a Mediator? God and man were at one before; would the Lord of all be made under his own Law, to bring in righteouſneſs into an already righteous world? would he ſhed his precious blood on a croſs to purge away ſins eternally forgiven? was his ſweet-ſmelling ſacrifice to atone a reconciled God? did he pay down ſo great a ſum of merits to purchaſe a freedom for ſuch as were free-born long before? doth he ſtill intercede with God to ſave thoſe from wrath, who before were ſecure from it by an eternal juſtification? this opinion ſeems to make void the whole ſatisfaction of Jeſus Chriſt; what the Apoſtle ſaid of the Law, if righteouſneſs come by the Law, then Chriſt is dead in vain, Gal. 2.21. the ſame may be ſaid here, if righteouſneſs come any other way then by the death of Chriſt, if it come by an immanent eternal act, then Chriſt is dead in vain.
Thirdly, No man can be at once in two contrary ſtates, in a ſtate of wrath, and in a ſtate of love too: every man, whileſt an unbeliever, is in a ſtate of wrath, the wrath of God abides on him, Joh. 3.36. God is angry with him every day, Pſal. 7.11. and whileſt he is in a ſtate of wrath, he cannot be in a ſtate of love. Joſeph, whileſt he was in priſon in his old cloaths, was not in change of raiment in Pharaohs Court. St. Paul, reckoning up a black Catalogue of ſins, barring men from inheriting the kingdom of God, ſaith of the unconverted Corinthians, ſuch were ſome of you, 1 Cor. 6.11. as yet they were in the chains of ſin and wrath, and immediately after ſpeaking of them as converted, he ſaith, but ye are ſanctified, but ye are juſtified in the name of the Lord Jeſus, and by the ſpirit of our God; then the priſoners were become favourites in the Court of heaven, and ſtood in their robes of grace and righteouſneſs: then and not before, as evidently appears by the words, were and are, relating to two diſtinct ſtates in two diſtinct times, they were not, could not be in both ſtates at once, but if juſtification be eternal, a man may be at once in contrary ſtates, as an unbeliever he may be under wrath, and yet as a juſtified one under love. I know a man under wrath may be under a love of benevolence, which is the purpoſe of God to beſtow grace and glory, but he cannot at the ſame time be under a love of complacence, which is directly contrary to a ſtate of wrath, nevertheleſs eternal juſtification makes a man capable of both at once.
Fourthly, Juſtification and ſanctification are inſeparable companions, no more to be ſundred then the merits and ſpirit of Chriſt which are the reſpective cauſes thereof: where grace pardons, there it heals, where Chriſt is made righteouſneſs, there he is made ſanctification, for he cannot be divided and taken by piece-meal, but if juſtification be an eternal act, then theſe twins of grace may be parted, an unconverted man may be juſtified, becauſe that is from eternity, and withall unſanctified, becauſe unconverted; in which caſe he muſt needs be in a ſtrange poſture, at once under two contrary reigns of grace and ſin; partly in Chriſt, as juſtified by his blood, and partly out of Chriſt, as void of his ſpirit; the light of Gods countenance ſhines upon him, and yet within he wears the image of Satan, a bleſſed one he muſt needs be, becauſe his iniquity is forgiven, and an anathema too, becauſe no lover of Jeſus Chriſt; he is a juſtified and accepted man, and yet a man in his ſins, all which abſurd conſequences are unavoidable, if juſtification be an eternal act.
Thus much may ſuffice to diſcover the error of this opinion, only there are two Quaeres which muſt be anſwered.
Firſt, The firſt Quaere is this, If juſtification be not an eternal immanent act, is not there a change in God? God diſplicentially hates all the workers of iniquity, and ſuch are all men before converſion; if therefore before converſion he hate, and after it he love them, is there not a change in him? I anſwer, no, there is none. God, ſuch is his infinite ſanctity, cannot but complacentially love righteouſneſs, and diſplicentially hate iniquity: love and hatred are not in God, as ſin and righteouſneſs are in man, in man ſin and righteouſneſs ſucceed one the other, but in God love and hatred are eternal and ſimultaneous; the change therefore, which is where the ſucceſſion is, and not where the eternal ſameneſs is, is in man only, and not in God; the man, who was in a ſtate of ſin, and ſo the object of Gods diſplicential hatred, is now in a ſtate of righteouſneſs, and ſo the object of Gods complacential love; thus the Apoſtle, you that were ſometimes alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled, Col. 1.21. All the change was in the Coloſſians, none in God, the Lord loveth the righteous, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 146.8. as ſoon as a man becomes righteous, the divine complacence doth embrace him, which it did not, could not before, becauſe there was no ſutable object.
Secondly, The ſecond Quaere is this, If juſtification be not an immanent eternal act, what is the tranſient act by which God juſtifieth a believer in this life?
Unto this much is not ſpoken among Divines, ſome ſpeak of a ſentence before the Angels, as if God did declare before them who is righteous; but this I think is altogether unſcriptural: others ſpeak of a ſentence in conſcience, but this is but the manifeſtation of juſtification. Let us firſt diſtinguiſh of juſtification, and then anſwer. There is a double juſtification, conſtitutive juſtification, whereby God maketh us juſt in this life; ſentential juſtification, whereby God pronounces us juſt at death and judgment. Conſtitutive juſtification is the foundation of ſentential, for the true God will not pronounce us juſt unleſs we are ſuch, and ſentential juſtification is the compleature of conſtitutive: For here there is ſententia judicis crowning us as righteous; the Quaere then being touching conſtitutive juſtification in this life, I conceive with worthy Mr. Baxter, that God juſtifies a believer by the moral agency of the Goſpel, by which as by his Grand Charter and Law of grace, he doth make over Chriſt and his righteouſneſs to the believer, neither need this ſeem ſtrange, every humane inſtrument doth, moraliter agere. A Princes pardon conveys an impunity, a Charter an eſtate, a Law a title or right, a Teſtament a Legacy, and ſhall not the Goſpel do as much to believers? God doth conſtitutivè juſtifie the believer by making him righteous, and makes him righteous by making over to him the righteouſneſs of Chriſt, and that he makes over by the Goſpel, which is his Pardon, Charter, Law and Teſtament of grace, conveying the ſame upon believing: no ſooner doth a man believe, but the conditional promiſe becomes abſolute. As the old Covenant running, do this and live, would have juſtified upon perfect obedience, ſo the New running, believe and be ſaved, doth juſtifie upon believing, as man ſinning is condemned by the Law of works, ſo man believing is juſtified by the Law of grace. Hence the Goſpel is called, the miniſtration of righteouſneſs as the Law is of condemnation, 2 Cor. 3.9. the power of God to ſalvation to the believer, Rom. 1.16. quia nos per Evangelium juſtiſicat Deus, becauſe God juſtifies us by the Goſpel, as Reverend Calvin hath it on the 17th. verſe, Virga virtutis, A rod of ſtrength, Pſal 110.2. that is, in the Juſtification of men, ſaith the excellent Dr. Reynolds; and the law of the ſpirit of life in Chriſt Jeſus making us free from the law of ſin and death; as many Divines interpret that place, Rom. 8.2. Upon which Pareus doth obſerve, Liberatio à condemnatione legis, Deo, Chriſto, Evangelio tribuitur, Deo ut Authori, Chriſto ut Mediatori, Evangelio ut Organo: Freedom from the coudemnation of the Law is attributed to God as the Author, to Chriſt as the Mediatour, to the Goſpel as the Inſtrument. God makes over Chriſt and his righteouſneſs unto the Believer by the Goſpel, as by his Charter and Law of grace. This is the tranſient act, by which God doth juſtifie us in this life.
Having thus removed the Antinomian Error out of the way, I ſhall reſume my firſt Propoſition, That Juſtification is an holy fruit growing upon Faith; in the very inſtant of believing a man is juſtified; this doth appear ſeveral waies.
Firſt, In Juſtification there muſt be a matter or foundation; a Righteouſneſs, and a perfect one, ſuch as anſwers the law which man is under. The Law demands of us two things; perfect Obedience, due from us as rational Creatures, and penal Suffering, due from us as ſinful Creatures. The firſt Gods holineſs preſſes for in the Command, and the laſt Gods Juſtice calls for in the Threatning. The Believer, who hath nothing in himſelf, hath enough in Chriſt to anſwer both. Chriſt fulfilled all the righteouſneſs of the Command, and ſo ſatisfied Gods Holineſs. Chriſt bore the curſe of the Threatning, and ſo ſatisfied Gods Juſtice. Hence he is the end of the Law to the Believer, Rom. 10.4. as if the Apoſtle had ſaid, Whatever the Law can ask, the total ſum of it is in Chriſt, and from him redounding upon the Believer as a member of his body. It was a lamentable moan which Joannes Seneca made upon his Deathbed;Mel. Adam. in vitis Jureconſul. Germanorum. In vitâ noſtrâ habuimus (ſaid he) qui pro nobis chorum frequentarent, qui pro nobis agros colerent, qui pro nobis Miſſas celebrarent & horas canonicas orarent; ſed ubi nunc unum reperiemus, qui pro nobis in Gehennam deſcendat: In this life we have thoſe that will go to the Quire for us, and plow for us, and ſay Maſs and pray canonically for us; but where is there one that will go to Hell for us? But the Believer (bleſſed man that he is) need not ſay who will go to Hell for me? Chriſt was made a Curſe for him, neither need he ask, Who will fulfil perfect obedience for me? Chriſt hath done every jot and tittle thereof. The Believer is a man in Chriſt, and ſo ſtands in the pure robes, woven all of Love and Holineſs, by his Saviour; unleſs the Law can find a ſpot or a falſe thread in theſe, he will be, muſt be recius in Curiâ; if the Law offer to hale him down to hell, he will do as Tamar, when brought forth to be burnt, ſhew forth the Bracelets and the Signet, the precious blood and merits of Chriſt, which God cannot but own, as the price of Redemption and Salvation.
Secondly, In juſtification there muſt be a Juſtifier. It is God that juſtifieth, and whom doth he juſtifie but the Believer in Jeſus? unto him he makes over Chriſt and his righteouſneſs; unto him he ſeals an actual pardon and remiſſion; his ſins are covered, never to appear more in their ugly hue; blotted out, never to be read more in their bloody characters; caſt into the depths of the Sea, and who can fetch them up again? ſought for and not found, and who can charge them afreſh upon the Believer? St. Paul would have the debts of Oneſimus put upon his account, Philem. v. 18. The Believers ſins do not ſtand, as they did at firſt, upon his ſcore, but upon Chriſts, who came to make an end of them. When the ſwarms of Flies were upon the Egyptians and not upon the Iſraelites, the Text ſaith, God made a diviſion; or, as it is in the original, A redemption between them, Exod. 8.23. That ſwarms of Guilt ſlie about Unbelievers, and none about Believers, it is becauſe the redemption is between them, on the one hand neglected, and on the other applied: We are juſtified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Jeſus Chriſt, Rom 3.24. The Believer is, as I may ſay, a part or portion of Chriſt, wrapped up in his Righteouſneſs, and waſhed in his Blood; an Object all-fair and lovely in the eyes of God, and accepted in the Beloved.
Thirdly, Juſtification relates to the Law, which is norma judicii, the rule of Judgment. A Believer hath wherewithal to anſwer both Laws; as to the law of Works, he hath Chriſts Righteouſneſs anſwering the demands of it; as to the law of Grace, he hath Faith anſwering the terms of it. Do this and live is anſwered by Chriſts Righteouſneſs; Believe and be ſaved is anſwered by Faith. Chriſtus eſt impletio legis, ſpiritus eſt impletio Evangelii. Chriſt by his pure Obedience fulfilled the Law, the Spirit by working Faith fulfils the Goſpel. If the Believer be charged before God that he is a finner, he can plead the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, as a full diſcharge to the Law. If he be charged, that he is an Unbeliever, he can plead his faith as the condition of the Goſpel. If he be further charged, that his very Faith is imperfect, he can again plead the Righteouſneſs of Chriſt againſt thoſe imperfections. His imperfect Faith intitles him to the perfect Righteouſneſs of Chriſt; and that perfect righteouſneſs removes the imperfections of his ſaith. Oh! happy Believer, whom God himſelf may ſearch once and again by either Law, and find nothing of condemnation in him. If the Law come to him, it finds Chriſt the end and perfection of all holineſs there: If the Goſpel come, it finds Faith its own demand and condition there; wherefore leſs than righteous he cannot be. Thus much touching the firſt thing, that this holy fruit grows upon Faith.
Secondly, The next thing is the manner how it grows there; How we are ſaid to be juſtified by Faith; unto which I ſhall Anſwer firſt Negatively, and then Affirmatively.
Firſt, Negatively: Faith doth not juſtifie by its own intrinſecal value and and dignity. There is nothing in it commenſurate to ſo great a bleſſing; nothing in it to meaſure with the pure Law; nothing in it to pay off divine Juſtice; nothing in it to weigh againſt the guilt of Sin; nothing in it to purchaſe the favour of God; nothing in it to cover a Soul withal; no, nor the nakedneſs of its own imperfections. It is a poor ſelf-emptying, ſelf-annihilating thing, which lives upon Alms, and goes up and down in the Goſpel from one door of the Promiſes to another to beg a Spiritual livelyhood: all that it hath is in a way of Receiving. It receives the atonement, receives the gift of righteouſneſs, receives the ſpirit of Grace, receives remiſſion of ſins; but gives none of them out of its own. Hence it is well obſerved by Divines, that the Scripture never ſaith, Faith juſtifieth in an active ſenſe; but alwaies, we are juſtified by Faith in a paſſive ſenſe, becauſe it receives all from Chriſt. This humble Grace, whoſe poſture is to fall down and worſhip before the thrones of Free-grace and of the Lamb: will not turn Free-grace off the throne, nor like Zimri, ſlay its Maſter Jeſus Chriſt in his merits and imputed righteouſneſs, that it may reign in his room. Again, Faith doth not juſtifie as coming in the room of that perfect righteouſneſs which we owe unto the Law, for God is true, and judgeth according to truth; he doth not, cannot do as the unjuſt Steward, who for an hundred meaſures of oil bid write fifty, but he accounts of things as they are. Faith, which is but a piece of righteouſneſs, and that very imperfect, will not go with him for a compleat univerſal righteouſneſs, but only for what it is; neither will it ſalve the matter to ſay, as the Socinians uſe to do, That Faith, though it be not in it ſelf a perfect righteouſneſs, is yet reckoned as ſuch per gratioſam Dei acceptilationem, by the condeſcending grace of God; for in God, in whom there is perfect Unity, one Attribute doth not interfere with another. Free-grace will not juſtle out truth, by accepting a partial righteouſneſs for a total, which indeed it is not; neither doth a divine Attribute ever claſh againſt its own deſign. Free-grace will not ſo accept faith, as to fruſtrate its own deſign in the Mediatour Jeſus Chriſt; which, as appears in Scripture, was, that Chriſt ſhould be made our righteouſneſs, 1 Cor. 1.30. that we might be the righteouſneſs of God in him, 2 Cor. 5.21. that his blood may cleanſe us from all ſin, 1 Joh. 1.7. that his obedience might make many righteous, Kom. 5.19. but what need all this if Faith be accepted for a compleat righteouſneſs? what room for Chriſts righteouſneſs, as long as Faiths will ſuffice? You will ſay perhaps, that Chriſt by his merits hath purchaſed this of God, that faith ſhould be accepted for a perfect righteouſneſs; but if that be ſo, then Chriſt died not properly for Perſons, but for Graces: Chriſts righteouſneſs was not to cloath poor ſouls in, but to advance faith above it ſelf. Faith is become our immediate, material righteouſneſs, and Chriſt only a remote cauſe of it. The Lord Chriſt walks a foot as a meer ſervant to Faith, and the ſervant Faith rides in his Maſters robes as if it were the very matter of our righteouſneſs; all which is to ſubvert the Goſpel. True Faith will confeſs, as John did, I am not the Chriſt; I never was crucified for you; I never fulfilled all righteouſnes for you; I am but the Eccho to the Goſpel-grace; I do but prepare a way in the heart for Chriſt and his righteouſneſs, to receive all praiſe and glory there.
Secondly, Affirmatively, And here Divines generally expreſs themſelves thus, That we are juſtified by faith as an inſtrument receiving Chriſt and his righteouſneſs. Thus Reverend Calvin calls faith,Juſt. 1.3. cap. 11. Inſtrumentum juſtitiae percipiendae: The inſtrument of receiving the righteouſneſs of Chriſt offered in the Goſpel. Exam. Conc. Trident. 163.Chemnitius ſtiles it, Manus noſtra, quâ recipimus ea quae in Evangelio offeruntur: Our hand whereby we take the alms offered in the Promiſe. Muſculus calls it,Loci Com. de Juſtificut. Medium quo gratiam juſtificationis in Chriſto apprehendimus: a Medium by which we lay hold on the grace of Juſtification in Chriſt. Faith is the eye which looks up to the Mercy-ſeat, the hand which puts on the robe of Chriſts obedience, the ring which hath the Pearl of infinite price in it. Hence we are ſaid in Scripture to be juſtified by faith and through faith, as it is the means whereby we receive Chriſt and his righteouſneſs. And a late Divine ſpeaks of a double inſtrument in Juſtification; on Gods part the Goſpel is an inſtrument, and on mans, Faith: the Goſpel is manus offerentis, the hand offering, and Faith manus accipientis, the hand receiving Chriſt and his righteouſneſs. And before him Calvin hath this paſſage,Comment. on Rom. ch. 3. Ʋt juſtificemur cauſa efficiens eſt miſericordia Dei, Chriſtus materia, verbum cum ſide inſtrumentum: In Juſtification the efficient cauſe is Gods mercy, Chriſt the matter, the Word with Faith the inſtrument. Thus the generality of Divines conclude that we are juſtified by faith as an inſtrument; nevertheleſs ſome others expreſs themſelves thus, That we are juſtified by faith as … condition of the Goſpel. Thus the profeſtors of Saumiar in France; Fide juſtificamu. non tanquam parte aliquâ juſtitiae, Theſ Salm. de Juſtif.ſed tanquam conditione foederis gratiae: We are juſtified by faith, not as it is a part of righteouſneſs, but as it is the condition of the Covenant of Grace. Thus Learned Mr. Woodbridge, Method of Grace, 101.To believe is a formal, vital act of the Soul in genere phyſico; but the uſe of it in juſtification is, to qualifie us paſſively, that we may be morally and orderly capable of being juſtified by God. Or though phyſically it be an act, yet morally it is but a paſſive condition, by which we are made capable of being juſtified according to the order and conſtitution of God. Thus worthy Mr. Baxter, Right to Chriſt and life being a moral effect, Confeſſ. of faith, 295.and conveyed by a moral cauſe and way; that is, by a law of Grace, or conditional promiſe, or gift: therefore the formal reaſon of faiths intereſt in our juſtification is, as it is the condition of that promiſe by us performed; and its eſſence or phyſical act, the acceptance of Chriſt and Life, commonly called its inſtrumentality; though it be the reaſon why it was choſen and preferred to this office of being the condition of the promiſe, yet is it but its aptitude to the office, and ſo the remote, and, as it were, material reaſon of its intereſt in our juſtification, and not the formal Reaſon.
Touching this matter I ſhall offer my thoughts in theſe Propoſitions:
Firſt, Faith is not ſtrictly and properly the inſtrument of Juſtification: were it ſo, a man might juſtifie and forgive himſelf. For, as Dr. Ames well obſerves, as Sacraments are properly Gods inſtruments,Bellarm. Enter. Tom. 4. lib. 5. ſo Faith is properly mans. Deus nos baptizat & paſcit, non noſmetipſi; nos credimus in Chriſtum, non Deus: God baptizes and feeds us, not we our ſelves; we believe in Chriſt, not God. If then Faith, which is properly mans inſtrument, be properly the inſtrument of Juſtification, a Believer doth no leſs than juſtifie himſelf, which is harſh doctrine to me. Again, When we are ſaid to be juſtified by Faith, I ſuppoſe the Scripture doth not intend the tranſient act, but the permanent habit; and if ſo, I cannot conceive how that can be properly, ſtrictly an Inſtrument. Inſtrumenti cauſalitas eſt in uſu & applicatione; when it is not in uſe and act, it ceaſes to be an inſtrument. The habit of faith is an habit ſtill, even when its act ceaſes; but when its act ceaſes, what hath it of inſtrumentality.
Secondly, Faith, though not properly, may yet in ſome ſenſe be called an Inſtrument, becauſe it hath a peculiar aptitude and receptivity to accept of the free-gift made in the Goſpel. Hence we are ſaid by it to receive Jeſus Chriſt, Col. 2.6. to receive the atonement, Rom. 5.11. to receive the gift of righteouſneſs, Rom. 5.17. to receive forgiveneſs of ſins, Acts 26.18. It hath a choice capacity to take in Chriſt with all his benefits.
Thirdly, The proper formal reaſon, why we are juſtified by Faith, is, becauſe it is the condition of the Goſpel, on which God, the Great Donor, gives out Chriſt with all his bleſſings. We are not juſtified by faith, as for any reaſon intrinſecal, or in the nature of it, but as it doth inright and inſtate us into Chriſt and his righteouſneſs; and how is that done? the old Law-rule muſt be remembred, Voluntas donatoris obſervetur: the Donors Will is the beſt guide; and what is that in this caſe? Clearly in the Goſpel Chriſt and his righteouſneſs are given upon the condition of faith. Bellarmine aſſerting, that it did not pleaſe God to give juſtification upon the condition of faith alone: Dr. Ames anſwers him,Bell. Everum, Tom. 4. lib. 5. Vel maximè placuit boc Deo: It pleaſed him altogether. We muſt take as God gives. God in the great charter gives out Chriſt and his righteouſneſs, upon the condition of faith: Faith therefore inſtates and inrights us into theſe as it is the condition of that grant. And by conſequence we are juſtified by it as ſuch, as when a Prince grants a pardon, upon condition the Traitor take it from him with his own hands; his taking it gives impunity, not becauſe of the organical apprehenſiveneſs in the hand, but becauſe it is the modus donationis, the pardon runs upon thoſe terms. So, when God grants juſtification upon condition of believing, we are juſtified by faith; not becauſe of its intrinſecal receptivity or apprehenſiveneſs, but becauſe that faith, which ſtands in the Goſpel as the condition of juſtification, is found in the heart.
Thus much touching the manner, how this holy fruit grows upon Faith.
Thirdly, The next thing conſiderable is the continuance of this holy fruit. Juſtification is a flower of Paradice which never dies; once juſtified, and ever juſtified. The righteouſneſs of God, which is put upon the Believer, is never taken off again. The pardon, which is ſealed in the Court of heaven, is never reverſed. The cloud of Guiltineſs, once ſcattered, never gathers together. The ſins caſt into the depth of Sea, never come up more.Camb. Eliz. p. 384. When the Jeſuite Chreicion, taken at Sea, tore and threw over-board certain papers of dangerous conſequence, the torn pieces were by the wind blown back again into the Ship, and afterwards artificially put together, diſcovered the Popiſh deſign then on foot: but when God caſts our ſins into the depth of the Sea, all the breath of the infernal Spirits can never blow them up again, they ſhall be remembred no more. All things in Juſtification concur to make this good. Free-grace, which is the firſt mover in it, is a fountain ever flowing, and a Sun which knows no going down. The Righteouſneſs of Chriſt, which is the matter of it, is a robe which can never wear out. The Goſpel, which is the Charter of it, is a grant never out of date. Faith, which is the Medium to it, will, under the divine influences ſtirring up the neſt of gracious principles, bud and bloſſom forth in freſh acts, and when the acts ceaſe, it abides in the root, kept alive by the eternal Spirit breathed from the endleſs life of Merit in Chriſt: All which make the righteous man an everlaſting foundation; only here is a Quaere to be reſolved.
Do not Believers fall into ſin? and doth not ſin make a breach upon Juſtification? and if ſo, how doth it continue?
I Anſwer, The ſins of Believers are either ſins of meer infirmity, and daily incurſion, or ſins of groſs enormity, and conſcience-waſting; ſuch as Davids Murther and Adultery, and Peters denial of his Maſter: the firſt ſort of theſe through the rich grace of the Goſpel are pardoned, as I may ſo ſay, of courſe, and ſo make no breach at all upon juſtification:De peccate mortals & veniali. Non excludunt fideles à favore Dei, & à ſpe regni coeleſtis: They exclude not Believers from the favour of God, nor from the hope of the heavenly kingdom, ſaith that eminent Divine Robert Baronius. God, ſuch is his infinite mercy, doth not impute theſe to them. Hence he bears witneſs of David, That he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aſide from any thing that he commanded him all the daies of his life, ſave only in the matter of Uriah, 1 Kings 15.5. Infirmities are not reckoned; the matter of Uriah is the only exception: The latter ſort of ſins in Believers are groſs enormous ones; touching theſe our famous Divines at the Synod of Dort ſay, that theſe are not pardoned to the Believer, till he per excitatam fidem & poenitentiam veniam impenetraverit: obtain remiſſion by a renewed act of faith and repentance. His univerſal juſtification is not fruſtrated, and yet, till he renew his faith and repentance, his particular ſin is not pardoned; his right to the Kingdom of heaven is not taken away, but only his aptitude. Juſt as the Leper, who whilſt his leproſie was on him had a right to his houſe, but not a fitneſs till his purgation. The ſeeds of faith and repentance are in him, but they muſt be ſtirred up into freſh acts.Wells of Salvation, pag. 184. Dr. Spurſtowe ſaith, that a Believer under ſuch ſin may not immediately lay hold on the promiſe of Forgiveneſs, until he firſt renew his repentance; till then to lay hold on the Promiſes, is not faith but preſumption. Faith alwaies proceeds according to Gods method, and that is, to give out pardon upon repentance. God firſt hears Ephraim bemoaning himſelf, and then remembers him with mercy, Jer. 31.18.Treatiſe of Juſtification. Mr. Burgeſs conceives, That a Believer under ſuch a ſin, without renewed repentance, is under an actual guilt obliging him to eternal wrath: neither can he ſay, My God, and My Chriſt. For mine own part, I conceive that ſuch groſs ſins, being the plain merits of eternal wrath, do ſtab the Believer at the very heart, and leave an helliſh ſting upon the Conſcience. They lie as a dog at the door, ready to tear out his throat, and do, as it were, thruſt off his Soul from Chriſt and Grace. They very much weaken the habits of faith, and other graces, ſo that theſe languiſh and are ready to die. Such diſmal effects as theſe made David roar all the day, and cry out of broken bones; and Peter go out and weep bitterly, judging and condemning himſelf for his ſoul denial of Chriſt, foreign, Mark 14.72. which we tranſlate, he thought thereon and wept; but others render it, obvelavit ſe, he covered his head and wept: As a condemned Malefactor he vailed his face in the ſenſe of that ſin which deſerved no leſs than eternal death. Such ſins make Believers in their return to their Father, acknowledge, as the Prodigal did, that they are unworthy to be called the Sons of God. Nevertheleſs ſuch groſs ſins of Believers are, as I take it, pardoned as ſoon as committed, even before actual faith and repentance renewed; I ſay before actual faith, for the habit of falth is ſtill in the believer; I ſay, before repentance renewed afterwards, for the believer in the very commiſſion of a known ſin hath a kind of repentance; there is ſome reniſus voluntatis; the regenerate part oppoſes it, the ſpirit luſteth againſt the fleſh. Cum peccant, eâ tantùm parte quâ non ſunt regeniti peccant, ſecundum verò interiorem partem nolunt, deteſtantur peccatum, ergò non plenâ voluntatate peccant: Epiſt. pag. 114.thus Learned Zanchy. My grounds, why ſuch groſs ſins of believers are pardoned before the ſubſequent acts of Faith and Repentance, are theſe:
Firſt, The conceſſions of the above-named worthy Divines induce me to it. They ſay, the Believer, notwithſtanding ſuch ſins, is ſtill in a ſtate of juſtification; and I ſee not, how the guilt of one ſin unpardoned, which obliges him to eternal wrath, can poſſibly conſiſt with a juſtified ſtate. Juſtificatio nullum locum relinquit condemnationi: They ſay, he hath a right to the kingdom of heaven, and I cannot imagine how an obnoxiouſneſs to wrath reſulting from one unpardoned ſin can ſimul & ſemel, ſtand with a right to heaven: They ſay, the holy ſeed of regeneration abides in him ſtill, and I believe regeneration and condemnation cannot be together.
Secondly, The Scripture-expreſſions are very pregnant: The Believer, notwithſtanding ſuch ſins, is a believer ſtill; and whilſt ſuch ſhall not come into condemnation, Joh. 5.24. He is a man in Chriſt, and to ſuch there is no condemnation, Rom. 8.1. Neither do the ſubſequent words hinder, who walk not after the fleſh; for thoſe, as I conceive, intend not a ſtep or a partionlar act of ſin, but a walk and general trade of it, ſuch as never is found in a believer; there is no condemnation to ſuch. The Apoſtle ſaith not,Diſp. Theol. de perſeverantiâ. that there is nihil condemnabile; but there is, nulla condemnatio, ſaith Spanhemius. He ſaith not, there is nothing damnable in the believer, for ſin in it ſelf is alwaies ſuch; but there is no condemnation, for the pardon keeps the guilt from redounding upon the perſon; becauſe he is a member of Chriſt, the believer notwithſtanding ſuch ſins, is a Son ſtill; and if a ſon, then an heir, Rom. 8.17. and if a ſon, then abiding in the houſe for ever, Joh. 8.35. He hath ſtill a Well of water in him ſpringing up to life everlaſting, Joh. 4.14. And where the ſpirit of Chriſt is ſuch a Well, there the Blood of Chriſt is a laver cleanſing away all ſin.
Thirdly, It is conſiderable what the Scripture means, when it ſaith, that we are juſtified by faith; doth it mean the act of faith, or the habit? if the act, there ſeem to be as many interciſions in juſtification, as there are ceſſations in the act of faith; upon which account I ſuppoſe that the vinculum unionis, the bond of Union whereby the Believer is knit unto Chriſt, is not a tranſient thing, ſuch as the act of faith is, but a permanent one, ſuch as the habit; if then the habit be the thing, that abides in the believer, notwithſtanding his ſin.
Fourthly, It is to me very momentous, that though ſins of infirmity and enormity differ in proportion as much as Gnats and Camels, yet the leaſt of them deſerves condemnation as well as the greateſt, and the greateſt of them may have pardon in the very ſame way as the leaſt. There are not in the Goſpel two diſtinct waies appointed for pardon; one way for the pardon of infirmities, and another way for the pardon of groſs ſins: but there is one undivided way of faith and repentance appointed for both. Which being ſo, it follows, that if the believers groſs ſins be not forgiven till after actual faith and repentance, then neither are his infirmities forgiven till then; and by conſequence the believer cannot continue juſtified no not for a minute; the multitudes of infirmities, which are ever ſwarming in him, would put him into a ſtate of death every moment. Nay, as worthy Mr. Wall hath well obſerved, in ictu mortis, None but Chriſt, pag. 322.in the very laſt ſtroak of death he may periſh, unleſs the laſt operation of his ſpirit be actual faith and repentance. Theſe things perſwade me, that the groſs ſins of believers are at leaſt in ſome ſenſe pardoned before their freſh acts of faith, and repentance; touching which Divines ſpeak variouſly. Mr. Baxter ſaith, That Believers as ſoon as they ſin have an imperfect pardon, though not plenary. Lect. 113. on the 51. Pſalm.Mr. Hilderſham ſaith, They have a pardon upon record in heaven; but not the comfort of it, till by faith and repentance they ſue it out, and be able to ſhew and plead it in the Court of their own Conſcience. Mr. Burroughs ſaith, When any Soul is taken into Chriſt, Expoſ en Hoſ. p. 611.it hath not only all the ſins it hath committed pardoned, but there is a pardon laid in for all ſins to come: there is no inſtant of time wherein it can be ſaid, that the Believer is under condemnation. What is the apteſt expreſſion, I ſhall not contend, but I conceive ſuch ſins in believers are in ſome ſort pardoned before their freſh acts of faith and repentance. Neither doth this open a gap to licentiouſneſs, for it concerns only Believers, whom the ſtings of Conſcience, celipſes of Gods face, languors of inward graces, and foul blots upon their Evidences to heaven, will under the influences of the Spirit preſs to freſh acts of ſaith and repentance, as to duties very neceſſary and incumbent upon them.
Thus much of the continuance of this holy fruit.
Fourthly, The fourth thing conſiderable is the perfection of it: This holy fruit is never fully ripe till the day of Judgment. Repent that your ſins may be blotted out, when the times of refreſhing ſhall come from the preſence of the Lord, ſaith St. Peter, Acts 3.19. The day of Judgment is to a believer a time of refreſhing: then there will be no more ſcorches from the fiery Law, no more ſtings from the old Serpent, no more guilt inflaming the Conſcience, no more frowns from the holy God; but a pure, ſweet refrigeration breathed out from his gracious preſence. Caſpar Olevian, in his laſt ſickneſs,M…ch. A…um in vita ejus. was in ineffable joyes, ſo that he ſeemed to be in prato elegantiſſimo rore perfuſus coeleſti: in a moſt ſweet meadow, with an heavenly dew diſtilling down upon him. Such reviving refrigerations believers have ſometimes here; much more tranſcendent will their divine refreſhments be at the laſt day. The top-ſtone of Juſtification ſhall be then laid on to make it compleat, as may appear by the enſuing Conſiderations.
Firſt, Here the Believer is juſtified privately by the Goſpel, but then he ſhall be juſtified openly by the ſolemn ſentence of God before all the World; here he hath the white-ſtone of Abſolution given in ſecret, but then it ſhall be brought forth to view, glittering in all the orient colours of Free-grace. It was a great honour done to Mordecai, to be arraied in Royal apparel, and to have it proclaimed before him, Thus ſhall it be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour. But oh! what glory will be upon the Believer at that day; when he ſhall ſtand in the glorious rightcouſneſs of Chriſt, and hear it proclaimed before Men and Angels, This is a righteous man, when Chriſt ſhall confeſs him before his Father and the holy Angels, to be a piece of himſelf, of his fleſh and of his bones? As it was with the Sons of Jeſſe paſſing before Samuel; Eliab came and was refuſed, Abinadab came and was reſuſed; and ſo others; at laſt David came, and the Lord ſaid, Ariſe, anoint him, for this is he, 1 Sam. 16th. Chapter: So it will be with the Sons of men, at the great day of Judgment. The great Potentate may come and be rejected as a vile perſon; the rich Dives may come and be put away as droſs; the Learned Rabbi may come, and be turned off as a fool, only when the Believer comes, God will ſay, This is he; this muſt reign in glory for ever. This is a Juſtification before God after a moſt ſignal manner.
Secondly, Here the Believer ſtands juſtified, but in the midſt of briers and thorns; remaining Corruptions vex and tear his righteous ſoul from day to day. He is in the Land of Promiſe, but the Canaanite is not quite driven out; the reliques of Sin inmates in the ſame heart with grace, like the Liers in wait for Samſon, are ready to make an aſſault upon him. Hence the Jewiſh Doctors ſay, That God calls no man Saint, or Holy, till he be dead and in the grave; becauſe, foreign the concupiſcential frame is not quite out of him before death, but at that day there ſhall be nihil damnabile remaining in him. Sin ſhall be no more: no more tumors of Pride; no more boilings up of Concupiſcence; no more ſpots or wrinckles, or dark ſhades of Infirmity; nothing but pure, ſpotleſs Holineſs. Inſomuch that Divines ſay, that from henceforth our Juſtification ſhall be in another way than by imputed Righteouſneſs; becauſe having perfect inherent Righteouſneſs in our ſelves we ſhall need no covering. If the Apoſtle ſay of a Believer, that, foreign, he is juſtified from his ſins, in reſpect of Sanctification begun, Rom. 6.7. how much more will it be true when Sin ſhall be no more.
Thirdly, Here the Believer is Juſtified, but the duſt of mortality hangs about him. It may be there is a Stone ready to drop into the Bladder, or an Impoſthume ready to break in the Head; Mors latet in mediis abdita viſeeribus, in one part of the body or other Death is preparing his arrow upon the ſtring, to ſhoot man down from the perch of this life into the grave. But at that day there ſhall be nihil corruptibile; Death ſhall be no more; Diſeaſes, which uſe to ſound an alarum to it, ſhall be utterly removed; Tears, which are Natures pay to Sorrows, ſhall be all wiped off; the corruptible ſhall put on incorruption; Mortality ſhall be ſwallowed up of Life. This is a day of redemption indeed.
Fourthly, Here the Believer is Juſtified, but his comfort is not alwaies the ſame. Now the light of Gods Countenance breaks out like a clear Sun upon him, and anon there is a ſad eclipſe leaving him in darkneſs; one day a banquet of heavenly Comforts is let down into his heart, and another all is drawn up into heaven again. His Evidences may be blurred; Satan may hold up his pardoned Sins, as it were, in their old guilt; the Arrows of God may ſtick faſt in him, and bring qualms and ſick-fits upon his Conſcience: But at that day his Comforts ſhall be unvariable; a nightleſs Day, and a cloudleſs Horizon; an eternal feaſt upon God and all things in him; his Evidences all clear; and, after but this once ſhewing forth, an everlaſting poſſeſſion of the expected Happineſs. The Accuſer, Satan, ſhall be ſtruck dumb at the bleſſed ſentence of pardon and acceptance pronounced by God before Men and Angels. God ſhall never frown or wound him any more, but wrap him up in the arms of endleſs love and joy. This will be a day of refreſhing indeed.
Thus much of the perfection of this holy fruit.
Fifthly, The laſt thing is the excellency of it. God himſelf writes upon the Juſtified, foreign, the Bleſſed one: Bleſſed is he whoſe tranſgreſſion is forgiven, whoſe ſin is covered, Pal. 32.1. or, as the original, Bleſſedneſſes is he: there is not one ſingle Happineſs, but a cluſter of Beatitudes in this eſtate. Some of theſe I ſhall gather off from this Vine.
Firſt, The Juſtified perſon hath God for his God: theſe two, I will be merciful to their unrighteouſneſs, and, I will be their God; ſtand in conjunction in the Covenant of Grace, Hebr. 8.10, and 12 verſes. God (ſay the Jewiſh Rabbins) hath the key of the Womb, the key of the Grave, the key of the Rain, and the key of the Heart; all that is in the Creation is at his diſpoſe. The Juſtified man hath, as I may ſay, a key into God himſelf. He may unlock infinite Treaſures, and ſay, Theſe everlaſting Arms, which bear up the World, are mine for protection: Theſe All-ſeeing Eyes, which guide every wheel in Nature, are mine for direction: Thoſe immenſe Bowels, which cover all the Creation, embrace and ſold me up in ſpecial Love: Thoſe two all-comprizing words, My God, are in truth utterable by none but ſuch as he is. God is called, the God of Abraham, Iſaack, and Jacob. Cujus omnes gentes ſunt, quaſi trium hominum Deus eſset, ſaith St. Auſtine: as if the Great Lord of all things were appropriated to thoſe three Men. Such honour have all Juſtified ones: God is their own, and to make this ſure, they have bonds and bills under Gods own hand; they can in one Promiſe ſhew a title to his Power, and in another to his Mercy, and in a third to his Wiſdom; and in that, I will be their God. They can lay a juſt claim to all that is in him, which, what it amounts unto, is more than the tongue of Men and Angels can expreſs.
Secondly, The Juſtified perſon hath Chriſt for his own. When the covetous King of Egypt built an houſe for his great Treaſures, the cunning Architect left a looſe Stone in the building, that ſo he might have free acceſs thereinto. What entrance he had by craft into the Egyptian Treaſures, that Juſtified perſons have by a fair grant into all the unſearchable riches of Chriſt, Merit, Spirit, Life, Death, Righteouſneſs, Redemption, Fulneſs, Glory, all that is in Chriſt is their own. If his Righteouſneſs can ſtand before God, ſo will they. If his Blood can waſh away ſin, they ſhall be without ſpot or wrinckle at the Great day: If his glorious over-meaſure of the Spirit cannot fail, no more will their ſupplies of Grace: If he aſcended up into Heaven, it was to prepare a place for them: If he make Interceſſion above, they muſt have acceſs to the Throne of Grace: If he ſit at the Right-hand of Power and Majeſty, all their enemies muſt be made their foot-ſtool. Oh! infinite enjoyment; Eye hath not ſeen, nor Ear heard, neither can it enter into mans heart, what the total ſum of this is.
Thirdly, The Juſtified man hath a rare priviledge in his Holy duties. He hath aſſiſtance from, acceſs unto, and acceptance with the great God in theſe. He hath aſſiſtance from him. Whileſt he ſtands offering up holy Services, fire comes down from heaven upon the Sacrifice. The Holy Spirit inflames his heart towards God; opening it in Hearing, melting it in Alms, and pouring it out in Prayer: So that in ſome ſence he offers up his Duties, as Chriſt did himſelf, through the eternal Spirit, enlivening and impowering him thereunto. His voyage to Heaven lies through a tract of various Duties; but it never fares with him in theſe, as it did with Sir Hugh Willoughby, in his Voyage to Moſcovy, in which he was by extream Froſts frozen to death. The warm influences of Grace keep him from freezing in this divine enterprize. His heart, which ſeeks the Lord in his waies, ſhall live; and to make it ſure, our Saviour ſaies expreſly, becauſe I live, ye ſhall live alſo, Joh. 14.19. His life is hid with Chriſt. As long as Chriſt the Head is alive above, the Members below ſhall never fail of quickening grace in their addreſſes to God. Again, he hath acceſs unto God in them: A man under guilt cannot approach unto God, no more than fallen Origen, caſting his eye upon that of the Pſalmiſt, What but thou to do to declare my Word? could tell how to Preach; but the Juſtified man may draw near unto him, becauſe his heart is ſprinckled from an evil Conſcience. The guilt, which would have made him ſhie of God, is done away in Chriſts blood. Whilſt others are but in the outward Court, in the opus operatum, the work done, he may enter into the Holy of Holies, into communion with God; the Holy Spirit conducts him thither through the vail of Chriſts fleſh. Moreover, which is the crown of all, he hath acceptance with God. God had reſpect to Abel, and to his offering, Gen. 4.4. ſuch a reſpect as to bear witneſs to his righteouſneſs by ſome viſible ſign, as fire from heaven conſuming the Sacrifice. The juſtified man is in his meaſure as Daniel, a man of Deſires, and as the Bleſſed Virgin, graced or highly favoured. His Prayers make melody in heaven; his Alms are the ſavour of a ſweet-ſmell; he doth not loſe ſo much as a cup of cold water, nor ſhut a door of ſenſe againſt an approaching Temptation in vain. There is a well-pleaſingneſs in all his Services, as being uſhered forth from the heart into the hand of the Mediatour, and there richly perfuned for the Father; though, as they lie in our hearts, there be much ſmoak and mixture of weakneſs in them, yet as they are in the hand of Chriſt, they are glorified duties, acceptable to God through Jeſus Chriſt.
Fourthly, The Juſtified man hath more of the ſweetneſs of life, and its outward Comforts, than others. He hath more of the ſweetneſs of life than others. The Jewiſh Doctours treating about the eſtimation of Perſons, mentioned Levit. 27. ſay, That if a man be adjudged to death for his tranſgreſſion, he is not to be valued, becauſe he is but a dead man, and there is no valuation of the dead. An unpardoned man is dead while he liveth, and as our Saviour ſaith, condemned already, Joh. 3.18. His life, ſave only as it is a ſpace for repentance, and ſo for pardon, muſt be rated at little or nothing. Bajazet, the Great Emperour, valued not his life at all, when he was carried up and down in an Iron-cage: and what is a mans life, when he walks up and down in chains of ſin and wrath? but as ſoon as the pardon comes, he lives indeed. His life, as little a vapour as it is in it ſelf, glitters as a Jewel in the Sun, being irradiated with that precious favour of God, which is better than it ſelf: Moreover, he hath more of the ſweetneſs of outward Comforts than others. The unpardoned man may have Corn, and Wine, and all other Bleſſings flowing round about him; but if his eyes be open, he can take no more pleaſure in them than Damocles did at the Tyrants table, ſpread with all Royal dainties, whileſt the Sword with the point downward, hung over his head by an hair only: If he taſts ſweetneſs in them, it is an act of meer blindneſs and irrationality; becauſe he ſeeth not the arrow of Gods wrath, which is upon the ſtring, and ready in a moment to ſhoot him down to the loweſt hell. Do but open his eyes upon the handwriting of Guilt, which is on the wall of Conſcience, and all his crackling Joyes are in a moment turned into fits of trembling and aſtoniſhment; but as ſoon as the Pardon comes every thing reliſhes with him. Moſes, pronouncing a bleſſing on Joſeph thus, Bleſſed of the Lord be his Land; for the precious things of beaven, for the dew, and for the deep that cometh beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the Sun, and for the precious things put forth by the Moon, and for the chief things of the ancient Mountains, and for the precious things of the laſting Hills, and for the precious things of the Earth, and the fulneſs thereof, adds this as the crown of all, and for the good-will of him that dwelt in the Buſh, Deut. 33.13, 14, 15, and 16 verſes. The favour of God pours a ſweetneſs into all outward things: Then may he eat, and drink, and enjoy all his labours; for the light of Gods Providence, and the light of his Countenance are met in conjunction.
Fifthly, The Juſtified man hath leſs evil in Aſſlictions than others. The unjuſtified man carries a double load; one of aſſliction, and another of unpardoned guilt, which lies as a talent of lead on the Conſcience, and makes the Croſs lie heavy as a burthen on a ſore-back: But the Juſtified man hath only the ſingle Croſs, which the ſpirit of a man may bear. The Stoicks could ſhoulder-up their reaſon againſt it; Nos dicimus omnia iſta, quae gemitus mugituſque exprimunt, levia eſſe: We ſay, Epiſt. 13.all theſe things, which extort cries and groans, are but light, ſaid Seneca. And what then may the Believer ſay, who hath a ſerene Conſcience, made ſo by the pure beams of Divine favour? Feri, Domine, feri clementer; ego paratus ſum, quia à peecatis abſolutus: Strike, Lord, ſtrike; I am ready, becauſe I am abſolved from my ſins, ſaid Luther; when he was in fear of an Apoplexy. The pardon of ſin wonderfully alleviated the Croſs. Again, the unjuſtified man is a poor helpleſs Creature: Trouble comes, and there is no deliverer; he falls alone, and there is not a reconciled God to help him up; God walks contrary to him: or, as the original may be read, He walks at all adventures with him, Levit. 26.24. Peradventure he will deliver him, peradventure not: But the Juſtified man, being in Chriſt the true Immanuel, is ſure to have God with him; God with him in the fire, and God with him in the water; whatever the Croſs be, the Almighty Father puts under the everlaſting arms; the Eternal Son walks with him in the midſt of the Furnace; the Holy Spirit drops in heavenly cordials upon his heart; as it was with Chriſt, when he hung upon the Croſs, and drunk up the bittereſt cup of wrath. The Divinity never left the Humanity, no not when he cried out of forſaking: So is it with the Believer, the man in Chriſt; when Troubles come like Jobs Meſſengers, one upon the neck of another, God never leaves nor forſakes him, which is a cordial high enough to make any adverſity more eligible than all proſperity. Hence ſome good men have been loath to leave their Priſons, for fear of parting with thoſe inward joyes, which had turned them into a paradice.
Sixthly, The Juſtified man knows how to die, and go to judgment. He knows how to die, which is a leſſon too hard for any other but ſuch as himſelf. The Stoick may ſeem to vapour over death, as a thing of nothing; but whileſt he doth ſo, it is but a piece of blind raſhneſs, never conſidering the vaſt gulph of Eternity which is then to be ſhot, in the Chriſtian World, where that Gulph is better known. Many great Rabbies and Sophies are nonpluſt at the approach of death. The great Cardinal Richelieu, a little before his end would have a play, called Europe triumphante to be acted, though he was not able to be a ſpectator; it ſeems his Soul, hanging about the mud walls, as loth to go off that ſtage where he had acted ſo many wiſe parts, knew not how to apply it ſelf to that grand affair of death approaching. Only the juſtified man knows how to reſign, and beſpeak his parting Soul as Monica did, Volemus in coelum: Let us flie to heaven; or with Hilarion, Egredere anima mea, egredere, quid times? quid dubitas? Go out my Soul, go out; what doeſt thou ſear or doubt? And all this upon ſure grounds. His ſin is pardoned; his death unſtung; heaven-gates ſtand open for him; a convoy of Angels are ready to conduct his Soul into Abrahams boſom. So little tremendous is death to ſuch an one, that Zuinglius being mortally wounded cried out, Ecquid hoc infortunii? Is this any misfortune? the Body only was ſlain, the Soul was untouched, and but a little the ſooner let out into glory. Again, The juſtified man knows how to go to Judgment. When the Earl Montgomery was brought before the great Court at Paris, he ingeniouſly confeſſed, That, as many great Armies as he had ſeen without fear, yet he could not but tremble at the preſence of thoſe grave Judges. At the Great day, when the laſt Trump ſhall ſound, and the dead riſe out of the duſt, and Jeſus Chriſt ſhall come with all his glorious Angels to judge the World, there will be generally nothing but pale faces, and trembling hearts, and lamentable out-cries to the Rocks and Mountains, to fall upon them, and cover them from the preſence of the Judge: Only the Juſtified man may lift up his head with joy, becauſe his redemption draws nigh. Jeſus Chriſt the Judge is his Head and Advocate, and will not, cannot condemn the Believer, being a piece of himſelf, ſtanding in his image and righteouſneſs. Sin and Satan have nothing at all to ſay againſt him. The Law cannot object the breach of the leaſt jot or tittle; he comes to the Judgment, only to be abſolved before Men and Angels, and after an Enge of praiſe, to enter into the joy of his Lord; which is an happineſs beyond all expreſſion.