Practical Discourses Volume 2, Discourse 7
JOHN III.16.
— That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting Life.
I Am now upon the latter Part of this Text, that whosoever believeth in him, &c. In which there are two great Instances of God's Goodness to us: First, his imposing upon us such a gentle and merciful Condition, that whosoever believeth in him: Secondly, his proposing to us so vast a Reward upon the Performance of it; should not perish, but have everlasting Life. The first of these I have handled already, and now I proceed to the second, viz. the vast Reward he hath proposed to us upon the Performance of this merciful Condition. And in this you have
First, the negative Part of it, that whosoever believeth in him, might not perish.
Secondly, the positive One, but have everlasting Life,
I. I begin with the first of these, that whosoever believeth in him, might not perish.
In prosecution of which Argument I shall do these three Things;
1. Shew you what is meant by perishing here.
2. By what Right we were concerned in, and obliged to it.
3. What unspeakable Goodness God hath discovered to us in freeing and absolving us from this Obligation.
1. What is meant by perishing here, or not perishing? That whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, that is, that whosoever believes in him might be pardoned, or absolved from the obligation of perishing for ever, to which his Sins have rendred him justly liable. For that by this Phrase foreign, he should not perish, or be destroyed, is not meant the Annihilation or Destruction of our Beings, as the Socinians and some others imagin, is evident by its being opposed to everlasting Life, which, as I shall shew you hereafter, doth not denote our mere Continuance in Life and Being for ever, but our Continuance in a most blissful and happy Life for ever; and consequently the Destruction that is here opposed to it must not denote our eternal Discontinuance to be and live, but our living most wretchedly and miserably for ever. And indeed wheresoever Death, or Destruction is spoken of in Opposition to eternal Life, this is apparently the Sense of it. So Rom. vi.23. The wages of Sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now that by Death here is understood a State of endless Misery and Suffering, in Opposition to that State of endless Happiness which eternal Life implies, is evident; because he cannot mean the first Death, which consists in the Separation of the Soul from the Body; for though this were originally the Wages of Sin, yet in it self it is not so now, but the necessary Condition of our Nature; for whether we Sin or no, we must undergo it, being obliged to it by the irreversible Decree of our Maker. But the Death here spoken of is the Effect of our own personal Sin, without which we are not liable to it, as you may plainly see v. 21. What fruit had ye then in those things, (i. e. those Sins) whereof ye are now ashamed? For the end of those things, or Sins, is Death. Wherefore since it cannot be meant of the first, it must be meant of the second Death, which St. John makes mention of Rev. 2.11. He that overcometh, shall not be hurt of the second Death. And what that is, the same Author tells you Rev. 20.14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire: This is the second Death; that is, this Lake of Fire, or the Torments and Miseries which condemned Sinners endure in it, is the second Death; for so he explains himself v. 10. And the Devil that deceived them, was cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the Beast and the false Prophet are, and shall be tormented Day and Night for ever and ever. And this is that Death which is opposed to the immortal Rewards of the Blessed, as you may see Rev. 21.7, 8. He that overcometh shall inherit all things, that is, all those immortal Recompences which God has prepared for virtuous Souls. But the fearful and unbelieving, &c. shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstrone: Which is the second Death.
And as Death, when opposed to eternal Life, denotes a State of endless and continued Misery, so doth Destruction also. So Mat. 7.13, 14. Broad is the way that leadeth to Destruction. Narrow is the way which leadeth unto Life: By the later of which it is granted on all hands he means Life eternal; and that by Destruction he means a State of endless Misery, is evident from Matth. 10.28. but fear him which is able to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell; which according to St. John's Exposition, Rev. 20.10. is to torment them Day and Night for ever and ever. And this destroying in Hell our Saviour elsewhere expresses by casting into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched; which is as plain a Description of an endless State of Misery as Words can express; for how is it possible that Annihilation should signify either a Fire that never goes out, or a Worm that never dies: So also, 2 Thess. 1.9. who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, meaning the wicked Persecuters at Christ's coming to Judgment. Now that by that everlasting Destruction he means a State of endless Suffering and Torment is evident, if we consider the Description which our Saviour gives of that Punishment to which the Wicked shall be sentenced at the last Day; Go ye cursed, saith he, into everlasting Fire, Matth. 25.41. And lest we should fancy that 'tis the Fire only that is eternal, but not the Punishment, v. 46. of that Chap. And these, saith he, shall go away into everlasting Punishment: but the Righteous into Life eternal. And that they do actually exist in this Fire, and continue in the Torment of it is evident by those Actions that are therein attributed to them, such as weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth, Matth. 13.42, 50; which Actions are plain Indications not only of their subsisting in this everlasting Fire, but of the extream Horror and Anguish they shall therein endure. And as this Fire is said to be everlasting, so the Everlastingness of it is described so as to exclude all Limits, and prescind from all Determinations. For Fire must be extinguished e're it can cease to burn, and therefore that which cannot be extinguished can never end; but such is that Fire whereunto the Wicked are condemned at the Day of Judgment; so Matth. 3.12. whose fan is in his hand;— but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable Fire. And that the Sufferers shall be no more extinguished than the Fire that burns them, is evident from Rev. 14.11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night. And how can the smoke of this Fire be said to be the smoke of their torment ascending up for ever and ever, unless they exist in it for ever and ever; especially considering what follows immediately after, they have no rest day nor night? Which Expression is the same with that by which the same Author signifies the eternal Happiness of good Men; so Rev. 4.8. They rest not day and night, saying, holy, holy▪ holy; and Rev. 7.15. The are before the Throne of God, and serve him day and night in his Temple. And if Day and Night here, when applied to the State of Heaven, denotes the continued blisful Employment of happy Souls there forever; then for the same Reason, when 'tis applied to the State of Hell, it must denote the continued Miseries of the Damned there forever. Well then, if the Fire of Hell be everlasting, yea if it be so absolutely everlasting as that it is unquenchable; and if those that are cast into it shall be tormented for ever and ever, all which the Scripture doth directly teach; then it necessarily follows, that the Wicked must subsist in their Miseries for ever, and be co-eternal with the Flames that torment them. The Reason therefore why that future Punishment to which our Sins do consign and oblige us, is called by the Name of Destruction, Perdition, and Death, is not because it puts a final Period either to our Being or Subsistence, as some fondly Dream; but because it forever separates and disjoyns us from God, who is the better and the nobler Life of Man, and from all those sweet Perceptions of Comfort and Pleasure, of which Life is the Principle. And there is no Language, Phrases, or Expressions can be supposed to patronize a contrary Opinion, since the same Scriptures which say that the Wicked shall be destroyed, and perish, and die, say also that they shall be tormented with never-dying Pains, as they plainly and frequently do. This I have the longer insisted upon; because it is a very dangerous Thing for Men to be deceived in this Matter, not to know the worst of the Consequents of their own Follies, but to expect an easier and a shorter Hell than ever they are like to find. And so I have done with the first Thing proposed, viz. what is here meant by perishing, and proved to you at large that hereby is meant living miserably forever.
2dly. I proceed now to the next Thing proposed, viz. how we came to be concerned in, and obliged to this dreadful Penalty? To which I answer, that originally we were hereunto obliged by the Law of our Nature; for Man being naturally an immortal Creature, must necessarily be forever liable to the natural Effects of his own Actions; and therefore since Misery is the natural Effect of sinful Actions, if we continue Sinners forever, we must necessarily continue miserable forever; And if God should have inflicted no other Miseries upon wicked Souls when they are separated from their Bodies than what are necessarily consequent to their own Wickedness, these would be an Hell of insufferable Torment to them. So that from the very Immortality of our Natures we are capable of everlasting Perseverance in Sin, and from our everlasting Perseverance in Sin we are fatally damned to evelasting Misery. And as by the Law of our Natures we are thus bound over to eternal Punishment, so are we also by the positive Sentence and Determination of God, who hath not only obliged us to obey him under the Penalty of enduring forever the Miseries that are naturally appendent to our Sins, but hath added thereunto all those positive Torments which the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, and the Horrors of outer Darkness do imply: For so in his Word he hath plainly declared to us that if after he hath tryed us to the utmost, we will not be reclaimed, but are so desperate as to proceed in our Wickedness maugre all the Arts and Methods he can use to reduce us, he will at last shut us up in a State of endless and irreversible Torment. And this is no more than what he might very justly and rightfully do; for he being the Supream Lawgiver of the World, hath an immutable Right to enforce his Laws with such Penalties as are sufficient to secure them from being violated by his Subjects; for otherwise he would be defective in his Power of Legislation; for how could he have sufficient Power to make Laws, if he had not Right to enforce them with sufficient Penalties? But we that are his Subjects being so apt to offend, and so extreamly liable to Temptations thereunto, no less Penalty could be sufficient to secure our Obedience than that which is eternal; for which Reason he hath enforced his Laws with the Threatning of it. And if God thought no less than the Threatning of eternal Punishment necessary to deter Men from their Sins, what less than the Execution of that Threat can be sufficient to render them Examples of his Severity against it? For Threats without Execution are but mere Scare-crows; and it is highly unreasonable for us to be afraid of any Threat, which we have Reason to conclude shall never be executed upon us. Wherefore, since the Sovereign Lord and Governour of the World hath in himself an unalienable Right to enforce his own Laws by what Penalties he pleases, and since to enforce them in the highest Degree he hath established them under the Penalty of eternal Torment; it is no less reasonable for him to execute this Penalty than it was to threaten and denounce it; otherwise his Threats will be altogether insignificant. For the End of legal Threats is to terrify the Subject from Disobedience; but since we are assured that God will do nothing but what is just and reasonable, why should we be terrified at any Threats of his, which he cannot as reasonably inflict as denounce against us? Nor is it any Blemish to the divine Goodness, that he hath threatned such an heavy Punishment against those that transgress his Laws; for since he hath injoyned us nothing but what is for our good, and tends to our Happiness; and since the End of his Threats is to oblige us to observe his Injunctions; it hence necessarily follows, that the more terrible his Threatnings are, the more he obliges us by them to pursue our own Happiness. And certainly for God to lay his Creatures under the strongest Obligations to be happy, is so far from being a Blemish to his Goodness that it is a most glorious Expression of it; and if we will be so obstinate as to incur that direful Penalty under which he hath obliged us to be happy, it is but just and reasonable that he should inflict it upon us, and make us feel forever the rueful Effects of our own Folly and Madness. Wherefore since we had all broken his Laws, and wilfully rendered our selves guilty before him, we thereby became most justly obnoxious to this most dreadful Penalty of perishing forever. And thus you see by what Right we were concerned in, and obliged to this Penalty.
3dly, I now proceed to the third, and Last Thing proposed, which is to shew you the unspeakble Goodness that God hath expressed to us in that Way and Method which he hath prescribed to release us from this Obligation of perishing forever. For the Way and Method prescribed by him is this, to send his own most blessed Son to suffer in our Stead, that so we repenting of our Sins and forsaking them, might upon the Account of his Sufferings be released from this Obligation to eternal Punishment. And hence Christ is said to put away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself, Heb. ix.26. that is, to make Expiation for it, even as the Jewish High Priest did by those Sacrifices which he offered. And accordingly, Col. i.14. it is said, that in him we have Redemption through his Blood, even the forgiveness of Sins; that is, upon Condition we heartily and sincerely repent of them. For, if we walk in the light, saith the Apostle, as he is in the light; that is, if we forsake our Sins, and become pure as he is pure, and holy as he is holy; we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin. This therefore being the Way and Method which God hath prescribed to release us from the Obligation to eternal Punishment, what an unspeakable Love and Goodness he hath herein expressed to us will evidently appear by the Consideration of these four Things.
1. His admitting of another to suffer in our Stead.
2. His exacting such a Suffering for the Price of our Pardon, as was most effectual to secure us from sinning again.
3. His consenting that his own Son should submit to this Suffering.
4. His chusing to grant Pardon to us upon his Suffering as a Sacrifice for our Sins.
1. One very great Instance of God's Love and Goodness to us in this Method of Pardon is his admitting of another to suffer in our Stead. Had he been pleased, he might have exacted the Punishment of the Criminals, and made the Offenders smart forever in their own Persons; yea, and this he might have justly done notwithstanding the best Reason they could render him to the contrary. For the best Reason a Sinner can render why he should not be punished, is his hearty Repentance; for next to being perfectly innocent, the best Thing we can do, is to reform when we have done amiss; but yet this doth not at all diminish the Guilt and Demerit of our past Transgressions. For Repentance doth not at all alter the Nature of the Act, nor make it less evil, nor less deserving of Punishment; and therefore since the Act it self obliges us to Punishment, our Repentance of it doth no way cancel the Obligation. 'Tis true, God might if he had pleased, have pardoned us upon our Repentance without any other Reason or Motive; but it is certain, that Repentance is not a sufficient Reason to move him to declare a Promise of Pardon to a sinful World, it being no way consistent with the Safety either of divine or humane Governments, so far to encourage Offenders as to indemnify them universally by a publick and standing Declaration merely upon their future Repentance and Amendment; because by such a Declaration they must let loose the Reigns to all manner of Licentiousness. For if Subjects are now so prone to transgress when they have so much Reason to expect a severe Punishment for it, how much more prone would they be, were their Governours so easie as to assure them beforehand that the Punishment due to their Crimes should be immediately remitted upon their unfeigned Repentance? Wherefore, since our Repentance is no sufficient Reason to oblige God to pardon us, and much less to move him to make a Promise of Pardon to us; and since this is the best Reason that we can offer in our Behalf, to move him thereunto; it hence necessarily follows, that if he had pleased, when once we had broken his Laws, he might have justly executed upon us that eternal Punishment which he had threatned, notwithstanding all we could have done to move him to the contrary. But such is his inexpressible Goodness towards us, that to put himself into a Capacity of pardoning penitent Sinners with Safety to his Government, and of making a publick Grant of Pardon and Indemnity to them, thereby to encourage them to repent, he hath graciously admited another Person to suffer in our Stead; that so neither their Persons might be ruined, nor yet their Sins be unpunished, and that he might sufficiently express to them his Severity against their Sins without exposing them to the eternal Smart of it. For though the Suffering of this Person, as I shall shew you by and by, was a sufficient Reason to move God to forgive us upon our unfeigned Repentance, yet it was no such Reason as did necessarily oblige him thereunto; for if he had pleased he might have righteously exacted our Punishment at our own Hands, and made us forever rue for our own Folly and Madness; but such was his Goodness towards us, that for the Sufferings of the Innocent he hath mercifully acquitted the Punishment due to Offenders, and so scourged our Sins upon the Back of our Saviour; for though he suffered for us, yet we suffered not in him, our Persons were not at all damnified by those bitter Agonies which he endured for our Sins; so that to a wonder of Mercy they have been so severely punished as 'tis fit they should, and yet we who were the Authors of them never felt the Smart. Blessed God! How merciful hast thou been to thy Creatures, that hast thus found out a Way to distinguish the Sin from the Sinner, and so to punish the one, as to let the other escape? For by his gracious Admission, Christ hath once suffered for Sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, 1 Pet. iii 18.
2ly, Another Instance of God's Love and Goodness to us in this Method of Pardon, is his exacting such a Suffering for the Price of our Pardon as is most effectual to secure us from sinning again, which is a plain Instance of the mighty Care he hath taken to pardon us in such a way as might be most for our future Security. For it would have been no way proper for the wise Governour of the World to grant a general Pardon to Offenders without some sufficient Reason moving him thereunto. Now that Repentance which is the best Reason we can offer him is not sufficient, I have already shewed you, because it is not sufficient to secure his Government, in the good Management whereof the Welfare of all his Subjects is involved. For his Laws requiring nothing but what is for our good, 'tis truly our Interest to be kept under a strict Obedience to them; so that should he pardon us upon any Reason that is not sufficient to secure his Government and our Obedience, it would be a publick Nuisance and Damage to Mankind; and consequently the greater the Reason is that moves him to pardon us what is past, and the more it enforces our Obedience for the future, the greater is the Goodness which he expresses in pardoning us, and the more it conduces to our Welfare and Happiness. But now upon what higher Motive could he have made a Grant of Pardon to us than upon the most meritorious Sufferings of his own Son for us? For since nothing that we could do was a sufficient Reason to move him to promise to us the Forgiveness of our Sins, it was requisite that something more should be done for us by some other Person, and the greatest Thing that any other Person could do for us to move God to forgive us, was to suffer in our Stead; because hereby not only a publick Acknowledgement is made of what we have deserved for our Sins, but something of the Punishment due to them is paid as a publick Satisfaction to the Law. So that if God pardons us upon such a Reason, he doth by the same Act express his most tender Mercy to us, and his implacable Severity against our Sins; for by pardoning us upon the Sufferings of another in our Stead, he expresses his hearty Good-Will to us, and openly signifies how unwilling he is to ruin us. But then by exacting the Sufferings of another in our Stead, before he will be induced to grant a Pardon to us, he manifests to us how implacably he hates our Sins, and how inexorably severe he is against them. But then if he pardon us upon this Reason of anothers suffering in our Stead, then the greater and more excellent the Person is that suffers for us, the greater Reason he hath to forgive us upon it. For such as the Person is that suffers, such is the Moment and Value of his Suffering; because the End of all such vicarious Punishments being only this, to give such an Example of the Severity of Governours against Offenders, as may be sufficient to vindicate the Honour of the Law, and secure the Obedience of the Subject; the Value of his Suffering, who thus suffers for us must consist in this, that it is a more or less exemplary Signification of the Severity of the Lawgiver against our Sins for which he suffers; and doubtless it would be a higher Signification of God's Severity against our Sins not to pardon us but upon the Sufferings of an innocent Angel, than not to pardon us but upon the Sufferings of an innocent Man. What a most exemplary Signification then is this of his Severity against our Sins, that he would not pardon us but upon the Sufferings of his own most innocent Son; who being the greatest Person in all the Creation, did by his suffering in our Stead exhibit the greatest Instance of God's Severity against our Sins that could possibly have been given by any Person whatsoever that was capable of suffering for us? So that his suffering in our Stead was apparently the best and highest Reason that could possibly have been given to move God to pardon us, and consequently his pardoning us in such a Way and upon such a Reason is a most glorious Instance of his Goodness towards us, and of that tender Regard he hath of our Welfare. For now in the very Method of his pardoning us what is past, he hath taken a most effectual Course to secure our Obedience for the future, that very Reason that moved him to pardon us being the greatest Reason that can be urged to terrify us from sinning again. For what Consideration is there that can fill us with greater Horror against our Sins than this, that the Guilt of them is so great and heinous that the most merciful Father would never have forgiven them, had not his own most glorious Son suffered for them in our Stead? And indeed had not God thus provided for the securing of our Obedience in the very Method of his Pardon, his Grace in pardoning us would have been very insignificant; for our Welfare and Happiness being all bound up in our Obedience, our Pardon without this could not have secured us from being miserable. So that if in the Method of his Pardon he had not so manifested his Severity against our Sins as to discourage us sufficiently from sinning again, his very Mercy and Compassion would have proved destructive to us; because it would have encouraged us to Sin on, and thereby to make our selves miserable. For Sin and Misery are so inseparably interwoven, that all the Pardon God can give us while we continue in our Sins is not sufficient to prevent our being miserable; but such hath been his Goodness towards us, such his Care to prevent our Sin and Misery, as that in the very Reason that moves him to pardon us, for what is past, he gives us a most terrible warning not to Sin again. For he that can behold such a dreadful Spectacle as the Son of God dying for Sin, and yet Sin on, is a valiant Sinner indeed, and may with the same Courage follow his Lusts into the Flames of Hell. So careful hath the good God been to plot and contrive for the Welfare of his Creatures, that he would not so much as pardon them when they had offended him, but in such a Way as was most for their Security and Good.
3dly, His consenting that his own Son should submit himself to this Suffering, is another great Instance of his Goodness towards us in this method of pardoning us. That he should not only admit of a Sacrifice to bear our Transgressions and suffer in our Stead, but that himself should provide one for us, and such a one too as his own most dear and precious Son, is such a Miracle of Love and Goodness as the whole Creation cannot parallel. For though Mankind had provoked him to that Height that none but a God of infinite Patience could have born it, yet such was his Unwillingness to inflict that direful Punishment upon them which he had justly threatned, and they had justly deserved, that notwithstanding all their Demerits he was still vehemently inclined to be propitious to them. But then how to save them, and at the same Time so to manifest his Severity against their Sins as was needful to preserve the Authority and Honour of his Laws that had threatned Destruction to them, was the great Difficulty; for should he have wholly omitted the Punishment, he would have very much undervalued the Authority of his Laws in the Esteem of his Subjects, the main security of their Authority being the Punishment annexed to them; but on the contrary should he have exacted the utmost of the Punishment, he must have destroyed the whole Race of Men, we being all Offenders in his Sight. In this Extremity therefore, that he might pardon such a World of Sinners with safety to his Government, it was highly necessary for him to exhibit to the World some dreadful Example of his Severity against them, such as might be sufficient to prevent Offenders from taking any Encouragement from his pardoning them to offend again. But to make a Sinner such a great Example of his Severity against the Sins of others was impossible, because his own Sins may deserve the utmost Severity that God can inflict upon him; and therefore among our selves who were all Sinners there was no Person could be found fit to be made such an Example of his Severity against the Sins of the whole World. And if an innocent Angel should have freely offered up himself to bear our Punishment, and Suffer in our Stead, his Suffering in our Room would not have so sufficiently expressed Gods Severity against the Sins of a whole World of Sinners, as was convenient; for what great Severity would it have been to have exacted the suffering of one innocent Angel, in lieu of that eternal Punishment that was due to a whole World of Men? Wherefore it being highly convenient, that the Dignity of the Person who suffered for us should be such as might render his Suffering in some Degree proportionable to the Punishment due to our Sins, that so his Suffering in our stead might be as exemplary to the World, as if we our selves had suffered to the utmost of our Desert, and there being no Creature of that Dignity either in Heaven or Earth; in this Extremity, the eternal Son of God himself interposes, and freely offers to unite himself to our Natures, and therein to suffer in our Stead, upon Condition that on our unfeigned Repentance and Amendment a free Charter of Pardon might be granted for all our past Provocations. So that now an Expedient being proposed by which God might both pardon our Sins, and sufficiently manifest his Severity against them, to secure the Authority of his Laws, and deter us from sinning again; though he saw how dear an Expedient it would prove, that it would cost him the most precious Blood of his own Son; yet such was his tender Pity towards us, so great his Unwillingness to ruin us forever, that he freely complyed with the Motion, and consented that his Son should be sacrificed for the Sins of the World. And hence it is said, that he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, Rom. viii.32. And the Reason why he deliverd him up, as he tells us, v.3. of the same Chapter, was to condemn Sin in the Flesh, that is, to pronounce in the Suffering of his own Son for it, what a dreadful Punishment it deserved, and how much his Soul was incensed against it, that would not pardon it without such a mighty Propitiation. How inexpressibly gracious therefore hath God been to us, that when for the securing the Authority of his Laws it was so necessary to condemn our Sins, rather than condemn them in our own personal Punishment, he should chuse to condemn them in the sufferings of his own Son? It was a great Instance of his Goodness towards us to admit of another to suffer for us, in our stead; but to admit of his own Son, who is the Darling of Heaven and the Delight of his Soul, and not only so, but freely to give and deliver him up for us, and amidst all the yearnings of his fatherly Bowels towards him, not to spare his precious Life when it was to be made the Price of our Redemption, is such a Miracle of Love as transcends all Hyperboles.
4ly and lastly, his choosing to grant Pardon to us upon the Sufferings of his Son as a Sacrifice for our Sins, is also another great Instance of his Goodness to us in this Way of pardoning us. For the End of granting Pardon to Sinners upon their Repentance being to encourage them to repent, it was highly convenient to grant it to them in such a Way and upon such Reason, as might most effectually assure them thereof. And considering what was the general Persuasion of Mankind in this Matter, there was no such effectual Way to secure them of Pardon upon their Repentance, as this of granting Pardon to them upon the Motive of a Sacrifice for their Sins. For however it came to pass I know not, but it was a Principle generally received by Men of all Nations and Religions, that to appease the incensed Divinity it was necessary; First, that some Sacrifice should be made to him for their Sins, and then that some high Favourite of his should intercede with him in their Be-; half; upon which were founded those two great Rights of Propitiatory Sacrifices, and worshiping of Demons, which made up a great Part of all the Heathenish Religions in the World. For as for Propitiatory Sacrifices, they were generally used not only by the barbarous, but by the most civiliz'd Heathens; which Sacrifices they devoted unto God to be their Proxies in Punishment, to undergo the Punishment that was due to them for their own Sins. And hence is that of the antient Poet, Cum sis ipse nocens, moritur cur Victima pro te? — When thou thy self art the Offender, for what Reason should the Victim die for thee? And Porphery tells us that the first Rise of the Sacrifice of Animals was,Abstin l. 4 foreign, certain Occasions requiring that a Soul, should be offered up for a Soul, that is, the Life of a Beast for the Life of a Man; for it was the constant Opinion that the more worthy the Sacrifice which they offered, the more effectual it was to appease their offended Divinities. And hence in many Places, the ordinary Sacrifice of Attonement which they offered, was the Lives of Men; and though this indeed was most used in the most barbarous Countries, yet in Cases of great Danger and Extremity the Greeks and Romans, themselves did frequently Sacrifice humane Lives to their Gods; for so it is recorded of the Romans, that when their City was in great Danger of being taken by Hanibal, they sacrificed a Man to their Tutelar God: And Servius tells us of the Massilians, that in Time of Pestilence one of the poorer sort was wont to offer himself to be sacrificed for the whole City; who being for a whole Year nourished with the purest Meat, was then led about the City adorned with sacred Vestments and Cathartick Herbs, the People following him making solemn Execrations that the Plague might be removed from the City and fall upon his Head; which done, they offered him up in a Sacrifice. And in other Places they offered up pure Virgins of the noblest Families, to propitiate their angry Gods; and elsewhere, as Servius tells us, they were wont to cast a Man into the Sea with this Imprecation, foreign, that is, be thou our Purgament, or Redemption. So also it is said of the Athenians, that they maintained some of the most unprofitable and ignoble of their People, that so when any great Calamity befell the City, they might offer them up in Sacrifice to appease their Gods. And that Passage of Caesar concerning the Gallic Nation is very observable, that in Cases of great Danger and Calamity they either devoted themselves to the Altar, or else offered up some Man in their Stead; quod pro vita hominis nisi hominis vita reddatur, non posse Deorum immortalium Numen placari arbitrantur; that is, thinking that the immortal God's would never be appeased unless they offered up to them the Life of a Man for the Life of a Man: All which is an Evidence that they not only thought Sacrifices necessary to appease God, but that they also believed the better the Sacrifice was, the more effectually it did appease him. Nor did they think it less necessary that there should be some Intercessor between them and the Supream Divinity to Solicite their Cause, and render Sin propitious to their Desires. And hence it was the general Doctrin of their Divines, that 'twas great Prophaneness for any thing that was earthly and sinful immediately to approach that Pure and Divine Being; but that the Demons were to be the Mediators and Agents between him, and mortal Men, foreign, as Plato in his Sympos. expresses it; that is, God is not approached by Men, but all the Commerse, and Intercourse between him and us is performed by the Mediation of Demons. So that howsoever they came by this Principle it is apparent that they generally believed both Sacrifices and a Mediator to be necessary Means to reconcile them to God, and that without these they could not satisfy themselves that God would be propitious to them, no not upon their Repentance and Reformation. Some good Hopes they might have, and it is apparent they had, from the Goodness and Benignity of the Divine Nature, that if they forsook their Sins God would not be inexorable to them, at least they could not tell but they might find Mercy; but yet they durst not absolutely trust to this without devoting some other to suffer in their Stead, and engaging some other to intercede in their Behalf. And therefore we see that when the King of Nineveh upon Jonah's Preaching obliged his People to Fasting and Repentance, the utmost Encouragement he could give them was only this; Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not, Jonah iii.9. Wherefore to give us the highest Assurance of Pardon if we repent, God hath been so infinitely good to us as to choose that very Method of reconciling us to himself, which we had chalked out to him, and to meet with us in our own Way, thereby to give us a fuller Assurance of his most gracious and merciful Intentions to us; for how could he have better satisfied the Anxiousness and Jealousy of our guilty Minds, than in granting us our Pardon in that very Way, wherein we did so universally hope for and expect it? Good God! How indulgent hast thou been to thy poor Creatures, that wast not only so ready to pardon them upon their Repentance, but so careful to give them the most effectual Assurance of it; that so thou might'st remove all discouragements out of the Way to our Amendment and Happiness? For doubtless the Reason why he took this Way of Pardoning us more than another, was not only because it was best in it self, and most for the Interest of his own Government; but also because of all others it was the most effectual to satisfy our guilty Fears, and assure us of his merciful Intentions to receive us into Favour again upon our Repentance and Amendment. For when Mankind were so unanimously agreed in this Belief, that without a Sacrifice and a Mediator he would not be appeased, how could he more effectually have convinced our Mistrust of his Mercy, than by sending his own Son to be our Sacrifice and Mediator; to die for our Sins upon Earth, and intercede for our Pardon in Heaven? So that if now we will heartily repent of our Sins and forsake them, we have all the security of Mercy that we can desire; our God being attoned by the noblest Sacrifice that ever was, and interceded with, on our Behalf by the most powerful and prevailing Mediator. Having therefore such an High Priest over the House of God, we may safely draw near with a true Heart, in full assurance of Faith, as the Apostle expresses it Heb. x.21, 22. Thus you see how good and gracious God hath been to us in the Way and Method which he hath prescribed of pardoning our Sins, and releasing us from the obligation of Punishment for ever; which is so wise and good, and every way God-like, that I think, had I no other Reason to believe the Christian Religion, but only this wondrous Contrivance of pardoning Sinners revealed in the Gospel, this would have been enough to persuade me that none but a God could be the Author and Contriver of it. And now I shall conclude this Argument with a few Inferences.
1. From hence I infer what a very great Evil Sin is, seeing it is such an Evil as binds us over to perish for ever, and such as nothing can make Expiation for, but only the precious Blood of the Son of God; such, as our Saviour must die for, or our Souls must have suffered for, to all Eternity. How different therefore are our Thoughts from God's! We think it a Matter of Sport and Laughter, a Thing to Play, and make Merry with; but God, who knows the inmost Nature of things, looks upon it as a Thing of such a black and horrid Nature, as that nothing but the Blood of our Souls, or the Blood of his Son can make Expiation for. O blessed God! Had we but such Thoughts of our Sins as thou hast, how should we start and tremble at the Sight of them, and with what Horror and Amazement should we reflect upon them? Surely if all the Devils in Hell should stand round about us in the most gastly Shapes and Apparitions, it would not put us into half that Agony of Fear, as would the Sense and Remembrance of our own Guilts and Follies. For had we but a Window into Hell to look through and see what unsufferable Torments the damned Ghosts undergo there for those Sins we make so light of; how they burn and roar in those Flames of Lust, about which we like silly Flies do sport and dally; or had we but the Cross always standing before our Eyes with the Son of God hanging on it for those Sins that are our Recreation, sighing and groaning out his innocent Soul in Torment and Agonies to expiate those Faults which we commit with so much Greediness and Pleasure; surely either of these sad Spectacles would be sufficient to cool our Courage, and to make us affraid of ever sinning more. Why then should not our Belief of these Things have the same Effect upon us, as the Sight and Sense of them must needs be supposed to have? O my Soul, why should I be so mad as to hug and embrace my Lusts any longer, when I believe the Evil of them to be so great as that the merciful Father would never have forgiven them, had not his own most blessed Son born their Punishment, and freely submitted himself to suffer for them in my Stead; yea, and which I verily believe he will never Pardon yet, unless I heartily repent of, and forsake them; but notwithstanding all that his Son hath suffered to make Expiation for them, will yet pursue and prosecute them with the most direful effects of an endless and omnipotent Vengance?
2ly, Hence I infer the Certainty of our perishing for ever, if we do not repent of our Sins and forsake them. For if God would not have forgiven them upon our Repentance, unless an Expiation had been made for them by the Blood of his Son; how can we imagin that he will now forgive them whether we repent of them or no? When all that could be obtained for us from our offended God by the vocal Blood and Wounds of his own Son, (whose Language was a thousand Times more effectual for us, than all the Retorick of Angels could have been) was only this, that if yet we would heartily repent and amend, we should certainly find Mercy and Favour at his Hands; can we be so assured as to hope for any more? Is it likely, that our obstinate Continuance in wilful Rebellion against him should be a more prevalent Advocate for us, than the most eloquent Blood of that innocent Lamb, which spoke better Things for us than the Blood of Abel? Will he be more indulgent to our Sins than he was to the obedient Sufferings of his own Son, whose Blood cryed Mercy, Mercy, with a Voice more moving and persuasive than the united Prayers of a World of sinful Creatures could have done, though they had been washed in Floods of penitent Tears? Let us not therefore be so fond as to presume, that when the utmost that God would grant us for his own dear Son's sake, was to receive us to Mercy upon our unfeigned Repentance; he will now for our own sakes pardon us whether we repent or no. And since at the powerful Intreaties of the Blood of Jesus he hath indulged to us as much Mercy as was fit for him to grant, and much more than we could ever have hoped for, let us not be so immodest as to expect any farther, but fix this as an eternal Verity in our own Minds, that either our Sins, or our Souls must perish; and then if after all that he hath done for us we will continue wicked, there is no Remedy but we must be miserable for ever.
3dly, And lastly, Hence also I infer how inexcusable we are if we now perish in our Sins, now God hath done such great Things for us, and contrived such an excellent Way to pardon us. So that now there can be nothing wanting to the Accomplishment of our Pardon, but only our own Repentance and Reformation; for God and our Saviour have done all that is to be done on their Part; our Saviour hath suffered for us, and God hath accepted it as an Expiation for our Sins. And now the whole Matter sticks at us, and there is nothing wanting, but only our Repentance; and if we will not Repent, and thereby intitle our selves to that merciful Pardon which God and our Saviour have prepared for us, there is none can be blamed for our Ruin but our selves: For when Inquisition shall be made for the Blood of our Souls, the only Cause of our Ruin will be found to be this, that we were wilfully and obstinately impenitent. What then shall we be able to say for our selves, when we come to plead for our Lives at the Tribunal of God? Shall we plead that our Condition was hopeless and desperate, we being bound over for our past Sins to an irrevocable Damnation? Alas! With what Confidence can we plead this, when God had been so merciful as not to exact of our own Persons the Penalty which his Law had denounced against us; but graciously admitted another to suffer for us, and upon his suffering promised to forgive us if we would heartily repent? Or can we pretend that by this gracious Indulgence of his he encouraged us to Sin on, and gave us Reason to hope that he, who without our Repentance had remitted so much of the Severity of his Laws as to admit another to suffer in our Stead, might as easily be induced to remit all whether ever we repented or no? Why how could he have more effectualy discouraged us from sining on, when he would admit of no less Suffering, but what, considering the Greatness of the Person who underwent it, was as dreadful an Example of his Severity against Sin as if he had damned for ever a whole World of Sinners? Or will you urge that you thought it in vain to return, since by your former Sins you had for ever forfeited the Favour of God? For though there was some Hopes that he might be intreated to pardon, or remit your Punishment; yet 'twas in vain to hope that after so many Provocations he would ever be throughly reconciled again, so as to receive you into Grace and Favour. But when by sending his own Son to die for us, he had given us so plain a Proof of the Sincerity of his Affection towards us, with what face can we suspect his Kindness? For is it likely that he who was so good as to give his Son for us whilst we were in Impenitence, should be so implacable as to deny his Love to us upon our Repentance and Amendment? Was it not a much higher Act of Love to give his Son for Sinners, than to receive poor prostrate Penitents into Favour? He then who was so free to do the former, we might well imagin would be much more free to do the latter. Or lastly, Dare we plead for our selves, that considering the Anxiousness and Jealousy of guilty Minds, God had not given us such Security of his Readiness to pardon and be reconciled to us, as was requisite to dispel all those Fears and Doubts by which we were discouraged from Repentance and Amendment? But how weak and groundless this Plea is, will soon appear to all the World, when it shall be considered what an effectual Course God took to obviate all our Doubts and Fears by pardoning us in our own Method, namely, upon the Motive of a Sacrifice, and Intercession of a Mediator; especially of such a Sacrifice and Mediator as his own Son: For let him be never so severe and stern, yet 'tis impossible he should be inexorable to the vocal Blood and importunate Intercessions of that dear Person, whom he loves above all the World. And now when God had so contrived the Method of his pardoning us, as to take from us all Occasion either of presuming upon his Mercy whilst we continue impenitent; when he hath taken such an effectual Course to raise both our Hopes and Fears, which are the Springs of our Action, to their highest Pitch and Capacity, and given us the greatest Certainty that the Nature of the Thing will bear, that he will punish us for ever if we Sin on, and pardon, and receive us into Favour if now at last we will repent and return; what can we say for our selves, if in Despite of all this we will run from Mercy whilst its Arms are open to embrace us, and leap into Hell with our Eyes open, and we see it gaping ready to devour us?