Christ Set Forth, Section 1
SECT. I.
SHEVVING BY VVAY of INTRODUCTION, that CHRIST is the EXAMPLE, and OBIECT of Iuſtifying Faith.
ROM. 8. 34.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Chriſt that dyed; yea rather, that is riſen againe, who is even at the right hand of God, who alſo maketh interceſsion for us.
CHAP. I.
The ſcope of theſe words: That they were Chriſts originally. Chriſt the higheſt example of Beleeving. Encouragements to our faith from thence.
THeſe words are a triumphing challenge, uttered by the Apoſtle in the name of all the [Elect;] for ſo he begins it in the 33. ver. foregoing, Who ſhall lay any thing to the charge of Gods [Elect?] It is God that juſtifies, And then follow theſe words, Who ſhall condemne? (namely, Gods elect,) It is Chriſt that dyed, &c. This challenge we finde firſt publiſhed by Jeſus Chriſt himſelfe, our onelyonly Champion, Eſay 50. (a Chapter made of, and for Chriſt) ver. 8. He is neere that juſtifies me, who will contend with me? They were Chriſts words there, and ſpoken of Gods juſtifying him; and theſe are every Beleevers words here, intended of Gods juſtifying them. Chriſt is brought in there uttering them as ſtanding at the High Prieſts Tribunall, when they ſpat upon him, and buffeted him, as ver. 4, 5. when he was condemned by Pilate, then he exerciſed this faith on God his Father, He is neere that juſtifies me. And as in that his condemnation he ſtood in our ſtead, ſo in this his hope of his Iuſtification he ſpeaks in our ſtead alſo; & as repreſenting us in both. And upon this the Apoſtle here pronounces, in like words, of all the Elect, It is God that juſtifies, who ſhall accuſe? Chriſt was condemned, yea, hath dyed, who therefore ſhall condemne? Loe here the communion we have with Chriſt in his death and condemnation, yea, in his very faith: if he truſted in God, ſo may we, and ſhall as certainly be delivered. Obſerve we firſt from hence by way of premiſe to all that follows,
That Chriſt lived by faith as well as we doe.Obſer.
In the firſt of Iohn ver. 16.Chriſt an example of beleeving. we are ſaid to receive of his fulneſſe grace for grace: that is, Grace anſwerable and like unto his; and ſo (among others) Faith.
For Explication hereof.Exlplained.
Firſt,1. He had a faith for the juſtification of himſelfe. in ſome ſenſe he had a faith for Iuſtification like unto ours, though not a Iuſtification through faith, as we have. He went not, indeed, out of himſelfe, to rely to another for righteouſneſſe, for he had enough of his owne (he being The Lord our righteouſneſſe:) yet he beleeves on God to juſtifie him, and had recourſe to God for juſtification: He is neer (ſayes he) that juſtifies me. If he had ſtood in his own perſon meerely, and upon his owne bottome onelyonly, there had beene no occaſion for ſuch a ſpeech; and yet conſider him as he ſtood in our ſtead, there was: for what need of ſuch a Juſtification, if he had not been ſome way neer a condemnation? He therefore muſt be ſuppoſed to ſtand here (in Eſay) at Gods Tribunall, as well as at Pilates, with all our ſins upon him: And ſo the ſame Prophet tels us Ch. 53. 6. God made the iniquities of us to meete on him. He was now made ſin, and a curſe, and ſtood not in danger of Pilates condemnation only, but of Gods too, unleſſe he ſatisfied him for all thoſe ſins. And when the wrath of God for ſin came thus in upon him, his faith was put to it, to truſt & wait on him for his Juſtification, for to take off all thoſe ſins, together with his wrath from off him, and to acknowledg himſelfe ſatisfied, & him acquited. Therfore in the 22. Pſ. (which was made for Chriſt when hanging on the Croſſe, and ſpeaks how his heart was taken up that while) he is brought in as putting forth ſuch a faith as here we ſpeak of, when he called God his God, [My God my God] then, whēas to his ſenſe, he had forſaken him, [why haſt thou forſaken me?] Yea he helped his faith with the faith of the Fore-fathers, whom upon their truſt in him God had delivered: Our Fathers, (ſays he) truſted in thee; they truſted and thou didſt deliver them: Yea, at the 5. v. we find him laying himſelfe at Gods feet, lower then ever any man did, [I am a worme] (ſayes he) (which every man treads on, and counts it a matter of nothing for to kill) [and no man] as it follows; and all this, becauſe he bare our ſins. Now his deliverance and juſtification from all theſe, to be given him at his reſurrection, was the matter, the buſineſſe he thus truſted in God for, even that he ſhould riſe again, and be acquited from them. So Pſal. 16. (a Pſalme made alſo for Chriſt, when to ſuffer, and to lie in the grave) ver. 8, 9, 10. The Lord is at my right hand, I ſhall not be moved: Therefore my heart is glad, my fleſh alſo reſteth in hope, Or (as in the Originall) [dwels in confident ſureneſſe] thou wilt not leave [my ſoule] in hell, that is under the load of theſe ſins, and thy wrath laid on me for them) neither wilt thou ſuffer thy holy One (in my body) to ſee corruption. This is in ſubſtance all one with what is here ſaid in this one word, He is neere that [juſtifies] me, for Chriſts Reſurrection was a Iuſtification of him, as I ſhall hereafter ſhew.
Neither 2.2. A faith for the juſtifying of us. did he exerciſe faith for himſelfe only, but for us alſo; and that more then any of us is put to it, to exerciſe for himſelfe: for he in dying, and emptying himſelfe, truſted God with the merit of all his ſufferings aforehand, there being many thouſands of ſoules to be ſaved thereby a long while after, even to the end of the world. He dyed and betruſted all that ſtock into his Fathers hands, to give it out in Grace and Glory, as thoſe for whom he dyed ſhould have neede. And this is a greater truſt (conſidering the infinite number of his elect, as then yet to come) then any man hath occaſion to put forth for himſelfe alone. God truſted Chriſt before he came into the world, and ſaved many millions of the Jews upon his bare word: And then Chriſt, at his death, truſts God againe as much, both for the ſalvation of Jews and Gentiles, that were to beleeve after his death. In Heb. 2. 12, 13, 14, 15. it is made an Argument, that Chriſt was a man like us, becauſe he was put to live by faith like as we are (which the angels doe not) and to this end, the Apoſtle brings in theſe words prophecied of him, as ſpoken by him of himſelfe, [I will put my truſt in him] as one proofe that he was a man like unto us. Now for what was it that he truſted God? By the Context it appeares to be this, that he ſhould be the ſalvation of his brethren and children, and that he ſhould have a ſeede and a generation to ſerve him, and raiſe up a Church to God to praiſe him in. For this is made his confidence and the iſſue of his ſufferings in that fore-cited Pſal. 22. from ver. 22. to the end.
How ſhould the conſideration of theſe things both draw us on to faith,Vſe. To draw on to faith, and encourage us therein. and encourage us therein, and raiſe up our hearts above all doubtings and withdrawings of ſpirit in beleeving! For in this example of Chriſt we have the higheſt inſtance of beleeving that ever was. He truſted God (as we have ſeene) for himſelfe, and for many thouſands beſides, even for all his elect; and haſt not thou the heart to truſt him for one poore ſoule? Yea Chriſt thus truſted God, upon his ſingle Bond; but we for our aſſurance, have both Chriſt and God bound to us, even God with his ſurety, Chriſt, (for he is Gods Surety as well as ours.) A double Bond from two ſuch Perſons, whom would it not ſecure? If God the Father and God the Son thus mutually truſted one another for our ſalvation, whom would it not induce to truſt them both, for ones own ſalvation, when as otherwiſe they muſt be damned that will not? 1. This example of Chriſt may teach and incite us to beleve: For did Chriſt lay downe all his glory, and empty himſelfe, and leave himſelfe worth nothing, but made a Deed of Surrendring all he had into his Fathers hands, and this in a pure truſt that God would juſtifie many by him, (as it is in Eſay 53. and ſhall not we lay downe all we have, and part with what ever is deare unto us afore hand, with the like ſubmiſſion, in a dependance and hope of being our ſelves juſtified by him?Eſpecially againſt the greatneſſe of ſinnes. And withall 2. it may encourage us to beleeve: Haſt thou the guilt of innumerable tranſgreſſions comming in, and diſcouraging thee from truſting in him? Conſider but what Chriſt had, (though not of his owne:) Chriſt was made (as Luther boldly (in this ſenſe that we ſpeak of him) ſpeakes) the greateſt ſinner that ever was; that is, by imputation: for the ſins of all Gods choſen met in him: And yet he truſted God to be juſtified from them all, and to be raiſed up from under the wrath due of them. Alas, thou art but one poore ſinner, & thy faith hath but a light and ſmal load laid upon it, namely, thy own ſins, which to this ſumme he undertook for, are but as an unite to an infinite number: God laid upon him the iniquities of us all. Chriſt truſted God for his own Acquitance from the ſins of all the world, and when that was givē him, he yet again further truſted him, to acquit the world for his ſatisfaction ſake.
But thou wilt ſay, Chriſt was Chriſt, one perſonally united to God, and ſo knew that he could ſatisfie him; but I am a ſinfull man. Well, but if thou beleeveſt, and ſo art one of thoſe who are one with Chriſt, then Chriſt ſpeaking theſe words in the name both of himſelfe and of his Elect, (as hath been ſhewed) thou haſt the very ſame ground to utter them that he had, and all that encouraged him, my embolden thee, for he ſtood in thy ſtead. It was onelyonly thine, and others ſins that put him in any danger of condemnation; and thou ſeeſt what his confidence before-hand was, that God would juſtifie him from them all: And if he had left any of them unſatisfied for, he had not been juſtified; and withall in performing his own part undertaken by him, he performed thine alſo, and ſo in his being juſtified, thou wert juſtified alſo: His confidence then, may therefore be thine now: onelyonly his was in and from himſelfe, but thine muſt be on him: yet ſo, as by reaſon of thy communion with him in his both condemnation and juſtification, thou mayſt take & turn all that emboldned him to this his truſt and confidence, to embolden thee alſo in thine, as truly as he did for himſelfe. Yea in this thou haſt now a farther prop and encouragement to thy faith, then he then had; for now (when thou art to beleeve) Chriſt hath fully performed the ſatisfaction he undertooke; and we now ſee Ieſus crucified, acquited, yea crowned with glory and honour, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks: But he, when he took up this triumph, was (as Eſay here foretold and prophecyed it of him) but as then entring upon that work. The Prophet ſeeing the day of his arraignment and Agonie, utters theſe words as his; ſhewing what thoughts ſhould then poſſeſſe his heart, when Pilate & the Jews ſhould condemn him, and our ſins come in upon him, God is neere that juſtifies me, who therefore ſhall contend with me? But now this comes to be added to our challenge here, that Chriſt HATH dyed, and is alſo riſen again; that he WAS condemned & juſtified, who therefore ſhall condemne? may we ſay, and ſay much more.
But thou wilt yet ſay, He knew himſelfe to be the Son of God, but ſo doe not I. Well, doe thou but caſt thy ſelfe upon him, to be adopted and juſtified by him, with a giving up thy ſoule to his ſaving thee his owne way, and (though thou knoweſt it not) the thing is done. And as for that (ſo great and uſuall) diſcouragement unto poore ſoules from doing this, namely, the greatneſſe and multitudes of ſins, this very example of his faith, and the conſideration of it, may alone take off, and help to remove it, more then any I have ever met with: for He in bearing the ſins of his Elect, did beare as great and infinitely more ſins then thine, yea, all ſorts of ſins what ever, for ſome one of his elect or other, (for he ſaid upon it, that All (that is, all ſorts of) ſins ſhall be forgiven unto men, & therefore were firſt born by him for them) and yet you ſee how confident afore-hand he was, & is now clearly juſtified from them all: And by vertue of his being juſtified from all ſorts of ſins, ſhall all ſorts of ſinners in and through him be juſtified alſo: and therefore why mayſt not thou hope to be from thine? certainly for this very reaſon our ſins ſimply and alone conſidered can be ſuppoſed no hinderance.
Thus we have met with one great and generall encouragement at the very Portall of this Text, which comes forth to invite us ere we are entred into it, and which will await upon us throughout all that ſhall be ſaid, and have an influence into our faith, and helpe to direct it in all that follows.
CHAP. II.
The Scope and Argument of this Diſcourſe, is either Direction to Chriſt as the Object of Faith, or Encouragement to Beleevers, from all thoſe particulars in Chriſt mentioned in the Text.
FAith and the ſupports of it, or rather Chriſt, as by his Death and Reſurrection, &c. hee is the foundation of Faith, and the cauſe of our Juſtification, is the main ſubject of theſe words: All which therefore to handle more largely, is the intended ſubject of this Diſcourſe. And therefore as we have ſeene Chriſts faith for us, ſo now let us ſee what our faith is to be towards him: OnelyOnly take this along with you, for a right bounding of all that follows; That the Faith (the object and ſupport of which I would diſcourſe of) is onelyonly, Faith as juſtifying; for Juſtification was properly here the matter of Chriſts faith for us, and is alſo anſwerably here held forth by Paul, as that faith which Beleevers are to have on him. Now faith is called juſtifying, onelyonly as it hath Juſtification for its object, and as it goes out to Chriſt for Juſtification: So that all that ſhall be ſpoken muſt be confined to this alone, as the intendment of the Text. And concerning this, the Text doth two things:Two things in the Text.
1. It holds forth Chriſt the object of it, [Who ſhall condemne? [Chriſt] hath dyed,1. Chriſt the object of faith for juſtification. &c.] And he being the ſole ſubject of thoſe foure particulars that follow, as encouragements to faith, muſt needs be therefore the object here ſet forth unto our faith.
2. In Chriſt we have here all thoſe foure made things matter of triumph to Beleevers,2. His Death, Reſurrection, &c. matter of triumph unto faith. to aſſure them that they ſhall not be condemned, but juſtified. In that
Chriſt
1. Dyed.
2. Roſe againe.
3. Is at Gods right hand.
4. Intercedes.
So that (for the generall) I am to do two things: and therein I ſhall fulfill the Texts ſcope.
1. Direct your faith to Chriſt, as to its right object.
2. To encourage your faith, from theſe ſeverall actions of Chriſt for us, and ſhew how they all containe matter of triumph for faith in them, & alſo teach your faith how to triumph from each of them: & herein I am to keepe cloſe to the argument propounded, namely, faith as juſtifying; or to ſhewhow faith, ſeeking juſtification in Chriſt, may be exceedingly raiſed from each of theſe particulars, & ſupported by them, as by ſo many pillars of it. So as although Chriſts Death, Reſurrection, &c. may fitly ſerve to encourage our faith in many other acts it uſeth to put forth, (as in point of Sanctification to be had from Chriſt, into which his Death and Reſurrection have an influence) yet here we are limited to the matter of Juſtification onelyonly, [It is God that juſtifies, who ſhall condemne, ſeeing Chriſt hath dyed?] and herein to ſhew how his Death, Reſurrection, &c. may, and doe afford matter of comfort and triumphing in point of Juſtification, from all theſe. And thus you have the ſumme of theſe words, and of my ſcope in this enſuing Treatiſe.
CHAP. III.
Firſt, Directions to Chriſt as the object of faith. How in a three-fold conſideration Chriſt is the object of juſtifying faith.
BUt ere I come to encourage your faith from theſe, let me firſt direct and point your faith aright to its proper and genuine object,Chriſt the object of faith three wayes. Chriſt. I ſhall doe it briefly, and onelyonly ſo far as it may be an Introduction to the Encouragements from theſe foure particulars, the things mainly intended by me.
1. Chriſt is the object of our faith, in joynt commiſſion with God the Father.
2. Chriſt is the object of faith, in oppoſition to our owne Humiliation, or Graces, or Duties.
3. Chriſt is the object of faith, in a diſtinction from the Promiſes.
Firſt,1. As in joynt commiſſion with God the Father. Chriſt is the object of faith, in joynt commiſſion with God the Father. So here, It is God that juſtifies, and Chriſt that dyed: They are both of them ſet forth as the foundation of a Beleevers confidence. So elſewhere, Faith is called a beleeving on him (namely, God) that juſtifies the ungodly, Rom. 4. 5. and a beleeving on Chriſt, Acts 6. Wherefore faith is to have an eye unto both,Faith to eye both God and Chriſt in ſeeking juſtification. for both doe alike contribute unto the juſtification of a ſinner. It is Chriſt that paid the price, that performed the righteouſneſſe by which we are juſtified; and it is God that accepts of it, and imputes it unto us: Therefore Juſtification is aſcribed unto both. And this we have, Rom. 3. 24. where it is attributed unto them both together, [Being juſtified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Ieſus Chriſt:] Where we ſee, that Gods free grace, and Chriſts righteouſneſſe, doe concur to our juſtification. Chriſt paid as full a price, as if there were no grace ſhewne in juſtifying of us; (for mercy bated Chriſt nothing) and yet that it ſhould be accepted for us, is as free grace, and as great, as if Chriſt had paid never a farthing. Now as both theſe meet to juſtifie us, ſo faith in juſtification is to look at both theſe: So it followes in the next ver. of that 3.Yet God the ultimate object. Rom. 25. [Whom God hath ſet forth to be a propitiation [through faith] in his bloud.] And though it be true, that God juſtifying is the ultimate object of our faith, (for Chriſt leads us by the hand (as the word is, Epheſ. 2. 18) unto God: and 1 Pet. 1. 21. we are ſaid by Chriſt to beleeve on God who raiſed him, that ſo our faith and hope might be on God)Chriſt, under the New Teſtament, the more immediate object. yet ſo, as under the New Teſtament, Chriſt is made the more immediate object of faith; for God dwelling in our nature is made more familiar to our faith then the Perſon of the Father is, who is meerly God. Under the Old Teſtament, when Chriſt was but in the Promiſe, and not as then come in the fleſh, then indeed their faith had a more uſuall recourſe unto God, who had promiſed the Meſſiah, of whom they then had not ſo diſtinct (but onelyonly confuſed) thoughts; though this they knew, that God accepted, and ſaved them through the Meſſiah: But now under the New Teſtament, becauſe Chriſt, as Mediator, exiſts not onelyonly in a promiſe of Gods, but is come, and manifeſt in the fleſh, and is ſet forth by God, (as the Apoſtles phraſe is) to tranfact all our buſineſſes for us betweene God and us. Hence the more uſuall and immediate addreſſe of our faith is to be made unto Chriſt; who as he is diſtinctly ſet forth in the New Teſtament, ſo he is as diſtinctly to be apprehended by the faith of beleevers. Ye beleeve in God, (ſayes Chriſt to his Diſciples, whoſe faith and opinion of the Meſſiah was till Chriſts Reſurrection, of the ſame elevation with that of the Old-Teſtament-beleevers) beleeve alſo in me: Make Me the object of your truſt for Salvation, as well as the Father. And therefore when Faith and Repentance come more narrowly to be diſtinguiſhed by their more immediate objects, it is Repentance towards God, but Faith towards our Lord Ieſus Chriſt, Act. 20. 21. not but that God and Chriſt are the objects of both, but that Chriſt is more immediately the object of Faith, and God of Repentance: So that we beleeve in God through beleeving in Chriſt firſt, and turne to Chriſt by turning to God firſt. And this is there ſpoken, when they are made the ſumme of Chriſtian doctrine, and of the Apoſtles preaching: And therefore the faith of ſome being much enlarged to the mercies of God and his free grace, and but in way of ſuppoſition unto Chriſt, or in a taking for granted, that all mercies are communicated in and through Chriſt, yet ſo, as their thoughts work not ſo much upon, nor are taken up about Chriſt; although this may be true faith under the New Teſtament, in that God and his free grace is the joynt object of faith, together with Chriſt and his righteouſneſſe, and the one cannot be without the other, and God oft-times doth more eminently pitch the ſtreame of a mans thoughts in one chanell rather then in another, and ſo may direct the courſe of a mans thoughts towards his free grace, when the ſtreame runs leſſe towards Chriſt, yet it is not ſuch a faith as becomes the times of the Goſpel; it is of an Old-Teſtamentſtraine and Genius: whereas our faith now, ſhould in the more direct and immediate exerciſes of it, be pitcht upon Jeſus Chriſt, that through him (firſt apprehended) our faith might be in God, (as the ultimate object of it) as the Apoſtle ſpeaks. And ſo much for the firſt.
The ſecond is,2. Chriſt the object of faith in oppoſition to all in our ſelves. that Chriſt is to be the object of our faith, in oppoſition to our owne Humiliation, or Graces, or Duties.
1. We are not to truſt,1. Not to reſt in humiliation. nor reſt in Humiliation, as many doe, who quiet their conſciences from this, that they have been troubled. That Promiſe, [Come to me you that are weary and heavy laden, and you ſhall find reſt] hath been much miſtaken; for many have underſtood it, as if Chriſt had ſpoken peace and reſt ſimply unto that condition, without any more adoe; and ſo have applyed it unto themſelves, as giving them an intereſt in Chriſt: Whereas it is onelyonly an invitement of ſuch (becauſe they are moſt apt to be diſcouraged) to come unto Chriſt, as in whom alone their reſt is to be found. If therefore men will ſet downe their reſt in being weary and heavy laden, and not come to Chriſt for it, they ſit down beſides Chriſt, and will lye downe in ſorrow. This is to make Iohn (who onelyonly prepared the way for Chriſt) to be the Meſſiah indeed, (as many of the Jews thought) that is, to think the eminent work of Iohns Miniſterie (which was to humble, and ſo prepare men for Chriſt) to be their attaining Chriſt himſelfe. But if you be weary, you may have reſt indeed, but you muſt come to Chriſt firſt: For as, if Chriſt had dyed onelyonly, and not aroſe, we had been ſtill in our ſins, (as it is 1 Cor. 15. 17.) ſo though we dye by ſin, as ſtaine by it, (as Paul was, (Rom. 7. 11, 12, 13.) in his humiliation) yet if we attaine not to the reſurrection of faith, (ſo the work of faith is expreſſed, Col. 3. 12, 13.) we ſtill remaine in our ſinnes.
Secondly,2. Not in Duties or Graces. we are not to reſt in graces or duties; they all cannot ſatisfie our owne conſciences, much leſſe Gods Juſtice. If Righteouſneſſe could have come by theſe, then Chriſt had dyed in vaine, as Gal. 2. ult. What a diſhonour were it to Chriſt, that they ſhould ſhare any of the glory of his righteouſneſſe? were any of your Duties crucified for you? Graces and Duties are the Daughters of Faith, the Off-ſpring of Chriſt; and they may in time of need indeed nouriſh their mother, but not at firſt beget her.
In the third place,3. Chriſts perſon the object of faith, in a diſtinction from the Promiſes. Chriſts Perſon, and not barely the Promiſes of forgiveneſſe is to be the object of faith. There are many poore ſoules humbled for ſin, and taken off from their owne bottome, who, like Noahs Dove, fly over all the Word of God, to ſpy out what they may ſet their foot upon, and eying therein many free and gracious Promiſes, holding forth forgiveneſſe of ſins, and juſtification, they immediately cloſe with them, and reſt on them alone, not ſeeking for, or cloſing with Chriſt in thoſe Promiſes: Which is a common error among people; and is like as if Noahs Dove ſhould have reſted upon the out-ſide of the Ark, and not have come to Noah within the Ark; where though ſhe might reſt for a while, yet could ſhe not ride out all ſtormes, but muſt needs have periſhed there in the end. But we may obſerve, that the firſt Promiſe that was given, was not a bare word ſimply promiſing forgiveneſſe, or other benefits which God would beſtow; but it was a Promiſe of Chriſts Perſon as overcomming Satan, and purchaſing thoſe benefits, [The Seed of the woman ſhall break the Serpents head.] So when the Promiſe was renewed to Abraham, it was not a bare Promiſe of bleſſedneſſe and forgiveneſſe, but of that Seed, that is, Chriſt, (as Gal. 3. 16.) in whom that bleſſedneſſe was conveyed, [In thy Seed ſhall all the Nations of the earth of bleſſed.] So that Abrahams faith firſt cloſed with Chriſt in the Promiſe, and therefore he is ſaid to ſee Chriſts day, and to rejoyce in embracing him: And ſo all the ſucceeding Fathers (that were Beleevers) did, more or leſſe, in their Types and Sacraments, as appeares by 1 Cor. 10. 1, 2. And if they, then much more are we thus to look at Chriſt, unto whom now he is now made extant, not in Promiſes onelyonly, but is really incarnate, though now in heaven. Hence our Sacraments (which are the ſeals added to the word of faith) doe primarily exhibit Chriſt unto a Beleever, and ſo (in him) all other Promiſes (as of forgiveneſſe, &c.) are ratified and confirmed by them. Now there is the ſame reaſon of them, that there is of the Promiſes of the Goſpel, (for they preach the Goſpel to the eye, as the Promiſe doth to the eare) and therefore as in them the ſoule is firſt to look at Chriſt, and embrace him as tendered in them, and then, at the Promiſes tendred with him in them, & not to take the Sacraments as bare ſeals of pardon and forgivenes: So (in like manner) in receiving of, or having recourſe to a Promiſe, (which is the word of faith) we are firſt to ſeek out for Chriſt in it, as being the foundation of it, and ſo to take hold of the Promiſe in him. Hence Faith is ſtill expreſſed by this its object, Chriſt, it being called Faith on Chriſt. Thus Philip directs the Eunuch, Acts 6.How the Promiſes are the object of faith. How Chriſt in the Promiſes. 31. Beleeve on the Lord Ieſus. The Promiſe is but the casket, and Chriſt the jewell in it; the Promiſe but the field, and Chriſt the Pearle hid in it, and to be chiefly lookt at. The Promiſes are the meanes by which you beleeve, not the things on which you are to reſt. And ſo, although you are to look at forgiveneſſe as held forth in the Promiſe, yet you are to beleeve on Chriſt in that Promiſe, to obtaine this forgiveneſſe. So Act. 26. 18. it is ſaid of Beleevers by Chriſt himſelfe, [That they may obtaine forgiveneſſe of ſins, by faith which is on me.]
And to clear it farther, we muſt conceive, that the Promiſes of Forgiveneſſe are not as the Pardons of a Prince, which meerly containe an expreſſion of his royall word for pardoning, ſo as we in ſeeking of it, doe reſt upon, and have to do only with his word and ſeal wch we have to ſhew for it: but Gods Promiſes of pardon are made in his Son, and are as if a Prince ſhould offer to pardon a Traytor upon marriage with his child, whō in, and with that pardon he offers in ſuch a relation; ſo as all that would have pardon, muſt firſt ſeek out for his child: and thus it is in the matter of beleeving. The reaſon of which is, becauſe Chriſt is the Grand Promiſe, in whom all the Promiſes are Yea and Amen, 2 Cor. 11. 29. and therefore he is called The Covenant, Eſay 49. 8. So that, as it were folly for any man to think that he hath an intereſt in an Heireſſe lands, becauſe he hath got the writings of her eſtate into his hands, (whereas the intereſt in the lands goes with her perſon, and with the relation of marriage to her; otherwiſe, without a title to her ſelfe, all the writings will be fetcht out of his hands againe) ſo is it with all the Promiſes; they hang all upon Chriſt, and without him there is no intereſt to be had in them: He that hath the Sonne, hath life, Iohn 1. 5, 12. becauſe Life is by Gods appointment onelyonly in him, as ver. 11. All the Promiſes are as Copy-hold land, which when you would intereſt your ſelves in, you enquire upon what Lord it holds, and you take it up of him, as well as get the Evidences and Deeds for it into your hands; the Lord if it will be acknowledged for ſuch in paſſing his right into your hands: Now this is the tenure of all the Promiſes; they all hold on Chriſt, in whom they are Yea and Amen; and you muſt take them up of him. Thus the Apoſtles preached forgiveneſſe to men, Acts 13. 38. Be it knowne that through this man is preached to you the forgiveneſſe of ſins. And as they preached, ſo we are to beleeve, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 1 Cor. 15. 11. And without this, to reſt on the bare Promiſe, or to look to the benefit promiſed without eying Chriſt, is not an Euangelicall, but a Jewiſh faith, even ſuch as the Formaliſts among the Jews had, who without the Meſſiah cloſed with Promiſes, and reſted in Types to cleanſe them, without looking unto Chriſt the end of them, and as propounded to their faith, in them. This is to goe to God without a Mediator, and to make the Promiſes of the Goſpel to be as the Promiſes of the Law, Nehuſhtan, (as Hezekiah ſaid of the Braſen Serpent) a piece of braſſe, vaine, and ineffectuall: like the waters of Betheſda, they heale not, they cleanſe not, till this Angel of the Covenant come downe to your faith in them: Therefore at a Sacrament, or when you meet with any Promiſe, get Chriſt firſt downe by faith, and then let your faith propound what it would have, and you may have what you will of him.
There are three ſorts of Promiſes,Three ſorts of Promiſe, and how Chriſts Perſon is the object of faith in applying them all. and in the applying of all theſe, it is Chriſt that your faith is to meet with.
1. There are abſolute promiſes, made to no Conditions; as when Chriſt is ſaid to come to ſave ſinners, &c. Now in theſe it is plaine, that Chriſt is the naked object of them: ſo that if you apply not him, you apply nothing, for the onelyonly thing held forth in them is Chriſt.
2. There are Inviting Promiſes; as that before mentioned, [Come to me you that are weary] The promiſe is not to wearineſſe, but to comming to Chriſt; they are bidden Come to him, if they will have reſt.
3. There are Aſſuring Promiſes; as thoſe made to ſuch and ſuch qualifications of ſanctification, &c. But ſtill what is it that is promiſed in them, which the heart ſhould onelyonly eye? It is Chriſt, in whom the ſoule reſts and hath comfort in, and not in its grace; ſo that the ſight of a mans grace is but a back-doore to let faith in at, to converſe with Chriſt, whom the ſoule loves. Even as at the Sacrament, the elements of Bread and Wine are but outward ſignes to bring Chriſt and the heart together, and then faith lets the outward elements goe, and cloſeth, and treats immediately with Chriſt, unto whom theſe let the ſoule in: So Grace is a ſigne inward, and whilſt men make uſe of it onelyonly as of a bare ſigne to let them in unto Chriſt, and their rejoycing is not in it, but in Chriſt, their confidence being pitcht upon him, and not upon their grace; whilſt men take this courſe, there is and will be no danger at all in making ſuch uſe of ſignes: and I ſee not, but that God might as well appoint his owne work of the new creation within, to be as a ſigne and help to communion with Chriſt by faith, as he did thoſe outward elements, the works of his firſt creation; eſpecially, ſeeing in nature, the effect is a ſign of the cauſe. Neither is it more derogatory to free grace, or to Chriſts honour, for God to make ſuch effects, ſignes of our union with him, then it was to make outward ſigns of his preſence.