Faith and Experience, Part 1
Firſt of the firſt. 1. That the true beleever in his life is the Lords. I ſhal open it, and ſhew you in what reſpects, and prove the particulars as I paſſe them by, ſhortly. I ſhall open it but in three particulars, 1. He is the Lords by purchaſe. 2. He is the Lords by Poſſeſsion. 3. He is the Lords by neare Relation.
Firſt of all, He is the Lords The Lords Purchaſe.by purchaſe, and a deare purchaſe; he hath purchaſed them with his owne blood. Acts 20. 28. The mother that hath had a painefull travell ſayes to the child, A deare child thou haſt been to me, and Zipporah to Moſes, ſurely a bloody husband haſt thou been to me. God may ſay, Bellevers! Children! you have been deare Children, bloody children unto me, you have coſt me my owne heart blood, a great ranſome! They are called the Purchaſed poſſeſsion. Eph. 1. 14. And a dear purchaſe too that coſt the owners heart blood. Chriſtians, ſpeak truth, doe you not think you coſt Chriſt more then ye are worth, bodyes and ſcules, and all? It is true to purpoſe too that the Apoſtle ſayes. 1 Cor. 6. 20. For ye are bought with a price, therefore, &c. a price indeed yet neither ſilver nor gold (of that Chriſt had none,) but what he had he gave you, and gave for you, even his own life for a ranſome for the ſins of many; never was there ſo deare a bargaine, and yet never fewer words ſpent about one. He bought them of the Father. Joh. 10. 29. and Joh. 17. Indeed there it is called giving, but he gave his blood for them: and yet there was an act of grace in the Father giving the Elect to Chriſt. It is true, you may ſay, that they were the Devills Captives. Eph. 2. v. 2, 3. But I anſwer, that the Devill was but Gods jayler, hee keeps them by nature in a Captivity, but it is for a debt due to the Fathers juſtice. Now God gave them to Chriſt paying ſuch a price. One would wonder to think, he ſhould meddle with ſo hard, and unprofitable a bargaine, but yet he did, and with ſuch alacrity that there was ſcarce too words betwixt his Father and him about it. The Father writ downe in his book, If you will have them thats the price, you ſhall goe, and doe my will (which is taking upon you their nature) Suffering, Dying, &c. Chriſt preſently ſubſcribed Done: and by ſuch a day it ſhall be all paid, Pſal. 40. v. 7. Heb. 10. 8. In the Volume of thy book it is written of me. Lo! I come to doe thy will, O God! There ſhall no more words be made of it (ſaith Chriſt) I will doe it: Thus there was a Covenant ſtroke, betwixt the Father and the Son for The purchaſed poſſeſsion. Thus they are the Lords by Purchaſe. Pretium Sanguinis, the price of his owne deare heart blood.
They are the Lords Poſſeſsion: 1 Pet. 5. 3. Eph. 2. 22. Tit. 2. 14. 1 Cor. 3. 17.They are his owne, he calls them his heritage, his habitation, his peculiar people, The ſheep of his paſture, The ſheep of his flock, The temple of God. His title to them I cleared before, but not altogether. All title you know is either, 1. By inheritance, or 2. By purchaſe, or 3. By gift. God hath every of theſe wayes a title to belevers. 1. By purchaſe. So I have already cleared Chriſts title to beleevers: I ſhewed you, 1. Of whom he bought this poſſeſsion. 2. Out of whoſe hands. 3. What he paid for it. But you know if a man contract with another for a houſe or ground, and after ſuch a contract pay the price for which he contracts with him that hath the ſale in his power: yet after all this he muſt have poſſeſsion given him, and then it is fully and moſt properly called his own. Beleevers are the Lord Chriſts thus; he hath not only contracted for them, and paid his full price, but he hath alſo taken livery, and ſeiſiu of them. Joh. 10. 29. The father hath given them to him: and Joh. 17. Of all that thou haſt given me I have loſt none. And now they are his inheritance, he hath the fee ſimple of all his Elect ones, and by his 1. Aſſuming their fleſh hath taken livery, and ſeiſin of their natures. 2. Myſtically Vniting himſelfe unto them, he hath brought himſelfe and his furniture for his houſe, all the graces of his holy ſpirit, to dwell in them; nay they are his peculiar Manſion in whom he delights to dwell: you have I knowne (ſaith he) above all the Nations of the Earth: Amos 3. 2.though all the world be mine, and I can pitch my tent any where, and dwell in my owne too, yet you only I have knowne; you are the Manſion-houſe which I ſet apart for my glory; where I will come and keep houſe my ſelfe in perſon. They are the Lords poſſeſſion: thats the ſecond.
3. They are the Lords by neare Relation. Neare relations are ordinarily by way of appropriation called ours; wives, and children, and ſervants; we ſay of ſuch a woman, or child, or ſervant, ſhe is ſuch a mans wife, or it is ſuch a mans child, or they are ſuch a ones ſervants: thus are beleevers to be appropriated to God. You may ſay concerning a beleever, There goes the child of God. Gal. 3. 7. There goes the heire of Jeſus Chriſt. Rom. 8. 17. Children not begotten according to the fleſh, but of the immortall, incorruptible ſeed of the word. 1 Pet. 1. 23. You may ſay of them, 2. There goes the Lambs wife, the wife of the Prince of glory, the Kings daughter. Eph. 5. 29, 30, 31, 32. Hoſea 2. 18. You may ſay of them, 3. There goes one of Gods ſervants. 1 Cor. 7. 22. Abraham was ſtiled by Melchiſedech, the ſervant of the most high God. Paul often ſtiles himſelfe the ſervant of Ieſus Chriſt. Nay 4. They ſtand in the relation of members, to Jeſus Chriſt the head. 1 Cor. 6. 16. This is by reaſon of the neare myſticall unſpeakable Vnion that is betwixt the Lord Jeſus Chriſt and the ſoule. Joh. 15. 3. I in you, and you in me. We are fleſh of his fleſh and bone of his bone, Eph. 5. 29. 30. &c. foreign. So then? can you ſay of your wife, ſhe is mine? canſt thou ſay of thy child, it is mine? canſt thou ſay of any ſervant that thou keepeſt, he or ſhe is mine? Nay nearer yet: canſt thou ſay of thy right hand, or foot, or any member of thy body, it is mine? So is the beleever Chriſts: Chriſts purchaſe, poſſeſsion, Servant, wife, child, brother, member, &c. Beleevers then while they live are the Lords. Thats the firſt branch, and that is plain. Proceed we now to the ſecond, and that is,