gainst the or pel. the soul, only some commanding power it hath on the soul, which the soul endeavouring to give up itself unto, it doth find some peace and content, and especially if it find itself to be pretty willing to yield itself to its commands. And is not this the very ground of thy hoping that God will save thee from the wrath to come? If one should ask thee what ground thou hast to think thou shalt be Do not think saved, wouldst thou not say, Truly, that I am a because I have left my sins, and beder of the gos- cause I am more inclinable to do good, and to learn, and get more knowledge; I endeavour to walk in church order, as they call it, and therefore I hope God hath done a good work for me, and I hope will save my soul. Alas, alas! this is a very trick of the devil to make souls build the ground of their salvation upon this their strictness, and abstaining from the wickedness of their former lives, and because they desire to be stricter and stricter. Now, if you would know such a man or woman, you shall find them in this frame-namely, when they think their hearts are good, then they think also that Christ will have mercy upon them; but when their corruptions work, then they doubt and scruple until again they have their hearts more ready to do the things contained in the law and ordinances of the gospel. Again, such men do commonly cheer up their hearts, and encourage themselves still to hope all shall be well, and that because they are not so bad as the rest, but more inclinable than they, saying, I am glad I am not as this publican, but better than he, more righteous than he. Lu. xviii, 11. 4. This is a legal and old-covenant spirit that secretly persuades the soul that if ever it will be saved by Christ, it must first be fitted for Christ by its getting of a good heart and good intentions to do this and that for Christ; I say, that the soul when it comes to Christ may not be rejected or turned off; when in deed and in truth this is the very way for the soul to turn itself from Jesus Christ, instead of turning to him; for such a soul looks upon Christ rather to be a painted Saviour or a cypher than a very and real Saviour. Friend, if thou canst fit thyself, what need hast thou of Christ? If thou canst get qualifications to carry to Christ that thou mightst be accepted, thou dost not look to be accepted in the Beloved. Shall I tell thee? Thou art as if a man should say, I will make myself clean, and then I will go to Christ that he may wash me; or like a man possessed, that will first cast the devils out of himself, and then come to Christ for cure from him. Thou must, therefore, if thou wilt so lay hold of Christ as not to be rejected by him; I say, thou must come to him as the basest in the world, more fit to be damned, if thou hadst thy right, than to have the least smile, hope, or comfort from him. Come with the fire of hell in thy conscience, come with thy heart hard, dead, cold, full of wickedness and madness against thy own salvation; come as renouncing all thy tears, prayers, watchings, fastings; come as a blood-red sinner; do not stay from Christ till thou hast a greater sense of thy own misery, nor of the reality of God's mercy; do not stay while thy heart is softer and thy spirit in a better frame, but go against thy mind, and against the mind of the devil and sin, throw thyself down at the foot of Christ, with a halter about thy neck, and say, Lord Jesus, hear a sinner, a hard-hearted sinner, a sinner that deserveth to be damned, to be cast into hell; and resolve never to return, or to give over crying unto him, till thou do find that he hath washed thy conscience from dead works with his blood virtually, and clothed thee with his own righteousness, and made thee complete in himself; this is the way to come to Christ. so THE USE OF THE NEW COVENANT. Now a few words to the second doctrine, and I shall draw towards a conclusion. The use, for FIRST USE. The doctrine doth con- the second doctrine. tain in it very much comfort to thy soul who art a new-covenant man, or one of those who are under the new covenant. There is, First, pardon of sin; and, Second, the manifestation of the same; and, Third, a power to cause thee to persevere through faith to the very end of thy life. First, There is, first, pardon of sin, which is not in the old covenant; for in that there is nothing but commands; and if not obeyed, condemned. O, but there is pardon of sin, even of all thy sins, against the first and second covenant, under which thou art, and that freely upon the account of Jesus Christ the righteous, he having in thy name, nature, and in the room of thy person, fulfilled all the whole law in himself for thee, and freely giveth it unto thee. O, though the law be a ministration of death and condemnation, yet the gospel, under which thou art, is the ministration of life and salvation. 2 Co. iii. 6-9. Though they that live and die under the first covenant, God regardeth them not. He. viii. 9. Yet they that are under the second are as the apple of his eye. De. xxxii. 10. Ps. xvii, 8. Zech. ii. 8. Though they that are under the first, the law, are called to blackness, and darkness, and tempest, the sound of a trumpet,' and a burning mountain, which sight was so terrible, that Moses said, 'I exceedingly fear and quake.' He. xii. 18-22. But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born,' whose names are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus,' to 6 Now I need not God blessed Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, | for me, and given them to me. and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh bet- to say, O! but how shall I come by them? ter things than that of Abel.' He. xii. 22–24. Even is holy, I am a sinner; God is just, and I have forgiveness of sins. Ep. i. 7. offended, No; but thou mayst say, Though I am Second, The covenant that thou art under doth vile, and deserve nothing, yet Christ is holy, and allow of repentance in case thou chance to slip or he deserveth all things; though I have so provoked fall by sudden temptation; but the law allows of God by breaking his law that he could not in jusnone. Re. ii. 5. Ga. iii. 10. The covenant that thou tice look upon me, yet Christ hath so gloriously art under allows thee strength also; but the law paid the debt that now God can say, Welcome, is only a sound of words, commanding words, but soul, I will give thee grace, I will give thee glory, no power is given by them to fulfil the things thou shalt lie in my bosom, and go no more out; commanded. He. xii. 19. Thou that art under this my Son hath pleased me, he hath satisfied the second, art made a son; but they that are under that loud cries of the law and justice, that called for first, are slaves and vagabonds. Ge. iv. 12. Thou speedy vengeance on thee; he hath fulfilled the that art under this, hast a Mediator, that is to whole law, he hath brought in everlasting rightstand between justice and thee; but they under eousness. Da. ix. 24, 25. He hath overcome the devil, the other, their mediator is turned an accuser, and he hath washed away thy sins with his most prespeaketh most bitter things against their souls.cious blood, he hath destroyed the power of death, 1 Ti. ii. 5. Jn. v. 45. Again; the way that thou hast and triumphs over all the enemies. This he did into paradise is a new and living way-mark, a | in his own person, as a common Jesus, for all perliving way; but they that are under the old cove- sons in their stead, even as for so many as shall nant, their way into paradise is a killing and de- come in to him; for his victory I give to them, his stroying way. He. x. 20. Ge. iii. 24. Again; thou hast righteousness I give to them, his merits I bestow the righteousness of God to appear before God on them, and look upon them holy, harmless, unwithal; but they under the old covenant have defiled, and for ever comely in my eye, through nothing but the righteousness of the law, which the victory of the Captain of their salvation. 1 Co. Paul counts dirt and dung. Phi. iii. 7–9. Thou hast xv. 55-57. that which will make thee perfect, but the other will not do so- The law made nothing perfect; but the bringing in of a better hope did,' which is the Son of God, by the which we draw nigh to God.' He. vii. 19. Third, The new covenant promiseth thee a new heart, as I said before; but the old covenant promiseth none; and a new spirit, but the old covenant promiseth none. Eze. xxxvi. 26. The new covenant conveyeth faith, but the old one conveyeth none. Ga. iii. Through the new covenant the love of God is conveyed into the heart; but through the old covenant there is conveyed none of it savingly through Jesus Christ. Ro. v. The new covenant doth not only give a promise of life, but also with that the assurance of life, but the old one giveth none; the old covenant wrought wrath in us and to us, but the new one worketh love. Ro. iv. 15. Ga. v. 6. Thus much for the first use. SECOND USE. As all these, and many more privileges, do come to thee through or by the new covenant, and that thou mightst not doubt of the certainty of these glorious privileges, God hath so ordered it that they do all come to thee by way of purchase, being obtained for thee, ready to thy hand, by that one man Jesus, who is the Mediator, or the person that hath principally to do both with God and thy soul in the things pertaining to this covenant; so that now thou mayst look on all the glorious things that are spoken of in the new covenant, and say, All these must be mine; I must have a share in them; Christ hath purchased them And that thou mayest, in deed and in truth, not only hear and read this glorious doctrine, but be found one that hath the life of it in thy heart, thou must be much in studying of the two covenants, the nature of the one, and the nature of the other, and the conditions of them that are under them both. Also, thou must be well-grounded in the manner of the victory, and merits of Christ, how they are made thine. [First,] And here thou must, in the first place, believe that the babe that was born of Mary, lay in a manger at Bethlehem, in the time of Cæsar Augustus; that he, that babe, that child, was the very Christ. Second, Thou must believe that in the days of Tiberius Cæsar, when Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and Pontius Pilate governor of Judea, that in those days he was crucified, or hanged on a tree between two thieves, which by computation, or according to the best account, is above sixteen hundred years since.* Third, Thou must also believe that when he did hang upon that cross of wood on the Mount Calvary, that then he did die there for the sins of those that did die before he was crucified; also for their sins that were alive at the time of his crucifying, and also that he did by that one death give satisfaction to God for all those that should be born and believe in him after his death, even unto the world's end. I say, this thou must believe, * See the note on p. 549.-ED. that I will live and it saves me not. I the Jews a stum ness. Ro. i. 16. 1 Co. i. 23. upon pain of eternal damnation, that by that one conclude that what was done by the Godhead was not done for man, being done without the manhood; or else, that that which was done with the manhood could not answer Divine justice, in not doing what it did by the virtue and in union with the Godhead; for it was the Godhead that gave virtue and value to the suffering of the manhood, and the manhood being joined therewith, that giveth us an interest into the heavenly glory and comforts of the Godhead. What ground can a man have to believe that Christ is his Saviour, if he do not believe that he suffered for sin in his nature? And what ground also can a man have to think that God the Father is satisfied, being infinite, if he believe not also that he who gave the satisfaction was equal to him who was offended? Therefore, beloved, when you read of the offering of the body of the Son of man for our sins, then consider that he did it in union with, and by the help of, the eternal Godhead. How much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works,' &c. And when thou readest of the glorious works and splendour of the Godhead in Christ, then con [A word of advice.] But because thou in thy pursuit after the faith of the gospel wilt be sure to meet with devils, heretics, particular corrup-sider that all that was done by the Godhead, it tions, as unbelief, ignorance, the spirit of works animated on by suggestions, false conclusions, with damnable doctrines, I shall therefore briefly, besides what hath been already said, speak a word or two more before I leave thee of further advice, especially concerning these two things. First, How thou art to conceive of the Saviour. Second, How thou art to make application of him. First. For the Saviour. 1. Thou must look upon him to be very God and very man; not man only, nor God only, but God and man in one person, both natures joined together, for the putting of him in a capacity to be a suitable Saviour; suitable, I say, to answer both sides and parties, with whom he hath to do in the office of his Mediatorship and being of a Saviour. 2. Thou must not only do this, but thou must also consider and believe that even what was done by Jesus Christ, it was not done by one nature without the other; but thou must consider that both natures, both the Godhead and the manhood, did gloriously concur and join together in the undertaking of the salvation of our bodies and souls; not that the Godhead undertook anything without the manhood, neither did the manhood do anything without the virtue and union of the Godhead; and thou must of necessity do this, otherwise thou canst not find any sound ground and footing for thy soul to rest upon. was done as it had union and communion with the manhood. And then thou shalt see that the devil is overcome by God-man; sin, death, hell, the grave, and all overcome by Jesus, God-man, and then thou shalt find them overcome indeed. They must needs be overcome when God doth overcome them; and we have good ground to hope the victory is ours, when in our nature they are overcome. Second. The second thing is, how to apply, or to make application of this Christ to the soul. And for this there are to be considered the following particulars 1. That when Jesus Christ did thus appear, being born of Mary, he was looked upon by the Father as if the sin of the whole world was upon him; nay, further, God did look upon him and account him the sin of man—' He hath made him to be sin for us,' 2 Co. v. 21; that is, God made his Son Jesus Christ our sin, or reckoned him to be, not only a sinner, but the very bulk of sin of the whole world, and condemned him so severely as if he had been nothing but sin. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh '—that is, for our sins condemned his Son Jesus Christ; as if he had in deed and in truth been our very sin, although altogether without For if thou look upon any of these asunder-sin.' Ro. vii, 3. 2 Co. v. 21. Therefore, as to the taking that is to say, the Godhead without the manhood, away of thy curse, thou must reckon him to be or the manhood without the Godhead-thou wilt made sin for thee. And as to his being thy jus VOL. I. 4 B 6 tification, thou must reckon him to be thy righ- | compassion, for Christ's sake, hath sent thee a 4. How men are to reckon it theirs; and that is, upon the same terms which God doth offer it, which is freely, as they are worthless and undeserving creatures, as they are without all good, and also unable to do any good. This, I say, is the right way of applying the merits of Christ to thy soul, for they are freely given to thee, a poor sinner, not for anything that is in thee, or done by thee, but freely as thou art a sinner, and so standest in absolute need thereof. And, Christian, thou art not in this thing to follow thy sense and feeling, but the very Word of God. The thing that doth do the people of God the greatest injury, it is their too little hearkening to what the gospel saith, and their too much giving credit to what the law, sin, the devil, and conscience saith; and upon this very ground to conclude that because there is a certainty of guilt upon the soul, therefore there is also for certain, by sin, damnation to be brought upon the soul. This is now to set the Word of God aside, and to give credit to what is formed by the contrary; but thou must give more credit to one syllable of the written word of the gospel than thou must give to all the saints and angels in heaven and earth; much more than to the devil and thy own guilty conscience. Let me give you a parable:-There was a certain man that had committed treason against his king; but forasmuch as the king had compassion upon him, he sent him, by the hand of a faithful messenger, a pardon under his own hand and seal; but in the country where this poor man dwelt, there were also many that sought to trouble him, by often putting of him in mind of his treason, and the law that was to be executed on the offender. Now which way should this man so honour his king, but as by believing his handwriting, which was the pardon. Certainly he would honour him more by so doing than to regard all the clamours of his enemies continually against him. Just thus it is here: thou having committed treason against the King of heaven, he through pardon; but the devil, the law, and thy conscience do continually seek to disturb thee by bringing thy sins afresh into thy remembrance. But now, wouldst thou honour thy King? Why then, he that believeth the record that God hath given of his Son,' hath set to his seal that God is true. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.' 1 Jn. v. 11. And therefore, my brethren, seeing God our Father hath sent us damnable traitors a pardon from heaven, even all the promises of the gospel, and also hath sealed to the certainty of it with the heart-blood of his dear Son, let us not be daunted, though our enemies, with terrible voices, do bring our former life never so often into our remembrance. Object. But, saith the soul, how, if after I have received a pardon, I should commit treason again? What should I do then? Answ. Set the case: thou hast committed abundance of treason, he hath by him abundance of pardons-Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.' Is. lv. 7. Sometimes I myself have been in such a strait that I have been almost driven to my wit's ends with the sight and sense of the greatness of my sins; but calling to mind that God was God in his mercy, pity, and love, as well as in his holiness, justice, &c.; and again, considering the ability of the satisfaction that was given to holiness and justice, to the end there might be way made for sinners to lay hold of this mercy; I say, I considering this, when tempted to doubt and despair, I have answered in this manner— Lord, here is one of the greatest sinners that ever the ground bare; a sinner against the law, and a sinner against the gospel. I have sinned against light, and I have sinned against mercy. And now, Lord, the guilt of them breaks my heart. The devil also he would have me despair, telling of me that thou art so far from hearing my prayers in this my distress, that I cannot anger thee worse than to call upon thee; for, saith he, thou art resolved for ever to damn, and not to grant me the least of thy favour; yet, Lord, I would fain have forgiveness. And thy Word, though much may be inferred from it against me, yet it saith, If I come unto thee, thou wilt in nowise cast me out. Lord, shall I honour thee most by believing thou canst pardon my sins, or by believing thou canst not? Shall I honour thee most by believing thou wilt pardon my sins, or by believing thou wilt not? Shall I honour the blood of thy Son also by despairing that the virtue thereof is not sufficient, or by believing that it is sufficient to purge me from all my blood-red and crimson sins? Surely, thou | perfection of his own righteousness for me, and the that couldst find so much mercy as to pardon virtue of his blood for me; that he is there ready Manasseh, Mary Magdalene, the three thousand to answer the accusations of the law, devil, and sin murderers, persecuting Paul, murderous and adul- for me. Here thou mayst through faith look the terous David, and blaspheming Peter-thou that very devil in the face, and rejoice, saying, O Satan! offeredst mercy to Simon Magus, a witch, and I have a precious Jesus, a soul-comforting Jesus, didst receive the astrologers and conjurors in the a sin-pardoning Jesus. Here thou mayst hear the 19th of Acts-thou hast mercy enough for one biggest thunder-crack that the law can give, and poor sinner. Lord, set the case: my sins were yet not be daunted. Here thou mayst say, O law! bigger than all these, and I less deserved mercy thou mayst roar against sin, but thou canst not than any of these, yet thou hast said in thy Word reach me; thou mayst curse and condemn, but that he that cometh to thee thou wilt in nowise not my soul; for I have a righteous Jesus, a holy cast out.' And God hath given comfort to my Jesus, a soul-saving Jesus, and he hath delivered soul, even to such a sinner as I am. And I tell me from thy threats, from thy curses, from thy you, there is no way so to honour God, and to beat condemnations; I am out of thy reach, and out of out the devil, as to stick to the truth of God's thy bounds; I am brought into another covenant, Word and the merits of Christ's blood by believing. under better promises, promises of life and salvaWhen Abraham believed-even against hope and tion, free promises to comfort me without my merit, reason he gave glory to God. Ro. iv. And this is even through the blood of Jesus, the satisfaction our victory, even our faith. 1 Jn. v. 4. Believe, and given to God for me by him; therefore, though all things are possible to you. He that believeth thou layest my sins to my charge, and sayest thou shall be saved. He that believeth on the Son hath wilt prove me guilty, yet so long as Christ is above everlasting life, and shall never perish, neither ground, and hath brought in everlasting righteousshall any man pluck them out of Christ's Father's ness, and given that to me, I shall not fear thy hands. threats, thy charges, thy soul-scaring denunciaAnd if thou dost indeed believe this, thou wilt tions; my Christ is all, hath done all, and will not only confess him as the Quakers do—that is, deliver me from all that thou, and whatsoever else that he was born at Bethlehem of Mary, suffered can bring an accusation against me. Thus also on Mount Calvary under Pontius Pilate, was dead thou may say when death assaulteth thee-0 and buried, rose again, and ascended, &c.; for all death, where is thy sting? Thou mayst bite inthis they confess, and in the midst of their confes- deed, but thou canst not devour; I have comfort sion they do verily deny that his death on that by and through the one man Jesus; Jesus Christ, Mount Calvary did give satisfaction to God for the he hath taken thee captive, and taken away thy sins of the world, and that his resurrection out of strength; he hath pierced thy heart, and let out Joseph's sepulchre is the cause of our justification all thy soul-destroying poison; therefore, though in the sight of God, angels, and devils; but, II see thee, I am not afraid of thee; though I feel say, if thou dost believe these things indeed, thou dost believe that then, so long ago, even before thou wast born, he did bear thy sins in his own body, which then was hanged on the tree, and never before nor since; that thy old man was then crucified with him, namely, in the same body then crucified. See 1 Pe. ii. 24; and Ro. vi. 6. This is nonsense to them that believe not; but if thou do indeed believe, thou seest it so plain, and yet such a mystery, that it makes thee wonder. But, [THIRD USE.] In the third place, this glorious doctrine of the new covenant, and the Mediator thereof, will serve for the comforting, and the maintaining of the comfort, of the children of the new covenant this way also-that is, that he did not only die and rise again, but that he did ascend in his own person into heaven to take possession thereof for me, to prepare a place there for me, standeth there in the second part of his suretyship to bring me safe in my coming thither, and to present me in a glorious manner, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; that he is there exercising of his priestly office for me, pleading the thee, I am not daunted; for thou hast lost thy sting in the side of the Lord Jesus; through him I overcome thee, and set foot upon thee. Also, O Satan! though I hear thee grumble, and make a hellish noise, and though thou threaten me very highly, yet my soul shall triumph over thee, so long as Christ is alive and can be heard in heaven; so long as he hath broken thy head, and won the field of thee; so long as thou art in prison, and canst not have thy desire. I, therefore, when I hear thy voice, do pitch my thoughts on Christ my Saviour, and do hearken what he will say, for he will speak comfort; he saith, he hath got the victory, and doth give to me the crown, and causeth me to triumph through his most glorious conquest. Nay, my brethren, the saints under the Levitical law, who had not the new covenant sealed or confirmed any further than by promise that it should be; I say, they, when they thought of the glorious privileges that God had promised should come, though at that time they were not come, but seen afar off, how confidently were they persuaded of them, and embraced them, and were so fully satis |